------------------------------------------------ [u][b]June 14th: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia[/b][/u] ------------------------------------------------ "Have you heard from your brother?" Sahle, [i]Negus Negast[/i], Conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah, felt like a child in front of his mother. [i]Emebet Hoy[/i] Eleni had an awkward lunch with her eldest son in the courtyard, watching a servant feed their pet lions. "He probably likes it in China." He ate from a small bowl of beef strips with jalapenos, scooping up the food with strips of injera. "Probably, probably. You say probably! You don't know. How can your brother like it in such a place?" "They give him a book and throw some rice to a peasant for him to see and he'll be happy." Eleni leaned back. She looked up at a nearby tree. "Remember when you climbed up there and hung your father's undergarments from the highest branch?" Sahle grinned. "Your brother went up there to retrieve them. He didn't want you to get in trouble. He nearly fell!" "He always meant well." "He always loved you." Sahle didn't say anything for a long moment while he nibbled on his lunch, looking at the bowl of beef in contemplation. "He has his life to live. China will be good for him. Besides, we'll see him at the Olympics. That's this summer. It'll be here sooner than you know. We'll see Taytu there too." "I am looking forward to that." Eleni took a deep breath, and it made Sahle uncomfortable to see that his mother was becoming more and more an old woman. "Sometimes, it feels like the months go by slowly with my children away. As if it takes two months of time for one month to pass on the calendar." "I'm still here." Sahle said. Eleni smiled. "I know. Though I wish you kept your siblings around to help you. Governing is not easy, and I do not like that Desta creature. You know how unpopular he is with the [i]Makwanent[/i]." "I couldn't do it without him." "You could." she said, "If you put your nose to it and stopped running around with the Tanganyikan Ambassador." Sahle started to fidget. "I have to meet with Desta before I go." he stood up. Eleni looked troubled. "Go? Where are you running off to?" "I have meetings. Like you said, mother, governing is not easy." he kissed her on the forehead and went inside. Sahle walked through the tiled halls of the [i]Gebi Iyasu[/i], two Imperial guards falling in behind him. The building had the airy feeling of an Italian country villa. He passed into the south wing, where there were offices for government, and met three of his Ministers in a room looking out at a garden. Desta was leading the meeting. "Your Imperial Majesty" all three men greeted. Behind Desta was Aleme Menigedi, the Minister of Transportation and Public Works, and Lawgaw Seleshi, Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones. They were bland, bureaucratic looking men, plucked out of the bourgeois by Desta and not especially familiar to their Emperor. Between the men were a number of maps strewn out on a table. "You needed me?" Sahle asked. "I have good news, and a request." Desta smiled. "The good news is that the [i]Negus Coffee[/i] party is on their way back. They've completed their tour and will back at the American Embassy tomorrow." "Good." Sahle felt warm thinking of seeing Livy Carnahan again. "And I request that your majesty pay a call on Hamere Noh Dagna. I've been told he met with the Filipino ambassador. I do not know why, but he may be trying to sabotage our dealings with that country. He is bitter, and he does not like me, but you are his Emperor." "What can I say to him?" Sahle asked. Deep down, Sahle feared Hamere Noh Dagna. "If he does not like you, then he does not like me." "That is not true." "It would be a waste of your time." "Your majesty knows best what to do with your time, but I believe it would be wise to placate him. His office keeps the al-Himyari's in check. Without him, Ras Hassan would become a dangerous power in the land." "Maybe." Sahle said, "I'll think about it, but I am busy right now. Carry on." The three ministers bowed. Sahle left as quick as he could without looking like he was retreating. Rudolph von Lettow-Vorbeck met him outside, dressed in a suit jacket and bowler hat that made him look like a kid trying to be an American gangster. He was leaning against a German made [i]Königswahl Gepard[/i], a glossy car that made him think of racing. The Emperor and a guard got in the cramped back seat. To Sahle's delighted surprise, the Tanganyikan ambassador decided to drive. "Is this the surprise?" Sahle asked. "No. I have a couple of [i]Fräuleins[/i] waiting for us at the Vin Rouge. Or, should I say, a couple of [i]Mesdemoiselles [/i]." "You are my lord and savior." Sahle laughed. Rudolph put on a pair of goggles, hit the gas, and sped away in the direction of downtown, the engine roaring manfully and the car taking turns as if it were born to do so. The [i]Vin Rouge[/i] was a four story building with neon lights in front spelling out the name next to the glowing image of wine being poured into a glass. The first and second floor was a restaurant. In the back was a cabaret lounge. The third story housed a library and club where wine was served in a quiet, dignified setting for men who wanted to study French. The fourth story was the most exclusive brothel in Ethiopia. Rudolph had reserved it for the evening so that nobody would see the Conquering Lion of Judah making his conquests in such a place. They pulled around back and were ushered into a stairwell meant for employees. It was a brutal cement shaft with dangling bulbs that gave out a sickly yellow light. A white man with a top hat led them up to the top floor. They were brought into a sitting room furnished and decorated in Second Empire style, with heavy fleur-de-leus drapes on the windows. An older woman sat on the couch reading a book. She looked up when they walked in. "Ah, your majesty. Your excellency. You know how this works?" Her voice was scratchy. They nodded. "Good. I'll get the girls ready. Use the chests in the corner." The [i]Vin Rouge[/i] had its own protocol for everything, trading on their reputation for the exotic. There were rules that didn't exist in any other brothel Sahle had ever been to. Rudolph and Sahle, on separate sides of the room, began to disrobe. They didn't say anything first, ignoring the awkwardness of becoming naked in the presence of another man by focusing on the task at hand. Sahle bent down and undid his boots, took off his socks, then stood up to slip off his robes, then his undergarments. He deposited it all in the chest in the corner. The carpet felt spongy under his bare feet. Undressed, they had nothing to do but wait. Standing in the corner was too ridiculous to be an option, so they had to face one another. Rudolph no longer looked the European dandy, but just another pink-skinned white man, a pathetic sight. Sahle couldn't help but see the other man's mushroom prick, and felt good about his own endowment. They sat down on opposing couches, Rudolph crossing his legs, and they tried not to look at each other. "You see this?" Rudolph grabbed a small book on the table nearby him and tossed it across the room. Sahle grabbed it. [i]The Adventures of Leonid Secshaver: A Man of Many Meatings[/i]. It was a cheaply printed book. On the cover was the outline of a rather average looking European man dressed like an adventurer on safari, standing at the center of a long table lined with various half-dressed women who were staring longingly at him. "Sack Shaver?" Sahle asked, guessing at the English play on words. It was odd to see an English book in what was supposed to be a French room. "Sex Haver" Rudolph replied, "Look at the author." Sahle's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "Reginald Heap. [i]That[/i] Reginald Heap?" "He used his real name." Rudolph tittered. Sahle flipped to the first page and read a bit. [i][indent] Princess Nastya was randy, sitting at a mirror in her boudoir, pleasuring herself with the golden handle of her brush. "Let us call a conference of Europe, because I want to see the strong diplomats at work. Call Leonid Secshaver from from Africa..." [/indent][/i] Sahle laughed. "This is horrible." He tossed it back to Rudolph. "These things are collector's items now. Written by a murdered man. I own one myself, [i]The Adventures of Leonid Secshaver: Ten Thousand Ticklish Tallywhackers[/i]. It has an Arabian Nights theme. Its so bad that it's good." "I have to admit, I miss the man." Sahle said. "He was one of the interesting ones. How he died was suspicious." "I heard this from the other Ambassadors. I didn't think you'd start on it too." "No no no." Rudolph waved, carefully keeping his leg pressed down to protect his modesty, "I mean I think the Rhodesians did it." "Do we have to talk about this? Where are those girls?" "The Rhodesians are something I have to think about. My uncle's biggest military priority, I suppose aside from the Swahili communists, is our border with Rhodesia. I think they ordered Heap murdered because, well..." he held up the book, "He was an embarrassment. They are that brutal." "Talk to Benyam about this." Sahle watched the dark mahogany door, hoping it'd open any second now and free him into the arms of a friendly whore. "The Kaiser of Ostafrika wants to know what Ethiopia still remembers its wartime debts. Ethiopia might have been pushed back by Britain if it wasn't for my grandfather. My uncle knows of the Ethiopian attempts to bring Rhodesia into your fold, and he wants assurances that an alliance against him isn't forming." "An alliance against him isn't forming." Sahle said blandly. The door opened. Two beautiful Habesha women walked out dressed in frilly lingerie. Saved by the belles! The tallest walked up to the Emperor and led him by his erection to a place where they could have privacy.