xp_logs | Trinity: Cards on the Table (Reply)

Early in the morning, Nathan and Angelo go out for a ride (one that Angelo enjoys a great deal more than Haroun did his). They talk a bit of strategy for the afternoon's meeting with the Minister of the Interior, and Nathan also broaches an unrelated if still important subject to his loyal assistant.

"I know the saddle's not quite what you're used to back home, but I think the Kazakh type is more comfortable," Nathan said, glancing sideways at Angelo. "How's the new winter gear holding up?"

"Pretty well", Angelo said with a grin. "Doin' its job, anyway. An' I like this kind of saddle."

"So good to see you and Wanda enjoying yourselves here," Nathan said as the horses reached the top of another rise. The steppes stretched out before them, and he noted that those looked very definitely like snow clouds on the horizon. "Of course, Haroun's doing enough complaining for the both of you..."

Angelo laughed. "Well, somebody's got to, I guess. He's not used to ridin'?"

"I think it's more the accomodations and the food he's objecting to. By the way? Tremendously pleased with you for being as adventurous as you have been with the food. I know horsemeat and the like's not what you're used to, but you being willing to try it has made our hosts very happy. They don't know quite what to make of Haroun."

Angelo shrugged as best he could without letting go of the reins. "There's never been much I won't eat. Not picky."

"And it's not like it's not good," Nathan said with a faint grin. "Even if the main ingredient in most dishes is horsemeat. Wanda doesn't seem to mind, either..."

"What's Haroun's problem with it? Just knowin' what it is?"

"Well, that and religious dietary prohibitions," Nathan said a bit grumpily. "Ah, well. I should have expected as much, and it's not fair to ask him to just dump all of that..."

"I didn't know he wasn't allowed to eat horse. But, yeah, I guess he can't. What's he been eatin' instead?"

"MREs," Nathan said and then laughed. "Can you believe that? You remember trying the MRE in Kashmir when we got stuck out that night and not appreciating it very much, I imagine..."

Angelo pulled a face. "Yeah, there's a reason that stuff's emergency rations."

"So Alison will probably give me a hard time when we get home over having starved her boyfriend," Nathan said, mock-mournfully, and then shook his head. "Anyway. You want to come in to Almaty with me today? I'm going to talk to the Minister of the Interior."

"Sounds good. What d'you need me to do when we're there?"

"The usual loyal minion stuff. Although, I may actually," Nathan said, almost softly, "want you to talk about the school. Our school. In vague terms, of course. But I'm going to steer the conversation that way if it becomes necessary... try and create a contrast. See where I'm going?"

Angelo nodded, catching on. "That I can do."

"This'll be the first real test of my diplomatic skills," Nathan said a bit whimsically. "Since we don't really have hard and fast evidence that something's off... just hints at it. But I was listening very carefully to Jean before Christmas when she was giving me pointers about how to deal with political types."

Angelo grinned. "Ah, you'll be fine. Had practice in other ways, after all."

"This is true." Nathan gave him a speculative look as they rode onwards. "Hey, something I've been meaning to ask you... have you considered taking some college courses? I know I keep you pretty busy, but that could always be adjusted..."

"Thought about it. Not sure yet what subjects to take, though."

"Languages?" Nathan suggested.

"Again. not sure which ones to choose", he said with a wry grin.

"Yeah, there's the downside. Silly universities and their tendency towards specialization," Nathan joked lightly. "I suppose it depends on what you want to do with the rest of your life, too. If it's this..." He paused. "Well, not 'this', specifically," he said, gesturing around, "but you know what I mean. If it was this, you wouldn't want to specialize too much."

"Does anywhere offer courses in just... general languages? Or anythin' like that?"

"You could just do a general degree," Nathan suggested. "Languages, area studies, that sort of thing..."

"That sounds good. An' I could do it part-time, right?"

"Something like that, absolutely. Your marks were more than good enough, too..." Nathan thought. "It's too late to do anything in the winter term, but maybe this summer."

Angelo grinned. "I'll look into doin' the applications, then."

Nathan nodded, smiling. "Good. I meant to talk to you about this in the fall, but, well..." He shrugged a little. "The fall wasn't precisely conducive to looking after things like this, was it."

"Not so much. But, hey - doesn't make all that much difference, really."

"You're right. You're young," Nathan said almost wryly. "You have plenty of time. And hell, it's not like you haven't got plenty to keep you busy in the interim."

Angelo laughed, quietly. "Yeah, you keep me busy. Not that I mind."

"You're very accomodating that way."

--

In Almaty, Nathan finagles himself and Angelo into the office of the Interior Minister, who's very distressed to see the evidence accumulated thus far about the school. It's not a conclusion, but it's a promising beginning.

It had been a little tricky, making themselves relatively presentable in a yurt. Though they'd managed it, Nathan thought, giving Angelo one last assessing look as they headed into the government building. He had the image inducer on, still. There'd be a moment in the conversation when turning it off was called for, though, Nathan suspected. He'd have to play it by ear.

"The Minister will probably speak English," he murmured under his breath as they headed up in the somewhat rickety elevator.

Angelo nodded, answering just as quietly, "Makes things easier that way, at least."

"You did a good job of organizing those files," Nathan said, eyeing the satchel Angelo was carrying. "When we have this little solid evidence, presenting it in the best light possible is important. What we're shooting for here is to get him to look into it. Make him worry."

"An' that we can do, at least. Probably."

"So strange, you know. I don't think I'm ever going to get used to the whole concept of not doing a job and getting it done." But that was one of the things Jean had stressed, that this sort of thing was a process. Often a lengthy one.

"Well... the part of it that's our job, we can get done. The rest of it's his."

Nathan gave Angelo a brief, startled look, and then a grin. "You're going to be better at this than I am," he said as the elevator finally came to a stop. "You just watch."

Angelo grinned, pleased. "Ah, maybe. We'll see."

The secretary looked up at them, somewhat confused, as they entered the Ministry offices, and Nathan smiled at her. "~We're here to see Minister Aliayev,~" he said in Russian.

"~Do you have an appointment?~"

"~We have an appointment. For right now, actually, so long as he's not got anyone in there with him?~" The woman blinked again, then shook her head a little, and Nathan's smile turned a little apologetic as he pressed the telepathic suggestion, just a little.

Angelo smiled at her too, but stayed silent, playing up the assistant role.

"~Of course,~" she said a bit vaguely. "~Now I remember. Please, go right in. He's expecting you.~"

Nathan nodded briskly, then headed for the large double doors, leaving Angelo to follow. Inside, a thin, graying man who looked to be in his late fifties was sitting at his desk, poring over files. He looked up, startled, half-rising from his chair.

"~Who--~"

"~My apologies, Minister Aliayev,~" Nathan said, nudging the door shut as soon as Angelo was through it. "Do you speak English, or should we continue in Russian? Or Kazakh?"

"I... speak English," Aliayev said, looking more bemused than annoyed. He sank back down into his chair. "I don't believe you had an appointment."

"We don't. Then again, there's been very little in the way of the usual formalities about any of this," Nathan said and gave the confused-looking politician a wry smile. "I'm Nathan Morrow," he said, with a brief inward grumble for the choice of last name. "This is Angelo Espinosa."

"American?"

"American. More importantly, though, mutants." #Turn off your image inducer, Angelo.#

Angelo smiled slightly and reached up to take his cue, switching it off.

"I'm a former student of Mr. Morrow's", he said smoothly, keeping his accent neutral. "Pleased to meet you."

"Student?" Aliayev looked more puzzled now, but Nathan was comforted by the obvious intelligence in the man's eyes. And he wasn't panicking, wasn't calling for security... curiosity, Nathan concluded. They'd been abrupt coming in, but not threatening.

He could work with that. "Minister, are you aware of the new school for mutants near Lake Balkhash?"

"Of course. One of my ministry's recent new projects."

"Are you aware that there's been non-voluntary enrollment of nomadic children?"

"WHAT?"

There was Angelo's cue again. He stepped forward, snapping his satchel open and starting to take out the files. "We have evidence of it."

"I've spent some time in Kazakhstan in the past," Nathan said, taking the files Angelo handed him - in perfect order, as expected - and passing them to the shocked Aliayev. "With one particular nomadic group. That's where I first got the information that something unfortunate might be happening."

"Unfortunate...?" Aliayev suddenly looked almost as devastated as he did shocked. "If this is true," he said, putting the files down on the desk and skimming through them rapidly, "this isn't unfortunate. This is catastrophic. We started this school with the best of intentions..."

"We understand that," Angelo said quietly. "That's why we brought this information to you first."

"The situation appears to be a great deal more complicated than that," Nathan said, and picked his words very carefully as he went on. "There are financial irregularities in the school's records - please don't ask how I acquired them, you probably wouldn't approve. But there are payments, to parents of students..."

"To PARENTS?" Aliayev gazed at him incredulously. "There shouldn't be anything like that," he said forcefully. "That bears no resemblance to any of the established procedures for the school, none!."

"I think we can be fairly sure the governors of the school have been lying to you," Angelo told him. "Possibly for some time."

"Who has oversight of this project?" Nathan asked, laying more files down in front of him. The testimonies from the parents, the print-outs of the school's financial records, some of the pictures he had taken while posing as Hans.

"A sub-minister. A trusted sub-minister," Aliayev said, looking more and more troubled as he went through the assembled evidence.

Angelo glanced at Nathan. "And what has he been telling you about the running of the place?"

"He has submitted bimonthly reports. Successful-sounding." Aliayev shook his head. "Will these parents speak to my people? I have those who are more accustomed to nomadic ways... of course," he concluded with a sigh, "there were reasons for them not to come to the government in the first place. Obviously." He looked up, giving Nathan a very keen look. "Who are you, Mr. Morrow?"

"A mutant, like I said. A teacher, at times. And someone who knows and loves this country a great deal." Nathan hesitated, then went on. "I don't think the corruption, if it's there, runs all the way down," he said quietly. "But I think there are problems that need addressing."

Aliayev looked at Angelo, next. "And you? Also a mutant, I know... but why are you here?"

"I work for Mr. Morrow. As I said, I was his student, and he gave me this job when I finished school. And I think it's a job that needs doing."

Aliayev nodded slowly. "~And you know our country, you say?~" he asked Nathan in Kazakh.

"~I spent a time here when I was quite young,~" Nathan responded. "~And in need. Your people's hospitality quite literally changed my life.~ Which is why," he said, switching back to English, "I'm trying to help now."

Aliayev gave them each a long, measuring look before nodding. "I may keep these?" he asked, indicating the files. Nathan nodded. "Is there a way to contact you... ah," he said, as Nathan handed him one of the business cards without names he'd had prepared for this very eventuality. "I can make no promises. But I will look into this."

"That's all we came to ask," Angelo assured him.

"Thank you," Nathan added, then gave Angelo a significant look, jerking his head at the door. "We appreciate your time, and your willingness to listen." Made things much simpler, all around.