The Bounty Hunter

Chapter 72: The Council of Nine

May 23rd, 2089

William Pendragons POV

My name is William Pendragon and I am the King of England.  Although I am proud to be a king, it is most certainly a trying task to be solely responsible for the prosperity of so many souls.  I understand why my eldest daughter was so hesitant about becoming my successor.  She finally agreed, although she had a strange condition that she demanded be fulfilled before she would consent to the investiture as crown princess.  I want the authorization and resources to look for the man in the eastern fox mask that attended my birthday masquerade ball.  I have no interest in being Queen unless I can get reliable retainers I can trust such as him.

As a father, I automatically have a dislike towards this man that seemingly captured my daughters interest, but as a king I am intrigued at what my daughter told me about him.  How could anyone survive two consecutive explosions let alone do so without any notable injuries?  My instincts cry out that there is more to this than meets the eye, so I acceded to my daughters wishes and even exceeded her initial requested manpower and resources.

That decision occurred about 4 months ago, and we have yet to even catch a trace of him.  Looking into the guest list we got his name but discovered it was fake.  All his documentation was also falsified and it was apparent that he was an infiltrator of some sort.  We then proceeded to comb through our immigration records to see if we could get any photos of him at the airport or if we had his passport in our records.  We have a rough sketch of his face courtesy of my daughter.  She is quite talented at drawing, but she apparently only caught a brief glimpse of his face so we only have an approximation to work with.

We checked all travel records for the two months leading up to the masquerade ball and have found absolutely nothing.  We are operating under the assumption that he is either Japanese due to his mask and facial features or that he is American due to his accent when speaking English.  We investigated all of the American and Japanese passports that entered and exited our country since November of last year and have found nothing.  This fox clearly smuggled himself into and out of the country illegally but we have no idea how.  This has moved beyond a simple search to a major national security concern.  Who is this man and how did he so easily bypass our security measures?  We need to find him and find out.

Excuse me your majesty, but we have arrived.  My chauffeurs statement broke me out of my rumination and I exited my limo.  Before me stood an ornate palace, built in the Victorian style.  It was grand and imposing, although still a far cry from my own home.  Currently I am in Brussels for a Council of Nine meeting.  We normally use holographic projections, but especially important matters cause us to meet in person.  This is never a pleasant experience.  I personally think of it as a lunch table at a primary school.  The amount of immature squabbling and petty back and forth is enough to make even the most talented statesman throw up his hands in frustration.  It is to be expected though.  The 3rd World War has been over for decades now, but the scars and enmities that remain run very, very deep. 

The Council of Nine is comprised of the nine most powerful countries in the world who set global policy, and it is the spiritual successor to the United Nations.  Much like the League of Nations after World War 2, the United Nations was disbanded after the 3rd World War and replaced with the Council of Nine.  Rather than continuing with pretenses of equality and every country having a say on issues, we acknowledged reality and made the global organization an oligarchy. 

The nine strongest countries remaining after the war took up their places on the Council to arbitrate disputes between the lesser nations, promote global cooperation and most importantly maintain peace in the world.  These nine countries are: the United States of America, the Neo-Soviet Union, the Empire of Zaire, the Peoples Republic of China, the Central African Confederacy, the Republic of India, the Kingdom of England, the Persian Hegemony and the Federal Republic of Germany. 

The weaker countries pay a percentage of their GDP as tribute and can make appeals and requests to the Council, who then decide on a course of action.  Much like its predecessor the UN though, not much is accomplished.  Each member has its own strategic interests and allies amongst the many smaller countries, leading to gridlock as personal interests undermine most debates.  But on the rare occasion that the Council agrees on something, it gets done.  Power grants the best authority after all.  The Council is also a useful means to mediate grudges as it gives rivals and archenemies a political arena in which to fight in rather than through open war. 

All the benefits still do not make me feel any better about entering the Council chambers, where I can already hear the President of the United States of America and the Premier of the Neo-Soviet Union bellowing at each other. *Sigh* I entered the room to see the large, built-like a bull American President face to face with the Neo-Soviet Premier who could easily be mistaken for a bear from a distance.  I have never seen a man with so much hair before.  At least there is no need to worry about a new Cold War between these two.  Neither man understands the concept of subtlety.  To be honest, I question their ability to even spell the word.

You frost-bitten, vodka-chugging buffoon!  How dare you make such unfounded accusations?!?!  President Morris shouted with enough vigor to shake the rafters.  Continue to spew shit from your mouth and I will start wondering whether I am actually talking to your face!  I know for a fact that the US has been subverting the International Treaty on Large-Scale Energy Weaponry!  Do you still have the balls to claim otherwise after your failed weapons test 2 days ago in the Empty Quarter?!?!  Premier Sharapov roared back with equal ferocity.

I could see the rest of the Council tiredly looking on the exchange.  No one was reckless enough to try and interfere.  In fact, the posturing between these two is a regular occurrence.  Experience has shown that it is far easier to wait until they became too hoarse to shout before continuing with Council business.  I, however, decided that today was not the time to be continuing as usual.  Especially considering that an unknown event of global proportions occurred two days ago.  Whether it was first contact with foreign life forms, an unexpected cosmic phenomenon, or an illegal weapon test we need to investigate with the highest possible urgency.

Mr. President, Honorable Premier.  Now is not the time for the usual squabbling.  My voice was harsh and quite unlike its usual even tone.  It succeeded in attracting their attention and I chose to continue speaking while they were still processing.  Two days ago, we had an unknown event occur that suspiciously coincided with the start of a series of unprecedented natural disasters around the globe that are still ongoing.  We need to investigate the cause and respond appropriately.  And that will not happen if we do not cease our bickering immediately. 

One of the other Council members, Emperor Akintola of Zaire, chose to interject King William is correct, this matter is one of utmost importance.  Empty accusations will lead us nowhere.  So, lets start this meeting.  I gave him a subtle nod in appreciation which he returned.  As the only two monarchs on the council, we often support each other.

President Morris and Premier Sharapov gave each other a brief glare before nodding and sitting down for the Council meeting.  Finally, we can get started.  I will do my utmost to ensure that every single intelligence apparatus available to us is investigating this event.  I also want on-site investigators in Saudi Arabia as soon as possible.  No secret will be kept from us and that also applies to the fox that has been eluding me so far.  The Kingdom of England does not give up so easily.  The hounds are coming, Mr. Fox, the hounds are coming.