King of All I Survey
Chapter 71: Let’s Not Play at Charades

Chapter 71: Let’s Not Play at Charades

President Arroyo sat at the head of the table in a private room off the main dining hall at Restaurante Flor de Lis. At the side of the table sat the two Americans, one on his left and one to his right. Immediately next to them sat two of the President’s Honor Guards. A waiter had just poured water for each of them and then left them alone while the first dish was prepared.

President Arroyo spoke first. "I’m not going to play games listening to denials of what I know to be true, so just listen. Perhaps, as good agents, if you listen well, you’ll learn something about my sources. I know who you are and your roles within the CIA. Raul Vargas, you are a Senior Field Operations Leader who has been with the agency since July 17th, 1994. Congratulations on your 30 years of service, by the way. Notable recent operations include Syria and Libya. You speak fluent Arabic, Spanish, Italian, French, and, of course, English. Paul Forest, you are a Field Operations Specialist focusing on gathering intelligence and covert handling of special assets. In Guatemala, your assignment is to get close to Rafael Camal de Leon and assess his suitability as a major asset."

As President Arroyo spoke, both men’s faces were completely frozen as if carved from stone. It was clear that their best course of action was, as Arroyo suggested, just to remain silent and use the President’s words to learn as much as they could about the depth of his information and its potential sources. Obviously, their mission was compromised, and they would likely be pulled out of country immediately, assuming Arroyo kept his word and released them.

"Raul you are to try to secure me as an asset. Both of you are to recruit assets from, or place them within, key positions with whomever takes control of the Guatemala and Chiapas trafficking operations given the current instability and sudden shift in power dynamics. Guatemalan government, military and law enforcement should also be considered targets for asset placement. Eliminate or weaken opposition to your chosen groups." Arroyo paused to take a sip of water from his glass on the table.

"Gentlemen, there will be no further drug-trafficking or production activity in Guatemala. Furthermore, both I and Mr. Camal de Leon will not abide anyone seeking to divert the loyalty of government officials away from their sworn oaths to the country and people of Guatemala. If such attempts are made, we will know and we will take strong, public actions to counter them. Guatemala is not an enemy of the United States. We are an enemy to lawless criminals who seek to exploit our people and our geographical location. I hope everything I have said is clear."

He looked at each man in turn and got no reaction whatsoever. The President shrugged. "Now, I would like to ask a favor. Two days ago, at exactly 7:19 AM, a telephone call was placed from a cartel compound in Colombia to an unregistered cell phone in El Salvador. We have reason to believe that the purpose of this call was to unleash a particular hit squad on Guatemala. Their primary targets are myself, Rafael Camal de Leon, and Maria Isabel Flores. Secondary targets are critical infrastructure, government buildings, and even public areas in order to cause instability and chaos. Our assumption is they would like to take advantage of those conditions to install leadership that is less hostile to cartel interests. I would like you to convey to your senior leadership that we would like to know the identity and whereabouts of that team or teams before they strike. I’m sure your agency has considerable resources that can be applied to the problem. Our sources are working on it as well, but any assistance you could provide would be appreciated and would help demonstrate the sincerity of the United States’ continuing friendship to Guatemala."

The door to the main dining hall opened and three waiters entered bearing trays. They set a small plate of seasoned and crisped strips of masa tortillas along with a small, primitive, fired-clay dish with several compartments each holding a different dipping sauce. The lead waiter explained the sauces and asked if there was anything else he could get for the group. Satisfied that all was well, the wait-staff left the room again, closing the door behind them.

President Arroyo smiled and held out his arms to either side, "Gentlemen, it would be a shame to distract from the elegant dishes prepared by our good chef with further business discussions. If you would like, we can resume the charade of your cover identities while we eat. Perhaps, Robert, you would like to know of a good hotel and some local advice on visiting Tikal? I think I could arrange a guided tour to areas that are generally restricted to public access if you think that might be helpful for your photography."

The two agents seemed to relax, their faces jovial and friendly, "Please Mr. President, call me Bob. I only use Robert on credit applications." Bob and Pablo, as they were called for the remainder of the afternoon, chuckled at his attempted humor. President Arroyo smiled politely. The remaining courses were served, each dish more delightful and complex than the last until the table was cleared and the guests sat back, not quite over-stuffed, but very close. The conversation throughout the luncheon was light and filled with pleasant banalities with the newcomers asking typical touristy questions about the country, its customs, and never once touching upon any events recently in the news.

When they finished, they walked out of the restaurant and found that, in addition to the President’s motorcade, there were two bright yellow taxis waiting. "Gentleman, I have arranged for these taxis to be at your disposal for the remainder of the day. Feel free to sight-see if you have time, or head straight to your destinations, as you see fit. You will find your luggage, minus the one bag that was unfortunately left behind in Houston, in the trunks. Sergeant Martinez will return your cell phones, now. You have my assurance that neither the phones nor the luggage has been opened or tampered with in any way. Please enjoy your stay in friendly Guatemala. If there is anything you need, please call my office directly." He handed each of them a business card. "This number will get you directly to my personal secretary who has been advised to put either of you through to me directly."

--

"That was an interesting way to handle things," Dad said as we watched the lunch meeting conclude. "I think I could get to like this Arroyo. Are you sure we really need Rafael?"

I shook my head, "Dad, you know Joe’s assessment is that Arroyo is too independent and would be unlikely to allow his country to be subordinate to a global authority. But, you know, maybe when he’s out of office, we could arrange a golf outing for the two of you if you like him so much," I grinned wickedly at Dad. I knew that it wasn’t a matter of him liking Arroyo so much as it was him actively disliking Rafael, but that wasn’t a subject that either of us really wanted to discuss.

Another thought occurred to me. "Joe, if someone is wearing one of our shields can we take them out if needed? I mean with anything short of a nuclear blast?"

"I can turn the shields off, at will. Assuming, however you mean shields in general, not controlled by us, then we have a problem. The Galactic Union has licensed under exclusive terms, most shield penetrating weapon systems. They are not, therefor, available for us to license or use." Joe replied.

"But the GU could blast through all of our shields without a problem?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Hmmm. Another fact they didn’t mention when they provided shield tech," I grumbled. "They’re just playing us like country bumpkins on their first visit to the big city."

"That is precisely what you are as a world previously unaware of alien civilizations, advanced technologies, or the political machinations of the greater galaxy." Joe offered cheerfully.

"What about their enemies? They must also have shield penetrating weapons. Can we buy or license those?"

"As a protectorate of the GU, you have agreed not to make purchases outside of the Galactic Union. Doing so would immediately void the protection contract leaving Earth vulnerable to raids or even forcible capture and servitude." Joe supplied.

"Sure, but what if we were valuable enough to one or more of the others, so that they’d be willing to stand up for us if someone tried to hit Earth? Surely the Galactic Union or others wouldn’t risk all out war for one little system?"

"Perhaps," Joe said, "The other downside to leaving Galactic Union oversight voluntarily is that they would retain permanent rights to previously licensed Earth products, such as the coffee, chocolate and anything else already licensed. Additionally, our system-wide licenses would be voided, we could no longer make shields, or dark energy generators on an unlimited basis. They could refuse individual use new licenses as well."

"Couldn’t we just buy or license what we wanted from other empires?" I asked.

"Mostly, yes, if you could pay for them," Joe replied.

"What if we sold chocolate and coffee to the other empires regardless of the GU agreement?"

"The Galactic Union would take a very dim view of that. They might be willing to risk open conflict. The inviolate principle of intellectual property licensing is the foundation of their economy. If their license values were diluted by allowing outside suppliers to copy them, or to offer competing technologies to Galactic Union members or protectorates, the economic damage would likely outweigh the costs of a limited war."

"If the Galactic Union terminates our contract, though, our own IP rights revert to us? And we’d be free to buy or license tech from anyone, including the GU."

"In theory, yes. The Galactic Union would likely refuse your business. And the specific terms of each license would dictate whether they would continue to have access to those products. You’d need a legal breach of contract by the GU to void any claims they might have on Earth licenses."

I smiled. "Joe, could you prepare a list of actions that might constitute a breach of contract. And, also, make a summary of any loopholes or provisions that allow us to deal in any way with non-Galactic Union partners. If the TV shows are true, Earth has a particular skill in devious lawyers..."

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