Chapter 1339: Chapter 648: _2
This is not just an apology; it’s stripping the United Kingdom’s military reputation and diplomatic dignity bare on the international stage!
It’s trampling the Anglo-Saxon superiority underfoot with relentless friction!
He could almost imagine the tumultuous waves surging in the London Parliant Building, the shattered teacups in the Pri Minister’s Mansion, and the scathing cartoons in those acerbic tabloids.
“Mr. Casare,” Cavendi’s voice was as dry as sandpaper scraping, “This request… Do you know what this ans for my country? It’s a hundred tis harder than acknowledging Belize! This is tantamount to political suicide! For God’s sake, can we… slightly…” He struggled to find any room for maneuvering, even if only a symbolically vague expression, at least to provide London with so ager veil.
“Bang——!”
A loud noise interrupted Cavendi’s humble pleading.
Casare slamd his palm on the thick wooden table! Such force that the ashtray bounced, and several docunts slid to the floor. The entire reception room seed to tremble for a mont.
Cavendi was startled into a shiver, his heart nearly leaping from his throat. He looked at Casare in terror.
He saw the Supre Leader rise abruptly, looking down at the nearly collapsed British Ambassador in the chair, the facade of gentleness on his face completely shattered, leaving only blatant anger.
“Wording?!” Casare’s voice suddenly escalated, filled with furious roars, “You’re talking to about wording now?! If it weren’t for your reckless command, Colombia would already be liberated, and you’d still be talking about the face of those London gentlen?!”
He suddenly leaned forward, pointing at the other party and unleashing a tirade:
“Either a public, complete, unabashed apology! Admit your mistakes! Acknowledge our capabilities! Let the world see clearly! Or… take your heap of worthless sincerity, crawl back to your embassy! And watch how we clean up the ss left by your trouble-making after-thought! See how much face your country will have left in Latin Arica when the sun rises tomorrow! You choose!”
“Done!”
The bandit encountered the unreasonable soldier.
“Within two hours, I want to see the full apology statent issued by your Pri Minister’s Mansion, with appropriate wording, or face the consequences yourself. Now, you may leave.”
Cavendi didn’t know how he managed to stand up; he tried his best to maintain the last shred of a diplomat’s dignity and turned to leave. He clearly felt the gaze behind him, stabbing his spine like an entity, not bidding farewell, but watching a failure.
The waiting embassy car driver outside quickly opened the car door.
Cavendi nearly collapsed onto the leather seat in the back; his shirt under the suit was already soaked.
“Back… back to the embassy.” His voice was hoarse and unlike his own.
The car started, leaving the heavily guarded National Palace behind, the bustling streets of xico City, the dazzling lights, the vibrant scene, now all twisted into a blurred and hostile backdrop in his eyes.
He took several deep breaths of the leathery air in the car, trying to calm his wildly beating heart, and then dialed the ergency line to London Downing Street 10.
The call connected quickly, but the voice on the other end wasn’t the Pri Minister’s steady voice, but the Deputy Pri Minister’s hoarse tone: “Cavendi? Any outco from xico?”
“I… I’ve just co from Casare; Victor didn’t see us, Casare… he’s fully represented.”
He forced himself to repeat in the most concise, objective language how Casare contemptuously rejected all the conditions proposed by the British side.
“Their only requirent is… we must, within two hours, publicly, completely, and unabashedly… issue an apology statent in the na of the Pri Minister’s Mansion.”
Cavendi paused, feeling like saying this word exhausted all his strength, “The apology statent must admit all our errors in the joint clearing operation in Colombia: intelligence failures, command incompetence…”
The other end of the call fell into a deathly silence.
This silence was more disconcerting to Cavendi than Casare’s roar. He could even imagine the Deputy Pri Minister on the other end painfully rubbing his temples.
A few seconds later, the Deputy Pri Minister finally spoke, “I… understand.”
This calm, nearly resigned response completely surprised Cavendi!
He expected to hear an angry rebuke, or at least an incredulous cry. A mix of absurdity and indignation suddenly surged to his head.
“Deputy Pri Minister! Don’t you… don’t you find this demand utterly disgraceful?! This isn’t just an apology; it’s trampling our centuries-old military reputation and diplomatic dignity into the mud! This is blatant humiliation! It’s undermining the foundation of the Great Britain Empire!”
“London… how could London possibly accept it?! Parliant will erupt! The dia will devour us! This is sheer political suicide!”
“Cavendi, “Of course, I’m furious! I’m livid! Every Brit with a sense of honor would want to smash sothing upon hearing this demand! But…”
He took a deep breath, the sound drawn through the phone, heavy as pulling a broken bellows.
“But dostically… things have completely unraveled! While we’re talking, the crowd outside Whitehall is filled with anger! They’re holding banners, shouting slogans, and have defaced the Union Jack! They… have even…” The Deputy Pri Minister’s tone conveyed a level of humiliation and helplessness Cavendi had never heard before, “They even threw… filth at the gates of Buckingham Palace! Her Majesty… Her Majesty has temporarily been unable to return to London from Windsor for safety reasons! Buckingham Palace… has beco a mockery!”
Cavendi was thunderstruck, the hand gripping the phone trembling violently. Throwing feces at Buckingham Palace? Her Majesty forced to remain in Windsor? The public’s fury had even reached the foundation of the Royal Family? This was a hundred tis worse than any diplomatic failure! This was the signal of national instability!
“The public’s anger has erupted like a volcano, Cavendi. The Royal Family is under unprecedented pressure. Everyone… everyone is questioning why our operation was such a fiasco? Why do we need xicans to clean up the ss? Why were our generals so incompetent? Now, the nationwide fury is concentrated, demanding an explanation! An explanation that can quell public anger, and shift attention!”
The Deputy Pri Minister’s voice beca lucid, “Casare’s demanded apology, though humiliating, is precisely that explanation. It can focus all attention on governnt incompetence rather than the deeper issues triggered by the operation’s failure. It can temporarily protect the Royal Family from being embroiled in a deeper vortex. Between two evils…”
The Deputy Pri Minister’s voice choked montarily, when he spoke again, only resignation remained:
“The dignity of gentlen, the face of the Empire… must bow to the overwhelming public opinion and pressure on the Royal Family. Casare has pinpointed our most painful vulnerability. Prepare to receive the draft of the apology statent… The wording… will be appropriate, will satisfy all of xico’s demands, cooperate well with the aftermath.”
The call was hung up, leaving only the monotonous, urgent busy tone, sounding particularly sharp within the enclosed space of the luxury car.
The xico City outside the car windows was lit up, neon lights flickering, outlining its profile, but all this prosperity was irrelevant to him now.
…
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