Deadly States (Seaforth Files by Nicholas P Clark Book 2) (45 page)
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Authors: Nicholas P Clark
this would be the best opportunity for the next ten years to take the
entire network out—or at the very least, to take out the leadership, if
they only met that infrequently. He would have given anything for an
automatic weapon or a hand grenade at that time. In one swift action
he could have ended the madness then and there.
“My friends, we are fast approaching the point where we are going
to have to take some hard decisions. None
of us is
ever going to get
exactly what they want. There will have to be compromise. We must
stop thinking along national lines and start thinking about what is
best for our global government. Old enmities will have to be set to one
side for the greater good. With this in mind I have been looking at all
of
the conflicts that have existed,
or which may arise between member
nations. I have set up a council comprised of those countries that have
no conflicts
of their
own, and who as far as
possible, are neutral. I
have asked them to look at all existing conflicts in a fair fashion. I will
call
on those representatives to sit
down with nations in conflict and
explain their proposals. Please note, and this is where I need everyone
to be grown up, the decision
of the council is final. There is no room
for negotiation. It will be a fair settlement and you will simply have
to abide by it.”
A
discontented,
agitated
muttering
briefly
moved
through
the
crowd. Those countries who Deeley was speaking about immediately feared what was
being given up
on their
behalf in the name
of
the
greater good
? That simple human reaction gave Jack some hope.
That unholy alliance that Deeley was trying to forge would ultimately
fall apart. Nation would always fight against nation, and when those
nations
were
being
led
by
dictators
it
always
ended
in
unimaginable
bloodshed. Hitler and Stalin, the Iran-Iraq war; those
conflicts
would
pale
to
insignificance
if
states
with
a
nuclear
capability
turned
on
one
another.
Unbridled
power always
led to
destruction.
It
was
the
loss
of
innocent
life that warring
nations
endured as they learned that painful
lesson that Jack was concerned to
avoid.
“Ultimately we will be one large entity. Your former countries will
be states within
one great nation. We must work together; we must
set aside all thoughts of past conflicts. We have one chance to do this. If
we get it wrong it will
be another century
before the world is in a
position to accept another attempt. A little pain now, both in terms
of pride and in terms of force, will give rise to stability the likes of
which this Earth has never witnessed before. It will be an age of peace,
progress and compassion that will lift all
mankind to a new level in
our social evolution.”
Deeley stopped mid flow.
All
eyes turned towards a corner
of the
room. The corner was not within Jack’s field
of vision. Like an actor
who had been waiting in the wings, she stepped out of the corner and
into Jack’s view. It was
dramatic and
quite literally
show
stopping.
Jack would have been disappointed had she done anything less. Jack’s
spirits rose for an instant before being restrained by thoughts
of how
Deeley would respond to the interruption.
“And when you say that we all have to make sacrifices, does that
include England?” she said.
Her stern
consternation indicated that
she was
not
going away
until Deeley answered her question. Properly.
“All conflict in the UK is at an end. The actions of one or two small
terrorist groups does not constitute a war,” explained Deeley.
“I think that you should let the countries that
make up the UK
decide on their
own future.
And Northern Ireland. I see a representative from the IRA in the room. Will he get what he wants?
And my
country? What will become
of Israel? I see many
of
my
neighbours
in the room. Do you
please them
by
sacrificing
my
nation?
Or
do
you risk their wrath by allowing my country to continue to exist? Mr
Deeley, there is no one in this room who would do more to see your
dream succeed, but I just don’t see how it could ever be possible. And
by
even trying we risk the deaths of many innocents. It is a price that I’m
not convinced is worth paying. Not for an unattainable dream.”
Deeley
did not like being challenged,
especially when the points
that she was making were so relevant. But she knew that already. She
also knew that when he acted against her he would kill her. For better
or worse he was a
man hell bent
on the realisation
of his dream
and she could not get in his way and expect to survive. Jack could see
that some of the delegates who she was referring to did look confused
and slightly anxious by what she was asking. It was clear that some
of them were going to leave the room
on that
evening disappointed.
That disappointment would lead to resistance and violence. Jack felt
the tension in the room below rise. It was as if many
of the delegates
realised for the first time that they would either get their own way, or
have a settlement imposed on them through the use of force; and the
might of that force would be born in that room if they didn’t speak up.
Alexa continued to hold her ground even though none of the others with compatible concerns dared to stand with her. Jack was worried
for her. Even with all of his talk about an all-knowing council Jack felt
that Deeley could change his mind at any moment and that would not
be good for
her. It
made sense that the council would allow Israel to
continue in its current form, if
only to keep the
Americans
onboard,
but that decision, for better
or for worse would not stop Deeley from
ending her
outburst. Jack scanned the faces in the crowd again. There
was still no sign
of Barry, though Jack felt sure that Barry was the
IRA man she had referred to. Barry was delusional but there was no
way that he would believe the promises made by Deeley regarding the
future of Ireland.
At least Jack hoped that he wouldn’t. The others he
could not be as certain as to how seriously they were taking Deeley’s
brave new world
speech. She had taken them along the road of realisation but they would have to make the rest
of that journey
on their
own. If enough of them believed her words then the nightmare would
be over before it had a chance to begin.
At the very least, many
of the
delegates would leave the plant with a very serious dilemma to resolve.
Jack almost held his breath as the tension raced towards a climax.
“As I said, it will be a fair settlement. No country will be wiped
out.
And in the
end, we will all
end up united and powerful,” said
Deeley. “Everyone living in member states will have the right to live
their lives as they see fit. They can worship whatever god they want to
worship, and they can hold any other beliefs that suit them, as long as
those beliefs do not conflict with the laws of our nation. This is what I
have been saying. Petty
conflicts
over religion and territory will no
longer matter. Peace through unity.”
“And what about that
question
of religion that you have so easily
glossed
over?
Are
millennia
of religious
differences simply
going
to disappear?” she continued. “I
see
others in this
want to
enforce their
own strict religious
outlook
place who would
on the world. Do
we adopt their will
or do you disappoint them by casting aside their
beliefs? Beliefs that they are clearly willing to die for, and are dying for
196
as we speak.”
“Each state will have control over its own territory. But we will all
be governed by a common set
of laws. But I would remind you that
none of this will happen for many years. Decades even.”
She smiled.
“Typical British solution,” she said. “Wait and see what happens.
It worked well in Kashmir when you
partitioned India,” she added,
caustically. “Are you really asking us to get involved in this fight without knowing first what it is that they are fighting for? You cannot ask
us to kill in the name of this cause, to kill
our
own countrymen and
women in the name of this cause, and not know where it will all end.
No one in this room is going to stand for that. We need to know more
details. This is your dream Mr Deeley. You have been the driving force
behind it from the seventies. Surely after twenty years in charge of the
project you must at least have some vague idea as to where you want
to lead us. I for one would be very interested to learn more about that
destination.
And even more important than that, I want to know what
it will cost my country.”
The
quiet
moan
of
discontent was
hard to
decipher. They
may
have been exasperated by her speech,
or they
may have been moved
by it. Either way, the situation in the room below was growing more
and more tense. She had made her point and Jack hoped that she had
enough sense to quit while she was ahead, if she hadn’t already pissed
off Deeley too
much for redemption to be an
option
open to her. It
was the vital spark and fearlessness that attracted Jack to her in the
first place. Well, that and her
beauty. Her intellect was amazing and
she had often left Jack struggling to keep up when they were together.
With such a formidable intellect at her disposal Jack was struggling to
understand why she was persisting with the harassment of Deeley. She
had made the point clearly
enough to convince those delegates with
minds of their own to take nothing more to do with Deeley. The others
would never have their minds changed, no matter how powerful
her
argument. Jack concluded that there were two possible reasons why
she was continuing to provoke him—either she had reached the
point
of desperation and she saw no other way,
or she had a plan and the
provocation was part of her plan. Jack felt confident that the latter