Scott Cleveland - Pale Boundaries

Cai performed the rest of her morning ritual with less economy than usual, buying time to compose herself, just as the man occupying her chair intended. Gidden took his cane in hand when she turned back to her desk. “Once more I relinquish the throne, madam.”

Cai waved him down. “It’s no bother, Mr. Undersecretary. Do you care for coffee?”

“Please. And thank you for indulging me,” he said with a gesture to her chair. “These old bones no longer appreciate steel and plastic.” He accepted the cup and saucer gingerly and took a sip as he set them down. “Very good, thank you.” He nodded toward the chair that she reserved for subordinates. “Make yourself comfortable.”

“Thank you, Mr. Undersecretary, but I prefer to stand.”

“But I,” he replied with a mischievous glint in his eye, “prefer that you sit.”

Cai sat. His amusement at waving her own stick at her did not make the situation any less serious, and she did not attempt to feign guiltless innocence as Maalan Bragg had some months before.

“Our partners in this sordid arrangement of ours occasionally express a degree of dissatisfaction with the quality of our support,” Gidden said. “I take pains to ensure that we fulfill our obligations to the best of our abilities so that they have no excuse to shirk theirs, but a situation has come to my attention that lends their claim credibility. It involves your department, Colonel, however indirectly, and I feel it necessary to discuss the issue with you personally.”

“I appreciate that, Mr. Undersecretary.”

“Am I correct to assume that you have some idea of what I’m talking about?”

“Something to do with Captain Maalan Bragg,” Cai guessed without hesitation.

“Correct. And?”

“Maalan was a peripheral victim of an assault against a young couple he monitored as part of his ancillary duties,” Cai told him. “He developed a personal interest in the case as a result. Certain irregularities led me to suspect that our so-called partners might be involved and I attempted to redirect his attention, but ultimately it became necessary to place him on personal leave due to performance issues resulting from post-traumatic stress.”

“Not so-called at all, Colonel,” Gidden interjected. “Our organization and theirs are inexorably linked whether we like it or not.”

“They overstepped their bounds!” Cai shot back, unable to conceal her anger. “They bypassed established protocols and exposed themselves with sloppy trade-craft! An investigator half as sharp as Maalan Bragg couldn’t help but see the tracks they left, and I’ll be damned if I sit back and let one of my people pay the price for their incompetence!”

“Duty may require you to do just that,” Gidden warned, “though I will bring the infraction to their attention, if that is any consolation. Continue.”

Cai swallowed her anger. Another outburst wouldn’t aid her career or improve Bragg’s chances of survival. “Several weeks ago he accompanied a young man named Terson Reilly on an unsanctioned voyage beyond the coastal boundaries that resulted in an altercation with a Coast Guard vessel. There were several deaths. Reilly vanished, and Maalan was severely wounded. He is currently being treated at Saint Anatone General Hospital.

“I should point out, Mr. Undersecretary, that he has yet to be interviewed, and the capacity in which he acted is unknown. Mr. Reilly has a significant criminal history, and I believe that Maalan was acting under duress or coercion.”

“Then you are unaware of the sanction issued against Maalan Bragg and Terson Reilly?”

The revelation stunned her; a sanction virtually condemned Bragg to death. “Apparently so.”

“Then let me enlighten you,” Gidden said gravely. “Terson Reilly engaged in activities that our partners felt endangered their position, activities that Captain Bragg appeared to participate in willingly. Further, I determined that those activities endangered Nivian security and issued directives to your counterpart in the Coast Guard instructing him to take adverse action against Maalan Bragg and Terson Reilly. I was notified of the action’s successful prosecution and thought the issue closed.

“Imagine my consternation when I learned that this was not the case. I consider myself a fair man; I understand that circumstances beyond human control occur, that ‘shit happens,’ if you’ll pardon the indelicacy of the phrase, but misinformation of this magnitude verges on criminal.

“Your counterpart at the Coast Guard regaled me with excuses when I called on him yesterday morning to discuss his retirement. Unfortunately, he thought to salvage his career with threats, and it became necessary to have him removed during the night. I will attend the funeral, of course.”

Gidden’s friendly blue eyes regarded her with great interest. “Will you regale me with excuses as well, Colonel?”

“As I just stated, Mr. Undersecretary, I was ignorant of the existence of a sanction until this moment,” Cai said with the confidence of manifest blamelessness, though dread began to mount with the turn the conversation had taken.

“Your enlightenment obligates you to act, Colonel. This will not be a problem, I’m sure.”

“Captain Bragg is in critical condition, his survival in question,” Cai said. “It may not be necessary.”

“You are being evasive, Colonel.”

“And you are asking me to have a fine police officer, a good man, killed!”

Gidden’s face softened. “A course of action to which you object.”

“Absolutely!”

Gidden raised his hands imploringly. “What would you have me do? You know the stakes.”

“He doesn’t know anything,” Cai said with as much assurance as she could muster.

“He suspects the existence of something worth knowing,” Giddens countered, “otherwise he would not be in this position.”

“The best way to keep a hungry man from searching for food is to feed him,” Cai said. “The same is true of curious men. We’ve inducted those who acquired condemning information without malice before.”

“But once fed, he may lead others to the trough,” Gidden pointed out. “People like us require a particular flaw in our moral character to function, Colonel; a certain self-interest that allows us to rationalize the enforcement of contradictory values.

“Captain Bragg has already demonstrated a steadfast moral character that demanded he risk his life and career in pursuit of the truth—despite evidence that ignoring it would benefit him far more. It is not likely that he could endure the hypocrisy inherent in our existence.”

“His own life, perhaps,” Cai said.

Gidden grimaced. “Holding the lives of a man’s family over his head is a distasteful business, Colonel, even for a jaded old man like myself. It would be more merciful to simply kill him.”

“Frankly, Mr. Undersecretary, it disturbs me that your solutions always seem to default to the taking of life,” Cai said lightly. “It would be disappointing to learn that you’re too jaded to entertain other options.”

Gidden chuckled. “It’s been a long time since anyone offered me such pointed criticism, Colonel. I find it refreshing.” His eyes drifted to the side thoughtfully for a moment before returning to her. “Very well. I lay the situation at your feet, to deal with as you see fit.”

“I’d expected to do more convincing,” Cai said cautiously. His easy acquiescence suggested the existence of a snare. “I may need some latitude to make promises not ordinarily within my power.”

“You have it,” Gidden smiled, “though I remind you that by accepting this responsibility you also accept the consequences of the outcome.”

“Of course.”