King of All I Survey
Chapter 45: Wait Until Your Mother Gets Home, Mister... Um, my King

Chapter 45: Wait Until Your Mother Gets Home, Mister... Um, my King

"We’ll have to wait until she is alone with Luis to recall her to avoid revealing technologies that are incongruous with Earth-based capabilities to Rafael," Joe reminded Dan.

Exasperated, Dan agreed, "Yes, yes, just get her back as soon as you can without revealing anything." His fingers nervously drummed the arm of the adaptable chair in which he sat.

"Joe," I chimed in, "meanwhile, can you fill us in on the possibilities you mentioned for her plans?"

"Of course, King Tim. I cannot know what she intends until she reveals her full intentions, but I have run through a number of probable outcomes in simulation. Again, I caution you that due to the unpredictability of human behavior, unknown variables, and random chance, no simulation will be able to perfectly predict future outcomes. I think it is likely that she intends to use the attempted assassination orchestrated by a district police commissioner and the internal fracturing of the criminal network Rafael has built in Guatemala to embark upon a public anti-corruption crusade. She most likely intends to portray Rafael as a victim of circumstance; a reformed criminal, driven to crime by the trauma of his childhood and the difficulties of everyday life among the marginalized people of the country, the power and cruelty of the cartels to the north and south."

"He’s the one victimizing them!" Dad interjected angrily. "Victim my ass!" Dad quickly looked at me and said quietly, "Tim, do not use that kind of language. I shouldn’t have said it like that, understand?"

I nodded, "Yes, Dad."

"Perhaps," Joe continued, "but this story would likely be highly relatable to her audience. She could claim that Rafael has decided to abandon his evil ways, perhaps as a result of religious conversion, or some other perspective-changing self-revelation. Because of this change of heart, he plans to use the toughness he has gained in his rough life and his inside knowledge of both the criminal networks operating in and around Guatemala to make restitution to the land of his birth. Using his intimate knowledge of the way government and law enforcement corruption works, and more specifically, his knowledge of the actual corrupt officials’ names and specific crimes, he could promise to clean up the government, punish the wrong-doers and restore power and prosperity to the people."

"The story would be that Rafael called a colleague to tell him he was getting out of the drug-trafficking business. Then, this former close friend sent two assassins after Rafael. We could use audio or even video of him giving the orders, video of the assassins in uniform, then out of uniform later, lying in wait with rifles. Rafael’s incredibly brave and heroic rush into the face of danger, and perhaps crediting the Grace of God, he prevailed and survived... It could make a very compelling story. Perhaps he might become a hero of the people. Maribel would also be shown rushing into danger on behalf of the people of Guatemala. Her bravery might inspire them to stand up as she did. She might even be portrayed as the reason for Rafael’s sudden and dramatic change of heart, becoming a national hero herself."

"Wait a minute," Dad cut in again, "She can’t be Mirabel all the time. She has a son and husband here, as Susan Bailey. Mirabel is just a cover identity, a very temporary cover identity. Your plan would mean she has to spend a considerable amount of time as Mirabel. You’re making it sound like a love story between her and Rafael. That’s just not workable."

"As I said," Joe replied, much more calmly than Dad, "I am only running probable scenarios based on available data and interpolation. I cannot know the full scope or direction of Maribel’s plan until she tells us. There is also a high probability that her statement was the result of an impulsive reaction to the traumatic events of the evening, and she has not herself fully thought through the implications of her offer. In fact, this is highly probable according to my behavioral simulations."

"Obviously," Dad said pointedly.

"Further, I remind you that as Mirabel, she is unaware of the presence of a son and husband awaiting an alter-ego she knows nothing about. When the imprinting of the Mirabel identity is lifted, she may have a very different perspective."

"Let’s hope so," Dad rejoined.

"Wait, though," I said, "I mean, obviously, Mom can’t be in a love story with Rafael..." I blushed uncomfortably at the thought. "But the goal is to establish a single world government, create world peace, and make Earth secure enough to resist being raided and destroyed by advanced alien empires. I need to be the real Supreme Ruler of the Entire Earth Solar System and Nearby Space to do that. That’s what this whole Guatemala operation is about, after all. We chose this mission as our first step on that path. We thought it would take much longer, but if this path gets us there faster..."

"Tim," Dad objected, "This would put us at war with huge, powerful criminal cartels. They would kill thousands and hunt us to the ends of the Earth if there was even a hint of us interfering with their operations. It’s too dangerous. I forbid it. I’m still your father."

"Dad, I promised to listen to you as my father, for fatherly things," I stressed the last phrase, then continued in a normal tone "but you promised to listen to me as King of Earth. You swore loyalty. What’s best for the King of Earth and Earth as a whole, might not be what’s best for your little boy."

Dad got that look he gets when he’s about to tell me to stop acting up or he’s going to count to three, and then, oh mister, bad things will happen if you’re still misbehaving.

Then it faded away, he closed his eyes and sighed. Then he smiled, and got a little twinkle in his eyes, "We’ll talk about it when your mother gets home, my King."

It just highlighted the ridiculousness of the entire situation. Something that was such an ordinary statement just a couple months ago, now meant that we needed our top-secret agent, my Mom, to give Dad and me a full report before we decided how to conquer our first country. It was such a dad thing to say. We both laughed, relieving the tension.

Meanwhile, of course, things were still happening back in Guatemala, where Mom was talking with a criminal kingpin who had just killed two men. Their bloody bodies still lying in the dirt.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.