“Good afternoon, Michael,” said Stirner.
“Horst. Hello,” said Inselheim, stealing a glance at Brunswick, who looked somewhat foreign to him for a split second.
“So what do you think of the place?” said Stirner. “I hope it didn’t disappoint you too much? Unfortunately, we need to prioritise safety over luxury. Kalakia’s spies are difficult to elude.”
“It’ll do just fine for now,” said Inselheim.
“Good sport,” said Stirner, lightly slapping Inselheim’s shoulder, which caused Inselheim to tense up.
The conversation fell flat, as Stirner smirked and shifted his gaze expectantly from Inselheim to Brunswick and then back.
“Ah, I see my people managed to get the blueprints to you,” said Stirner, turning to the contents of the computer screen. “I know this is somewhat inconvenient, you not having access to telephone or the internet. I don’t like treating you like my prisoners. I hope you understand.”
“We understand very well,” cut in Brunswick.
“Excellent,” said Stirner. “We should see each other more as business partners. With some minor exceptions, of course.”
“We can live with that,” said Brunswick. “How about we set the guidelines now, to avoid confusion later?”
“What did you have in mind?” said Stirner, crossing his arms, his expression switching from quietly confident to cold neutrality.
“We can all agree that the team has been through a lot. I want a doctor made available round the clock, and I want the authority to decide who needs a break and when.”
“Of course,” said Stirner. “The health of your team is critical to our success. I’ll have a doctor brought in. I’ll also let you manage the work schedule, but know this; our enemies do not sleep. The situation could escalate rapidly, and I may ask more of you with little notice.”
“Ok. Let’s start with the doctor,” said Brunswick. “Second, the Inselheim Group doesn’t know if its CEO is dead or alive. Our shareholders will be getting nervous. The company is in enough trouble as it is. We want word sent out that he’s ok.”
“That could be difficult,” said Stirner. “Any new information could trigger a search, which would complicate matters for me.”
“I figured you would say that,” said Brunswick. “And I have a solution.”
“Yes?” said Stirner.
“You have ambitious plans. With the Neutralaser in your hand, nations will be forced to take you seriously.”
“Correct,” said Stirner.
“If we’re going to be business partners, that should include The Inselheim Group. I want whatever pact you make with those nations to include an agreement to buy arms exclusively from us. You’ll get your share, of course.”
Wait, what? thought Inselheim, who had been passively listening to the exchange. Did she want to make the Inselheim Group the official weapons manufacturer of this guy’s criminal organisation? Say something. Inselheim tried to open his mouth, but was held back by an emerging sense of helplessness.
“That’s an interesting thought,” said Stirner. “I’ll think about it.”
“You haven’t heard everything,” said Brunswick.
Stirner lifted his eyebrows in anticipation.
“The League Of Reckoning has a strong grip on world nations. Even with the Neutralaser, it won’t be easy to convince all of them to shift their loyalty at once. They have too much at stake. Any sudden shift in alliance could prematurely trigger a nuclear war, and nobody wants that. It’s more likely that they’ll group up and send in their army to take the technology by force. You’ll be vulnerable without a strong deterrence plan.”
“I see you’ve thought hard about this,” said Stirner with a tense smirk.
“But..” Brunswick paused, pursing her lips together, her expression darkening. “If we deployed the Neutralaser along with a set of long-range ballistic nuclear missiles, it would be a different story. Then they’ll be forced to play along.”
Nuclear missiles? Inselheim’s legs suddenly grew weak as his helplessness deepened.
Stirner studied Brunswick’s face for a long time.
“I don’t have access to that kind of technology,” he said.
“Leave that to me,” said Brunswick.
Stirner stared silently at Brunswick, then finally broke out chuckling. It barely made a dent in the tension Brunswick had created.
“Amusing,” said Stirner. “I have something much simpler planned. But I will keep your offer in mind, in case something changes.”
“Do that,” said Brunswick, maintaining absolute eye-contact.
“Now,” said Stirner, blinking multiple times as though having woken up from hypnosis. “I’ll be away for a couple of days. I trust you have everything you need in the meantime?”
“Yes,” said Brunswick.
“I’ll get that doctor sent over,” said Stirner with a nod before walking away.
With Stirner gone, Inselheim was finally able to force words out of his mouth.
“Are you crazy?” he said. “Did I hear right? Nuclear missiles?”
Brunswick looked back at him with a hard, impenetrable stare.
“What do you want, Michael?” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“Do you want to succeed?”
“Yes. Of course,” Inselheim said. “But you’re talking about risking nuclear war. I want the opposite of that.”
“We’ve known each other for a long time, haven’t we?”
“Yes,” said Inselheim. “But I don’t think I know you very well right now. Something’s changed.”
“Of course it has,” said Brunswick with a scowl. “That’s the problem. The whole situation has changed, and you’re still stuck in your fantasy world. What do you suggest we do? Tell me.”
Inselheim took a deep breath.
“I think we should slow down,” he said. “Consider what we’re doing before it’s too late.”
“It’s already too late,” said Brunswick. “Your plan to make this technology and then magically deploy it worldwide without a hitch, that’s never going to happen.”
“It wasn’t just my plan. It was our plan,” said Inselheim.
“Didn’t this whole experience with The League Of Reckoning teach you anything?” said Brunswick, now raising her voice. “Act, or be acted upon. Remember you used to say that? Well, we were acted on, and people died. Our friends were killed.”
“You don’t think that hurts me too?” said Inselheim.
“You weren’t there locked up with us,” said Brunswick.
“What is this really about?”
“It’s about getting
