He leaned forward, elbows resting on the table and fingers steepled in front of his eyes. “It’d make sense, wouldn’t it? She was his daughter’s sister-in-law. Technically, they were family; perhaps even friends, since they must have collaborated to some extent in the running of that club.

“I know for a fact that Badal stole the formula that was used to create the drug they were using on those kids. Of everyone involved with the La Fantome, he was the only one who had ever had access to the Amven research.

“So all things considered, it’s not unlikely that she might’ve visited his house, might’ve known his routine and the general layout of the neighborhood.”

“And after all that, she sold him out to Maganti.”

“Would it surprise you?”

She sighed. “Not in the least.”

“Anyway, the only way to prove any of this is to go to that goddamn New Year's gala. In fact, at this point, that’s pretty much the only way to prove my innocence.” Jehan groaned and buried his face in his hands. “God, do I ever hate being outmaneuvered!”

“You think that hitman’s evidence will hold up in court? It’s basically his word against yours.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s holding up in the media, and this is a democracy. Ergo, that’s all that matters.”

“And that might just be Rinisa’s endgame, to get you impeached and out of this office before you can get anywhere near Maralana.”

“Perhaps. But you know what’s funny? I’d have expected you of all people to be excited about the prospect of me being kicked out and Rajat Shian reinstated as prime minister.” He gasped. “Madam Dehran, don’t tell me I’ve corrupted you!”

Ruqaiya rolled her eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself, Fasih. That fire in the balcony of your old office wasn’t an accident, it was an assassination attempt. And we know that electrician was hired by Badal, but I don’t think it was his idea, at least not entirely. So, there’s a chance it might happen again. And if someone really is trying to assassinate the prime minister, I’d much rather you sit on that chair than Rajat.”

“Heartwarming,” he smiled sweetly. “It’s a blessing you never tried diplomacy. You’d have started a war.”

She smirked. “If you think I consider that an insult, you don’t know me well enough. But what I don’t understand is this. Why did Maganti invite Badal to Maralana if he meant to kill him?”

“Precisely because he meant to kill him, I’d say. Throws off the scent pretty nicely, doesn’t it? Not that most people would’ve suspected him anyway, seeing as there’s no obvious motive. But like you said, why invite someone you mean to put a bullet in, especially when you didn’t have to?”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

She hummed thoughtfully. “Well, that puts us in a bit of a pickle, doesn’t it?”

“A bit? I was under the impression we were drowning in it.”

“Semantics. The point is, you need to go to Maralana to know what Maganti’s up to. And both Rinisa and Maganti will do everything in their power to ensure that you can’t.”

“And unfortunately for us, there’s quite a lot that’s in their power.”

“Unless...”

Jehan’s ears perked up at her tone. “Unless?”

“Unless you can give Rinisa a very good reason to want you out of Naijan.”

“I’m listening.”

“Rinisa risked antagonizing the Shian family by blackmailing Rito, and even she knows that’s not a small risk to take. Despite the recent dip in their fortunes, they can cause her some real trouble if they put their minds to it.”

“From what Rito said after I bailed her out, it seemed Rinisa was pretty desperate to have those samples back before the gala.” He frowned. “What’re you getting at?”

“I’m saying you should call another press conference.”

Jehan’s eyes lit up. “Much as I hate those things with a burning passion, I think you’re on to something.”

“Of course, the only purpose of the conference will be to officially proclaim your innocence vis-a-vis Badal’s murder–”

“But I’ll strongly imply that if forced to defend myself in court, I’ll fully reveal the events of the La Fantome club, and Badal’s involvement in it. Of course, I don’t want to do that, as the case is still under investigation and the whole thing could be hamstrung by excessive media attention. So I’ll only do it if I’m left with no other choice.”

“And if the La Fantome case gets entangled with such a high-profile murder case,” Ruqaiya continued with a grin, “Then all information about the drugs used at the club will soon become public. The fact that an Amven prototype was used for child trafficking will be the story of the decade. Any government that doesn’t immediately ban usage of the drug will have a hell of a lot to answer for.”

“Which means that even if Rinisa managed to get those samples to Maralana, they would be useless to Maganti. Even he wouldn’t dare to authorize the use of Amven amidst an international outcry.”

“No, he wouldn’t. And I have a feeling, once all of that sinks in, Rinisa will be very invested in the continuation of your premiership. I’d bet you good money that hitman will change his tune before the weekend rolls around.”

“Well, I’m glad I convinced you to be my deputy PM–”

“Coerced me, you mean.”

“Semantics. The thing is, we were meant to work together!” He grinned. “We make a fantastic team. See, this would be a perfect plan, if not for the one teeny little loophole.”

Ruqaiya raised an eyebrow. “Which is?”

“That both Rinisa and Maganti are murderous sociopaths? Until now, they were only trying to remove me from the premiership. But now that I’m about to make myself out to be a direct threat to them,” he shrugged. “You know they’ll try to kill me. And they’ll have the perfect opportunity to do so in Maralana, when we’re on Maganti’s home turf. I’d be handing him my head on a platter when I step into that country.”

“That’s true,” she said, tapping a pen against her chin. “Quite the dilemma. But look on the bright side. If you die in the service of the nation, you’d be a martyr. And if you’re a martyr, they’ll raise a statue of you at the entrance to this building.”

“A pretty statue,” he said decisively. “Promise me you won’t let them build an ugly statue of me, Ruqaiya. I’m sure half the civil war heroes would’ve deserted if they knew what’d be done to their faces.”

“Fine,” she nodded solemnly, after a moment's consideration. “If Maganti puts a bullet in your skull, the least I can do is to ensure that it’s immortalized as a pretty skull.”