Chapter 28 – Candidate Vladim
Dukov
By the beginning of October, Upper Danubia had reached an important crossroads
in its history. The "Progressives", now aided by corporate campaign donors and
foreign professional political advisors, were well organized and campaigning
aggressively. Their advisors had developed a slick advertising campaign against
the Party of the Duchy in particular and against traditional Danubian values in
general. Their candidate was a charismatic banking executive from Rika Chorna.
He had a flamboyant personality and shady past, but was a gifted speaker and
accustomed to appearing on television.
The opposition candidate mobilized the anger of the eastern part of the country
into a populist movement of uneducated voters to oust the country's old leaders
once and for all. It looked like Upper Danubia was about to be thrust,
completely and fully, into a global economy of which its people understood
nothing. The capitol's intellectuals saw disaster looming in the frantic rush
for change, but were unsure what to do about it.
The first priority for the conservatives was to choose a viable candidate for
Prime Minister, someone respected and not associated with the recently defeated
government. Finally, in a closed meeting of top conservative leaders, the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court suggested an unlikely candidate, a complete
political outsider he had confronted many times in court when he was still a
prosecutor. Most of the others reluctantly agreed. It was a choice being made
out of desperation.
----------
Two weeks after the Equinox, as Kim and Tatiana were reading over their first
major college assignments for the year, a group of old-guard Danubian political
leaders entered the office. The two Apprentices were a bit awestruck, since the
visitors included the country's ex-Prime Minister, several current Cabinet
Ministers, and even the country's Grand Duke, who was a direct descendent of
King Vladik the Defender.
The men formed an archaic and pompous group, but they greeted Dukov fully
understanding the future of their country was at stake. The group also had
enough common sense to realize their time had passed. They no longer were in any
position to lead the Danubian people, which was why they had come to the
Spokesman's office.
Dukov came out into the waiting area, a bit taken aback by the presence of men
to whom he owed allegiance as a public official. He realized that was about to
change when the group saluted him. Dukov invited his unexpected guests into the
back office, while Kim and the two secretaries scrambled to find enough chairs,
make tea, and gather up whatever refreshments they could find from other
offices. They quickly entered the back room, distributed seating, teacups, and
plates of sweet rolls. The three assistants then saluted and backed out. Kim
glanced at Vladim Dukov, sitting at his desk. He looked very nervous.
Kim returned to her reading, although she hardly could concentrate, knowing
something very important was happening on the other side of that closed door
just a couple of meters away. After two hours the dignitaries came back out, as
the three women stood to salute them yet again. Kim noticed the visitors seemed
to leave in a much better mood than they had been when they went in.
As soon as the political leaders left, the three women rushed into Dukov's back
office. He was standing behind his desk, pale and with a stunned look on his
face. After a moment he seemed to partially collect his thoughts.
"I need to meet with this city's other Spokespersons," he began quietly in
Danubian. "We will reassign most of my clients, except…well, three…three who I
think I…absolutely need to keep. I…I need to have you train under someone else,
maybe Spokesman Havlakt…because…I am…I will not be available. And…Tatiana…and
Kimberly, I am leaving this office to you."
Dukov turned to his secretaries.
"You need to help me transfer the files. The path of my life…is not to be a
Spokesman anymore."
Kim and her companions assumed the worst, that perhaps Dukov had been fired for
his political activities. "Spokesman…what happened? Are you in trouble?"
"Trouble? Yes, in a manner of speaking. I am in deep trouble, because the
tranquility of my life has just ended. I have been called upon to change my
path, and I must serve."
For the first time during the time she had known him, Kim saw Dukov a bit
disoriented. He stared straight ahead as he spoke.
"Kimberly, I believe you have an expression in your country: 'no favor goes
unpunished' or something similar to that, is that not so?"
"It's 'no good deed goes unpunished', Spokesman Dukov."
"Yes, yes. 'No good deed goes unpunished.' That is indeed the expression you
have." Dukov took a very deep breath and continued. "I am not a politician. I
never wanted to be a politician. But…now, because of what I wrote earlier this
year, and that speech I gave last month...I…have become…a politician. The
ex-Prime Minister and the Grand Duke...they want me to lead the Party of the
Duchy…in the upcoming election. If they…I mean we…win, I would become this
country's next Prime Minister."
"Spokesman Dukov, that's great! Congratulations!"
Dukov angrily shook his head. "This is not something I want to do, Kimberly! At
first I refused. I have never been a member of the Party of the Duchy. I do not
support much of what they have promoted. In fact, I supported the 'Progressives'
until all those foreign advisors took over and poisoned their souls. I want
reform, but not reform as the foreigners define it. We need to make our own path
for reform, not walk in one laid out by foreign money."
Dukov seemed to recover from the shock of the sudden upheaval of his life. His
mind began focusing on his new task, to become a Spokesman for the Danubian
nation.
"I do not like the 'Nobility'. I never liked them and I let them know it. I
warned those leaders I would demand changes in their party's policies if they
insist on running me as their candidate. The conservatives do not really like me
either, but they seem to think I am the only public figure from Danube City with
enough respect in the east to win the next election. For once they seem more
concerned about the Duchy's future than about themselves. They conceded to my
wishes on the policy matters, which gave me no choice other than to accept the
candidacy. I now am obligated to win an election…as the candidate for the
conservatives."
Dukov's mood seemed to shift, as he looked out his window at the distant
mountains that rose above the housetops of Danube City. Those same mountains
separated the capitol from the Duchy's interior and divided the country in more
ways than one. The Spokesman's voice sounded much more distant to his three
assistants as he concluded:
"There is much anger in the east, and right now it is a very destructive anger.
The government never really understood the rage that arose from all those burnt
villages is quite justified, not until it was too late. By ignoring what
happened in the east last year the Prime Minister forfeited his right to govern.
That is what I told him, and he actually accepted my rebuke. However, the
message I must convey to the eastern provinces is that destroying ourselves as a
nation is not the way to address that anger. We must not abolish who we are just
because of a fire and some foreign money. I will speak for both past and the
future of our country, and I can only hope enough of our people will listen."
With that Spokesman Vladim Dukov began the complicated task of ending his
career. Within an hour he was giving an impromptu speech to the city's other
Spokespersons and seeking their approval to leave his position. Following the
official blessing by Dukov's peers, the staff from the 20 offices spent a very
long night dividing up his caseload and transporting files.
The following morning Spokesman Vladim Dukov officially turned in his
resignation, as did his two secretaries. They would follow him to his new
position and cast their fortunes with his. Shortly afterwards he appeared on
television in the National Parliament as the official leading candidate for the
Party of the Duchy. He lost no time making everyone realize he planned to take
both the party and Upper Danubia in a totally new direction and in detail laid
out policy changes he planned to pursue if elected.
----------
Spokesman Vladim Dukov proved to be a formidable candidate and a huge asset to
the faltering Party of the Duchy during the days following his appointment. His
years in court made him a good public speaker and skilled debater. He had a
dignified, subdued presence that contrasted with his flamboyant opponent. At
first the opposition's foreign advisors scoffed at facing a public defense
attorney as their main opponent. However, within a week they began to view
Dukov's candidacy with some concern, because it turned out he was indeed the one
public figure with enough credibility to possibly win an election for the
"Nobility".
The campaign quickly got ugly. Dukov found himself being attacked for not only
his political beliefs, but also for his personal life. The public learned he had
been a convicted criminal for five years, and learned why. It turned out he and
his wife had been members of a radical group of dissident students 30 years
before. Oh, yes, "Vladim the Subversive" may look serious and quiet, but
secretly he has extremely anti-democratic and anti-free market ideas. The past
doesn't lie.
Dukov countered by explaining, in detail, the student group, his role in it, the
conditions of his sentence, and how his personal and political beliefs had
evolved since he was sentenced. Instead of trying to avoid the issue, he agreed
the question was a reasonable one, and tried to address it as honestly as he
could. The attack against his past backfired to some extent, because in
answering the questions about his early political activities Dukov had the
opportunity to explain why he believed what he believed and how his ideas had
formed over time.
----------
The election brought out a serious division in Danubian society. The division
between the two parties was not just geographical and ideological, but also
professional. The ex-Spokesman's team consisted mostly of legal experts, a
retired police commander, two provincial governors, and several judges, while
the "Progressives" top group mostly consisted of economists, stockbrokers, and
bankers. As for Danube City's businesses, the owners were evenly divided between
the "Nobility" and the "Progressives". Older, more established businesses and
trade unions mostly supported Dukov, but younger business owners, entrepreneurs,
and importers mostly supported the opposition.
The owner of the Socrates Club and the owners of several music stores pledged
their support to Dukov. They genuinely believed that Dukov was the best
candidate, but also had a personal interest in seeing the "Nobility" win the
election. If the Greater Danubian Progressive Party won and proceeded with its
plan to build prisons, the decades-old Socrates Club would be put out of
business, with all of its clients locked up. Dukov enjoyed additional support
from the music storeowners largely for the same reason. With criminals in
confinement, the tradition of Danubian musical groups would disappear, and with
it, the entire independent Danubian music scene.
Immediately after ex-Spokesman Vladim Dukov announced his candidacy as the
leader of the Party of the Duchy, Sergekt called Dima and Eloisa to discuss what
role, if any "Socrates' Mistresses" might have in the upcoming election. The
couple adamantly wanted to provide whatever assistance to Dukov's candidacy
possible. They met with the band's other 13 members that evening to make sure no
one had any objections to participating in Dukov's campaign. The meeting was
mostly formality, because the band members were personally indebted to Dukov
from the time they had been criminals. All of them enthusiastically supported
the suggestion the band support Dukov's candidacy.
Eloisa, Dima and Sergekt went to Dukov's campaign office to meet with him. They
walked though a barrage of reporters and conservative dignitaries, then saluted
as they greeted him. Dukov greeted the band's two leaders with enthusiasm. He
made no effort to conceal his gratitude. His candidacy needed any help it could
get, and the support of Upper Danubia's most popular band was a tremendous asset
to his campaign. The support of "Socrates' Mistresses" offset some of the
publicity the "Progressives" were receiving from their foreign donors. Sergekt
promised performances in four different provincial capitols and a final one in
the capitol.
----------
Dukov’s candidacy changed Kim’s personal plans, the most important of which was
the date she and Sergekt planned to get married. At first Kim wondered how she
could salvage her wedding plans now that Upper Danubia’s political situation had
so completely intruded into her life. It was obvious Dukov would not be able to
take time out from his campaign to attend her wedding, but to Kim it was
extremely important that he and his family participate. Finally she accepted the
obvious, there was no way she could get married in October and have the wedding
she wanted. Marrying Sergekt would have to wait. Kim brought up the problem to
her fiancée, who sadly agreed. They could not get married until after the
election.
Kim called Cindy to ask her to postpone her family’s trip. Cindy changed the
reservations their parents, but decided to keep her own reservation. She was
working on her M.A in political science, and decided to be present for Upper
Danubia’s election. She commented to Kim. “You guys are going up against
American political advisors. Some of those consultants are people I’ve actually
heard of. Let me come out and see if I can do anything to help Dukov’s
campaign.” Kim agreed, and a couple of days later picked up Cindy at the
airport.
Cindy brought with her a suitcase of political science journal articles and
campaign guidebooks to prepare some briefings for Dukov. She spent hours in the
former Spokesman’s vacant office watching the opposition’s campaign ads and
having Kim translate them for her. As Kim watched her sister pour over her
research material and prepare PowerPoint presentations, she realized what Cindy
wanted to accomplish. Her ambitions went way beyond simply collecting research
material for her Master’s thesis. Kim’s sister wanted to take part in altering
the course of history.
Finally, on October 18, Kim’s birthday and the date she had hoped to get
married, she instead sat with Cindy in a room of Dukov and other Party of the
Duchy dignitaries as she gave her first presentation. Cindy spoke with
confidence about campaign strategies as Kim translated. Dukov listened
attentively to the young woman, who for free, was giving him the political
advice he needed to counter his well-funded opposition.
----------
The week after Cindy gave her first briefing, “Socrates Mistresses” accompanied
Vladim Dukov to Rika Chorna and gave a concert during a party rally. The
presence of Upper Danubia’s most popular band helped Dukov’s cause in that city
tremendously. However, when the band got back to the Danubian capitol, there was
trouble waiting for them. A group of attorneys from the band’s record label had
traveled to Danube City and demanded to speak alone with Kim. At first the owner
of her music store, Spokesman Havlakt, and Dima wanted to accompany her. She
decided no, I’ll see them myself and find out what they want.
Kim sat in a conference room full of rather sinister-looking older
professionals. This group was a bit of a shock to her, given that she had always
been treated well, and in a friendly manner, by the representatives of her firm.
The lawyers quickly made it clear why they were in Danube City. They explained
to Kim that by supporting Dukov “Socrates Mistresses” had embarrassed the
company. There were very important business interests depending on a victory by
the Greater Danubian Progressive Party. “We thought you had things figured out,
Miss Lee. Our associates are advising the ‘Progressives’ and paying for their
campaign. We have the Embassy involved. And here you and your little criminal
friends go off and sing for that group of has-beens. What are you trying to do
to us?”
Kim sat in shock as the lawyers made it very clear that under no circumstances
were the members of “Socrates Mistresses” to offer any further support to Vladim
Dukov. They insinuated that Kim would end up in serious legal trouble in the US
were she not to adhere to their advice, and the group would lose its contract.
Kim walked out of the meeting in shock, while the lawyers were confident they
had made their point and there would be no further trouble from “Socrates’
Mistresses”. Alone, Kim left the hotel and walked past the old city wall. She
continued through the quiet streets of the capitol to the Plaza of the Ancients,
her mind in turmoil over how to react to this sudden sinister turn of events.
Then, by pure chance, she ran across Dima, who was visiting some former
co-workers at his old restaurant. As Dima joined her, Kim wondered if it really
was chance, or fate, that had led her to Eloisa’s long-suffering fiancée. She
told him about the meeting, and about the threat to the group’s contract. His
response somewhat surprised her. There was no hesitation whatsoever in his
voice.
“Kimberly, you should understand that the path of our lives is to sacrifice to
safeguard our honor, our friendships, and our nation. We will stand with
Spokesman Dukov and we will suffer the consequences, just like we stood by
Eloisa and suffered the consequences. What I believe is the path of our lives is
to be Danubian, not a bunch of rich singers.”
“But…just like that? You really don’t care about…the band?”
“I care about the band. But without our honor, our music means nothing. I never
believed it was the path of our lives to be rich. I never felt good about that,
all those foreign concerts and all that money. Now the money is going away, and
I’m glad about it, because there won’t be anything left except the music and our
honor. You can ask any of the others, if you think I’m not speaking for them.
What happened at your meeting doesn’t matter to me at all. Tomorrow we’re going
back east and we’re singing, no matter what the record label says.”
Kim nodded. Dima had told her, deep down, what she really wanted to hear.
Finally she responded “…then I’m one of you…I’m Danubian, and I’ll sing for
Spokesman Dukov.”
The next day Kim was supposed to have a follow-up meeting with her record
label’s attorneys. She missed that meeting to travel to the other end of Upper
Danubia to sing at a campaign rally for the Party of the Duchy. She dedicated
the final song of the concert, the English rendition of “The Wall that Divides
my Soul”, to the corporate lawyers by name. That night the infuriated legal team
left Danube City to return to New York.
----------
The recording company responded to the group’s arrogance by filing several
lawsuits against the members of the band, and against Kim in particular. When
the corporate lawyers called her to announce the pending suit, Kim's answer
stunned them: "Well, you can sue me all you want, but if you do, you'd better
hope your candidates win. If Spokesman Dukov wins, you won't collect shit from
me."
The company announced the distribution of the group's music would stop
immediately. Overnight CD's from "Socrates' Mistresses" vanished from music
stores worldwide. Radio stations stopped playing the popular music to the ire of
the group's many fans. Even DVD's from the Gaul movie were pulled from
distribution.
The day after the lawsuits were announced and their group's music was pulled
from the shelves, Kim and Eloisa gave the first out of a series of press
conferences to explain the group's position and why they felt helping Vladim
Dukov's campaign by touring for him was so important. During the conferences
Eloisa and Kim showed themselves as stubborn and determined young women, loyal
to ideas and principles much more important to them than their careers or
contracts. The press conferences made the group's die-hard fans support them
even more, because now they had rebelled against the international music
establishment. The music from "Socrates' Mistresses" suddenly became subversive
and underground due to the group's ostracism from the mainstream music industry,
and very much in demand.
The entire conflict between "Socrates' Mistresses" and the recording company
made the group's outlook in life much more nationalistic. As they toured the
eastern provinces, the singers performed their most traditional songs, along
with a new song that was a tribute to King Vladik the Defender. The group also,
at the insistence of Kim, always performed "The Wall that Divides My Soul." That
song had special meaning for Kim, now that she had been hit with several
lawsuits. For her there could be no going back to the U.S., possibly for the
rest of her life. The audiences were well aware of the huge sacrifice the band's
members were making to support their candidate, which made many of them
re-consider their opposition to Vladim Dukov.
----------
While the ex-Spokesman was out of the house campaigning in the eastern
provinces, Kim noticed huge changes in the lives of Maritza, Vladik, and Anyia.
All three members of the household struggled to redefine their relationships
with each other and how they viewed themselves as individuals. Anyia and Vladik
seemed to exchange personalities, while Maritza came to terms with Vladik's
faults and Anyia's sudden push for maturity.
Over the fall Anyia's social life changed completely. She dropped her
friendships with her old group of rebellious friends to associate more with the
sons and daughters of other politicians. She dumped her soccer hooligan
boyfriend and began dressing and acting much more seriously. Dukov's daughter
did not become any nicer, but her rebelliousness evolved into a hardened support
of her father in both her school and among her friends. She studied and
struggled to understand the issues her father was confronting during the
campaign. Whenever she was not in school, Anyia wanted to accompany Dukov while
he was campaigning. She became a fixture of his campaign appearances, always at
his side, or with his two secretaries, or flirting with the teenaged sons of his
new political associates.
Vladik always had been the serious son of the family. He no longer wanted to
perform that role. He used his penance as a justification to excuse himself from
his father's political life and to live quietly. During the fall Vladik paid
only passing attention to his father's struggles on the campaign trail. Vladik's
focus now was on trying to determine who he was as a person and what he really
wanted from his life. He was determined to do the one thing he had never done
before, live quietly, live for the moment, and try to find peace with himself.
He stopped worrying about the future or what anyone thought about him.
Maritza struggled with the changes in her son and daughter. Maritza's entire
world was shifting under her. Vladik seemed to have lost his direction in life
and any personal ambition. Anyia was trying to act like she was 30 years old,
even though she still was in high school. The only person in the household who
seemed to have any reasonable sense of direction was Kim, with her upcoming
marriage, her singing, and her studies.
----------
The ex-Spokesman's candidacy took a much more patriotic approach than he
originally had planned as his campaign progressed. He emphasized the need for
the Danubian nation to do things the Danubian way. He laid out a recovery plan
for the east and an over-all program of incremental upgrades to the nation's
water supply and hydroelectric power generators. There would be a rational
forest management plan and upgrades to schools and public buildings. There would
be educational reform and a huge push for AIDS and drug-awareness education.
There would be some road improvements, but no major construction of new roads,
because under his administration the prohibition against private cars would
remain in place. He argued passionately to keep Upper Danubia's justice system
intact and rejected the idea of building prisons. Dukov also emphasized changes
in his country’s foreign policy. He would re-negotiate Upper Danubia’s entry
into the European Union and several other international organizations, feeling
the current pending arrangements were giving too much away.
Dukov campaigned desperately, because he was very aware of what would happen to
his country if his party did not win. He now had a personal reason to win as
well. The members of "Socrates' Mistresses" faced financial ruin if he lost,
because there was no question they would be sued in Danubian courts. If he won,
he would have the power of his government to protect them; if he lost there
would be very little he could do for them. He was angry about the threats made
against his supporters, and that personal anger drove him as he gave his
speeches in city after city.
While Dukov waged his campaign in the streets and city plazas, his opposition
waged their campaign on television. Campaign ads attacked Dukov as being naive
and his party as a relic of the past. The real future lay with complete
integration into the world economy. There were dire threats about what would
happen under a Dukov government, with foreign companies and international trade
groups retaliating against the country should he win. Upper Danubia was on the
verge of being a failed nation, according to the TV ads, making the immediate
and complete opening of the country's economy imperative. The two parties were
offering two very different visions of Upper Danubia's future.
----------
Vladik's fascination with Tiffany only increased as he quietly pursued his
duties at the Danube City music studio complex. He became apprehensive about
where the friendship might lead, because increasingly he wanted her. He actually
felt a need to be with her, the need to be with Criminal # 98946, of all people.
Vladik struggled to accept Tiffany's past and her ongoing recovery from her
recent drug addictions. He debated with himself the wisdom of pursuing a
relationship with the American criminal. Here he was, recently engaged to a
beautiful woman from one of the country's most affluent families. Did he want
her? No. The woman he wanted was his rough, passionate, scrawny police partner.
He had lost her, and now he had taken a step further down in his desires,
wanting an American who was a convicted criminal, a drug addict, and an
ex-prostitute. And yet, Vladik felt at peace when he was with Tiffany, more so
than he had felt with any other woman he had known. If Kim was right about
Vladik needing a woman in his life with flaws and problems, certainly Tiffany
filled that need. None of it made any sense.
As for Tiffany, her relationship with Vladik began to restore her old
self-confidence. They were together constantly, both at work and at the Socrates
Club. Over time how Tiffany viewed herself began to change as she could imagine
herself as more than a drug addict and stripper. As the fall progressed time
began separating Tiffany from her life at Dirty Grampy’s. Her day to day life at
the music store and her other responsibilities in Upper Danubia slowly crowded
out the most recent memories of her life in the US.
Tiffany was aware that Vladik wanted her. Finally, after more than a month of
going out with him, she felt she had recovered enough from her past that she
might be able to have sex with him and actually enjoy it. She decided the moment
had come one night in the Socrates Club as she was dancing with him. She danced
close, enjoying the feel of his bare body against her own. As his penis brushed
up against her bare thighs, it was becoming evident Vladik was becoming aroused.
For the first time in many months the American felt the hints of sexual desire
herself. Finally, in heavily accented Danubian she asked:
"Tebe hochesh mene?"
"Dak, Deevonay. Ya tebe hochu."
With that the couple went upstairs. Vladik found an empty "intimacy room" and
slipped inside with Tiffany. For the first time Tiffany kissed Vladik
passionately, putting her arms around him and hugging him tightly. Vladik's
hands explored Tiffany's body, his hands traveling down her back to her bottom.
Vladik relished the feel of Tiffany's bottom cheeks in his hands, and then
brushed his fingers up the middle. He pressed up against her and enjoyed the
feel of her breasts against his chest.
Tiffany became increasingly aroused. She knew all the tricks to arouse a man.
With her clients Tiffany's job was to get them aroused quickly, finish the job,
make the guy at least reasonably satisfied, and then get back across the street
to Dirty Grampy's as fast as possible. Tonight she had to clear her mind of all
that and let things come naturally. Her duty to Vladik was not to arouse him,
but instead to allow herself to become aroused, so she could have sex with him
normally.
Tiffany lay on her stomach to allow Vladik to explore her bottom. Tiffany always
considered her bottom the sexist part of her body and enjoyed having it touched
and caressed. Vladik spent a long time with his fingertips and lips pressed to
the same bottom he had so cruelly marked up just a few weeks before as a police
officer. The thought of that contrast, the cruel welts from two months ago and
the soft unmarked tanned skin under his face now, totally excited him.
Vladik slowly worked his way up her back with his caresses and kisses. He pushed
her hair aside to concentrate on kissing her neck. She flipped over on her back,
to exchange yet more kisses and allow him to explore her breasts. Yes, to not
have to do anything, just lie back and enjoy…she had not had the chance to do
that for a long time.
Vladik entered her and began thrusting in his usual vigorous manner. It seemed
just the right mix of pain and pleasure that Tiffany needed. She had her first
orgasm in many months as she gasped and gritted her teeth. Tiffany realized that
with Vladik sex could return to its proper role in her life, not as a business
transaction but as a part of a relationship to be enjoyed.
Chapter 29
