Of Fire and Night - Kevin J. Anderson [137]
"I am doing my best, sir. At the moment, I have no leads. This inside source seems to be a very careful, very clever person."
Basil heaved a sigh of disgust, then cut off further irrelevant chitchat. "I called you here because I have a job for you. I need you to write a very important letter."
Cain was intrigued. "A letter to whom?"
"To whom it may concern--or whatever phrase you choose. The author will be Estarra. You see, our poor Queen is about to be terribly distraught, shattered, in fact. We can only imagine how much pain and abject misery a woman feels when she loses her unborn child."
Cain could not cover his startled expression. "The Queen lost her baby? When did that happen?"
"She's going to lose it soon, and there are bound to be medical complications. If she happens to survive the miscarriage, then we will need your note." Basil narrowed his gray eyes. "It has to be perfect, considering it'll be widely reported in the media."
Cain seemed guarded, even upset. "I need to be perfectly clear what you're asking me to do, Mr. Chairman."
"Don't be obtuse. You need to make sure the Queen sounds sufficiently distraught, even suicidal, after losing the baby. She can't deal with the responsibility and the loss. It's clear to her that she has no option but to take her own life, and so on. She'll find a quiet and painless way, I'm sure."
A flush appeared on the pale man's face. His nostrils flared as he drew a deep breath. "It is very dangerous--and, I believe, ill-advised--for you to kill the Queen."
"The Queen is going to kill herself, Mr. Cain . . . if that should prove necessary. And I believe it will be."
Cain remained silent for a long time. He didn't pace, didn't move, simply stared into the Chairman's eyes. "Consider the consequences of such an action. You saw how the public cheered when they learned of her pregnancy. If she loses the baby, they will be devastated. If the Queen commits suicide afterward, it will be another blow. Now is not the time for us to willfully damage morale. The people are already in despair--what if this pushes them over the edge? Mr. Chairman, that is a decidedly foolish risk to take."
Basil gave a dismissive wave. "Public morale will drop for a while, and then we'll shore it up. In a time of such tragedy, the people will grasp at any straw." The Chairman bent over to smell the fragrant white blossoms. "By the way, I'm happy to report that Prince Daniel is doing remarkably well. Ever since we put abject terror into him, he's been fabulously cooperative. Oh, he's a bit full of himself in front of functionaries and servants, but never around me."
Cain was obviously not so satisfied. "He takes out his frustration on others. That is not a desirable leadership trait, sir. We should do our best to stamp it out while he is still malleable. It could come back to bite us in the future."
"On the contrary, I see it as a sign of healthy self-esteem. A King needs that, so long as he does exactly what he's told."
Cain continued to struggle with his genuine anger. Basil was pleased to see the deputy show a little backbone. "Sir, may I speak frankly?"
"If I wanted simpering, I could find any number of people to do it."
"Your animosity toward King Peter has passed beyond the professional level to become a personal vendetta. I believe it's affecting your ability to perform rationally as Chairman."
"I have never lost sight of the big picture, Mr. Cain. The list of Peter's infractions is very long, and so is the number of once-reliable men and