Chapter 3: Meeting the Heads
2th February
It's been exactly a week since I haven't heard anything new from Tino and yet still no news about any resolution or some peace talks.
I asked my President if he has the phone number of Tino,but he said that he didn't. However,he suggested me that I should search for other phone numbers to call from my phone number list.
As I scrolled and called various phone numbers,starting with Arisha and then the rest of her and my siblings,not one of them knew the phone number of that guy. As for Arisha...well...predictably,it was either Yeltsin or no one.
16:00 on that same day
After I finally called Feliks Lukasiewicz,my second oldest male sibling (right after Arisha's twin brother Ivan),to get Tino's phone number for me,he did so after he called Emily to call Berhwald to call Tino and vice versa.
After he told me his number,I called it and fortunately,I got him.
"Hello?" he asked,in a tired tone "Who's it?"
"It's me,Vuk Misic." I replied "Remember?"
"Are you the one who told me about the situation in Kosovo?"
"Yes I did" I said,simply.
I paused for some seconds.
"Now,what's going on with the peace talks?" I asked.
"You mean...?" he paused as well "Oh yes,I've forgot to tell you. I've just talked to the Leader about everything you explained to me two weeks ago."
"The Leader?" I said,curiously.
"Yes,he said that he'll mail you an invitation letter to you into your post box,if you have one,that is." he replied.
"I have my own postman,don't worry about that." I replied back "Oh,and what's the name of your leader?"
"That must be kept in secret. It would only ruin the effects of his letter."
"I see..." I replied,in a disappointed tone "Thanks for everything!"
"You too." he ended the call.
I was satisfied that he has arranged a peace process for me. I'm waiting for that letter,but whoever this "Leader" is,I'm sure that he'll negotiate with me.
5th February
I heard a knock on my door. I went to the door and opened it. It's the postman.
"Вуче," he said,bluntly "your President has sent me a letter to you. He told me that it's an urgent one."
Could this letter be the one from "The Leader" that Tino has told me about? I don't know,but it's quite a possibility that it is.
I thanked him,took and opened the letter,while sitting in my bed.
Yep,this is that special letter,I can see the blue and white seal stamped on it.
Dear fellow,
I don't know your name,but I've heard from Tino that you've committed a crime against humanity and an atrocity against Albanians in a village called Racak. At the same time,I've heard the rumors that you did a great job at making sure that it doesn't look like a massacre...at least that's what Tino has reported to me.
According to your request of making a peace negotiation over Kosovo,you seem to be sick of wars that won't end anytime soon. It's unfortunate by your own health condition,but have no fear,for this is the right moment of achieving your own peace. Rest assured,if you and I can reach a resolution,you may also avoid another war if we do.
Anyhow,the place from which you'll start negotiating will take place at the Rambouillet Castle in Paris the next day on 6th February. Once you reached the destination,you should seek me out and if I'm busy,which I usually am,seek the owner of this castle named Adele Bonnefoy. She resides there.
So,get ready. The ideal opportunity to establish a peace agreement will start tomorrow afternoon. I hope we can meet with one another.
Yours truly,
AFJ. The Leader.
Once I finished reading it,I placed the letter at my table. "AFJ"...that must be his official initials.
I called Milosevic to tell him about the letter and ask him for permission to go to Rambouillet with me for negotiations. He agreed,but he refused to go with me,probably because he isn't sure if he would even attend it and just like with Racak,he wished me luck.
6th February
I've departed from the Belgrade Airport into Paris early in the morning. As the plane flew into the air and moved towards the city,the snow from the fields have slowly vanished with some snow remnants flowing around the field.
While I read a random magazine and drank an orange juice,I've felt the jitters around my stomach. I got worried about the negotiations turning into a failure. I must not mess up.
I've got everything ready. I've dressed up in my winter clothes which I used when I fought in Racak,I've taken my notebook and pen,some snacks and reserve clothes. I'll use my notebook in order to write a short list of important things that happened for each day during my stay in Rambouillet.
13:20 on that same day
I've finally arrived at the Rambouillet by Taxi. I was two hundred meters away from the Rambouillet entrance. The exterior was decorated with flowers and bushes and paved roads. It's almost as if I visited a royal family.
As I approached the door,I knocked at it. After several seconds,someone opened the door. It was a woman who looked like a fashion model. She kind of looked like Arisha,but slightly older.
"Hello?" I asked "Who are you?"
"Adele Bonnefoy." she answered,putting her index finger knuckle at her mentolabial sulcus "Who are you and why are you here?"
Adele Bonnefoy,the owner of this castle. Maybe she resides there,I don't know.
"I'm Vuk Misic and I came here to have negotiations with someone named "AFJ" over Kosovo." I explained,giving the invitation letter to her. "He said that the negotiations will take place here in Rambouillet,Mrs. Bonnefoy."
She started reading the letter and once she finished it,she lowered her head at me.
"Ah,what a coincidence!" she said,raising her voice and then lowering it,frowning. "Hold right up,just wait for a moment."
I stood there waiting as she closed the door. Once she did,I heard her yelling at someone,probably to call the AFJ.
"Vuk,you can now enter,but he'll come shortly." she concluded,but not without giving me the map of her castle and the key for the room where I'll sleep.
I thanked her and entered the castle,bringing in my suitcase where my stuff were.
13:35
I've found my room,but as soon as I was about to enter the room,I saw a blonde (again) young man in a semi-military uniform with glasses who just went upstairs. I took the chance.
"Excuse me,sir,have you seen someone under the label of "AFJ"?" I asked him,holding the letter.
"Uhm...I'm the "AFJ"" he answered,raising his eyebrow "It stands for Alfred Frederick Jones. You can just call me Alfred Jones,my middle name is unnecessary".
Alfred...hmm...his name sounds familiar. I'm pretty sure I met him in the past or not,but he looks quite recognizable somewhere. He continued.
"And you must be Vuk Misic that Adele has told me about,aren't you?"
"Yes I am." I replied,smiling,and,like with Adele,I gave him the letter he sent me.
"Vuk Misic,pleasure to meet you!" He said,shaking my hand after configuring his own letter.
"You too." I replied again "Can we start negotiating?"
"Not now,kid,you just came here." He said,welcomingly "The peace talks will start four days later. You can now unpack yourself and,why not,walk around this place if you want to. If you need anything,ask Adele,she's at the main entrance. And if you want to visit me,go to the first floor on the last room number on the right."
I noted it and went to my room.
21:00
I just arrived from the main hall and as I was there,there were,aside from Adele and Alfred,other 15 guests who happen to be the members of NATO and yes,Tino was there,to my joy. I hugged him for being there. Most of the were,you guessed it,blonde,while some of them had red and brown hair. At this point,it looks like I'm the only black (haired) person in this castle.
I've asked Adele what does "NATO" stand for and she told me that it stands for "North Atlantic Treaty Organization" and that she rejoined the NATO in 1996,though she didn't told me why.
I've spent most of my time either in my room playing,drawing or sometimes looking up other rooms and people around it,with the exception of Alfred's and Adele's,the main bosses of this place for peace negotiations.
I still don't know if Arisha,Stjepan or Dhimiter can come to visit this place. So far,it was very comfortable and quite cool. I went to bed.
7th February
I'm in Alfred's Office inside Rambouillet,being with "The Leader" for the first time in my life. His big room was just a standard official's office. However,what I found interesting around his room was an eagle bust located at the left side where he did some writings.
The bust had a silver-brown standing eagle holding a laurel with the NATO symbol within it (Adele told me about it). When I stared at it,it looked a bit familiar when I was a royalist back when the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was around. I was older back then. I was 17 in fact.
It was less than meter tall,but when I tried to touch it,Alfred has spotted me.
"Don't touch that!" he exclaimed,raising his arm horizontally,thinking that I was trying to push it "I paid hundreds of millions for my personal symbol."
Hundreds of Millions? Is he rich? I think so.
"Ok..." I nodded.
I sat on the opposite chair which was placed in front of his seat. I brought a chess table and placed it on his desk.
"Can you play a chess game with me?" I asked,feeling that this day is growing more boring.
"No." he said,bluntly "I'm busy writing something."
"Please?" I insisted.
He didn't responded. Instead,he just looked around with his eyes in silence for 8 seconds. Then he looked at me.
"If you insist." he sighed,putting his pen at the desk.
I assembled the chess figures and played together. He picked the black figures. On the first round,he tried to free the field for his queen just so that he can eat as many of my figures as possible. I ate (in the game,not literally) his queen and gave him a checkmate.
"Pft! Lucky." he said "Another round?"
"Of course!" I said,happily.
On the second round,we switched the figure places. Again,he used the same moves only this time,the game was longer than the first one. Though he focused on removing my powerful figures,he didn't noticed that he left his king uncovered as he moved all the figures surrounding him,which led me to checkmate him again.
"Alfred,you shouldn't just use your queen to beat someone at the chess,silly." I advised him.
"I don't know," Alfred said,scratching his hair "but you're free to go now."
I left his room,satisfied that I repressed my boredom. It was fun.
8th February
I'm now walking around the castle with Adele towards the cafeteria,talking to one another.
"So,Vouqe,how's your stay in my castle?" she asked me.
"As of now,it's great." I replied,feeling the silence around me and her,worryingly "but I kinda have a bad feeling that the negotiations would go wrong."
"Me too." Adele said,lowering her head at the floor "In fact,I'm not sure why did Alfred asked me to have my house as the place where the suspects will negotiate."
"You don't?" I raised my voice.
"Oui,he usually takes the negotiations at the Brussels where NATO base is located."
"I see." I said,looking at her "Now,can I ask you two questions?"
"Sure." She said,simply.
"Why did you left the NATO and then rejoined it?" I asked,opening the cafeteria door.
"It's quite a story,but I can oversimplify it for you." she said,as if she wanted to tell her own best moment in her life "I left the NATO in 1966 because Alfred has tried to kill my best president De Gaulle a year prior in 1965. I'm sure you remembered him."
"Yes,he's one of the main leaders of the Allies of the World War II." I said,having a significant memory of the most bloodiest war in History which I participated in.
"That's right,my dear." she continued,caressing my hair "Since then,my relations with him have always been tense ever since. In truth,I'm technically not in NATO per se,but I'm...kind of like a "special member" since I'm one of the five great powers in the World,the others of course being Arisha-your sister,Liu,Alfred and her beloved sister,Emily."
"And why are they tense?" I asked her,sitting on the cafeteria chair along with her next to me,trying to know more.
"Because he hates whenever he thinks that I act like a boss around here,even though I'm quite strict with the rules which,ironically,Alfred has put in place." she explained,with an angry tone "On my part,however,I hate when he attempts to deal with one of the members who have done something "wrong" to him,particularly with my younger sister Maria Fernandez Carriedo."
"The problem with Maria that Alfred has is that she usually,if not always,uses her camera to record him whenever he loses it over something,important or irrelevant alike." she continued again,as we saw the butler placing the food which she ordered for every member at the buffet breakfast "And so,I often get in his way and most of the times,he leaves her,without glaring at me angrily afterwards."
"Understood." I said,while eating pork chops "However,what your sister's reason for recording him?"
"Well," she answered,turning her head towards me "it's because he supported Franco against her will and taste. There are so many reasons why,but they're so old that it reaches even before World War I. I can't blame her."
"And what did Franco do to her?" I asked,again,curiously.
"He beat her every time she dared to criticize him and his policies and because Franco was on the enemy side of the Axis,despite not entering this pact out of fear of not getting Spain into further doom." she said "She hates Alfred that much,along with Athene."
"Hmm...why's Alfred acting like this?" I asked her,raising an eyebrow.
"You ask too much questions," she snapped at me,not wanting to waste any more time explaining something "you should ask him why,he does that since the Cold War. Oh and one more thing,be careful of him,he has a reputation of being a compulsive liar and,dare I say it,a sociopath...or at least,that's what your sister had told me. Additionally,your sister has said when she was still healthy that negotiating with him is like eating a pigeon. It's connerie,he only and selectively listens to the facts that he claims to be right and disregards the ones that deems them as "lies"."
I wanted to ask more questions,but,in order not to annoy and then anger her further,I stopped asking and continued eating my lunch. I noted everything that she said into my notebook,because I felt like that her explanations could be used as a tip for negotiating with Alfred over Kosovo.
The lunch was incredible,it almost reminded me of the year 1940 when I,my lost father Radoje and my siblings ate lunch with King Peter II of Yugoslavia. We all laughed at one another when one of us told some stories or jokes. It almost felt like as if I was a royalty when I stood in the Rambouillet. The good old days.
16:00
When I and her finished our lunch,along with Tino,Alfred has finally arrived.
"And where were you,espèce d'enfoiré? Why are you late?!" She asked him,angrily.
" I was busy finding my glasses." He said,justifying himself.
Adele rolled her eyes and sighed and Alfred has sat on a chair and started eating. I glared at him out of suspicion about what Adele has just told me about him a half an hour ago. He glared at me back and then frowned at her. She frowned at him back.
20:00
I came back to my room. I sat on my desk,thinking about this day. Only two days and the negotiations will start with Alfred. If her explanation about him is true,then I'll have to face him and make sure that this does not end up into a disaster.
9th February
It's 18:00 and I entered the main hall in order to check Tino again,but what I've instead saw made my blood boil and angry.
What I've saw were the main members of the KLA,including those fucks of Thaci and Haradinaj. They were welcomed by Alfred Jones at the open door into the seats were the NATO members usually sat. I couldn't believe it,did Alfred actually invited THEM?!
I advanced towards him.
"Hey!" I snapped at him,angrily "What do those terrorists doing here?!"
"Well,they've just obtained the...privileged seats at the tommorow's peace talks." He stressed.
"Why?!" I shouted.
"Heh...because the KLA is also a suspect just like the Serbs that you represent."
"Uhm...yeah but,they're terrorists and they shouldn't be trusted not even let them in an open field,let alone in a palace like Rambouillet." I calmed down a bit,but still angry.
"Yes,but what can I say,good guys and bad guys must negotiate in order to reach a deal. That's how a treaty works." He finished.
I know that,but it's so outrageous that terrorists are allowed by him in order to,somehow,reach the deal. No,no,no,the only "deal" that the terrorists deserve is at the firing squad or at least,life in prison!
Two minutes have passed and I calmed down when Ibrahim Rugova,the "Gandhi of the Balkans" as known in Serbia and Albania,was welcomed by Alfred. I rushed and hugged him Rugova.
"Oh,Vuk,nice to see you there!" He said,joyfully.
"You too!" I said,also joyfully.
If he just came in,then Dimither could also be there.
"H...have you seen Dimither Luka?" I asked.
"Unfortunately,no." He said,sadly "He's still in Albania,but Mr. Jones has said that the KLA and me are necessary for the Kosovo negotiations.
It pleased and angered me at the same time. Pleased because Rugova came here and angered because Alfred insisted that KLA have to stay somehow.
When I turned and looked at Alfred while still standing behind Rugova,he crossed his arms and smirked,which made my suspicion towards Alfred to go more up and made me start to believe that it would not only go into a disaster,but that it's also a SCAM! I hope it's at least the former.
I exited the main room and went to my room. Tomorrow is the day and if the first three days were intriguing in both good and bad ways,then only God knows what would the next three or more days look like,now that Alfred has invited these fucks.
It could become a disaster,yes,but I'll make sure that it doesn't go that way.
Here's the third chapter. You might as well call it the first part of Vuk being in Rambouillet,since I feel like if I connected the first and the second part,then the chapter would be so long and also because it would just ruin the surprise.
The Rambouillet "Agreement" can be looked up on the Wikipedia. Thank you.