They faced one another in a pair of wing chairs beneath a high ceiling and a picture window framing a view of the Tete de Chien. "This may be our most important meeting yet," Eringer began. "There is too much smoke to appoint Franck Biancheri chef de cabinet. And probably grounds to remove him as finance minister."
Eringer worked through a number of alleged transgressions, ranging from conflicts of interests to secret kickbacks to fraud.
The Prince told Eringer something he claimed not to have told another soul: He was leaning against giving Biancheri the job of chef de cabinet. Albert asked for all the ammunition Eringer could muster; that he intended to announce his intentions on July 13th, the day after his investiture, and he anticipated an onslaught of indignation from Biancheri and his allies in the government.
Eringer reemphasized the importance of making the right personnel decisions up front; to make a bold statement that the corrupt status quo was no longer acceptable; to boldly convey that the Prince was firmly in control of his principality. To this end, Eringer suggested a zero based review, whereby everyone in official positions would be required to offer their resignations while their status and records were put to review by a new chef de cabinet.
The important thing, Eringer advised, was that the Prince flex his muscle and exert power, and not be frightened of making dramatic decisions against the status quo. The less power the Prince exerted, said Eringer, the more others would exert theirs and chip away at his authority.
With hindsight, it was probably a mistake for the intelligence apparatus Eringer had created to delve into internal corruption. This was a police matter--law enforcement, not intelligence.
But as the Prince himself pointed out to Eringer: a) the police had not been doing their job properly, b) he did not trust the police, and c) whatever police reports were issued to the interior ministry were either filtered or blocked entirely from reaching the Prince. Moreover, morale among police officers was at an all time low, and many in its ranks complained about their alcoholic chief.
With these more substantive issues out the way, Eringer regaled the Prince with FLOATER's latest Operation Hound Dog exploits.
More journalists and sources had been met, providing the spymaster with hard information about who leaked what from the Prince's royal court. And, of course, there was FLOATER's recent meeting in Paris with Steven Saltzman and Thierry Lacoste.
Eringer read FLOATER's report aloud to the Prince:
A bizarre situation from the start with Steven Saltzman. He's loud, rude, aggressive, obnoxious and overbearing. Saltzman played the dominant role while Thierry Lacoste patiently listened to me and played off Saltzman's commentary. Saltzman took the meeting as a way of assessing if he, with Lacoste's assistance, could take control of the project under an "authorized" agreement. "Listen," said Saltzman loudly, "you can do this two ways. The first is make this an authorized biography for which Thierry will write a legal agreement that gives him full editorial approval, including galley proofs. In return, you get access to extraordinary sources, some of which have never been heard from before. You also get access to the subject of your book."
"You could have an attorney," Lacoste interjected, implying that going forward was based upon retaining himself for a fee. "Or you can go the unauthorized way, which means you'll get nothing from me or anyone else who asks the Palace if this has approval." Trying to ingratiate myself, without committing this project to them, I said I would not travel to Togo to exploit recent news coverage about Nicole Coste and her son. Lacoste smirked at Saltzman and said, "Well maybe you should."
The Prince seemed justifiably dismayed by the misbehavior of his so-called "friends."
Eringer thereafter had a nickname for Lacoste: The Croc (albeit one with rotted teeth).
Coming Next: Honorary Consulships For Sale
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