Capa woke up early, although less than four hours had passed since he fell asleep.
The room was still relatively dark. He was lying on the bed, his head turned to one side, staring out the dimly lit window, thinking about a question.
Why haven’t the people from the International Equality Alliance come to find me yet?
Did the wife encounter an accident on the road?
Was it that the wife had successfully arrived in Lelist City, but had not yet found a way to safely meet her comrades from the International Equality Alliance?
Or has the International Equality Alliance received news from his wife and is trying its best to contact him?
There are only three possibilities.
Capa didn't know whether he was being emotional or rational, so he decisively ruled out the first possibility, and then began to study the probabilities of the latter two in detail.
Clementine and her children set off on the 22nd. As of today, it has been more than seven days. It doesn’t take too long to get to Lelist City from Lezein. Why should I have stayed in Lelist City for two or three days after such a long time?
Oh my god.
If she is suffering from the lack of a suitable way to contact an absolutely reliable comrade to inform the other party of this top-secret information, then Clementine will not wait foolishly and will forcefully contact the other party in the near future.
Therefore, if this is really possible, it will take another three to five days for people from the International Equality Alliance to get in touch with him.
But if it's the latter, it's going to be troublesome.
Capa himself also preferred that the International Equality Alliance had no good way to meet him after knowing it. After all, as a reporter for a newspaper and a key protected person of the interim government, he would be followed by at least two soldiers when he traveled, and his residence was also patrolled and guarded by soldiers. International
It is indeed not easy for the Equality Alliance to bypass them and see themselves.
The most important thing is that even if it is actually the second possibility, the International Equality Alliance will take such a step in the end if it knows about it. Therefore, no matter what, you have to solve the problem of having soldiers around you to protect and monitor you in order to ensure your communication channel with the International Equality Alliance.
Unimpeded traffic.
To deal with this problem, the simplest and crudest way is to find a way to disperse the soldiers.
Without the people from the Provisional Government around him, it would be easy for the comrades of the International Equality League to come and see him.
So how do you keep the soldiers away and keep them far away from you without raising doubts about you?
Time passed and Capa came to work in a newspaper office.
Perhaps because the top-secret information was still there, editor-in-chief Byron didn't take the breach of his office too seriously. After seeing Capa in the morning, he even asked with a smile: "Is she here?"
This is obviously a question about the lover who does not exist at all.
Editor-in-chief Byron helped Capa take away Clementine and the children, just so that this old subordinate could live with his lover, remember his kindness, and continue to work hard for him.
Capa pretended to look forward to it and replied: "Already on the way."
This answer was something he had thought about in advance.
He expected that Byron would ask such a question sooner or later, and he had no idea what was going on with the International Equality Alliance. A week had passed and the follow-up was still unknown, so saying 'on the way' was as vague as not saying anything.
Words are undoubtedly the most confusing.
"Orlando is not too far from Lazerin, right? And didn't you say that this woman has been ready to make a move? Why hasn't she arrived a week ago?" Editor-in-Chief Byron asked doubtfully.
"Ah, it's like this..." Capa explained bravely, "Something happened with her mother, which delayed her for some time."
"I wish you could meet soon." Editor-in-chief Byron had no doubts and ended the chat with Capa.
Capa sat in front of his workstation and found it difficult to breathe.
It can't be delayed any longer.
He could use this excuse for three more days at most. If it lasted longer, Byron would definitely become suspicious.
Once people begin to have doubts, many things will naturally be connected together and gradually strengthen subconsciously, turning disbelief into maybe believability, and then from maybe believability into firm belief.
For example, Capa looked like a very reliable person and suddenly said that he was having an affair and wanted to take away his wife and children.
For example, Capa stayed alone in the newspaper office to work overtime, and that night the newspaper office was attacked by the International Equality League, and the office door was forced open.
For example, Capa, who had almost no sense of presence, actively proposed to go to prison for interviews many times.
These things usually look fine, but if you think about them together with suspicion, the result is unpredictable.
In order to prevent this situation from growing, the International Equality Alliance comrade pretended to be his lover and the International Equality Alliance action team contacted him. One of the two must arrive within three days.
If the former arrives first, Capa's safety can be guaranteed. The latter arrives first. Capa can hand over the evidence to the other party and hide directly, or simply go to Lelist City to reunite with his wife and children under the escort of the International Equality League.
.
But it was not Capa's decision to decide when his lover would arrive. All he could do was to find a way to clear away the power of the Provisional Government around him and give the International Equality League's action team stationed in Lezeinli a chance to contact him.
As long as they can get in touch and hand over the films containing complete evidence to the other party, their most important victory in public opinion will be basically determined. Whether the lover will come or not by then will not mean much.
Capa can be regarded as having contributed valuable power to the birth of a brave new world, allowing his increasingly dim and mediocre life to shine with unprecedented light.
Or...pretend to have an infectious disease?
While deep in thought, Capa had a bold idea when he heard his colleague coughing.
If he is sick, it is best to have an infectious disease. Let alone the soldiers, editor-in-chief Byron would not dare to let him stay in the newspaper office. He has sufficient evidence and will definitely be sent to the hospital for treatment.
The hospital has complicated personnel access, and most people stay far away from patients with infectious diseases. It is relatively easy for the International Equality Alliance Action Team to contact themselves in the hospital.
However, with the soldiers following him, it was very strange that he had an infectious disease inexplicably. It would be bad if he didn't take it right and it would increase the doubts about himself.
If you really want to use this method, the safest way is to actually get sick.
In the name of shooting material, I went to some streets with harsh environments to find suitable subjects, and deliberately contacted patients. It was natural for me to get sick, and I couldn't find any doubts.
The biggest risk among them is simply your own health.
If you don't struggle, you are going to die. If you don't struggle, all your previous efforts will be in vain. What does it mean to contract a disease now?
It only took Capa a short time to convince himself.
But before he could do it, the editor-in-chief Byron answered the phone and called him into the office.
"Editor-in-Chief." Capa didn't know what Byron was looking for, so he could only improve his wording in advance on why his lover hadn't arrived yet.
"We have performed well during this period, and it is also due to everyone's hard work. Our public opinion campaign has officially come to an end." Editor-in-chief Byron played with a cigar, "It won't take long, after the plan is officially over, I will give you a good
Let’s take a holiday and celebrate our victory.”
"Really, really? That's great." Capa smiled a little stiffly.
He believed that the public opinion campaign would continue for a long time, trying to discredit the International Equality Alliance to the point where it would be unable to stand up.
However, since the interim government now intends to end the work in this area, it means that the effect has reached expectations.
"But, don't tell anyone else about this yet. I'm afraid everyone will relax at the last moment." Byron motioned for Capa to sit opposite him.
"Why?" Capa became increasingly puzzled.
I didn’t want everyone to know, so why did I tell myself.
"Actually, you were supposed to keep it a secret, but I happen to have some work to arrange for you here, so I want to give you some peace of mind first." Byron said, "Do you still remember what happened in the prison?"
"Of course, I have always felt that the members of the International Equality Alliance imprisoned in prison are the new focus of our propaganda. It is a pity that the people in prison did not give me this opportunity..." Capa spread his hands.
"Now you can go over and interview whomever you want and film whatever you want. The people in the prison will fully cooperate with you." Byron's attitude changed drastically.
"What?" Capa was a little confused.
He mentioned this matter to Byron no less than three times, but Byron rejected it every time.
"Prison matters can be done." Byron repeated, "This is actually what I meant above. Considering that the public opinion plan is coming to an end, we will distort the impression of the International Equality Alliance to the world in the final stage.
We can consolidate our results, nail down the situation completely, and leave no room for them to counterattack."
"Then why did the higher-ups always disagree?" Capa inquired about the situation.
"Sometimes it is good for you to know less about things, but you are an exception today." Byron explained to Capa some other secret operations of the provisional government, "You know why the prison did not let you see the arrested International Equality League before?
Member?"
Capa had already guessed in his heart: "...because of what?"
"Because there are no members of the International Equality League at all." Byron said every word. He even widened his eyes when he said this, wanting to appreciate the change in Capa's expression after learning the truth.
"No? There are no people from the International Equality League? How is this possible? They are not, didn't the newspapers say it? Dozens or hundreds of people from the International Equality League are arrested every day? Is it possible-" Capa was incoherent.
His shocked look was exactly what Byron expected.
"Yes, this is also a scam." Whenever others are kept in the dark, Byron will feel a sense of pleasure, a pleasure of being above others, and only he is awake and can see clearly the truth and lies of the world.
"Why?" This is what Capa really wanted to ask.
"It's very complicated here. Anyway, the person who controls all this can at least be said to have one hand covering the sky in Laizein. Any unnecessary person who knows about this will disappear from this world without a trace."
Byron did not fully reveal it, "For your sake, you just need to know that there are no people from the International Equality Alliance in the prison. We have killed some over the years, but almost never captured anyone alive."
Capa was a little angry.
He would rather those arrested were real members of the International Equality League.
That kind of ending is what every comrade who joins the International Equality Alliance is mentally prepared to face.
But the innocent civilians are different, they did nothing.
——They were not treated as human beings and died inexplicably, probably because they did nothing.
"So, those who are reported and exposed every day, and those who are dragged out and executed, are all civilians?"
"Yes, someone has to pretend, and we can't use one of our own, right?" Byron didn't think there was anything wrong with this.
So what about dozens of lives, hundreds of lives, thousands of lives?
They are all untouchables who will never be qualified to talk to him face to face in this life.
Even if their corpses pile up into a mountain, it will not affect their luxurious life.
Listening to Byron's understatement, Capa clenched his fists until his nails were deeply embedded in his flesh. The pain forced him to stay rational, and then he relaxed again: "Is it okay if I go to the prison to do a fake interview?
"
"That's it." Byron nodded.
"I still don't understand." Capa felt frightened and confused about Byron in front of him and the people behind Byron. "Fake this fake thing in the city, arrest a bunch of civilians who don't know anything, and then use the International Equality Alliance to
What’s the point of executing them in the name of members.”
"Did you not understand what I just said?" Byron only thought that Capa was ridiculously stupid. "There is no benefit to you knowing this matter. It can only satisfy your poor curiosity. To say the least, I don't know.
, you don’t have to carry anything. To put it more broadly, if you don’t know, you won’t be threatened. You won’t be inexplicably involved in the vortex of the struggle between certain forces. You can live a good life in such ignorance until you die.
"
Capa wanted to say, "But I still want to know," but the words came to his lips again: "I understand."
"Remember, don't mention this to anyone. When you get to the prison, you just need to take some photos and write the fake interview under the supervision of relevant personnel." Byron patted Capa on the shoulder, "This job
It’s very easy, right? It’s no different than when we go to the streets to take photos and fake reports.”
"It's very easy." Capa said.
"This job can be assigned to anyone, but I am optimistic about you and don't let down my expectations." Byron praised Capa, trying to give Capa the illusion that he was highly valued.
At this moment, Capa found it most difficult to disguise himself.
There was no mirror, but he knew that his expression was ruined.
As a reporter, pursuing the truth and exposing the truth is what he should do most.
He is glad that he has joined the International Equality Alliance and can stick to his lofty ideals, set an example for more people with lofty ideals in the future, and create a better environment.
"I will complete the mission." Capa promised.
This was not said to Byron.
Capa, who originally wanted to take advantage of his illness to leave the newspaper office and end his mission, decided to continue fighting.
Reveal more truth to the world.
Defend the dignity of being a human being, defend the oath of becoming a journalist, and win another public opinion war.