Special agent Chadov was barely breathing after the explosives went off and he finally won the intense firefight with the guards of that Shepistani dog. The mansion was destroyed, the former Shepistani ring coordinator - dead.
Getting out from here would be a harder task than getting in, but he already planned his escape from these shores. The survivor had a personal business jet resting in a small hanger nearby.
- Filthy criminal bought a supersonic plane while the rest of the world was in awe from the biological horror that his nation unleashed, - Alexey thought, - how typical... how unsurprising. Well, he won't be needing it any longer.
But Alexey gathered very important information. It was so important that he didn't trust anyone and headed straight back to Livorno. He still had time. He had to get someone high enough, without alerting other government types. Former President Stanislav was apparently in the Duchy of Baerne; it could be Alexey's chance to relay the knowledge that he considered of utmost importance.
Duchy of Baerne
- Duke James, thank you for personally inviting me for a talk, - the former President said. - It is all the more important now that the forces from Livorno are being stationed at your port facilities. Incidentally, I hope the Union sailors don't cause any trouble during their stay.
- I thought you found monarchy an outdated and obsolete social construct, - the Duke noted with a dry smile, - and your nation is not appreciating monarchists.
- Between the monarchist who buys our weapons and the other monarchist who supplies weapons to our enemies, stopping shortly from becoming a direct enemy, which monarchist do you think the UCSR should have chosen? - Stanislav laughed. - I like to talk open. Of course, I find monarchy obsolete and in general a social evil that has only been fully cured in our great nation, blah blah blah, revolution blah blah blah and so on and so forth. However, there is the matter of expediency and respect as I'm sure you know. In the FTO, amongst failed regimes, hostile elements, paramilitaries, terrorists and colonial pawns, there's hardly many nations which could serve as worthwhile allies - and you and the NFT are pillars of stability in Frequesue, no matter if we fully agree on your social structure. Surely you don't think that we are working with San Dorado as our partner in the CATO because we are approving of their capitalist ways? But there are things greater than ideology, as you have found out recently. After all, Tian Xia had no ideological allegiance to any forces in Frequesue whatsoever, and yet it found it expedient to mess here through the hands of others.
- You messed quite a lot here back in the day, - reminded the Duke.
- Quite so, dear James, quite so, but I am not feeling ashamed of my actions. They were necessary for the well-being of my people. I am sure you understand that. You have to protect your people because Frequesue, especially it's central regions, have been an orgy of never-ending, slowly creeping violence since the onset of the XXI century. In any case, you can count on us as allies. After all, the Crimson Star Republic once made an error of leaving it's ally hang out dry, with much humiliation following afterwards. It won't happen again, that is certain.
- We are certainly appreciating the CATO partnerships, - the Duke said. - However, you said you had some further proposals... or was it "ideas"?
- Call it "ideas", - Stanislav shrugged. - I'm just a visitor. You see, there are ongoing political developments in Frequesue that are rapidly changing the balance of power here. The MESS couldn't be blind to that. The FTO collapse and CATO rise caught them pants down, so to say. They were alerted like a bear who was woken from a deep sleep... thankfully, that is now partly mitigated by the diplomatic efforts of President Shady and Emperor Heraclius. You are a major CATO arms client, but the economic cooperation between Frequesue and the Old Continent so far has been lacking. Moreover, your heavily industrial society is rapidly consuming natural resources to power your industrial centers. And here's where CATO comes into play. The UCSR recently advanced construction on floating nuclear powerplants. They could be a hot thing - easily attainable, cheap megawatts without construction works and other expenses associated with constructing new nuclear plants. They would also allow you to power up new energy grids in the planned city of Mereen. As a bonus, I am sure you understand, those objects could be placed under protection by the most modern CATO air defense systems - because nuclear plants should be well-defended.
- We'll think about it... anything else?
- Your timber industries, - Stanislav crossed fingers. - Many forest zones in the Old Continent are declared off-hands due to ecological reasons. I'm giving you a hint that timber exports to lands not rich in forests, specifically Byzantium and it's Middle Eastern satellite nations, could be quite eager to get good deals...
Suddenly Stanislav's phone called.
- Excuse me. It's... - Stanislav checked the line. - Valery? What the hell? Ah... it's... okay. I'll see you after the meeting.
