Fractions_ The First Half of the Fall Revolution - Ken MacLeod [272]
‘Well, hello there Jon.’
‘Hi, Dave. Didn’t expect to be speaking to you.’
(‘You know this guy?’ Julie hissed.)
Dave coughed. ‘I hired out a few squads for, uh, technical work in the current operation, and for some time I’ve had a good business relationship with our friends to the North.’
I understood what he meant but it seemed unnecessarily oblique. I gave him what I hoped came across as a dirty look.
‘You worried about the crypto, or something? I mean, it was your lot who picked it.’
‘No, no.’ Dave nodded as if past my shoulder. ‘Just – who’s that lassie on the bench behind you?’
‘Uh?’ I looked back. Julie was leaning forward over hillocks of skirt, her neat boots dangling below, like a doll on a shelf.
‘Watch your lip, man, that’s Julie O’Brien.’
‘Sorry, ma’am,’ Reid said. ‘Didn’t recognise you.’
‘That’s all right,’ Julie said. ‘And you can speak freely.’ Probably flattered at being called a lassie, I thought dourly.
‘OK,’ said Reid. He relaxed. ‘Fact is, Jon, I’ve been working with the ANR for years, and I’ve spent the past few weeks brokering deals with defence companies in your neck of the woods.’
‘Yeah, well I had noticed combat futures were up.’
Reid grinned. ‘Aye, and you can use them to leverage insurance…’ He rubbed his hands. ‘Great fun, of course, but now that we’ve squared everything with the road owners and cop-cos we need to deal with the Movement militia. Politics, not business. They thought I was the right person to talk to you.’
‘Given our deep personal trust.’
‘Something like that.’
‘Are you really launching an offensive tomorrow?’
Reid grinned. ‘I can’t say. We intend to, but we haven’t got all the bugs out of our system yet.’
The ANR was alleged to have inherited some diabolically clever military software from the old Republic, though if its previous failed offensives were anything to go by it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
‘Why are you posting a timetable of where you intend to hit? Most strategists still rate the advantage of surprise, last I heard.’
‘I’m told it’s a humanitarian measure,’ Reid chuckled. ‘It lets the civilians get out of the way.’
‘And clogs the roads with refugees and gives the mini-state militias every excuse for calling in sick tomorrow morning?’
‘Like I said –’
‘– Humanitarian. OK. Business. What’s the deal with Norlonto?’
‘We know your militia won’t fight for the Kingdom,’ Reid said slowly, ‘and we don’t expect you to fight for the Republic. All donations gratefully received, of course, but that’s by the way. The main thing is, we don’t want anybody thinking we’re invading you if we happen to, uh, pass through in large tracked vehicles.’
‘I can see how that might be misunderstood,’ I said. (Julie, behind me, snorted.) ‘What guarantee do we have that you aren’t gonna just stomp on us?’
‘Apart from my solemn word?’
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘Apart from that.’
‘It’s not in our interests. We’ve nothing against Norlonto. Some of the little Free States will have to be cleaned up, but you’re not on the list.’
Fucking great. ‘OK, how about this. ANR shelling and rocketing of Norlonto stops right now. Your troops can pass through, but they can’t stay and they especially can’t launch any attacks on the Hanoverians from positions inside Norlonto, even with the landowners’ permission.’
‘That’ll do,’ Reid said.
‘That breaks the Settlement,’ Julie said, as if this point had just occurred to her.
‘Indeed it does,’ Reid said drily. ‘So just on the off-chance that we lose this round, I suggest that Jon makes this deal known over your heads. All those who did accept the Settlement resign their posts in disgust, and Jon takes over for the next day or two.’
‘What!’ Julie and I said at the same moment.
‘Sure,’ Reid went on imperturbably. ‘Make him dictator or something. That way, he can give the orders to the militia and take the rap if we go down. You can always shoot him afterwards if we win and he shows too much attachment to the job, but I’m sure that won’t be necessary.’
‘You’re asking a lot,’ I said. ‘If you lose, I