The Knights Victorious. William Speir

take us forward, but not at the expense of our natural resources. Our rainforests and nature preserves will still be available to the people of the world to study and enjoy while our population centers take on the status and appearance befitting a wealthy nation. This is my promise to you. This is why I have led my forces to take action against a complacent, fat, and uncaring government which only thought to prevent the revolutions of the past at the expense of making real progress and a real difference in the lives of every citizen.”

      The camera operator zoomed in closer to Francisco. “I’m pleased to announce that Suriname is about to become the world’s premier global banking haven. Several banks, with whom I have been working, have committed to relocate their assets and operations here in return for concessions that I have agreed to make. My first executive order is the establishment of new banking laws to ensure that the government won’t interfere in any international banking transaction between these banks and their customers anywhere in the world. Ever. I’m also pleased to announce that, beginning next week, a new factory will be built for the purpose of manufacturing and distributing some of the most advanced military weapons ever seen. Military arms will be one of our new industries, and we’ve partnered with a group that will be bringing this industry to us.”

      The camera operator zoomed out so Carlos and the Legate could be clearly seen. “My fellow citizens, many of you are worried about the troops visible around the cities of Suriname. Rest assured that they are only there to ensure the smooth transition of power and to help establish the new governmental policies and procedures as quickly as possible, so everyone’s lives can return to normal. Over the next several hours, I’ll be in contact with our allies and with my fellow leaders in the region to explain the transition of power and to assure them of our peaceful intentions. This action is about progress and wealth for everyone, not about power for a few. My goal is to complete the transition and start working for you within a week, and I’ll keep all of you informed about the progress we’re making on your behalf. The sunset curfew will remain in effect, as will the communications blackout, until the transition is complete and normalcy has been restored. Please be patient, and rest assured that we’re working as quickly as possible for your benefit. I wish you all a pleasant evening.”

      As the camera turned off, Francisco looked at Carlos. “I think that went well.”

      “Yes it did. I almost believed it myself.”

      Francisco laughed. Turning to the Legate, he asked. “Is everything ready for tomorrow?”

      “Yes, Mr. President. The Sixth Cohort is taking care of securing the new banking center, and the other Cohorts are prepared to move out at first light to take care of the army.”

      “Good luck, Legate.”

      “Thank you, Mr. President.”

      The former President of Suriname watched in silence from the corner of his old office, wondering what was going to happen to him next.

      The U.S. Ambassador turned off the television when the snowy images returned, signaling that the broadcasting centers had been shut down again. He put down the remote control and looked over at his aide.

      “What do you think about that?” the Ambassador asked.

      “I think that there’s more going on than we ever realized, Mr. Ambassador.”

      “Did you believe him?”

      “No sir.”

      “Me neither. Any chance Washington picked this up?”

      “Only if Guyana, Brazil, or French Guiana picked it up and shared it with them.”

      The Ambassador nodded, and the aide left the office. Technically, this was a purely internal matter and didn’t involve the United States or any of Suriname’s treaty partners. But something told him it would involve a great many nations soon. He got up from his desk and started pacing again.

      In Georgetown, Guyana, the U.S. Ambassador there turned off his television and turned to look at his Chief of Staff. “What do you think?” he asked.

      “Mr. Ambassador, I think that Suriname’s in real trouble. There have been reports of mercenaries consolidating somewhere along the Brazilian border, and if mercenaries are involved in this, then this Baptista fellow’s got something else planned altogether that doesn’t include making everyone in his country wealthy.”

      Turning to one of his aides, the Ambassador asked, “Were you able to make a recording of the broadcast?”

      “Yes, Sir. It recorded just fine.”

      “Good. Forward a copy to the State Department immediately, as well as to our Embassies in French Guiana, Brazil, Venezuela, and Mexico.”

      “Yes, Sir.”

      The aide left the Ambassador’s office and went down the hall to the communications center. He sat down at his computer, typed in a command, and opened a scrambled line to the State Department’s secure uplink server. He inserted the disk of the broadcast he had just made and started uploading the video file. When the file finished uploading, he typed in a quick summary of the file contents and selected the recipients who were to receive copies. Then he closed the connection to the server, removed the disk, logged off the system, and left the communications center to inform the Ambassador that the broadcast had been forwarded as instructed.

      At the State Department offices in Washington DC, the Assistant Undersecretary for South America, who had oversight for the northern half of the South American continent, was drinking coffee while reading over that day’s reports. Each Embassy in the region typically sent in a daily summary of activities, but for some reason, the Embassy in Paramaribo, Suriname had sent nothing for a couple of days. The Undersecretary was confused about this, and all attempts to contact the Embassy had failed.

      The Undersecretary had just finished reading a report from the Embassy in Brazil when an alert popped up on his computer screen. Putting the report down, he looked at the screen and saw that a file had been uploaded to him from the Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana. The name of the file caught the Undersecretary’s attention: “Government Coup in Suriname.”

      The Undersecretary clicked on the alert and opened the file. He watched the broadcast from the new President of Suriname with surprise and alarm. Well, this explains why we can’t reach the Embassy down there. He opened the folder on the local server and pulled up the analysis team’s notes on Suriname. He read through several of the position papers and reports, and he found no mention or indication of rebel activity in the area at all.

      “How is that possible? How could there be a coup in a country that small without any warning? How could we not know about the rebel activity?

      The Undersecretary knew that this information needed to be forwarded to his superiors quickly. If a revolution could happen without any of the U.S. Intelligence Agencies or the analysts knowing anything about it, it represented a serious situation to be addressed. He forwarded the file from the Georgetown, Guyana Embassy, along with several of the analysis team’s papers and reports, to his superiors and marked the information as urgent.

      After the files had been sent, he picked up the phone and called the lead analyst for the region, who was also still in the office sorting through some new documents from Venezuela. “Come to my office for a minute,” he said when the analyst answered the phone.

      “I’ll be right there, sir,” the analyst replied.

      Two minutes later, the analyst walked into the Undersecretary’s office. “What’s up?” he asked.

      “Did you know that there was a coup in Suriname today?” the Undersecretary asked.

      “Yeah, right,” the analyst snorted, assuming that the Undersecretary was making a bad joke. When the Undersecretary just continued staring at the analyst without changing his expression, the analyst asked, “You’re serious?”

      “Dead serious,” the Undersecretary replied, turning around his computer monitor and replaying the broadcast for the analyst.

      When