Chapter 1.5 v2

When Mike and Theodor came out. Catherine de Graaf turned to her deputies: "What do you, gentlemen, say on the versions that Mike voiced?"

"It is quite clear that this is not a coincidence. That's what our analysts have said as well. The investigation on the ground is conducted correctly at first glance, but the more questions I have about it. I think we need to assemble a special group to investigate on the ground because obviously, the locals can't handle the investigation themselves," Istas de Raine was the first to respond.

"I agree, too, that it's not an accident," Carl Gustav said next. "But I wouldn't rush with the special group. Not much time has passed, so let the locals there continue their investigation for now. Maybe in a couple of days, we'll know more and then we can make a decision. If it's a personal grudge within the ministry, Internal Investigations should be involved. If there are traces of a third party, we'll need to take countermeasures. Although I think it's unlikely the Holy Empire is involved."

After thinking for a while, Catherine said: "I also agree this is not an accident. I think Internal Investigations should be involved immediately. Besides, both Captain Crocan and Drake are locals from the capital. Let them take care of their families and connections here. I don't suppose there will be any objections in that matter?"

"No, ma'am," Carl Gustav and Istas de Raine answered in one voice.

"And with the group to Artea, we'll decide in a couple of days. Perhaps we'll form it from the Internal Investigations group, assemble and send it out."

The deputies had no objections to this suggestion either.

"Fine, then, let's invite Colonel Tirel de Graaf to join us," Catherine said and pulled the call cord on her desk. A few seconds later, Theodor entered the office.

"Did you call ma'am?" He asked.

"Theodor, find and invite Colonel Tirel de Graaf to see us," she said.

"Is that so? All right, have him wait, then. I'll call him. Also, after Mike writes, have him wait, too. We might still need him."

Theodor bowed and walked out.

"Ma'am, I apologize, but I still want to get back to the Northern Prairie discussion. I still think a media leak is necessary."

"We've already discussed this Istas. What's the point of drawing more attention to it. The newspapers have already written a lot about it," Carl Gustav said.

"There is a point, Carl. And a very good one," Istas answered him. "Imagine now, when Internal Investigations starts a new investigation, spinning Crocan and Drake's background and their deaths. The media gets wind of it, either through a leak or through the MFA. The media will start publishing sensational investigations that have little to do with reality but will almost certainly be against us. And I am almost sure that important information will be distorted, and there will be pressure on the families of the captains, which, in turn, can harm the investigation.

"I don't see the connection to the Northern Prairie."

"We have to do something to distract the media from the new investigation."

"Why? There’s nothing yet known. It could turn out to be very simple."

"Yes, but that's why I have a feeling it just won't. It will end up the same way - a traitor in foreign intelligence, third-party influence, MFA intrigue. And that's just for the start. I think we, our ministry, will be the prime target."

"Are you implying that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will go further, to direct interference and sabotage? But that's a serious charge that would cause a political crisis in the empire," Carl Gustav surprised.

"Yes."

"But wouldn't it be easier, to get the Ministry of Foreign Affairs involved, inviting them to participate in the investigation both here in the capital and in Artea. Especially in Artea," Carl said.

"That they directly sabotaged the investigation?" Istas asked in amazement.

"Then we need to put someone in charge of the investigation who won't let them."

"And who do you propose? Do you have a suitable candidate?"

"I don't suggest anyone. I don't think that's for me to decide," Carl said and turned to Catherine. Istas turned after him, too.

"Carl's right. I have a possible candidate. I think Mike is exactly who we need to investigate in Artea," Catherine de Graaf answered them.

"The MFA will not cooperate with us if Michael is in the investigation," Istas said.

"They will," Catherine assured him. "You just have to press on the right people at the Foreign Ministry, and they'll ask for cooperation themselves."

"Leak to the media?"

"No!"

"Ma'am, are you going to give them Michael then?"

"Of course not! But they don't need to know that," she said. "Okay. We'll discuss all that later. Right now, we need to talk about setting up an investigation team with Colonel Tirel. And we'll read what Mike wrote. Let's see how he passes that test."

Catherine pulled the call cord and a few seconds later Theodore walked back into the office.

"You called ma'am?" He asked.

"Theodor, invite Colonel Tirel to join us," she said and added. "Also take what Mike wrote."

Theodor bowed and went out.

"Catherine de Graaf will see you, Colonel. You may enter," Colonel Theodor said.

By this time Mike had finished writing his thoughts and handed what he had written to Theodor. And to occupy his waiting time, Mike again began to read the latest newspapers and magazines. One of them turned out to be a fresh "Bulletin of the Trade Union" of the 2nd day of the 5th month. On one of the pages, the following article caught his eye.

“As we promised in our last article on the 2nd day of the 10th month of year 50142, we continue monitoring the construction of the Cathedral of the Blessed Savior in the capital of the kingdom of Irid. We inform our esteemed readers that despite various delays and resistance from the local population, the construction of the cathedral has begun and is now only slightly behind the schedule. Completion of construction is expected near the end of the 9th month of this year. In addition, Cardinal Mazapini, representative of the Holy Religion in the Kingdom of Irid, has announced the date for the opening of the cathedral and the first service to be held. This date is the last day of the year - the 30th day of the 10th month of this year. He also announced that his eminence as well as the King of Irid will be present at the first service. It is already possible to say with great certainty that the Kingdom of Irid is in for a big change. We can already see some withdrawal of wealth from the kingdom and increased military spending in neighboring states that do not approve of the Holy Religion. We interviewed…”

"It can't be!" Mike exclaimed.

A quarter of an hour later, Theodor came out and called Mike into the cabinet.

"Mike, we've read your thoughts," Catherine said when everyone was seated. "I think it's necessary to involve you in the investigation of the murder in Artea. Not only that, we've all agreed here that you should be the one to lead the team on the investigation."

Mike, of course, had expected to be involved in the investigation, but the fact that he would be assigned to lead the team came as a surprise to him.

"Thanks for the trust, ma'am," Mike said.

"You will begin forming the team today. Colonel Tirel will provide you with everything you need. The first phase of the investigation will be handled solely by your Internal Investigations Division. After checking Crocan and Drake's connections and background, we'll get other departments involved in the investigation, and possibly from other ministries. You have ten days for the first phase. If there's no serious progress in Artea, the second phase will begin and you and your team will go to Artea and do further investigation on the ground," Catherine informed him. "Is that clear to you?"

"Yes, ma'am," Mike replied and then added. "I have a question, ma'am, for everyone here."

"Really?" She surprised. "Ask your question."

"How many of you have read the latest "Bulletin of the Trade Union" of the 2nd day of the 5th month yet?" Mike asked them.

"What does that have to do with the theme of our meeting?" Colonel Tirel was the first to ask him.

"It was just delivered today, Michael," Theodor told him.

Mike realized, that those present had not yet seen the article. Mike held out the journal to Catherine.

"The article is on page 15," he told her.

Catherine opened the magazine to page 15. Quickly she read it, then gave the magazine to Carl Gustav.

"Carl, you and I are going to have a long talk tomorrow, I suggest you prepare for it," she told him.

Carl Gustav took the magazine. As he read the article, his face grew darker and darker. After reading, he handed the magazine to Istas de Raine and then to Colonel Tirel, and finally to Theodor.

"I read the first article of the 2nd day of the 10th month," Carl Gustav said at last. "There has been no other data since then. And I'm not sure it's the absolute truth."

Catherine sighed heavily.

"Okay, everyone's dismissed. And you, Mike, stay behind."

When everyone was out Catherine continued.

"Mike, report the progress of the investigation to Colonel Tirel. Preferably every day. But we'll all keep a close eye on the progress of the investigation. There's a lot at stake here. So, if you need anything, you can contact me directly," Catherine said.

"Also, I'm expecting you for dinner tonight at my estate at nine o'clock. I'll send a carriage for you."

"All right, Madam."

Mike bowed and walked out.

"Michael," Colonel Tirel stopped him in the waiting room. "I'll assemble a meeting in my cabinet in an hour."

"Okay, sir," Mike told him.

Mike headed to the Chancellery. He needed to formalize papers for promotion to major. He was afraid he wouldn't make it in time for the colonel's meeting. But surprisingly everything went quickly, less than 20 minutes. Catherine was right. Everything had already been prepared in advance and now he was officially a major. He needed, of course, to make changes to his casual and parade uniform, to update his badge. This he planned to do later.

The meeting was a little less than half an hour away, and he decided to go to the Personnel Department, fortunately, it was nearby, and get the personnel files of Captain Crocan and Drake. The Personnel Department found them quickly. Mike formalized the withdrawal of their files and then headed back to his department.

More than ten people had gathered in Colonel Tirel's cabinet for a meeting.

"Is everyone assembled?" Asked the colonel, glancing around at everyone present. "Then I guess let's get started."

"First, I'd like to introduce to everyone here Captain Michael de Graaf..." The colonel paused slightly but quickly corrected himself. "Or rather, already Major Michael de Graaf. Perhaps in the year of his absence, you managed to forget him. He returned today from a long mission. Quite successful, and loud. Too much even. But we're not here to discuss the last mission. We have a new case coming up. And I certainly hope it's not as loud."

"We've been ordered to investigate the death of Captain Crocan and the disappearance of Captain Drake. Some of you may have known them. We need to set up a team to investigate. Major Michael de Graaf will be put in charge of it. The first stage of the investigation will be handled only by our department. We've got to get a check on Crocan and Drake's connections and background as quickly as possible. Well, I don't have to tell you what to do. The team has ten days to investigate here in the capital."

"Second phase. A team will be formed to go to Artea, to conduct an additional investigation on the spot. But we'll talk about that later. Here's a summary of what you'll be doing. Michael will brief you further."

"Colonel, sir," Mike addressed him. "I have a question. Will everyone present here be part of the team?"

"No. As much as our superiors would like throwing the entire department' personnel on every potentially high-profile investigation, that's not going to happen. As far as I remember, only Captain Eric Shtof, Captain Chester Nights, and Lieutenants Alex Crawley and Emma Pryte are present and have no urgent cases."

Those addressed by the colonel confirmed that he was right.

"That's good. Lieutenant Caroline de Tarro will also be arriving tomorrow from her vacation. These five will be part of your group. The others, of course, will assist if necessary. If you need anything, come to me."

"I see, sir," Mike answered him. "Should we let the others go then?"

"Good idea," said the Colonel.

Only those involved in the investigation of the new case remained in the cabinet. Mike addressed them.

"So. Here I have with me the reports from the Artea investigation into Captain Crocan's death and Captain Drake's disappearance," Mike pointed to the thick folder of papers in front of him. "I also grabbed the captains' personnel files. So far there is no apparent connection between the two events, the death and the disappearance. After the meeting, you'll examine the files. and I think we'll split into the following subgroups. Captain Nights, you take Captain Crocan, Captain Shtof, you take Captain Drake. Lieutenants Crowley and Pryte will assist you. And Lieutenant Caroline de Tarro will assist me."

"First of all, we need to look at their place of residence. Interview their relatives. Talk to their coworkers. I think we'll have more information by tomorrow," Mike said.

"I expect your report at the meeting every morning," Colonel Tirel reminded them.

"That's right, sir," Mike replied to the Colonel and then addressed the others. "Then I guess that's it, sir. The group and I will go to work."