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"That you are a reasonable man. No, certainly not. Thank you, General."
Ortiz had offices directly across from the ornate Presidential suite; and the
President's offices were empty. Symbolic, Enoch thought. And dangerous. He was
kept waiting in an anteroom.
"I-N-F-O-R-M-A-T-I-O-N," he thought.
"ON LINE."
"O-R-T-I-Z X-X J-E-S-U-S M-A-R-I-A X-X C-O-N-N-E-C-T-I-O-N-S W-I-T-H
O-C-E-A-N-I-Q-U-E."
"NONE SIGNIFICANT."
"R-E-L-A-T-I-V-E-S- C-O-N-V-I-C-T-E-D U-N-D-E-R C-O-N-T-R-A-C-T."
"NONE IN RECORDS."
"P-U-T M-Y A-S-S-I-S-T-A-N-T I-N T-H-E L-O-O-P."
"I'M ON, BOSS." The voice wasn't different, of course; but now Enoch could ask
questions in normal language and Timothy would program them into the computer
- provided the Argentines didn't do
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ce.txt something about his communications. Implant to Enoch's briefcase,
briefcase to the aircraft he'd come in; aircraft to Zurich and Malvinas, via
satellites; any of the lines were vulnerable to jamming. The codes were
supposed to be unbreakable, though. He might be jammed, but he wouldn't be
overheard. He hoped.
The office had been ornately furnished for one of General Molina's assistants,
and Ortiz hadn't changed the decor. The colonel wore the same uniform as
before, or a newly pressed copy of it.
Neat, Enoch thought. Best description of him. Mustache seems to have been
clipped one hair at a time. No religious memorabilia in evidence-is that
normal for a Catholic Action type?
The dossier had been complete. Ortiz was intelligent, well-educated, popular
with his troops and the communities they'd been stationed in. He seemed to
have an understanding of international economics. INTERSECS consultants
thought he'd be a stabilizing force and might be the best leader
Argentina had come up with since before the multiple Peron regimes. Except for
one point. He hated
INTERSECS.
"You saw General Rasmussen before you came to me. I am surprised. I had
thought you would consult with Colonel Mendoza," Ortiz said. There was no
trace of a smile.
"I do not comprehend, Coronel."
"We will pay his gambling debts, of course. Colonel Mendoza will be a very
useful man when he no longer has reason to fear or love you. Now I must
investigate General Rasmussen. You see, I am a realist, Superintendent Doyle."
Enoch showed no surprise, but his features were locked in a rigid mask.
"Coronel Ortiz, why is this necessary? There is so little to negotiate. Your
threat to seize Malvinas, for example. A
bargaining point, but not one of consequence. I dealt with it before leaving
Zurich. We simply pay higher royalties to the United Kingdom. The British lion
is toothless, perhaps, but not so helpless that he cannot defend the Falkland
Islands and their offshore sea bottom, as Argentina found once before."
Ortiz' eyes narrowed slightly. Then he shrugged. "I had not expected quite
such prompt action. I
had hoped to present England and the UN with a fait accompli. Very well, you
have taken one bargaining counter, but what will you do about Santa Rosa?
That, Superintendent, is entirely an internal affair of the Argentine
Republic."
"But conceded on lease to OCEANIQUE," Doyle said. "At your former governments
request, I remind you. You receive the taxes, but have no necessity to provide
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government. Not even to operate jails and prisons-"
"Yes. You enslave people-"
"We collect the economic costs of their crimes for the victims. And we permit
them to work. They keep a portion of their wages, and if they have dependents
another portion is sent to their families. To be frank, Senor Coronel, foreign
technicians would not entrust themselves to General
Molina's justice. Even the Argentine citizens who work for us prefer our
justice to yours. Only the incorrigibles, those who will not work at all,
would rather be in an Argentine prison."
"There will be changes in the Ministry of Justice," Ortiz said coldly.
"Your pardon, Coronel, but all that has been said before. Here and elsewhere,
and many times."
Ortiz said nothing.
"And what value is Santa Rosa to you?" Doyle asked. "You harm OCEANIQUE, but
do no good for your country. Without Santa Rosa, Malvinas cannot operate.
Without Malvinas, you have problems obtaining minerals. Without low-cost
minerals-how soon before Chrysler begins laying off auto workers in La Plata?
Where will GE get the copper for the radios they make in Montevideo? Your
neighbors will not be pleased to see Malvinas harmed, Senor Coronel. Uruguay
and Chile need the products sold by OCEANIQUE. You risk your whole economy,
and for what?"
"Those contracts are not fair, Superintendent. OCEANUIQE makes enormous
profits and we get none of them. Yet it is our people who work in those
deathtraps of undersea mines."
Doyle nodded. "The profits are high, but the risks were enormous. It took a
great deal of capital, and in these days of high taxes, risk capital is always
very careful. Nobody would finance
Malvinas without the chances of high profit."
Ortiz made a gesture of dismissal. "These matters may be adjusted. But
INTERSECS will leave the
Argentine, and immediately. There will be no more extraterritorial rights, as
if our Republic were composed of barbarians not fit to enforce its own laws
against Eurepean technicians. INTERSECS
must go."
Enoch looked up with interest. "C-O-N-N-E-C-T O-R-T-I-Z T-O
I-N-T-E-R-S-E-C-S."
"TRYING EVERYTHING, BOSS."
"Why do you dislike us so?" Doyle asked.
Ortiz sniffed coldly. "A private company with pretentious of sovereign rights.
Company judges decided the fate of our people after company police arrested
them for violation of company
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