12-22-2014, 10:41 PM
Jacques' departure from the reporters was paused by Lawrence's ballsy deal. What would come next needed to be seen, to be recorded, such that the world could not deny the reasons behind the decisions he would make in the coming days and weeks. She had some degree of a reputation to support what she would say, but as with any reporter, there was no assuring what they would write. Or what their paper would print.
"Contact my people, Mademoiselle Monday, and they shall work out an understanding with you and yours."
With that, and with Jared Wilson's not so subtle curse of having missed the opportunity left in his wake, Jacques continued on to the gate.
It didn't take much to realize what the truck drivers were going to do, and Jacques quickly waved his men back from the gate to let it happen; these were government troops after all, and this was their land, and their jurisdiction in the end. The trucks pushed through the locked gate without much effort, and the Legionnaires flanking it quickly stepped out of the way to let them pass.
The trucks lumbered into the main yard of the plant and came to a stop with the tell-tale woosh of air-brakes settling, then the tailgates where dropped and Sierra Leonean troops began piling out, their officers and sergeants barking orders and sending armed men to various places. They studiously ignored the Legionnaires, taking up residence in the small wall towers, securing the gates and searching the buildings.
The refugees were understandably frightened, but any serious confrontations were held in check by the presence of the Legionnaires and their local auxiliaries, the Masiaka'n men that had been hired to bolster the company's contracted garrison of the once-Chinese refining plant turned refugee camp. With the presence of the reporters, who were actively recording, the Sierra Leonean soldiers kept themselves in check.
Jacques waved for Jared to fall in step with him as he approached the ranking officer of the government troops, "This, I fear, is going to be unpleasant. But for the moment, we will have little choice but to go with what they say."
Another glance was spared for Natalie Grey and the Red Cross staff, and for her shadow, Jay. The man was keeping close to his charge, which was good. And her less obvious guards were on edge; the other members of Jay's squad were seeded about the area, tasked to assure that no harm came to their CCD princess. He was gambling with her life as much as he was with those of his men, and it pained him to do so. But, she was a far more valuable piece on the board. Too valuable to not be used.
"I am Monsieur Jacques Danjou, CEO of..."
Danjou approached the Sierra Leonean Captain that was in command of the platoon rushing to secure the camp, but was cut short as one of the man's underlings blocked Jacques' path.
"I know who you are. Your company's efforts thus far are appreciated, but you will cease and desist. Interim-President General Wallace-Johnson has ordered that you present yourself to him immediately, and that all your mercenary soldiers be moved to the capital."
The Captain held out a sheet of paper with official-looking government leader-head and stamps and signatures, which seemed to lend credence to the Captain's declaration.
Jacques frowned, but accepted the paper without complaint, glancing over it briefly, while the officer relayed the rest of his orders for Jacques. "You will also relocate all Red Cross staff located at this camp to the capital. The military will take over its operation, and that of all other camps deemed tenable at this time."
Which was to say, this one camp. The others were all too far removed from the government's reach at the moment.
Jacques neatly folded the piece of paper and tucked it into a pocket, "I have no jurisdiction over the Red Cross operation here. I doubt they will be willing to leave on such short notice."
"Either you take them with you, or my men remove them. They are needed in the capital at this time, to help with the recovery efforts there. It is the Interim-President General Wallace-Johnson's declaration that the country cannot be made whole until the capital is."
It was probably less an actual belief then it was a convenient lie for those involved to save face.
Jacques nodded in vague acceptance of the Captain's statement. He was a civilian, and the Captain was, for the moment at least, a government official. As such, he had no place, legally speaking, to refuse the order. The situation in Sierra Leone was a domestic one, and Jacques and his company were not exactly an internationally recognized legal authority in such matters. They simply hadn't any legal jurisdiction to force the matter.
And until the 'Interim-President' stepped out of line, they hadn't the moral authority to intervene either. "Legionnaire Vanders. Inform the Red Cross team that they will be leaving with us shortly. I do not suppose you will lend us one of your trucks to transport them? I thought not. Tell them to pack lightly, Legionnaire. And if they have any issues, they are to speak to me first."
He doubted the government troops would have much patience for Natalie's complaints. He did not expect the woman to be willing to leave the camp unless forced. "So it is official then? The General has been appointed by a legally functional Parliament?"
The Captain cast Jacques a challenging glare, "No one in the Parliament refused Interim-President General Wallace-Johnson's appointment. You should be spending your time better. The Interim-President General Wallace-Johnson does not like to be kept waiting on civilian foreigners."
Jacques smiled charmingly and nodded, seemingly glad to hear the news and even congratulating the Captain on his appointment to such an important task, protecting the civilians in the camp, then turned to leave. Jacques had little doubt that his men could make short work of the General's men, but not without casualties of their own. Casualties he could little afford. And even if they did win the battle at the refugee camp, it still left dozens of his men trapped in the city, where the good General surely had men ready to strike if anything went amiss.
The order spread quickly among his men, and he moved to speak to the appointed representatives of the refugees.
"You cannot leave us here, Mr Danjou! Many of the people here are Temne. You do not think that these soldiers will keep themselves in check after what happened in Freetown?"
Idir Kayode, the unofficial leader of the camp, was a Mende man, not much older then Jacques himself.
Jacques suspected the man was right, and wasn't so naive as to allow himself to hope otherwise. "My company's interventions so far in this conflict have been, strictly speaking, illegal, Monsieur Kayode. We must trust in your government to hold itself to a higher creed then the rebels. General...Interim-President General Wallace-Johnson is a well known figure in Sierra Leone. He must now strive to rebuild Sierra Leone before other factions make their own moves."
Idir looked at Jacques suspiciously, unsure what to make of that, but he could not force the foreigner to do more then he already had. He finished his discussions with the camp representatives in short order, turning to find the Legion Premiere vehicles already lined up with the gate, most of his men gathered there and waiting word to mount up.
They were a stark contrast to the government troops. They stood with their backs to the vehicles, weapons held at the low-ready yet seemed casual enough. In turn, the government troops wore mismatched uniforms; indications they had at one time heralded from different units, although all wore the patch of General Wallace-Johnson's former command. They watched inside the compound rather then the outside, eyeing the Legionnaires warily or the refugees with open suspicion, and for those they knew where Temne, open hatred.
Edited by Jacques, Dec 23 2014, 09:15 AM.
"Contact my people, Mademoiselle Monday, and they shall work out an understanding with you and yours."
With that, and with Jared Wilson's not so subtle curse of having missed the opportunity left in his wake, Jacques continued on to the gate.
It didn't take much to realize what the truck drivers were going to do, and Jacques quickly waved his men back from the gate to let it happen; these were government troops after all, and this was their land, and their jurisdiction in the end. The trucks pushed through the locked gate without much effort, and the Legionnaires flanking it quickly stepped out of the way to let them pass.
The trucks lumbered into the main yard of the plant and came to a stop with the tell-tale woosh of air-brakes settling, then the tailgates where dropped and Sierra Leonean troops began piling out, their officers and sergeants barking orders and sending armed men to various places. They studiously ignored the Legionnaires, taking up residence in the small wall towers, securing the gates and searching the buildings.
The refugees were understandably frightened, but any serious confrontations were held in check by the presence of the Legionnaires and their local auxiliaries, the Masiaka'n men that had been hired to bolster the company's contracted garrison of the once-Chinese refining plant turned refugee camp. With the presence of the reporters, who were actively recording, the Sierra Leonean soldiers kept themselves in check.
Jacques waved for Jared to fall in step with him as he approached the ranking officer of the government troops, "This, I fear, is going to be unpleasant. But for the moment, we will have little choice but to go with what they say."
Another glance was spared for Natalie Grey and the Red Cross staff, and for her shadow, Jay. The man was keeping close to his charge, which was good. And her less obvious guards were on edge; the other members of Jay's squad were seeded about the area, tasked to assure that no harm came to their CCD princess. He was gambling with her life as much as he was with those of his men, and it pained him to do so. But, she was a far more valuable piece on the board. Too valuable to not be used.
"I am Monsieur Jacques Danjou, CEO of..."
Danjou approached the Sierra Leonean Captain that was in command of the platoon rushing to secure the camp, but was cut short as one of the man's underlings blocked Jacques' path.
"I know who you are. Your company's efforts thus far are appreciated, but you will cease and desist. Interim-President General Wallace-Johnson has ordered that you present yourself to him immediately, and that all your mercenary soldiers be moved to the capital."
The Captain held out a sheet of paper with official-looking government leader-head and stamps and signatures, which seemed to lend credence to the Captain's declaration.
Jacques frowned, but accepted the paper without complaint, glancing over it briefly, while the officer relayed the rest of his orders for Jacques. "You will also relocate all Red Cross staff located at this camp to the capital. The military will take over its operation, and that of all other camps deemed tenable at this time."
Which was to say, this one camp. The others were all too far removed from the government's reach at the moment.
Jacques neatly folded the piece of paper and tucked it into a pocket, "I have no jurisdiction over the Red Cross operation here. I doubt they will be willing to leave on such short notice."
"Either you take them with you, or my men remove them. They are needed in the capital at this time, to help with the recovery efforts there. It is the Interim-President General Wallace-Johnson's declaration that the country cannot be made whole until the capital is."
It was probably less an actual belief then it was a convenient lie for those involved to save face.
Jacques nodded in vague acceptance of the Captain's statement. He was a civilian, and the Captain was, for the moment at least, a government official. As such, he had no place, legally speaking, to refuse the order. The situation in Sierra Leone was a domestic one, and Jacques and his company were not exactly an internationally recognized legal authority in such matters. They simply hadn't any legal jurisdiction to force the matter.
And until the 'Interim-President' stepped out of line, they hadn't the moral authority to intervene either. "Legionnaire Vanders. Inform the Red Cross team that they will be leaving with us shortly. I do not suppose you will lend us one of your trucks to transport them? I thought not. Tell them to pack lightly, Legionnaire. And if they have any issues, they are to speak to me first."
He doubted the government troops would have much patience for Natalie's complaints. He did not expect the woman to be willing to leave the camp unless forced. "So it is official then? The General has been appointed by a legally functional Parliament?"
The Captain cast Jacques a challenging glare, "No one in the Parliament refused Interim-President General Wallace-Johnson's appointment. You should be spending your time better. The Interim-President General Wallace-Johnson does not like to be kept waiting on civilian foreigners."
Jacques smiled charmingly and nodded, seemingly glad to hear the news and even congratulating the Captain on his appointment to such an important task, protecting the civilians in the camp, then turned to leave. Jacques had little doubt that his men could make short work of the General's men, but not without casualties of their own. Casualties he could little afford. And even if they did win the battle at the refugee camp, it still left dozens of his men trapped in the city, where the good General surely had men ready to strike if anything went amiss.
The order spread quickly among his men, and he moved to speak to the appointed representatives of the refugees.
"You cannot leave us here, Mr Danjou! Many of the people here are Temne. You do not think that these soldiers will keep themselves in check after what happened in Freetown?"
Idir Kayode, the unofficial leader of the camp, was a Mende man, not much older then Jacques himself.
Jacques suspected the man was right, and wasn't so naive as to allow himself to hope otherwise. "My company's interventions so far in this conflict have been, strictly speaking, illegal, Monsieur Kayode. We must trust in your government to hold itself to a higher creed then the rebels. General...Interim-President General Wallace-Johnson is a well known figure in Sierra Leone. He must now strive to rebuild Sierra Leone before other factions make their own moves."
Idir looked at Jacques suspiciously, unsure what to make of that, but he could not force the foreigner to do more then he already had. He finished his discussions with the camp representatives in short order, turning to find the Legion Premiere vehicles already lined up with the gate, most of his men gathered there and waiting word to mount up.
They were a stark contrast to the government troops. They stood with their backs to the vehicles, weapons held at the low-ready yet seemed casual enough. In turn, the government troops wore mismatched uniforms; indications they had at one time heralded from different units, although all wore the patch of General Wallace-Johnson's former command. They watched inside the compound rather then the outside, eyeing the Legionnaires warily or the refugees with open suspicion, and for those they knew where Temne, open hatred.
Edited by Jacques, Dec 23 2014, 09:15 AM.