getaway. Problem is, he never takes vacations. The man is
overworked. I intend to remedy that. I need your help though.”
He gasped, “You’re in bed with Bidden?” She placed a hand over
his swollen mouth and brought her face close. “In a matter of
speaking. But let’s just say that the bed isn’t big enough for the both
of us.”
“What are you up to, Leona? Whose side are you on?”
“Yours. I want to honor your Maroon ancestors. To help you
strike back at imperialism from your own backyard.”
“I don’t have a backyard. I don’t have fuck all.”
“Oh, but you will, Niles. You surely will.” She said, and laid her
cards on the table. A royal flush, it turned out. And Niles quickly saw
an escape from Babylon, though it meant giving up the dubious
promise of a Rastafarian paradise for a tiny islet in purgatory.
Playing the assembled Biddenbrooks executives required more
finesse than playing Niles and a defter sleight of hand. She addressed
the alarmist:
“That was no suicide car bomb or terrorist act,” she insisted,
“That was an accident. No one was left at the scene. No one took
responsibility. There was no bomb. These guys are not suicidal. Only
religious terrorists can afford to be suicidal. They’re supposed to get
their reward after the fact.”
“It still seems like a big chance to take.”
“If we give these guys what they want, they could end up
destroying our company. And you would lose your cushy jobs,” she
said calmly, “How’s that for a big chance to take?”
What followed was a general sort of hemming and hawing about
the right thing and morals and ethics and honesty, but it didn’t really
add up to much. The wind had come out of their sails.
“We’ll just have to wait and see,” was the general consensus, and
which was merely an echo of what Leona had already said.
That wasn’t so hard.
They all got up, a little ashamed of themselves, but it was a
shame divided equally amongst them all and so diluted. Returning to
their offices, only the aging but still glamorous vice president of
intra-office affairs stopped Leona. “So, then,” she said, “When is our
Morris coming back? It’s been over three weeks.”
“He’s having a great time,” Leona assured her. “He’s decided to
travel around the Caribbean for research purposes.”
ABYSSINIA
322
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