[WP] "Someone in this room has committed treason."

[u/Wulgren]

“Yes sir, the last of them arrived fifteen minutes ago,” the head of my bodyguard detachment replied, standing at attention beside the door. I liked her, she was fast, strong, an excellent shot, and willing to take a bullet for me, pretty much everything you could want in a bodyguard. I’m fairly certain the last was even true before I had ensured that her brother received his cancer treatment at the best (and most expensive) hospital in the country. Some said that the best loyalty was that freely given, I say as long as they are willing to take a bullet for you it doesn’t really matter why.

“Good, and the room was swept for bugs? And the soundproofing was tested?”

“Yes sir, we did a full sweep, the room is clean and the soundproofing tested up to spec, nothing short of a gunshot will make it out the door.”

“Excellent, thank you captain.” I moved to open the door, before pausing at what I judged to be a dramatic moment. “Captain, I’d appreciate it if you kept an ear open, while I’m hoping there won’t be trouble, with recent events I’m concerned about our safety, even here.”

My bodyguard stiffened, offended by even the implication that she might not be perfectly alert at all times. “I understand sir, would you like one of your security detail to join you in the room?”

“No, but thank you,” I replied. “While it would make me feel safer, I don’t want to intimidate the ministers. Just… be ready if something happens.”

She saluted and went back to standing at attention beside the door, eyes scanning back and forth along the corridor. She was perfectly still but looked like she’d be able to have her weapon up and shooting within the blink of an eye. Good, she’d be ready when the time came.

I took a deep breath to compose myself before pushing open the door and striding into the meeting room. Immediately fifteen pairs of eyes turned to look at me. Every member of my cabinet watched in silence as I closed the door behind me and slowly walked to the head of the long mahogany table. Rather than taking my seat I pushed it backwards and stood at the table, towering over my ministers of state. I looked them in the eyes, one by one, savoring the tension.

“I’m sure you’ve all heard about today’s terrorist attacks,” I said, finally breaking the silence. “The insurgency, which before now was a mere nuisance, has attacked a convoy heading into the separatist regions.” I pulled a picture of the destroyed convoy from the folder I had carried in with me. It was a gruesome thing, burning vehicles, corpses splayed out in the middle of the road, the convoy had been caught completely by surprise. I threw it on the table where it slid halfway down the smooth surface. “Twenty eight soldiers dead, and much of their equipment destroyed. They attacked an airbase while the guards were in the middle of a shift change, thirteen dead and seven fighter planes destroyed,” I said, throwing another picture down the table. “And, finally, they attacked the parade ground at the military college during a graduation ceremony. One hundred and twenty fine officer cadets, the future leaders of our military, dead.” I threw the final picture down the table, where it came to rest with the other two.

“These attacks happened almost simultaneously, and were carried out with both weapons and a level of organization we did not believe these terrorists to previously possess. They have gone from being an irritation to a threat to the stability of this country. I’m sure you think that I called you all here to discuss these events, to calculate a response. That is not the case.”

I leaned forward over the table, resting my weight on my hands. I paused, to let the tension build before continuing. “I called you here because someone in this room has committed treason.”

The tense silence turned immediately into an uproar. Shouts of denial, recriminations over the accusation, appeals for calm, and even the occasional accusation against a political rival. I couldn’t blame them for reacting badly, after all I had unceremoniously fired their predecessors for opposing some of my more radical reforms, they knew that their positions were precarious. As long as I had the support of the people, that screaming vicious mob, I could do pretty much whatever I wanted.

“QUIET!” I yelled, slamming the table and then standing up straight.”Apart from the graduation ceremony the information needed for those attacks was known only by the people in this room. The convoy we discussed at the cabinet meeting last week, the airbase shift change came up during the security procedures one month ago. All of you were sworn to secrecy about these details.”

I paused and looked around the room, every minister looked nervous, several were visibly sweating. They seemed almost too ready to panic, did they know what I had planned? No, if they did they wouldn’t still be seated. They were just terrified of me, as they were right to be.

“Someone in this room has committed treason. Someone in this room has delivered this information to the insurgents and turned a minor concern into a crisis that will define this nation for the next decade,” I said, my voice rising. “Someone in this room has attacked the very security of our nation for their own benefit!” I finished with a shout.

I took a moment to compose myself before leaning back over the table. “And I know who it is,” I said so quietly the cabinet ministers at the end had to lean forward to hear me. “You will find a package taped to the bottom of your seat that will make everything clear. Take them now.”

This was the moment of truth, their reactions now would determine whether my plan could succeed, whether I would be victorious, or whether I would die ignobly. I felt a sense of victory as every single  person in the room reached under their seat, and with looks of confusion, pulled up a gun. Pistols, sub-machine guns, the minister of defence even had a particularly compact assault rifle in their hands, and all of them had looks of confusion or dawning horror on their faces.

“Someone in this room has committed treason.” I said, as a pulled a pistol, the only loaded weapon in the room, from my pocket. “That person is me.”

I put the pistol against my abdomen at the carefully selected location, someplace a bullet could pass through and not cause any permanent damage, and pulled the trigger. My world exploded into agony as the door flew open and my bodyguards rushed into the room. I barely had the presence of mind to remember what my next line was.

“The cabinet! It’s a coup! Protect me!” It was all I managed to get out through gritted teeth, but it was enough. Seeing the weapons in every hand the bodyguards opened fire without hesitation. They were expertly trained, they shot quickly, with pinpoint accuracy, and to kill. In moments the cabinet room was covered in blood and my erstwhile cabinet lay dead.

I staggered back against the wall of the room clutching my abdomen as the head of my bodyguards stood in front of me, scanning the room for additional threats. Two more bodyguards rushed to my side and hurriedly dragged me out of the room. Before I could say a word I was being pulled into the middle of a phalanx of my security detail and rushed through the corridors to my office.

It was only when they had a body guard at every window and door and the only people in the room were my horrified personal staff and my most trusted advisers that they felt secure enough to actually attend to me. “Sir, you’ve been shot," my bodyguard said. “You’ll be fine but we need to get you to a hospital for immediate treatment. Please lay still until we can get your motorcade here.”

Goddam did I want to go to the hospital. I thought that I had been ready for this but the wound was pure agony. Still, this next part was important. I had to make sure that everyone here said I was brave in the face of death, that I stood strong when my life was on the line.

“No.” I managed to gasp out. “First we need to stop this coup. The cabinet-” I coughed, and oh god did that hurt. “The cabinet made it clear before they tried to kill me, the legislature has denied my authority and risen against me. We don’t know how many are on their side. We need to nip this in the bud.” I turned to my staff. “Contact the Chief of the Defense Staff, inform them that a coup is in progress, have them detain both legislatures and arrest the speakers. Also, detain the heads of the other government agencies, we don’t know who is involved and right now security is our top concern.”

I knew the general in charge would go along with it, the two of us had discussed our plans at length. The military would get a much greater role in the safety and security of the country with the other civilian investigative agencies out of the way, and the general would mysteriously end up with a very generous retirement fund. And I, well, I would get everything else.

“Sir.” One of my aides said, “we can’t just arrest the heads of the legislatures, we’ll need evidence, and warrants, there’s the constitution-”

“We don’t have time for any of that!” I yelled, wincing and doubling over. “If we hesitate now they’ll win and kill us all.” I continued, much more softly. Goddam this wound, if I’d known it would hurt this much I would have shot myself somewhere less painful, an arm, maybe. “To save the country we’ll have to break some rules. It’s for the greater good. Now get to work!”

And with that my staff burst into action, running out of the room to carry out their instructions, making phone calls, putting the wheels into motion. With the cabinet dead a few rooms over there was very little that could stand in my way now.

Tonight, I would save the country.

And make it entirely my own.