Chapter 1.5. New mission

 

When Mike and Theodor came out. Catherine de Graaf turned to her deputies: "What do you, gentlemen, say on the versions that Mike voiced?"

"It is quite clear that this is not a coincidence. That's what our analysts have said as well. The on-site investigation is done correctly at first glance, but the more questions I have about it. I think we need to assemble a special group to investigate on the ground. Because obviously, the locals can't handle the investigation themselves," Istas de Raine was the first to respond.

"I agree, too, that it's not an accident," Carl Gustav said next. "But I wouldn't rush with the special group. Not much time has passed, so let the locals there continue their investigation for now. Maybe in a couple of days, we'll know more and then we can make a decision. If it's a personal grudge within the ministry, Internal Investigations need to be immediately involved. If there are traces of a third party, we'll need to take countermeasures. Although I think it's unlikely the Holy Empire is now involved."

After thinking for a while, Catherine said: "I also agree this is not an accident. I think Internal Investigations must intervene immediately. Besides, both Captain Crocan and Drake are locals from the capital. Let them take care of their families and connections here. I don't suppose there will be any objections in that matter?"

"No, ma'am," Carl Gustav and Istas de Raine answered in one voice.

"And with the group to Artea, we'll decide in a couple of days. Perhaps we'll form it from the Internal Investigations group, assemble and send it out."

The deputies had no objections to this suggestion either.

"Fine, then, let's invite Colonel Tirel de Graaf to join us," Catherine said, and pulled the call cord on her desk. A few seconds later, Theodor entered the office.

"Did you call ma'am?" He asked.

"Theodor, find and invite Colonel Tirel de Graaf to see us," she said.

Now they were to discuss with Colonel Tirel, as head of Internal Investigation, their next steps.

"He's right here in the reception room, ma'am," the man replied.

"Is that so? All right, have him wait, then. I'll call him. Also, after Mike writes, have him wait, too. We might still need him."

Theodor bowed and walked out.

"Ma'am, I apologize, but I still want to get back to the Northern Prairie discussion. I still think a media leak is necessary." Istas de Raine was the first to speak.

Catherine sighed and looked at him. He was not a bad deputy, but sometimes his ideas were too risky.

"We've already discussed this Istas. What's the point of drawing more attention to it? The newspapers have already written a lot about it," Carl Gustav said.

Istas turned and looked at Carl. Although formally they had a division of responsibilities, there was a certain rivalry between them. This was especially noticeable during discussions.

"There is a point, Carl. And a very good one," Istas answered him. "Imagine now, Internal Investigation is beginning a new case. The first thing to do is to spin Crocan and Drake's background, as well as investigate their deaths. The media gets wind of it. It could be either through a leak or through the MFA. The media are beginning to publish their sensational investigations. But they, of course, have little to do with reality but are almost certainly directed against us. And I am almost certain they will distort important facts. There may be pressure on the families of the captains. And that would hurt the investigation."

"I don't see the connection to the Northern Prairie."

"We have to do something to distract the media from the new investigation."

"Why? There’s nothing yet known. It could turn out to be very simple."

Catherine de Graaf did not interfere in the discussion of her deputies. She preferred to watch them closely. Occasionally they might have interesting thoughts that she could use.

"Yes, but that's why I have a feeling it just won't. It will end up the same way - a traitor in foreign intelligence, third-party influence, MFA intrigue. And that's just the start. I think we, our ministry, will be the prime target."

"Are you implying that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will go further, to direct interference and sabotage? But that's a serious charge that would cause a political crisis in the empire," Carl Gustav said.

"Yes."

"But wouldn't it be easier, to get the Ministry of Foreign Affairs involved, inviting them to participate in the investigation both here in the capital and Artea. Especially in Artea," Carl said.

"That they directly sabotaged the investigation?" Istas asked in amazement.

Catherine sighed. Sometimes the two of them get a little carried away, like this time.

"Then we need to put someone in charge of the investigation who won't let them."

"And who do you propose? Do you have a suitable candidate?"

"I don't suggest anyone. I don't think that's for me to decide," Carl said and turned to Catherine. Istas turned after him, too.

She slowly looked at each of them.

"Carl's right. I have a possible candidate. I think Mike is exactly who we need to investigate in Artea," Catherine de Graaf answered.

"The MFA will not cooperate with us if Michael is in the investigation," Istas said.

"They will," Catherine assured him. "You just have to press on the right people at the Foreign Ministry, and they'll ask for cooperation themselves."

"Leak to the media?"

"No!"

"Ma'am, are you going to give them Michael then?"

"Of course not! But they don't need to know that," she said. "Okay. We'll discuss all that later. Right now, we need to talk about setting up an investigation team with Colonel Tirel. And we'll read what Mike wrote. Let's see how he passes that test."

Catherine pulled the call cord and a few seconds later Theodore walked back into the office.

"You called ma'am?" He asked.

"Theodor, invite Colonel Tirel to join us," she said. And, after a moment's pause, added. "Also take what Mike wrote."

Theodor bowed and went out.

 

"Catherine de Graaf will see you, Colonel. You may enter," Colonel Theodor said.

By this time Mike had finished writing his thoughts and handed what he had written to Theodor. And to occupy his waiting time, Mike again began to read the latest newspapers and magazines. One of them turned out to be a fresh "Bulletin of the Trade Union" from the 2nd day of the 5th month. On one of the pages, the following article caught his eye.

“As we promised in our last article on the 2nd day of the 10th month of the year 50142. We continue monitoring the construction of the Cathedral of the Blessed Savior in the capital of the kingdom of Irid. We inform our esteemed readers that despite various delays and resistance from the local population, the construction of the cathedral has begun. And now it is only slightly behind schedule. Completion of construction will be near the end of the 9th month of this year. In addition, Cardinal Mazapini, representative of the Holy Religion in the Kingdom of Irid, has announced the date for the opening of the cathedral and the first service. This date is the last day of the year - the 30th day of the 10th month of this year. He also announced that his eminence, as well as the King of Irid, will be present at the first service. It is already possible to say with great certainty that the Kingdom of Irid awaits a big change. We can already see some withdrawal of wealth from the kingdom. Also, present increase in military spending in neighboring states that do not approve of the Holy Religion. We interviewed…”

"It can't be!" Mike exclaimed.

 

A quarter of an hour later, Theodor came out and called Mike into the cabinet. Mike grabbed the journal with the article.

"Mike, we've read your thoughts," Catherine said when everyone sat. "I think it's necessary to involve you in the investigation of the murder in Artea. Not only that, we've all agreed here that you should be the one to lead the team on the investigation."

Mike, of course, expected that he would become involved in a new investigation. But to put him in charge of the team? It came as a surprise to him.

"Thanks for the trust, ma'am," Mike said.

"You will begin forming the team today. Colonel Tirel will provide you with everything you need. The first phase of the investigation involves only your Internal Affairs department. Check the connections and backgrounds of Crocan and Drake. Later, we'll involve other departments in the investigation. Possibly other ministries as well. You have ten days for the first phase. If there's no serious progress in Artea during that time, phase two will begin. You and your team will go to Artea and conduct a further investigation," Catherine informed him. "Is that clear to you?"

"Yes, ma'am," Mike replied and then added. "I have a question, ma'am, for everyone here."

"Really?" She seemed surprised. "Ask your question, then."

Mike took a bit of a risk. He didn't know how those present would react to the information he had read. Perhaps everyone already knew about it, but from previous conversations he doubted it.

"How many of you have read the latest "Bulletin of the Trade Union" of the 2nd day of the 5th month yet?" Mike asked them.

"What does that have to do with the theme of our meeting?" Colonel Tirel was the first to ask him.

"It was just delivered today, Michael," Theodor told him.

Mike realized that those present had not yet seen the article. Mike held out the journal to Catherine.

"The article is on page 15," he told her.

Catherine opened the magazine to page 15. She read it quickly. A look of surprise immediately appeared on her face. She looked at Carl Gustav and then gave him the magazine.

"Carl, you and I are going to have a long talk tomorrow, I suggest you prepare for it," she told him.

Carl Gustav took the magazine. As he read the article, his face grew darker and darker. After reading, he handed the magazine to Istas de Raine, then to Colonel Tirel, and finally to Theodor.

"I read the first article of the 2nd day of the 10th month," Carl Gustav said at last. "There has been no other data since then. And I'm not sure it's the absolute truth."

Catherine sighed heavily.

"Okay, everyone's dismissed. And you, Mike, stay behind."

When everyone was out, Catherine continued.

"Mike, report the progress of the investigation to Colonel Tirel. Preferably every day. But we'll all keep a close eye on the progress of the investigation. There's a lot at stake here. So, if you need anything, you can contact me directly," Catherine said.

"Also, I'm expecting you for dinner tonight at my estate at nine o'clock. I'll send a carriage for you."

"All right, Madam."

Mike bowed and walked out.

"Michael," Colonel Tirel stopped him in the waiting room. "I'll assemble a meeting in my cabinet in an hour."

"Okay, sir," Mike told him.

Mike headed to the Chancellery. He needed to formalize his papers for promotion to major. He was afraid he wouldn't make it in time for the colonel's meeting. But surprisingly, everything went quickly, in less than 20 minutes. Catherine was right. Everything here was ready in advance. He is now officially a major. He needed, of course, to make changes to his casual and parade uniform, to update his badge. This he planned to do later.

The meeting was a little less than half an hour away. Mike decided to go to the Personnel Department, fortunately, it was nearby, and get the personnel files of Captain Crocan and Drake. The Personnel Department found them quickly. Mike formalized the withdrawal of their files and then headed back to his department.

 

More than ten people had gathered in Colonel Tirel's cabinet for a meeting.

"Is everyone assembled?" Asked the colonel, glancing around at everyone present. "Then I guess let's get started."

The colonel's cabinet seemed suffocating and crowded to Mike. Though there was plenty of seating for everyone and no one standing around.

"First, I'd like to introduce to everyone here Captain Michael de Graaf..." The colonel paused slightly but quickly corrected himself. "Or rather, already Major Michael de Graaf. Perhaps in the year of his absence, you managed to forget him. He returned today from a long mission. Quite successful, and loud. Too much even. But we're not here to discuss the last mission. We have a new case coming up. And I certainly hope it's not as loud."

"We have an order to investigate the death of Captain Crocan and the disappearance of Captain Drake. Some of you may have known them. We need to set up a team to investigate. Major Michael de Graaf will be in charge of it. The first phase of the investigation is in the hands of only our department. We need to check Crocan and Drake's connections and background as quickly as possible. Well, I don't have to tell you what to do. The team has ten days to investigate here in the capital."

"Second phase. A team will form to go to Artea, to conduct an additional investigation on the spot. But we'll talk about that later. Here's a summary of what you'll be doing. Michael will brief you further."

"Colonel, sir," Mike addressed him. "I have a question. Will everyone present here be part of the team?"

Mike didn't feel comfortable discussing the case in front of so many people. He knew many of them here well, and some not so well. Besides, there were a couple of new faces here. It was too much responsibility resting on his shoulders. He could not afford to make a mistake.

"No. As much as our superiors would like throwing the entire department' personnel on every potentially high-profile investigation, that's not going to happen. As far as I remember, only Captain Eric Shtof, Captain Chester Nights, and Lieutenants Alex Crawley and Emma Pryte are present and have no urgent cases."

Those addressed by the colonel confirmed that he was right.

"That's good. Lieutenant Caroline de Tarro will also be arriving tomorrow from her vacation. These five will be part of your group. The others, of course, will assist if necessary. If you need anything, come to me."

Mike knew all four of the present. The presence of Captain Eric Shtof in the group upset him somewhat, but he did not argue with the colonel. He did not know lieutenant Caroline de Tarro. She was probably one of the newcomers.

"I see, sir," Mike answered him. "Should we let the others go then?"

"Good idea," said the Colonel.

Only those involved in the investigation of the new case remained in the cabinet. Mike addressed them.

"So. Here I have with me the reports from the Artea investigation into Captain Crocan's death and Captain Drake's disappearance," Mike pointed to the thick folder of papers in front of him. "I also grabbed the captains' personnel files. So far there is no apparent connection between the two events, the death and the disappearance. After the meeting, you'll examine the files. and I think we'll split into the following subgroups. Captain Nights, you take Captain Crocan, Captain Shtof, you take Captain Drake. Lieutenants Crowley and Pryte will assist you. And Lieutenant Caroline de Tarro will assist me."

"First of all, we need to look at their place of residence. Interview their relatives. Talk to their coworkers. I think we'll have more information by tomorrow," Mike said.

Colonel Tirel and those present listened carefully to Mike. There was a brief pause. Mike and Tirel expected additional questions from their men. But there were none. Then the colonel was the first to speak.

"I expect your report at the meeting every morning," Colonel Tirel reminded them.

"That's right, sir," Mike replied to the Colonel and then addressed the others. "Then I guess that's it, sir. The group and I will go to work."