Kamal Nagi Iman of Brockton bay
I frowned at Nejem as he opened up a suitcase full of money.
"I will not be bribed. I have said this before and I will say it again."
"But think of all the good you can do."
"I will not be bribed, I will not alter my sermons to please you, I have a duty to Allah to tell the truth even if that truth is harsh and uncomfortable."
"You could talk about the ABB, warn them of the-"
I grabbed the suitcase and closed it, the man smiled and then I tossed it out the window.
"The ABB is a matter that will be handled by the police, I will handle matters of faith."
"Look, just a few compromises, a few-"
"This is a house of Allah, not a house of lies. Leave now."
Time passed, the funeral for the murderer came, and that's what he was, a murderer. I did my duty but thankfully I was able to keep it from becoming yet another gawdy special. Kept it a solemn and holy occasion rather then a series of angry chanting.
If it sounds like I'm tired of this senseless fighting it's because I am. If it sounds like I'm tired of this hate, this all consuming fear, it's because I am, but no matter the bribes, no matter the threats, I will stay firm, I will remain a rock and I will not be moved, or that was what I thought as the tazer hit me. Then everything went dark.
When I awoke I felt bindings on my wrists, they felt... fuzzy.
"I hate this country."
I smelled cigarette smoke, and it was Nejem again, I tried to speak and then noticed the gag. I glared at him with anger.
"Sorry about the fuzzy pink hand cuffs, back home I could get the good hand cuffs, back home I had tools to be proud of."
I noticed we were driving, I couldn't see out the windows.
"You know it's a tradition of mine, to talk, not to everyone I kill but the holy men, the men who serve Allah? Them I talk to, they deserve an explanation."
He took a deep drag.
"If it helps I like you, I honestly liked you, unlike every other Imam I've dealt with, you never once accepted a bribe, you never once cowed to a threat. You're a brave man and I honestly feel bad about this, but well you became a problem and I have to kill you."
He took another drag, the van, it was a van, was silent.
"It was called unit 13, officially we didn't exist but Saudi Arabia... well they needed someone to handle all the dirty work. Murder, torture, rape whatever the princelings needed, we did. It was just ok, not the good life I enjoy now, but it was ok. There was good food, girls, and I got to kill as many people as I wanted in new and interesting ways. I miss that... the killing I mean."
The smoke smelled horrible, almost like sulfur.
"After the Palestinians fucked up we had a whole bunch of oil wells that were destroyed. The country was bleeding money fast, and these workers keep whining about little things like pay me, feed me, I'm dying of thirst. So one day they strike, the indonesians. They refuse to work unless they actually get paid, we beat them, tortured them and... and they weren't afraid anymore."
He paused.
"So... we took our entire unit and lied to them, took all of the indonesians into the desert where we would talk about improving their working conditions. When the signal was given we used our machine guns, our artillery and the problem was solved. No big deal, just another day on the job and what was going to happen, I mean no one gave a fuck about Indonesia they couldn't possibly hurt us, right?"
He took another smoke, I only saw the red of his cigarette, and the bellowing of the smoke, the outline of his face was shrouded in darkness.
"Then the revolution came, the fucking revolution. We knew where the bodies were buried, we knew all the secrets and we walked out of it rich. Rich beyond our wildest dreams, but somehow some shit informed the Indonesians about what we did, but no big deal right? I mean what were they going to do."
His hands shook.
"We started dying one by one, Europe, Asia, the Americas and expecially fucking Venus, no matter where we ran, no matter where we hid they found us. Killed us, it's like they just wouldn't stop you know? 15 hundred people were a part of that cleansing and you know how many are left? Just us and out there hiding in the fucking shadows, they're waiting."
The car stopped, I continued to glare at him.
"So we got together and made a plan, we would create an entire community whole cloth to act as a living fortress. Because the indonesians, their current leadership is weak, they hate civilians casualties, but these human shields were not enough no... we needed to create a fortress. A place where they could never get to us."
The car started moving again.
"So we found this place, a poor place, a place that was easy to corrupt, and it was actually cheaper to do bribes here then back home. The old mayor... man things went so much smoother with him in charge. We were able to put our agents anywhere we wanted."
The light of the cigarette went out, there was just darkness now.
"We needed guards, parahumans, people we could control, the 40's seemed like a good idea at the time. Then they started getting a little rough but it suited our purposes. Honestly the boat graveyard was just a total fuck up. I mean we wanted people angry and scared but not that."
I tried to get out of my cuffs.
"Won't work, but nice try. So you're wondering, why do I want the asians to hate us? Ever seen an indonesian? Yeah we wanted, no we needed the Enclave to be afraid of anything with slanted eyes. If they were afraid then they wouldn't let them in and that kept us safe."
He sighed.
"But it wasn't enough people just kept getting comfortable every now and then they would stop looking at the asians and stop being afraid, god if even one little girlfriend or boyfriend that was brought in was an agent that would be bad. So I bought some printers and created a little newspaper."
The light came in the window, his face had a contented smile on it.
"You see, I didn't order the boy to kill that baby, no that would backfire. Instead I just made sure that the right sort of person had the right sort of connections. Then all I had to do was spread rumors, make sure that there was fear in their hearts. Nature would take care of the rest. Of course that isn't the only card I play."
I heard him crack his knuckles.
"It's hard work doing this Kamal, this fortress of ours it isn't just walls, or money, or mercenaries, it's a fortress of hate and fear. The people in the Enclave must always be afraid, they must always be angry. The asians likewise must always be angry, always just a little insulted, it's a plan that requires a lot of work and then you came in and started ruining it."
He paused.
"We picked you for a reason Kamal, a student of a school known for their, well antiquated views, on race and religion. You were supposed to lead them, you were suposed to be a shining beacon of hate, but you started talking about pointless things. Things like forgiveness, like mercy, like charity, this Enclave was a finely tuned watch and you were destroying it, why?"
He ripped of the ball gag.
"You know nothing of Allah, of god, Islam is not a tool of hate, of misery or fear. I'm not afraid!"
He chuckled and put the gag back on.
"You will be, I have a cousin, he's read a few Islam for idiots books, I guess he will do, I mean how hard can it be right?"
The car stopped and he put me into the street.
"I know what you're thinking, the nine families their all in it right? Ugh I wish, you're not the only problem. The Bolat's, their cover is good, but you know how they made their money? Candy, seriously fucking candy, thats why they're so fat, turns out they own this company in Turkey called Big Sour. They make gummy worms, and other gummy items."
He fiddled around as if looking for something.
"The old man's a migraine, every time he sees some hungry waif he has to give them some candy, or there's some charity that needs help, and then there's fucking Rasheed. You know what he does? Makes space toilets. I shit you not, a self made man, you know he actually means it when he says all work is noble? The fucker will actually clean the toilets of his business if he thinks it wasn't done right. No dignity at all."
He placed me in a coffin.
"You're going to die Kamal, it's nothing personal, like I said I respect you, but this the way it has to be."
He put on the covering and started nailing the coffin shut. Then I heard it hit water. I banged my head against the walls of the coffin. Fighting against it with the full force of my body, praying to Allah to give me the strength needed to defeat this corruption.
The coffin broke open and I felt the cold of the sea hit. I swam, my legs and arms bound, but I swam for shore. I felt tired, cold and exhausted but I needed to stop this, end this maddness. I collapsed on the shore, I needed help, I was bleeding and-
"Are you all right?"
"I need help."
"Yeah.. I see that, look I can't afford the hospital but, I know some stuff."
The man put me on his back.
"Come on, I'm going to fix you up."
"Your name?"
"Danny, you're going to be fine, ok?"
"Thank you."