The Aquarium lit up and filled with people for the second time in less than two weeks. Things were heating up, and Myatlev wanted to make sure his Council members’ support stayed active and focused.
As soon as the last one of his guests took his seat, Myatlev polarized the glass walls, turning them an impenetrable milky white that reflected the strong lights within the Aquarium.
“Thank you all for taking yet another Sunday away from your families to meet with me,” Myatlev said. He had a gift for addressing people, making it standard to thank everyone for their time. After all, time spent you can never recover; it’s the most precious gift someone can give. He continued, “As you may have heard, we have made an important step forward in our plans. Our preferred candidate for President of America has been nominated by his Party, which means we are now on our final stretch.”
Myatlev looked at everyone at the table. They were watching him intently but were very guarded and neutral. Singh was the only one who’s body language showed some openness and support. It was normal; after all, he knew a little bit more than anyone else. They needed a show of trust.
“Because we have reached this milestone in our plan, I wanted to share with you our progress.”
“Mr. Myatlev, if you please,” Javadi interrupted, “I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t call it ‘our plan,’ considering how little we all know about it. It’s insulting. It is your plan, and you only feed us crumbs of it when you see fit. I personally find it harder and harder to believe in it. I find it humiliating to be treated like children, when we have put our lives and fortunes at stake for this plan of yours.”
“I see,” Myatlev answered unperturbed. “I understand how this secrecy must make you feel, and I sincerely apologize. But today is the day of revelations, so I am hoping you will have more confidence in the plan by the time we finish.”
Myatlev touched the console in front of him, and the Aquarium walls turned transparent again. They saw a man being screened by Myatlev’s security, just as everyone else had been upon their arrival. As soon as the man was cleared he joined them inside the Aquarium, and Myatlev instantly polarized the walls back to full opacity.
“Gentlemen, please let me introduce Mr. Warren Helms,” Myatlev said. The stranger bowed slightly and continued to stand, ignoring the open seat at the table. Singh started to extend his hand, but Myatlev stopped him.
“No further introductions will be necessary, for our own security. Mr. Helms understands and will not be offended.”
Helms nodded to confirm.
“Mr. Helms has been helping us out for a while,” Myatlev said. “He has been making things happen in the United States for us. Things, such as getting the right people in the right places, making sure we stay informed with decisions made in political and business circles, orchestrating any actions that needed to be taken.”
“Could you be any more vague, Myatlev? This is ludicrous!” Javadi said angrily, slamming his palm down on the table.
“All right, I will then translate for you,” Myatlev answered. “Mr. Helms made sure the current Vice President, Mark Sheridan, will want to retire after his mandate expires. He ensured that Bobby Johnson has the best campaign manager on the market. He has placed our ears and eyes inside DCBI, the company that owns the contract to deploy the new e-voting system in America this November. Need I say more?”
Javadi pursed his lips for a second.
“No. I get the picture.”
The other members of the Council seemed impressed as well, except for Singh, who just continued to look smug.
“But isn’t DCBI outsourcing the contract to India?” Sadiq asked. “Do we have a finger in that?”
“No,” Myatlev answered very seriously, “we have our whole hand. Thanks to Mr. Singh we have control over the facility where the software is being developed. Losing access to the voter database was a blow, but the plan is still viable. If you recall, there was an Amendment, recently ratified, to eliminate the scanning of voter’s registration cards using the devices, which would have placed a database of almost all American citizens, their personal information, and their political preferences in our hands. We lost access to that; it couldn’t be helped. Nevertheless, we are, from all other perspectives, in control of the American presidential elections coming this November,