by S A Shaffer
“Who’s Blythe’s first aide?” York asked.
“Eric Himpton.” Mercy said with a note of disgust.
“He’s just as bad as Blythe except stupider.” David said. “The Third District’s vote is on the 39th day of this season. If we could oust Blythe before then, we would have a chance to put our own man in the speakership, especially if Eric and the Equalists didn’t have time to mount a full-scale campaign.”
“But that’s…” Winston looked up as he seemingly did some mental math, “That’s only 23 days away! Not nearly enough time to plan an accusation and convince an assembly to act on it.”
“And that’s only half the battle.” David added.
“Half?” Winston said as some men around them started muttering.
David looked at the armada men and said, “I’m sure you heard about the airship deconstruction plan.”
“Yes,” York said with a snort. “It’s a damn good way to enslave all of Alönia to its enemies.”
“Well, the deconstruction will also commence on the 39th day of Úoi Season.” said David.
York nodded. “Our ship is among them. The lads and I have been considering a way to sneak her out before they rip her apart.”
“One ship isn’t enough to fight a war.” David said. “If Viörn and Berg attack, we would need all of them.”
“Fat chance of that.” Pellión said in a sad voice.
“Perhaps,” David admitted, “But it must happen. While at Thornton, the last thing we discovered before escaping into the everpines was that Blythe had a master, a Viörn Admiral. We spied on one of their meetings.”
“A Viörn admiral?” York said. “You’re not referring to the Viörn admiral, are you? The one from the Armstad intelligence reports who’s supposedly running the People’s Republic beneath the old emperor’s nose.”
“That is our presumption.” David said.
York leaned against the stone table as though overcome with fatigue. “So,” he said. “Blythe is not only a murderer, he’s a traitor.”
“Now you see why he’s planning to destroy the airships?” David said. “The Viörn general is hoping to defang us before his attack, and all under the guise of peaceful unification. We must rescue all the airships else we face a war without our weapons.”
Admiral York nodded.
“What would you do if you had the evidence?” Winston asked and he nodded to several men who disappeared through a corridor.
“Well, granted it would take some doing,” David said, “but if we had the evidence, we might be able to convince the assembly to vote on an inquiry and then hear our charges, and…”
The men returned and worked their way through the crowd. David trailed off as he saw them. They looked to be carrying something. As they reached the stone table, they slid several boxes across its surface. David walked slowly toward the table, not believing what he saw. He turned one of the boxes around and read the inscription.
“This is Paula’s evidence!” He gasped. “All of it!”
Winston smiled. “Nearly all of it.” He said. “I nicked it when I went into hiding. It was my insurance policy if they ever found me. The problem is, I’m missing the most important piece. I looked everywhere, but I can’t find the locket, and that’s the only bit we had that tied Blythe to the case.”
David looked at Winston, and a smile crept across his face. He loosened his collar and grabbed hold of a silver chain from where it hung around his neck. He pulled it free and dangled a circular broach in front of his face.
“I think I can help you with that.”
ANOTHER KIND OF LEVERAGE
It took some doing, a lot more than David expected. After everything the individual members of both organizations had experienced, both The Forgotten and The Underground harbored a healthy distrust of strangers. But in time, and after several meetings between Johnson and Admiral York, the two groups merged, and their collective resistance was of considerable strength.
The Underground wasted no time creating a staging ground for the airship heist out of the Forgotten’s cavernous bases. The old lava tubes provided an excellent means of sneaking men across Capital City to the Veteran Shipyards without detection. The Underground transported food and supplies to the Forgotten refugees. This helped the groups meld together without difficulty, and it was well they did. Time was short.
Winston revealed a latch to raise the counterweight without having to wait until prayer time as well as a concealed bay door built into a city drainage pipe. This allowed people to pass in and out of the tubes at will. As it turned out, Bethany and Francisco, along with the other teams, spent the better part of the night searching for David and Mercy after they disappeared beneath the ground. Francisco used every curse in the book when the two of them reemerged from the sanctuary and called in.
Twenty-Four hours later, David stood in the conference room back at the Sixth District pillar facing men who had more experience, knowledge, and wisdom than he. Yet, there he was preparing to present his brilliant plan, the plan to save Alönia and the Fertile Plains. He felt ridiculous. But when he looked at Mercy where she sat with perfect posture to the side of the conference room, he gained confidence, not in his abilities, rather, confidence in his resolve. He would fight with all his might in the pursuit of his duty, because it was right, and because it meant a Fertile Plains where she would be safe.
“Gentlemen and ladies,” He began, “most of you know the gist of the plan I am about to lay out, as many of you had a hand in its conception. However, it was not until recent events we had the resources and personnel to implement it. That is why we are fleshing the plan out in full detail today as a real-world scenario.” David paused and looked around the room, then continued.
“The time to act is upon us. We dare not wait any longer or else we may lose the little freedom we have left. This, the Sixth District, the pillars of Alönian manufacturing, and our refuge, will crumble within the cycle by Equalist legislation and financial ruin. Our financier, Public Pharmaceuticals, will dry up at the same time when Hephnaire’s unions invade and the placebo is discovered. And most importantly, war is upon us, and we are not prepared. For these reasons, we are accelerating our strategies for an all-out assault against Blythe and his administration.” As David spoke, he saw resolve in the eyes of his audience as well as unity.
“Our plan has two objectives, each of equal importance. First, we will rescue the Alönian Airships from decommission and deconstruction. No heist of this magnitude has ever been attempted. There are more than 1000 airships in Veteran Shipyards. We intend to steal the most valuable of the lot, or 572 skiff Carriers to be precise. Even with the combined forces of our new allies,” David nodded to York and his captains, “we don’t have enough men to man all the carriers. As it is, we will only be able to fully arm ten of the carriers and fill the rest with skeleton crews.” David pressed a key on the steam projector in front of him and waited till a map portraying Capital Island, the Alönian Channel, and the Armstad Bay in the top corner appeared.
“We will begin the heist by sending in a team of sneaks and commandos led by Francisco to infiltrate the shipyards and neutralize the guards.” Francisco smiled his usual dangerous half smirk. “Once the coast is clear, Admiral York will take command of the airships and cover the retreat of the skeleton crews as they cruise away at full burn toward Armstad airspace. Admiral York will direct the rear guard of ten ships armed with non-lethal pulse emitters to forestall any pursuit by capital guard gunships. The rear guard will take the brunt of it in this mission as you won’t be allowed deadly force but will most certainly receive it.”
“We’ll do our part.” York said. “Besides, they’re only guardsmen. How hard could it be?”
The audience of commanders chuckled. Everyone knew about the rivalry between the armada and the capital guard.
“Best we can tell,” David continued, “it will take an hour to reach Armstad airspace. So that means an hour of toying with the g
uard before relief. Are there any questions before I continue onto the second objective of our plan?”
When nobody said anything, David cleared his throat. “Now the hard part.” Everyone chuckled again. “The second objective has two prongs: we must both remove Blythe and replace him with our own man. First, we are working with all our remaining contacts in the assembly to try and force an inquiry on Blythe. In addition, we found several points of leverage against popular Equalists leaders, which should grant us the votes we need. I do not mean to be demeaning, but I would remind you that an inquiry does not prove anything against Blythe, it simply allows us to present our case before the assembly in a formal hearing.
“During the hearing, Representative Walker will present a case against Blythe using the evidence and testimony provided by Inspector Winston, Don Johnson, Mercedes Lorraine, and a few others. After our testimony and the evidence we provide, the assembly will have no choice but to remove Blythe from power. Our hope is that they will not see this as an attack against Equalists, but rather an opportunity to fill the speakership with a puppet called Eric Himpton.
“Who’s that?” York asked.
“Blythe’s first aid.” David replied. “You see, if Blythe is removed, his position will fall to his first aide, in this case Eric. The first aid will hold that position until the next district election. The speakership does not belong to Blythe, it belongs to the most populous district, the Third District.” Does that answer your question, Admiral?”
York nodded.
“That brings us to the second prong of our second objective. The Third District election is on the 39th day of Úoi season. Therefore, if we can remove Blythe from office at the eve of his district election, we stand a good chance of filling the seat with our own man, and in turn, filling the speakership with a Pragmatic.” David paused again and looked around the room.
“Who?” Walker asked and everyone in the room nodded along with the question.
“Don Johnson,” David said.
Johnson gagged on his tea, sputtered and coughed. When he finally regained control of his faculties, he looked up at David in shock. “I am not a politician.” He said. “I’m a sneak and a don. I’m the furthest thing from a politician.”
David frowned and said, “Name one politician who’s not wealthy and sneaky, and I’ll concede the point.” With the exception of Johnson, everyone laughed, Walker hardest of all. “More to the point,” David said, “You’re also the only popular and credible name we have to work within the Third District. No one else commands even a smidgen of respect in that depressed district. And, you have a perfect cover to throw your name into the race prior to the election without arousing any suspicion or concern.”
“Humor me?” Johnson said as he crossed his arms, though he did not sound in the least bit humor-able.
“Tomorrow, you need to meet with Speaker Blythe.” David said. “Inform him that you are aware of his plot with Don Hephnaire and tell him from now on he can count you as his enemy. Then announce your candidacy in the Third District race. He’ll think you a buffoon.”
“And he’ll be right.” Johnson said.
“You’ll be a laughingstock for three weeks until Blythe is removed from power on the eve of his own race. His campaign will be thrown into disarray, and his aide won’t be able to pull things together in time to counteract your popularity, small as it may be.”
“What popularity?” Johnson asked. “I’m a fop to all the Fertile Plains.”
“What is the general opinion of your employees’ toward you?” David asked.
“Excellent.” Johnson said. “Excellent pay creates excellent opinions.”
“You are the largest employer in the third, more than that, you’re the largest employer in Alönia and all of your workers love you, despite your personified eccentricities. Your popularity might even rival Blythe himself. Just by announcing your candidacy in the race, you could easily have the support of all your employees. That is probably enough in and of itself to beat Eric.”
Johnson scowled at David, apparently fully aware that David had purposefully concealed this part of the plan until the presentation. “What else did you have in mind?” Johnson asked.
“That’s it. After the assembly removes Blythe from power, you will already be a part of the election and perfectly set up to win.”
“I have reservations about our second objective.” Walker said from the back of the room.
“You see!” Johnson said, pointing a finger at David. “I’m not the only one.”
“No,” Walker said. “Not that part of the objective. I actually agree that you should run for the vacated seat. My reservations are about me presenting the case before the assembly. I don’t think I’ll carry much force anymore.”
“You’re the former speaker of the assembly.” David said. “Surely that in itself carries force.”
“Respect is no longer valued in politics.” Walker said. “I don’t think it ever was. Old faces and old voices disappear into the background, and mine is as old and warn out as any of them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they accepted my motion just to have the pleasure of denying it at the end of the presentation. They’ll hardly even hear the evidence, despite its potency. If we want to capture the assembly’s attention, we need to make a splash, something new and different.”
“Yes… I think I see your point, Representative Walker.” Johnson said with a smile that gave David the impression he was not going to like what he said next. “If it’s a splash we want, why not use a name that’s both new and respected, one that will capture interest and hold it till the end of the motion. I think Representative Walker can make the motion, but David should present the case before the assembly.”
“I’m wanted for murder for the exact same cases.” David said. “That’s a huge conflict of interest. They will never believe me.”
“How is his name both new and old?” York asked, eyes suspicious.
“My dear Admiral York,” Johnson said dramatically, “May I have the pleasure of introducing you to David Ike III, the son of David Ike II, the son of Admiral David Ike, hero and legend of Alönia.”
York’s mouth fell open, and then he smiled. “I saw the legend once, at a distance. You have his bearing. Every person in Alönia, whether Equalist or Pragmatic, would stop and listen to anyone claiming your lineage.”
Walker tossed his head back and forth, apparently weighing the idea in his mind. “That would certainly steal the wind out of Blythe’s sails. And, you enjoy an ironic advantage over Blythe in that he once called you his greatest supporter and the hero of the Equalist party.”
“Don’t remind me.” David said with disgust. Then he looked around the room at all the intent faces. “Are we honestly considering this? Do you want me to present the case?”
“I can’t see a downside.” Walker said. “Your presence will spark instant interest in the situation. I warrant every Alönian with a phonograph will tune in to the broadcast, and every pub will have the frequency on their loudspeaker.”
“That is until Blythe cuts the feed.” Johnson said. “He always does when someone starts talking sense in the assembly.”
“We’re in agreement then?” Walker asked with a look at Johnson and York.
Johnson nodded and gave David an avenging smile. David felt a lump form in his throat. He looked at Mercy, but her dazzling smile only made it worse. He swallowed hard.
“All right then.” He said. “Representative Walker will make the motion for an inquiry, and I’ll present the case to the assembly, granted, only if I can make it past both checkpoints.”
“I think we can manage that.” Johnsons said. “You won’t get out of it that easy.”
“I have a question.” Captain Hobs said, speaking for the first time. “If we can assume the speakership, what need have we for the heist?”
“Blythe is intent on destroying the airships,” Johnson said. “not only for himself, but also for the Viörn Admiral. If he were rem
oved from power before that could happen, we fear he might sabotage them in his last moments of office. And, like David alluded to—surprising as it may be—the heist is the easier of the two objectives. If we fail in removing speaker Blythe, at least we have preserved the Alönian Armada, though the maker only knows what we’ll do with it.
They fielded several more questions, simple details that needed discussing, and then they dismissed, each heading to prepare for their respective part in the grand plan.
David collected his notes and maps as the room emptied. He felt like a vast weight had been placed on his back, though he concealed it as he busied himself. A small hand rested on his shoulder, and he knew who’s it was without looking.
“That didn’t go as expected.” He said and she snickered. He turned and looked into her beautiful face. It made him smile.
“Well,” Mercy said, rolling her eyes. “If you don’t want to play a part you have to stop doing such a fine job.”
David smiled, but then he looked at her seriously. “I don’t have a clue how to convince a whole assembly of representatives that their hero is a fraud and a murderer. I’ve never even addressed the assembly before. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Who’s the most successful politician you know right now?” Mercy asked.
David thought about it for a moment. “Blythe.” He said in a bitter tone.
“Exactly!” she said, “and yet, He’s nothing more than a monkey in a suit. Was there any formality in his grand speeches that won him his speakership?”
“I suppose not.” David said.
“The only intelligence in all of Blythe’s accomplishments came from an overworked, underpaid aide.” Mercy poked his chest with her finger. “I’ve said it from the beginning, you are the only one capable of unseating Blythe.”
David nodded. “Will you help me write my speech?” he asked.
“Of course,” Mercy said with a smile.