Bemish jerked.
"Idiot! You will fail completely!"
"Why?"
"Why?! Are you asking me, why? Just look at the people you allied yourself with! You will ruin your country and lose your head! Can you name a single official allied with you, can you name just one man who knows what a budget is and what a balance is?! Your allies are idiots who think that Earthmen are demons! Look, Ashinik can only discourse on the eradication of protectionism and setting the same rules for everybody till the moment when he gets to power. When he gets to power, however, either he will do what his party wants or they will devour him whole. Do you think that with such allies you will be able to produce anything but a circuit performance? Do you think that anybody will talk to you? What about the hostages and the victims?"
"I will release the hostages," Kissur said.
"You mean the passengers. What about the personnel? Damn it, if you let the personnel go, the whole place will collapse. Are you going to stick a Weian zealot behind a VIS operating terminal?"
"I will release all the Earthmen hostages," Kissur repeated, "The personnel staying here are citizens of the Empire. I assure you that all Earth journalists will say that I released the hostages since they consider only Earthmen to be the hostages. The Empire's officials don't care — hostages or no hostages — we have never considered it to be a crime to begin with."
Bemish shut his eyes and groaned. It was correct. If Kissur was saying the truth, it was the end of it. The party of people's freedom had in its power five thousand foreigners and it immediately released them. The whole thing would look pretty good compared to the thievery and missiles that had been discovered after the party's desperate actions. And it was not just that; all the rumors that the government had been spreading about the party such as the zealots considering Earthmen to be demons… The party's honorable actions would prove the rumors to be a bunch of lies. It was smart. It was smart and… unlike Kissur.
At that point, another man showed up at the office's entrance.
"So, we've met again, master."
Bemish turned his head.
"Should I thank you, Ashinik," he asked, "for PR strategy and tactics?"
The young man smiled. His hands nursed an assault rifle nervously.
"You are probably cursing the day when you didn't allow Kissur to kill me, aren't you, master?"
Bemish ground his teeth.
"Just a bit," he muttered, "At least, Inis would have been alive."
"Don't touch her name, murderer!" Ashinik leaped.
"What's this crap?"
"You would've killed me too if I hadn't escaped!"
"That's bullshit. She was killed on Yadan's command in order to cause a quarrel between us! Yadan acted exactly the same way as he had done earlier with his predecessor! Why would I've killed her?"
"You did it out of jealousy."
"What jealousy are you talking about, idiot? I had given her away to you. And she asked me that day to take her back!"
"Gave her away, take her back," Ashinik paled and whispered, "Are Weian women property to take and give away?"
"How long are you going to carp for?" Kissur inquired.
Ashinik regained his senses.
"Ashinik hasn't told us the most important thing yet," Bemish noted sarcastically. "What tree is he going to use to hang the murderer of an unfaithful concubine? This is not, by the way, a crime accordingly to the ancient laws that he holds so dear."
"Mr. Bemish," Ashinik said, "the new Weian revolutionary government is not going to detain you. We would like you to convey our demands, the demands of the people. They are very simple and they are in the best interest of both the Emperor and the people. Only corrupted officials and gluttonous foreigners would resist them. We demand that the current government resign and that the corrupted officials are persecuted by the court. We demand that Kissur the White Falcon leads the Empire as he did ten years ago. We demand that the foreign concept of elections is crossed out from the government's edicts — this concept is not fitting for the Weian people's spirit. Since our party won your stupid elections, we are clearly acting in the majority's interests. We demand all the companies that belong to the foreigners to be unconditionally nationalized. We demand all the other private property holders submit themselves to an investigation. We are not against businessmen, we are against the bad and the gluttonous businessmen that suck on the people's marrow and don't think about the people's interests! We will eradicate the bad businessmen and we will support the good ones!"
"In your opinion, the bad businessmen," Bemish couldn't hold it back, "are the ones that don't bribe you and the good businessmen are the ones that do!"
"Shut up!" Ashinik screamed. "It's not for you to talk about bribery, Mr. Bemish! Not after they took a walk down your storage areas with cameras!"
THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER
Or the first minister as an international terrorist
At 19.54 they crammed Bemish into his own Mercedes and an unsmiling Khanadar drove him to the last post located in front of the old village. The village seemed to be dead. Dust hovered above the field — a flock of military skyers had just passed by.
About two hundred meters away from the post, a roadblock gate had been installed in a hurry. Antennas, resembling overgrown burdocks, stuck out behind the gate and a herd of military Jeeps hang out nearby. Another kilometer further, Bemish's own villa stood out, a gift from the terrorists' chief and the Empire's ex-first minister…
It was two hundred meters. Two hundred meters separated an ex-spaceport taken over by the terrorists from the normal world populated with corrupted officials and stupid Earthmen. It was two hundred meters for the ex-director of Assalah Company, Mr. Bemish. On his neck, he carried a suitcase containing the terrorists' demands to nationalize his company and a key from the handcuffs — his hands were still locked behind his back. For two hundred meters sun rays and the red lights of laser sights danced on his face.
Bemish stepped behind the gate. The red lights went out and people in military uniforms rushed towards him. There were some civilians present; Bemish recognized Michael Severin, the Federation envoy. There were absolutely no journalists present.
They crammed Bemish into a car and the car rushed towards the villa.
"How did the missiles got there?" a man in a colonel's uniform screamed at Bemish.
"You should ask Shavash about it," Bemish bit back, "He asked me to take care of this cargo."
"We will ask him," the colonel uttered.
"We know how the missiles got there," the second guy said. "They got there from NordWest base. It's a base located on Agaia's moon. An old acquaintance of Kissur's — an anarchist — used to work in one of Agaia's spaceports. He visited Weia six months ago and Kissur went Agaia last month. A week after his arrival, an accident occurred. This anarchist Lore and his five friends missed a sharp turn on a road and fell into a chasm. It was just an accident. The same day, another accident occured a light year and a half away from Agaia; a mechanic at the base, Denny Hill, simply drowned next to a crowded beach — he was on a vacation. It's quite clear where Kissur got the missiles. On the other hand, how did you get them, Mr. Bemish?"
"Why don't you start with yourselves?" Bemish bit back. "They steal your missiles like they would steal wheat out of a kitchen cabinet. Do you know their demands?"
"We do. They have already reported them on SV. Do you think that he can really kill the hostages if we don't transmit the news over TV?"
"Kill them?" Bemish got angry. "He is capable of eating them, marinated or fried! Do you know that nine years ago he hanged three thousand city dwellers that rebelled in the capital? During the civil war, he hanged three hundred people on the Orch's left shore and three hundred people on the right one! Have you forgotten about the Khanalai's camp?"
The car stopped in the villa's yard and Bemish was the first to jump out of it on the sand.
"Where are the journalists, by the way?" he asked.
/> "That's just what we are missing," the colonel snorted.
"You are wrong," Bemish said. "Kissur is running a show for the journalists while you kicked them out. They lack minds of their own and they repeat whatever you tell them. You will see that they will praise Kissur and shit on you."
"They will praise Kissur, won't they?!" the colonel was enraged. "Will they praise a scoundrel who took eight thousand people hostage?!"
X X X
Shavash rushed towards Bemish right from the villa staircase. He hadn't come to meet him — he was scared! The small official was deathly pale and a sleeve of his velvet coat was dirty — it looked out of place on usually tidy Shavash.
"What is he doing?!" Shavash cried out. "Has he demanded anything of me, Terence?"
"He demanded exactly the same," Bemish replied, "as he did when you suggested swapping wives."
Shavash grabbed his head.
"Terence Bemish claims," The colonel said, "that the cargo belonging to Dassa Company was placed into 17B storage area accordingly to your orders. Is it true?"
Shavash raised his crazy eyes.
"How does it matter?!" he shouted exasperated.
"Were those your orders or not?"
"Oh my God, I probably ordered it," the official screamed in fury, "Big deal! They gave me two hundred thousand for a phone call and I called. It was not my cargo!"
"It's clearly not yours!" the colonel spoke with unconcealed contempt looking at the small official.
"Are you any better?!" Shavash screamed. "They go around shoplifting your missiles in your base like chocolate bars in a supermarket, why do you point your finger at me?"
X X X
Ten minutes later, in the main villa's hall — it was a charming hall decorated with blue and pale yellow silk — the Assalah emergency committee opened a session. The following people took place in the meeting: six high Weian officials, Terence Bemish as the director of the company where this whole disgrace was taking place, the Earth envoy, three military advisors, also from Earth, and two colleagues of deceased Giles from the Intelligence Service. Mr. Shavash headed the committee which was quite unusual. The small official generally preferred to stay in the shadow during storms but this time he didn't have enough patience for it. He presided over the meeting looking like a corpse.
"Generally speaking, it's quite a surprising alliance," envoy Severin said. "There is practically nothing in common between Kissur and the zealots. Kissur didn't take part in the elections, the zealots won them. Kissur is an ex-first minister of Weia; his political views are those of a strong armed state supporter if not of an outright fascist. He hates everything that weakens state's power. It's natural for him to hate sects and heresies. Ignoring the liberal media's views, the zealots, even the ones that studied at Hevishem — here the Envoy glanced at Bemish reproachfully — consider Earthmen to be demons. Kissur doesn't think so. The demands of the nationalization of the foreign companies clearly come from the zealots. However extravagant Kissur's views are, the presence of Mr. Bemish here demonstrates that Kissur is capable of a very good attitude towards a foreign swindler… I think that it would be enough just to stall it for a while and this coalition will fall apart on its own — they just don't have anything in common…"
"Can't you see what they have in common?!" Shavash cried out in desperation. "They want my head separated from my body!"
Everybody was somewhat shocked by this cowardice. The colonel, having leaned towards Bemish, whispered at his ear, "If this is the case, I will soon join the coalition."
"Are you trying to say, Mr. Shavash," the envoy inquired in an icy voice, "that it was only the desire to hang you that made them organize the massacre at the spaceport, take eight thousand people hostage, discredit our military forces and demand the changeover of the Empire's government?"
"Gentlemen, let's stop bickering," Bemish said, "You should figure out your response to Kissur's demands. And I would like to note that since these demands concern the Weian government and its internal politics, it's quite astonishing that half of our committee are Earthmen."
"Have you forgotten that Earthmen have been taken hostages at the spaceport?" the colonel asked.
"The Earthmen are a minority of the hostages," Bemish replied. "As the Assalah director, I should inform you that 80 % of the passengers and 93 % of the personnel are Weian. Go ahead and calculate how many Earthmen are currently at the spaceport."
"I can tell you, Terence, why the Earthmen are sitting here," Shavash intervened. "Our government decided to request the Federation of Nineteen's military assistance to quench the rebellion and free the hostages."
"So, you are not going to accept their demands, are you?" Bemish inquired.
"It's simply impossible," the foreign affairs minister Khasha claimed. "Aren't you of the same opinion, Mr. Bemish?"
"I would succumb to their demands," Bemish said.
Everybody went still for a moment.
"Oh," the minister spoke smirking. "Haven't you forgotten that one of their demands is gratis nationalization of foreign companies? Do you have another spaceport with one and a half billion isheviks annual profit stashed somewhere, director?"
Bemish paused.
"I would prefer to get the spaceport back in two years," Bemish replied, "after Kissur's policy crashes completely, rather than be a murderer of eight thousand people."
"You have it easy, Earthman," the minister said. "You will lose the spaceport while others will lose their heads."
"Don't you understand, Terence," Shavash cried, "he's a psycho, a maniac! This man will grind you flat. What do you think will happen to the country when they start sorting good businessmen from bad ones?! We should annihilate him! We should call the Federation troops in and squash him like a bug!"
"As the chairman of the Assalah Company's board of directors," Bemish said, "I protest fully against allowing the Federation troops on its territory. And I would like to remind the people present here that if they start using Federation troops to solve their internal problems…"
"Don't teach us, Earthman," an enraged Shainna screamed — he was the deputy chairman of Weia Central Bank and a buddy of Shavash's.
"I will teach you!" Bemish screamed just as loudly, "You don't give a damn about Kissur's industry nationalization demands! You have been living for two thousand years with nationalized industry! What you care about is that Kissur demands to hang you personally, Shainna, and you, Shavash for corruption! Here, a lot of people would agree with Kissur…"
Shavash stood.
"As the official inspector having full authority to deal with the Assalah emergency situation, I request the assistance of the Federation of Nineteen troops."
Bemish rose.
"Gentlemen, I refuse to take part in this abomination."
And he left.
The sunrise was starting somewhere far away. The fragrance of the jasmine bushes was sharp and sleepy bulls mooed in the village having returned from the late plowing.
Wrapping himself in an overcoat and shuddering from cold, Bemish walked to an old gazebo. A servant, stepping softly, brought a basket with liquors to the gazebo and asked what they should serve the guests for the dinner and what they should do to the policemen. The latter started screaming already and the servants had to give them twenty sacks from storage…
Bemish barked at him such that the slave ran away in fear. The basket, however, came to be quite useful. Bemish grabbed a wooden bottle plaited with bark, tore the plug out, threw his head back and started gulping palm vodka.
He stopped only after having drunk half of it.
Far away, through a woven gazebo wall he could see the spaceport. Unlike usual, t didn't gleam at night. The main buildings shined with a dull light and where only yesterday the landing lights used to sparkle, darkness and fog sprawled above the chutes. The monorail gleamed as a lonely horn sticking out of the dark and posts of armed people swarmed every hundred meters on the highway.
Somewhere
far away, at the first gates blocking the access to the villa, the whole crowd of journalists was throwing a fit. These idiots, Weian officials, insisted on not letting them in… Bemish, however, didn't want to see the journalists. He could imagine what questions they would ask him. And he couldn't even tell them one tenth of what he had said at the emergency committee meeting.
The gazebo door squeaked. Bemish turned his head and saw the envoy. The latter's crazy eyes wandered around for a while and then he grabbed the vodka bottle.
"I've drunk out of it already," Bemish warned him.
The envoy just waved his hand.
"You were correct when you left," Severin said. He finished the vodka off and dropped heavily on a bench. "Everybody taking part in this accident will be in shit up to their ears."
"Have they decided to call the troops in?"
"The commandoes will be here in two hours. It's the Eleventh Federal Paratrooper Division. They are damned good. At the moment Kissur lets the hostages go, they'll roll over him."
"In two hours?! How did they get here so fast?"
"They were being moved to their new positions."
"So, that they could be closer to Gera, right?"
The envoy smirked and nodded.
"Do you understand that this is Shavash's decision? The only thing that he is afraid of is that Kissur will hang him on the tallest catalpa? He went nuts from fear."
"That's right," the envoy said. "I have never seen it before in my life
— Mr. Shavash made a public statement supporting a certain decision and he took all the responsibility. Can you imagine that — he signed the request for the Federal troops himself! All the ministers there kindly passed this honor to him…"
Bemish muttered something.
"Do you know why the officials agreed to invite the troops? They understand that this will make Shavash a political nonentity… You, however, were very brave. Don't you regret losing your company?"
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