“The only one, Mr. Kaella, the only ones.”
Chapter 48
Bear heard a knock on the window and turned around. He saw Alpha standing next to the car. He rolled down the window.
“Hello, Alpha,” he said.
“Why are you sitting there, Bear? People have been telling me that you’re behaving strangely today.”
“Probably. And you know best why I’m sitting in the passenger seat.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You don’t understand? Didn’t you say last night that everything must look normal, as usual?”
“Yes, I did.”
“And this morning you killed Barney because of that.”
“Bear, that is how it has to be. Everyone understands that, only you…”
“Alpha, I understand it the best, trust me. So, where’s the adhesive tape?”
“What tape? What are you talking about?
“Where did you hide it last night? Admit it. Behind some pillar, under a car.”
“Why do you think it has to be you, Bear?
“I don’t think so. I’m volunteering. It is normal and usual that when the President goes somewhere with his family by car… like today, for example… to hold the election speech… it is normal for one of us to sit next to Barney in the passenger seat. So, I’m the volunteer.”
Alpha was silent, and the other colleagues, when they heard this, one by one entered the two cars that would escort the presidential car, or put helmets on their heads and mounted motorcycles.
Only Iceman ran over and shouter:
“Alpha, we can’t do it like that! Come on, let’s draw straws… rock-paper-scissors. Why does it have to be Bear? Why are you being silly, Bear? Get out of the car!”
“Iceman, please go. It’s difficult enough. I’ve decided. Go.”
“Everyone in position, Iceman,” Alpha said. “That’s an order. It has to be one of us. Bear has volunteered.”
Iceman turned and walked to his car, without saying another word.
“Alpha, tell me, who did you have in mind?”
“No one, Bear. I was going to say that someone should check how the driver is taped…”
“Barney.”
“Barney. And whoever sat… there…”
“Yes?”
“I’d kill him.”
“So, you’d leave it up to chance?”
“Yes.”
“And where’s the tape? Time’s running out…”
Alpha looked at his watch.
“How much time do we have before departure? You have probably planned everything down to the minute, right? There can be no dilemma that the president and his family were killed by Non-Consumers.”
“There can’t be, Bear. These are historical moments.”
“Clearly. That is why I want to be a hero. How much longer?”
“Two minutes.”
“Where’s your tape?”
“Behind that pillar,” Alpha motioned with his hand.
“You don’t need to waste time to go to the pillar and back. Here it is. I brought it for you. Hold the tape, Barney,” said Bear, placing the roll in Barney’s legs. “Take out your gun, Alpha. You also need to tape me up. Time is running out.”
Alpha was sweating.
“You’re messing around, Alpha. Erivan is at his window, he’s looking at his watch and waiting for the presidential motorcade to leave the garage. And if it doesn’t leave on time, Erivan will call the Grasshopper.”
Alpha swiftly drew his gun and fired a bullet into Bear’s head.
Chapter 49
“During the following period of my life I focused on creating the minimal, cheapest possible State,” Mr. Kaella continued his life’s story. “Why should the Consumers and the Company Sectors have to pay high taxes in order to support some mastodon-like State.”
“There really isn’t any reason,” Babe agreed.
“Of course there isn’t. And do you know what else they criticized me for?”
“Is it possible that they criticized you for something more?” Babe was stunned.
“Of course. There are people whose malice knows no boundaries. They criticized me because my company doesn’t pay taxes.”
“Well, that’s something I really cannot believe, Mr. Kaella.”
“My company can certainly pay taxes, but it will be then immediately included in the prices of energy, water, food, treatment, apartments… How can the average Consumer pay for that? How can they survive?”
“Impossible.”
Babe turned towards Prince, opened her mouth, rolled her eyes, and sighed like it was very stuffy and she was struggling for air. She waved her hand in front of her face as though to cool herself, like she was too hot. She lowered her hand and reached the lapel of her leather jacket. She drew the jacket away from her, that is to say from her ample breasts, because she was obviously getting hot under the reflectors in the submarine salon.
“Yes, impossible,” Mr. Kaella confirmed yet again. “That is why I reduced the costs of the state. I abolished these two parliament houses that had existed previously…”
“What was all that about?” Babe was wondered.
Prince leaned his hands on the edge of the coffee table. That was the only thing preventing him from jumping Babe before the million-strong audience. Having seen his reaction, Babe used her other hand to unfasten the button above her bellybutton, concealed from the old Mr. Kaella by the couch armrest, and she opened wide her lapel.
“That was nonsense. You hadn’t even been born back then. You know, back then there were like some elected representatives who sat in some seats, talked, quarreled. Like, they would pass laws… and for that they received huge salaries, which the average person could only dream of. Then they formed some sort of government, then the prime minister, and the ministers, and all kinds of agencies, assistants… assistant’s assistants, secretaries, assistant secretaries… And then elections every four years. You can imagine how much it cost! I abolished all that nonsense and significantly reduced the costs of the state. I left the President of the State, who has a minimal administration. And the president is elected every ten years, as you know.”
“Of course.”
Prince stared sideways at the huge breast, scratching with his nails at the surface of the table and barely breathing. Perhaps Babe was only pretending to be hot and that she was running out of air, but Prince was truly gasping for air.
“How big is it? It’s even bigger when it’s bare… Bigger than in my wildest dreams… with two hands… I’ll knead it, squeeze it, slap it…”
“I merged the former military and former police into a single organization, i.e. the Inspectorate. This also cut costs. I stopped weapons production. I mean, we produce a minimum, for the Inspectorate. There are no more wars… I mean…” Mr. Kaella remembered that he would soon be declaring a new war.
“It doesn’t matter,” he thought. “It’s going to be short. I have to explain my ideas, my principles, to the people.”
“How can I permit wars, Miss Babe?”
“You can’t, of course.”
From her protruding nipple dangled another chain with a small Earth.
“You’ll pay for this… you‘ll pay, when I tug at that Earth. You’ll squeal…”