He was still wondering why the killer had given up, when he heard a siren go off and saw the ambulance stop just in front of their crashed van. A team of four paramedics dashed out of the vehicle. Two of them extracted the body of Traynor, while another one was talking on a walkie-talkie and keeping passers-by at a distance. Was it luck or what? The answer came right away, as the fourth man reached out to him with a spray bottle in his hands, released its content on his face and spoke to him with a strong Latino accent:
"Mr. Mayer, I believe you understand our precautions.."
Halfway into the sentence, Yaakov had already fallen asleep.
When he woke up, he was in a windowless room, lit by a fluorescent light. As he expected, his kidnappers had taken his watch to deprive him of any time reference. The anesthetic was a good one, he did not feel any headache or hangover, it was just like waking up after a good night’s sleep. The bed was also relatively comfortable. The more he looked around, the more Yaakov thought this was the most luxurious jailroom he had ever seen with a full-size bathroom and dining table. Then the door lock switched open, and before he could stand up, three armed men wearing balaclavas entered the room, keeping him at gunpoint with their brand new Uzi machine guns. Their gesture was clear, he could continue to relax sitting on his bed. Yaakov studied their complexions, they were most likely all Latinos. They were very different sizes, so Yaakov decided to dub them the Tall, the Thin and the Small. Right after them, Helena entered the room and the door locked behind her. The sound of the door closing made it clear to Yaakov that it was heavily armored. He tried to break the ice.
"Apparently, we always have to talk in dark, closed rooms. At least, here it is not as hot as in Rio."
"He's a really clever bastard," Helena thought, "he made sure to remind me of the deal we have in place, meaning that it would break apart if he does not get out of here alive."
"Mr. Mayer, you can't believe how much trouble I went through to persuade my friends here in Chicago to keep you alive." Helena addressed him in Hebrew, "they are now expecting something in exchange for not sending you to hell right away with your driver."
Yaakov appreciated the language choice. The conversation was being recorded and would be quickly translated by the automatic translating ear pieces the three Latinos were wearing, but like this Helena was preventing her partners from jumping in the negotiation.
"I thank you very much for your courtesy, but I cannot guarantee I can satisfy your wishes. I have been a simple Israeli citizen for a long while, you know. A simple, expendable Israeli citizen, to be more precise."
"We have three requests. Let's start from the one of our guests. It took us a while find out that Mossad was behind the Telomerax shipping from Venezuela to Florida, but we did it. You know, my business partners do not like those that enter their market without asking permission and, worse still, without explaining why."
"The reason is simple," Yaakov replied, "Mossad needs money, just like any other secret service. A lot of money. To do what? I do not know nor I would tell you if I did know. I do agree we should have found an agreement beforehand, but if we are having this conversation I think there is still room to work something out. We have an excellent network that can support you and your friends when needed. Next?"
Helena looked satisfied, and after some delay due to the earpiece translation, also the Tall, the Thin and the Small grinned in agreement.
"This next one is more about us," Helena continued, "and the help we are giving you and your country with your...experiments. Louis needs some live examples of your fly. He said he has to verify some hypothesis but cannot do that with the dead samples he is getting from time to time. He needs the real thing."
"Helena, this is not feasible at all. You better shoot me now..." Yaakov blankly stated.
"Hang on, let me finish and don't get unnecessarily emotional." Helena rebuffed, "We do not need the fully equipped version, with the toxin and the electronics. Just the basic shell of it."
"I still see this very difficult, and why? It is just an ordinary fly.." Yaakov felt genuinely puzzled
"You hired Louis as a consultant on Telomerax. Now your consultant has some doubts on the way you are using the drug with the flies and would like to carry out some additional tests. It's in your interest, really." Helena ended charmingly.
"This bitch can be really persuasive," Yaakov thought, and then he questioned back.
"understood, it sounds reasonable and I will bring it forward. But what if it is not accepted?"
"Then our deal is broken, and consequences will be nasty for all of us," Helena commented icily.
"Yes, for all of us," Yaakov echoed. "How about your last request?"
"To your knowledge, has the fly ever been tested or used here in the States? There have been a few deaths in the past we could not quite explain. Had it been a single episode, we could have ignored it, however a handful of cases deserves a bit more attention.."
Yaakov's body stiffened, Helena could see he was looking for the best answer. He finally said,
"When I was in charge of covert operations abroad, one thing that was absolutely forbidden was selective target neutralization in the United States, no matter how you did it. I do not think that has changed over the last few years."
"Do not take a round about, Yaakov. Answer the damn question. I did not ask if it was you. I asked you if you know anything about its usage here." Helena raised her tone, and the three men tightened their grips on their guns.
"You can figure it out by yourself, among secret services. Nowadays everybody knows we have this new...how can we call it...this tool...and everybody is trying to copy or get access to it. It is the same situation when your best and strongest friends become your biggest problems, because it is way more difficult to resist the pressure to share the discovery."
"You are telling me the CIA has access to it? Full access? What exactly are they doing with it?" Helena was growing impatient.
"I see you have a definite interest in this," Yaakov replied calmly. "Let's put it this way, I think I can persuade people back in Tel Aviv to give me more information about the...diffusion patterns of the flies. But only if you persuade your friends here, to allow us to keep a small share of the North American Telomerax market."
Helena waited for the translations to process, and then looked at her partners. They exchanged glances, then the Small nodded in agreement.
Chapter 7
Tarek entered Alireza’s office half an hour before the evening prayer, when most of the employees had left the building and his visit would be less noticeable.
"Merhaba, Tarek, you look great to be 80-years old...don't you think you are exaggerating with the pills?"
"Merhaba, Alireza, it's my little vice...I will give up one day or another, but I have some important jobs that I need to finish first. You do not want me to leave my mission uncompleted."
"Well, you would have still several decades in front of you..and you do not have to be so arrogant to assume you are irreplaceable, the Almighty can certainly take care of things if you leave your job undone. By the way, congratulations on your Farsi. You told me you started learning when we met last time, six months ago, and your progress is really...impressive, to say the least."
"I always had a talent for languages," Tarek replied, deliberately ignoring the harsh scolding. "I have asked to meet you because I wanted to give you the news personally. We have evidence that the Pakistanis do indeed cooperate with the Indians in spreading Telomerax."
In the mind of Alireza, several pieces of the puzzle came together. The Pakistanis’ move had led to the collapse of the heroin market and of the Afghan economy. Left without the heroin income, the Afghans had no choice but to become the Telomerax and cocaine providers for Central Asia and the Middle East. Actually, this was especially true for the Pashtuns close to the Pakistani border, who had become fully subordinated to Islamabad. The other ethnic groups had been left to economic desperation, which sent a massiv
e wave of immigrants towards Iran. Alireza knew from his colleagues at the Ministry of Interior that already more than three million Western Afghans lived in refugee camps and makeshift slums in Eastern Iran, a situation that was starting to strain the communities living in the region.
"Is it really this bad, Tarek? Or do you think it could get worse?" Alireza asked.
"I believe the cooperation is extending in other fields. Our sources confirm that there is a constant increase of Indo-Pakistani meetings taking place in the Arab Emirates," Tarek replied calmly, showing some slides from his laptop. "It's easier for them to arrange working level meetings in our country. Especially if it's military or security personnel."
"Are you sure? How have you found out?" Alireza was growing impatient.
"In a number of ways, from classic microphones to putting together pictures taken by security cameras, to information found on the Internet. I will leave you the data for you to analyze, but as for my team and myself the picture is quite clear: the relationship between India and Pakistan is more like the one between two close allies than two rivals."
"Do you think there is some American initiative involved? Or Chinese?"
"Americans?! They have not yet figured out what is going on here, and no wonder, after they cut their secret service staff in our region by half in the last couple of years. Now that Paul Moreno has been re-elected as President on a renewed pledge on domestic security and Telomerax control, they will care even less. I think this is bad news for our two countries."
"I agree with you," Alireza replied, "I also hoped the Democrat candidate, Mark Callaghan, the governor of Massachusetts, could make it to the White House. But the idiot was unable to come up with a clear idea about Telomerax regulation. He balked at liberalization, he balked at security, and eventually people chose the devil they knew, just like Bush vs. Kerry back in 2004. If the United States disengages from our region, countries like ours have one less superpower to team up with."
"That's why I think it is imperative we reinforce our system," Tarek continued, as he got Alireza exactly where he wanted. "You know we have had some unconventional weapons in store for a few years now. It's chemical stuff, so in principle you should be able to manufacture it, if we provide you with some samples. Do not forget our neighbors in the East are both nuclear powers and you gave up the opportunity to become one of them, more than ten years ago. We need a little favor in exchange, of course."
Alireza waved his hand, showing Tarek he could proceed.
"We need access to your supercomputing facility to run a series of genetic simulations. We have our own national data center in Abu Dhabi, but it is not enough. We need some extra power, so we thought about connecting to your center in Shiraz, the one you built with Chinese technology. I know this means delaying your hidden nuclar simulation program, but we need more computing power and yours is the only center we can trust."
"What is this research about? As much as we need your help, I do not want to help committing the resources of the Islamic Republic to some evil project. Was it initiated by the Emirati rulers or your own?"
"Alireza, please, you know you have to cater to multiple loyalties, especially in our countries. I do not see anything wrong with that, as long as the loyalties do not conflict and you do not betray trust. All I can tell you is that the team that originally designed Telomerax needs this research to contain its catastrophic side effects and possibly make a step forward towards its retirement. They are looking to scientifically prove some detrimental long-term effects on those that are addicted to it. You know Westerners; they won't stop in front of anything that hinders their will of power, except if we bring some conclusive scientific argument. Science is the only religion they still believe in."
Alireza’s thoughts went back to the morning news update. He waved his hands on the virtual keyboard embedded on his desk, and sent it to the holographic projector. The news service from RAI, the Italian State broadcaster, started playing, while the system translated it in real time. The anchorwoman was announcing that the Italian Government, in agreement with the Vatican, had authorized a massive protest against the ongoing Telomerax ban in most European countries. The coordinators had chosen Rome, given the Pope’s strict disapproval of the drug. More than one million people were expected to show up in two weeks time, on Saturday April 7th 2029, just after Easter Sunday.
As the news service ended, Alireza downheartedly commented,
"All of this all because about four centuries ago the Roman Catholic Church felt satisfied with Galileo's retractation. They should have been consequential and have burned him. But now it's too late."
"Alireza, I do not think that burning Galileo would have changed much," Tarek replied, trying to be as humble as possible. "It was already snowballing. Maybe it would have delayed the process a bit, but nothing more. Now it is up to us to try to stop this, or at least contain it, inshallah. Or perhaps this is just how God the Almighty has chosen to start the end of the world and Judgment Day is approaching. Would you help me get access to your data centers?"
Alireza waited in silence. He then looked at the clock and stood up.
"I do not know yet, Tarek. It's prayer time now, would you mind joining me? I am going to ask the Almighty to clear my mind."
"Of course, Alireza, of course," Tarek said, as he hurried towards one of the office chairs where some carpet prayers laid, for guests to grab.
Chapter 8
As the face of Valerio came into focus on the tea table of the living room, Louis took a seat in one of the chairs next to it. The mini-drones of his holographic system took position around him to beam his image back to Valerio. Louis was starting to dislike them, they reminded him of the killer flies. Valerio was calling from his home, and every now and then he would turn towards his housemaid to give her instructions.
"So you have not given up on your plan to go to Rome on one of the worst possible occasions, right in the middle of Drug Pride Day. But I won't spend any time trying to change your mind, you are as hopeless as Tarek."
"It's my journalist instinct that is pushing me, I think something major is brewing," Valerio answered. "So when Monsignor Salvemini, one of the Pope’s top aides contacted me, I made sure I could follow the protest from within the Pope’s inner circle."
"Why do you think they have contacted you now, right before the rally?"
Louis went straight to the point.
Valerio thought that he was behaving a bit like Helena.
"Well, they have had my phone number for a while and I guess our file is one of the first that each Pope analyzes in detail as soon as he takes office. Monsignor Salvemini did not mention anything specifically, he just said he wanted to discuss the latest developments we are seeing to improve the Vatican policy, which he underlined, is not going to change in the near term."
"Well, if they are ever thinking of a line change,” Louis chimed in, “he would certainly not tell you over the phone. Also, you know better than I that near term for the Church can mean two hundred years. Anyway, you want to give them your view."
"Right," Valerio continued, "I think they are making a big mistake by siding with the position of President Moreno, yet they never tried to screw us over, so why shouldn't we tell them all we know?"
"Indeed," Louis pondered, "actually, there is another major piece of news. I have completed the analysis of the new Indian strain that appeared last year. It's just perfect. Slightly different than mine, but still completely free of any nasty side effects. I would like to meet this guy, he did an outstanding job. Obviously, if you simply scan the Internet, you will find all kinds of criticism about this. But for what it is worth you must tell the Pope he has no scientific ground to fight the drug. He is risking another Galileo case."
"I think he is fully aware of the danger. So far, for the wider audience of non-Catholics and non-believers, he has been supporting the fair argument, that this drug would lead to a very unjust world, with mankind divided between immortals wh
o need vast amounts of resources to fuel their eternal lives and mortals, condemned to misery."
"It's not as easy, Valerio. Actually, what I see here in Rio seems to point quite to the opposite. Thanks to the protection of the narcos and to the complacency of the Brazilian government, which has banned the drug to appease the US, it is not seriously hurting its distribution. Dora and I have been able to run one of the largest social experiments ever, by putting tens of thousands of poor favela habitants on Telomerax for more than ten years, and the results are amazing. First, people are no longer slaves of crack and other brain-killing drugs, even though cocaine consumption has gone up. Second, thanks to superintelligence, several favelados are now successfully applying for higher education. This is steadily improving their standing. In fact, it actually looks like Telomerax is increasing social fairness."
"Yet the argument of the pessimists has some logic, Louis. If people stop dying, the population would keep increasing and sooner or later the planet would crumble under the needs of mankind. Or at least you should deeply review the retirement laws, which in Southern European countries like Italy or France is tantamount to calling for social revolution," Valerio chuckled.
Louis laughed in response, "I think you touched the really hot issue. Yet I remain optimistic, I cannot believe that people equipped with growing levels of intelligence can’t find a way to address the issue. Believe me, the only argument that Benedict XVII can legitimately use is that Telomerax is an ultimate rebellion against the laws of God, who designed people to be mortal. Honestly, I find this a very difficult message to pitch to modern crowds. If I listen to the latest news, they are expecting more than three million people at the rally next Saturday."
"I just talked to my contact in the Italian police. They are afraid there will be even more than that. They are expecting an event of the same scale as the funeral of the late John Paul II, which attracted more than five million people to Rome back in 2005. Except that this is not a mourning crowd like last time, it will be jam-packed with activists and no one really knows what it could morph into."
The Last Enemy - A history of the present future - 1934-2084 Page 25