The crowd cheered. Most of them were too far away to notice anything was wrong—they could see a brownish banner with stuff in the middle. Those who could see the flag thought maybe it was just a new design—the plows on the shield were gone, replaced with a more colorful red, white and blue square. Maybe that’s what this was all about—a redesigned state flag.
“It’s the New Jersey flag, all right,” the blonde reported. “But now there’s a Union Jack in the middle.”
Colonial Governor Oscar Dowzall held a press conference, right there, on the capitol steps, as the concert was dismantled. “I have the full support of almost every senior member of the former state government I intend to retain these skilled people in their positions—although there may be small adjustments to accommodate British law.”
“What of Governor Hermani and Lieutenant Governor Ortega?” asked one of the reporters, playing it cool. None of them were sure how to handle this.
“I have no idea where they are at the moment,” Dowzall replied without hesitation. It was true. He didn’t know. “They, along with New Jersey State Senator Mercer, declined to be a part of the colony of New Jersey. As far as I am concerned, that makes them traitors in this land. They’d best get back into U.S. territory. My authority does not extend into Maryland, for example.”
“What about New York?”
“What about it?” Dowzall said, wrinkling his nose.
“New York was a former colony, was it not?”
Dowzall seemed to be considering this fact for the first time. “I suppose it was.”
“Does this mean the British Empire will attempt to retake New York?”
Dowzall was amused. “New Jersey has so much to offer. Ayounde has rich resources and even Newfoundland must have something to offer—but New York? Why would Her Majesty even want it back?”
By evening, the mobs filled Times Square, ire rising. The people of New York had been one-upped by New Jersey. It had never happened before, and the citizens of the Big Apple weren’t enjoying the experience. Riot police were quietly dispersing the people in small groups and keeping new arrivals from joining in the demonstration. They were in a race against time—whittle down the mob before the mob worked itself up enough to take action.
“I know how they feel,” Remo Williams said.
“You’re not from New York,” pointed out Mark Howard.
“But I’m mad enough to start breaking things.”
Remo wasn’t looking at Mark Howard. He was looking at Harold W. Smith.
“You shall not engage in foolish vandalism against the Emperor,” Chiun chastised Remo.
“If I engage in vandalism it will be violent and destructive and widespread,” Remo said. “But not foolish.”
“All vandalism is foolish.”
“Are you laying the blame on me for the action in New Jersey, Remo?” Smith’s cup was brimming with his own bitter brew this evening.
“What do you think? We had an agreement. You broke it, Smitty.”
“Remo!” Chiun snapped. “Take care how you speak to Smith the Generous.”
“I broke no part of our agreement, Remo,” Smith answered, daring Remo to contradict him.
Remo did. “You signed a piece of paper that promised that I got to have some say in prioritizing what I did. You remember that, old man?”
“Remo, do not be insulting,” Chiun warned.
“I remember. I haven’t violated one letter of that agreement.”
Remo was momentarily speechless. “What? You sent me to freaking Jamaica!”
“I did.”
“Without bothering to tell me about freaking New Jersey.”
“You’re correct.”
“You omitted the most important facts, on purpose. That’s wrong.”
Harold Smith sat back in his chair, but was as stiff as a plank. “You mean to say that in addition to prioritizing your missions, you want to evaluate the urgency of the missions? I am obligated to give you a list of all possible crises?”
“Yes. How else can I figure out what’s the most important?”
Smith nodded tersely. “So what would you have had me do, Remo? Read off a list of all pending crises, then detail each of them so you can choose the mission you feel is in the best interests of this country?”
“All you’d have had to say is, ‘The British are coming to New Jersey’ and I would have been on it,” Remo said. “Come to think of it, New Jersey is in our country and Jamaica ain’t. I don’t see how anybody could say that us going to Jamaica was the best thing to do.”
“So,” Smith said, “regardless of the lack of potential damage to U.S. stability, you would have put that theater of the crisis above all the others? People would have been dying in droves in the streets of Jamaica. Just a few were killed in New Jersey, but New Jersey was still more important?”
“You’re twisting the truth and you’re dodging the point. You broke our contract by failing to give me all the facts.”
“I don’t agree. I know I did the right thing, however, if my actions led you to keep Sir Mutha from perpetrating genocide in Jamaica.”
