The Specter of Capital

[Zoran]

July 15, 1423
New Zoradia, Zoran
11:30 AM Overtime

    The streets were packed with people from across the country gathered in the capital to hear the news to be announced by the queen. News channels were interviewing politicians and Ministers to try and get some clue as to what news the queen is going to announce only to receive commentary on the occasion and the political situation of the country without any real answer. All noise from the crowd started to die down as soon as Queen Adsila began walking onto the stage to stand behind the podium,
    “Good morning, today is a momentous occasion for the country. Since the defeat of the Corpocracy, the country has had a provisional government organizing the reconstruction and governance of the nation, but today that has come to an end. On this day, a new constitution for the Zoranian government has been ratified and an official government has been established for the people of Zoran.”
    The crowd roared with cheers and shouting at the news, a feeling of hope filled the streets of New Zoradia as the people felt confident in the future of their country for the first time in years. Adsila soon continued,
    “The entire constitution can be found online and it will be distributed to the press at the end of this event. With the ratification of the constitution, it is my pleasure to announce that elections to the dikahnawadvsdi aninotlvsgi iyunadai (National Council of Lawmakers) shall begin in a few months! Details on elections and voting can be found on the Office of Election’s website and election officials shall be visiting various communities and providing information sessions on voting and supervising registration for the upcoming elections.”
    The roaring increased with intensity at this news and the crowd began chanting the queen’s name.
    “It has been a tumultuous few years filled with uncertainty and pain, but now I can say that we are firmly on a path towards a new dawn for Zo-”
    That was when a bang echoed through the streets followed by Adsila falling to the ground. Raspberry Berets and other security ran to the body of the queen as terrified screams filled the air and panic spread like wildfire through the crowd. Police began to try and quell the crowd, trying to control the tide of people to reduce risk of injury in the crowd. The queen’s body was quickly carried off and the hope that once hung over the nation was now dimmed as the nation worried about the fate of the Adsila.
    Meanwhile in a distant hotel room, a man packed up their rifle and hid it in the room service cart and continued on with his disguise. He didn’t think it would go so smoothly but apparently he was wrong, all he had to do now was hide the rifle and keep a low profile until he could safely leave the country. After going through a few more rooms, he went down to the staff room, took the case out of the cart, and walked out of the backdoor. He then tossed the case into the dumpster and removed his gloves. He then walked a few blocks before tossing the gloves into another dumpster along the way. While he knew it was likely sloppy, he was confident that the law enforcement would be competent enough to link it all to him.
    If I get through this, there will be no doubts in Tanamara Tsinohewu’s mind that I am worth my fee.

New Zoradia, Zoran
12:00 AM Overtime

    Yenuha Aditsi, General Waholi, Director Soyohata, Interior Minister Yonaguska A’ama, and city police chief Ahuludegi A’gakohdi push past members of the press as they make their way to Adsila’s house to discuss recent events.
    “We will not be answering questions right now.” Waholi says as he shoves the door closed with a grunt.
    “How could we let this happen!?” Yenuha exclaims, “Did the Royal Guard and the Raspberry Berets not scout the area a week in advance and station people on the rooftops!?”
    “Of course we did!” replied Yonaguska, “No one reported any suspicious activity during the speech so how this gunman was able to pull off the shot is beyond me!”
    “Do you think it was a foreign power? The commie fujansk perhaps?” asked Waholi, dabbing his head with a handkerchief,
    “The fujansk rank last on the list of possible suspects.” answered Soyohata, “Hell, I would suspect the Giovannilandians before the fujansk. But we have not had any reports or warning of any kind that would point to an assassination attempt. It is too early to start pointing fingers until we get more details on the crime scene.”
    “Agreed,” began Yenuha, “Yonaguska, have all transportation in and out of the city closed off and ground all flights in the country until we find the person behind this. Start investigating things ASAP and get guards around the Queen’s hospital room.”
    Yonaguska nodded and started making the necessary calls while Chief A’gakohdi cleared his throat,
    “Ah yes, Chief A’gakohdi. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about you.” said Yenuha while having actually completely forgotten about the city’s police chief, “We could use your men’s help in blocking traffic in and out of the city.”
    “That’s a given, sir, but might I offer our best detective to help in this investigation?” said Ahuludegi,
    “Umm, sure. We need as much help as we can get.”
    “Will do, sir.” he then goes off to radio into the station leaving Waholi and Yenuha alone at the entrance of the house.
    “What would you like the military to do, Yenuha?”
    “Nothing, we don’t need the civilians to be panicking any more than they are now.”
    “Are you sure? Not even martial law?”
    “Especially not martial law. And do not go anywhere near the press! Leave them to me.” Yenuha says before heading on to their office while Waholi glared at him as he left. He turned his gaze to the door where the press awaits, the gears in his head turning as he thought about what he could gain from the opportunity.

[Zoran]

July 15, 1423
New Zoradia, Zoran
12:10 AM Overtime

“The Tlanowa is not mortally wounded and should recover, they are currently resting after surgery.” said the guard over the phone. Yenuha and Yonaguska let out a relieved sighs at the news,

“Thank you, keep visitors to a minimum and security high. Do not let the Tlanowa near any windows and keep information about their condition top secret for now.” ordered Yenuha,

“Understood, sir.”

Upon putting the phone down, Yonaguska ran a hand down his face and fell back into a chair,

“Thank the Great Spirit that we don’t have to deal with the fallout of a successful assassination.” said Yonaguska,

“Yes, but we still have to catch the person behind this. As soon as we let news of Adsila’s condition reach the public the assassin will likely strike again.” said Yenuha as he takes a bottle of rum out of a liquor cabinet and pours himself and Yonaguska a glass. But before either of them could take a sip Yenuha’s phone started to ring. With a groan, Yenuha checked who it was from Director of Communications, Awinita, and answered the call,

“He-”

“Pull up the news, now!” barked Director Awinita.

Yenuha gave a worried look at Yonaguska before having Yonaguska pull up the RNN’s live news broadcast. When the video loaded, they saw General Waholi speaking to the reporters at the entrance of the house.

“While Her Majesty’s condition and her assassin is unknown to us. However, we have strong suspicions that the perpetrator was an operative from the commie Fujansk government with support from the socialist groups in Zoran. We believe that the fujansk and the socialists seek to destabilize our nation through the assassination of our beloved Queen…”

Yenuha slammed his fist down on the desk,

“That bastard!” he exclaimed, “I knew he should have been put under watch!”

“This is not good, we just started to recover from the Kalmach affair and now this!” groaned Yonaguska,

“Awinita, what’s your plan for dealing with this?” asked Yenuha,

“First, I am going to need you to get him off the air!” answered Awinita, “Only then can I organize a press conference to express our apologies and clear up the misinformation spread by Waholi. How you deal with the Fujansk and the socialists is on you.”

“Alright, I will see what I can do. Keep me posted.” said Yenuha before hanging up and turning to Yonaguska, “Come on, let’s get Waholi out of the spotlight.”

 

July 15, 1423
New Zoradia, Zoran, Scene of the Crime
12:10 AM Overtime

An old, rusted, and beaten up car rumbles down the street towards the crime scene with an older man behind the wheel. As he reaches the barricade he is stopped by an officer of the Agency of National Security,

“Sir, you must turn around and take a detour, the road ahead is blocked off. Civilians are forbidden from entering the crime scene.” said the officer,

“Oh well, sir, eh I’m a police officer,” he says as he digs into his rumpled raincoat and pulls out his badge and ID, “Lieutenant Golivmiwo, NZPD. I was told I would be allowed to investigate the crime scene.”

The officer looks over the identification to verify the identity of the lieutenant,

“Oh, apologies Lieutenant. We were told to expect an officer from the NZPD but you don’t look like a police officer.”

“Oh it’s no problem, sir, I get that a lot.”

“Right this way then, you can park up here.”

Lieutenant Golivmiwo is then escorted by the officer to a parking space and is taken to the scene of the crime. The place where the queen’s body is laid has been outlined with tape and a group of agents are gathered around the area.

“This is where it happened, lieutenant. But this is about as good as we can get because we think the bullet is in the Queen’s body. So we won’t know much until we get details fro-” he stopped as he looked over at the lieutenant who is holding a cigar in one hand and patting around his body with the other,

“Hey, uh, do you have a match?” Lieutenant Golivmiwo asks the officer,

“No, I don’t smoke. Are you paying attention, Lieutenant?”

“Yes sir.” he says before walking up to another officer, “You got a match?” he asks again, before proceeding to ask nearly every officer on the platform until someone finally has a lighter and helps him light his cigar. He then walks around the scene, observing the outline of the body before squatting down next to it. He turns to look at the officer that had been speaking to him,

“Hey er uh, you don’t happen to have the bullet do you?”

“No!” he exclaims, “I knew you weren’t listening.” he says with a sigh,

“Well uh, I think I may have found it.”

The officer looks at him in disbelief,

“What? Where?” he says and two other officers join him in walking over to where the lieutenant is.

“You see that little hole in the floorboards there,” he says while gesturing to the hole with his cigar, “If you look closely you can see splintering around the hole and at the right angle you can see a glint of what looks like metal deeper in the hole.”

“How did we miss this?” says the officer in disbelief,

“I don’t know sir, you tell me.” he says with a smile, “Can someone from ballistics try and figure out where the bullet may have been fired from before we analyze it?” he says to other officers around him. From there the lieutenant gets up and hums the old nursery rhyme, This Old Man, to himself as he walks off and seemingly inspects the horizon from the platform.

Edited October 16, 2023 by Zoran
Names got confused

[Fujai]

Fujai rejects allegations of terrorism
from: Utanriksministerjonet

Statement

Keiserholde - Utanriksministerjonet // Ministry of Foreign Affairs
02 auknattar 107 // 1423 July 15

Utanriksministerjonet today issued the following statement:

We have heard and reject the statements today made by the Zoranian Minister for Defense Waholi. Allegations of the Government of Fujai’s involvement in any act of violence in Zoran are absurd and motivated. The hearts of the Fujansk people go out to Queen Adsila and hope for their speedy recovery from this heinous attack.

The Government of Fujai does not engage in terrorist attacks on foreign soil.

We appreciate the retraction of these statements and apology from the Provisional Government. However, the mere voicing of such unsubstantiated allegations to the contrary seek to shift the focus from political extremists threatening the stability of Zoran’s recovering civil society. The inaction of the Provisional Government on this matter has been a long-standing and continuing concern.

We support the Zoranian authorities in their investigation to find the perpetrators of the attack on Queen Adsila and urge the Provisional Government to take prompt and effective legal action against similar extremist elements operating from their soil.