Switching Sides

Switching Sides

Chapter 15

Nearly a full lunar cycle had passed since we spoke with Pronin about the murder of his boyfriend Raddig. I was beginning to wonder if our request had been ignored. The next time I saw our bodyguard Dispol, I had to ask. However, Persid beat me to it.

He rushed into my office which adjoined his. The smile on his face said that he had good news of some kind. I returned his smile and let him tell his tale without interruption. "Before the citizens of Faldo threw over their oppressive regime, banking in this country was primitive. Transactions had to be recorded in ledgers by a cadre of scriveners. The chance for error was enormous. But, because this was almost a cash and barter society, the banks generally only dealt with big companies and entities such as government and religion. When Faldo began modernizing with our help, rudimentary calculators were use that quickly segued into their first computational machines. With the right direction and some training, the banks quickly adopted the new systems. Other companies quickly followed suit, including the Patriarchs."

"Thanks for the history lesson, but where is this going?" I interrupted.

Persid laughed at my impatience. "I'm getting there," he finally said. "So, with electronic records, following the money trail as well as the calendars of the Patriarchs is possible."

"So, what did you find?" I pressed.

"Nothing yet. But, be patient. The Treasury Department has the complete, subpoened file from the central bank and has a team of forensic accountants working on it. They have been asked by a friend of Dispol who works in the Justice department to check on specific transaction during certain dates. The Treasury Department is the one that asked for the judge to call for the records. So, if there is a problem in the Justice Department with someone at the top who is too friendly with the Grand Patriarch, that's been circumvented. I expect to hear back from them in a couple more weeks, perhaps sooner."

"Is there anyone checking the appointment schedule for the Grand Patriarch?" I asked.

"That is a different task with different people working on it. The written appointment calendar has been sent to the Patriarch's archives. However, the electronic one kept by the secretary to the Grand Patriarch is kept at the Palace. I don't think we could get access to that without someone finding out about it. So, the archives are a better target. Those are available upon request to the archivist. Meetings between the Patriarchs are kept in separate books from the appointments. The latter is not considered confidential, so a friend of Pronin's will be going there to review it."

"Does he know what to look for?"

Persid nodded. "Pronin told him the date and time. And he'll be making a copy of appointments within a week of that, just in case there are some curious appointments that involve the perpetrators of the murder or some high level intermediary like the Minister of Justice."

"You really suspect him?"

"Pronin does."

I shrugged. "Well, I guess it's worth checking out."

"And there's more," Persid nearly crowed. "Pronin and Dispol are working closely on this. The way that Dispol talks about Pronin, I'm thinking there is something else going on between them, other than collaboration."

"Pronin could sure use a close friend like Dispol. The next time I see Pronin, I'll have to ask. Discretely, of course," I smiled.

"Yeah, discretely," Persid laughed. "You don't have a clue what that means when you are inquiring about the sex lives of our friends."

"I can be discrete!" I protested.

"If you say so," Persid replied, not believing me a bit. Well, I do have a history of being blunt with my friends. This was certainly not the right time to be coy when I questioned Pronin. In fact, I made a mental note to ask Pronin to come to the Embassy at his earliest convenience.

After Persid returned to his office, I plowed through the diplomatic pouch. This was something only the ambassador was supposed to do. There were highly confidential secrets contained as well as messages from the king or his ministers or his deputies. Other items that were frequently included were foodstuffs that we couldn't get in Faldo or electronic devices that Faldo was not supposed to know about. However, today there was an envelope addressed to Persid and me. It wasn't uncommon to receive personal correspondence in this fashion, but it was unusual.

As it was addressed to both of us, I called Persid back into my office. I indicated the unusual letter which got only a shrug from him. "I've not a clue who it could be from or what it is," he said. I slit open the envelope and found a piece of paper that was sealed shut, but within that clumsily created folder was a small recorded medium. Persid instantly recognized the device and slipped it into a player on my desk that could display it. It included a message from our friend the lab tech. The 3-D image smiled at us and began speaking.

"I know how busy you must be, so I'll make this short. Enclosed in this envelope that you just opened is a small packet of gelatin strips. Each one of the strips contains a micro-dosage of the super-horny drug. Anyway, that's what I call it. The effects are the same, except for the production of sperm. There isn't enough time in four hours to manufacture a significant increase in your sperm count. The overwhelming urge to breed is there as is the volume of discharge when you nutt. Each dosage lasts for four hours instead of one lunar cycle. Just pop one in your mouth and they melt immediately. You should feel the need to fuck within 20 minutes, as if that were ever a problem for the two of you," he laughed. "I know you have two wonderful babies that keep you far too busy to take the standard dose. Besides, I'm sure you're ambassadorial duties keep you hopping, too. I've enclosed enough of this new dosage to keep both of you well-bred for a full lunar cycle. Enjoy! And by the way, the King loves this stuff!" he concluded.

Persid shook the envelope that contained the letter, but nothing fell out. He checked inside and smiled. The gelatin strips were affixed to the side of the envelope with adhesive tape in another small envelope. "I'd love to try these right now, but I know how they affect us, so we'd best wait until after we put the boys to bed tonight," he suggested.

I nodded and put the strips inside my desk. "Don't let me forget to bring them back to our residence after work," I said. He assured me that there was no chance he'd forget them.

With the diplomatic pouch emptied and the remaining contents sent off to various parts of the embassy, I checked my calendar for appointments. With nothing holding me in my office for another hour, I hurried upstairs, stopping first in our bedroom to put the strips away. I'd have to remember to put them somewhere that the boys couldn't find them. I didn't want to think about what something this strong would do to their little bodies. If we found that we liked what the new dosage did, we'd have to hide the strips very well.

I knew we'd have to discuss that hiding place soon. The boys were already walking across the floor with assistance. They weren't to the point yet that they were holding on to the furniture to get from place to place, but that was only a matter of a few more days. Going back to the living room, I found them playing with the nanny. They looked up and smiled and giggled when they saw me. "They'll be ready for their naps soon," the nanny said, "but, they always have time for their daddy."

Torig started to crawl over to me with Talig close behind. When Talig saw that he wasn't going to beat his brother to me, he stopped and sat down. He held up his arms to me, begging to be picked up. I picked up his brother instead who was already attempting to climb my leg. I smiled over at Talig and beckoned him to join us. He smiled really big and rapidly crawled over to me. He tried to climb my leg like his brother did, so I bent down and pulled him into my left arm. He giggled and grabbed my arm with both hands. With a child in each arm, I walked over to the sofa and sat down. Both boys nestled into my chest and cooed. I spoke softly to them, telling them I loved their cute little selves. Moments later, they were asleep.

I looked over at the nanny and she smiled. "You sure have the touch for those angels," she said. "I've been trying to wear them out so they'll take their naps more readily. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't." She held out her arms and took Torig and then headed to the boys' bedroom. I followed with Talig.

"My work here is done," I smiled after we put them into their shared bed. "Time to get back to what pays the bills," I added. I returned to my office for a full slate of meetings. Nearly all of them involved business people who wanted a license to export their wares to Aldig. I gave them the appropriate applications and names of people in the Aldig Ministry of Trade who would help them more than I could. With a break for lunch, I resumed my boring schedule. But, late in the afternoon, I got a message from Pronin that he would like an appointment as soon as I had an opening.

Wanting to get all the latest information on who was involved in killing Raddig and if he was trying to make babies with Dispol, I asked an aide to try to get Pronin in right after my last appointment. Further, I asked the aide to let Persid know that Pronin was coming, if Pronin could make it. An hour later, the appointment was confirmed.

The last official appointment was with my intelligence attaché. It was a standard briefing, but there was an undercurrent of concern that I quickly picked up on. "What aren't you telling me?" I pressed him.

"Uh, well, there are a number of unconfirmed rumor that the Grand Patriarch is planning some kind of counter-revolution," he warned. "Right now, it is only rumor. There are no specifics as to how he hopes to accomplish this or who will be involved, including other Patriarchs. And we've been unable to determine when the event may occur."

"This could be very serious," I reflected. "Have you contacted the Intelligence Ministry here or in Aldig?" He nodded. "And what was their response?"

"Faldo is monitoring the situation with spies of the Ministry sprinkled among the staff of the Palace. Aldig is concerned, but they know less than we do," he sighed.

"That's not reassuring," I bristled.

"Perhaps, you have other contact in Aldig that are more willing to share their intelligence than I've seen. They don't seem to be completely honest with me."

"Why is that?"

"I'm not sure that they care about Faldo catching up with the rest of the planet. I think they'd rather keep them down."

"That sounds familiar," I smiled, "like the attitude of the last two Ambassadors that were sent here. Give me their names," I insisted. He blanched. "Don't be concerned. I have access to people within the Ministry that you don't. They'll be interested to know they have problems similar to the Foreign Ministry. This may not be your contacts that are the problem. It could be higher up. Your contacts are only doing as they are told."

"Probably," he allowed. "But, it is still very frustrating trying to get my job done when the people who are supposed to be on your side are withholding information."

"I'm sure it is. Please write this all up for me. Get a copy to Persid as well. It should be in four parts: what you know, what you suspect, what you hear as rumor without substantiation, and who the contacts are in Aldig that seem to be standing in the way," I requested. "Could you have it to me by mid-day first of the week?"

He nodded and smiled. "I sure hope all of this is vapors. We don't want to see Faldo revert to their old, backwards ways."

I agreed with him and sent him away to write his report. As he left, Persid walked in for our mutual appointment with Pronin. I briefed him on what the intelligence agent had just told me. Persid was concerned about the negative impact of a reversal in Faldo's direction. "But, there's no need to worry until we get more information," Persid sighed. "However, this is concerning at a minimum." He told me in lurid detail how he was looking forward to popping one of those gelatin strips into his mouth this evening. I countered with my own promises that involved the frequent breeding of his ass.

Both of us smiled and nearly laughed aloud when Dispol ushered Pronin into my office for his appointment. The eye contact between them spoke volumes. When Dispol departed, I launched into my most discrete inquiry of their relationship. "And how long have you and Dispol been fucking?" I blurted out.

"Smooth, real smooth," Persid laughed. "You don't have to say anything, Pronin." Pronin's eyes told us that they were indeed fucking. It was only a matter of finding out how long they'd been playing around and how intense their feelings were for each other.

Pronin looked away, but couldn't help but smile. "Okay, how long?" I pressed.

"Since the first time we saw each other in your office," Pronin revealed. "And it has been pretty intense. I never thought I'd work the bottom side of the street, but Dispol has showed me how that can be even more satisfying than fucking a hungry ass like his."

"So, Dispol plays both sides, too?" Persid smiled and winked at me.

"Oh, yeah. The first time we got together, I was sure we weren't going to be sexually compatible. You know how I am, Koldan." I nodded and smiled at him. I knew very well what a monster dick he had and that he definitely knew how to use it. "But, Dispol had me begging him to fuck me several times before the night was over. He's so amazing in bed. And such a body! DAMN!"

"I've noticed that he does seem tired some days when he arrives at the embassy," I noted. "But, it has never interfered with his duties."

"That would be my fault," Pronin apologized. "There are days when I can't get enough of him."

"It sounds like this is getting pretty serious," Persid observed.

"It sure is from my perspective," Pronon acknowledged. "I've never been with a man who is as well built and well hung as this guy. For a white man, he has an enormous dick! And he's so gentle and eager to please me. He's willing to do anything to make me nutt, including pounding my ass when I need it."

"You've been seeing him for less than two lunar cycles," I cautioned. "Is this more than wild sex or do the two of you have a future together?"

"It's really too early to tell, but I think we have something that'll last," Pronin said. "I only wish we had more time we could spend together. He has such a captivating accent. I love listening to him talk. But, when we're together, we skip the talking and go directly to the amazing sex."

"Amazing sex is always a good start," Persid smiled looking over at me. "You'll find there is more to him than the physical, if you give yourselves the chance. Get out of bed on the weekends and go do something fun. You'll learn a lot more about each other that way."

"I know that," Pronin sighed. "But, he's so incredible in bed that I don't want it to stop."

"Maybe he wants to please you so much that he thinks that's all you want to do," I wondered. "Take a chance. Make some suggestions about shopping or just a walk in the park. Perhaps, a weekend away at a beach resort would be start?" Pronin nodded and smiled at the possibility. We added that we had the general information that we needed about Raddig's murder, but the analysis was not complete. As soon as we knew something definitive, we'd let him know.

As Pronin left my office, Persid reminded me, "My parents are joining us for dinner tonight. Our embassy chef will prepare some authentic Aldig cuisine for us. I'm sure they're ready to have some familiar food instead of the Faldo fare." I remembered how richly, but subtly spiced Aldig food was and how bland Faldo food was by comparison. "And they'll probably arrive early just so they can spoil their grandsons more than they already have."

We let my secretary know that we were done for the evening and that he should go home as well. Back in our residence, we weren't surprised to see Persid's parents already playing with their grandsons. "Their legs are stronger than the last time we were here," their grandfather said. "Have they tried walking yet?"

"Only with assistance," Persid answered. "And that's one of the reasons we invited you over for dinner tonight. I think they're very close to walking unassisted and we wanted you to be here when they did. Shall we try now?"

I sat in a chair and stood Torig up so his little feet touched the floor. Persid sat across from me with his arms outstretched. Torig smiled and held on to my fingers to help him get to his other daddy. I stood and steadied him, but didn't provide much more than a little balance and security for him. With his hands held high, he tottered toward Persid. The baby waddled, wavered, regained his balance, and took another unassisted step. I hovered behind him, in position to catch him if he faltered. The last two steps were more of a fall as he landed in Persid's arms giggling. We applauded and made a big fuss over him. He smiled back at us, not sure what we were so happy about.

Their grandmother put Talig on the floor standing with assistance. I sat on the floor in front of him and beckoned him to come to me. He smiled and babbled something. Like his brother, he held his hands high, seeking the assistance that his grandmother was providing. I could see in his face that he wanted to let go so he could fall into my arms, but he was still too far away. He looked back at his grandmother as if he were urging her to move forward with him. She didn't move, but did slowly slip her fingers out of his hand. He looked back at me and smiled when I encouraged him again to come to me. He could still feel his grandmother's light touch and decided it was safe to walk over to me. I held out my arms and urged him forward. He moved unsteadily, staggering his way toward me. He stood alone, stark still, wondering what to do next. Once more, I held out my arms for him and told him to come to me. He smiled and forgot his dilemma, as he tottered the last two steps into my arms.

He was as proud as I was. Persid had a tear in his eye as did his mother. Talig's grandfather beamed. Talig's twin wondered what all the fuss was about. "Now that they have taken their first steps, they'll be into everything," Persid's father said. "They'll use the furniture to navigate for a few weeks before they'll be tearing around the house on their two little legs. And they'll be climbing up on to chairs and getting on tables. Their chances to explore have exploded. You're gonna be very busy!"

"You've got double trouble," Persid's mother chimed in. "Two little boys are gonna be into everything. If one of them thinks of trouble, the other will follow. And if one doesn't think of mischief, the other will!"

"Dinner is ready," the chef announced from the kitchen doorway. We grabbed up the babies and set them in their chairs. The grandparents fed them while we enjoyed our meal. Of course, they knew how to eat and feed babies at the same time. The boys were sampling solid food now and were especially taken with starchy vegetables and pureed meats. We hadn't given them too much in the way of fruit, not wanting their taste buds to enjoy sweet things to the exclusion of more nutritious foods.

With their little tummies full, they were eager to play with their four adult playmates, but they were soon worn out and were rubbing their eyes. We had tried separating them a week ago into separate beds, but that was a disaster. We'd try again in another week or two. Persid's parents stayed for another hour, and then returned to their house next door. The boys got their baths, a last minute change, and were put down for the night. That gave Persid and me a chance at an early evening. With the new short-term drug calling to us, we each took a strip and placed it on our tongues. It dissolved instantly.

We took a leisurely shower together, but after fifteen minutes, we were feeling the effects of the drug. Perhaps, we were merely hot for each other like we usually are. But, it did seem to me that I was much more interested in breeding Persid than I usually am. We agreed after we got in bed, that we'd take it slowly and let the drug's effects build for a few minutes. I thought it would be a good idea to start with mutual dick sucking to get the ball rolling. That lasted about a minute before Persid's face moved to my ass and he ate me out like a starving man. I could tell by the way his dick was jerking in my mouth that he was very close to a climax.

He swiftly flipped me on to my back and raised my legs to his broad shoulders. His hard dick pressed hotly against my asshole. I grabbed it with my right hand and aimed it at my wet pucker. He leaned in and kissed me as his thick phallus slipped into me. In one long, slow thrust, he was fully buried in my ass. I sighed with pleasure. "I need you to breed me deeply," I moaned. "Don't even think about pulling out until I'm full of your baby batter."

"That won't take long," he smiled down at me. "This new dosage has me hungry to breed you right now." Once more, he kissed me ardently. I felt his big dick jerk and swell menacingly in my ass. I knew he was very close to spraying my ass walls with his male essence. I moved one hand to his ass and the other to my dick. I stroked myself in a rhythm to match his thrusting pumps up my ass.

Immediately, he slapped my hand away from jacking my dick. "I need to nutt, too," I protested.

"That nutt's for my butt," he insisted. "I need you to replenish what you're about to get pounded up your ass," he moaned in anticipation. "Like, RIGHT NOW!" he bellowed. He held his crotch tightly against my upturned ass and unloaded. His dick jerked and sprayed one heavy jet after another. I wasn't sure if I was getting more than the usual amount of sperm, but I was certainly feeling more spasms from his cream-spraying dick. "Yeah, fuckin' hot hole!" he groaned as he climax peaked. "I love breeding you!"

When he pulled out a moment later, he reached for the small pump bottle of lube. After slathering it on his ass, he added more to my swollen dick. He positioned himself so that he straddled my body and then he slowly lowered his ass to the tip of my dick. His butt swallowed me easily, finally resting against my crotch. My sensitive, hard dick had completely disappeared. Persid rocked his body, stirring his guts with my big, black wand. He worked me to hit every sensitive spot inside him that my extra-large dick could reach. He reached down and pulled gently on my erect nipples.

I was already at the edge of a monster climax. Getting my sensitive nipples teased sent a bold signal to my full balls and hard dick. The release almost took my breath away. "Yeah, Baby. Fill me up with your sweet cream," Persid begged. "Breed my white ass. Knock me up!" My dick and balls convulsed and unleashed a monstrous load. Like the dosage before, it felt like I was pissing instead of nutting my cream. I held him down and thrust up hard as wave after wave of sweet ball gravy jetted deeply into his eager, hungry manhole.

Persid continued to work his ass chute muscles, milking out every drop of baby gravy he could suck out of my balls. I couldn't fuck him hard or fast enough. And he couldn't get enough of my long, thick dick and man juice. My climax shuddered to a halt as Persid leaned in and kissed me again. Moments later, he broke the kiss and turned around. He buried his face in my ass as he swung a leg over my head and planted his ass in my face. We felched each other for several minutes, enjoying the closeness and delicious sperm that we'd pumped into each other.

I slowly stroked Persid's big dick as I ate his ass out. He did the same for me. But, this couldn't last. The drug was hitting its maximum effect and I couldn't allow Persid to stroke me off when his delicious ass needed a refill of my man cream. Rolling him onto his back, I slid my hard dick easily into him. He grinned up and me and pulled my face down for a passionate kiss. "You taste great," he murmured when he broke the kiss. "My sperm and your hole were made for each other; and that's not just the filling, but the felching, too!"

"I have to say the same about your ass and my sperm. A good kiss after a mutual felching is nearly as good as breeding you," I moaned. I closed my eyes and reveled in the pleasure that his ass was giving me again. I slowed my thrusts into him, but that was pointless. With the drug providing far more stimulus than I could withstand, my balls were churning and begging for release of their next load. "I wanted this one to last, but there's no way! FUCK!" I bellowed, and pumped him full of more of my man juices. I thought my first load pounded up his ass was big. This one was huge! I couldn't stop nutting!

Twice I had to slap his hand away from feverishly stroking his dick. "I want to cum when you do," he begged. I merely shook my head. He smiled up at me. "Yeah, it is better to shoot my load up your ass instead of between our abs," he eventually agreed.

When my climax waned, he pushed me away and forced me down on my stomach. His fat dick effortlessly slipped up my ass. He gently lay on my back and slowly bounced his hips up and down on my willing, muscular butt cheeks. I reached around and spread my ass cheeks so he could get in deeper and deliver another huge load even deeper than the first. "Ah, SHIT!" he yelled. His hips sped up and pummeled my ass. His warm load jetted into me like a fire hose. I couldn't believe how much he was spraying into me. He couldn't stop fucking me and I didn't want him to, either.

But, his dick did start to soften and his dick slipped out. Persid rolled off me and lay beside me, catching his breath. "You are one hot fuck, Koldan!" he praised. "I'm so glad you defected to Aldig and then married me."

"And you're the best thing that ever happened to me, too," I smiled. "But, my hard dick says you need another load." He glanced over at my upright organ and laughed.

"Yeah, I love this drug as much as you do, Baby! Breed me," he added, rolling on to his stomach and spreading his butt cheeks. A few drops of my previous load oozed out. I swooped in and licked them up. As much as I wanted to felch out that perfect ass, my hard dick and aching nuts told me that I needed to fuck him again. This change in dosage sure didn't diminish the effects. Evidently, it was only the longevity of the effect and the sperm load.

I slowly fed my pulsing dick to his hungry manhole. He wiggled and raised his ass to swallow more of my manhood. I pushed deeper and deeper until my dick completely disappeared. Yeah, this was good! My previous loads lubed the way in and back out. I pulled out and ate cum from his ass and then slid back in. If I pulled out soon enough, I wouldn't nutt, I thought. Well, I was wrong. About the fourth time I pulled out and went down on his ass, my dick started to jerk. I knew I'd hit that point where I was about to spray a load. Quickly, I pulled up and shoved my dick into him. The first jerk of my dick launched a massive load just as my dickhead disappeared. The next followed as half my dick opened him up. The huge flow of cream didn't abate as I plowed deeply and unloaded with a shout of pleasure. "Best fuckin' ass, EVER!" I bellowed. My hips tried to bury my dick deeper, but I was all the way in and blasting squirt after squirt of my creamy juices into his hungry love tunnel. This was so good!

Before I was ready to pull out, Persid pushed me aside and mounted me again, face down. And for good reason. He wasn't in my ass more than a few seconds before his big dick erupted with another monster load for my always hungry hole. "Damn! This is good shit!" he moaned. I didn't know if he meant my ass or the drug we'd taken. Either way, I was getting what I wanted and so was he.

Afterwards, we ate ass and felched out more cum. Our butts were a little sore from all the fucking we'd done in the last few minutes, so we blew each other and swallowed more mutually massive loads. We had another two hours to go on the effects of the drug and made good use of the time. More fucks, felches, blow-jobs, and rimmings ensued. I thought the effect was more pronounced than the original dosage. Persid wasn't so sure. The need to breed was certainly as high, but the volume of sperm was down in his opinion. I wasn't going to argue the point. It was incredibly fulfilling for me.

With a final fuck for both of us, we slept like babies. Exhausted!

The beginning of our weekend started way too early. Talig and Torig insisted that we get up, change and feed them. We dragged our tired butts out of bed and did their bidding. We played with them long enough to exhaust them. That included several more attempts at getting them to walk unassisted. They failed more than they succeeded, but that was still progress. When we put them down for their morning naps, we crashed, too.

We awakened an hour later, just in time to get the boys up and get the real day started. Persid's mom called to thank us for the dinner and time with the boys. She also suggested that we needed a vacation, at least a weekend. I liked the idea, as did Persid. We'd try to schedule something soon.

Persid suggested that because Dispol would be coming with us as part of his duties that we should invite Pronin, too. We'd have to check our calendars at the embassy office to see when we could get away. As the ambassador, there were all kinds of social functions I was expected to attend. Most of them were scheduled for the weekend. Pronin would know of good places for a short vacation. I'd been away long enough that I wasn't really current on the best places to go. Dispol was from Aldig, so he knew less than we did.

We had a social function to attend that evening. It was Explorers Day at one of the countries on the other side of the planet. Their embassy was hosting a party to celebrate. All the ambassadors assigned to Faldo were expected to attend. Also invited were the Patriarchs. They wouldn't all attend, of course, but the Grand Patriarch might have to put in an appearance at the very least. It was his duty as Grand Patriarch to spread the word worldwide that their religion was the salvation of all mankind. No one took them seriously. In fact, their unbridled message of hate and degradation of minorities was banned in most countries.

At the celebration, it was clear which countries thought the Patriarchs were the pariah of the world. They wouldn't acknowledge the presence of the two Patriarchs that attended. The Grand Patriarch had sent his regrets. The Ambassador was cool, but cordial enough to the two that did attend. After all, he did invite them; but it was only as a matter of form, not substance. Persid and I nodded to both of them, but didn't do more than that. Officially, they weren't considered worthy of an ambassador's time. I thought that was a short-sighted view, but I represented my government. I didn't set policy.

However, the Patriarchs left early, citing the need to prepare for religious observances in the morning. No one was unhappy to see them depart.

This story is fiction. Your life isn't. Always play safe.

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