Menshikov's Machinations

Former Vice President Boris Menshikov was a bitter man, very conscious of the decline of his political career after his loss to Morozova some years before. Now, however, he was hopeful. As he sat in the back of his darkened limousine, he smiled viciously. "There's no way Morozova will see this coming," he muttered to himself.

The Limousine slid to a halt in what would appear to be the middle of nowhere. The dark taiga loomed on either side of the road. Menshikov stepped out of the car, waved to the stolid driver, and strode into the forest. Soon, he walked across a small moss swamp (choosing his steps carefully) to a circle of brighter moss. There, he picked out a particularly dry bit of moss and sat down,

Boris Menshikov was not, by nature, a fearful man, but a glimmer of absolute terror flitted across his face before he calmed himself and began a very strange incantation....

"Bloody Sidhe," he thought.

Menshikov's will flowed from him into the heart of Winter Faerie to the fortress of Arctis Tor deep within the Nevernever, seeking out the object of his summoning. The melody, the rhythmn, and the lyrics of the tense, stern litany fell upon malevolent ears, pulling her toward the prepared area.

As the target came closer to the mortal world, a sudden and bitter cold fell upon the area, enveloping Menshikov. A dense cloud covered the sky in preparation for her arrival.

When the final word of the summoning flowed off of Menshikov's lips, a bright light flashed within the circle. There stood the Queen of the Winter Sidhe in beautiful and radiant glory. Her beauty, though, was cold and heart-stopping. She wore a medieval gown of emerald green, and her hair was of the purest-white silk, bound with a circlet of rose vines covered in ice. It was a deceptive beauty, for there stood one of the most universally feared beings in existence.

Mab, monarch of the Winter Court of the Sidhe, Queen of Air and Darkness, stared down at Menshikov, a smirk creeping slowly along her lips. She was slightly, slightly, impressed that this mortal risked summoning her. A summoning of this magnitude was not hard, but dangerous if done wrong. Best-case scenario, the summoning does not work. Worst case, the being appears and kills the summoner for daring to insult it.

"Greetings to thee, mortal," spoke Mab, her voice accented in an Old World tone, the surroundings resonating with her subtle power. "For what purpose have thou summoned Mab, monarch of the Winter Court of the Sidhe, Queen of Air and Darkness?"

"I, Boris Menshikov, was once a leader in this land, until Elizaveta Morozova defeated me in an election. I wish to bargain for your aid in taking leadership from her," Boris said while inwardly silencing a feeling of awe and terror. She cannot harm me except as I allow, she cannot harm me except as I allow, he chanted to calm himself in the back of his mind.

Mab grinned at Menshikov as she tapped against the circle that held her captive, straining easily against his will.

"Thou wishes to make a bargain with me, mortal?" asked Mab, her eyes glittering dangerously. "What would thou consider fitting for the Queen of Air and Darkness?" She smiled with her teeth at Menshikov, delighted to see a mortal in such desperation.

Menshikov took a deep breath and stated calmly, "I will promise you my firstborn child as President of the Soyedinyonniyi Schtati of Zemnaya Svoboda if you help me." It's a good thing, he thought, that Julia knows nothing of this.

Mab arched one very alluring eyebrow at Menshikov, her eyes glittering dangerously again. "Art thou claiming to be Zemnaya Svoboda?"

"No, but I hope to." Menshikov thought again how good it was Julia was quite unaware. She'd have no trouble interpreting the smile on his face as bearing a hint of desire.

The monarch of the Winter Court of the Sidhe grinned at Menshikov, baring her teeth in an almost vicious and malevolent manner. She closed her lips, the smirk remaining and dragged her eyes over Meshikov. "Thou would do well to control thyself in the presence of Queen Mab, mortal." Mab nodded her head at Menshikov. "Thy firstborn. What is its age of life?"

Menshikov's brow wrinkled and he thought, "Well I was wrong to ignore the stories of her ability to read people..."

"Julia and I have not had a child yet, o Queen of Air and Darkness." Menshikov sighed inside, Julia would probably insist on having a child once he was President, wouldn't she.

Queen Mab pursed her lips. "Thy wife has not yet conceived?" She nodded slowly. "I can wait until your sun burns cold, mortal, but I will have thy first-born, whether by thy mate or by my daughter. I am sure," Mab's lips crept into a smirk again, "that she would be able to sate thee in a number of ways that thy wife cannot."

Menshikov raised one of his eyebrows, "That would be most satisfactory." he stated in a businesslike tone. "Julia need never even be affected," Menshikov thought confidently.

Mab pursed her lips again and pressed against the circle, only exerting a small fraction of her will against Menshiov. "Release me, mortal. I would prefer to not waste my power against thy weak magics."

After a split second of pure panic, Menshikov casually took a beautiful piece of lichen off of a rock and tossed gently it just across the edge of the circle. He couldn't help but finger the handle of his gun in the other hand. It was not a normal pistol-- the bullets were of iron, not lead. The workshop had been puzzled, but had been happy to comply when he paid several times the normal price.

The buzzing of the magic circle ended, and the stored magic rushed outward. The Winter Queen strode toward Menshikov slowly and deliberately, a smirk playing on her lips. "We have a bargain, mortal." At the words, a strange feeling came over Menshikov, one that could only signal the beginnings of a bond between him and Queen Mab.

Mab stopped a few feet from her new partner when she noticed Menshikov's hand quivering over something on his side. Her smirk slowly faded from her luscious lips. "What is that your hand hovers over so, mortal?"

"When I contacted you, o Queen of Air and Darkness, I was uncertain if I would summon who I intended," Menshikov intoned calmly, "If things went very wrong, I might summon a creature incapable of reason, against whom I might the protection of Ferrum."

The smirk returned to her lips as she closed the last few feet between them. Her smirk quickly became a vicious snarl as her eyes narrowed. Her left arm darted for Menshikov's neck and her right for his left wrist, keeping it in place. Cold and a mixture of pleasure and pain erupted from her touch as Mab lifted Menshikov from the ground. "Thou darest to bring the Bane against the Unseelie Queen?" she growled. "Thy first lesson, primate: keep the Bane away from my Court and I. Thou art lucky the bargain was struck and that the desire to end thy life has not come to me...yet." She released Menshikov abruptly and let him fall to the ground before her.

Menshikov quickly resumed breathing and with a certain dignity got back up on his feet. "My apologies," he said simply. "How do you intend to maintain your side of our bargain, o Queen of Air and Darkness?"

Mab grinned broadly and leaned down to Menshikov, her face inches from his. She placed a single finger on his cheek, and Menshikov could feel the coalescing of energies around him and the thrum of energy coming from him. "I have laid a spell upon thee. No one will be able to resist thee, mortal."

"Excellent. Thank you o Queen of Air and Darkness," Menshikov spoke softly, "May I also ask for you to assist a storm in the arctic to hit Novaya Zemlya and Severnaya Zemlya? It would fit into my plan for re-election quite smoothly."

Queen Mab took a few steps back from Menshikov, her eyes considering him. She toyed around with a few possibilities in her mind. If her deception was to come to fruition, she would need take every precaution. Then again, everything came with a price.

Mab looked up toward the sky, pensive. A few clouds began to swirl around her, as if testing her abilities. "My power is limited here, mortal. I can create the storm for thee further in the north, but I cannot guarantee that I will have the power keep it sustained." A cold fury shimmered in her eyes as Mab lowered her head to look straight at Menshikov. "Make no mistake, mortal. My failure to create the storm will not break the bargain that thou hast wrought with me."

The fury became a smirk: a disturbing and menacing smirk. "I have made no guarantee that thou wilt attain the leadership of your people. As far as the Sidhe are concerned, I have kept my side of our bargain. Should thou fail to attain it, I will still come to collect thine debt.

Menshikov pensively observed Mab as she responded, and when she finished said, "Of course. That and the Glamour will be more than enough." He smiled almost wickedly.

Mab turned from Menshikov, and her image faded away from the area. At the North Pole, she reappeared. With the hemisphere in summer, her power would be weakened; however, she would hold more power in the Arctic than a warmer area.

It was currently in its time of daylight when Mab arrived. The Queen of Air and Darkness lifted her hands to the sky with her eyes closed. Normally something like this would have been more than easy. She whispered her will into the air, giving shape to her thoughts and desires. Her will penetrated the air, the clouds, and everything present. Clouds formed and swirled overhead, darkening as they were filled to the brim with water and ice.

She continued to pour more of her will into the gathering storm, giving it fuel to last for as long as possible.

When she was satisfied with her work, Mab lowered her hands and contained her will and power. Her image faded from the Arctic and returned to Menshikov. Small beads of translucent sweat dotted her forehead. She used up much of her power.

Mab laid her eyes upon Menshikov. "It is done. Thy storm will arrive in days, mortal. I have kept my bargain." She raised her hand slowly. As her hand passed along the air, faint colors started to play where her hand was. It was almost as though the mortal reality was simply melting away at her touch, giving way to the Nevernever, the spirit world. "I will be watching thee, mortal."

"Of course," said Menshikov pensively and watched Mab's departure.

Queen Mab narrowed her eyes at Menshikov. The air around the portal to the Nevernever glittered as snow filtered through, melting into ectoplasm when it entered the mortal plane. When the portal finished stretching, the demesne became clear. The Winter realm of Faerie lay beyond the portal, white and desolate, dotted with dead and perpetually dying fauna. A huge palace loomed on the distant horizon: Arctis Tor, the fortress and capital of Queen Mab and the heart of Winter. Various fae-creatures, creatures only known to mortals through fairy tales and urban legend, stared at the portal inquisitively. Some of them bowed onto bended knee when they spotted their Queen, others darted into dead forests.

Mab turned back to her exit and walked through it without hesitation. She flicked her hand back, and the Nevernever faded away until only the whole mortal plane remained, along with slowly evaporating spots of ectoplasm.

After Mab was gone, Menshikov frowned and began a purposeful walk out of the circle, bog, and wood. His Limousine was still waiting by the side of the road. "Back to Irkutsk," Menshikov tersely instructed his driver.

In the back seat, Menshikov took a swig of a small glass of Vodka and then picked up his phone. "Ivan, hello. Oh yes, wonderful. Hey, would you happen to have a spot open for a meeting at say, 14 O'clock tomorrow? Wonderful, wonderful, 15 O'clock it is."

He took another swig and made another call. "Julia? I'm headed home, finished politicking for today. Yes, I just drank some vodka, it's been one of those days. You know why it's one of those days. Yes. Of course I'm hungry."

---

The Next Day

Menshikov watched ZSNN on the TV in his Limousine as they covered the northern storm. Just the predictions of what it would do were already damaging Gambling-house profits, Menshikov knew.

Menshikov's Limousine rolled up to a large well-decorated building, with an inscription describing it as the Plotkin Senate Office Building. Menshikov emerged from his seat and proceeded to enter the building. Proceeding to the lift, he pressed the button labelled "32-- Senator Ivan Kerenskiy (Svoboda Misly, Baikalia)".

Exiting the lift, Menshikov walked into a small conference room right as the digital clock on the wall switched to 15:00. A few seconds later, a tall man with a bit of a haughty face strode into the room. "Ah, punctual as usual Boris." He grinned, a split second longer than normal. "What can I do for you?"

"Well Ivan," Menshikov drawled confidently, "I was thinking about a possible Sobstvennosti-Misly alliance against Deatelnosty. Morozova's had the top seat long enough, don't you think?"

"But... Ah well. Sounds like a plan, Boris." Ivan said.

The next day, as news about the storm damage kept coming in, the Duma and Senate voted to call elections...

Boris became a very busy man, touring the country making speeches, holding fundraisers...

---

In a glamorous hotel in Vladivostok...

Twenty men sat in front of him, ten to a side of the table. None of them were paying much attention to their food, they were staring rapturously at Boris as he said a few words on the Economy, about how the Deatelnosty socialists had driven it into the ground!

The well-dressed men nodded, solemnly. They had had a 5 to 6% decrease in profit margins across the board last month, this was not acceptable. "Twenty thousand!" promised one man, "Thirty five!!" yelled the next...

Soon, they'd pledged a full 600,000 credits to his cause. Boris smiled brilliantly, this was going to be a cakewalk.

/* THREE WEEKS LATER */

Boris was a happy man. Today was the day, today he would become President. At last!

He put on his newest suit, hand-tailored by the best tailor in Irkutsk. He looked in the mirror...