The Cumerian Unraveling Trilogy (Scars of Ambition, Vendetta Clause, Cycles of Power)

by Jason Letts

  His old headquarters looked more like a shelter than an office. A few chairs had been placed around a metal barrel with a fire burning inside near the center of the reception area. His personal office was now essentially his bedroom, with clothes draped over his desk. Ralph slept on a mat in the hallway and looked only marginally better than he had when he first arrived at the Spiral.

  Cori poked her head out of the washroom and came out to meet him after he’d shut the front door. She had a plate in hand and had been cleaning dishes in the sink.

  “How did it go with everyone?” she asked. The door opened behind Randall and Ralph came in, rubbing his arms for warmth.

  “It didn’t go as planned. Some of the other councilors were very reluctant to make many changes to the government’s structure even after all we’ve been though. And then there was Qi Ptock, the pest, who continues to unravel everything I’m trying to do,” Randall said.

  “That bad, huh?” Cori asked, putting her hand on his shoulder. Randall removed his jacket and tossed it against the back of a chair.

  “Back when he was Chairman of the Private Oversight Committee, he’d never come across a rule too small to ignore, but since Qi Ptock got swept up in Aggart’s power grab, he seems to be fighting for as freewheeling a government as you can imagine. I don’t see the connection.”

  “Sounds to me like he’s got his own set of rules and isn’t concerned with what anybody else fucking tells him to do,” Ralph said, putting his hands over the fire. “I can understand that.”

  “Maybe,” Randall shrugged. “He might think it’d make it easier for him to get into the chancellorship if he can do what he wants with impunity. I don’t want to find out what he’ll do if he thinks there aren’t any rules he needs to follow.”

  “But what about…” Cori began, but one grim look from Randall stopped her cold. He knew where she was going.

  “When I proposed that we respect the results of the last election, there was some vocal opposition and enough stony faces to make it clear it wasn’t going to be a cakewalk, but that wasn’t the end of it. We came to an agreement on one path that would guarantee me the job and the suite at the top of the Spiral.”

  “What was it?” Cori asked, absorbed. She was so cute when something arrested her attention like that, her eyes and mouth wide with her curly hair drifting over her cheeks. It was too bad he was going to have to snap all of her hopes.

  “There was a general consensus that I’d be able to grab the chancellorship if I could get the blessing of the Guard for the new government, Captain Keran’s personal support.”

  Ralph looked over and grimaced as if he just saw a dog licking his own balls.

  “I hate to break it to you, kid, but you’re going to have a hell of a time doing that. I don’t think there’s any doubt that Keran is looking to take the entire country himself.”

  Although Ralph was a smart man with a keen sense of what other were doing, Randall didn’t appreciate being told the obvious.

  “You don’t think I know that?” he said, defensive. He felt his chance at the chancellorship and the kind of government he wanted slipping away. Fairness and opportunity wouldn’t exist if the premier families or the Guard had their run of the land. “If only I had something valuable to offer that could leverage his support.”

  “Well, what do you have?” Cori asked. The question was tougher than it should’ve been, and Randall went over to the fire to mull it over. Money, men, land, none of the usual things would get through to Keran, even if he had them. Randall struggled to name any asset he could bargain with.

  “All I’ve got is this shot at the chancellorship, tenuous as it is. And once Keran says no then it’ll be gone.”

  “Who would want that?” Cori asked, and Randall chuckled.

  “Any of those councilors would jump at the chance to be in my rotten shoes right now. I could tell before some of them were planning on running in an election or two, and the only reason they came back was because they thought they might be able to sneak into the big chair.”

  Randall stopped talking abruptly and looked over at Cori. She had a sly smirk on that she feigned being nonchalant about. She didn’t even have to say it for him to know what she envisioned.

  “If I offered to throw my support behind one of the other councilors, that would vault them into front-runner position and would certainly secure me a vote on something I wanted, say a nomination for the new judiciary. Ralph, if I were able to get you in there, you could crack down on the offenses that Qi Ptock hopes will run rampant.”

  Randall hadn’t felt this excited in a long time. While he’d be letting go of an unlikely chance at the chancellorship, he would be gaining a much more secure ally on the court. With Ralph on there, the Brackens might have a legal remedy to everything the Wozniaks and Illiams had done in the ClawLands.

  “That might actually get me to shave,” Ralph said, grinning at the prospect. “But how are you going to pitch the other councilors?”

  That question, at least, Randall had a good handle on.

  “What we’ll do is split the group into thirds and each make the proposition privately,” he said.

  “But don’t you think they’ll talk to each other and find out that they’re all being played?” Cori asked, crossing her arms and shaking her head. It was a reasonable objection, but she wasn’t counting on the drive of their ambitions.

  “Having a sudden public vow of support from me is going to be the ace up everyone’s sleeve. Sure, they’ll talk to each other about their own prospects—they’re probably doing that already—but no one will want to ruin the surprise of my bowing out. For the judicial vote, they’ll just think the others actually agree and that they’re the ones getting something special out of it,” Randall said.

  Rubbing his hands, he was ready to get out there right this minute and start making his moves, but they still needed to be careful.

  “Damn, you might just have them pegged,” Cori consented. “Which of the councilors should we approach?”

  Randall looked over Cori, who had a soft touch and the appeal of a friend that couldn’t be denied. Then there was Ralph, cantankerous and mildly offensive under the best of circumstances.

  “That’ll depend on who needs a carrot and who needs a stick. Ralph, you won’t have any trouble seeming authoritative while you’re introducing yourself as a prospective nominee, but just try not to bite anyone’s head off,” he said.

  “I can’t make any promises,” Ralph grumbled.

  “Take Pyrina Scorcero then to start. Losing a head might make her more tolerable. Cori, you’ll provide a much softer touch for those who just need a little coaxing. The prospect of being the front-runner for the chancellorship is tempting bait, and they might not ask too many questions. If they do, tell them I’m in over my head and can’t take the heat.”

  “You mean tell them the truth? You’re playing with fire, kid,” Ralph said.

  It took a few hours to decide who would be the best match for each of the councilors and a while longer to figure out where was best to meet with them. During their session the next cycle, Randall kept a close eye on them and tried not to make too many waves. They must’ve all seen his brooding as a sign of difficulty corralling the Guard and Captain Keran, but really he was just focusing on correctly reading them.

  With a number of routine charter provisions passed, the group was set to hear nominations for the Cumerian Grand Court during the next cycle. As they got up and left, Randall followed Heath Dolger as he left the Spiral to satisfy his renowned thirst at one of the nicer bars near Toine’s center. Randall kept his distance, not wanting to give Dodson or any other journalists something to think about. Ralph and Cori were on the hunt as well, and with any luck they’d strike the same deal nine times and secure an overwhelming majority for the vote.

  His hand in his coat pockets, Randall fought off the cold as he focused on how he’d convince the young man inside. He’d feel as burned as the rest of th
em when they found out the offer was a sham, but their votes would be irrevocable.

  Pushing open the swinging door, Randall entered the tavern and pretended to be surprised when he found Heath on a stool with a drink already in hand.

  “You don’t mind if I join you, do you?” Randall asked, sliding onto the next stool.

  “That depends what you’ve got in mind,” Heath said, tilting his head in a gesture to the bulge in Randall’s pants that had shifted provocatively.

  “Oh, this is just a phone I carry with me,” he said. Randall hadn’t heard from Angela Lu since the election, and with any luck it would stay that way.

  “Sure it is,” Heath said, taking another swig. “Shouldn’t you be skipping on down to the Guard’s main base for a meet and greet with Keran?”

  Randall hailed for a beer and looked around the tavern, where about a dozen low-lifes were wasting their time. Normally there’d be twice that many, but the town had seemed awfully vacant lately.

  “I should be, shouldn’t I? You have any advice for me?” Randall asked. Heath, just a kid with patchy facial hair in a suit that didn’t fit exactly right, raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

  “I’d tell you to put an egg in your shoe so you could beat it as quickly as possible.”

  Randall’s beer arrived and he took a lengthy draught. The time had come to make his move.

  “Have you ever thought about actually being the chancellor, Dolger? I mean, shit, the job is so close but so far, and Keran’s never going to play along. Maybe it’s just not in the cards for me,” Randall said.

  “I think we’ve all had the thought of being chancellor cross our minds,” Heath said. Randall hadn’t been expecting Heath to cheer him up about his chances, but it made it clear he had the job on the tip of his tongue. All Randall had to do was string him along.

  “You, really? I wouldn’t have guessed you’d seriously considered it. But the question remains. Do you have what it takes?” Randall asked in feigned weighty tones while raising his glass. Dolger gave him a salute and laughed. With that kind of rapport, Randall almost had the vote in the bag.

  “There’ve been young chancellors a number of times in Cumeria’s history. And my family is nothing to sneeze at either. We may not be the Guard, but if everyone uprooted from the mountains and came over to Toine, we’d be a force to be reckoned with. As for me, why not? If you ask me a country really only needs to be good at providing three things: food, work, and a way to get around from one place to another.”

  “Huh, that’s not a bad way of putting it,” Randall said, taking a long look to size the young man up. Randall certainly would’ve put it differently, but he needed to make Heath understand he was really thinking about it.

  “I can’t escape the notion that the election was my only chance to get the job, but I’m sure as hell not going to roll over and let Qi Ptock or Pyrina grab it.”

  Randall stopped, hoping Dolger would fill in the blank.

  “They’ve got their merits too,” Dolger said, perhaps trying to play it cool, but he suddenly shook his head as if a thought struck him. “Look, are we negotiating here? Cut the shit and tell me what this is really about.”

  The sudden bluntness and a little temper caught Randall off guard, but he leaned back and took a relaxed posture.

  “I’ll be honest that I’d thought you’d make a good fit for the position before. You’ve got the drive and the intuition. The problem was always there were so many others in line ahead of you. Right now I’m the only one with a chance at it. What would you say if I passed the opportunity over to you?”

  Dolger took one look and scoffed, making Randall wish he’d had a little more to drink.

  “I’d say what’s the catch.”

  “Good instincts,” Randall chuckled. “Nothing around this town comes without a price, and this one is pretty steep, but if you can stomach it I’ll publicly fall in line behind you. I’m going to make a nomination tomorrow for the Grand Court, and he needs to be approved. The others are likely to split, but you could be the swing vote that tips the scales.”

  “Who is it? Are you nominating yourself, because you could just say that,” Dolger said. He was listening, at least, but Randall didn’t have a clue if he’d go along with it. Despite what he’d just said, Randall knew that a single vote for the Grand Court was a bargain for a strong push into the chancellor’s chair.

  “No, it’s not me, and I can’t tell you who it is. He’s got a lot of legal expertise and would be perfect for the job…”

  “You expect me to vote without even knowing…”

  “Look,” Randall cut in, feeling the tension. “If you want to be a serious contender for the chancellorship, you need this from me. All I want is one vote for a nominee who would be an obvious choice if not for the games everyone is playing around here. When he gets on the court, he’ll know he has you to thank for it as well. Now what do you say?”

  Dolger chewed the inside of his cheek and took a long, hard look at Randall, who didn’t back down for an instant.

  Randall had to make the same offer and fight the same battles two more times before the cycle was through and he was ready to return to his office. All of them had taken longer than he expected, including the last councilor who he had to hound at her bedroom window.

  It wasn’t comforting when Randall discovered he was the first one to return, meaning Ralph and Cori had either had a difficult time tracking down their marks or getting them to give the right answer. The worst-case scenario was that one of the councilors had decided to expose the whole operation, but Randall hoped he would’ve gotten a call if that were the case.

  It was another hour before Cori and Ralph returned together, both of them stone-faced and mum. Randall was almost afraid to ask.

  “If you’ve got bad news, I don’t want to hear it,” he said.

  “They’ll follow through with it. All of them said yes,” Cori said.

  “I put it out there, winning smile and all. They were sold from the moment I told them who I was,” Ralph said. Finally Randall could relax. A relieved smile emerged on his face.

  “I hit gold three times as well. It looks like we’ve got a lock on this!” Randall cheered.

  “Yes! We should celebrate,” Cori said.

  Fortunately Randall had picked up something special from the tavern in expectation of this very outcome. There wasn’t much time left until the next cycle began and the voting occurred, but they toasted Ralph’s appointment, Randall’s cunning plan, and Cori’s relentless work ethic. Soon the bottle was empty and Ralph had retired, leaving Randall and Cori to share the reverie themselves.

  Without any warning, Cori left the reception room and pushed open the door to Randall’s office. In the moonlight filtering in through the back window, Cori stripped off everything she wore until there wasn’t a stitch left on her petite, alluring body. Cori glanced back at Randall and dove under the covers on the pullout couch where they slept. Randall didn’t need any more of an invitation than that.

  “You won’t mind that you’re not going to be sleeping with a chancellor?” Randall asked, climbing in next to her and pulling her close. Her hand felt hot against his stomach.

  “Not if you do it hard enough that I’m not able to think straight,” she said, leaning in to kiss him.

  The next cycle came all too quickly, it was still dark, and recent events had left Randall feeling exhausted, but he approached the Spiral focused on pulling off the greatest trick of his political career to date, a self-sacrificing maneuver to install a Grand Court justice. He passed Dodson again loitering around outside before entering the chamber and meeting the other councilors.

  Most of them looked at him with a kind of silent resolve, the deal fresh on their minds. Some of them knew he’d be nominating Ralph and some didn’t, but in the end he had all of their votes in his pocket, all except one.

  “Shall we get this under way?” Qi Ptock asked, settling into his seat opposite Randall. “Ea
ch councilor is granted one nomination to the court, a body that will adjudicate on all things legal on behalf of the nascent government of Cumeria. Let us rightly put forth names that will conduct themselves with honor and integrity. Would anyone like to cast the initial nomination?”

  “I will, if you don’t mind,” Randall said.

  But when he stood up to speak he noticed his pocket was buzzing, or more specifically the phone inside of it from Angela Lu. The device had been silent for so long Randall had hoped it had become nonfunctional, but he had a better hunch that at some point Angela would contact him again. Panicking, he waited a moment in case it would stop, but the buzzing was obnoxiously loud.

  “Do you need to get that?” Qi Ptock said, shaking his head.

  “I’m sorry about this. Just give me one moment,” Randall said.

  He left the other councilors behind as he took the door into the hall, pulled out the phone, and looked for a spot where no one could hear him. When he held the strange phone with the metallic ring around it to his ear, the buzzing was replaced by the high-pitched voice of a woman he dreaded more than any other.

  “I don’t like to be kept waiting, Mr. Bracken,” Angela Lu said.

  “I’m very sorry about that. I was…”

  “Have you forgotten our arrangement?” she asked, cutting him off. The way she spoke was almost menacing, or maybe it was more the impact of remembering his deal with the Lu’s telecommunications and media dynasty that gave him a shot to win the chancellorship in the first place.

  “No, of course not. But I didn’t win the election,” he said.

  “That does not mean we didn’t fulfill our end of the bargain or that you don’t owe us your service for it,” she said quickly. Angela didn’t miss a beat. Even though she was on the other side of the world in Iron City, there was no escaping her.