The Wolf of Sarajevo Read Online Free

moving in the right direction. But the last six months have been little short of disastrous, and violence seems increasingly likely.”
    Hasović nodded as though only half listening. He knew all of this.
    â€œThe ambassador tells me that you are a patriot. I hope that you appreciate the urgency of the situation, the need to overcome not only the legacy of the war but the legacy of the peace as well. Bosnia needs a new deal and a new political framework. And I need your help to get there.”
    Hasović’s eyebrows had lifted in what struck Eric as amusement at Sondergaard’s description of him as a patriot.
    â€œMadam Ambassador,” Hasović said. “You are still new to this part of the world. With all respect, we have seen many emissariescome with many plans. Almost all of them fail, and the envoys depart leaving those of us who live here to suffer the . . .” He turned and looked at Eric.
“Posledice.”
    â€œConsequences.”
    â€œHvala.”
    â€œWe must all take risks in the service of peace,” Sondergaard said.
    â€œAfter you, Ambassador.”
    Sondergaard and Hasović sparred for another twenty minutes, with Ambassador Wylie occasionally interjecting his own views as though reminding the principals that he was still there. Eric took notes, but it was clear that the BUP leader was not buying the line about a twenty-first-century Bosnia. Hasović may not love the status quo, but he had learned to benefit from it. Change was risk, and Sondergaard and Wylie had not done enough to spell out the potential benefits.
    Then Hasović said something that seemed to Eric like an opening.
    â€œThe burden always seems to fall most heavily on those who have been a failed initiative’s most committed supporters,” Hasović continued. “Political leaders suffer. Business suffers. The position of the Bosniak Unity Party is really quite delicate. We are faced with some potentially serious setbacks. I have to consider the good of my party as well.”
    Eric understood what Hasović was saying, and he also knew that neither Wylie nor Sondergaard was in a position to grasp its significance.
    â€œYou do know, Mr. Deputy Prime Minister, that the international community would want to protect key public enterprises inthe transition to a new unitary political system . . . to ensure continuity of certain services.”
    Eric was breaking protocol by speaking up, but if there was a chance to capitalize on the opportunity Hasović had given them and potentially get him behind the Sondergaard Plan, it was worth pissing off Wylie. Hell, pissing off Wylie might even be a good enough reason to do it.
    Hasović’s eyes narrowed as he considered what Eric had said. This was language he could relate to.
    â€œWhat kind of businesses are you talking about?” he asked carefully.
    Eric glanced briefly at Wylie and Sondergaard. The ambassador looked like he had just bitten into a rotten piece of fruit, but the High Representative gave him the briefest and subtlest of nods.
Go ahead.
    â€œBasic services, really. Electricity. Water.” Eric paused and looked Hasović squarely in the eyes. “Trash collection.”
    Blue Line Sanitation, the quasi-private company that had the lucrative contract for trash pickup in the greater Sarajevo municipal area, was under the nominal control of Hasović’s son-in-law. In reality, it was an open secret that Hasović called the shots and had first claim on the spoils. Blue Line Sanitation was the single most important source of funding for the Bosniak Unity Party, which was run more like a for-profit company than a political party. For Hasović’s profit, actually. In the last few weeks, there had been talk that Blue Line might lose the contract to a rival company with close ties to the powerful interior minister. Hasović could not allow that.
    â€œSo what would happen to existing