of both the Emperor and the people. Only corrupted officials and gluttonous foreigners would resist them. We demand that the current government resign and that the corrupted officials are persecuted by the court. We demand that Kissur the White Falcon leads the Empire as he did ten years ago. We demand that the foreign concept of elections is crossed out from the government's edicts — this concept is not fitting for the Weian people's spirit. Since our party won your stupid elections, we are clearly acting in the majority's interests. We demand all the companies that belong to the foreigners to be unconditionally nationalized. We demand all the other private property holders submit themselves to an investigation. We are not against businessmen, we are against the bad and the gluttonous businessmen that suck on the people's marrow and don't think about the people's interests! We will eradicate the bad businessmen and we will support the good ones!'
'In your opinion, the bad businessmen,' Bemish couldn't hold it back, 'are the ones that don't bribe you and the good businessmen are the ones that do!'
'Shut up!' Ashinik screamed. 'It's not for you to talk about bribery, Mr. Bemish! Not after they took a walk down your storage areas with cameras!'
THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER
Or the first minister as an international terrorist
At 19.54 they crammed Bemish into his own Mercedes and an unsmiling Khanadar drove him to the last post located in front of the old village. The village seemed to be dead. Dust hovered above the field — a flock of military skyers had just passed by.
About two hundred meters away from the post, a roadblock gate had been installed in a hurry. Antennas, resembling overgrown burdocks, stuck out behind the gate and a herd of military Jeeps hang out nearby. Another kilometer further, Bemish's own villa stood out, a gift from the terrorists' chief and the Empire's ex-first minister…
It was two hundred meters. Two hundred meters separated an ex-spaceport taken over by the terrorists from the normal world populated with corrupted officials and stupid Earthmen. It was two hundred meters for the ex-director of Assalah Company, Mr. Bemish. On his neck, he carried a suitcase containing the terrorists' demands to nationalize his company and a key from the handcuffs — his hands were still locked behind his back. For two hundred meters sun rays and the red lights of laser sights danced on his face.
Bemish stepped behind the gate. The red lights went out and people in military uniforms rushed towards him. There were some civilians present; Bemish recognized Michael Severin, the Federation envoy. There were absolutely no journalists present.
They crammed Bemish into a car and the car rushed towards the villa.
'How did the missiles got there?' a man in a colonel's uniform screamed at Bemish.
'You should ask Shavash about it,' Bemish bit back, 'He asked me to take care of this cargo.'
'We will ask him,' the colonel uttered.
'We know how the missiles got there,' the second guy said. 'They got there from NordWest base. It's a base located on Agaia's moon. An old acquaintance of Kissur's — an anarchist — used to work in one of Agaia's spaceports. He visited Weia six months ago and Kissur went Agaia last month. A week after his arrival, an accident occurred. This anarchist Lore and his five friends missed a sharp turn on a road and fell into a chasm. It was just an accident. The same day, another accident occured a light year and a half away from Agaia; a mechanic at the base, Denny Hill, simply drowned next to a crowded beach — he was on a vacation. It's quite clear where Kissur got the missiles. On the other hand, how did you get them, Mr. Bemish?'
'Why don't you start with yourselves?' Bemish bit back. 'They steal your missiles like they would steal wheat out of a kitchen cabinet. Do you know their demands?'
'We do. They have already reported them on SV. Do you think that he can really kill the hostages if we don't transmit the news over TV?'
'Kill them?' Bemish got angry. 'He is capable of eating them, marinated or fried! Do you know that nine years ago he hanged three thousand city dwellers that rebelled in the capital? During the civil war, he hanged three hundred people on the Orch's left shore and three hundred people on the right one! Have you forgotten about the Khanalai's camp?'
The car stopped in the villa's yard and Bemish was the first to jump out of it on the sand.
'Where are the journalists, by the way?' he asked.
'That's just what we are missing,' the colonel snorted.
'You are wrong,' Bemish said. 'Kissur is running a show for the journalists while you kicked them out. They lack minds of their own and they repeat whatever you tell them. You will see that they will praise Kissur and shit on you.'
'They will praise Kissur, won't they?!' the colonel was enraged. 'Will they praise a scoundrel who took eight thousand people hostage?!'
Shavash rushed towards Bemish right from the villa staircase. He hadn't come to meet him — he was scared! The small official was deathly pale and a sleeve of his velvet coat was dirty — it looked out of place on usually tidy Shavash.
'What is he doing?!' Shavash cried out. 'Has he demanded anything of me, Terence?'
'He demanded exactly the same,' Bemish replied, 'as he did when you suggested swapping wives.'
Shavash grabbed his head.
'Terence Bemish claims,' The colonel said, 'that the cargo belonging to Dassa Company was placed into 17B storage area accordingly to your orders. Is it true?'
Shavash raised his crazy eyes.
'How does it matter?!' he shouted exasperated.
'Were those your orders or not?'
'Oh my God, I probably ordered it,' the official screamed in fury, 'Big deal! They gave me two hundred thousand for a phone call and I called. It was not my cargo!'
'It's clearly not yours!' the colonel spoke with unconcealed contempt looking at the small official.
'Are you any better?!' Shavash screamed. 'They go around shoplifting your missiles in your base like chocolate bars in a supermarket, why do you point your finger at me?'
Ten minutes later, in the main villa's hall — it was a charming hall decorated with blue and pale yellow silk — the Assalah emergency committee opened a session. The following people took place in the meeting: six high Weian officials, Terence Bemish as the director of the company where this whole disgrace was taking place, the Earth envoy, three military advisors, also from Earth, and two colleagues of deceased Giles from the Intelligence Service. Mr. Shavash headed the committee which was quite unusual. The small official generally preferred to stay in the shadow during storms but this time he didn't have enough patience for it. He presided over the meeting looking like a corpse.
'Generally speaking, it's quite a surprising alliance,' envoy Severin said. 'There is practically nothing in common between Kissur and the zealots. Kissur didn't take part in the elections, the zealots won them. Kissur is an ex-first minister of Weia; his political views are those of a strong armed state supporter if not of an outright fascist. He hates everything that weakens state's power. It's natural for him to hate sects and heresies. Ignoring the liberal media's views, the zealots, even the ones that studied at Hevishem — here the Envoy glanced at Bemish reproachfully — consider Earthmen to be demons. Kissur doesn't think so. The demands of the nationalization of the foreign companies clearly come from the zealots. However extravagant Kissur's views are, the presence of Mr. Bemish here demonstrates that Kissur is capable of a very good attitude towards a foreign swindler… I think that it would be enough just to stall it for a while and this coalition will fall apart on its own — they just don't have anything in common…'
'Can't you see what they have in common?!' Shavash cried out in desperation. 'They want my head separated from my body!'
Everybody was somewhat shocked by this cowardice. The colonel, having leaned towards Bemish,
