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Chapter 50: Close Call
Mr. Roucan returned the President-General's murderous glare with a pair of dead fish eyes. If anything, the lack of emotion on the businessman's face seemed to aggravate the already tense atmosphere in the room. Louis could hear the clock tick by, precious seconds spent in the silent combat of wills.
"You know nothing," the President-General said, breaking the silence. "There is no evidence."
"Yet you are here, General," Mr. Roucan answered coolly. "Your presence here confirms that what we know is true." He retrieved a thick folder from his briefcase and pushed it across the desk.
The Libyan leader's expression darkened further while he skimmed through the pages. The folder snapped shut, his gaze returned to Mr. Roucan. "You have the nerve to threaten me in my own country," he said in almost a growl.
"I prefer trade," Mr. Roucan returned as if he was talking about the weather. "I am a businessman, General – and a fair one, at that. Like all business negotiations, I make sure both parties benefit from the arrangement. Give me two things – information on Dr. Williams' condition and your word that you will let me, my son and the people who came with us return home unharmed. As payment, I will guarantee that the copies of the file in your hands will be destroyed once we step foot in our country."
The President-General's temper cooled somewhat but his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "How will I know you will keep your end of the bargain?"
"If you wish, speak to anyone who've done business with me. They will tell you that I am a man of my word."
The reassurance was not what Louis expected from his father. With a sinking feeling, he realized the accusations he'd flung at the President-General – true as they were – had landed them in trouble. Too fixated on rescuing Fred from the tyrant's clutches, Louis hadn't even considered their survival and the people who'd accompanied them.
The portal a guardian was allowed to summon was limited to the Uruimethian palace and places he knew within the lands under his protection. To cross from one's domain to the next, he would have to use the tunnels as a courtesy to his fellow guardian and, also, to request one of the local sentries as guide. The disclosure of the tunnels' secrets to an ambitious and powerful Serran such as the Libyan dictator was a danger to all peoples of the world, Serrans and Uruimethians alike; hence, the meeting with the guardians at the mansion and the assembly that followed were exemptions to the rule.
With Libya's guardian, Zafeera, unable to perform her duties, the responsibility would fall to the Head Guardian until she is deemed fit to return to her position. Cheska's current emotional state coupled with her reluctance and lack of inexperience as leader of the guardians left him to wonder if she'd gotten to assigning a substitute guardian yet.
The entrances to the tunnels in Libya recently blocked and the knowledge of its general locations unknown to Louis, his only option was the portal. He could use it to return to the private jet they'd arrived in, but only after making sure that there would be no witnesses. It was easier said than done; they hadn't been left alone by the President-General's men since their arrival.
Hopefully, he wouldn't have to break the guardian's code. Mr. Roucan's blackmail appeared to be working for the Libyan leader's mood turned brooding.
"That is all you want? Information on a dying man's sickness and you and your people's safety?" The President-General asked eventually.
"Correct."
YOU ARE READING
Lemuria: The City of Mysts
Fantasy"Anything and everything is possible in the Mysts." Dr. Fred Williams has a secret. He fears its discovery when a daughter of his patient starts asking him about the City of Mysts. Fred is led to a website where a story about his past is...
