Michael Williamson - When Diplomacy Fails…

Not a chance in hell, but I’ll smile and nod, he thought, as he said, “I understand, ma’am.”

“Exactly what assignment was he working on?” she asked.

“He is tasked with mapping, which includes reviewing escape routes to determine their quality. In addition, he stockpiles gear where we can reach it in a hurry while traveling.”

“You mean ‘weapons’?” She looked suspicious and angry again.

“Not generally. Food, water, local cash and clothes. We are usually carrying weapons, but if a vehicle gets damaged or otherwise compromised and must be abandoned, we need to have support logistics.”

“Very well. You can go.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” he said, turned and left.

At no point had she either asked how Aramis was doing or expressed concern about him. There was no point in being angry. She probably wasn’t aware of him as a human being. People were just numbers to her, or potential votes, or exploitable counters.

He didn’t have to like her, but it would help if she wasn’t actively antagonistic to them.

Once he got back to their quarters he said so.

Bart said, “Perhaps you should treat her as an obstacle. Assume she will hinder at every turn.”

He twitched his eyebrows and said, “You know, that’s very logical. I hadn’t thought of it, but it makes sense.”

Elke said, “You will have to juggle the diplomacy of not calling her a self-aggrandizing, hatchet-faced narcissist, while working around her, but I am sure you can do it.”

“Indeed. She really can’t hear in here, right?” he said, looking at Elke.

“She cannot, nor can anyone else. It is possible Intel has snuck something past me and Jason, but I can’t see them sharing with her.” She stretched, hands in her hair, then working her shoulders gently. She was a bit bruised and battered from the day’s events.

Jason said, “Unless there’s a profit in it for them.”

Alex cocked his head. “We can’t rule that out, though there’s no existing pattern of it, that I know of.”

“That, and you can see how the BuState rep reacts.”

He checked the time. “Yeah, he’s coming up now. Can we clear this room?”

Jason said, “I’ll go check on Aramis and relieve Shaman.” He grabbed a day pack and left the room.

Two minutes later, Mister Gillette, with BuState intel arrived. Bart let him in, and Alex decided against any searches for now. They wanted the man as comfortable and agreeable as possible. Alex would have Jason and Elke sweep it again later, just in case. The table had a well with water, sodas and snacks.

“Good to see you, sir,” he offered.

“And you.” Gillette took the offered seat and grabbed a water gratefully. “Thanks for this,” he said with a nod.

“Long day?”

“Yes, I forget to drink, or I drink too much coffee. Ice water is refreshing. So what can I do for you?”

“Before we start, let me say this is in person for confidentiality. We should be secure in here, and welcome any additional precautions you wish to take.”

Gillette nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. I’m fine for now.”

“Very well. We’re trying to build a threat matrix for Ms Highland. Any hostile or potentially hostile groups or significant individuals.”

“Ah, ‘significant individuals.’ Well, that’s the complication.”

“Go ahead.”

Gillette leaned back and said, “Well, obviously, in her duties, she does things that help or hinder any number of companies, to the detriment or benefit of others. Their interests, though, are limited to financial. Some will donate to her campaign, some to her opponents, this will change as the platforms and odds stabilize closer to the election, and some will split their bets and contribute to more than one.”

“Of course. Do you think any of them would contribute to a physical response? Whether intended to harm, scare, or attract notice.”

He considered a moment, then shook his head. “It’s not impossible, but none have done so in previous elections.”

“Right. Though there was speculation about Mister Crindi’s death.”

“There’s always speculation. He died, his wife ran in his stead, and she was dumped by the electorate on the next cycle. She accomplished little. Hardly a worthwhile endeavor.”

Alex nodded. That was mostly how he took it. However, that had helped swing party numbers. He wasn’t sure how much benefit that had been, but if it suggested to him it was a potentially viable method, it might suggest it to others. And Gillette was readily aware of the incident.

“Then what about well-trained or financed kooks without economic interests?”

“It’s impossible to rule out, of course, but hundreds of anonymous threats come in weekly. A handful are deemed credible. Every few weeks one turns up someone violating the law. Twice they’d actually started overt action.”

“And groups here?”

“Yes, here is the interesting part,” Gillette said, running a hand through his hair. “The Amala don’t like her at all. She’s female, powerful, publicly called her husband out over that waste disposal vote last year. However, they’re generally not wealthy enough to do anything, and have poor access to communication, due to cultural factors.”

Alex heard that as, They’re backward savages who hate technology.

“Go on, please,” he said.

“There are certainly members and subfactions who’d like to harm her. We expect that to be more along the lines you’ve seen-rocks, sticks. They might consider an explosive device.”

“Okay. We can monitor that.”

“The Sunni like her, generally. The Shia perceive her as favoring the Sunni and don’t like that. Some have been very vocal about it. The Mowahidoon, the Baha’i and Sufis have nothing against her. They’re very modern and productive. The Coalition Christians run on a spectrum from disliking any woman in office, to disliking her policies. They aren’t friendly but are no more actively hostile than anyone else. A few outliers.”

“That leaves the Faithful group.”

“Yes, those people. Actively hostile, though they tend to seek to instigate incidents so they can sue.”

“Which has happened already over our response.”

“Expect more of that. They’ll do anything to get attention.”

“What about credible threats, though? Not them?”

“No. We’re at a loss. Obviously, there is at least one element. We don’t know who. You were brought in to offer protection while we devote resources to observation and deduction,” he said.

Interesting. That was pretty much an admission they were being spied on. They’d need to review their procedures and make ongoing checks for surveillance.

“So you’re pointing at the Amala as potential physical threats, and the Faithful as hostile distractions.”

“That’s how we interpret it, yes.”

“So who tracked, kidnapped and tortured my man?”

“We don’t know,” Gillette said. He seemed genuinely troubled and embarrassed.

“Allright,” Alex said. “We’ll coordinate with other agencies and share what we find.” Pursuant to massaging it ourselves first, and not sharing details we need. “Can you do the same?”

“We will,” Gillette agreed.

And no doubt with the same provisos, he thought.

Alex said, “And these harassment attacks. What are those about?”

“We presume those are to goad a response. It’s essential you not overreact to those.”

“We try not to, but it’s impossible to tell a paint balloon from a grenade in the time it takes someone to throw one.”

“I understand,” he said, though Alex got the impression he only understood as a mental exercise, not as the recipient of something potentially hot, fast and lethal. “But that’s the officially suggested response.”