[Laeral]

President Brennan took a few deep breaths as he stood outside the entrance to the Media Conference Room at Republic House. In a few minutes, he'd have to go in there to explain to the press and to a Laeralian public increasingly weary of foreign 'misadventures' why he'd extended an invitation for Lauchenoirian President Walker to come to Laeral. He had a few notes with him, but they were more for comfort than anything else. He rarely looked at his notes while he was speaking. His phone rang in his pocket. He wondered for an instant if it was one of the surprisingly many foreign leaders who had somehow gotten their hands on his personal cell phone number, but it was in fact his Prime Minister. He put the phone to his ear. "Tanvi. How are you?"
On the other end of the line, he could hear Tanvi Misra, the Prime Minister. In Laeral's semi-presidential system, the Prime Minister was elected by the National Assembly rather than directly, as Brennan had been. While Brennan himself had needed to appeal to the voters using his charisma and personality, Tanvi Misra was much more of a political operator. Brennan had picked her because she could deliver the necessary votes in the National Assembly to support Brennan's Progressive Party agenda, not for any other reason. "I am well, Nicholas," she said. Brennan could hear her Andhran accent strongly, an indication that she was more agitated than usual. "How are you?"
"I'm good, thank you. I assume that this is about Leanna Walker?"
"It is. I do wish that you had consulted with me before you invited her to Laeral. It would make things simpler," she said.
"What would you have advised me to do?" Brennan asked. He was fairly certain he knew her answer.
"I would have told you to politely delay her, or at the least give her assistance less visibly, than publicly announcing it and holding a press conference to celebrate," she said. "This will hurt us politically. The People's Party will be crafting their response as we speak. They will accuse us of scheming to enter another foreign entanglement, and will proclaim that Lauchenoirian affairs are none of our business."
"You're right," Brennan replied. "And I'm aware of the potential consequences. But a stable, democratic Lauchenoiria is an asset to us and our foreign policy."
"I've seen the reports that you have," Misra said. "And this won't be simple to resolve. There will be violence in Lauchenoiria before this is done," she warned.
"I'm prepared," Brennan replied.