King of All I Survey-Chapter 174: A Disillusioned General

I appeared in the hallway of a hotel in Rotterdam, transported by Joe’s LITV. I notice that there are two of our paramilitaries in the crisp white uniforms of the UEC in the hallway, standing guard. They nod a silent greeting to me as I appear from thin air. Joe must have alerted them to my arrival to avoid any alarm.

I address one of them, "Which room is Lisek’s? I need to talk with him."

One of the guards steps forward and opens one of the doors. He stands in the doorway until he completes a quick visual scan of the room. Then, he steps aside for me to enter. Bright daylight streams in from the windows, the guard, noticing my gaze drawn to the window, says, "The glass is shielded, sir. For protection and to prevent any visual or audio monitoring from outside. However, we did not shield the walls themselves. There is a done inside and another watching the building from outside. Will you need anything?"

As he speaks, I recognize him. "No, Miguel, thank you. How is your family in Mexico?" I ask in Spanish.

His eyes light up. "Oh. They are doing well, sir. They have welcomed me back after my rehab." His eyes got a little watery, at a painful memory. "When I was working with the gangs, they told me never to return... Rightfully so. It was a very poor choice on my part. With the rehab, and the good job with UEC, they see that I am changed... more like I was before I fell in with the wrong people." I smile at his words, and he pauses for a moment. "Thank you, sir, for a second chance at life."

I feel a tear forming in my own eye, now and even as my hand starts to lift to wipe it away, I remember that I am in an android body, so I simply deactivate the tearing response to my emotions. I shake Miguel’s hand. "It would be a waste of a good man to do otherwise, Miguel. You are a credit to your family. Tell them, King Timothy told them they should be very proud of their son."

He beamed, "I will, sir, I will. Thank you."

"Miguel,is there also a drone in the hall for security?" I ask.

"Yes, sir. The hallways on each floor have a fully-equipped drone."

"Good," I reply, "These ’guests’ must be protected."

"Yes, sir."

I nod and step into Lisek’s room. It’s a luxury hotel, so the room is a small suite. I stand in the entry, next to a small kitchenette. I walk forward into the sitting room, and see Lisek, seated on the sofa, feet propped on a coffee table. He takes a long drink from a goblet of water, then sets it down next to a half empty bottle of vodka. I realize he’s not drinking water after all.

"General Lisek," I address him in his native Russian, "I am Timothy Bailey, Chairman of the United Earth Concord. I have removed you from prison and brought you to safety here. We have guards and hidden security systems throughout the building to protect you and the others from any outside threat."

"Good luck with that," he says more cheerfully that the words merit. "Care for a drink?"

I hear Joe’s mental voice in my head, It will not affect the android body, and may help develop rapport with the general if you accept.

"Da," I reply to the General, "Ya budu vodku."

"Good, good. There’s another glass in the kitchen," he waves a hand in that direction. "Room service here has the good stuff. Are you paying for all this?"

I step back to the kitchenette and open two cupboards before I find the glasses. I choose a tumbler like the one he is using. I return to the sitting room and gesture toward a chair, "May I sit down?" I place my empty glass on the coffee table, next to the bottle.

"Please, please," he answers as he reaches for the bottle and fills my glass nearly to the top. As he starts to set the bottle down, he reconsiders, then tops off his own glass.

He picks up his own glass and raises it toward me in a toast, "Za vstrechu."

I take my glass from the table and raise it awkwardly, "To our meeting," I repeat. He takes a long drink. I mirror him. Joe mentally informs me has muted the taste and pain receptors in the android body, as I swallow the room temperature vodka. The taste that does come through is like some harsh industrial chemical. I notice that Lisek is watching me.

"Smooth, yes? Very expensive, I hope you don’t mind."

"Yes, very good. I will need you to keep a clear head though," I tell him.

He laughs out loud, "Of course, that’s what the vodka is for."

I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. He doesn’t seem to be slurring his words, so perhaps he’s clear enough to understand the discussion, I think. In my head, Joe adds He has a remarkable tolerance, he is clear enough and will remember, but his decision-making will be... sub-optimal. I can alter the molecules of the alcohol and reduce the concentration is his blood stream if you like.

Yes, I reply to Joe. Then, focus on Lisek. "General, you’re facing a life sentence in Russia. That’s over, you won’t have to go back. If you have relatives that may be under threat, we can relocate them, as well. Just give us a list of names."

His face grows serious, grave even. He contemplates the vodka in his glass for a moment, then says, as if addressing the glass itself, "The problem is, you see, they are loyal to Russia, to Volkov, and would not willing leave Russia. Even so, Volkov would kill them or worse, probably the worse, if I defied him openly." He lifts his eyes to me to watch my reaction.

I consider for a moment. "I can protect them even where they are in Russia."

His eyebrows rise in surprise, "Can you? I find that hard to believe." He sips his vodka, a much smaller drink this time, then shrugs. "Still, I would have found it hard to believe I could be taken from the prison to a Dutch hotel."

"I need you to testify against Volkov for the International Criminal Court trial, General Lisek. I understand you were present with him during the planning for Ukraine?"

The corners of his mouth turn down, "I was there. That’s one of the reasons why I know he would not hesitate to hurt my family."

"What do you mean?"

"He enjoys cruelty, suffering. He ordered us to crush Ukraine, not just the army, but the people, civilians. The more you kill, he told us, the easier it will be to establish a Russian majority. There were plans to take children and send them to re-education in Russia, teaching them loyalty to Mother Russia above their own country." He looked wistfully at the glass of vodka he was holding, then set it down on the table. "We all smiled and told him we would smash Ukraine for him..."

I was curious now, "Did you fail on purpose, then?"

"What?" He looked up at me in surprise, "No, of course not..." He paused a long moment then continued, "Though, I guess you could say my heart wasn’t in it. The plan was shit, and I didn’t really care." He picked up his glass, then set it back down with drinking. Then he picked up the cap from the table and screwed it back on the top of the bottle. "How can you protect my family is Russia? They think I deserve life in prison for my failure, you know... Sometimes, I agree with them."

"You were placed in an untenable situation," I replied, setting my own mostly full glass on the table. "I have many assets in Russia. I can provide 24-hour monitoring of your relatives. We can remove any threat before they are harmed."

He blew out a sharp breath, in derision. "How can you guarantee the loyalty of your assets. Volkov has people everywhere. People even volunteer, doing things they think might please him, hoping to gain his notice. It’s madness."

"You can stop the madness with your testimony, General Lisek. Our people’s loyalty is untouchable, but we also have measures in place that can work remotely, monitored and activated by people who have no connection to Russia or Volkov."

"Even if he goes free, or his people break him out? He would not be above bombing Rotterdam openly. "He believes in sending strong messages. Public messages."

"He will not go free. If somehow the trial does not find him guilty, I will jail him directly under UEC authority. And I won’t allow any military or other hostile actions against the Dutch."

"You really believe that," Lisek said. "I can tell when a man is lying to me." Lisek stood up, taking a moment to steady himself. He walked over to the window and looked out, his back to me. He stood there motionless for nearly a full minute. "I will testify. Protect my family, take them out of Russia if they will come, but protect them from Volkov’s revenge. I will testify." He repeated. "Volkov is mad... unfit to lead a great country like Russia. But who will replace him, he surrounds himself with other madmen, they will just step in to fill his absence with even more violence to please him... and because they also enjoy it, they love power and the ability to hurt people makes them feel like they have more power..." He paused, still looking out the window, eyes unfocused. "I will testify against Volkov, and the others who helped plan genocide. He wants all of Europe, you know. He thinks by controlling their electricity and oil he can control them and put his puppets in power throughout the continent... It might even work."

"That ends with your testimony, General Lisek."

The general turned away from the window to face me. He seemed a little taller than he had a minute ago.