“Why am I here?” he asked in an expressionless tone that carried no appreciation.
Earlier, he’d been questioning the staff, who, on her orders, had dropped hints of his treachery. Interestingly, the colonel had showed no fear. He was further displaying his defiance by avoiding Russian, speaking to her in Kazakh, so she decided to humor him and kept to the old language. “You were deathly ill. I had you brought here so my doctors could care for you.”
“I remember nothing of yesterday.”
She motioned for him to sit and poured tea from a silver service. “You were in a bad condition. I was concerned, so I decided to help.”
He eyed her with clear suspicion.
She handed him a cup and saucer. “Green tea, with a hint of apple. I’m told you like it.”
He did not accept the offering. “What is it you want, Minister?”
“You’re a traitor to me and this Federation. That political party of yours has been inciting people to civil disobedience.”
He showed no surprise. “You say constantly that we have the right to speak out.”
“And you believe me?”
She tabled the cup and decided to stop playing hostess. “Three days ago you were exposed to a viral agent, one that kills within twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Death comes from an explosive fever, fluid in the lungs, and a weakening in the arterial walls that leads to massive internal bleeding. Your infection had not, as yet, progressed to that point. But, by now, it would have.”
“And how was I cured?”
“I stopped it.”
“You?”
“I wanted you to experience what I’m capable of inflicting.”
He said nothing for a moment, apparently digesting reality.
“You’re a colonel in our air force. A man who took an oath to defend this Federation with his life.”
“And I would.”
“Yet you apparently have no problem inciting treason.”
“I’ll ask again. What do you want?” His tone had lost all civility.
“Your loyalty.”
He said nothing.
She grabbed a remote control from the table. A flat-screen monitor resting on the corner of the desk sprang to life with the image of five men milling among a crowd, examining stalls beneath bright awnings burgeoning with fresh produce.
Her guest rose to his feet.
“This surveillance video came from one of the cameras in the Navoi market. They’re quite useful in maintaining order and fighting crime. But they also allow us to track enemies.” She saw that he recognized the faces. “That’s right, Enver. Your friends. Committed to opposing this Federation. I’m aware of your plans.”
She well knew his party’s philosophy. Before the communists dominated, when Kazakhs lived mainly in yurts, women had been an integral part of society, occupying over a third of the political positions. But between the Soviets and Islam, women were shoved aside. Independence in the 1990s brought not only an economic depression, it also allowed women back into the forefront, where they’d steadily reacquired political influence. The Federation cemented that resurrection.
“You don’t really want a return to the old ways, Enver. Back to the time when we roamed the steppes? Women ran this society then. No. You just want political power. And if you can inflame the people with thoughts of some glorious past, you’ll use it to your advantage. You’re as bad as I am.”
He spat at her feet. “That’s what I think of you.”
She shrugged. “Doesn’t change a thing.” She pointed at the screen. “Each of those men, before the sun sets, will be infected, just like you were. They’ll never realize a thing until a runny nose, or a sore throat, or a headache signals they may be coming down with a cold. You recall those symptoms, don’t you, Enver?”
“You’re as evil as I ever believed.”
“If I were evil, I would have let you die.”
“Why didn’t you?”
She pointed the remote and changed channels. A map appeared.
“This is what we’ve achieved. A unified Asian state that all of the leaders agreed to.”
“You didn’t ask the people.”
“Really? It’s been fifteen years since we achieved this reality and the economies of all the former nations have dramatically improved. We’ve built schools, houses, roads. Medical care is markedly better. Our infrastructure has been modernized. Electricity, water, sewage disposal—nothing like it once was with the Soviets—now works. The Russian rape of our land and resources has stopped. International business is invested here in the multibillions. Tourism is on the rise. Our gross national product has increased a thousand percent. The people are happy, Enver.”
“Not all.”
“There’s no way to make everyone happy. All we can do is please a majority. That’s what the West preaches all the time.”
“How many others have you pressured like me?”
“Not all that many. Most see the benefit of what we’re doing on their own. I share the wealth, and power, with my friends. And, let me say, if any one of you has a better idea, I’m willing to listen. But so far no one has offered anything better. The little bit of opposition we’ve faced, you included, simply want to put themselves in power. Nothing more.”
“Easy for you to be generous, while your germs can whip us all into line.”
“I could have allowed you to die and solved my problem. But, Enver, killing you is foolish. Hitler, Stalin, Roman emperors, Russian tsars, and just about every European monarch all made the same mistake. They eliminated the exact people who could sustain them when they really needed help.”
“Perhaps they were right? Keeping your enemies alive can be dangerous.”
She sensed a slight thawing in his bitterness so she asked, “Do you know about Alexander the Great?”