The Grasshopper

THE GRASSHOPPER

Sasha J.M.

To the victims

Part I: Eve

Chapter 1

The Grasshopper, wearing a black
uniform without any insignia, tall and slim, with a long narrow
face, fair hair neatly combed back with gel revealing his tall
forehead, watched with the perpetually serious and contemplative
gaze of his gray-green eyes, as the body of the president of Earth
fell onto the medallion that was woven into the middle of the
oriental rug, in fine, regular knots in the color of old
gold.

Blood seeped in a thin stream from
a small wound on the president’s forehead, down the root of his
nose, past his opened eye and down his cheek, creating a new
irregular ornament on the rug.

The Grasshopper bent down to return
the revolver to the holster on his thigh.

Vice President Erivan passed by the
Grasshopper, sat down in the naturally velvety leather armchair,
and placed his large fists on the massive desk, made of five
different types of wood: mahogany, cherry, chestnut, walnut and
Carpathian elm.

The front of the desk was decorated
with a relief of the planet Earth.

The wall behind Vice President
Erivan was interrupted by a long string of large windows, currently
covered by heavy dark red curtains. Hanging on it was the state
flag, depicting a blue planet on a black background.

Erivan’s large round head, sitting
atop his bull-like neck, featured fat cheeks, a large nose, bulging
eyes with now eyelashes, and thinning eyebrows.

Positioned between the relief and
the blue Earth, it created a perfect symmetry of three
orbs.

“Mr. President,” said the
Grasshopper, interrupting the silence.

Erivan raised his eyes from the
cramped body before him and looked at the Grasshopper.

“You, Grasshopper, are the person
to first have the right to call me by that name,” he said, with a
slight smile.

“Thank you, Mr.
President.”

“With this act… on this night…
starts…,” Erivan stopped, contemplatively, searching for the right
word, “…a new era in the history of mankind. You are now going on
your most important mission ever. Are you aware of that,
Grasshopper?”

“I am, Mr. President.”

“Are you aware of all the things
that depend on you, what responsibility you are taking upon
yourself? The responsibility of protecting the Constitution, the
responsibility for the survival of the State, the survival of
civilization?”

“Yes, I am, Mr. President.
Fully.”

“Do you know that I would not
entrust anyone else with such a mission? Do you understand the
trust that I have in you?”

“I understand Mr. President and I
am grateful for it. I will justify your trust.”

“I know you will, I know. When do
you leave?”

“Immediately, Mr.
President.”

“Alright. In that case I won’t keep
you. Good luck, Grasshopper.”

“Thank you, Mr. President,” said
the Grasshopper and left the office at a fast pace.

Chapter 2

Pulling back the drapes, Erivan
watched the silhouettes of the Grasshopper and his lads moving at a
running pace towards the helicopter awaiting them on the lawn in
front of the residence. Beyond the rotating blades sparkled the
lights of Capital City, the capital of Earth, and on the rise above
it the castle of Mr. Kaella, the owner of the Kaella Cosmic Energy
Corporation. The night was dark, without a single star in the
sky.

“Except mine,” Erivan thought.
“Mine is the only star out tonight. Finally and
irreversibly.”

Having seen the helicopter take
off, he spread his thumb and index finger and released the drape.
It swayed slowly and returned to its place, preventing the crystals
from the grandiose chandelier from continuing to struttingly gleam
in the window pane.

He turned slowly and heavily,
seemingly tiredly but actually magnificently, towards the desk, and
turned on the intercom and summoned Alpha, the leader of A Squad,
the squad in charge of protecting the president of Earth and his
family.

Alpha was delighted to see the body
of his former president laying practically in the middle of the
large oriental rug. All it would take was to roll him up in the rug
and take him away.

“Mr. President, where will you
sleep tonight?”

“In my room.”

“In the vice president’s
or…”

“Yes. The presidential part of the
residence should be cleaned out and prepared for me without any
hast. I’m in no hurry. Not anymore.”

Chapter 3

Having entered his chambers Erivan
immediately called Mr. Kaella. “Mr. Kaella”

“May I call you President of Earth,
Erivan?” Kaella asked.

“You may, sir. I thank you for your
trust.”

“No, no…,” Kaella said. “I have you
to thank. If only I had listened to you earlier…”

“Mr. Kaella, don’t trouble yourself
with that anymore, please. Perhaps it is better that the situation
escalated. That also created the opportunity for us to once and for
all deal with this gang of Non-Consumers. You, Mr. Kaella, as a
great humanist, I dare say the greatest in history, also took it
for granted that other people are also humane. But they are not.
They took advantage of your humanism for their evil ambitions. And
that is why we will punish them. Mercilessly.”

“That’s right, mercilessly!
Mercilessly!” Kaella shouted excitedly.

“Mr. Kaella, be prepared, before
the cameras, at exactly 6:07 p.m., your time,” Erivan continued
after a brief pause.

“I will be. I can’t wait for that
moment,” Kaella calmed himself.

“You have made an excellent choice
of location for your interview, Mr. Kaella. You will be far from…
events. We cannot allow for even the faintest suspicion among our
Consumers regarding the perpetrators. As soon as you learn about
the heinous assassination of the president, immediately officially
declare war on the Non-Consumers. I mean like…”

“Ominously, I will do it ominously,
Erivan. Don’t worry.”

“Mr. Kaella, your son, Mr. Prince,
is he aware of…?”

“Of course, Erivan. Fully, with all
the details.”

“Well… does he agree…?”

“Of course. The interview and the
location were both his ideas. He too has the utmost respect for
you. You have nothing to worry about. You will be President even
after my passing.”

“Mr. Kaella!” Erivan said
excitedly. “That’s not why I ask! Something like that didn’t even
occur to me! For me the position of President represents the
opportunity and honor, in line with my abilities, to serve the
State and your family. And don’t speak about your… about your
departure. I don’t want to think about that. There are many years
before you, Mr. Kaella.”

“Thank you for your kind wishes,
Erivan, but… you’ll see for yourself… When you are far into your
eighties like me… then you draw a line. But I will leave in peace.
Because I am leaving the Company and the State in good hands. To my
son and you, Erivan. And now, it is already very late, we have to
all get some rest. You get some sleep too.”

“I will, a few hours. I want to
supervise every detail of tomorrow’s operation.”

“Yes. I ask that you personally run
the operation. I can no longer trust anyone else.”

“Have no worries, Mr. Kaella.
Everything will go smoothly.”

“Yes, it will. Good night,
Erivan.”

“Good night, Mr.
Kaella.”

Chapter 4

Mr. Kaella, having finished his
conversation with Erivan in the Royal Suite on the last floor of an
elite hotel, turned towards his son. Prince Kaella sat in an
armchair and placed on the club table in front of him the oval
glass of cognac that he was enjoying, after a truly magnificent
dinner.

“So the first act was concluded
successfully?” he asked his father, who was slowly lowering himself
into his armchair, holding on to the wide armrest.

“Yes it has, son. Unfortunately we
have to use all available means to protect Humane Capitalism. You
know, I’m very sorry…” Mr. Kaella’s voice trembled. “It is very
difficult for me… that you, my only son, will have to face such
people, to fight against them. I wanted to enable you to peacefully
focus on preserving our wounded planet and saving mankind from the
ruthless nature. That is the mission that you had chosen, son, as a
young man. And that was no coincidence, son. That is quite the
logical continuation of our family tradition,” Mr. Kaella’s voice
became firm once again. “You are actually continuing what your
great-grandfather started, with the discovery of Cosmic Energy. And
your grandfather and I were forced to dedicate our lives to
organizing human society. He – by creating the State of Earth, and
I – by creating the Association of Companies.

“And trust me, son, there is no job
more difficult, more prickly and ungrateful that this job. While
doing good for people, instead of gratitude, you are slapped in the
face ceaselessly by human envy, stupidity… hatred. It is obvious
that I have lived all this time in an illusion that you can change
that by persistent goodness and nobleness. And I didn’t listen to
the persistent advice and warnings of my faithful Erivan. But now I
know, on the eve of my death it is finally clear to me, that with
such deviant creatures, such as the Non-Consumers, you can only do
away with them by force!” Mr. Kaella raised his voice and slammed
his weak hand on the armrest.

“Please, father,” Prince Kaella
interrupted his elderly father. “Don’t trouble yourself with that.
Everything will be alright in the end. You will rule the world for
many more years, and I will calmly continue with my work. The way
that you’ve always wanted it to be.”

“I’m not some naïve dreamer who
doesn’t understand what is going on around him. All these years I
have been aware that you are hiding from me the real problems of
the State and the Company, that you wanted to spare me these ugly,
unpleasant facts. However, the Non-Consumption evil is present and
together we can meet it head-on and defeat it. We finally have a
real operative as president. He will do this… prickly job, for
us.”

“I know. And I knew all this time
that it was clear to you… but I still dreamt that… Perhaps your
three beautiful children will rule a better world? Do you know,
son, how proud I am of my grandchildren? How happy I am that they
are beautiful and smart, excellent students… that they love each
other, that they get along well. Son, they are our greatest
treasure. And their wonderful mother. How she supports you in your
efforts…”

Prince was no longer listening to
his repeated elderly lament. He also wasn’t thinking about the
Non-Consumers, or about his children or the world that they would
rule. He was thinking about something else. About someone else.
Just as it had been every moment since he first saw her.

“…
I’ll be at
peace, son, only when that damned Pascal Alexander is no longer
among the living.”

That name interrupted Prince’s
train of thought.

“That man, father, that beast, is
the only thing that is troubling me!” said Prince while sitting up
in his chair. “He drives me crazy, to be completely honest.”
Prince’s eyes were full of hatred. “The fact that he dares to hold
his election speech in Magapolis, the largest city on Earth, which
I have created, from the very first street, from the first
building, over twenty years, day after day…”

Prince slammed his fist on the club
table, which was not sturdy enough to quietly absorb the exerted
force, and leaned it over a little. The oval glass fell over,
rolling through the spilt cognac to the very edge, then slipped of
it and fell on the carpet. Due to table’s low height and the
considerable thickness of the carpet, which is appropriate for a
carpet in the salon of a Royal Suite - the glass did not
break.