The Unholy Alliance
The SNET Syndicate convened an emergency meeting to discuss some rather unpleasant developments which took their SNET syndicate fiefdoms by storm. It was to be held that very evening, at Villa Burfuule, a beautiful Spanish villa, roosted at the top of the valley. Convoys of vehicles began to roar up the valley spewing dust in their wake. At the front entrance, a team of armed guards searched each vehicle before allowing it in. Soon, all of the heads of the Syndicate families had arrived and were seated at a long mahogany table located in a large meeting room. They all were puzzled about the reasons behind the emergency meeting as it was highly unusual to have one.
There were four cappos in the Syndicate. Nomadicwarlord owned all lodging, and recreation businesses in the valley including his crown jewel, Mama Basra's, an upscale Gentleman's club. Twisted_Logic was involved in the security business and also controlled several major labor groups and politicians. If you wanted to start any enterprise, you had to have TL's approval. Aerosmith was the financial genius behind the Syndicate's finances and operated Banco Somalinetano. Sheik Hutuking ran a string of charities in the valley which assisted the destitute and also served as a social programs wing of the syndicate. He served a very useful role in countering radical opinions which threatened the Syndicate. All four Cappos reported to the founding father of the Syndicate, Abdiwahab.
The meeting was called to order by the Don, Abdiwahab, a tall, fifty something year old balding man with a grey peppered goatee.
"Gentlemen, I would like to thank you for coming on such short notice. I trust you are all well. I realize it is out of the ordinary to convene an emergency meeting. As you are probably aware, there has been a chilling wind passing through this land. With each day, the whispers grow louder. Change, change, they speak of is coming to our beloved land. This my dear brothers is bad for business ..."
"Allow me to interrupt, Haji." said the youngest Cappo, Twisted Logic, a tall man with piercing eyes and a scar across his face."These vagabonds who preach these changes are cowards who can only whisper in the dark corners. We will unleash a world of hurt on them
should we find out who they are. Give me their names and I will ensure they no longer speak of any change." As he spoke his face grew darker and a vein on his temple became inflamed.
"Twisted, I like your bravado and courage but one can not fight rumor and innuendo with force. We require soft power to silence these critics," quipped Aerosmith, a short fair skinned man who was fond of wearing Valentino suits and smoking cigars. "Haji, who are these men ? What is their price ?" he asked.
Before Abdiwahab could respond, a man wearing a black khamiis who resembled a Somali version of the Ayatollah, raised his hand which held his tusbah:
"Acudubillahi, these men can not be bought nor negotiated with. The only solution to deal with these Khawariji is to use force, force I say. Like cockroaches, they breed and multiply. We must beat them senselessly...." yelled HutuKing. He was clearly upset as he had a series of runnings with these whisperers at his Friday Kutbah at the Masjid. They often interrupted his kutbahs.
"Gentlemen, there is nothing to be alarmed about. I helped found the Syndicate and worked with your fathers for many years. We have overcome every challenge that has come our way. To defeat the whispers and their rhetoric, we must move swiftly but use soft power to squash the pseudoreligious groups. In front of you are photos and profiles of the suspects, all of them being men just like us. And like us, they desire power and money. Unlike us, they whisper trying to tap into the sentimentalism of the common Farax and Xalimo while cloaked behind religion." said Abdiwahab.
"What are you suggesting, Haji ?" asked Twisted Logic.
"I call it Operation Beenabuur. Simply, we address the grievances of the masses. Step up our social programs to draw away the support for the whisperers. Sheik Hutuking will be given more resources to do good in the community and to get more Culema on our side. We win the religious argument and we squash the revolution before it starts. Lastly, TL finds the dirt on each whisper and uses their weaknesses against them. Aerosmith will boost funding to the operations while Nomadicwarlord will boost entertainment for the youth and the elites to prevent them from sympathizing with the whisperers. If we can convince the public that the whisperers are hypocrites who peddle the false hopes and take away the religious argument from them, my dear brothers, we would have squashed their revolution for decades."
"Ingenious plan !" stated Aerosmith.
"Mashallah, Haji, no wonder you are the Boss," said Sheik HutuKing.
"I had hoped to bust some heads but maybe some other time, good plan though." replied Twisted Logic.
"This calls for a celebration, everyone is invited to Mama Basra's after this meeting," smiled Nomadicwarlord who was always the entertainer.
TBC.
