Chapter 3
Oen Bravia, Senator of the viceroyalty of Bravia, was sitting in a chair in his audience room, a room that was common in the homes of the upper class, where there were chairs for the hosts and room for guests to stand and make their plea. However, Oen was not using his audience room to hear the opinion of a supplicant, but was using the audience room instead to plan a strategy against his wife with a certain Agent Bennett.
�Pleased to meet you, Agent Bennett,� Oen said.
�Pleased to meet you as well,� Agent Bennett replied. �Why did you seek my presence here today?�
�I want to do something about my estranged wife,� Oen said. �I am sure you have already spoken with the Lues.�
�Yes, I have,� Agent Bennett said. �They assured me that I could help them out in anything and that I would be a valuable addition to their team of problem solvers.�
�Good, good,� Oen said. �My problem is that my wife can lay claim to half of my wealth under the community property laws of the viceroyalty of Bravia.�
�Those laws are onerous to those who divorce after finding themselves wealthy,� Agent Bennett said.
�Exactly,� Oen responded. �Now, it is even worse than this. She possesses knowledge that could ruin my reputation and damage my ability to create future wealth and control power in the future. What I want you to do is to find a way to silence her. I do not want you to murder her, for that would bring her brother on me, which would be very bad. After all, her brother is the right hand man of the emperor himself. However, I want you to find either some kind of blackmail or some kind of threat that would make her be silent about my activities so that if she does not help me, at least she would not hinder me.�
�That should not be too difficult to manage,� Agent Bennett said.
�Good,� Oen said. �I have heard of your work elsewhere. It appears you are a rather skillful agent on behalf of the local magnates of Imperium.�
�Yes, I have helped keep many a poor ignorant slave from even attempting to file paternity suits against slave owners. I consider it my highest duty to deprive people of their rights due to fraud,� Agent Bennett said.
�I like that,� Oen said. �What are your techniques to convince people to refrain from their right to sue?�
�First I try to convince them that I am an honest person looking out for their interests,� Agent Bennett said. �That hooks them in to believe what I say. Then I tell them it is not in their interests to sue, and explain the high cost of litigation, the likely result of suing, and most of them are all too eager to give up their right to sue when they hear how difficult it is. Those that continue to hold to their right to sue are convinced upon certain coincidences that damage their property and security.�
�I like your style,� Oen said. �Do you think this would work on my wife? After all, she comes from a noble family like myself, and is quite a stubborn and determined woman. Do you think your bag of tricks could work on someone like her?�
�Of course,� Agent Bennett said.
�Good,� Oen said. �And now the matter of payment.�
�Yes, money is always important in a transaction like this,� Agent Bennett said.
�Money is what makes the world go around,� Oen said. �Without this, even the most intelligent and righteous man is nothing more than a cipher as far as the world is concerned.�
�Unless he somehow has the courage and pluck to speak,� Agent Bennett said.
�Even then,� Oen said. �No one will believe one who has no power and authority and no money to smooth over the difficulties of life.�
�Perhaps,� Agent Bennett said. �When will you pay me the fee?�
�First you will receive a small advance,� Oen said.
�How small?� Agent Bennett�s eyes narrowed.
�Fifty thousand freznics,� Oen said.
�Only 5% up front?� Agent Bennett said.
�That is correct,� Oen said. �Once I get word from my wife or her counsel that she will not file suit against me for some of my actions, you will get the other 950,000 freznics.�
�I assure you it will not be difficult,� Agent Bennett said.
�That is why I am only giving you 5% up front,� Oen said.
�See you when all this is through,� Agent Bennett said.
�Yes,� Oen replied. �I trust that everything will go satisfactorily.�
�So do I,� Agent Bennett said.
Meanwhile, Karen and her would-be banking manager, Rosalba were touring the estate at Cork looking for a place to build a credit union for the workers there. There was a good deal of open land, and they were looking at a spot near the workers� homes that was close to the main house as well.
�I am glad that you seek my expertise,� Rosalba said. �You are planning on building a credit union here on your land for your workers to establish bank accounts and handle loans and investment here?�
�That is correct,� Karen said.
�Is there some trouble in town?� Rosalba said.
�Yes, there is,� Karen replied. �The banks in town have denied the accounts of my workers, claiming that they are not capable enough to handle banking and investment accounts, nor are they qualified for any loans except at unreasonable interest rates.�
�So the banks are controlled by a bunch of bigots?� Rosalba said.
�Yes, exactly,� Karen said. �While I try to defend my workers, it appears that much of the town is dedicated to thwarting my desire to help those under my care.�
�I am glad to help you thwart their bigotry,� Rosalba said. �I am a Purian myself, like those who work for you.�
�Yes, and that is why I called you out. I do not know much about the banking industry, but it will be my money that goes into the reserve and into the construction and maintenance of the credit union, so I wanted someone with expertise to help me out,� Karen said.
�I would be glad to,� Rosalba said. �Times have been tough, and I was just let go from a banking firm that had to let go people after getting exposed in questionable loans to an energy trading company that had to go bankrupt after disclosing accounting irregularities.�
�That is most unfortunate,� Karen said. �I assure you this will be much safer. It will be under your watch though.�
�I am able to handle that,� Rosalba said. �I have been looking for a job that gave both responsibility and freedom. This sounds like a good idea. I wonder why more such credit unions as this do not exist.�
�Too many people have forgotten what personal service and low fees are like, and so they flock to big companies like the bank owned by my brother. Still, even he tells me there is a strong niche for a business like this,� Karen said.
�Who is your brother,� Rosalba said.
�Natonito Bravia et Albright, the Directrix,� Karen said. �Ever heard of him?�
�Oh, so you�re related to that Albright,� Rosalba said. �Wow.�
�We�re just human beings,� Karen smiled. �You don�t have to act so amazed. It�s not like we�re celebrities or anything.� They both laughed.
�So, when would you like me to start?� Rosalba said.
�You can start tomorrow,� Karen said. �Even though the bank will take a few weeks to build, we can start dealing with the accounts now.�
�Thank you very much,� Rosalba said.
�You are very welcome,� Karen replied.
At this point a man from the neighborhood came up to them.
�I hear you are building a bank for those spics who work for you,� the man said.
�Mister Smith,� Karen replied. �As a matter of fact, I am. Still, what I do for my people on my property is none of your business.�
�I don�t want these braceros getting uppity in town, thinking they are worthy of the rights of native-born Bravians like myself,� Mr. Smith said.
�They are human beings just like yourself, and so they are endowed with certain unalienable rights,� Karen said. �They have a right to receive just pay for good work and to seek to better their life, and they have the right to be treated decently. Whether they are native-born Bravians or not is immaterial, for they are people.�
�You make me upset,� Mr. Smith said.
�You can leave, this is my property. If you do not want to leave I can have some guards escort you out,� Karen said.�I�ll leave,� Mr. Smith growled. �How you can associate with such trash, though, is beyond me.� He turned and left.
�Such people make me so furious,� Karen said to Rosalba.
�There are people just like that in Puria that hate Bravians,� Rosalba said.
�I know, but we should not hate each other so,� Karen said.
Just then Agent Bennett walked up.
�Are you going to sue your husband?� Agent Bennett said.
�I haven�t decided yet, and I do not want his hired agents to bother me,� Karen replied.
�Well, it would not be a good move on your part,� Agent Bennett said.
�I will decide for myself what is good for myself,� Karen said.
�I shall return shortly,� Agent Bennett said. �Perhaps you will change your mind.� He walked away.
�This is not a good day,� Karen said. �I think I need a good meal and some rest right now.�
�Alright, I will see you again soon,� Rosalba said. �We can begin work tomorrow.�
�Yes,� Karen said. �Thank you for accepting the job.�
�Thank you for offering it,� Rosalba said.
Karen spoke to a nearby guard. �Did you see that man?�
�Yes, ma�am, I did,� the guard replied.
�The next time you see him, shoot him in the leg,� Karen said. �If he threatens me again or if he tries to harm my property, he will pay.�
�No problem Mrs. Bravia,� the guard said.
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