“That’s good to hear. I’m hoping that some people keep their sticks in their pants, but these people aren’t the kind to think much about anyone but themselves.”
Chapter 17.
Cleadsgate
Kellam grinned as Harald came into the restaurant. “It is good to see you again, admiral. What brings you here?”
“They’re sitting at that table over there.”
“The President, Secretary Harper, Admiral Steelslash, Congressman Wavechaser and Captain Brownlow probably. Are the boys enjoying the Empire?”
“They are, and doing very well.”
“You must bring Mr. Gilders and Mr. Ironhead with their ladies soon.”
“I’ll do that, Kellam. They have both been rather busy.”
“Driving steam tractors all over Chatsrey and having their things taken by pirates. I imagine that they are pressed to keep up with their regular duties.”
“They are rather busy, yes. I need to go.”
Harald sat down with the others and growled, “So why did you want me here, Tomas?”
“This was more Tom and Drannor than me,” Tomas said. “They want to pick your brains about things that can be done to improve recruitment for the navy.”
“What’s going on?”
“We didn’t notice until I looked at the reports from BuPers,” Vince said. “Recruitment from the upper schools was way down, across the board. When I talked to some people they said that the tables we set up at things like science faires were blocked and there were active protests against navy or army recruiters being at the schools at all.”
“Does the effort seem to be organized?”
“My people are just starting to look at the reports. The initial assessment is that, yes, it is organized. We don’t have a feeling as to who is doing it, and whoever is doing it is careful to make the efforts look local and haul out things like concerned mothers as spokespeople.”
“So what do you want from me?”
“Ideas,” Tomas said. “I don’t think that we want to parade you around and we need you up in the Empire, but we want to pick your brains.”
“I have the best solution up at the Residence right now, the middies from Cleadsgate. I’ve already said some things and Jorge set them to looking for cults and exactly the thing you are talking about. You already dragged them out for the campaign, so they are already known. Swifty is in your office, so he can coordinate.”
Tomas grinned and waved. Swifty got up and walked over. He looked at the table and said, “This looks like trouble for me.”
Tom laughed and said, “Not that much trouble, Swifty. This won’t be happening until the session is ongoing anyway.”
“I was looking forward to a nice peaceful year at the Academy with no campaigns or insurrections to mess me up.”
“You didn’t think that things would be that easy.”
“I’m tempted to slack off and let Geral be first in class.”
“That won’t help you at this point,” Drannor said. “I already know who both of you are.”
Swifty groaned. “I was afraid of that. Maybe I should talk to Roger on how to screw up at the Academy.”
“I’m afraid that you won’t get a billet on Diligent until I leave office, Swifty,” Tomas said. “So you are stuck. What we want to talk about is recruiting?”
“The navy didn’t have a table at Gallington Heights or the fifth District in Chatsrey that I saw. Some of my classmates were interested.”
“You did something remarkable,” Tom said. “You made the survey ships the hot billet.”
“I got in trouble about that.”
“That teacher did. You made good press and we need more of that.”
“I’ll send more stuff to my uncle if you can get it to me. Have the boys in the Empire send me stuff.”
“The boys that you arranged to get sent there?” Tomas asked. “Weren’t they chasing their girlfriends?”
“They’ve been doing more than that,” Harald said. “Swifty, I’ll have Geral and the others take pictures and send you things.”
“Do you remember seeing any organized protests against the navy at school?” Drannor asked.
“Admiral, not organized. But Fifth District is mostly Dragonkin and poor kids and Gallington Heights was snobby types. The most activist types that I saw were grandmother and the “Service for All campaign. I would talk to those ladies too.”
“Good point,” Tom said. “I think we can let you go and finish your lunch.”
Swifty returned to where he had been eating lunch with Susan and his sister. Sthisse looked at him and said, “What did they want?”
“There are issues with navy recruiting. They wanted some ideas.”
Sthisse grinned. “We can help with that. Of course right now we have the economics thing to deal with.”
“What is that?” Susan asked.
“We can talk about it later. I don’t want to ruin lunch.”
Chapter 18.
Chatsrey
Borug grinned as Jorge came into his office. “What can I do for our distinguished pirate today?”
“You can tell me about the Global Economics Forum. I figure that you know what sort of security issues I might have to be concerned with.”
Borug cursed.
“That bad?”
“In all the other things I’ve been up to my neck in, I forgot that they were coming here this year. The good thing is that you and the FSA closed down some of their favorite amusements. The bad thing is that Gertald is up in the Empire.”
“Why is that important?”
“Waterland is open. If Gertald was here, he would have eyeballs on the kids.”
“Would Swifty know about the Forum?”
“Yes. The problem with that is that he is stuck with the President.”
“The President will be attending some sessions.”
“Do you have an itinerary? I can point you to the people most likely to cause trouble. I wish I had Gunag here.”
“I could prevail upon my grandfather and get him here. I have the itinerary right here.”
“Good.” Borug looked at it. “There’s no help for it. I’m going to have to talk to Vince and George. That will annoy my boss. But after Marian fed on the boss’s people, I’m going to be short.”
“This is just a bunch of college professors and such, isn’t it?”
“Those won’t be the problem. At least most of them won’t be. Nor will people like Richard Harper, if he attends. His brother in law almost certainly will be here. On the other hand, you know about Bradal Steelslash and that kind of thing spreads.”
“Do you think that Richard Harper will be here?”
“He didn’t attend the year before last in the Kingdom and his brother in law was hosting. On the other hand, Naertho Umevan makes a point to attend every conference and Filveral Carayarus attends when the Forum is here in the Republic. They aren’t the problem. The problem is the mound types and similar folk who also attend.”
“You seem to know a lot about the forum.”
“The forum has been a major headache for a long time. This one will be my fourth.”
“Every three years.”
“Six. It rotates between the Kingdom, the Fellowship and here. The Forum is only held on even years. That’s why I forgot about it.”
“Here are the sessions that the President is attending. This seems to be straight forward.”
“The real fun is outside the conference.”
“Tell me more.”
“Jon Laynard Meynes, Your party is at the Information Counter. Jon Laynard Meynes, Your party is at the Information Counter.”
Greencap in tow, Meynes made his way to the Information Counter. Itham Daefina was waiting for him as he walked up. “Jon! You made it!”
“I’ve come to appreciate the airplane.”
“You do not have your ward with you.”
“He graduated, so I let him move on.”
“I’m afraid finding entertainment will be more difficult this time.”
“Have some places closed their doors?”
“Colonel Tollings set those animals of his on the places in Downbelow. The animals had FSA assistance and badges, so they could close the places up.”
Meynes sighed. “Then the conference will be rather dull this time around.”
“I have some plans to rectify that and do some recruiting.”
“Indeed? Tell me all about them.”
“In the cab. We wouldn’t want to discuss them here.”
Swifty frowned as Borug came into the office. “Are you here to see the President, Mr. Ironhead?”
“Actually, I’m here to see you, Mr. Cutflame.”
“What do want to know about this time?”
“Waterland.”
“What about it?”
“Could you ask your uncle if the park has been rented for the Global Economics Forum?”
“That thing has come again. We were talking about it at lunch yesterday.”
“It has, unfortunately.”
“Gordy is in prison. So are a bunch of his friends.”
Borug laughed. “I think that you see my concern. Did they come after you?”
“No, because the conference wasn’t here when I was twelve or so. Fourteen was a little too old for some people, I was a ratty Dragonkin and mom kept me on a short leash.”
“You see the potential problem.”
“I’ll call my uncle and see if Waterland has been rented. What if it’s the Umevan again?”
“That would be fine. The Umevan do not participate in that sort of thing.”
“I can send a message to Jorge and see if he would send the kids again.”
“Jorge?”
“Jorge Umevan has the estate in the Empire. The kids have visited Waterland before. On the other hand, he went off on his honeymoon. I could get Tad and Immianthe, though.”
“I think that the point is to pull the kids away from some of the conference participants.”
“Ok, I will ask my uncle if the park has been rented. I can’t contact Jorge right now anyway, since he is on his honeymoon.”
“Thank you. I imagine that things have been rather boring for you, my daughter’s wedding notwithstanding.”
Swifty laughed and said, “That was fun. On the other hand, I hope that something like that doesn’t happen here again.”
“So do I, Swifty. Colonel Tollings has been looking for more events like that, but so far, things have been quiet.”
“That means that the new gods are up to something. You might want to talk to the admiral about recruitment issues. He thinks that something funny is going on.”
“I need to see my wife, so let me know if the park is rented.”
Borug left as Swifty reached for the phone. “This is Swifty Cutflame. Can I speak with my uncle?”
The secretary on the other end said, “I will pass you right on to Mr. Holder, Swifty”
Baltrag came on the phone and said, “What can I do for you, Swifty.”
“The economics conference is coming to town again. Some people were asking if Waterland was rented.”
There was silence on the other end for a few thousandths. After a bit, Baltrag said, “Let me check if anyone plans a special event. At least some businesses are out of business. I’ll call you back. Does your grandfather want to know?”
“I haven’t spoken to him about this yet.”
“What if it’s the Umevan again?”
“That’s fine. It’s some other people that I’m worried about.”
“You were too young the last time around and your mother kept you at home. Somebody must have asked you about the park. Who was it? It wasn’t Batluc, since he would have called me directly.”
“I don’t think that I want to say right now.”
“Have you told Batluc or Garad about this?”
“Not yet. I wanted to find out if the park had been rented first.”
“Ok, I will get back to you. Do you have a special reason for being concerned?”
“Not right now, Uncle Baltrag. I was just asked about the park and told the conference was coming.”
“All right then. I would call Garad when you can.”
“I’ll do that, Uncle Baltrag.”
Swifty hung up the phone and then dialed his Uncle Garad’s office. When he got through, Garad said, “Swifty, do you have a scoop from the President’s office?”
“Not so much a scoop, yet. You probably have the releases about the economics conference. I wanted to know if anyone rented Waterland.”
“Is the President planning to?”
“He hasn’t asked me about that. I could ask him about that.”
“I would do so. For that matter, I will talk to Baltrag and have the company take Waterland if somebody else hasn’t. What are you concerned about?”
“Somebody came into the office and reminded me that Gordy and some other people sold certain services to attendees of the Conference.”
“The ones that liked to play with human toys like Senator Steelslash did. I would go over that with your grandfather. Who came to you about that?”
“I don’t want to say right now.”
“If you talk to whoever it was again, send him to me and I will put him in touch with some other interested parties. You weren’t involved the last time, but we had a lot of pressure to keep certain things quiet. Things are different now.”
“I’ll do that, Uncle Garad.”
Alais looked at Jorge and said, “You heard.”
“How did you know?”
“Borug called after you left his office. He is rather annoyed that he forgot that the thing was coming. He was on his way to ask Swifty Cutflame about Waterland.”
“Why?”
“Think about predators and water. Water attracts prey and so the predators show up too.”
“He didn’t mention that as a problem when we talked.”
“It hadn’t been because the park is run by the Cutflames and you probably have some idea about how they tolerate certain things. The problem is that the Gertald is out of the country and so is Onia, with the rest of the family busy with other things.”
“That is a surprise. I would not have expected you to want to cooperate with them.”
“Sometimes there are things that are of mutual interest. Keeping kids out of the hands of some well connected predators is one of those things.”
“Your husband said that there were issues like that. What about entertainers?”
“That’s a bit different, though we try to reduce the sorts of things that Shelara was at risk for. The fact is that entertainers are by and large adults and usually are fairly good at assessing the risks. It’s the kids that we worry about, as well as the ones that Gordy used to collect.”
“I could put the Transformed to looking for collectors.”
“Do that. With Gordy gone, I imagine that there will be others looking to fill the vacuum and the conference is a market for certain things.”
“Borug wants Gunag if I can convince grandfather to send him here for a time.”
“That isn’t a surprise. Gunag has that street reputation and can be very persuasive, as you know.”
“He’s also very sharp. Grandfather is here, talking to his former subordinates about another issue, so I will see about getting Gunag here, with Shelara.”
Alais grinned. “I didn’t think about that.”
“Grandmother is glad to have her as an assistant and she’s used to moving more or less unseen through crowds of snobs. If she can handle the high elf crowd, the Plateau types and what not won’t phase her. I’ll talk to grandfather about getting them both here.”
“Do that. Is there anything else?”
“Have there been any rumblings in your neighborhood about activists?”
“The SocDems have been more or less dissolved and the Stewards haven’t been that active. You were there at the wedding. Is this something else?”
“The reason that my grandfather was called down is that the navy was having recruitment issues as a result of activists protesting the recruiters attending upper school events and such. My bosses are rather nervous after the events at the turn of the year and wanted some suggestions from an old pirate.”
“Thus your grandfather and not the other old pirate. I imagine that your bosses can’t send you on a beach landing to grab people and haul them off.”
Jorge laughed. “As far as I know, they haven’t been planning any raids on people.”
“Staging some raids on the Economic Conference would probably be productive.”
“I haven’t encountered one before and I haven’t talked with my predecessor as yet. I have a feeling that I should.”
Cillia looked at the crowd checking into the hotel as she and Laerdya were collecting some things that Cillia had left at the hotel, turned to Laerdya and said, “We’re getting out of town at the right time.”
“Is something bad coming?”
“Not for us, other than getting attention we won’t want, but it can be. Durlan is here with the cab, so we have a train to catch.”
Richard looked at the mob collecting at the line of waiting cars, turned to Rosa and said, “We brought a mob this time.”
“Alinis, with Fire, Larranth and Rachelle with their kids, along with Denny and Eletha. You brought Taenaran, who brought Sarah and Tom. The mob isn’t that large. I didn’t have to rent an entire hotel and we are sharing with the Umevan, along with Brouzen and Lilly.”
“Ok, I give in. I’m not sure why we are coming to this thing in any case.”
“Your mother wanted you to, you have important things to talk about and these people need to hear what you have to say.”
“I doubt that there will be so many interested in what I have to say.”
“Richard, stop that right now! You are one of the most important people in the world. You have saved the world from famine multiple times and kept most of the folk in the world fed. You can believe that people will want to know what you have to say.”
“Yes, dear. I suspect that you would fill the hall with people even if I didn’t attract very many.”
Rosa grinned. “I wouldn’t have to. Your mother would. Now let’s get this mob in the cars and off to the hotel.”
The ten members of the board that headed the Global Economics Club sat down at the table in the private room they had rented in the Plateau Club, the most exclusive eatery in the Republic. As the senior board member in the Republic, Itham Daefina opened the meeting. “I think that we are all here. Thornean, you had the last conference. Do you have any business to report?”
Baron Thornean Forgediron frowned and said, “There are no outstanding issues. On the other hand, we lost board member Ural Axefitter.”
“I noticed that he had not come this session. What happened?”
“He was caught up in some issues regarding some nonsense that the king drummed up, arrested and convicted of sedition against the kingdom. He took his life rather than going to prison. The same sort of thing that happened to Bradal, apparently.”
“So we have two seats to fill,” Meynes said. “Bradal’s and Ural’s. Do you have a suitable candidate from the Republic, Itham?”
“I have had to be discreet about the search. The busybodies are looking closely at those with connections to Bradal and anyone nominated to a seat on the board will attract attention.”
Harald Fiddlestringer looked at the three remaining board members from the Republic and said, “What happened to Bradal? Things weren’t clear in the Fellowship and what the papers had was rather unbelievable.”
“The Dragonkin and Old Families joined together and with the aid of a corrupt International Service employee were able to create fake votes and an illegal election. Unfortunately the Elections board was in on the scheme and Bradal was forced to take strong measures to correct the situation. The former colonel that he had retained to head the effort failed and was crushed. Bradal took his life rather than embarrass the Plateau with a show trial.”
“So you have a Dragonkin as President and the Old Families are running the show.”
“That is where things stand. The Findleys are trying to restore the Democracy Party, but it is an uphill battle with charges of insurrection flying around.”
“Was the closing of some places of business part of that?” Meynes asked.
“What places of business?” Hurdog Foambrew asked.
“Itham said that the places we went for recreation have been closed and some people we used for making arrangements have been arrested,” Meynes replied. “He didn’t tell me any details.”
“In a rather stupid move, Director Sunbeam arranged for Colonel Tollings’s people to assist the FSA in their assault on the Old Families,” Jon Cutter said. “Unfortunately, the colonel’s people didn’t know to overlook some things and those animals of his had obtained badges somehow. They went through Downbelow, Smoky Hill and other parts of the city and shut down the establishments, with the enthusiastic support of the local magistrates. The good news is that I have managed to rent the Waterland Amusement Park for two of the days of the conference with the assistance of Chatsrey Gas. Unfortunately, they are the last two days of the conference. The other days had already been taken by the Carayarus, Umevan Electric, the Radio Consortium and the Cities of Racketgarde and Crowburg.”
“We can guess who they are bringing to the party,” Harald Ironforge groused. “The Great Captain will be there, boosting the cities.”
“Why is that a problem?” Winston Redrock looked at the others curiously. “I buy material from Racketgarde for things.”
“The people of Crowburg were retrieved by the navy and brought home with all sorts of factories. Bradal arranged to have the city shut down and now it’s back. Racketgarde is its own problem.”
“I’m going to take it that Crowburg and Racketgarde are not under the thumbs of the mound and the mound doesn’t like it that much.”
“Things out of control are bad for the country,” Itham said. “All of our countries.”
“You can make your presentation at the conference. Right now we have to go over the schedules. So, who are the speakers this time around?”
Itham passed the schedule around. “Here are the speakers that have asked for and received spots, as well as the panels.”
The board looked at the list and Meynes squealed, “The Ghost is speaking?”
“The Ghost?” Itham asked.
“Richard Harper. You don’t know who he is?”
“A farmer from the Empire. Since he was a Harper, I thought that I would let him speak so that we wouldn’t be facing any issues from the Old Families.”
“Richard Harper is a farmer like a Capybara is a rodent. He isn’t from the Empire, he farms the Empire, all of it. You did not know that?”
“I did not, actually. In any case, he is speaking. Why did you call him the Ghost?”
“That goes back to the Peninsula, a place called Bloody Ridge and what he did to the 214th battalion, including shooting my brother.”
“I never knew that you had a brother.”
“He was a Service lieutenant and he died on the Ridge over thirty years ago, along with all the other officers of the 214th. They were shot by a man they could not find or see. The Ghost, Lieutenant Richard Harper.”
“I doubt that he will bring up a war that has been over for over thirty years.”
“The speakers have been announced,” Hurdog said. “Things have been touchy the last few years and asking Harper to drop out without a legitimate reason could raise some issues elsewhere. We can respond to what he says when the time comes.”
“I want to know about that United Media Syndicate,” Tomas Hillrunner said. “They suddenly appeared out of nowhere, purchasing the Chatsrey Times and a bunch of magazines and other properties.”
“The Chatsrey Times was purchased by the Smoky Hill Post in the splash from the turn of the year,” Jon Cutter said. “The Goldfinders sold out to the Dragonkin.”
“Another troublesome alliance, then,” Forgediron said. “They will want things shaken up just to sell papers.”
“So the Syndicate owns two papers,” Hillrunner said. “Couldn’t the government do anything to stop that?”
“The government is the Dragonkin and the Old Families,” Daefina groused. “The government is hardly going to take action against their family and supporters.”
“The Syndicate wasn’t in violation in any case,” Cutter said. “While the purchase was ongoing, the Times did a rather thorough investigative report. As you can imagine the people at the Times were not anxious to operate under new ownership, at least they were not in the beginning.”
“That changed?”
“It seems to have. It’s hard to say if there has been any difference in the editorial point of view, but the Times is not raising complaints about the ownership either.”
“You can discuss the changes in newspapers later,” Daefina said. “The important thing we should be concerned about is the changes in government and how they will react to certain entertainments. If the past is any indication, they will crack down and prosecute certain things. I don’t know if they will use entrapment, but Attorney General Harper has used such things in the past and an elf girl or boy that you run into may not be as young as they seem. There have been similar things in my home city of Ironton and some families have elven characteristics. The Ironaxes, for example have elven family. They also have family in the Empire connected to the Justiciars.”
“To the Justiciars?” Forgediron asked. “That seems strange.”
“Some family came down and assisted in the pursuit of Marian Ironforge. They were members of the Justiciars and worked with the police here.”
“What happened there?”
“I don’t have the details, but apparently Marian was infected by something that made her a sort of monster and the FSA and the Ironaxes pursued her until she died. There is a rather biased book on the case if you want to know all the details.”
“I think that we should spread the word to be wary of traps,” Foambrew said. “The conference and the society cannot afford a scandal right now with things in turmoil. If the police and others are looking for a scandal, we can’t afford to give them one. Is there any other business we need to attend to?”
“I think that’s all for now,” Itham said.
Vince sat down across from Borug and George Lion and said, “You shouldn’t be meeting with me, Borug, let alone George here. Your boss won’t like it.”
“He would like it if I didn’t take steps even worse. The GEF is back in town.”
Vince cursed. Looking at George, he said, “From the look on George’s face, he forgot about it too. What tripped you off?”
“A rather famous pirate came into my office and was asking questions. He reminded me that the thing was going on. The good thing is that the pirate’s boys went through some places and closed them all down. The bad news is that Gertald is out of town, so there may not be somebody keeping an eye on Waterland.”
“Batluc is busy with cleaning up the Interior Department, Garad is working on his business and Baltrag is helping with that and dealing with the rest of it. Why are you concerned about Waterland?”
“I’m concerned because predators don’t change. If they can’t find prey in one place, they just look for another place. With Gordy and the others out of business, Waterland is an obvious place to look for kids, especially if they are sent there.”
“Kids sent from boarding schools. Is that what you are thinking? That happened during the last of these little things.”
“I asked a young dragon to ask about anyone renting Waterland. He hasn’t gotten back to me yet.”
“Your dad knows the President, doesn’t he?”
“They are old army buddies.”
“Are you working for the President, off the books?”
“I’m not saying. My wife is working in Mrs. Steelmaker’s office and Gunag is up in the Empire.”
“When he isn’t being chased by clowns all over town,” George chortled.
“I’ve asked to get him back, temporarily. The conference starts in a five day, so we don’t have a lot of time.”
Harald looked at his grandson and said, “I know that look. You want something.”
“Not me. Borug Ironhead. The Global Economics Forum is coming to town and he wants Gunag.”
“Shelara too, probably. I’m heading back tomorrow. Before I go, I’ll see if Sarya will cut orders getting them here. Gunag can bring down a proposal for Al.”
“What is the proposal?”
“I set Gunag and Derry to looking for a new space for the Republican Residency and Gunag found one. The problem is that he owns the building.”
Jorge started to laugh. “Did he know that when he looked at it?”
“No he did not. He hasn’t had time to go over all his assets and the estate has taken a lot of his free time.”
“Are you staying for the GEF?”
“I can’t, realistically. Tomas and Al need somebody to keep an eye on the Empire and that little assault on Jorge’s wedding could have caused all sorts of issues if it had worked.”
“The Justiciars were on top of things. On the other hand, if the bombs had gone off, there could have been some real problems considering the casualty list.”
“Including both of us.”
“How is Findley doing?”
“He bought the girl. I brought her here.”
“He bought the girl and then sent her here? I would have expected something different from him.”
“To be honest, so did I. But he spent the money he got from someplace to purchase the girl and handed her over to your grandmother.”
Baltrag’s secretary came into his office and said, “I have the schedule for Waterland during the GEF.”
“The park has been rented, hasn’t it?”
“Here’s the schedule.”
Baltrag frowned. “The Carayarus hardware and garden show, “A City in Light” from the Umevan, “A New Future in Radio” from the Radio Consortium, “Two Cities Looking Forward” with Paeris Zylvyre and “Bringing in Our Future Leaders” from the Republic gas companies. What are the gas companies doing?”
“They are bringing in students from boarding schools around the country and having sessions and the park.”
“Are the gas companies doing this with anyone else?”
“It says here that they are giving the tours in association with the Global Economics Club.”
“Thank you Genie.”
“What is the concern here?”
“It may be nothing, but during the last GEF there were some instances of underage children being approached and molested. A lot of that was kept out of the papers, but we all remember that it happened. In any case, I need to make a call.”
Baltrag picked up the phone, called the President’s office and was put through to Swifty. “Swifty I have the list of companies renting Waterland during the conference. The first two days, the Carayarus have the park, the second two days, the Umevan, the third, the Radio Consortium, the fourth, Crowburg and Racketgarde with the Great Captain and some movie people and the last two days, the Republic gas companies are bringing a bunch of boarding school students in association with the Global Economics Club.”
“That sounds like a bunch of snobs bringing in kids that might have problems at home for the sort of thing that Gordy did. I’ll pass that along. The contracts are all done, aren’t they?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Tell whoever it is to get in touch with me. Have you called your grandfather yet?”
“I was waiting for your call.”
“Do that now. Tell him to call me. Then tell whoever asked you about this to call me directly.”
“Ok, Uncle Baltrag.”
Baltrag put the phone down and called his brother in law. “Garad, I slipped up.”
“Waterland was rented to the wrong people during the GEF.”
“Swifty called you, didn’t he?”
“After he called you, apparently. Did he tell you who he is talking to?”
“No. Batluc may know and whoever it is knows about the potential problems. I told Swifty to have whoever it is call me.”
“Who rented the park?”
“The Carayarus, the Umevan, the radio consortium, Racketgarde and Crowburg and the gas company.”
“Most of them won’t be a problem.”
“The gas company is sponsoring for the Global Economics Club and inviting boarding school students.”
“Grooming the next generation. Let’s get together for lunch tomorrow. I’ll call dad.”
“I wish that Gertald was here.”
“His boss is. I could see if Gertald can come down.”
“Do that. See if we can get Gertag, if nothing else.”
“Good idea. I will see you for lunch tomorrow.”
Swifty hung up the phone and then dialed the number that Borug had given him. There was no answer, so he went into his grandfather’s office with a report. Tomas said, “You have been up to something all day. What is it about?”
“The Global Economics Forum is coming again.”
“That shouldn’t be that big a concern.”
“You were in Congress and my cousins were too little the last time. I’ve told you about Gordy. Well, the conference was good business for him. The conference attracts slimy people and they like to take advantage of people that have problems.”
“People running away from their families and such.”
“That, and kids sent to boarding school because their parents don’t really care about them.”
“Sometimes kids are sent away for other reasons.”
“I know. That doesn’t change the fact that there are people that take advantage, like Mrs. Ironforge. The conference attracts those people and Waterland is a good place to collect kids. Mr. Ironhead was worried about that and when I checked, he was right to be worried. That’s why I’ve been calling back and forth.”
“Most people would be surprised that Borug and you were talking together.”
“They don’t live in our neighborhoods and haven’t had to deal with the mess. If dad were home, he would be talking to Mr. Ironhead. He isn’t, and Mr. Ironhead knew me, so I’m stuck with helping to deal with the issues.”
“Colonel Tollings did a lot of clean up.”
“Yes he did, and the ones that are left know that the wolves are sniffing around. But the park was rented by the gas company and they have it for two days. I need to go.”
“Go ahead.”
Swifty returned to his desk and called Borug again. Borug answered and Swifty said, “Mr. Ironhead, the park was rented for the last two days of the conference by the gas company, sponsoring for the Global Economics Club and they are inviting boarding school students. My uncles want to meet with you.”
“Can they make lunch tomorrow?”
“I’ll call and ask. Where would you want to meet?”
“The goblin place in Industry City.”
“That will work. I’ll call my uncles and tell them.”
“Vince Highflier and George Lion are coming as well. We want to coordinate what we can do. Have you spoken to your grandfather about this?”
“Not yet. Just my uncles. I’ll call him.”
Swifty hung up and called his grandfather at the Interior department. Batluc answered and said, “Swifty, does the President want something?”
“Not him. Mr. Ironhead came in and reminded me that the Global Economics thing was coming. He wanted to know if Waterland had been rented and to who.”
“From the sounds of it, it has, and to the wrong people. I had forgotten about the GEF.”
“So had just about everybody. Mr. Ironhead is having lunch at the goblin place with Uncle Vince and George Lion. He wants uncle Baltrag and Garad there too.”
“Call them and put that together. The Administration and the country can’t really afford a nice juicy scandal right now. I’ll try to be there.”
Batlug hung up and Swifty called his Uncle Baltrag. “Uncle Baltrag, the man you want to talk to is setting up a meeting with Uncle Vince and George Lion at the goblin place for lunch tomorrow.”
“I’ll be there. We let this slip and we shouldn’t have.”
“I’m going to call Uncle Garad.”
Swifty hung up and called Garad. “Uncle Garad, there is a meeting at the goblin place at lunch tomorrow that you should go to.”
“They are probably talking about Waterland and related things. Who is going to be there?”
“So far, Uncle Baltrag, Uncle Vince, George Lion and Borug Ironhead.”
“Borug was the contact you weren’t telling me about wasn’t he?”
“Yes he was.”
“I’ll be there. Tell Borug that the meeting will be off the record if he asks.”
“He didn’t.”
Borug grinned as Jorge came into his office. “You have returned, colonel.”
“I wanted to talk to you about some things. The most important thing is that I got Gunag here. My grandfather is sending him and Shelara down.”
“Excellent. What was the excuse?”
“Gunag is presenting a proposal for a new embassy in the Empire to Secretary Steelmaker. My grandfather set Gunag and Derry on the task and Gunag found a building that should suit. The downside is that your father in law owns the building.”
Borug started to laugh. “I could see that that could be a problem.”
Al grinned as Harald stomped into his office. “I was wondering if you were going to stop by and see your boss before heading back to the Empire.”
“I was going to see you earlier, but there were some distractions. Jorge is dealing with his first GEF, went to see Borug Ironhead and Borug spooked him a bit when Borug realized that he had forgotten that the GEF was coming. Jorge came to me to ask if Gunag and Shelara could be sent down.”
“I don’t have a problem with that. He can act as courier. Is there another reason?”
“He has a proposal for a new Republican Embassy in the Empire. He found some space in the Lower City that should suit. There is one problem with it. Gunag, or rather, his grandfather, owns the building.”
“Did Gunag know that when he started to look?”
“It’s funny that you should ask that. No, he didn’t know who the building belonged to until the manager called him Lord Gunag.”
“What do you think?”
“The proposal seems to be fairly solid, the building is near the Residency, the fae embassy and three portals and while very old, is sound and well maintained. I didn’t bring the proposal with me because I wanted to go over it and go through the building myself. I’ll let Gunag make his proposal directly.”
“We can use him here during the GEF. Prince Airdan and his wife are coming to the GEF.”
“That must have hit my desk just as I was leaving. That sounds a bit more official than the usual using the portal that I am not supposed to know about to pop down for a date.”
Al laughed. “We had official notification from Gwen and everything. So Airdan gets the royal treatment. We have a mob from the Mortal Kingdoms as well, but that isn’t your problem.”
“Talk to Jorge about any special arrangements. He has experience working with the high guard and the Imperial family.”
“I understand that there was almost a boom at Jorge Umevan’s wedding.”
“Yes there were, which has had some interesting consequences. The Justiciars were on top of things and set up with Tad and Immianthe to get a writ forcing Jorge and Shael to use that balloon rig to get towed off into the air. That took the suicide bombers’ target away and the Justiciars moved in to pull compulsions and the bombs. Bennie Findley kept the girl that was supposed to light things off calm and distracted until the Justiciars could get to the girl.”
“He didn’t run away?”
“No, he did not. Even more amazingly, he bought the girl from the Justiciars and sent her here to his family. I brought the girl down and handed her over to Bennie’s sister.”
“Now what is she like?”
“Pretty much the opposite of Bennie. She hasn’t taken Service as yet and I think that she would do well in the International Service.”
“Not the Diplomatic Service?”
“Not unless you want to start a war because she was rather blunt and honest about things.”
“Ok, I’ll tell Sarya to cut some orders sending Gunag down, with Shelara.”
“That will make Jorge happy. I’m taking Naesala to dinner and a show tonight, so I will see you later.”
Richard and Naertho were sharing the office that had been set up for Richard when Nightstalker poked his head in and said, “Mr. Ironhead would like to speak with you, milord.”
“Did he say what it was about?”
“He wants to speak to you about persuading Gertald to return to the Republic for the conference.”
“Send him in.”
Nightstalker returned with a middle aged orc with rather hidden elvish touches. “Mr. Ironhead, milord.”
Richard looked at Borug and said, “Mr. Ironhead, why do you want Gertald, who presumably has been an adversary in the past, back here in the Republic?”
“He owns Waterland. Some people have taken Waterland for the last two days of the conference and want to use it to collect toys.”
“I don’t think you are talking about something from Fylson.”
“Boy and girl toys to play with and then throw away.”
“Has that been a problem at Waterland before?”
“No, because certain establishments were open and Gertald was here for the last conference. Those places have been shut down, Gordy is out of business and there are a lot of people that will be looking for new opportunities. I did some checking and Waterland has been rented by Republic Gas and the Global Economic Club for the last two days of the conference. They are shipping kids in from boarding schools.”
“What about the other days.”
“The Carayarus, the Umevan, the radio consortium and Racketgarde and Crowburg.”
“None of them would create any problems of the kind that you are talking about.”
“We certainly would not,” Naertho growled.
“I know,” Borug said. “The others will not be a problem either. The gas companies, on the other hand, have been tied to the mound for a long time.”
“Senator Steelshash is dead.”
“He wasn’t the only one with certain tastes, or the only one with the clout to force people to look the other way.”
“Denny and Gertald are coming down just before the conference starts anyway.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m hoping that some people keep their sticks in their pants, but these people aren’t the kind to think much about anyone but themselves.”
The Arts Mechanical 