Ray Roos gulped.
“Yes, Sir. I’m hearing you loud and clear, yes I am.”
“Gee, Evan, really nice to see you could join us,” Trevor said as Godfrey walked in to his second-floor office just as Gordon Knox walked out. “Where is Dante?”
“He’s coming back tonight,” Evan said. “We stayed a night in New Winnabow then in Raleigh. He was staying there a little while longer to set up some security stuff.”
“So you arranged for us to pass through?” Trevor led.
“Trevor,” Evan licked his lips. “I know how important this operation is. I understand why you sent me down there. I met with their council. I spent an evening there and walked around that amazing town. You saw it, too. They have a theater. They have classrooms and apprenticeships. They’ve got country doctors who make house calls. At dinner time the town almost shuts down as all the families eat together. Those who don’t have families are invited to a different dinner table each night.”
Trevor, pacing, waived his hand, “Yes Evan, I know. It is peaceful. It is calm. They are so wonderful. But Evan, they don’t have antibiotics, so kids with strep throat may end up dying. Chicken Pox is a life-threatening disease. They don’t have surgeons, Evan. Better not have your appendix burst. What about diagnosing skin cancer before it is too late?”
“Maybe some things in life are worth giving up so that the quality of that life is better.”
“Easy for you to say,” Trevor said. “You’re not a slave in Columbia.”
“The whole time we were there the worst we saw was a Skip Beetle.”
Trevor opened his mouth, ready to bat another volley in the conversation, but he stopped, refocused, and went to the point. “Why are we arguing this? You weren’t sent there as a sociologist. Are they going to allow us to pass, Evan?”
Godfrey went quiet. He licked his lips again, threw his eyes to different spots around the room, and flexed his fingers. Body language spoke the answer he hesitated to say.
The realization of failure swept across Trevor Stone, covering him like a blanket. His eyes glazed over, his pacing stopped, and he slowly — very slowly- eased to the seat behind the desk.
Evan finally said, “They aren’t going to let us pass. Not without a fight. I spoke with their council. They are united in this. No one is going to change their mind. I think they’d rather die than give in.”
“I see,” Trevor mumbled.
“But Trevor, listen, you have to think of this as a chance. A chance to try something new,” Evan tried to persuade. Trevor did not react. “This is a chance to change who we are. So the Hivvans get away this time, so what? It’s a shame about Columbia but instead of forcing your way through New Winnabow maybe we can learn from them.”
“Yes…maybe…”
“Maybe Parsons can tell us how they’ve done it. I’ll be happy to be your ambassador to New Winnabow. It’s amazing what they’ve done down there! Amazing!”
“Amazing…yes.”
“Trevor, I am sorry that I failed. Truly I am. I hope you believe me. You trusted me despite everything we’ve been through, I won’t forget that.”
“Of course not…no.”
“I gave it my best shot. I tried to convince them. But maybe this is a sign. A sign that we can start changing things here so we can be more like them. Thanks for listening, Trevor,” Evan finished. “I think this might be a new leaf in our relationship.”
“Yes…a new leaf.”
Evan smiled, nodded his head, and left the room.
Trevor Stone sat there, in his empty office, alone.
Evan walked out the front door of the estate to the driveway where his Mercedes sedan idled with an Internal Security driver at the wheel. He jumped in and found Ray Roos in the back seat waiting for him.
The car swung about and exited the grounds.
Roos sat there, staring at Evan who finally asked, “What?”
“Are you just something? Sure you are. You are just something.” Roos shook his head in admiration with a smile on his lips.
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, now, come on now, I didn’t just fall off the cabbage truck. I know what’s going on in Carolina. You know I hear things. Of course you do. That’s why you like me so much. I hear things that can help you out.”
“And what do you hear these days, Ray?”
“Seems our boss has a decision to make, doesn’t it? He sure does.”
This time Evan shook his head, adding a slight bite to his lip and down cast eyes for the perfect expression of remorse.
Roos grinned. “That’s pretty good. You can almost sell that.”
Evan snapped, “Sell what?”
“Sell the idea that you’re all broken up about this. About how unfortunate it is. I have to tip my hat to you, Mr. Godfrey. You are a piece of work. Yes you are. That’s why I like you so much.”
“It is, well, it is quite dreadful,” Evan stymied. Roos’ ability to see through his act knocked him off balance.
“Dreadful for Stone, sure,” Roos laid it out. “But for you it’s a win-win situation, isn’t it? Yes it is. A win- win.”
Again, Roos showed an uncanny knack for cutting through his charades, putting Evan on the defensive.
“Oh, come on now,” Roos said. “Are you testing me? Yes you are, aren’t you? You want to see if Ray here has got an eye for this sort of thing. Okay, I’ll play. Stop me when I stumble down the wrong path.”
The sedan followed the lakeside road. The driver showed no interest in the conversation, meaning he was either deaf or he had earned Ray Roos’ trust.
“Stone has to decide, send in the troops to New Winnabow or don’t. If he sends them in you’ve got the Emperor sending humans to kill other humans. I wonder how that will sit with the people. Pictures of bombed-out villagers would make for a nice front page story, wouldn’t it? Of course, that’s assuming the troops follow those orders. General Shepherd, he might not take to shooting up a village. He might just tell Stone to shove it. I suppose you never know. Point is, if he sends the troops in Stone will end up looking like a real honest-to- goodness Emperor; a real nasty one. That weakens his support.”
Evan chuckled dismissively. “He’s not going to send any troops in there. Even he isn’t that cold-blooded. Why, the political fall out would be enormous. He’ll pull back and the war will be on hold for a couple of months. That’s the way I’d bet.”
“Now that’s just as good,” Roos unnerved Godfrey even more by showing a firm grasp of the situation and the potential outcomes. “Because if little New Winnabow can stand up to mighty Trevor Stone, then anyone can. I’m sure people in those farming villages will remember New Winnabow the next time their crops are divided up and sent out of town. Maybe they’ll just say ‘no’ and tell Trev to stick it. Why just about every little ‘burgh that has a gripe will see it as their chance to break away. Might end up in a civil war, but no matter what happens my guess is that a certain suave politician might be able to smooth things over. Probably by promising elections or representation or something fancy like that. What do you think?”
Evan sat silent, his eyes locked on Roos, his mouth clamped tight. Roos winked.
When he did finally speak, Evan’s lips barely parted. “I suppose that if something like that were to happen then, yes, someone with good negotiating skills could fix it. But that’s all speculation.”
“Of course it is, right? Sure,” Roos smiled fully. “Either way, I don’t see how you could lose. Might even carve out a nice chunk of political clout-might even call it power-for yourself. That is, hypothetically speaking.”
Evan turned his attention to the side window as the Mercedes passed a convoy of trucks, civilian and military.
“It’s not about me,” Evan told him. “The Emperor sent me down there to do a job. Honestly, I failed. It’s as simple as that.”
