BooksBarbecue
Back Balance of Power
Chapters (53)
  1. BALANCE OF POWER
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. About The Creators
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. FORTY-ONE
  45. FORTY-TWO
  46. FORTY-THREE
  47. FORTY-FOUR
  48. FORTY-FIVE
  49. FORTY-SIX
  50. FORTY-SEVEN
  51. FORTY-EIGHT
  52. FORTY-NINE
  53. FIFTY

"No," said Ramirez. "The driver works for Deputy Serrador. He wants very much to rise so he will be silent. And the car used by the killers has already been left at a garage for dismantling." Ramirez drew contentedly on his cigar. "Trust me, my dear Miguel. Everything has been thought out very carefully. This action will not be traced to us."

"I trust you," sniffed the man. "But I'm still not certain we can trust Serrador. He is a Basque."

"The killer is also a Basque and he did as he was instructed," said Ramirez. "Deputy Serrador will also do as he was told, Carlos. He is ambitious."

"Then he is an ambitious Basque. But he is still a Basque."

Ramirez smiled again. "Deputy Serrador does not wish to be a spokesman for the fishermen, shepherds, and miners forever. He wants to lead them."

"He can lead them over the Pyrenees into France," said Carlos. "I won't miss any of them."

"I wouldn't either," said Ramirez, "but then who would fish, herd, and mine? The bank managers and accountants who work for you, Carlos? The reporters who work for Rodrigo's newspapers or Alfonso's television stations? The pilots who work for Miguel's airline?"

The other men smiled, shrugged, or nodded. Carlos flushed and acceded with a gracious nod of his head.

"That's enough about our curious bedfellow," said Ramirez. "The important thing is that America's emissary has been slain. The United States will have no idea who did it or why, but they will be extremely wary about becoming involved in local politics. Deputy Serrador will caution them further when he meets with the rest of the contingent later this evening. He'll assure them that the police are doing everything they can to apprehend the killer, but that the prevention of further incidents cannot be guaranteed. Not in such troubled times."

Carlos nodded. He turned to Miguel. "And how is your part going?"

"Very well," said the portly, silver-haired airline executive. "The discount air fares from the United States to Portugal, Italy, France, and Greece have proven extremely popular. Travel to Madrid and Barcelona is down eleven and eight percent respectively from the levels of last year. Hotels, restaurants, and car services are feeling the loss. The ripple effect has hurt many local businesses."

"And revenues will fall even further," Ramirez said, "when the American public is told that the slain woman was a tourist and that this was a random shooting."