So it is done

Atlas and Mantle

"Vacuo has always been an advocate of a commitment to open dialogue on all sides, every state, so stop trying to shove Vacuo into the camp of your opponent! Or one day you might even succeed!" The TV smoothly transmitted the tone of an exasperated short stout man with a noticeable bald patch, appearing on a TV show as a spokesman for one 'side'.

"Vacuo is a sovereign state and will not give up on dialogue with the ARA, and threats by the Vale government will certainly not make your point to the ordinary people of Vacuo!"

"Dialogue?! That's what you call conducting a joint military exercise with the ARA?!" The man's opponent, a small elderly woman with the ferocious gaze of an enraged bulldog, barked in response. "Ninety percent of the orders placed by the Vacuo Ministry of Defense are for supplies from Glenn! Vacuo's biggest trading partner is Glenn! And with just one look at the latest 'special economic zones' legislation in Vacuo's council, and one could only conclude, what's that but direct integration of Vacuo into the ARA economic space!? And despite this, Vacuo has the audacity to talk about its neutral status!"

"Eighty-seven percent of the world's sand exports come from Vacuo, but I see no exclamation that Vacuo has monopolized sand! All other nations are totally dependent on exporting sand from Vacuo, and I will remind you that it is essential for everything from glass to microchips!" The man, whose flushed face dripped with rivulets of sweat, pulled out a small handkerchief to blot his bald head, before continuing to speak, clearly breathless from his own emotions. Either that, or just the heat of the debate combined with his considerable bulk.

"We're joining Glenn's economic zone, because Vacuo has a stockpile of sand, in availability, with an established bulk supply, needing a ready transport infrastructure. And likewise, Glenn has products with no counterpart currently available on the world market, either technologically or economically! If you want to outbid Glenn, give us an alternative, and enter the market with your product counterpart! Stop trying to bang your fist on the table and demand that Vacuo give up a better option, to wait for your teleportation gate production to finally get going. How long have you been trying to launch the first prototype of that?! For two and a half years! And all you've been doing is promising to launch it, with still no results!"

At these words the old woman's face creased with consternation before she started to answer to continue their dialogue, as far as such TV shows could be called a 'dialogue' between the two participants in principle. But before he could hear the reply, Roman's ears caught the sound of approaching footsteps. The noise caused him to avert his eyes from the TV in the waiting room and look at the door leading to the office of the person that he was waiting for.

The person that passed through the door was an unremarkable girl of small stature – it was easy to mistake her for a secretary. With her inconspicuous appearance, slightly disheveled hair, and wearing a strict suit with glasses slightly down the nose and a pile of papers in her hands. She looked like the stereotypical secretary, always looming behind or a step back from a boss.

But Roman's attentive eye could catch the fact how deliberately inconspicuous she really was trying to be.

How she kept carefully to the side while making sure no one was behind her, how she would glance around at every possible exit and windows. And more to the point, how she kept her hands at the ready, no matter how light or heavy the documents she was carrying, her hands never swerved, steadily hovering next to her belt line.

Clearly there was a hidden weapon somewhere in the vicinity, or it could be her belt for all Roman knew, weapons technology has been advancing leaps and bounds in the past few years.

'A RATS agent... A Secretary and a bodyguard, two for the price of one.' Roman didn't look too closely at the girl, wary of spooking her, no matter how ironic that would sound. But he couldn't help it really, while he hadn't been a hunter for a long time, but some old habits were hard to eradicate from his soul... Especially those that remained after everything that had happened in his life.