The swearing-in ceremony of the new Prime Minister was set to begin in half an hour.

The forecourt of the Parliament House, where the ceremony would take place, was buzzing with activity. It was filled with politicians, businessmen, diplomats, and dignitaries of every stripe. Ministers and senior bureaucrats had arrived from every state of Naijan. Envoys from other countries were also present.

The largest delegation had arrived from Maralana. Not that there was anything unusual about that, per se. Maralana was the largest of Naijan’s neighbors, by a significant margin at that.

And considering that the two countries were on friendly terms, there was nothing amiss about Maralana sending a sizeable delegation to the swearing-in ceremony of Naijan’s Prime Minister.

Only, the delegation that had arrived for Rajat’s swearing-in three years ago hadn’t been half as big.

Abhijat’s gaze landed on one of the new-arrivals. Leaning slightly in, so that his mouth was close to Ruqaiya’s ear, he whispered. “Isn’t that–”

“Rinisa Rayeek? Yup, that’s her.” The hostility was clear in Ruqaiya’s voice.

The woman was fair, slender, and quite tall for a Zanyar. She had perfect, symmetrical features which made her look rather like a cyborg. Her shoulder-length black hair gleamed in the light of the LED lamps illuminating the venue. She wore a black, chiffon saree with a red blouse.

“Well, she’s certainly dressed for a party. Why’s she here, anyway? Isn’t she the Deputy Chief Minister of Eraon at the moment? I don’t believe her term as Chief Minister begins until next year. Does it?”

The state-level administration of Naijan was similar to the central system of governance. Every ten years, elections were held in which the people of the state voted to elect the next Zanyar and Birhani representatives. Each representative had a five-year term as Chief Minister and had to serve another five years as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state.

As everyone voted to elect the representative from both communities, this ensured harmony and unity between both sides during election time. More importantly, however, it ensured that no state-level politician became powerful enough to try and secede from the union on ethnic grounds, as there would always be someone to counterbalance their influence.

Typically, the current Chief Minister of a state would be expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony of a new Prime Minister.

Ruqaiya sighed. “It doesn’t. But she’s got Henna Sameen wrapped around her little finger. She’d do anything Rinisa says. She probably convinced Sameen that she needs to stay back in Waimar to handle some crisis or the other. They’re always having crises down there. I’m sure something handy cropped up just in time.”

Abhijat spared her a sideways glance but said nothing. It was no secret that there was corruption in Eraon, more so perhaps than in any other state. But he wasn’t sure if Ruqaiya was making an allegation against Rayeek in particular or if she was speaking rhetorically.

“But why would she want to be here anyway? Fasih is just an interim PM. In all probability, he won’t last longer than a year.”

“Oh, a year would be more than sufficient for Rinisa’s purposes.” Ruqaiya pushed a stray strand of hair behind one ear, her lips pressed into a thin line. “You know about the Vanya dam dispute between Eraon and Ishfana, don’t you?”

“Sure. But what’s that got to do with Rayeek being here? Surely she doesn’t mean to try and persuade Fasih to come out in favor of Eraon. That kind of interference from the Center will cause all kinds of controversy. Ishfana and Zanya will be up in arms in no time.”

Ruqaiya snorted. “Oh, she doesn’t want Fasih to do anything of the sort. In fact, she wants quite the opposite. I’d bet a good deal of money she means to try and persuade him to come out in support of Ishfana.”

“What?” Abhijat frowned. “But why? Eraon will face a severe water-crisis if they lose access to that dam. Why’d she want that kind of trouble in her own state, just a year before she starts as Chief Minister, at that?”

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“She wouldn’t, if she gave a flying fuck about Eraon. Which she does not. She’s not even from there. She’s only been living in Waimar for a decade at most. She comes from a business family in Zanya, born and raised in Zealdan. They’re pretty well known too. You might’ve heard of them–”

“Rayeek Pharmaceuticals, of course! How did I never make the connection?”

“Well, they call themselves Rayeek Industries now. But yep, one and the same. Her family spent a hefty amount to get her elected as the Zanyar representative from Eraon. All so she could swing the outcome of the Vanya dam dispute in Ishfana’s favor.”

“What for? Rayeek Pharmaceuticals is based in Zanya and their largest subsidiary is in Eraon. Why’d she cause trouble in her own state, during her own tenure, for Ishfana?”

Ruqaiya arranged the pleats of her cream-and-gold saree and frowned. “Like you said, her family has extensive business interests in Eraon. They’ve been expanding into different sectors recently, hence the change in name. One of these sectors they’re trying to get into is the bottled water industry. They’ve set up several factories in Eraon over the past few years.”

“Oh,” said Abhijat, beginning to see where this was going.

Ruqaiya nodded, a bitter smile on her lips. “Ishfana might want exclusive access to the water from the Vanya dam, but they don’t really need it. They have other water sources that’ll serve them well enough. Losing access to Vanya’s water would be an inconvenience for them, but not a disaster.

“Unlike Eraon, which is far more heavily dependent on the dam as one of its primary sources of freshwater. Losing access to the water from Vanya would plunge Eraon into a full-blown water crisis, driving up the price of bottled water almost exponentially.

“And that’s not the only source of potential revenue either. Rayeek Industries has for years been investing heavily in desalination technology and the related facilities in rural Eraon. Imagine all the demand on that front. The entire irrigation system will have to be revamped. They’ll be raking in billions, Abhijat, for years to come.” She looked over at Rinisa. “And she’ll be one hell of a rich woman. Well, a richer woman than she already is.”

“At the cost of her own people…”

Ruqaiya huffed dismissively. “As if she cares. Daresay she’s desperate now, after Fasih kicked Badal out of the game, just before his term was about to begin, at that.”

“How’s that her problem?”

“Everything’s your problem when you’ve got a finger in every pie. And that woman’s got more fingers than the world has pies. Her younger brother married Badal’s daughter six months ago.”

“Ah. And did my father know about…all this?”

Ruqaiya rolled her eyes. “Of course he did. Not that there was anything untoward that we knew of, or that we could prove, at any rate.

“Rinisa doesn’t have the slightest interest in the development of Eraon, and most of the time she doesn’t even bother pretending to care. Not since she was elected to be the Zanyar representative from the state.

“But her family has huge investments in Eraon. I’m talking multiple factories in more than half the districts. Their economic interests in the state have made her a force to be reckoned with, politically speaking.

“For all intents and purposes, Henna Sameen is nothing more than a figurehead anymore. Everybody knows Rinisa is the one with the real power. What she says, goes.”

Abhijat shook his head. “No wonder Eraon has been in such miserable straits lately. We never had enough rations at the barracks, equipment was always being shipped, but never seemed to reach anywhere. I guess it all makes sense now.”

Ruqaiya nodded. “She’s been trying to resolve the dam dispute in Ishfana’s favor for years. Not publicly, of course. Not the best spin doctors in the world could make that position sound acceptable at a rally or a press meet.

“But everybody who’s anybody in the government or the bureaucracy knows what she’s really gunning for. And many of them have had their palms sufficiently greased to want to help her get it.

“Your father had been stalling her for years, before this mess with Fasih started. But our hands are tied too. Rayeek Industries has directly and indirectly financed many government programs over the years. At this point, they’re practically a lobby unto themselves. There’s only so far we can push without getting major pushback from the other end.

“And she’s like a bad penny that keeps turning up. Bloody impossible to get rid of.”

“And Fasih? How does he play into all this?”

Ruqaiya shook her head, bitter resignation in her voice. “Not hard to guess, is it? All these years, Rajat’s been doing everything in his power to protect the interests of the people of Eraon. And now that Jehan has removed one of the major thorns in her side, she probably feels like she can finally get what she wants. Get the Central Government on her side through Jehan and make him sign off on her plans for the dam. Probably even expects him to feel some sort of allegiance to her ‘cause they’re both Zanyar.”

“Well, that’s unlikely.”

“Does it matter? Allegiance can always be fostered through a sufficiently healthy bank balance. What matters is that all the work we’ve done over so many years will have been for nothing. If Ishfana wins the dam dispute during Jehan’s term in office, Eraon will be plunged into a water crisis that may last years, and devastate the state’s economy in the process.”

“But there must be something you can–” Before Abhijat could finish that indignant thought, however, a hush fell over the venue as all the attendees rose to their feet.

Jehan Fasih, looking only slightly disheveled in a white tunic and neat gray slacks, emerged from the doorway and floated serenely onto the podium.