Diogenes Fernando has always known that his association with The Man over many years would eventually end with a day of reckoning—and that day has now come.
Last night, in a back room at the Feisty Fisherman, The Man laid it on the line. It seems that the tycoon who is backing his bid to get elected to parliament insists that he must divest himself of all connections to their illicit CatAstrophe asset-relocation fund.
It will continue to function, he said, but in your name only, for which you will be well compensated. But make no mistake—if there comes a time when a fall must be taken, it is you, Diogenes Fernando, who will take it. No ifs, no buts, no get-outs, no safety net. In short, free-fall without a parachute!
He gave Diogenes a sideways look. You and I have been through a lot together, he said, but the world has changed, and we must change with it. Life is not fair, and politics is definitely not for the faint hearted. It’s a back-stabbing game of devil-take-the-hindmost, and those who play fair should expect to lose. Understood?
Diogenes understood all too well. He’d seen this coming, and not only because the Government’s half-hearted corruption crackdown is finally showing signs of getting into gear. More to the point, it’s clear that The Man is intent on reinventing himself as an honest, electable ‘man of the people’, for which laundering his murky business reputation is an essential prerequisite.
So first thing this morning, Diogenes was on the phone to famed west-coast astrologer and fellow CatAstrophe management-committee trustee Madam Moonbeam for her thoughts on what other slings and arrows might be heading his way.
Well, she said, this is not entirely unexpected, is it? Even before we set out to sabotage The Man’s ‘contemporary memoir’ we knew that such a move was on the cards. With his political ambitions he can’t afford to be tarred with anything that might jeopardize his chances of getting elected.
Furthermore, she said, some of her well-connected clients who know the score occasionally reveal details of the crooked behind-the-scenes machinations that keep the engine of deep-state politics and business ticking over.
And they all agree, she said, that The Man is right. The world has changed, and like many others he’s only doing what he has to do to survive and hopefully prosper, gambling that he can beat the odds while playing against a stacked deck.
As for yourself, she said, what can I say? You’ve always known what’s at stake, so I presume you’ve got a plan B tucked away somewhere in the back of your mind. So accept the risk and carry on, or go for the exit? It’s up to you.
It’s now late in the evening, and Diogenes is pondering his options. He can stay and take the rap if—or is that when?—CatAstrophe gets busted; or he can head for the hills to hide out, recharge and remuster on his cousin’s up-country pig farm.
Decisions, decisions…