“They could hold all our blocs together until real plans are made.”
Korea nodded. “It’s not a bad idea.”
“The other Hives trust Xiao Hei Wang too, they’d trust the Mitsubishi under their leadership.”
“Would Xiao Hei Wang have to join the Hive?”
“No. Outside contractors can hold shares in trust.”
“They’d do it for us, wouldn’t they, Andō?” Old Huang Enlai approached the Chief Director’s desk. “Xiao Hei Wang thinks of you as a father. They’ve supported us against the Masons, fed us secrets behind MASON’s back. They’d stay loyal, support our families, honor our requests and instructions, even from prison, and they’ll have Madame’s resources to help, and the world’s trust.”
“Xiao Hei Wang would do it, I’m sure. We can make them custodian of all our shares until a new board is selected.”
“They’ll protect our families.”
“Maybe get us acquitted.”
“No!” Hotaka Andō rarely raises his voice, but there is thunder in it when he does. “We have been defeated. That does not mean we hand the enemy their prize.”
All stared. “What enemy?”
“Madame D’Arouet. Can’t you see it? They planned all this to force us to pass power to Tai-kun.”
“Madame?” Glances flicked fast as sparks among the others. “Why would Madame attack us? We’re all their clients.”
This should be no surprise, reader. To head a Mitsubishi bloc is to raise a high tower on ground besieged by earthquakes; Madame’s patronage is the iron hidden in the tower’s heart which makes these ten still stand.
“Madame is not our friend.” Andō’s shoulders shook, as if something threatened to erupt from him, sobs or laughter. “It’s just as Sniper said: Madame is trying to tear down all the Hives and put Tai-kun at the head of what remains. Tai-kun nearly lost their life exposing O.S. They’re the world’s hero now. The Cousins, the Humanists, Europe, we’re all on the edge of ruin, and Madame is counting on us to realize we can save ourselves by handing power to Tai-kun. Europe has given itself to Spain, and Prince Leonor’s death makes Tai-kun Heir Presumptive. As for the Cousins, they’re already implementing Tai-kun’s interim constitution, and you can’t doubt Tai-kun and Helo?se will be the architects of the permanent one as well.”
“Helo?se?”
Andō met Huang Enlai’s eyes. “A tearful maiden charges onto the Senate floor with a bloodstained constitution? My Hiroaki still has access to the CFB, and the Cousins are all sympathy vote. After ‘Aunt’ Kosala’s touching performance at the Senate this morning, and in the Brussels crisis, they’ve received more letters demanding that Kosala remain Chair than they had before for their dismissal. Even more are demanding that the Board waive the requirement for Board Members to be Cousins, so they can appoint Helo?se, as well as Tai-kun. Madame knows how to use a broken system.”
“Then Madame is trying to have Xiao Hei Wang take over three Hives at once?”
Andō’s voice was steel. “All hives. You know Faust and MASON have already surrendered.”
“MASON? But Xiao Hei Wang is Shan Huang Zi, they can’t be Shan Tai Zi.” (China has its own words for porphyrogene and Imperator Destinatus.) “Can they?”
Scared faces.
“Why would Madame do this? Kosala and most of Parliament were as much their clients as we are!”
“Because Tai-kun is soft,” Andō answered.
Old Huang Enlai studied the Chief Director’s face, perhaps more scrutable to him after their long years of colleagueship. “What are you thinking?”
Andō kept working through all this, eyes more on the lens data before him than on his colleagues. “Madame has never concealed their ambition. The reason we didn’t see this coming is that Tai-kun already had an office in every Hive. But Tai-kun wouldn’t let Madame exploit those offices, they’ve fulfilled the duties to each in good faith, serving loyally instead of manipulating. If Madame wants to conquer the world through Tai-kun, they have to force them into higher offices.” Andō looked up now, testing each Director’s face as if eager to spar with any who dared object. None did. “The Cousins and Europe are conquered already, Faust and MASON won’t fight back against their own next of kin, and the Utopians capitulated long ago. Vivien Ancelet may have saved the Humanists with this sudden call for an election, but Ancelet is very close to Tai-kun too, and now they have to pass on the title of Anonymous. I believe that Tai-kun has long been their designated successor.” He gave his colleagues time to gasp. “If we hand our Hive to Tai-kun too, Madame wins.”
Beijing and Shanghai exchanged glances. “We don’t have a choice,” Shanghai began. “The Hive needs a leader. Better to appoint Xiao Hei Wang than let the Hive dissolve.”
For once the two agreed. “Xiao Hei Wang has long been one of us, and still thinks of you as a father, Andō. And they’re loyal to duty, and to promises. We can hold them to their pledges. If we press Xiao Hei Wang to keep our Hive separate, to defend Mitsubishi values, to defend us, we can let the others fall to Madame, then have Xiao Hei Wang restore us. If you ask, Andō, they’ll promise, and if they promise they’ll keep it.”
“Tai-kun will not defend homicide. Right now our own Hive hates us for our part in O.S., and loves Tai-kun for their part in exposing the same. What we did with O.S. we did lawfully as leaders of this government, for the good of our Members and the world. If our Members have a chance to calm down and listen to us they will see that, and rally behind us, defending our right to self-sovereignty and exercise of lethal force. But Tai-kun will never think that way.” Hotaka Andō turned again to editing the documents before him, a sense of rest falling across his face. “Tai-kun hates death absolutely. Family ties cannot trump that. If they take office they will be unable to hide their horror at homicide, and that will push our Members to condemn us even more.”
Wenzhou’s careful Chen Zhongren nodded. “The Members have loved Xiao Hei Wang since birth. Now that they’ve almost become a martyr for the Alliance, they’ll love them even more. If we put Xiao Hei Wang in charge, the Members will never let them pass power back to us when they see us as a group of murderers. We have to hold on to our shares, insist on our own family successors, keep Xiao Hei Wang out or we’ll never get back in. And Xiao Hei Wang is a pious son—if they rule, their mother rules.”
Beijing agreed. “We must resist, keep our own in power, even if it’s a fight.”
“No,” the Chief Director countered, soft but clear. “Everyone under us is going down, Kraye saw to that. Fighting it will just rip the Hive apart. We’ve lost. We have no choice but to surrender.”
“Andō—”
“But not to Tai-kun.” The Chief Director did not glance up, too armored in conviction’s calm to care whether the faces around him showed hope or anger. “There is another who knows just as much as Tai-kun about the inner workings of the Directorate, who has the knowledge necessary to be our proxy and to keep our blocs together, who had no part in O.S., but whom our Members will be happy to throw off, and who will never be able to hold on to power in the Hive without us and our families’ constant support.”
“Who?”
Andō saved his file. “Before Kimura killed themself, they signed their shares over to me. My voting bloc is now almost a quarter of the Hive. As of this moment I have left all my shares in trust to Dominic Seneschal, for a duration of three years, on condition that they train a board of new Directors selected by the dominant shareholding groups.”
“Dominic Seneschal? From Xiao Hei Wang’s harem?” Behind closed doors some give a darker name than bash’ to His devoted servants.