Dark Dreams Read Online Free Page A

to the few supporters who remained, walked over to Jana.
    “Did you like Lesna?” she inquired, although Boryda was the man she really wanted to talk about. “So logical, so clear in his perception of what should be done for this country. A good man.”
    “I think he’s a wonderful man, particularly for a politician.”
    “Jana, I’m now a politician.”
    “I’ll ignore that fact,” Jana teased. “And continue to think of you as my friend instead.”
    Sofia kissed her on the cheek. “I know. I always think of you as Jana, my old pal, and not as a threatening police officer.”
    “I’ve never threatened you, Sofia.”
    “It’s just how you look in a uniform.”
    “That’s one of the reasons I left the uniform home. Let’s talk about the new man in your life.”
    “A new man? Me?” Sofia asked in mock innocence.
    “We both know, Sofia.”
    “He was wonderful, wasn’t he, Jana?” Her face flushed with emotion, the words gushed out of her mouth. “He’s a genius, the greatest public speaker I’ve ever seen. He seizes audiences and carries them with him.”
    “To heaven or hell?” Jana asked.
    “No, not to hell. He will take us to where we want to go.”
    “No, Sofia,” Jana corrected. “He will take us to where he wants us to go.”
    “Why do you say that, Jana? I know Ivan Boryda; you don’t.”
    “I listened to his speech. Demagoguery. He loves power. He supports Lesna and the coalition now. He is the kind of man who, when he is ready, will try to get rid of them. He wants center stage. He wants! He sees himself as the prime minister. He’ll always need more, Sofia.” Jana considered, then decided to plunge ahead. “And he’ll want another woman after you, Sofia.”
    “Jana, please.” Sofia looked around to see if anyone was listening. She took Jana’s arm, leading her to the door. “Let’s talk about the elections instead. We both want our side to win. That’s why I’m doing this.”
    “That’s why you started doing this. Are you sure you’re not out for power yourself?”
    “Jana, enough. I want power, but just to get the program we need adopted by this country. The election is paramount.”
    Jana sighed. “Okay, I’ll focus on the election.”
    Sofia relaxed, finally reaching the subject of Jana’s role in the campaign. “We’d like you to make door-to-door presentations for us; perhaps even neighborhood presentations. You’re a police officer. If you wear your uniform when you talk to people, they will know who to vote for.”
    “Wear my uniform? I can’t do that, Sofia.”
    Sofia stopped walking. “You said you’d support our efforts.” She frowned. “Is this because you don’t approve of Ivan? A moral judgment?”
    “It has nothing to do with you or Ivan Boryda. I asked my supervisors if I could campaign. Public employees, particularly police officers, are not supposed to work actively for political causes. And you want me to do my preaching to the people of Bratislava in uniform, making it clear that I’m a police officer. Sofia, I wouldn’t be on the police force for long if I did that. I’d be dismissed for abusing my office.”
    “When we win, we’ll have you reinstated.”
    Jana didn’t like what she was hearing. “You’re telling me that you’d put me at risk? Make me suffer that kind of anguish? You’d let them dismiss me to get what you want?” Jana looked at her friend. This was not the Sofia she knew, the Sofia who had worked for Transparency and opposed corruption. This wasn’t Sofia, her friend. “Being a police officer is the work I always wanted to do. You want to be a politician. Would you sacrifice me for your ambition?”
    “I said we would have you reinstated.”
    “I’m not looking for reinstatement, Sofia.” When had this insensitivity, this disregard for other people’s needs and happiness, appeared? “I’d be dismissed, my friends on the police force would shun me, all just to gain you a few votes?” They had