Ciklo crossed her legs and looked out the window in front of her. The view outside the window was quite gorgeous with the giant Statue of the Reaper hover in the background. She self-consciously touched the briefcase on her right, making sure it was still there. The Oversight Committee Hearing was only supposed to take two weeks. Three at the most. But they were nearing a month, and no results. The Committee was still trying to come to a consensus on whither military operations should cease until after an official ruling was made. The whole thing was a disaster. Thankfully the vote was tomorrow, and then the Committee could finally get back on track. It was times like this that the Duchess wondered if the bureaucracy of the Confederacy was really worth it.
The hotel room door behind her opened. She didn't move, continuing to stare at the night sky. "Zonuc." She could feel the Special Delegates unease at her being in his room unannounced. But when an Elder came calling, you did not turn them away. "Please, take a seat."
He shuffled through the room, passing by her and took a seat on the bed as she was already in the only chair.
"Duchess Ciklo, how nice it is to see you."
"Always the charmer, Zonuc." Her voice was flat, showing her displeasure at being here. Zonuc was Azori's charge. But as pure usual, he was shrieking his duty. If there was one Elder the Duchess couldn't stand it was him. Ciklo was about to speak when her phone vibrated. "Excuse me," she held up her first two fingers, the Grissin gesture of one moment, and pulled out her phone. It was a message from Dutuzu.
Reaper. Now. What could he want? And at this time? Dutuzu was currently dealing with the human trafficking crisis. She quickly typed out her response: Wait for me. In the middle of something. Should be thirty minutes. She then put her phone away and looked up at Zonuc. Silently, she sent thanks to the Twin. Now she could do this the fast way rather than drawing it out.
"I'm afraid another pressing matter has come to my attention, so I have to be quick. In the case next to me is 〆10,000. You are going to take it and tomorrow vote in favor of the Confederate military. And then when the time comes, you are going to vote in favor of the Decree of Traetorian Mourning. Is that clear?" Zonuc was one of the last votes they needed to secure. If not, he was the last one. And he had been annoyingly dodgy. Avoiding all attempts by the Elders at contact. Which sent a clear message to them that he didn't want to fall in line. It's why the Duchess had come herself. To show him the severity of the matter.
"This isn't right, you can't do this. I won't go along with it." Ciklo was already standing up, looking at the time on her watch. 11:23PM. She smiled.
"It's so exciting, being a Special Delegate, isn't it? Getting to be part of the Oversight Committee. It's a once in a lifetime chance. So sad that once this whole mess is over, all the attention will melt away just as quickly as it came." Ciklo paused. This was the important part, not too long or not too short, otherwise it wouldn't have the sinister effect she needed. "Do you know how poorly attended middle ranking government officials' funerals are? A tragedy really, for them to devout their whole lives to the state. A thankless job if you ask me." Ciklo turned and walked out of the room, leaving the briefcase. Not even checking to see Zonuc's expression. She'd get the vote she wanted tomorrow.
She took the elevator down to the first floor, exiting the building. Her car was already waiting. She got in the backseat. "Reaper." The driver nodded with a yes ma'am. It was a quick drive to the statue; she'd be there earlier than she had told Dutuzu. During the ride, Ciklo found her thoughts drifting to Aerila. "Do you think we could start again? That this time we might be friends." Those words had been ringing in her mind ever since. Aerila signed away her kingdom without a second thought. All while asking for friendship with her usurper. It was so childish. Weak willed. But why couldn't Ciklo keep her out of her mind? Why did it matter still?
The car came up upon the Reaper. A shrouded massive faceless figure, plunging a sword into the mountainside. Normally the roads around it were blocked off for foot traffic, but this late they were closed instead. Her driver had waved her clearance through security and drove all the way up. No one batted an eye; this was a common meeting spot for Dutuzu and Ciklo. She exited to see Dutuzu leaning up against his own car opposite her own. She waved to him and the two of the walked diagonally toward the statue, meeting at the sword.
"Seeker, it is good to see you." Dutuzu raised an eyebrow at her formality. The pair were quite close. Maybe too close. Azori had joked the other day about how often they were sleeping together. Ciklo cleared her head. She'd had enough of sitting next to that harlequin. His constant comments were slowly getting under her skin. She looked at Dutuzu, examining him with new eyes, thanks to Azori. He had a soft face, thick eyebrows, and the striking purple eyes of a Helgaran. She had to admit he was cute, although too young looking for her typical tastes.
"A nice chilling air, isn't it, Duchess." He stressed her title in mockery to her formality. She blushed but tried to hide it. In the night air he didn't see it, thank the Twin. "I hear tomorrow it might be warm enough for cold noodles."
"Seriously?" Ciklo was beaming at this. Cold noodles were a delicacy throughout the Confederacy. Unfortunately, it was only served in warm weather. And it was rarely warm in the north. You were lucky to eat cold noodles four or five times a summer season. And with it turning to autumn, this would likely be the last chance until next year. "I can already feel it in my mouth. Oh, man." Dutuzu laughed.
"Perhaps we could get some together. It's been awhile since we've had a work meeting." With Dutuzu and Ciklo working on two different projects, they had rarely seen the other in the past few weeks. Such was how the Council of Elders worked, everyone pursuing different objectives.
"Unfortunately, there's a vote tomorrow in the Committee. I'll be lucky if I even get a chance to eat lunch, much less noodles."
"You're right. I totally forget. Next year then, the first warm day of the summer, we'll carve out the time." Ciklo smiled and nodded her agreement. Dutuzu smiled back at her. He truly was the only friend she had made in their line of work.
"What is it that you asked me here for?" Immediately his demeanor changed as she asked the question. He went rigid and the smile faded from his face.
"I have information for you. About the insurgency." Cilko opened her mouth to ask how he would have gotten that, but he continued on. Whatever it was, he wanted to say all of his piece at once. "I went to Irkallu today. I saw Prisoner Humbaba." The name sent a shiver down Ciklo's spine. She was from Traetor, she understood just how fear inspiring of a crime lord he once was. She had never had to deal with him, even indirectly, he was imprisoned just before she joined government work. "He was extremely forthcoming. He gave me all the information I wanted and then some. But it came at a cost. Next time, he won't speak unless his release is guaranteed. And he knows another Elder will be coming for him soon, and he's right." This confused her, no one was actively pursuing work that they would need information from Humbaba except Dutuzu. Besides, nothing could be valuable enough to negotiate with him, especially if he wanted those talks to include freedom. "He knows things about the Talaos. I don't know how much, but he gave me the inner-workings of full cells, complete with their entire rosters. I verified a couple with the intel the Wraiths have recovered in their raids. It's accurate. I don't know how he knows this, but he does."
Everything had changed. "Does he have enough to turn the tide? To break the insurgency." It was all that mattered. Dutuzu had a pained expression on his face. He didn't want to answer. It was all the conformation she needed.
"There's a chance, yes." His words weren't necessary. Ciklo had already made up her mind. Breaking the insurgency would change everything. Her land, her people, they were under siege. If she could end this war, she'd do anything. "Ciklo, please. Don't."
She didn't respond. Instead she pulled out her phone and quickly dialed a number.
"Yes,
mehk."
[1] "I need you to clear my schedule for tomorrow and arrange for a visit to Irkallu."
"But mehk, tomorrow is the vote in the committee." It was an awkward position for the attendant. He didn't want to argue with an Elder, but from his perspective this was insanity.
"I understand. Something has come up and this is more pressing. Now do it."
"Yes, mehk. I'll make the arrangements, who do you want to see?"
"Prisoner Humbaba."
"Yeh mehk." The attendant's voice cracked on that. "Is there anything else?"
"No thank you that's all." The line went dead. She pocketed her phone and turned to start walking back to her car.
"Ciklo, please, don't do this. There has to be another way." She looked back at him, shook her head and continued walking away.