11-12-2019, 07:29 PM
Chiu’s Office, Council Chamber, Grapevale, Kerlile
12th November 2019 – late morning
The personal office of Councillor Lia Chiu within the Council Chambers building was rarely used, much like the other Councillors’ offices in that location. They tended to conduct their business in their personal apartments, which were far more comfortable, if they absolutely had to do something in the building. Usually, they merely waited until they could go home to their mansions, using the Chambers only for Council sessions.
Yet today, Chiu’s office had been dusted off a mere 15 minutes earlier after she had read something on her morning commute that caused her to hiss in rage and demand – yes, demand that Councillor Nirmala Patel and President Rebecca Arnott be summoned to her office as soon as possible. It was not, either legally or traditionally speaking, her place to summon the President, yet Arnott found her curiosity piqued when she got the call, and made her way to the office.
Councillor Patel arrived first, looking curious, and then alarmed when she saw the look on Chiu’s face. Chiu ignored her at first, continuing to read something over and over again in a newspaper she was clutching in her hands. Nirmala, without knowing what else to do, instructed her aide to bring her a coffee and took a seat on one of the chairs in the office, glancing around at the rather old-fashioned décor and wrinkling her nose, until President Arnott walked in, and Chiu immediately snapped out of it, standing.
“Madam President, Councillor Patel, I have learned of some disturbing news. I believe you have both been searching for former President Joanna Greenwood. I know where she is, and I guarantee you will not like it any more than I do,” Chiu began darkly.
“Do tell, Councillor,” Arnott replied, taking a seat next to Patel.
In response, Chiu picked up the newspaper and spun it around, placing it on the desk so that both of the other women could see. It was an article, written in Chinese (a language neither Arnott nor Patel could read a word of), accompanied by a picture of Joanna Greenwood holding a microphone, clearly giving a speech.
“What are we looking at, Chiu?” asked Patel. “You know I can’t read this.”
“Joanna Greenwood is in Shen. I do not know how, or why, but I can guess she was pre-emptively fleeing your plans to arrest her. Evidently someone informed her in advance. I can tell you, however, that she will already have regretted the move. Given how she treated Shen while in office, I rather think that Empress Wu,” Chiu shuddered as she spoke the name, “will not have been too pleased with her.”
“I see,” responded Arnott, biting her lip slightly. “Does it say why she went there?”
“The article is about her giving an address to students in Biaking, and implies this may be a sign of strengthened relations between our two nations,” Chiu shuddered. “So, to answer your question, no it does not.”
“I can hazard a guess,” Patel said. “If she had advance knowledge of the planned arrest, which seems certain, she would want to go somewhere she would be safe. None of the democracies would take her, especially after the… war crimes matter. She would know that, given our extradition treaty with Xiomera, she could not go there. As for Gonhog, they are a Haven Accords signatory, and you know how much she feared that document. That leaves Shen and Shuell, and I rather think that she thought Shuell was a risky option, especially given the Olympics. Process of elimination, she went to Shen.”
“A sound analysis,” nodded President Arnott. “Alas, I do not think we have a chance of having her returned, but we could submit an extradition request as a means of making our displeasure known.”
“No!” Chiu squeaked, alarmed. “I mean… I would advise against that, Madam President. I agree with Nirmala’s analysis too, but Joanna has made one colossal miscalculation. She should have listened to my family: nobody in Shen is ever safe.”
“We are well aware of your knowledge and opinions on the matter, Councillor Chiu, but that does not explain why you oppose an extradition request,” pointed out Arnott.
“If they know we want her badly enough, they will use her as leverage. It will disadvantage the Matriarchy greatly. Not to mention, potentially put Joanna in danger. While she made some mistakes, and might be your political opponent, she is still a member of a Council family and if we cannot keep her safe, it sets a worrying precedent, especially after what happened with your mother, Nirmala.”
“Good point,” conceded Patel.
“I guarantee that Joanna Greenwood will have discovered what my family knew since before the foundation of the Matriarchy. The Wu cannot be trusted. They cannot be reasoned with. They believe they have a right to do whatever they want, no matter how horrendous and inhumane. Whatever ‘war crimes’ were committed by Anita Patel, Joanna Greenwood, any Kerlian: they will be nothing on the horrors Wu Zhou has unleashed on those with the misfortune to be in Shen’s sphere of influence.”
“Councillor Chiu, do you have any recommendations on how we proceed?” President Arnott asked, slight impatience beginning to show. She disliked Chiu’s rants about the Shen.
“I do. We do nothing,” Chiu said, then looked Arnott dead in the eye. “I know what you are thinking, that it is not enough. I guarantee, however, that no action we take could have a positive effect. Either Joanna Greenwood will die in Shen, or she will realise that she has made a terrible mistake and come home of her own accord.”
“I may think you paranoid, Councillor,” smiled Arnott. “However, I do still trust your judgement on these matters. You are, by far, the most knowledgeable of any of us in matters pertaining to Shen, and I do not think you would mislead us. Very well, we shall refrain from taking any further action at this point.”
“Thank you, Madam President,” Chiu responded, nodding. “Oh, and there is one other thing… anything classified Joanna Greenwood had access to as President, we shall need to change. Nuclear codes, if they have not been changed already. Passwords, codewords… If they want her to talk, even if she would rather die than betray us… they can make her.”
“That is a worrying sentiment,” Arnott shuddered. “But consider it done.”
“Well,” piped up Patel. “There is one matter which she would have knowledge of that we cannot do much about…” she trailed off, staring pointedly. Chiu swallowed nervously.
“We need to talk to Pauline.”
12th November 2019 – late morning
The personal office of Councillor Lia Chiu within the Council Chambers building was rarely used, much like the other Councillors’ offices in that location. They tended to conduct their business in their personal apartments, which were far more comfortable, if they absolutely had to do something in the building. Usually, they merely waited until they could go home to their mansions, using the Chambers only for Council sessions.
Yet today, Chiu’s office had been dusted off a mere 15 minutes earlier after she had read something on her morning commute that caused her to hiss in rage and demand – yes, demand that Councillor Nirmala Patel and President Rebecca Arnott be summoned to her office as soon as possible. It was not, either legally or traditionally speaking, her place to summon the President, yet Arnott found her curiosity piqued when she got the call, and made her way to the office.
Councillor Patel arrived first, looking curious, and then alarmed when she saw the look on Chiu’s face. Chiu ignored her at first, continuing to read something over and over again in a newspaper she was clutching in her hands. Nirmala, without knowing what else to do, instructed her aide to bring her a coffee and took a seat on one of the chairs in the office, glancing around at the rather old-fashioned décor and wrinkling her nose, until President Arnott walked in, and Chiu immediately snapped out of it, standing.
“Madam President, Councillor Patel, I have learned of some disturbing news. I believe you have both been searching for former President Joanna Greenwood. I know where she is, and I guarantee you will not like it any more than I do,” Chiu began darkly.
“Do tell, Councillor,” Arnott replied, taking a seat next to Patel.
In response, Chiu picked up the newspaper and spun it around, placing it on the desk so that both of the other women could see. It was an article, written in Chinese (a language neither Arnott nor Patel could read a word of), accompanied by a picture of Joanna Greenwood holding a microphone, clearly giving a speech.
“What are we looking at, Chiu?” asked Patel. “You know I can’t read this.”
“Joanna Greenwood is in Shen. I do not know how, or why, but I can guess she was pre-emptively fleeing your plans to arrest her. Evidently someone informed her in advance. I can tell you, however, that she will already have regretted the move. Given how she treated Shen while in office, I rather think that Empress Wu,” Chiu shuddered as she spoke the name, “will not have been too pleased with her.”
“I see,” responded Arnott, biting her lip slightly. “Does it say why she went there?”
“The article is about her giving an address to students in Biaking, and implies this may be a sign of strengthened relations between our two nations,” Chiu shuddered. “So, to answer your question, no it does not.”
“I can hazard a guess,” Patel said. “If she had advance knowledge of the planned arrest, which seems certain, she would want to go somewhere she would be safe. None of the democracies would take her, especially after the… war crimes matter. She would know that, given our extradition treaty with Xiomera, she could not go there. As for Gonhog, they are a Haven Accords signatory, and you know how much she feared that document. That leaves Shen and Shuell, and I rather think that she thought Shuell was a risky option, especially given the Olympics. Process of elimination, she went to Shen.”
“A sound analysis,” nodded President Arnott. “Alas, I do not think we have a chance of having her returned, but we could submit an extradition request as a means of making our displeasure known.”
“No!” Chiu squeaked, alarmed. “I mean… I would advise against that, Madam President. I agree with Nirmala’s analysis too, but Joanna has made one colossal miscalculation. She should have listened to my family: nobody in Shen is ever safe.”
“We are well aware of your knowledge and opinions on the matter, Councillor Chiu, but that does not explain why you oppose an extradition request,” pointed out Arnott.
“If they know we want her badly enough, they will use her as leverage. It will disadvantage the Matriarchy greatly. Not to mention, potentially put Joanna in danger. While she made some mistakes, and might be your political opponent, she is still a member of a Council family and if we cannot keep her safe, it sets a worrying precedent, especially after what happened with your mother, Nirmala.”
“Good point,” conceded Patel.
“I guarantee that Joanna Greenwood will have discovered what my family knew since before the foundation of the Matriarchy. The Wu cannot be trusted. They cannot be reasoned with. They believe they have a right to do whatever they want, no matter how horrendous and inhumane. Whatever ‘war crimes’ were committed by Anita Patel, Joanna Greenwood, any Kerlian: they will be nothing on the horrors Wu Zhou has unleashed on those with the misfortune to be in Shen’s sphere of influence.”
“Councillor Chiu, do you have any recommendations on how we proceed?” President Arnott asked, slight impatience beginning to show. She disliked Chiu’s rants about the Shen.
“I do. We do nothing,” Chiu said, then looked Arnott dead in the eye. “I know what you are thinking, that it is not enough. I guarantee, however, that no action we take could have a positive effect. Either Joanna Greenwood will die in Shen, or she will realise that she has made a terrible mistake and come home of her own accord.”
“I may think you paranoid, Councillor,” smiled Arnott. “However, I do still trust your judgement on these matters. You are, by far, the most knowledgeable of any of us in matters pertaining to Shen, and I do not think you would mislead us. Very well, we shall refrain from taking any further action at this point.”
“Thank you, Madam President,” Chiu responded, nodding. “Oh, and there is one other thing… anything classified Joanna Greenwood had access to as President, we shall need to change. Nuclear codes, if they have not been changed already. Passwords, codewords… If they want her to talk, even if she would rather die than betray us… they can make her.”
“That is a worrying sentiment,” Arnott shuddered. “But consider it done.”
“Well,” piped up Patel. “There is one matter which she would have knowledge of that we cannot do much about…” she trailed off, staring pointedly. Chiu swallowed nervously.
“We need to talk to Pauline.”
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