Serialization of "Quedly Dake and His Quest to Conquer the Globe" — Chapter 19 of 25
From Book 3 of the “Taterskin & The Eco Defenders” Trilogy
“We are arresting you, Quedly T. Dake, on the charges of CAH/CAU (Crimes Against Humanity and Crimes Against the Universe),” Albert said. “You two,” he added, gesturing at Bumney and Reid, “may be more-or-less innocent, being guilty of nothing more than allowing yourself to be employed by this psycho, so we are not arresting you—yet, anyway—but you must accompany us to the roof, at which point we will release you on our departure, “But Mr. Dake is coming with us, and you will never see him again. We’re in a hurry, so without further ado or adon’t—”
“You can’t do this!” Dake yelled. “I’m the President of the United States, the Secretary General of the U.N., and the Exalted Emperor of the World!”
“You were those things,” Alexis said, “But only by means of your Machiavellian connivings as well as your flattery, bribes, and threats. Ironically enough, the dirty tricks and sleazy stratagems that got you those positions are the very things that have now gotten you arrested. You are no longer the President or General or Emperor of anything; you are now just an infamous criminal and our prisoner.”
“Bumney and Reid, do your job!” Dake ordered. “Protect me! Save me! Rescue me!”
Bumney shrugged. “What can I do? I’ve been disarmed and am surrounded by vicious wild beasts who mean to inflict bodily harm on me if I don’t go along with them.”
Our pups answered this objection with a volley of yips (“Yip! Yip! Yip! Yip!”). Dake thought they were saying “Yep” over and over again, which made him even more angry.
“What about you, Reid: Are you going to fulfill your oath to protect me, even if done at your own peril?”
Reid was still concentrating on the pain inflicted by Rinky’s poison claw. He couldn’t give any serious thought to anything else at the moment. “I can’t help you, Dake. Maybe you deserve your fate after all, I don’t know.”
“Et tu, Reid? They are going to kill me! When they call you up before Congress and the General Counsel and my inner circle interrogates you, what will your excuse be for this gross dereliction of duty?”
“We’re not going to kill you, Dake,” Albert said. “It’s true that your two bookends here will never see you again—nor you them, of course—but we will not put an end to your life, even though you may indeed deserve it, all things considered.”
Dake looked only minimally relieved when told he would not suffer the death penalty. He continued to pout and sulk and whine, and even started to cry.
“And as for your two former comrades facing consequences for not saving you, Dake,” Alexis said, “We are going to release all the information we have about how you finagled and cheated and maneuvered and manipulated and flattered and bribed—and worst of all, threatened—your way to power. If anything, Bumney and Reid will be viewed as heroes for declining to save you. If rumors arise that they were in on your arrest, part of a conspiracy against you, it might not be a bad thing for them. They will fare better if people think that they were in on it, there’s no doubt about it.”
“Alright, here’s the plan,” Albert said.
The previous chapter can be found here.
The next chapter can be found here.
Book 1 of Taterskin & The Eco Defenders, “Wonders Never Cease,” can be found here.
Book 2 of Taterskin & The Eco Defenders, “Tell It To Future Generations,” can be found here.
Book 3 of Taterskin & The Eco Defenders, “Quedly Dake and His Quest to Conquer the Globe,” can be found here.
