Local time – 10:00pm, Sunday 17th June, 2011.
Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Alex watched as the Mossad agent checked Henry for a pulse. His small shake of the head was enough for Alex to realise that she had killed him. Henry was dead. Alex had enough energy left to note that she didn’t care.
‘There’s another one on his way here,’ she managed to say. ‘I think he was the one calling the shots, he’ll probably be armed.’ The agent nodded, and seemed unperturbed by the threat. He was only a short man, but he looked agile and strong, his arm muscles visible under his T-Shirt.
‘We’ll have a welcome for him when he arrives.’ He then picked up his phone and speed dialled a number, saying simply:
‘Weapon’s safe. Go ahead.’ Once this was the done, the three agents visibly relaxed.
One of them pulled the car off onto the side of the road, and got out. The three men conferred briefly. One made another phone call. Alex felt herself shivering, even though the night was still warm. She wondered if it was a reaction to shock. The car had a light on inside and she felt herself being drawn to it. One of the agents noticed her walking unsteadily towards the back door and came over the meet her.
‘Why don’t you get in the car and make yourself comfortable, since we’re going to be here for while anyway,’ another of them suggested. Alex wanted nothing more than to collapse across the back seat, curl up in a ball, and go to sleep. But one of the men got in beside her.
‘There’s something happening that you might want to watch,’ he said. Another got into the front and the third climbed onto the transporter, keeping watch back down the road. The two in the car seemed jumpy and excited as one opened a small laptop and launched a web screen.
The first thing Alex noticed was that President Santos wasn’t dead. It seemed like weeks ago that she had heard the news of his shooting, but it had only been that morning. She was about to ask what was going on, but when she opened her mouth to say something, the agent in the passenger seat put his finger to his lips, and the other pointed to his ear. The universal sign for ‘be quiet and listen’. So that’s what she did. From what Alex could see, the President was in the middle of a speech, and thousands of people on the lawns of the Washington Monument were hanging on every word. Soon, she was doing the same.
‘Before I explain what our international cooperative has achieved, I would like to put something to rest. Whenever a national leader travels to a meeting of world leaders, there are predictable rumours of collusion, or accusations of world government. The Copenhagen summit, meetings of the G8, meetings of the United Nations, and many other such gatherings, are criticised for their very existence. I stand before you today to quell the allegation that there is something suspicious, or damaging to this country, in our working with our world neighbours. Cooperation is a virtue, not a sin. We cannot pretend that we can achieve peace and equity on this earth, without taking the needs and wants of other nations into account. We cannot become insular and scared of other countries, and still expect them to cooperate with us when we need them. These dealings do not dilute our country’s sovereignty. They do not damage our freedom. The truth is, the only way we will all become stronger, is collectively, and with each other’s help.’ Santos paused, and the sense of tension among the crowd was almost palpable. There was no cheering; everyone was too intent on what he might say next.
‘With this in mind’, he went on. ‘I would like to acknowledge that today’s is just the first of many announcements that world leaders like myself will be making in coming days. My colleagues in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East have been involved in a program that benefits all humanity. We have managed to find a place of collective peace and consensus, in an area of policy, which has, historically, been a stumbling block in international relations for most governments on earth. I would like to thank everyone I have worked with, from Prime Ministers, to Presidents, to Royal Families and all their corresponding administrations, for their cooperation, support and of course their assistance.
‘What we have achieved so far is a feat larger than I could have ever dreamt. What we will continue to achieve into the future, fills me with joy and hope for the lives of the earth’s children.’
The President paused again for a moment, and Alex had time to look away from the screen. She noticed the intense joy spread across both the agents’ faces. It slowly occurred to her that she was somehow involved with the plans the President was talking about. Very involved. He resumed speaking, and she tried to smother the dismay rising inside her.
‘Two years ago, the world community held their breaths for four hours when it became known that three nuclear weapons had been stolen from the Lop Nur nuclear facility in China by people who intended to use them to spread fear and hatred. In those terrifying hours, it became clear that we would never be safe from the threat of nuclear genocide until all the nuclear weapons on earth were accounted for and controlled. I am here today to tell you that we have achieved this goal.’
A cheer went up from the crowd. Santos held up his free hand, and the crowd fell silent again.
‘We have now welcomed three new signatories to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. India, Pakistan and Israel have not only signed the treaty, but they have also removed their weapons, and dismantled their nuclear weapon facilities. North Korea has re-signed the treaty and removed their weapons and all other countries who have previously signed the treaty have also completed a campaign of nuclear disarmament, including the United State of America.’ The President paused again, this time because there was a loud response from the crowd. People seemed shocked into a range of reactions, from screams of happiness, to shouts of anger. Alex looked out at the weapon next to the car, and felt giddy from a flush of anxiety. While the crowd kept yelling, she stole a moment to ask the agents a question.
‘Bernie. He wasn’t working with them. He was working with you. Wasn’t he? He was working to remove this last weapon?’ They both nodded, without looking at her, and one said:
‘Of course he was. He was MI6, the only agent they had who knew Pakistani intelligence well enough to pull this off. The Pakistanis didn’t trust anyone else.’ Alex shuddered.