Back at the newspaper office, Capa hid part of the film that contained the truth, and gave the rest to colleagues responsible for the corresponding work.
Then, after reporting the progress to Editor-in-Chief Byron, he sat alone in the corner of the staff canteen and ate lunch in silence.
The food in the cafeteria has always been good, which may be related to the fact that they are the government's key protection personnel. But when he was in the clean and bright cafeteria and eating a sumptuous lunch, the rancid prison and the desperate faces still impacted his brain.
.
For the first time, he felt what it meant to be a fool.
After a long time, he finished the lunch that he didn't pack much in the first place, returned to the room, and finally couldn't help but cover his face and cry bitterly.
Capa has lived for more than thirty years. After these nearly ten days of experience, he found that he was not as fragile as he thought. What happened today made him find that he was not as strong as he thought.
Seeing so many people trapped in misery made him feel extremely tormented.
But such negative emotions did not last forever.
Because there is one thing more important than sorrow, and that is rescuing thousands of people imprisoned.
And the only one with the ability to rescue is the action team left in Lezein by the International Equality Alliance!
He has complete evidence of the newspaper's fraud, and evidence that the prisoners in prison are ordinary people. What he lacks now is the opportunity and channel to make these public.
It’s time to proactively create opportunities to engage with the action team.
Capa decided to start the ‘Getting Disease’ project in the afternoon.
afternoon
After he skillfully finished writing a false report that matched the prison photos, Capa impatiently left the newspaper office in the name of collecting material. Under the escort of two soldiers, he went to a slum where people without shelter and jobs gathered spontaneously.
Without specialized cleaning staff, the people in the slums cannot even guarantee food and clothing, and they have no intention of caring about dignity and cleanliness. As a result, the streets of the slums are littered with garbage and the stench is high.
In such an environment, bacteria can breed and diseases can spread easily.
"Mr. Capa, I suggest you not to stay here too long. Look over there, there are a bunch of people coughing, and on the other side there are several corpses that have been lying around for who knows how long. It is easy for the plague to occur here. If we catch it, we will die.
We're in trouble." The cautious soldiers sensed the danger and advised Capa to leave as soon as possible.
When he saw the horrific corpse, Capa also had the idea of leaving quickly.
He instinctively doubted whether his plan was feasible.
What if you contract a severe infectious disease and die before the International Equality Alliance can find you?
"Mr. Capa, let's go quickly and collect materials in another place." Another soldier covered his mouth and nose with a scarf and looked around fearfully.
"...Let me take a few photos, and then I'll leave." Capa briefly struggled internally and chose to stay here for a while longer.
If you are really infected, just take advantage of the situation. If everything is fine, then it shouldn't be a big problem to pretend to have an infectious disease. Anyway, whether the plan succeeds or not is a matter of these few days. If the secret is not exposed within a few days, it will not happen.
There is a problem.
Even if it is found that he is not infected with an infectious disease, it would make sense to argue that he came to the slums and mistakenly thought he was infected.
"Click."
"Click."
After taking photos in front of a group of people huddled together for warmth, Capa put away his camera and returned to the newspaper office with the soldiers who didn't even want to get close to the people like him.
That night, whether because of psychological suggestion or because he really contracted the disease by chance, Capa came home with a high fever and was taken to the hospital early the next morning by soldiers who took the initiative to check on the situation.
——
November 30, morning
Lezein Wartime Action Team General Liaison Office
"According to reports from comrades lurking near reporter Capa's residence, reporter Capa seemed to be ill. At dawn, he was hurriedly sent to the hospital by several soldiers wearing masks." Murphy, who received the new telegram news, immediately
Report to Verak.
"Infectious disease?" Verak judged Capa's condition from the unusual behavior of the soldiers wearing masks, "How could he suddenly become ill?"
"This is unclear. The government forces divided Lezein into small areas and restricted the movement of people in each area. This makes it difficult for us to fully grasp Capa's whereabouts. However, what is known is that,
Many reporters went back to the slums to collect materials. I suspect that Capa may have contracted some disease while collecting materials. After all, our comrades saw him well the day before, but it was just one night..."
Murphy analyzed based on the information currently available.
Verak nodded thoughtfully: "It is most likely not a coincidence to go to the hospital for getting sick at this juncture."
Sherrill, who was sitting aside and listening to the whole process, agreed: "I think so too, but it's still unknown whether Capa really wants to spontaneously create opportunities to contact us, or whether there is another trap."
"We have reached this point, we still have to try to make contact, right?" Cyril, the leader of the combat team, came over, "At worst, we only send one comrade to meet him to judge the authenticity, so even if something goes wrong
, the losses are also controllable. Otherwise, if it continues like this, it will delay the fighter opportunity, and then it will not be a matter of whether to sacrifice, but also how much to sacrifice."
Verak nodded slightly.
He felt that what Cyril said was right.
With limited capabilities and the inability to completely and safely investigate whether Capa was a bait set by the provisional government, it was an inevitable choice to make a risky choice.
And the sooner a decision is made, the better for them.
It will be a completely different situation to know that the other party is a bait now than to find out three days and five days later.
More importantly, if Capa had nothing to do with the Provisional Government, and he sincerely devoted himself to the International Equality League, and did not hesitate to get sick to fight for connections, then their current inaction is the greatest blasphemy to Capa's efforts.
"Do you have the hospital's information?" Verak asked.
"It is still unclear which hospital Capa was sent to, but our comrades have already launched an investigation into the most likely hospital, and I believe the results will be available today," Murphy said.
"Which hospital Capa is in, we will arrange for comrades in the area of that hospital to go and contact him." Verak made the decision, "If it is true, it is best. If it is false, we will immediately contact comrades from other departments to stop targeting
Operation of this plan. We strive to successfully complete our tasks within the two-day time limit given by Chairman Keating."
"If it's false, I'm afraid it will cause a heavy blow to morale." Cyril sighed, worrying about the worst outcome.
At present, the action team has tried many methods to break into the newspaper office, but they have all ended in failure.
The appearance of Capa suddenly raised their confidence, which had gradually declined to an all-time low, to an unprecedented high.
If it is finally confirmed that Capa is a decoy of the provisional government, their morale that has finally risen will definitely fall to the bottom.
"... Just surrender." Verak said helplessly and simply, "If this hope is shattered, we must admit that it is basically impossible for us to obtain key evidence. The best way then is to terminate it in time.
The investment in this aspect is directly based on the worst situation, regrouping and launching a struggle."
"It should have been like this a long time ago." Veteran Spencer, holding a cigarette in his mouth, echoed loudly, "If you cut it off, it's time to cut it off. The most important thing in revolution is to have courage!"
"Connie, what's going on with Hall?" In the morning, Verak left Hall's affairs to Connie to train her.
Connie walked over quickly and said: "Hall agreed to your proposal and is seizing the time to find a new hiding spot for us and plan our transfer route."
Verak was very satisfied with the result: "The transfer should be carried out as quickly as possible. If we have time later, we can select a suitable location on the map and discuss the feasibility with Hall. Cyril, over there at the Martyrs Cemetery
Is there any problem?"
"There is no problem with the Martyrs Cemetery. The government troops have not stationed troops there for a while," Cyril said.
"Very good, the combat team continues to plan operations to attract the attention of the government forces and continue to cause harassment and damage to them." Verak sat firmly on the sofa, "Now, everyone performs their duties and waits for good news."
Towards evening, good news came.
Murphy received the latest telegram, which confirmed that Comrade Evans, who was hiding in the South District, confirmed that reporter Capa was being treated in a hospital near the apartment where he lived.
Comrade Evans was one of the second batch of comrades to obtain a camera and was responsible for collecting evidence.
Because the smuggling of cameras had been discovered by the provisional government, in order to ensure the safety of the comrades holding the cameras, Verak had to issue an order that day, requiring both groups of comrades to move to the location as soon as possible.
They changed their names to prevent the provisional government from following the clues and finding them.
Evans, who originally planned to leave the apartment tonight and hide in other neighborhoods, became an exception.
As the closest comrade to journalist Capa, he had to risk staying and try to make contact with him.
Doing so means that once the interim government fully grasps the clues about the smuggled cameras, he will be in danger of being discovered at any time.
But without any hesitation, he resolutely took on the role of the hub of hope.
Verak, Sherrill and others personally gave Evans various instructions via telegram, striving to ensure that this contact could be carried out safely.
Evans' final telegram was extremely brief:
Guaranteed to complete the task.
——
On the evening of November 30th, an apartment in the South District of Lezein
Evans patiently destroyed all confidential materials in the room.
He knew that no one in the International Equality Alliance could confirm the background of journalist Capa.
This reporter with confusing information may be sincere, or he may be a decoy.
And if the latter is confirmed, he will undoubtedly be the first comrade to be exposed and sacrificed.
Therefore, he needs to be fully prepared for the possibility of being exposed.
Destroying data is the first step.
After finishing all the work, the proprietress's hoarse shouts came from the corridor.
When dinner time came, it was time for these lonely tenants to go downstairs to have dinner with the landlady and her family, who had been crying all day long.
Evans adjusted his clothes a little, deliberately limped open the door, and walked downstairs with the other lifeless tenants.
In the past, the relationship between the tenants was pretty good, and at least they would have had warm conversations when they met. But within a few days, the owner of the apartment and several tenants were anonymously reported and were treated as criminals by the government forces.
It was the comrades from the International Equality League who took him to jail, which made people in the apartment now panicked. No one dared to talk nonsense or get involved with others.
In this regard, Evans, who is truly a comrade of the International Equality League, cannot describe his feelings.
He only made it clear that he hated this atmosphere, and felt sad that six or seven people walked out of the corridor, but there was no sound except the sound of footsteps.
The slightest bit of power was given out at will and abused.
The originally bustling apartment fell apart, and the citizens of Lezeinli fell into suspicion and cannibalism.
Evans can't wait to reveal the truth.
After finally moving to the stairs, he deliberately slipped and rolled down with a cry of pain.
Although the slip was pretended, the fall was real.
He hit the wall at the corner of the stairs and barely stopped. He was so painful that he could only open his mouth and gasp.
The other tenants who came downstairs were dumbfounded when they saw this, looking at a loss.
After four or five seconds, one of the indifferent tenants finally stood up.
This man had a good relationship with Evans before, and would help him enthusiastically when they met him downstairs. However, after the revelation, he never spoke to Evans again.
After witnessing this scene today, he mustered up the courage to step forward to check the situation: "How are you? Are you okay?"
"Hiss... Huh..." Evans calmed down for more than a minute, and then regained some of his state. He grinned and said, "I feel... my leg is broken..."
"Which leg?"
"Right leg."
"Here, help, take him to the hospital." The tenant tried to carry Evans on his back while asking for help from others.
The other tenants gathered on the stairs looked at each other, not daring to take any risks.
Nowadays, if the relationship between two people is even slightly close, someone may secretly reveal that they are members of the International Equality Alliance and are meeting.
The provisional government doesn't care whether the words are true or not, as long as they don't seem too outrageous, they will arrest them and put them in jail.
So far, only a small number of those imprisoned have been released.
Among these few, the vast majority were dragged to execution, and a very small number barely managed to save their lives after paying large sums of money in bribes.
They have no power and do not dare to take this risk.
"Are you all scared out of your mind?! How can there be so many people from the International Equality Alliance, so what if there are?! Is it the people from the International Equality Alliance who are hurting us, or the people from the government who are hurting us?!" The tenant
He glared at a circle of onlookers and said what he was holding in his heart.
When the people around him heard this, they were so frightened that they backed away and used practical actions to draw a clear line between them.
"Crazy, all crazy..." the tenant murmured in disappointment as he passed by them, carried Evans alone out of the apartment, and went straight to the nearest hospital.