Back to Chapter 20
Chapter 21 � A day of reckoning
Prime Minister Vladim Dukov did not have much time to contemplate the
fate of the Royal Family. His cell phone went off while he was still in
the throne room talking to the Priestess. When he checked the number he
realized it was a call from an agent working for the Danubian Secret
Police. The agent reported that eight foreigners suddenly had checked
out the historic Water View Suites, Dan�bikt M�skt�s only 5-star hotel.
They had rushed to load their suitcases and briefcases into the back of
a rented van, tossing several 50 Euro notes at the bellhops before
speeding off. Obviously the bellhops were happy about the
overly-generous tips, but having the money thrown at them in such a
manner was an insult in Danubian culture. If a person wants to give
anything to another person in Danubia, the item is always handed to the
recipient, never tossed. The bellhops commented about the insult to
their supervisor, who happened to be a covert agent of the Secret
Police.
Dukov
called the Danubian Rural Patrol to see if any rural police officers had
seen a van with eight passengers traveling north of Dan�bikt M�skt. Sure
enough, within a few minutes a cop at a checkpoint called back to
respond that he had seen a vehicle matching the description headed north
towards Danubia�s border. The main crossing was only about 50 minutes to
the north if a vehicle drove along the main highway, but it was
well-guarded. Dukov suspected the driver would turn off the main road,
head east, and escape using one of several service roads that crossed
the mountains forming the border along the country�s northernmost
province. The province itself was covered with small farms, fruit
orchards, and villages; all connected by a maze of unpaved roads and
paths. If the vehicle managed to get into that area, finding it would be
almost impossible, and there would be numerous escape routes from which
the foreigners could choose.
Fortunately for the Prime Minister, the Grand Duke liked motorcycles and
had several expensive ones stored in the garage of the Royal Residence.
Vladik and his partner knew how to ride, so they were able to get on the
road immediately. They sped out of the Royal Compound, kicking up dust
as they tore off towards the main road. With luck they would be able to
catch up to the van before it got too deeply into the farming area. They
entered the main highway and hit the gas. The motorcycles were expensive
racing cycles and were able to move fast. Vladik knew they would be much
less useful on dirt roads, but he hoped to intercept the van before it
got off the paved area.
Vladik called for backup as he and his partner swerved around a moving
obstacle course of trucks, buses, and farmers� pickups. The two cops
passed the checkpoint where the van was last seen and were joined by
four Rural Patrol cops riding standard Ministry of Justice motorcycles.
The six officers exited the main highway where the road turned east,
confident about the Prime Minister�s guess that the van would leave the
main road. If it had not turned, the customs officials at the crossing
would be there to intercept it.
The road east led through some steep hills before descending into the
flat farm country that lay beyond. Unlike the main highway, the farm
road was completely deserted because it was Sunday morning. The six cops
swerved along the curves as they climbed towards the summit of the
ridge. Close to the summit they saw the van, but the occupants also saw
them. A man with a semi-automatic weapon stood up through the sun-roof
and fired at the police officers. One of the highway patrol officers
took a shot in the shoulder and nearly wiped out. Vladik signaled for
him to pull off and for one of the other patrol officers to stop to
administer first aid.
The remaining four cops fell back to allow a bend in the road to
temporarily conceal them from the semi-automatic. They pulled out their
revolvers and sped up, with the hope of shooting the van�s wheels before
they had to fall back again. As soon as the van was in sight they
emptied their pistols in unison, blowing out one of the rear tires and
hitting the gas tank. A lucky shot also hit the man with the
semi-automatic. He dropped the weapon and it fell tumbling onto the
road. Vladik�s partner had to swerve to avoid it and nearly lost control
of her motorcycle.
As Vladik and his three remaining companions reloaded their weapons and
closed in on the van for the third time, they noticed the trail of
gasoline that was dribbling out of the hole in the tank. The van was
kicking up sparks and swerving. Several more shots flew past them and
they fell back. The cops realized that they no longer needed to stay
within firing range of the vehicle because, without one of its rear
tires, there was no chance it could travel much further. The pursuit, if
there was to be one, would be on foot. The cops would stay just within
sight of the van and wait for it to stop and the foreigners to flee.
Then the officials would try to pin them down with small-arms fire and
wait for back-up to arrive to make the arrest.
It turned out there would be no foot pursuit and no arrest. There was a
flash as sparks from the bare wheel rim ignited the gas dribbling out of
the tank. The driver lost control and the van spun off the side of the
road, tumbling over and over as it rolled down the hill. The vehicle
landed on its roof, crushing the occupants. As though to make sure the
Mega-Town plotters were indeed dead, the gas tank exploded.
Vladik knew there was no hope that anyone inside the van could have
survived the wreck and the fire that followed. He still felt it was
necessary to go down the hill, just to be absolutely sure no potential
survivors had been thrown clear of the vehicle as it went off the road.
He left his partner to stand guard over the motorcycles and with the two
patrol officers started to descend into the ravine. Even where they
were, the officers were able to feel the heat from the fire and smell
the burning flesh of the crash victims. There were several secondary
explosions, followed by a flash and a sudden increase of flames coming
from within the wreck. Vladik suspected that the occupants were
transporting several containers of extra gasoline, presumably to avoid
having to stop for fuel. The additional gas added to the extreme heat of
the fire and scorched the corpses.
The remains of the wreck burned hot for the next several minutes.
Without any firefighting equipment, there was nothing the cops could do
about the van. Anyhow, Vladik�s main concern was the injured Rural
Patrol officer. He ordered his companions to mount their motorcycles and
return to the spot where the injured cop had been left behind with the
man treating him. Vladik tried to contact them using his radio, but the
hills prevented transmission. He realized something important, that no
radio traffic about the final moments of the chase had been overheard by
Central Command.
On their way back, Vladik�s partner retrieved the semi-automatic that
had fallen during the shootout, and a few minutes later Vladik and the
others rejoined the two patrol officers. The officer who had been shot
had a serious injury, but it would not be life-threatening if the others
could get him to a hospital within the next hour. That was not a
problem, because there was a clinic just a few kilometers away, heading
back in the direction of the main highway. The injured man gave Vladik a
perfect justification to leave the crash site. Obviously the officer�s
life was more important than the burning vehicle. Vladik took over one
of the patrol motorcycles and ordered the others to strap the injured
man to his back.
The cops parked one of the Grand Duke�s motorcycles in the bushes before
returning to the clinic they had passed on the way up. The clinic was
open (in Danubia all medical clinics are public and must have at least
one staff member on-duty at all times). There was yet more luck for the
officers, because a group of surgeons had just finished another
operation. The injured cop was safely in the operating room minutes
after his companions brought him to the clinic.
Vladik realized that because of a unique set of circumstances there was
absolutely no evidence that eight employees of Mega-Town Associates had
just been killed a few kilometers up the road. The fire and multiple
explosions had destroyed everything identifying who had been in the van,
because the fire was so hot that it would even partially melt the metal
parts of the vehicle. As the officers were waiting for news from the
operating room, the corpses in the burning wreck were being cremated.
Such heat also would incinerate any indication that the crash had been
preceded by a shoot-out. The road had been deserted during the chase;
not a single civilian had witnessed a white van with eight foreign
passengers being pursued by six cops on motorcycles. The burning
wreckage was not visible from the road unless someone stopped in the
exact location where it went off the road and looked over the edge. The
accompanying patrol officers had no clue who was in the van; they simply
joined the chase because Vladik had radioed for assistance.
As for the Mega-Town employees, they had entered Danubia using false
passports, so there was no reason why anyone at the US or Brazilian
embassies would inquire about missing citizens. According to official
records the occupants of the van never entered Danubia, so there was no
reason for the embassies to worry about their disappearance. They never
existed in the first place.
While the operation on the injured cop was still going on, Vladik
explained the situation and how he wanted the other officers to handle
it. For national security purposes they were to stay silent about the
van. They would let someone else discover the burnt wreckage. (It turned
out the wreckage would not be discovered for several years. Two days
after the crash a heavy rainstorm partially buried the remains of the
van in mud and by the following summer it was overgrown with bushes and
weeds.)
So, the chase never happened. If the three Rural Patrol officers agreed
to stay silent about the incident, Vladik would personally assure they
could put in for any assignment they wanted within the Danubian National
Police and would be guaranteed to get it. As for the man who was
injured, he would have the choice of taking any assignment he wanted or
retiring with a full pension.
Vladik told the officers that the reason he did not want the story to
get out was because he did not want Mega-Town to know what had happened
to its employees. Let their disappearance remain a mystery, something
upon which the company could waste its resources investigating in vain.
The officers, all of whom hated Mega-Town, loved Vladik�s idea. He
realized they would have gone along with it even without his promise
about their assignments.
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Vladik
and his partner returned to the Royal Residence mid-afternoon. They
returned the Grand Duke�s motorcycles to the garage before seeking out
the Prime Minister. Vladik described the chase to his father and
explained that, as far as he knew, no one except himself, his partner,
and four Rural Patrol Officers knew about the deaths of the Mega-Town
employees.
The crash had not been intentional, but it was extremely fortunate for
the Prime Minister that it happened. Had the Mega-Town employees been
captured, it would have been necessary to put them on trial and have
them formally executed. The international scandal would have been
horrendous, but the Danubian government would have had to stand its
ground. The country was in a declared state of war with Mega-Town
Associates and by law anyone working on behalf of the company was an
enemy of the Danubian people. The struggle between the Danubian
government and the Directorate of Mega-Town was a fight to the death.
Just as the executives of Mega-Town had sworn to destroy Danubia, the
Danubians felt obligated to kill anyone from Mega-Town they could lay
their hands on.
Had the deaths from the chase been officially reported, that scandal
would have been only slight less damaging than what would have resulted
from a trial. Mega-Town would have launched a campaign to turn the eight
men into martyrs, into innocent businessmen run down and murdered by the
son of the brutal leader of a backwards and ignorant society that hated
progress and economic freedom. The chance for such propaganda no longer
existed, because the men had not been killed, they had mysteriously
disappeared. Mega-Town would have to investigate privately, because to
make an official declaration that eight of its employees had vanished in
Danubia would open up a bunch of other questions the CEO�s would not
want to answer.
Dukov immediately realized what his son�s quick thinking had done for
him and for the Danubian government. The Mega-Town plotters were dead,
but their deaths happened in such a way that there would be no scandal
at all. The plot to take over the country by corrupting the Royal Family
had failed. It had failed in secret, which would spare the need to put
Grand Duchess Anyia on trial for treason.
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Only one other person directly involved in the plot was still at large,
the other Lord who had been Anyia�s second confidant. Tracking down Lord
Horskti turned out to be easy because he was part of the Grand Duke�s
hiking party. A group of forest rangers went after the Grand Duke�s
group with the instructions that the hikers were to be told that there
was an emergency in the Royal Residence and they had to return
immediately. As soon as they were within sight of the national forest
parking lot, the group realized that something was wrong indeed. They
were surrounded my uniformed National Police officers and ordered to get
into separate vehicles. The Grand Duke was detained by the Minister of
Justice.
The Grand Duke was treated as civilly as possible, but the Minister of
Justice informed him that the Grand Duchess was facing a series of
serious charges related to the abuse of her servants. The Duke angrily
inquired:
�And just who had the audacity to make such accusations against my
wife?�
�Grand Duke, the charges were brought against her by your father-in-law
and by Grand Prophet # 4. This was not something that was considered
lightly. You will understand that your father-in-law had to move against
the Grand Duchess, and if you have been listening to the council of her
and her advisors, I believe you clearly understand why action had to be
taken.�
The Grand Duke said nothing more.
When the police convoy arrived at the Royal Residence, the Grand Duke
noticed that in the courtyard Anyia�s pillory and whipping post had been
taken down and the holes already filled with small trees. No Royal
Servants were in sight, nor were any uniformed staff members on the
grounds except for two gardeners. The Grand Duke inquired about his
wife, obviously concerned about her well-being. One of his escorts
responded that she was being held in a guest room and watched over by
her mother. Meanwhile, he was taken upstairs and ordered to remain in
the Royal Bedroom. When he picked up the phone he discovered it had been
disconnected. The television and radio were missing, as was the modem on
his computer. He realized he now was a prisoner.
Lord Horskti did not fare as well as the Grand Duke. Uniformed National
Police Officers took him to the basement and locked him in a holding
cell. To his horror he realized that, not only was his fellow
conspirator being held in a separate cell, but the men watching them
were deputized Royal Guards. The Royal Guards had switched sides and now
were cooperating with the Prime Minister. So� that was it� a plot that
was supposed to have taken over an entire country was reduced to four
people being held prisoner in the Royal Residence.
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The Prime Minster took over a small reception room, accompanied by the
Minister of Justice, the Priestess who had helped him set up the
operation in the first place, and Grand Prophet # 4. He had four
interviews to conduct and four cases to address. The most difficult, the
case against his own daughter, he would save until the end.
The first interview was with the Lord that had been tormenting Maria
Elena. The official tried to appear indignant that his rights as a
member of the nobility had been violated, but the Grand Prophet quickly
shut him up.
�Lord Vidmarkt, you wish to tell us that your privileges as a nobleman
supersede those of a Grand Prophet? Do you really think you have the
authority to silence the Danubian Church? This Priestess has acted on my
behalf. Everything she has done has been with my blessing. If you wish
to criticize or threaten her, please direct such comments to me.�
The Priestess read Criminal 101025�s confession and statement in its
entirety. She followed with a written statement that she had prepared
describing what she had seen the moment the door opened and Maria Elena
was rescued. Finally she asked:
�Lord Vidmarkt, I am curious about one thing. What was the purpose of
making Criminal # 101025 bark like a dog? In what way was that intended
to improve her service to the Grand Duchess?�
�I did that because it was my right as a Lord, Priestess. That criminal
was handed over to me for my benefit, and I treated her in a manner that
brought pleasure to me.�
The Minster of Justice spoke next:
�In trial we will determine whether or not abusing the Grand Duchess�s
servants was indeed your right. The statements of your actions against
your servants will be presented, in detail, for the nation to consider.
If you wish, make the case that your actions were not dishonorable. I
will request that your wife and your children present themselves at your
trial so they can listen to a full accounting of your behavior and your
actions, and they can determine whether or not you acted with honor. You
will also understand that we will hold your heirs financially
responsible for any psychological counseling the servants might need.
You will understand that such services are costly, so I might suggest
you liquidate all your properties and investments and have the cash
available to compensate the Ministry. You will serve the pig, your
family name will be held in disgrace because of what you did, and your
heirs will face impoverishment. The results of your case will destroy
not only you, but your family. The impoverishment of your heirs and the
dishonoring of your ancestors will be the legacy your actions will leave
behind.�
It was at that moment Lord Vidmarkt realized how hopeless his situation
truly was. He had squandered not only his life, but also the lives of
his descendants and his ancestors. Serving the pig� a Life without
Honor� that was only the beginning of the destruction he had brought
upon himself and those around him.
The deputized Royal Guards took the Lord back to the holding cell and
left him alone while the other Lord faced a similar depressing
interview. The two men sat in their respective cells with no hope, in
the depths of despair that they had brought upon themselves.
----------
The next person that Dukov had to deal with was the Grand Duke. The
ruler was escorted downstairs by Vladik and the Minister of Justice to
the same sitting room where the two Lords had been interviewed. Dukov
was not sure how to handle the Grand Duke; he would have to determine
how much he knew about the Mega-Town plot.
The Prime Minister was surprised that the Grand Duke�s main concern was
not preserving his title, but the honor of his wife. He had heard that
Anyia had been whipped by her mother and was incensed that Anyia, the
Grand Duchess of Danubia, could have been treated in such a
disrespectful manner. Dukov stopped him.
�You will understand that to you, Anyia is the Grand Duchess. To me and
to my wife, she is nothing but our daughter. She was our daughter before
she met you, and in our eyes she remains our daughter. As such, I am
aware of some weaknesses in her character, weaknesses that I believe you
failed to notice. If you wish to remain married to her, you must come to
terms with those weaknesses and assist her to overcome them. I love my
daughter, just as you love your wife, but I am able to look at her
clearly and see her for what she is. You must look at her as well, and
understand the great harm that she has committed against this country,
and the harm she has done to both of us.�
Grand
Prophet # 4 questioned the Grand Duke about his wife�s activities and
how much he knew about the abuse of her servants. He turned out to be
fairly honest and was willing to recount various incidents that involved
Anyia and Royal Servants. Dukov�s assessment of him was accurate, that
he was nothing but a dilettante. Mentally he was lazy and had no desire
to confront the much more strongly-willed Duchess. It wasn�t just that
he loved her and wanted her to be happy. He knew what she was doing was
wrong, but justified his inaction by hoping Anyia�s treatment of the
servants was a phase that would calm down once she became pregnant or
had some other event in her life to distract her. The weeks and months
passed by and the Grand Duke decided to ignore the problem instead of
addressing it. He left the house more frequently so he did not have to
deal with what was going on, taking with him his favorite servants so
they would not fall victim to Anyia�s temper tantrums. He treated his
own servants well and became close to them, but ignored what was
happening to the others.
Over the past year Anyia�s influence over him and his ability to make
decisions had increased because he was more concerned about his leisure
activities than anything else. He vaguely realized what she was plotting
but, as always, he procrastinated trying to deal with her. Over time
Anyia began to convince him that he was indeed the person in Danubia
most fit to make decisions because of the family history. Towards the
end of the interview he admitted that at some point it was likely that
Anyia would have persuaded him to dissolve Parliament. He would have
committed such a rash action just to please her, barely paying attention
to the consequences of what she and her advisors had planned.
During the interview, Dukov realized that his son-in-law was totally
unaware that Anyia�s advisors were actually consulting with employees
from Mega-Town Associates. He seemed genuinely horrified when he found
out that Mega-Town was ultimately behind the Lords who had influenced
the Grand Duchess.
Vladim Dukov felt that the Grand Duke should have been prosecuted for
negligence and dereliction of duty. He had not willfully committed
treason, but he was too apathetic and disinterested to concern himself
with where his wife and her advisors wanted to take Danubia. Dukov
commented:
�As Grand Duke, your duties aren�t onerous, but the Danubian people do
expect you to love your country. Your father understood what it was to
love Danubia, which is why he�s now dead. As Prime Minister and as your
father-in-law, I don�t think I�m asking much, but I am asking you to use
what the Creator has granted you for the benefit of the Danubian
citizenry. I believe that by ignoring what Anyia was doing in your
house, you neglected your duty to your servants, and you neglected your
duty to our nation.�
�That is true, Prime Minister. I will not argue with you because I was
indeed negligent. If you wish to say that against me in public, I won�t
dispute it.�
Dukov changed the subject:
�Grand Duke, I�d like to ask you how much you love my daughter.�
�I love her, Prime Minister.�
�Do you love her enough to sacrifice for her?�
�Yes. I think that was part of my problem. I was willing to sacrifice
for her. I still am.�
�I love my daughter as well, but I have come to understand that she is
untrustworthy. To be honest, she is also rash and stupid. I am concerned
that she may commit some idiotic act in the future. I am determined that
will not happen, and I am determined to place you and your household
beyond politics. Your family and your heirs will remain an institution
that is dedicated to linking Danubia�s present to its past. My wish is
to spare the Royal Family from scandal, because I believe such scandal
would harm the Danubian people. However, if I am to spare your household
from scandal, I will need to make changes in the constitution to protect
your legacy.�
Dukov handed the Grand Duke the same typewritten copy of the Danubian
Constitution he had shown Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna. To his surprise, the
Duke looked over the document and agreed that the changes were
acceptable. He commented:
�If the Grand Duchess ever nags at me again about dismissing Parliament,
I can just shrug my shoulders and tell her that clause was deleted.
That�ll make my life easier��
Dukov said nothing, but inwardly felt disgust that the man sitting in
front of him was his son-in-law. It seemed that everything the Grand
Duke did was motivated by laziness. He even was willing to sign away his
family�s traditional powers if it meant he did not have to argue with
Anyia. Oh well� at least in this situation this dilettante�s laziness
will work to my benefit, Dukov thought to himself�
The Grand Duke concluded:
�I will go along with your changes, Prime Minister, but under a
condition. I will not allow any harm to come to the Grand Duchess. I do
not want her put on trial or in any other way humiliated.�
�Grand Duke, the Church will determine what is best for the Grand
Duchess. I have failed to temper my daughter�s weaknesses, and you have
failed as well. We must accept the will of the Creator. Anyia must set
aside the vices she has nurtured up to now and learn to assume a life of
humble service. If she accepts the life the Church is planning to offer
her, she will not face humiliation. If you love your wife and wish to
spare her any further difficulties and anguish, you would serve her by
convincing her that she needs to listen and obey when the Priestess
speaks to her.�
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Later that afternoon, Vladim Dukov went into the basement alone. The
deputized Royal Guards opened up the cell where the Lord who had
tormented Maria Elena was being kept. The guard closed the door behind
him. The Lord stood up and saluted. Dukov did not return the salute.
�Lord Vidmarkt, it is unbecoming of you to salute a man whose daughter
you corrupted, whose son-in-law you attempted to turn into a tool of the
Destroyer, whose household you have ruined, and whose life you sought to
destroy. To salute me is inappropriate, because you are my enemy.�
�Very well, Prime Minister. Have it your way. We are enemies.�
�The decision for us to become enemies was yours, Lord, not mine.�
Dukov shrugged and continued:
�Anyhow, you will be interested to know that earlier today; three
Americans, a German, and four Brazilians failed in their effort to leave
the Danubian Republic. A piece of news that I thought I�d share with
you. Fascinating, is that not so?�
The Lord went pale.
�W� why would I care? Foreigners� they come and go� and��
�True� foreigners come and go� almost all, but not all, are innocent
tourists� a few� like the eight I mentioned, have other things on their
mind than simply seeing the country, is that not so?�
�Maybe that is so, but� in the end� you can�t win, Prime Minister. You
are doing a disservice to the people of this country by fooling them
that it is possible to fight against Mega-Town. They are the new
reality. Mega-Town Associates is the future. It is foolish to fight the
future. The planet will belong to them, and sooner or later their
holdings will include Danubia.�
�I am proud to be a fool then, because I will fight. I know what I want
for the future of Danubia, and that future does not include Mega-Town.
Anyhow, I�m not here to debate the future of Danubia with you. I am here
to see if I might assist your family.�
�Assist them? My family? And just how are you going to assist them?�
Dukov pulled out a small bottle of water from his pocket and a plastic
cup. He also pulled out a small plastic box containing five pills. He
set the items on the table.
�A dead man cannot be put on trial, Lord Vidmarkt. I am giving you the
opportunity to spare your family from the consequences of what you have
done. You will understand that I am doing this for your family, not for
you.�
�And for your daughter, undoubtedly.�
�Very true, but in your situation I wouldn�t worry about that. I would
worry about your children. I would worry about how the world remembers
your ancestors.�
Dukov turned away and exited the room.
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During
the final hour of his existence in the Realm of the Living, Lord
Vidmarkt quietly stared at the water and the pills that would separate
his soul from his body. The Danubians do not have any strong social
taboos against suicide; if a person�s situation is unbearable or
threatens the honor of loved ones; then suicide is considered a
reasonable choice. In the case of someone like the Lord, to attempt to
go on living would not have made any sense.
Finally, after contemplating the futility of everything that he had done
with his life, Lord Vidmarkt worked up the courage to do what was needed
to spare his family humiliation and impoverishment. He unscrewed the
bottle and filled the cup. He took the pills one at a time, following
each with several sips of water. He took a few more sips to make sure
the pills were completely washed down. He lay on the bed, already
feeling deliciously relaxed. A few minutes later he was deeply asleep,
as his soul began its journey into the Realm of the Dead.
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The sun already was low in the horizon when Vladik ordered the Royal
Guards to go to the basement and retrieve two bodies. The guards dressed
the bodies in black burial robes that were used exclusively by members
of the nobility before moving them upstairs. They lay in main reception
hall, awaiting transportation to their respective families. An envelope
containing a death certificate was lying on top of each corpse. One of
the corpses also had a suicide note to his family that read:
I have lived the last three years of my life in dishonor. Today the
Creator confronted me with the consequences of my actions. Instead of
continuing to dishonor and harm those around me, I have chosen to
separate my soul from my body. Because of the final decision I have
taken during this life, you will be spared knowing about the evils I
committed and the consequences that you would have suffered as the
result of what I did. I regret that I will never see you again. You were
a gift from the Creator that I did not appreciate until it was too late.
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While Cecilia slept on a bed in the infirmary, Maria Elena nervously
waited for the final order to leave the Royal Residence. That wait was
briefly interrupted when Kim sent in a Ministry of Justice doctor to
examine Criminal # 101025. The exam was a typical post-rape examination.
The doctor impassively looked at the sores and abrasions on the
Colombian�s vagina, then rubbed antiseptic cream into her sphincter. As
soon as the cream was covering her bottom, the burning stopped. He gave
her a rectal exam, but was gentle with his finger. He commented that she
had been roughly treated, but that her pain was just from bruising. At
the end of the appointment he gave her a bottle of antibiotics and told
her that she should completely recover within a couple of days.
The doctor took a look at Cecilia and ordered Maria Elena to wake her
up. Neither woman had noticed, but Cecilia�s feet were in bad shape from
the walk the night before. She did not have time to become used to being
barefoot for long distances and was suffering from the results of 12
hours of non-stop walking unprotected on pavement and dirt. As a result
her feet were dirty, the skin had worn off, and the soles were covered
with broken blisters.
The doctor ordered Maria Elena to fill a large medical basin with water
and dumped in a bottle of disinfectant. He handed her a sponge and a
towel and told her to clean off her translator�s feet. Cecilia winced as
her housemate rinsed the dirt out of her blisters and covered them with
bandages. Maria Elena decided to completely wrap Cecilia�s injured feet,
hoping the Priestess would not object to bandages that would serve as
temporary footwear.
The doctor departed and Cecilia went back to sleep. Maria Elena once
again was left alone. She was desperately tired, but did not dare go to
sleep out of fear that her translator might disappear the moment her
eyes closed. Once again she sat on Cecilia�s bed, determined that the
moment her translator left the room, she would go with her.
It was dinnertime before Spokeswoman Kimberly Lee-Dolkivna finally had
time to get Director Sanchez and Criminal # 101025 out of the infirmary.
Vladik�s partner pulled up to the main door in a police van, ready to
take Cecilia and Maria Elena to Victor Dukov�s house. Kim pointed to the
front and told Cecilia to help Criminal # 101025 to the door. However,
Maria Elena turned out to be the one helping Cecilia, as she walked
gingerly on her bandages. When the Priestess saw Cecilia painfully
limping out of the infirmary with her feet covered, she held her tongue,
realizing that she already had put the poor penitent through a lot.
Maria Elena was desperate to get out of the Royal Residence, but before
she and Cecilia got to the door she saw something that stopped her dead
in her tracks. Near the entrance, positioned to be taken out, were the
bodies of the two Lords that had been the assistants for the Grand
Duchess. Just one day before, they were destined to become the next
rulers of the Danubian Republic, but now they were lying dead. Maria
Elena held her breath, unable to believe what she was seeing.
�Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna� did� they� I mean� were they� executed?�
�No, not executed. They would have had to go on trial to be executed.
They committed suicide. They knew their ambitions had been thwarted;
they knew that their lives had no further purpose, so they killed
themselves. You need to understand that as well, Criminal # 101025. It�s
over. Everything that went on in this house, everything that you saw and
experienced, stopped today.�
Maria Elena trembled as she approached the grayish face of the man who
had tormented her. Still not believing what she was seeing, she raised
her hand�
�Touch him, if you want. He�s nothing but an inanimate object. Nothing
but a thing. That�s all that�s left. Touch him so that you can be
satisfied, in your own heart, that his existence has ceased.�
Maria Elena pushed her fingertips against the corpse. It already had
started to cool and felt� different. She quickly drew back her hand.
�There�s your proof your torment has ended and your task here is
completed, Criminal # 101025. Not pleasant to look at, but this is the
last time you�ll ever see him.�
Kim pointed at the waiting van.
�That�s it, time to go home. I�ll call Victor to let him know you�re on
your way. I�ll see you tomorrow in my office at 7:30. We�ve got the
court hearing at 8:00.�
Cecilia and Maria Elena then knelt so the Spokeswoman could dismiss
them.
�Good night, Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna, may the Ancients protect you.�
�Good night Cecilia Sanchez and Criminal # 101025. May the Creator guide
you and protect you on your journey.�
Director Cecilia Sanchez and Criminal # 101025 exited the Royal
Residence and boarded the waiting police van. The van pulled away from
the Royal Compound, passed through the gate, and drove along a dark road
for several kilometers. The driver turned onto the main road, which was
largely deserted because it was Sunday night. A couple of minutes later
Maria Elena saw something that raised her spirits considerably, a sign
that read:
Dan�bikt M�skt � n�d 22 km.
That sign, more than anything else, assured her that she was indeed
going home.
