The Mullinix Book 1: Ascension

  Chapter 60 - In Siraq

  "Ok," Simon said to Roland as they headed south towards Skolnik, "We’re far enough away from the capital. What the hell is going on here?"

  "I wish I knew," Roland said honestly, "I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve dealt with the Siraqis for over thirty years and I have never seen them this solicitous of us. One week to prepare? They usually take that long to decide what type of salad dressing is to be served at the banquet!"

  "You think they’re up to something, don’t you?" Simon asked him, "Something rotten."

  "You saw that place," Roland told him, "A glorious waste of national resources. Most of Siraq is starving, and most of the portion that isn’t works in the empire. The Siraqi government usually only tolerates us, and then because we give them a lot of money in trade over that river."

  "So why would they suddenly become this agreeable?" Simon wondered, "I mean you weren’t being demanding or anything, but still…"

  "They even agreed to let us choose the menu," Roland reminded him, "Gods, I remember going over that last time. Took Paulus and Myself nearly four days just to get them to choose beef or chicken. The King is very particular in his diet."

  "I could tell by his sixty inch waist," Simon grumbled, "So what do we do?"

  "That’s the nice thing about being a personal representative," Roland grinned, "We don’t have to decide that part of it. We just tell our Mullinix what we saw and what we think. They get to decide on it."

  "I think this is a strange way to run a country," Simon sighed, "So we don’t do anything at all?"

  "We do what we’ve got to do," Roland shrugged, "We go on to Skolnik and inform the palace."

  "Then we go home?" Simon asked hopefully.

  "You wish," Roland chuckled, "You want Sascha back in your bed."

  "Of course I do," Simon grinned, "Why wouldn’t I?"

  "Heh," Roland snorted, "Tough luck buddy, we’ve got to prepare for the conference. We’ll be going ahead and getting things ready before Medo and Massy get there."

  "I think you just want to stay away from Sueta," Simon said, "Paulus told me a few stories…"

  "Probably all true as well," Roland agreed, "I don’t deny that I would prefer the road than home."

  "Then why do you stay married?" Simon asked him, "I don’t quite get that. With your job you could easily leave her and live in the palace where the companionship is better."

  "There’s a long story there, Simon," Roland said, "Some of it isn’t exactly pleasant."

  "We have time, Roland," Simon told him, "Why did you marry Sueta?"

  "There was a time once, many years ago," Roland said, thinking wistfully, "That we actually loved each other."

  "What happened?" Simon asked him, "I mean she couldn’t have turned this way overnight."

  "I met Sueta while I was traveling for Iggy," Roland said, continuing his story, "He’d been Mullinix for less than a year and needed information about some of the areas that had been neglected for a while. So I began a large tour."

  "Sounds like fun so far," Simon nodded, "Did you meet Sueta while out there?"

  "Yep," Roland nodded, "I was spending a few days in Connoer, enjoying the scenery and the girls out there. I swear, those beaches just outside of Connoer have some of the most beautiful women in the empire."

  "I’ve heard that," Simon nodded, "I’ve always wanted to go there. Never gotten around to it."

  "We’ll have to go when things calm down a bit," Roland grinned, "For a fact finding mission, of course."

  "Of course," Simon grinned, "Sounds like a good idea to me. So Sueta was one of those girls?"

  "One of the most beautiful of the lot if you can believe it," Roland smiled, "She and I were smitten. I didn’t look at anyone else and made several trips back to that area. I finally asked her to join me on my travels."

  "Sounds reasonable," Simon agreed, "What went wrong?"

  "Nothing at all, actually," Roland said, smiling as he remembered those good days, "We traveled together for about three years before deciding to take that plunge and get married."

  "Something changed somewhere," Simon said, "Otherwise you wouldn’t be where you are now."

  "The changes came when she wanted to settle down," Roland sighed, "I loved her, so I went ahead and bought the house in town. That’s the one she still lives in and I call home, for the short times I’m actually there now."

  "You didn’t take to it well, huh?" Simon asked him.

  "I hate it," Roland said, "But she turned into a homebody. Before long she didn’t want to travel with me at all and wanted to have kids. We have four now because of that."

  "That still doesn’t explain the dislike," Simon said, "She changed and you didn’t. Usually doesn’t mean the end of a good relationship."

  "The death of Taliaferro’s personal rep was pretty well the death knell," Roland told him, "I had to spend more time on the road because we never replaced him. Edgar, Crianferro’s rep, had long since disappeared from the scene and refused to come back to work for Taliaferro. That meant that Paulus and I had to take on the brunt of the work."

  "So you were gone longer and longer," Simon nodded, "I think I see where this is going."

  "You’re probably right," Roland nodded, "I love my kids but Sueta and I do little but fight when I come home. I think the only reason I haven’t left for good is the kids. When they grow up most likely I will slowly stop going home."

  "Good advertisement for staying single," Simon grinned, "Now I think I see why the Mullinix can’t marry."

  "It also saves them from alliance marriages," Roland reminded him, "We’d often get offered them in the past. This gives them a plausible reason to refuse them."

  "The world of government is strange," Simon sighed, "How long to Skolnik do you think?"

  "Two more hours," Roland estimated, "More or less."

  "I think I’m going to shut up for a bit and enjoy the scenery," Simon said, "Not like I get out of the empire every day."

  "Makes you appreciate what you have, doesn’t it?" Roland asked him.

  "It certainly does," Simon agreed, "It most certainly does."