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"One." replied Baron Rostov, and his hostess put a single lump of sugar in his coffee. Miss Se Loob added just the right amount of cream, and handed the cup to him most elegantly. The Baron was at a quiet table above the most elegant ballroom in the valley. Below the festivities celebrating the groundbreaking of the Trans-Balkan railroad spur were winding down. "To what do I owe the honor of this hospitality?"
"You owe it to me." said a quiet voice with archaic accent. Ludwig Kalchonikov came out of the shadows, flanked by Gregory Stienhortz, and sat down opposite the Baron -- Gregory remained standing. The Baron was surprised to see him this far from home, but not worried. This was a public place, and these Kalchonikovs had been spotted by Gunter earlier in the evening.
"Gregory, good to see you again, for the first time." said the Baron. Gregory acknowledged his greeting but did not return it. He was not here for pleasantries, it seemed.
"You were caught on Kalchonikov lands." Ludwig said as if he were a judge giving sentence.
"Cleaning up your dirty laundry." replied the Baron casually. He recognized that Ludwig, as head of household, had developed the habit of judgment, so he did not let the tone bother him. "How did you let Porter get so far out of hand?"
Ludwig developed an uncomfortable look, "The Kalchonikovs are not of one mind on the matter of Nazadlan. The younger generations... they seek easy answers." He reflected, "Perhaps some of the blame is ours. We older generations reminisce of the glories of Nazadlan, but say little of our dread. The younger generations get confused.
"I wish you to know that another Porter will not appear."
"That will be good. My brief excursion north showed me a lot of damage to your lands."
"We will be healing. Porter was a symptom of a deeper problem. We see that now, and we are working on it."
"How may I help?" offered the Baron.
Ludwig looked at him with a combination of relief and success.
"We wish this railroad contraption to extend north into our lands."
The Baron looked at him with surprise. "Really? Do you know what you're asking for? It will bring dangerous ideas as well as riches." he warned.
Ludwig looked at him slyly. "You don't think we can control the cargo of these trains?"
"I'm not sure even I can. This railroad business is full of risk. But... I've seen what it has done for the people in other parts of the world. It has brought enormous material well-being to all the people around it, and I want that for me and my people, as well."
"Do not hide your greed, Baron!" Ludwig's eyes brightened as if he had uncovered something the Baron didn't want him to know.
The Baron simply smiled back easily, and said, "Yes, I will help you with this railroad."
They would agree to disagree. Ludwig saw the Baron as after riches; the Baron saw another nail in the Kalchonikov coffin. Only time would tell if either were right.
-- The End --
home intro one two three four five six seven eight nine 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 appendix