06-04-2019, 06:16 PM
"I see. Well, what better way to conceal his plans than to tell you that they're mine? So that was the real reason why you insisted on 'giving me my privacy' when I offered to let you and the men sit in First Class with me: because a man of honor couldn't sit with a woman he's been ordered to murder and look her in the eye for ten hours. And you couldn't risk that I'd figure things out on the plane ride here and compel you to tell me everything right then."
Ramirez paused, then nodded slowly. Helena took out the pack of cigarettes she'd had in the cell and produced two of them.
"Well, Capitano, because I believe you to be a man of honor, I will show you the same. If I have your word that you won't kill me until after I've said what I must to you, I will release you from my control and not do this thing that I can do to you again. Here, take one. They're mine, not the poisoned ones, and it's customary at a moment like this. If, after the cigarette, you still think I'm a danger to you and San Finzione, I'll accept your decision and you may play your role in his treason if you still think it just. Do I have your word on this?"
Ramirez nodded in the affirmative and snapped his holster closed. Helena nodded as well and picked up her cigarette, gesturing for him to do the same. He found he was able to move freely and took it. She lit both of them before speaking.
"Now, to take care of the first point, despite what you, the Generalissimo, most of San Finzione, and even my closest friends think, I DID love Count Vincenzo, and if his heart hadn't given out while making love to me, I'd still be happily by his side. I put up a good facade of not caring so my friends wouldn't worry about me, but he was a good man, and I am attracted to much older Eastern Mediterranean men. I know exactly why that's the case as well. If you happen to have any psychiatrist friends who're looking to make a name for themselves, feel free to give them my number.
"I won't deny that I took advantage of Maria for a long time. Perhaps, in my grief, I thought nobody else would ever be good enough for her. I tried to tell myself that I was grooming her to be a good servant to the people. Denial and self-justification have been a big part of my psychological defenses for most of my life, but a friend recently showed me the error of my ways, and I have been trying to make amends since. I hope this same taverna gossip has also spoken of that."
Ramirez took a drag of his cigarette. "Not much. The other stories are more popular." She nodded, took a drag from her own, and continued.
"I'd imagine so. A woman who's only just realized that family is not a bad word and is trying to do right by her great-granddaughter and make her country a better place doesn't make for good gossip. It certainly doesn't make a good justification for an assassination and coup. Let me ask you something." She took a drag of her cigarette.
"Do you think the Generalissimo will stop there? Once he's got emergency powers, do you think he'll just give them up when his manufactured crisis is over? Once San Finzione becomes a military dictatorship, even without the firm ally in Africa that he'd planned to have in Igazi, do you think someone who has already sacrificed two of your fellow soldiers and a civilian, would have gladly sacrificed more, and has no qualms with ordering you to kill me to fulfill his scheme will be satisfied? Or would he want more? Would he look to expand his territory and fill the people's ears with stories of conquest and victory and drag them into endless wars for his own glory?"
Ramirez nodded his understanding, but his hand never left his holster.
"And will you be happy with your role in history, Ramirez? As the endless parade of flag-dbangd coffins fills the streets of San Finzione and the people howl for blood, will a man of honor like you be able to live with himself knowing that every one of those coffins, the Generalissimo will owe to you and your willingness to kill me for him? Knowing that I'll be in that first coffin and you'll be the one who put me there?
"He'll be looking to rally the people to his side. I'm sure my state funeral will have Princess Diana looking on from Heaven and muttering jealously. Will you attend, Ramirez? Will you put on your best formal dress uniform and stand by the Generalissimo's side and try to look sad for the cameras? Or will you even be around to see it? Will he consider you a loose end that needs tying up? The Generalissimo will owe everything to you. Does he strike you as a man who'll be able to live comfortably with that? Knowing that at any time, your integrity may get the better of you and you might decide to talk? Or will he take steps to prevent that? How far behind my own flag-dbangd coffin do you think yours will be, Capitano?"
She reached the end of the cigarette, put it out, and nodded.
"And now, if you still think I deserve to be sent into the next world, you may do so with a clear conscience, Ramirez; two of the only three men I've ever loved and one bastard I am NOT done with are waiting there for me."
Ramirez put out his own cigarette. His hand left his holster.
"I like it when people make the smart choice, Ramirez. Because of that, I'll now let you notice the gun I've had pointed at you all this time. I told you to ignore it before we entered the hut. You'd have been dead before your gun cleared leather."
Ramirez saw her put away the LC9 she'd had trained on him during their entire conversation.
"You could have shot me at any point," he said.
"I said you were a man of honor and that I'd show you the same; I didn't say that I was an idiot."
"So why didn't you just use your power and compel me to confess to the media? I presume such things are not beyond your capabilities."
"Because I was serious about trying to make up for my past, Ramirez, and I was pretty sure you would do the right thing, but I needed to be certain. When all this is over, San Finzione is going to need a new Generalissimo, and I've just found him."
Helena stood up. Generalissimo Ramirez did the same, then stood to attention and saluted his Contessa.
"The other warlords will be coming soon," he told her. "It would be wise not to be here when they arrive."
"I've been thinking about that too, Generalissimo. It seems like a waste to not do something about it. I have an idea, though."
* * *
Ramirez paused, then nodded slowly. Helena took out the pack of cigarettes she'd had in the cell and produced two of them.
"Well, Capitano, because I believe you to be a man of honor, I will show you the same. If I have your word that you won't kill me until after I've said what I must to you, I will release you from my control and not do this thing that I can do to you again. Here, take one. They're mine, not the poisoned ones, and it's customary at a moment like this. If, after the cigarette, you still think I'm a danger to you and San Finzione, I'll accept your decision and you may play your role in his treason if you still think it just. Do I have your word on this?"
Ramirez nodded in the affirmative and snapped his holster closed. Helena nodded as well and picked up her cigarette, gesturing for him to do the same. He found he was able to move freely and took it. She lit both of them before speaking.
"Now, to take care of the first point, despite what you, the Generalissimo, most of San Finzione, and even my closest friends think, I DID love Count Vincenzo, and if his heart hadn't given out while making love to me, I'd still be happily by his side. I put up a good facade of not caring so my friends wouldn't worry about me, but he was a good man, and I am attracted to much older Eastern Mediterranean men. I know exactly why that's the case as well. If you happen to have any psychiatrist friends who're looking to make a name for themselves, feel free to give them my number.
"I won't deny that I took advantage of Maria for a long time. Perhaps, in my grief, I thought nobody else would ever be good enough for her. I tried to tell myself that I was grooming her to be a good servant to the people. Denial and self-justification have been a big part of my psychological defenses for most of my life, but a friend recently showed me the error of my ways, and I have been trying to make amends since. I hope this same taverna gossip has also spoken of that."
Ramirez took a drag of his cigarette. "Not much. The other stories are more popular." She nodded, took a drag from her own, and continued.
"I'd imagine so. A woman who's only just realized that family is not a bad word and is trying to do right by her great-granddaughter and make her country a better place doesn't make for good gossip. It certainly doesn't make a good justification for an assassination and coup. Let me ask you something." She took a drag of her cigarette.
"Do you think the Generalissimo will stop there? Once he's got emergency powers, do you think he'll just give them up when his manufactured crisis is over? Once San Finzione becomes a military dictatorship, even without the firm ally in Africa that he'd planned to have in Igazi, do you think someone who has already sacrificed two of your fellow soldiers and a civilian, would have gladly sacrificed more, and has no qualms with ordering you to kill me to fulfill his scheme will be satisfied? Or would he want more? Would he look to expand his territory and fill the people's ears with stories of conquest and victory and drag them into endless wars for his own glory?"
Ramirez nodded his understanding, but his hand never left his holster.
"And will you be happy with your role in history, Ramirez? As the endless parade of flag-dbangd coffins fills the streets of San Finzione and the people howl for blood, will a man of honor like you be able to live with himself knowing that every one of those coffins, the Generalissimo will owe to you and your willingness to kill me for him? Knowing that I'll be in that first coffin and you'll be the one who put me there?
"He'll be looking to rally the people to his side. I'm sure my state funeral will have Princess Diana looking on from Heaven and muttering jealously. Will you attend, Ramirez? Will you put on your best formal dress uniform and stand by the Generalissimo's side and try to look sad for the cameras? Or will you even be around to see it? Will he consider you a loose end that needs tying up? The Generalissimo will owe everything to you. Does he strike you as a man who'll be able to live comfortably with that? Knowing that at any time, your integrity may get the better of you and you might decide to talk? Or will he take steps to prevent that? How far behind my own flag-dbangd coffin do you think yours will be, Capitano?"
She reached the end of the cigarette, put it out, and nodded.
"And now, if you still think I deserve to be sent into the next world, you may do so with a clear conscience, Ramirez; two of the only three men I've ever loved and one bastard I am NOT done with are waiting there for me."
Ramirez put out his own cigarette. His hand left his holster.
"I like it when people make the smart choice, Ramirez. Because of that, I'll now let you notice the gun I've had pointed at you all this time. I told you to ignore it before we entered the hut. You'd have been dead before your gun cleared leather."
Ramirez saw her put away the LC9 she'd had trained on him during their entire conversation.
"You could have shot me at any point," he said.
"I said you were a man of honor and that I'd show you the same; I didn't say that I was an idiot."
"So why didn't you just use your power and compel me to confess to the media? I presume such things are not beyond your capabilities."
"Because I was serious about trying to make up for my past, Ramirez, and I was pretty sure you would do the right thing, but I needed to be certain. When all this is over, San Finzione is going to need a new Generalissimo, and I've just found him."
Helena stood up. Generalissimo Ramirez did the same, then stood to attention and saluted his Contessa.
"The other warlords will be coming soon," he told her. "It would be wise not to be here when they arrive."
"I've been thinking about that too, Generalissimo. It seems like a waste to not do something about it. I have an idea, though."
* * *
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