Chapter 65

General Markov was going to see Ryan at his base. This time Dan would attend the meeting too. There had been a discussion with all the group about what they should tell their new colleague. Ryan and Dan would have to make a judgement about Markov when they saw him. If he was open and helpful with them they would reciprocate.

The cagey atmosphere of the first encounter had been taken down a few notches. Ryan introduced Dan to the general and they settled down to talk. Markov started by saying that he was working on a plan which would put him in a position to offer protection to the group. It was cards on the table time. He wanted to know how Ryan was going to bring down Salter.

"Let me tell you why we really started The Military Times."

Ryan had to begin with Howard Cavendish and the blackmail.

"Compromising photographs have proved extremely persuasive whenever the OWG had used them. Even the fake ones. A sexual scandal was not acceptable. We had hoped to turn the tables and get something similar on Salter. We have been successful.

The newspaper gives us the means to reproduce the pictures and circulate them to a vast number of people. There will be no opportunity for the inner cabinet to resign quietly or try to buy us off. The pictures will go straight into the paper and it will be total humiliation for them. Hopefully, we can get rid of them once and for all."

So far so good. Once the incriminating images were out then they were in a period of danger. The newspaper was inextricably linked to Eric McBride and Ryan. Markov was surprised to hear Eric's name.

"I thought he was one of Salter's lackeys."

Dan explained that he was actually a double agent. They would be in danger until Salter and the others were ousted.

They were assuming of course that the pictures would be enough to finish them. Nicholas Salter was certainly cunning and if he saw the opportunity to cling on, he would.

"I can see him trying to hunker down and wait for it to blow over. Accusations of manipulated photographs and sedition could be put out fairly quickly." Ryan pointed out.

They all agreed that they would have to move fast and decisively. The pictures would create a mood of outrage and they must capitalise on the anger which would be directed at Salter. The ideal scenario would see him and his gang removed within hours of the newspaper being issued. Salter couldn't be allowed to set up a counterattack.

Markov had listened carefully to what they had managed to do. He was impressed by their ingenuity in getting the evidence against their enemies. He could see that the major flaw was the period after the images were released. He leaned forward in his chair as he told them about an opportunity he had seen.

"Brock barracks houses the garrison protecting the OWG. I visited it the week before and had found that their security was practically non-existent. I've got an appointment with one of the inner cabinet next week, where I'm going to raise the issue. I'll then talk about my experience and offer myself as the man to get them into shape. I'll move my regiment in to bolster the force whilst the changes are made."

Dan wanted to know if Salter would go for that ploy.

"I am a trusted man at the moment following the South America campaign. I think we have a good chance of success."

The plan would proceed in the hope of him getting the role. Once Markov was in his new posting they would hold all the cards. The general would be able to march into the government building on the pretext of protecting Salter. He would then put him and his inner cabinet under arrest.

Of course, there were hundreds of variables which could scupper the plot. They spent a while brainstorming to try to find all the things which could go wrong and how they might deal with them. There were still a lot of wrinkles to sort out. They would have to carefully choreograph the events leading up to and after the publication.

They left the meeting with new things to research and do. They couldn't make their plans completely fool proof, but they could be as prepared as possible for problems. This was a moment in time that could bring about the coup. They had evidence and arms. They would have the will of the people and the backing of the rest of the government. It would be good if they could have a bit of luck.

Before he departed Markov asked for a few Ellis immobilisers. He wanted to take people into custody not shoot them. Salter should end up doing hard labour. The sentence which had been passed on so many of those who had tried to oppose him. Dan suggested that Markov should shoot Salter with the immobiliser whether he resisted or not.

"They really hurt."

The general thought it was an excellent idea.

Markov would keep them up to date with his plan to take over the garrison. If he was successful then they would work towards putting out the special edition of the newspaper. They shook hands. The next few days would reveal whether they were going to proceed with the plan to overthrow the government.

~~~

Eric returned to his office at the beginning of the next week. As he walked along the corridors he was sure that everyone was looking at him. They somehow knew he had been involved in something sordid. He imagined that they were shaking their heads and tutting. He had been tainted at Salter's party and everybody could see it.

The reception he got from the members of the inner cabinet was entirely different. They smiled in a conspiratorial way. That filled him with shame. He made it to his department and shut himself away. At some point he would have to emerge, but at least he could now take a moment to compose himself. He donned the mask which had got him through this whole escapade so far.

The pictures which he had now seen had provoked mixed emotions. They were revolting in content, but they represented an opportunity. The extreme nature of them was exactly what they needed to help them get rid of Salter. An involuntary shudder ran down Eric's spine as the obscene images came unbidden to his mind.

He had left the decision of which ones to publish to Dan and Ryan. He really did not want to see those photographs ever again. They would be in the newspaper, but that was different. The revelation would be a means to an end. Once all this was out in the open he would be able to hold his head high and make peace with the ministers who had seen him as one of Salter's clique. They would learn that he had risked all to bring them down.

Eric lost himself in paperwork. Numbers and charts, lists and forms passed before his eyes. It was relaxing for him to get immersed in the familiarity of his job. Sadly, his peace was disturbed by a summons to the lion's den. He was to go to Salter's office for a meeting. He hoped that they were not going to discuss anything about the party.

He had been fully initiated into the gang now. He was seen as complicit in their excess and debauchery. This meant that he would now be privy to the deepest secrets of Salter and his inner cabinet. The first of which was about to be revealed. Eric fidgeted with his, real, watch as he awaited an announcement.

"We are working towards a goal. An attainable and glorious goal. Following the victory in South America the mood in the world is positive and we must move soon. Alastair will propose at the next full cabinet meeting that I be made president." Salter's face formed into something akin to a smile and he relaxed into his seat.

The sensation for Eric was of surprise and then realisation. He should have seen this development coming. Salter would not be happy until he officially ruled the world. He was pretty much doing it already, but he wanted the title to go with it. He wanted everyone to know that it was he who had all the power.

The discussion moved on rapidly. There was little to say about the nomination. It was assumed that it would be approved. That just left the organisation of some sort of ceremony to mark the occasion. Ministers made suggestions each of them trying to outdo each other with the grandiosity of their ideas.

There was talk of robes and chains of office. A parade was mooted. Horses, carriages, marching soldiers and bands would be required. Eric was sure that any moment someone would request a crown. He couldn't see Nicholas Salter turning it down if it was offered. This was a terrifying development.

The horror continued. Eric was invited to cast his eyes over the blueprints for the new presidential palace. It was not modest. The scale of the proposed building was mind blowing. Over 300 rooms were planned. State rooms, banqueting halls, bedrooms and bathrooms. The cost would be huge. And that was before it had been furnished.

Eric saw details of a factory which was to be constructed. Its sole purpose was to build bespoke furniture for the new palace. The best craftsmen from around the world would be brought in to work on this expensive vanity project. He nodded and smiled and then escaped before his face could betray how shocked he was.

He called on Dan, once he was home, to tell him what he had witnessed. "He's planning on becoming president of the World."

The ambition of Nicholas Salter had been underestimated. Eric had witnessed the odious Salter preening himself as his friends arranged his coronation. Dan sat open mouthed at the brazen plan.

"We have got to act soon. He'll be even harder to get rid of if he becomes president,"

Those were frightening words which Eric had uttered. Dan could feel the pressure mounting on them all. They had to hold their nerve. It would take time to make Salter president. There would be legal requirements and government acts before they got to throwing a parade.

"Let's not rush into anything. We have time. We will only have one shot. We have to get it right."