by Hylton Smith
A step too far, too quickly? No - not too quickly, this would rankle whenever the concept was mentioned. Revolutions had to be claimed by revolutionaries and paid for by the very same champions. Too far? IR confessed to De Vere, that despite the noble cause syndrome in which they were probably deluding themselves, it still felt right. Furthermore, he voiced his preference for his former role, in which he had specific, concrete causes to raise on behalf of real citizens, whose circumstances he understood. This new stuff was more intellectually challenging, but very general in its focus, and tip-toeing around sensitivity was precisely what he had chosen to cut through in Redwood Paddock.
He told Tarquin that he was going to give it straight to the PM, and he was prepared to take the consequences, alone if necessary.
De Vere said it was his turn for confession. It was diametrically opposite to that of Richardson. The ‘dealing’ aspect at this level was what he had always coveted, and he didn’t want to give it up now, or ever, this was what he was born for. He said the two of them worked well together, probably because they were so different. He was honest enough to tell IR that he couldn’t advise taking this proposal as it stood to Wishbone. He was not honest enough to tell him of the blackmail of Ruby, and that it would lead to her downfall.
De Vere suggested to IR that a compromise would give both of them a chance to get what they wanted. If they went ahead and the PM predictably ruled it out, IR could hold out and Tarquin could try to find a modification which was acceptable. A twin approach, until IR decided whether he could jettison his natural intolerance of layered bureaucracy and castigation of ‘No Entry’ signs. De Vere could tweak the tuner until a clear reception was audible. Then it would be make up your mind time for IR.
IR nodded, then excused himself, as the now familiar ping and vibration sequence preceded the appearance of the Owl. Even before Enoch spoke, Richardson remembered that very early in their relationship, the hologram had told him something like this would happen. Maybe he would have to exchange thoughts on what happens next.
“You should know that Otto is under pressure, and is virtually monopolising my time. His boss has figured out that his sources on this ‘leak’ were non-specific and that his embroidery of deduction had run amok. Now that the F.O.B. party leader has set up an internal inquiry to find the double agent, Otto is presumed to have been the ‘Harry Lime’ in the network. I almost feel sorry for him, because although he is lacking subtlety of conceptual thinking, he is fiercely loyal to that which he does understand. This is exacerbated by my feeling of guilt. I have to admit that I had a hand in allowing him to convince himself that there was kudos to be gained for his party in spearheading an offensive, which was actually designed to backfire. How is it that I think I can feel guilt?”
“You. What do you mean? How could you have known?”
“Sniffy persuaded me that Otto Nostalgia was ready to sabotage your efforts with the PM, and he may well have intended to do just that, but in a public and transparent way. The Badger suggested this could be avoided if he was diverted by something which could be a bigger scalp.”
“But what would Sniffy get out of such a charade?”
“He maintains that by precipitating this quagmire of true or false, it will push his cronies close to HQ into to revealing something of greater magnitude. Otto was possibly an acceptable sacrifice to this end. Anyway, the Badger was right about his other prediction. The residents of Redwood Paddock see Otto as having his finger in several juicy pies, without yet having delivered any confidence that he truly recognises what got him elected in this village. Comparisons with you are proving very difficult for him and he seeks my advice, but does not seem to have the semantic capability to lock on to any of it. This is despite the fact that my humour chip has been reprogrammed to be user-specific rather than a general function. I’ll keep you posted, as Messrs Flimsy and Scrotum are talking of heaping fuel on the fire, albeit with their barely audible bark, and no intention to bite.”
IR hesitated, but decided to bring Enoch up to date with his dilemma. The Owl didn’t show any surprise, and said he knew this hurdle would arrive sometime but not how high it would be. Strangely he declined to offer any thoughts on the possible ways forward. This left Richardson feeling more than a little isolated.
Chapter 43
De Vere was wrong, before Ruby could find a scapegoat, (actually, patsy might have been more accurate, as scapegoat seems a little too reputable), the tawdry conspiracy mill had overtaken her effort. She faced a vote of no confidence from the party centre ground, and this was almost certainly going to result in a leadership challenge. This in fact was the detail which Sniffy had been trying to winkle out of his contact, so his naughty little blending of speculation and bait had exposed what was apparently going to happen anyway, and actually helped define the point of crystallisation.
As yet he didn’t have much of the original reasoning for the challenge but knew it wasn’t merely the LCJ yarn. He had to keep digging.
***
Wishbone greeted Foggy Chalice, LCJ, with a beautifully contrived puzzled expression. The parakeet performed his usual reflex preening before taking a seat, and shifted uncomfortably.
“What can I do for you?” queried the PM.
“This damned baseless rumour will just not cease, and my professional and private life have become a hell-hole of intrusion and flagrant speculation. I do not, having no real experience with these tabloid vultures, feel confident in fire-fighting this alone, especially as it commenced with some assertion that you were to call for a meeting with me.”
“Mmmm, I can only advise you Foggy, that no one has a complete recipe for dousing the sheer creativity of these guys once they have scented blood. They have an almost forensic ability to build a picture to go with the pre-existing frame. Facts are helpful to them, but not essential. They are as expert on litigation as I would guess many of your guys are. My advice would be to leave them well alone, Fifth Amendment style, and contribute nothing to their food chain. It’s difficult I know, but you must keep right at the front of your mind the one definite fact here, that there was never any meeting planned or proposed between you and myself. The business with Ms Bickerstacks has ensured that the stakes are much higher than they could ever have been if we had met. What puzzles me in all of this is that I cannot even think of a reason that I would have needed to meet with you, and this aspect has got lost somewhere along Hans Anderson Way. No doubt when they have finished with Ruby they will revert to this and re-focus their attack upon you until the story runs out of steam.”
Foggy preened and shifted again. “I can see the thrust of your advice, but dealing with it in that way is very difficult, when my entire life is based on decisiveness and getting at the truth. I feel I am at the point of being absorbed by the quicksand. I read new allegations every day.”
Wishbone could hardly contain his derision. What was circulating through his cerebral delivery system was, ‘decisiveness and truth - you arrogant self-deluding hypocrite’ - and what eventually emerged was - ‘your noble cause must not be corrupted by these moronic birds of prey.’ “If you speak out as you have just done to me they’ll find a way to make capital with it. Their lure is the opportunity for you to put the record straight, but you will condemn yourself to further misery by the way they edit and allege. There is one other proposal I might suggest if you aren’t able to merely sit it out.”
“Oh, please continue, I am all ears,” condescended Chalice.
“Well it could take them off guard. I was planning to do it anyway, and I wouldn’t have needed to meet with you on this, but it would give them a story-ending feature.”
“This does not really tell me anything, yet seems to contradict what you have already advised,” injected Foggy, rather pleased with this sarcastic jibe at a mere politician.
“Suit yourself Chalice,” chided Wishbone with a heavy intonation of addressing a subordinate. “You really are inexperienced in this stuff, and remember you
came to me.”
Preening vigorously Chalice was now more conciliatory. “Forgive me PM, it is just the situation. I am more than a little touchy, having my blemish-free persona brought into the grubby public arena. Please continue with your proposal.”
Wishbone felt Foggy was now vulnerable enough to take the drop to the canvas and subsequent standing count.
“I intended, prior to this current soap opera, to dissolve the Sentencing Advisory Panel. Now seems like a good time. The media will be temporarily wrong-footed, as it is going to occur after your request to meet me, and believe me Chalice, they will find out about this meeting, they always find out. Initially they will believe you’ve suggested this culling, sentencing the Sentencing Advisory Panel. No bad thing that, as it means they have closure on their soap opera, no matter that this meeting only came about because they were wrong in the first place.”
“Whoa there, you cannot just…..”
“Just what your Honour? In real life, when sacrifices have to be made, for whatever reason, they tend to be cutbacks in unnecessary passengers rather than core services. Sometimes in the theatre of Government it’s the opposite. This is real life, not playing house.”
“I don’t think you understand, this is where I have expertise, we can’t simply…..”
“No?” Wishbone interrupted Foggy with a withering stare. “Obviously you don’t understand, these jobs for the boys have to go. First, they are nothing more than non-accountable scaffolding of your entire profession. Second, they have even less primary interaction with the society they advise upon than your lot. At least you justice-mongers see the well dressed, adequately represented, repentant villains in court, and you get a chance to see the victims’ distress first hand. The Government has a huge responsibility to the public here, and so do you. The Law Enforcement personnel also feel continually let down by difficulties in prosecuting guidelines and subsequent soft sentencing. When it comes to parole staff and the psychology shamans who hover over them, the original sentence often becomes an incredibly insensitive marginalisation of the victims’ or relatives’ feelings, and indeed can blemish the remainder of their life. The fact that considerable re-offending occurs after these so-called enlightened ‘fit for parole’ recommendations, adds insult to injury. We therefore have to start with sentencing, then progressively expose these ‘turn the other cheek’ appeasers for what they are. I digress, but change is needed. This is the first.”
“Once more forgive me PM, but you are talking as if the discussion has already taken place and this democracy……”
“Wake up Judge, we have a Primary Chamber of Commons and a Secondary Conclave of Lords, both serving as checks and balances. The proposals can be brought at any time by anyone. I’m merely pointing out that a more hands-on approach to sentencing will happen. It would be better for you to be seen as the architect of the streamlining, and the artisan of a new approach. Remember, the media will write it that way, and if you resist, they will script a new chapter of your personal hell, instead of concluding the onslaught. By all means give it some thought, but I’m preparing to tell Law Enforcement it is going to happen. Would you like a coffee while perusing your options? I have to make a call”
“Err yes, frothy with two sugars please.”
“Help yourself, it’s just down the corridor.”
Chapter 44
Meanwhile, during the frenetic lobbying of candidates to challenge Ruby, Sniffy’s source revealed that one member of her shadow Cabinet had meticulously damning evidence of her failure to declare investment information, which was directly linked to her striking accumulation of wealth in recent times. There was apparently some suggestion of insider trading. This Cabinet member would rather not have brought attention to such scandal, but the LCJ innuendo was, although damaging to the party, not necessarily lethal enough to guarantee her demise on its own. It had however, ‘luckily’ opened the way to scrutiny of her character, so this current piggyback action was a totally justified means to rid the party of her entire trust-draining administration.
Sniffy wrote down the name and wasn’t surprised that Rupert Neo-Altruist was timing his bid right now. He was a thoroughbred colt, with all the right boxes ticked, and he would always have ascended to the leadership at some time. That time was now, and although Ruby would never stand down, she was going to be stood down.
Two leadership challenges in the mainstream parties in a very short space of time, unusual – but, oh yes, - there was a general election looming.
***
When Foggy returned to Wishbone’s office he was resigned to folding in with the PM’s suggestion. When he admitted this, Wishbone clicked up a gear and said, “Good, now how are we going to tackle the aftermath? We need to get moving with this reform on crime in general, with emphasis on punishment and sentencing revision.”
“Hold on PM, this is a whole different…..”
“Excuse me for interrupting you yet again, but we can just drive this through from Government, as has previously occurred with, for example, extension of detention periods for suspected terrorists, or we can somehow work together on a course correction. I prefer the latter, but now that the EU treaty is temporarily mothballed, we need to strike, and please stop regurgitating your perception that this is exclusively your territory. I remind you that if you aren’t part of the solution you will be tagged as part of the problem. You must surely see that unless we address this kind of citizen fear, it will breed uprising, and you would be swept away with the first storm. Your view of justice is antiquated, ponderous, and out of touch when lined up with the results of your deliberations. It is the psychologists you need to be out of touch with. I would like you to attend another meeting with myself and my colleague, Improbable Richardson.”
This was a gut-wrenching prospect - meet with local have-a-go hero. But at least he saw it as buying time.
“Fine,” said Foggy, “I will bring a colleague of my own, I shall wait to hear from you.”
Chapter 45
Dolph Edicct’s research into Otto’s standing in Redwood Paddock did nothing but add intent to jettisoning him when the time was right, in fact right now.
“Councillor Nostalgia, you struck a remarkable blow for the party in succeeding Cllr. Richardson. Your input at the recent seminar hosted by IR was inspirational to those of your colleagues who attended. Your loyalty to the cause is exceptional. Your judgement however may not be quite so watertight. Just when we have made such sweeping progress throughout the land you choose to compromise my own credibility by feeding me information which was claimed to be from reliable sources. In fact it turns out to be your own extrapolation of rather hazy conversations with a ‘contact’ who has been dead for decades. Any urgency to responsibly pass this through multiple TV channels, as a duty to our electorate, was crucially dependent on the veracity of the source. It was therefore remiss of you to fail to protect me from innocently conveying your opinions to the world, and parading them as facts. We live and die by our reputations. You have almost soiled mine and definitely ruined your own. It is possible and therefore necessary for you to go public in a way which rescues mine (for the sake of the party), even if it places your own future at risk. We are the party of decision. Yours is clear.”
Otto was outmanoeuvred. He wasn’t dismissed, but had no future beyond the next election. Resigned to accepting Dolph’s edict, he would do it through the local media, without Sniffy’s involvement. This would hopefully give him a chance to repay a fraction of the badger’s trickery.
***
When IR laid out his blueprint for Wishbone, he tried to avoid the words Federal and State, but the disguise was never going to conceal the principle. In preparing themselves for the anticipated fury of the PM’s response, both Richardson and De Vere had rehearsed a pretty impressive ‘good guy - bad guy’ dialogue, to ensure the meeting lasted longer than the coffee.
It came out of the blue. “This has merit. However, can’t you both see the pitfalls in sel
ling this to the many whose comfort will be disturbed by it?”
“Yes PM, and if you feel that it is unachievable……”
“Not unachievable Richardson, it would have a cost, a risk, and a possible payoff that dwarfs the downsides.”
The two musketeers felt they had become three. Utterly ignorant of the payoff, and just as confused by the lack of emotion in the PM’s evaluation, they breathed deeply and were grateful that the dialogue was interrupted by Wishbone himself, to take an urgent call – cue a comfort break.
The eye-contact between IR and De Vere prevailed without speech for what seemed like an eternity, as neither knew how to begin. Eventually Tarquin inhaled and gabbled something about shuffling the pack and dealing from under the table. Richardson was more circumspect, but just as devoid of an explanation.
“De Vere, we have to make sure we both heard the same thing.”
They re-constructed Wishbone’s words as best they could recall them and then proceeded to itemise possible reasons for the ‘enthusiastic’ reception.
1. PM had temporary political PMT.
2. PM had bigger fish to fry.
3. PM was preoccupied with personal problems.
4. There was a big picture about which they knew zilch.
5. There was an even bigger picture they couldn’t see.
6. PM knew there was someone about to take a fall.
