Kadassa had been furious when he had called for Shalmi Meira to come to an emergency meeting with him. She had arrived and settled herself down looking far too cool and confident for his liking, it implied she did not fear him sufficiently, something that was apparently growing more common these days.
"Have you seen
today's paper?" he asked angrily.
"There is a lot of news, what specifically am I meant to have seen?" she asked glibly. Kadassa threw the paper which had been folded to the article in question at her.
"THAT." he sputtered
"Ah I see. Yes I was rather surprised that had been allowed past the state censor." she said picking it up casually, her apparent lack of concern irritating him further.
"I don't see why you are so calm, you know that this is amounts to an attack on my authority and at a time like this, who does he think he is? He's clearly trying to make a bid for power." he said.
"Yes as I recall I did publicly condemn him, I think that should be enough of a warning to him..."
"Enough of a warning?" interrupted Kadassa "I don't want him warned, I want him gone. Permanently."
"I understand Mr President. I'll put the Prefecture on to it, I presume you want it to look like an accident?" Kadassa considered this for a minute before answering.
"No, I think it is time to put some more pressure on the ULO and win us some political capital for our negotiations, at the very least provide ourselves with a way out of that whole mess that gives us a legitimate reason to walk away. I want this to look like an Utman assassination."
"Understood." she said as she rose and left. Having closed the heavy door to the President's Office behind her she exhaled, his request while possible would be difficult to pull off effectively. She removed her encrypted cell phone and placed a call as she strode down the corridor "Derak, tell me. Do we have any ULO on ice from the crackdown?"