ЦАРЬ KAISER - A Race to Conquer (Countryhumans)

Ploy

"Ce n'est pas possible," I murmured under my breath.

"What?" my son interrupted. 

"Nothing," I sighed. "just the same old disappointment." I was careful to speak in French, a language I knew my son didn't have the time or cause to study. Today he was supposed to bring me a ream of information on what German Empire was doing, but he only confirmed my doubts.

"Are you sure that all of what you're saying is true?" I said for the seventeenth time. "I can resort to cruder methods of interrogation if necessary."

"There isn't any need," USSR said gruffly. "I really don't know. Truly."

"How can I be sure?" I winced at the sound of a porcelain vase crashing to the marble floor. USSR's Armenia and Georgia were too energetic to keep around and wait. They were constantly ricocheting off the walls, mostly ruining my furniture. I was starting to get annoyed with them breaking my decór. 

USSR looked down at me. "Maybe there is a morsel of thing idea called to trust in you. You could try it out."

I smiled serenely. "Aren't you in a cold war, currently?"

He looked at me with an evil eye. "Mind your own problems," he muttered.

"But I am," I looked affronted. "It is you who fails to cooperate. You make me resort to this cat and mouse game."

"I?" he rounded on me. "And what does Your Majesty want from me?"

"I'd want what I sent you for," I said. "What specifically, did you find out about German Empire from his son? What did the council meeting talk about in respect to Empires?"

USSR smiled. The grey film-like plaque that stuck to his gums was revolting. "Oh. You want the answers to those questions." he flicked his wrist. "You should have asked, then. I would have paid more attention."

"If I had told you specifically, you would have heeded?"

"Of course!" he nodded. "I would have known what to look out for." I was about to snap back a sharp retort when he added. "But since you believe me to be incompetent, I brought the meeting to you." he reached deep into his bag and took out a little cassette. 

"What is that?"

"This is a recording. Well, many recordings of the meetings that have been happening. All of them are on tape." before I could reach for the plastic white piece, he snapped it away and laughed. 

"But do I expect you to be able to man a cassette player?" he smirked. "I've made sure that this time, I don't get yelled at." He took out something else, many a flat black disk with labels on them. "It's a record. You can listen to it on a player." 

"I know how to use a cassette,"  I said, rubbing the tiny grooves of the record. "But I am very pleased that you provided me an..."

"Age-appropriate method," he finished.

"Yes." I nodded, straightening one of my cuff links. "quite so. You may go now." 

He sniffed. "Oh, I may go now. As a matter of fact, I am to stay the whole day."

"The be of use and go plough the field if you are so inclined." 

I got a growl of anger in response, but he stalked away, nonetheless. I heard him briefly bark to his children and the sounds of breaking porcelain ceased. The fourteen-year-old girl and twelve-year-old boy came down the steps.  The girl, called Armenia, sidled up to me and tried to take the record out of my hands. 

"What is that, grandpa?" she asked.

"None of your concern," 

Armenia stayed silent for a minute, and her dark eyes narrowed slyly. "Why is it not my concern?"