The Maltese Manuscript (LSD, #6)

10. Bad Boys

Bad Boys

The life of a spy isn't so bad; after last night's gala (a late-night show, thanks to all the celebrations) and after sleeping late, the Phoenix Hotel Malta serves our transcontinental breakfast in the Royal Suite: coffee from Colombia, tea from China, pancakes from the U.S.A. with maple syrup from Canada, toast from London with smoked ham from Spain, chorizo from Italy and Camembert from France, kiwis from New Zealand, pineapple from Hawaii, and orange juice from Israel; the delicious advantages of a multi-cultural society.

We eat in silence. Malik stares at his Maltese Cross and I think about the hornet's nest we're in.

This story gets stranger with every detail I discover. I'm a spy, trained to save the world from evil governments, the only organizations with enough power to destroy the planet. Although I've completed the course «The Godfather» by Mario Puzo, and I have some members of the New York Gambino family in my network, I'm not an expert in organized crime. For me, fighting the mafia is a hobby, not work. What happens when the mafia starts planning nuclear attacks on major cities?

The task of the LSD is to protect the innocent against the violent. Our biggest worry isn't terrorism. Terrorists can't destroy the world. Only governments can do that. Realistic danger is a President's finger, pushing a button. Spies concentrate on political leaders, not on criminals or terrorists.

Nobody can stop terrorism. We can't stop robbery, violation or murder either, simply because we can't control the behaviour of every individual on our planet. Nobody wants a Big Brother to control us. Therefore, we'll have to accept that some people harm others. We might take away reasons for crime and terrorism, by closing the gap between rich and poor, by broadcasting education instead of commercials, by sending help instead of armed conflicts, but all that isn't the work of a spy.

Nuclear power is 'democratic'. The majority of the citizens of each country gave their leader the power to destroy. For me, that's a reassuring idea. Since 6 and 9 August 1945 (Hiroshima and Nagasaki), citizens control their leaders, which results in 75 years of relative peace.

Now, one individual terrorist has joined the atomic elite. It completely changes the safety procedures. Governments are colossal, democratic, transparent, bottom-up organisms, but criminal organizations are small, dictatorial, hidden, top-down structures. Puppeteer Khalid pulls all the strings. He can't handle many marionettes. If Khalid had an army... we could easily find him.

It's an idea...

I share my thoughts with Malik: "Khalid doesn't work alone. He has people who do his dirty work. If we find his army, we'll find Khalid."

Malik shakes his head: "Obviously, you don't know Khalid. You don't know how he works. To understand evil, you have to think evil. It's all about motivation. You work for money. Would you switch teams when another boss pays you more?"

"No, I wouldn't. I'm loyal to my job, more loyal to my country, and most loyal to serve the morals of Good and Bad."

"Imagine your boss orders you to kill somebody who's Good. Are your moral standards strong enough to ignore the order?"

"Yes. It depends on the situation, but the job and the morals I believe in would never order me to kill anyone. If The Boss orders me to kill you, for instance, I would tell him to find someone else to pull the trigger."

"Discipline-like, you'd be worthless as a soldier, Sami. If soldiers thought about their orders, they would be shot for high treason."

"If soldiers thought about their orders, world peace would be the result, but violent leaders can always find silly killers to let them do their dirty work."