Page 8 of Kailirex

“And that is a conversation to be had between our respective ambassadors,” Gundar told him firmly. “It’s a matter plainly laid out in the terms of the treaty.” He ushered them out towards the door.

“But she’s a US citizen, as are the rest of the suspects!” Mathis continued.

“Doesn’t matter. The treaty was ratified by your government as well as the rest of the world’s. I must confess, I find it curious you object to us having them here to face Mylos justice but have never complained about anyone else.”

Mathis slammed his mouth shut, looking angry.

“What my colleague meant to say is, we wished to ascertain that you guarantee they will be treated fairly and transparently.”

“Uh huh.” Gundar pointed to himself. “Me Fleet Commander.” He pointed to me. “Him Public Relations.” He made an ‘X’ with his hands. “We no ambassadors.”

The duo stared at us dumbfounded.

“Why, I never!” Banks sputtered.

“Continue that thought on the shuttle, please.” He opened the conference room door, all but shoving them outside. “Please make sure they go straight to the shuttle, ride alone except for security and a pilot, and don’t cause a ruckus.”

The warriors outside the door saluted.

“This way, please,” one said to the pair.

“The President is going to hear about this!” Mathis sputtered. “And you can forget my help with your show! I won’t let my kid anywhere near it!”

Like I gave a damn about that. If I’d had to film such a segment, I would have, but mostly, I’d have been throwing sand in his eyes to make him leave us alone. As they walked away, I turned to face the Commander. “Will they be able to disrupt the show’s access?”

He shook his head. “Not really, no. And the ambassador informed me the Council said that they believe this proves that a bridge like this is entirely necessary, so they’ve allocated extra resources in case you need them.”

That’s all I needed to hear.

“Thank you, sir.” I saluted him before turning the opposite way our unpleasant guests had gone. Once on the elevator, I began to sing “It’s Not Easy Being Green”, just because.