Page 125 of The Fighter
“Indiana, will you close the door please? Thank you.” Christina smiled as her oldest son complied and closed the two large French doors separating the dining room from the rest of the house.
“As I was saying,” Khan continued. “With the election, we’ll need to be strategic, and Pearl and I are already working on ideas.”
“Of course you are.” Boulder had a small tomato on his fork. “But can I just ask again? What the fuck?”
Pearl gave a small groan. “Don’t start, Boulder. The decision has been made.”
The fork with the tomato on it swung through the air in stabbing movements as Boulder spoke to Khan. “The only explanation I can find for this insanity is that you popped some of Magni’s painkillers and that the two of you were fucking high when you made that decision. Democracy is the worst evil and a slippery road to socialism. Next thing you’ll have me sharing my wealth and giving up my house and drones. I’m not fucking okay with that.”
Khan lowered his brow. “I guarantee you that we’ll never have socialism in the Northlands. We’ll leave that shit for the Motlanders.”
“Hey, if by socialism you mean a safety net to take care of the weaker people in society, then that is a fine thing. Every citizen should have the same opportunities.”
“Why, Pearl?” Boulder challenged. “What if they don’t work as hard for it? I didn’t come to this place in life without busting my ass off.”
“And you don’t think the men working for you do the same? What about chance and circumstance? Most of your fortune you inherited, Alexander, and that was dumb luck and nothing else. And what about Khan? He was born into the right family. Good for him, but what about the people who aren’t that lucky? How is that fair?”
“Fair?” Boulder pulled back in his chair, staring at Pearl. “Life isn’t fair! At least I’m providing opportunities for tens of thousands of men to make their fortune. I’m providing workplaces, and you know damn well that Christina and I donate a lot of money to improve education in this country.”
Pearl remained calm and nodded. “Yes, it’s admirable and generous of you, which makes me wonder why you resent the idea of socialism, as you call it. After all, you already share your wealth.”
“That’s different. I share what I want and I give it to whom I want to. In your system, people don’t have a chance. No matter how much they work they all get the same amount of points.”
Pearl was tapping her fingernails on the table. “Not true, Alexander. I’ve told you this before. The more you work, the more points you get.”
“Yeah, but you can only keep the same as everyone else. The rest you need to distribute.”
“Exactly. And as you know there is great satisfaction in knowing that you’re a large contributor. I would argue the satisfaction of contributing to others is greater than getting more for yourself.”
Boulder opened his mouth to speak, but Khan raised his hand. “As entertaining as it is to hear the two of you argue the same thing over and over, I’m going to stop you. Boulder, nothing will change except that I’ll be elected by the people.”
“But your plan is crazy, Khan. Why would you tell them your darkest secret and give your critics ammunition against you?”
Pearl leaned forward, “Because the truth will set him free.”
“That’s for damn sure.” Boulder snorted. You’ll be free but you’ll also be out of the Gray Manor on yourass.”
Christinadipped her head close to Pearl’s.“What dark secrets? I thought the reason Khan wanted an election was because of Magni.”
My dad sighed, clearly realizing he had said too much, but Pearl didn’t look upset. Laying a hand on top of my mom’s, she explained, “It’s not fair that you’re the only one in the room who doesn’t know the truth, and soon the whole country will know anyway.”
“Know what?”
“Raven discovered that Khan wasn’t the rightful heir to rule the Northlands. He’s not the biological son of Marcus Aurelius.”
“Okaaay… but what is the dark secret Alexander hinted at?”
Khan groaned. “Thatisthe dark secret.”
My mom gave Pearl a questioning look, as if silently asking her to confirm.
“I know, Christina. It’s strange that heritage means so much to Nmen, but apparently, it does.” Pearl picked up her glass and glanced at Khan. “I’m confident that honesty is the best way.”
Khandidn’t answer at first, butcut another piece of steak. “We’ll see what happens. Right now, I’m focused on winning the race.”
Boulder ran his hands through his hair. “Argh. But what if you don’t win and some turd takes your place.”
Christina placed her hand on Boulder’s wrist. “We’ve got to trust that Khan and Pearl can pull this off.” She turned her face and looked at Pearl. “You’ll have to let us know how to best support you.”
