Exchange Operation

By Norberta de Melo

National Attorney General Roberto Nascimento and his beloved Nina Moreira apparently formed a couple who were experiencing a period of peace. Even though they lived in different cities, they saw each other relatively often. His second term was less tumultuous than the first, during which General Cleaning Operation in Pindoretama was launched. Many people were already serving time, or at least they had been arrested or were responding to several lawsuits. It seemed that everything was under relative control.

         It was what it looked like, but this was not, however, their reality. One careless move and it could all come crashing down. There were a lot of people trying to take revenge from them. His enemies would not leave him alone. They knew that. Even an assassination attempt against the attorney had already happened. So, any slip could be fatal. Not only in the professional field but also in personal life.

         Nina could cause a lot because of their love. Even for a woman of her own mind like her, there were limits she knew she shouldn't go over. Would he be able to perceive this and stop when necessary? This was an issue that would become central to their lives.

******

         Roberto participated in the trials of the Supreme Court of Justice as a member of the Public Ministry. These sessions were far from routine, as they used to be before General Cleaning Operation. The nation's eyes were on TV Cidadã. The trials were followed by the population with great interest. It was as if each of them were a soap opera chapter, only instead of fiction, they were real life. For the Attorney General, the sessions had a taste of victory, because getting there had been the result of his work and that of many people who believed that he could change the country.

         Pindoretama is a relatively new country, with a history of coups d'état, and short intervals of democracy. The political class has always made deals with the economic and financial elite to maintain privileges and dealings. In general, government officials acted as servants to large corporate corporations, with their backs to the needs of the people. It had always been like that, and there was nothing that could change this situation, it was said. It was what the people called the “oligarchic pact” between part of the political class, part of the business community and part of the state bureaucracy.

         Until Operation Malão* started to change the course of this story. It was the first criminal action of the Supreme Court of Justice to have important political defendants from various parties as defendants. When everyone thought they had seen the worst side of politics, police operations began that put great businessmen and influential politicians in jail.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BadPress
• Release date: Jul 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781667406367

Book preview

Prologue

National Attorney General Roberto Nascimento and his beloved Nina Moreira apparently formed a couple who were experiencing a period of peace. Even though they lived in different cities, they saw each other relatively often. His second term was less tumultuous than the first, during which General Cleaning Operation in Pindoretama was launched. Many people were already serving time, or at least they had been arrested or were responding to several lawsuits. It seemed that everything was under relative control.

It was what it looked like, but this was not, however, their reality. One careless move and it could all come crashing down. There were a lot of people trying to take revenge from them. His enemies would not leave him alone. They knew that. Even an assassination attempt against the attorney had already happened. So, any slip could be fatal. Not only in the professional field but also in personal life.

Nina could cause a lot because of their love. Even for a woman of her own mind like her, there were limits she knew she shouldn't go over. Would he be able to perceive this and stop when necessary? This was an issue that would become central to their lives.

******

Roberto participated in the trials of the Supreme Court of Justice as a member of the Public Ministry. These sessions were far from routine, as they used to be before General Cleaning Operation. The nation's eyes were on TV Cidadã. The trials were followed by the population with great interest. It was as if each of them were a soap opera chapter, only instead of fiction, they were real life. For the Attorney General, the sessions had a taste of victory, because getting there had been the result of his work and that of many people who believed that he could change the country.

Pindoretama is a relatively new country, with a history of coups d'état, and short intervals of democracy. The political class has always made deals with the economic and financial elite to maintain privileges and dealings. In general, government officials acted as servants to large corporate corporations, with their backs to the needs of the people. It had always been like that, and there was nothing that could change this situation, it was said. It was what the people called the oligarchic pact between part of the political class, part of the business community and part of the state bureaucracy.

Until Operation Malão[1]* started to change the course of this story. It was the first criminal action of the Supreme Court of Justice to have important political defendants from various parties as defendants. When everyone thought they had seen the worst side of politics, police operations began that put great businessmen and influential politicians in jail.

It had been four years since General Cleaning Operation began. In that time, a lot had changed not only in the country, but also in Roberto's life. He got divorced; he fell in love with Nina, and their lives were never the same. Now, she had become a renowned and internationally recognized writer. Nina was raising her son Miguel alone, as a single mother. They saw each other when she came to Tuperatama or when he went to São José dos Mascates. He did not complain about this situation. She had supported him in the decision to renew his mandate at the head of the National Attorney General's Office. She also used to see him on television at the Superior Court of Justice trials. He always called her at the end of each session. She always commented on what she thought of his performance in the trials.

And so, they were getting along. His love for Nina was the strength he needed to move on, even at such risk. Even the assassination attempt he had suffered had not been able to shake his spirits to continue his struggle for the renewal of the country.

Chapter One

The exposure of Nina and Roberto's intimate life generated many comments. Many people, through social networks, expressed opinions contrary to or in favor of their union as if commenting on the meetings and mismatches of couples from soap operas or even from reality shows. Nina was already used to it.

Even outside the country, when she was invited to participate in literary events, many people asked her to talk about her personal life, about the things she had been through with former deputy Cascata. Everyone wanted to know what she would tell to her son Miguel about who his father was and what the circumstances of his birth had been. She always gave the same answer: Everything in due time. He will know everything that happened. In due time, when he will have the understanding for it. Regarding the political situation in the country, she always said that Pindoretama was still going through a process of purifying the years when the State was divided by the powerful on duty.

In her personal life, Nina was able to manage her new status as the mother of a baby well with the care of her own elderly mother. In addition, her professional life was demanding more and more of her. Her readers always wanted something new. With each new story published, her audience always wanted more. People no longer spoke of the scandal that had been her unexpected pregnancy, the result of an involuntary artificial insemination, carried out by ex-deputy Renato Cascata to take revenge on the Attorney General.

Her relationship with Roberto demanded a lot from her too; a courtship between two cities as far away as Tuperatama and São José dos Mascates was not trivial; even with today's electronic communication facilities. They were seeing each other less and less in person.

She was increasingly concerned about Roberto, as he was the victim of defamatory campaigns on social networks. Publications were always disparaging in relation to his work in the Supreme Court's judgments. Until then, the powerful men being tried were expected to react by turning against the accuser, the National Attorney General.

She barely knows what was going to happen. A video was published on the internet in which Roberto allegedly was caught in a sexual relationship with a well-known porn actress named Alexandra Ricochete. He made an urgent call to her in the middle of the afternoon, which was rare. Nina answered the phone, worried. He told her about the video. Do you want to see? he asked. Don't even think about it, she replied. I can't resend this to you via social media because of the security issue, but I can put it on a flash drive and send it to you by conventional mail, he said, almost whispering.

Do not worry about me. Take the necessary steps so those responsible for this will answer for this criminal act, she said. I do not want to see this. I believe in your words. I don't need proofs, she replied firmly. They will act more and more in a lower way, it will not be just that. This video is clearly a montage; but they can do worse to try to separate us. This was his biggest fear; that these rumors would end up generating conflicts between them. It depends on us, we will not let others separate us," he stated categorically.

Don't be afraid of that. I'm calm. I will not believe in smear campaigns against you. She knew that they had a different kind of relationship than most couples, because all she demanded of him was that he should not lie to her. She didn't expect him to have sex exclusively with her. They lived in different cities. He was a powerful man, and he was under a lot of pressure. Under these conditions, it would be difficult for him to remain in chastity away from her.

This was a sensitive issue for most women, but not for Nina. She had unorthodox ideas about this. Many people asked if she was a sucker to give her man the freedom to have relationships with other women, when she remained faithful to him. She used to say that they both had the same freedom. The difference was that she used hers to be monogamous, without requiring this counterpart from the man.

Her opinion was quite controversial. It generated a lot of discussion on social networks. Her followers always questioned her about it. Among conservatives, she was considered a libertine, as she allowed her partner to have extramarital relationships. Among the progressives, she was considered incoherent, because they thought that the balance was unbalanced, since she did not maintain relationships with other men.

Her social networks by now were also teeming. Everyone wanted to know what she would do now that the question would have stopped being just theoretical. And she was wondering how to respond that. Saying the video was fake would not do much good, as people would continue to demand that she emphatically position herself.

Roberto, I don't know what to do with my social networks. People want to know what I think about the video. She was bewildered by this. I also don't know what to say. I no longer maintain accounts on social networks to avoid having to answer questions about my work. Now, this is unlike anything I have ever faced. It is difficult to be here alone without you, he said, almost imploring her to come and meet him.

"Okay, I'll see what I can do. I'm swamped at work. My readers are voracious for news. I have produced a lot. I am still diversifying my ventures