The drive back from Mountain River Park gave me too much time to think. Sarah’s parting comment about the lumber mill and abandoned mine kept replaying in my mind. Government acquisitions? Daniel hadn’t mentioned anything about that, and I thought I was privy to most aspects of his operation.

When I arrived back at the cabin, I found Daniel in his study, methodically cleaning the glass on his pachinko machine. The afternoon light caught the polished steel balls as they rolled through his fingers.

“How did it go with Sarah?” he asked without looking up.

“She took the bait. Called her editor right there in the park – said something about stopping the presses.” I paused, watching him work. “But Daniel, she mentioned something that caught me off guard. Government acquisitions of a lumber mill and some abandoned mine. You know anything about that?”

Daniel’s hands stilled for just a moment before resuming their work. “Sarah Chen has always been thorough in her research.”

“That’s not an answer.”

He finally looked up, setting down the glass cleaner. “Al, what do you know about the Valdorian timber industry?”

“Nothing beyond what you’ve told me about their currency operations.”

“The Valdorians have been quietly purchasing resource extraction rights across northern Louise for the past eighteen months. Lumber mills, mining claims, even some oil and gas leases.” He moved to the window, gazing out at the forest that surrounded us. “The federal government has been… responsive to their interests.”

“Responsive how?”

“Expedited permits. Reduced environmental assessments. And yes, in some cases, direct government acquisition of properties that are leased back to the Valdorians at favourable rates. The public purse takes on the risk.”

I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the mountain air. “You’re talking about a systematic sellout of Canadian resources.”

“I’m talking about a pattern that goes far beyond some diplomatic pouches full of coins.” Daniel turned back to me. “The book you gave Sarah today? That’s just the appetizer. The real story is how deep this corruption runs.”

“And Justine’s visit earlier today?”

“She knows we’re onto the resource angle. Her search wasn’t random – she was looking for documentation about the mining and timber deals.” Daniel returned to his pachinko machine, but his movements were more deliberate now. “The question is whether she’s trying to cover it up or expose it herself.”

“What’s your read on her?”

Daniel picked up one of the steel balls and held it up to the light. “Justine Moreau is like this ball, Al. She follows the path of least resistance, but she’s also capable of changing direction instantly when she hits an obstacle.” He dropped the ball into the machine and watched it navigate the maze of pegs. “The trick is knowing which pegs to bend.”

I watched the ball’s erratic journey toward the bottom of the machine. “So what’s our next move?”

“We wait for Sarah’s story to hit. Once the public knows about the Prime Minister’s visit here, the Valdorians will have to respond. They’ll either escalate or retreat.”

“And if they escalate?”

Daniel smiled, but there was no warmth in it. “Then we show them just how many pegs we’ve been bending while they thought they were playing chess.”

Outside, the wind picked up, rustling through the pines. Somewhere in the distance, I could hear the faint sound of helicopter rotors. Daniel heard it too – his head tilted slightly, listening.

“Expecting company this evening?” I asked.

“Not tonight.” He moved to the window again, scanning the sky. “But then again, this afternoon taught us that expectations and reality don’t always align.”

The helicopter sound grew closer, then faded as it passed over the ridge. Daniel remained at the window for several more minutes, his reflection ghostlike in the glass.

“Al,” he said finally, “I want you to pack a bag tonight. Keep it light, but include anything you might need for an extended stay away from here. I’ve already packed mine.”

“How extended?”

“That depends on how quickly the other players realize the game board just got a lot bigger.”

With that pronouncement, Daniel went over to the bookcase and lifted down a box filled with video tapes. He rummaged through the loose cassettes of movies and recorded TV shows handwritten on in Sharpie with titles and short descriptions. He found the one he was looking for, and pushed the box of tapes back up on top of the shelf. “Always hiding things in plain sight,” I thought to myself.

“Come with me to my bedroom,” Daniel said, holding the video cassette up near his head for me to see that it was labelled in his hurried scribble: “The Prisoner – Episode 6 – The General”. Catching my look of reluctance, he chided me, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to get funny with you. I have a TV and VCR in my room and I want to show you this tape. As it turned out, Justine’s goons did not confiscate the tape and wax cylinder. While you were away meeting with Ms. Chen, I developed the film and recorded the filmstrip and audio together onto this video tape.”

“They didn’t find it? Or was it that they chose to not take it, know what it was, leaving it up to you to take care of,” I mused. PM Moreau knew how to keep dirty business at arm’s length, so perhaps she only wanted confirmation that there was indeed a recording of JD Ruff’s visit today.

As if reading my mind, Daniel answered, “I’m sure she wanted me to do the dirty work. Anyway, have a seat and enjoy my pantomime with JD Ruff,” he said, pointing at an easy chair nearby. I sat down in the chair and watched him open a cabinet at the foot of his bed, revealing a 20″ tube TV and a top-loading VCR deck on the shelf above it. He turned both machines and popped in the tape into the VCR, hitting “Play” once the TV had finished warming up and was showing a blue screen.

As the screen flickered from the blue background to the recognizeable view of the cabin’s living room from the grandfather clock’s view of it, the unmistakeable bravado of JD Ruff’s voice came through the TV’s speaker, although quite muffled. Daniel explained about the recording, “As you can imagine, 19th century recording and playback of a wax cyclinder was not high fidelity and it’s a bit difficult to pick out what JD was saying, but because he bellows out of habit, you can pretty well understand what he was saying.”

The video was very jerky, and it dawned on me that the film was not taking several pictures a second to create the illusion of smooth motion, but that it was taking one picture with every “tick” of the clock, it’s gears behind the clockface moving the film reel forward on the “tock”. It was a bit like watching a flip book animation, but the audio was synchronized with it and I found it easy to follow what was happening. Daniel laid back on the bed, already knowing from first-hand experience what had transpired between them after the clock struck noon.

I recognized the beginning of the film from when I was in the room, before being sent on my fool’s errand to pick up the Turkish Delight. I saw myself leave the room, and just as I recalled, hearing JD screaming, “”ONE MORE FAILURE TO COMPLY AND YOU WILL LOSE MORE THAN YOUR END OF THE BARGAIN!!!”

I was then shocked by what happened next, one picture frame per second, the camera peeking out from a pin hole in the clock’s face, and set to a soundtrack of muffled voices overheard from the clock’s base. JD was talking almost non-stop, shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Now listen closely you smug little mouse! You might think you have control over everything around you, but it all is about to become just another folder of titles and deeds in my portfolio. I will literally own the ground under your feet!” JD’s face was a crimson red, and I could see his veins bulging on his neck, even from the grainy 8mm film.

Daniel answered in a voice so quiet, I could hardly hear it, calmly countering the apoplectic Valdorian representative standing over him, “You have a very long way to go before you can make that kind of claim. The Canadian federal government is not blind to your financial dealings in the Province of Louise. I would almost say that Prime Minister Justine Moreau is somewhat complicit in what you are up to.”

JD’s tone softened on hearing Daniel mention Justine’s name, leering a bit as he said, “She’s a looker, ain’t she? A nine for sure, in the looks department. Kind of conniving though, like my ex-wife. Nasty woman!” He turned to the opened briefcase filled with gold bars and coins, and lifted out a handful of glittering medallions, taunting, “But Valdorian gold? That makes up for everything. Here, hold onto these and feel the weight of them. Imagine vaults of these coins and bars, full to the brim in treasure! You will be able to do anything you desire!”

Daniel took the coins, and flipped one over. “The King of Valdoria looks younger and thinner, how old are these coins? Anyway, you threaten me with poverty and powerlessness one moment and then promise wealth and awesome strength in the next. I’m only interested in making a deal that gives me the backing to create a treasury for Louise in order to issue our own currency. We’ve had enough of the federal government’s monopoly on currency exchange and using it as leverage over Louise.”

JD looked bored and crossed his arms impatiently, asking, “So do we have a deal or what? I provide the gold and you provide rights to any rare earths, minerals, oil and gas fields and timber in Louise. You can form your own little country if you want to and make your own little laws, just stay clear of my businesses.”

Daniel rolled the coins around in his hands, and then stopped, noticing something odd. “How old did you say these coins were?”

“I didn’t and it doesn’t matter. A Valdorian coin from 100 years ago is as good as a Valdorian coin today. Solid gold. Now hand over the list of land titles and deeds I asked for.”

“I didn’t bring them, we need to involve my legal team in any land transfers. It’s not simply a matter of handing over a pile of papers,” Daniel said coolly, closing his hands over the coins, clenching his fists in preparation for the barrage to follow. “The resources of Louise are not simply mine to give.”

“Lawyers? LAWYERS?!” JD exploded with rage and punched the briefcase so hard it slammed shut. “What kind of business man are you? LAWYERS! I don’t have time for this! I may as well just go over your head and deal with Justine directly. She knows to keep the lawyers out of this! You could be a Valdorian prince if you played your cards right!” JD continued to berate Daniel as he lifted the heavy briefcase off the table, screaming, “You blew it! You’re a disgrace – A RANK AMATEUR.”

Daniel stood back a bit as the furious man in his ill-fitting cowboy outfit continued to let loose on him. “You really don’t know who you are dealing with, do you! And it’s not just me! The Valdorian Intelligence Agency will make your life living hell! The secret police in the old days would just jail and starve you, then beat you into submission. Not nowadays! They have far more painful and humiliating ways to bend you to the will of the King of Valdoria! One false step, and you’re done!” He continued to rant as lugged the briefcase out the door, stamping angrily out of view, heading back tot he helicopter with the slowly rotors starting to rotate in anticipation of a hurried departure.

Daniel took another look at the coins he still had in his hand and dropped them into his suit jacket pocket, and slowly lifted his head up to look at the cabin’s vaulted ceiling.

No longer watching the TV, Daniel was now looking up at the cabin ceiling in the same way, in a kind of a trance. I got up out of my chair and hit “Pause” on the VCR, the screen frozen on Daniel looking upwards.

“Wow. What’s going on, Daniel? You’re looking more like a provocateur than a Premier to me right now. What is this really about?” I was at a bit of a loss for words at this point, and his weird behaviour was throwing me off. I felt like I didn’t know anything about the man I had spent six years working for. I may have had glimpses here and there about his inner workings, but with it on full display now, I didn’t know if I could trust him anymore. When Daniel didn’t answer my question, I asked again, “What is going on with you?”

Daniel continue to stare at the ceiling made of rough-hewn timbers and answered simply, “This is about destroying universes.”

*** This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. ***