Time Under Chaos | TimeUnderChaos / The King's Privy Council in Session

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A week or two after the Privy Council meeting (or was it longer?) Morgan receives an invitation by courier.

"Master Vikund Anansi requests the honour of a meeting with Lord Morgan at his offices in Castle Amber at 2pm today. RSVP."

That was in about three hours' time. The courier waited expectantly for a formal response.

"Uh huh," Morgan said. He looked at the courier, then took a small leather bound book from a pocket and opened it, apparently at random. "Tell Vik I'm busy then. But I can meet him at a quarter past one, in the courtyard where he first brought me to Amber. He'll know the place."

"Master Vikund was most specific about the venue," the courier replied. "I expect he can bring the meeting forward, but government affairs will be keeping him in the castle all day today."

"Well, we wouldn't want to drag him out of his office, would we?" Morgan said. "Tell you what, you tell him I'll drop in sometime this afternoon. Whenever I can fit it in."

"Very well, M'Lord," the courier said. He bowed and left.

At around half past three Morgan sauntered into Vikund's outer office, leaned against a wall, and told his secretary, "Vik had something he wanted to talk to me about. He in?"

The look the secretary gave him told him all he needed to know. Under different circumstances and in a different dress she migth have been attractive, but now she looked like she might bite. "Yes sir, he is," she said. "Please go right through."

Morgan gave her a wink and a smile as he walked past her desk, ignoring her sniff of disapproval.

Vikund's offices were not a place you could get lost in, and not a place you could hide in. Furniture comprised a desk, several chairs, lots of filing cabinets, and unlike many of the rooms in the palace you could see all four walls from the doorway. Vikund was not sat behind the long mahogany desk that dominated the room, however, but beside it. That seat was reserved for the Prime Minister, who looked like he had had plenty of time to make himself comfortable.

"Morgan," said Mandor, unsmiling. "Good of you to find time in your busy day to join us. I'd ask you to take a seat but the process might take an extra five seconds of your valuable time, and we'd hate to waste that."

"Oh, that's no problem," Morgan answered cheerfully. "I always have time for you. If Vik had mentioned you were going to be here I could have rearranged things." He walked forward and pulled a chair out from the desk, reversed it, and sat down, his elbows resting on the back of the chair. He smiled at Mandor, ignoring Vikund. "So what's jamming your shields today?"

"Something that Vikund has dicovered which might be of interest to you," said Mandor. "You might feel that he's done you a favour - and he certainly has an interesting proposition."

He glanced towards Vikund and gave a little nod.

"I did some investigation on your drinking buddy, Lorenz," Vikund says. "Turns out he was doing a favour for a friend, who now seems to have disappeared. There is the possibility, however remote, that this 'friend' will get back in touch with him, and to that end, I intend to offer him the chance to work for us. That is, on condition you assist. Come up with any cover story you like; you can say how you saved him from the gallows, put in a good word. He will probably be your lapdog for life. He'll certainly not say a bad word about you again."

"Of course, if you'd rather not have such a responsibility placed upon you, then Lorenz's usefulness is at an end," he concluded.

"Great!" said Morgan. "His usefulness is at an end, then. So, anything else you need from me?"

Vikund almost smiled, but not quite. "I recall you bringing up before the Privy Council, 'bothering poor Captain Morgan with stupid treason plots'. Now, either you are serious about remedying this situation or you are guilty of wasting the Council's precious time. So do you want my help to rectify this terrible crimping of your style, or would you rather it continues unabated?"

"Oh, of course," Morgan said. "The best way for me to stay out of political intrigue is to turn one of the rebellion's agents for you and become his minder." He shook his head. "Come on, Vik, do I look as naive as Chaddie or Tear? I am NOT getting involved in any of this." He looked at Mandor. "You should know better than this. Vik here is a born schemer, and he's never going to give up trying to drag everyone else into his little webs, but I'm not even starting down this road. Merlin is king, and I'm just fine with that. Anyone tries to cut him down, they die. Anyone mouths off against him when I'm around, they get the cr@p knocked out of them. But I am NOT part of your power structure, and I am NOT going to be sucked in."

He stood. "Next time I see Lorenz I'm telling him I reported him to you. That'll keep him off my back, and should get the message back to his people to leave me alone. You don't like that idea, then kill him. I don't care one way or the other."

He turned to leave.

"If you meet any more Lorenzes, be sure to let me know," Vikund said. "See you later."

"And I think," said Mandor, at his most remote, "that were you to encounter Lorenz again, he will already know the role you have played in this. Pour l'encourager les autres. I'm sorry - to encourage the others. Or rather, in this case, to discourage them from pestering you again."

Morgan stopped in the doorway, then spoke without turning. "He wanted to play the game," he said. "So he has to pay the price for making a mistake. That's how you fellows play it, isn't it?"

He did not wait for the answer.