Desecration

2 Retribution

2 RetributionThe furrier on the Boulevarde Winston Churchill appeared permanently closed to any unconcerned passer by. The Fermé sign had long since fallen to the floor as the neglect of eight weeks without opening had taken its toll. The proprietor, Monsieur Hurtado, had no family to speak of and his regular customers had sadly assumed that the ageing furrier had passed away and been buried without any of the conventional ceremonies. The back street upon which the shop sat uneasily had kept the distasteful trade that operated within unpublicised to all but a few long-standing clients. The window cleaner had long since given up on the unpaid bill and the glass’s coating of dusty Paris summer grime bore witness to the fact that it had not been cleaned for some weeks now. Smeared patches of dirt dotted over the glazed door marked the comings and goings of customers who had tried to obtain a response without success and now the only intrusive interest came from unpaid creditors.

A telephone rang from the study in the living quarters on the first floor of three above the shop. It was not the powerful ring of a landline phone but the sharp plastic tones of the latest encrypted mobile. The handset cried out for its owner’s attention until, tardily, the battered brown-glossed door opened and the black-suited man entered at a leisurely pace. Seemingly unbothered by the mobile’s grating bleats, he checked the caller’s displayed number before eventually completing the connection with a fleeting press of the small green phone icon on the keypad.

‘Skinner speaking,’ the jump suited man offered by way of identification, his soft French accent making short work of the unglamorous English words.

‘Skinner, Cuckoo here. Are you free to speak?’ the Texan asked in his deep southern drawl.

‘Yes of course! You know I’ve not moved from here for the last two months,’ Skinner replied, frustrated by his employer’s stupidity.

‘How’s your assignment shaping up? We really need to move the project on to the next phase.’

‘These things can’t be rushed - you should know that better than anyone Cuckoo,’ he replied evasively, annoyed by the unreasonable demand.

Cuckoo did indeed know that these things could not be rushed. He had worked with Skinner for many years and although they did not see eye-to-eye all of the time, Cuckoo was painfully aware that his French agent was as methodical and skilful as they come. They had met fifteen years earlier, both low-ranking soldiers, fighting with the French Foreign Legion mission somewhere in a forgettable and lawless part of the African continent. Cuckoo had been the young recruit - having escaped the death sentence in the US after the r**e and murder of a woman and her twenty-year-old twin daughters. Conversely, Skinner was a career soldier with expensive tastes. However, the salary of a junior officer could not support the cost of his extravagant standard of living. Eventually his innate corruption and greed began to manifest themselves in his routine. At first it was just petty crime, mainly helping out Cuckoo by shifting the odd crate of whisky or demanding protection money from any business where they saw an opportunity.

Cuckoo had been the catalyst - expediting Skinner’s metamorphosis into a callous and egocentric civilian. Nevertheless, after a near death experience, Skinner began to reflect on his four years in the Legion and he very quickly decided that his existence would always be fatally flawed while Cuckoo was able to exert his immoral influence upon him. Deciding to leave the Legion, Skinner tried to reclaim his perished soul by living a simple life working in a French farm far from where he had been raised.

It took many years for the townspeople of Rouen to inflame the evil streak in Skinner. After a two-day drinking binge driven by self-doubt, Skinner furiously retrieved the hunting knife from his redundant legionnaire’s kit. A transient farm worker had taunted Skinner about the origins of his nickname and questioned his sexuality. Incensed, Skinner wildly explained that it had been bestowed upon him by his first commanding officer, who had decided that he had far too many men named ‘Jean’ in the Legion unit that he commanded. He then rambled on that this officer had witnessed Jean expertly slice the scalp off another man in a short but violent fight. The commanding officer, who had been of British origin, had subsequently used Jean for any knife work. Animal, human, or vegetable, it did not matter - Jean’s skill with any form of sharp blade was consummate and he had been tagged with the name Skinner ever since. The farm hand, still unimpressed, had laboured the point and, after a short break in proceedings, Skinner returned to the hostelry with the infamous knife. The farm hand was offered no chance to defend his portly and quite frankly rather repulsive features before Jean removed both ears, his nose and his mop of sun-bleached blond hair, with scalp attached.

Locked away for his crime, Skinner resigned himself to the fact that he would see a lot more of the walls that held him. That was until the handful of witnesses to the vicious assault changed their statements in unison. The revised testimonies were clear and precise - what Jean had been guilty of was merely self-defence: a right that any man was entitled to exercise, especially those of French extraction. The presiding magistrate at the trial had been assured by an unknown businessman that upon Skinner’s conviction for involuntary manslaughter and his immediate release for time served the defendant would not just leave the country, but the continent. And for good…

‘You’re in France for the first time in what? Five… or is it six years? We wouldn’t want that mess in Rouen to come back to haunt us now would we?’ Cuckoo threatened, clueless as to how to handle the situation.

‘He might die if we move too fast. You said you wanted him alive - an example you said,’ Skinner replied, unmoved by the hollow threat.

‘An example not a martyr! We need to make headlines and build up a head of steam in the media or it’ll mean trouble for all of us in the IMF. Your victim was supposed to be the next. Why do I always have to wait while you do things your way!’

Cuckoo, so named for his propensity to enter and then dominate an alien environment, had been expelled from the Legion after another unfortunate episode of r**e and murder. Forced to remain in the African state of Uganda because returning home meant a certain jail sentence, he stumbled across his true vocation in the shape of the ‘International Missionary Fellowship’ a mere twelve months after absconding.

‘Alive as an example of our relentless determination to inflict severe suffering on the immoral people of this world. Is this not correct?’ Skinner persevered.

‘Okay, okay! Have it your way, but how much skin’s left to remove? We really do need to push on with the project,’ Cuckoo asked witheringly.

‘The face only. I do not want the eyes to dry out too much before his delivery and I have some sewing to do before the unveiling.’

‘Take them out?’

‘Too much pain is bad for the constitution. Deprivation of sight is a deed only for God to command.’

Cuckoo decided not to dissect Skinner’s previous statement. It was his own fault - placing him with a religious order in Tibet had been a mistake, he concluded. Cuckoo had tried to expedite Jean’s exit from France as soon as he had been released. However, trying to find a place for his future investment was not unproblematic and the hideaway that had eventually taken Jean had had a profound effect upon the French man’s demeanour.

‘You’re going to take his f*****g life aren’t you? Who gives a f**k about his eyes?’ Cuckoo moaned at the moral contradiction of the statement, knowing that the only way to bring Jean back into line was to be by his side - and he knew that was out of the question.

‘He will live - of that you can be sure. Just long enough to explain to the police the perseverance and determination of the terrorists to strike fear wherever ethically flawed people feel safest. This is what you requested. No?’

‘Jean! We’re going in circles here. Bottom line. How much longer before you’re ready? A week? Two?’

‘Ten days, mon ami, should see the completion of my task,’ Skinner replied. He never seemed to concur with anything Cuckoo suggested.

‘Ten days it is my friend…’

Cuckoo, who had taken as much insubordination as he could stomach in one conversation, severed the call. Everything had changed drastically for this insignificant Texan when the money had begun to pour into the fellowship’s coffers. The IMF had just been a stopgap for Cuckoo at first, something to be discarded or sold on when he got bored, or the pressure became too intense. He had never seen himself in the big time - just enough money for a few of life’s simple pleasures was all that he needed. Nevertheless, the position that he had attained in the international underworld could not he discarded so lightly, or for that matter without previous clients becoming nervous about his intentions. No, he knew he was in to deep to navigate his way safely and as such would make the best of a non-negotiable position.

Cuckoo stared long and hard at the mobile in front of him before beginning to scroll through the myriad stored numbers and names in it. His newest and highest paying client wanted to make worldwide news headlines within the next few days, so he would have to arrange for one of his other operatives to provide them. The blue tinged screen finally settled on his Canadian operative, Jim Sayer, or Slayer as Cuckoo referred to him. The ringing tone fizzed as the encryption device set to work again and by the time Sayer answered the line was as sharp as any cable could offer.

‘Yes?’ Sayer simply said.

‘Can you proceed with your job?’ Cuckoo asked without the need for introduction.

‘When?’

‘Tonight okay?’

‘I don’t see why not. If there are any delays I’ll let you know. But assume it’s as good as done.’

‘Okay. Check in when you’re done,’ Cuckoo said, pleased that at least one of his associates took his authority seriously.

Sitting alone, Cuckoo glanced around the vast veranda that partially overlooked Beverly Hills. This terrace was probably worth more than all of his other properties put together. Maybe that was why he spent so much time away from here - he didn’t want to take for granted the pleasures of his wealth. No, one month spent in each of the world’s six major continents and would suffice – and then he would start all over again. It kept everything fresh and also made it difficult for his enemies to know where to find him.

Finally, after contemplating his next move, the one after that and several more beyond, Cuckoo stood and stretched. Clothing was one thing he did not have a penchant for and his ten-year-old, ‘seen better days’ shorts hung inelegantly on him. At forty-two, he was still fit but his body displayed many scars of previous close and violent encounters. Taking one final swig of the iced tea that he had developed a thirst for in the many tropical countries in which he had fought, Cuckoo plunged into the outsized swimming pool and made for the opposite end underwater. The slowly expelled air jauntily bubbled to the surface before he finally raised his head above the cool water’s surface to inhale the fresh morning air and frowned. Still he was troubled. This job had consumed all but a few pockets of his worldwide operation and he was more than pleased to be making a healthy profit. Nevertheless, something was not quite right. Ecologists? Idealists? Save the planet and all its creatures, except for humankind? he mused. No, he was happy to kill for anyone who paid the necessary funds - whatever their gripe. But these morally driven groups normally did it in-house, not with hired guns - they needed to feel good about their struggle for whatever it was that they were fighting for. That meant getting your hands dirty and spilling a little, or for that matter a lot, of blood. Cuckoo swam back, this time on the surface in a lazy breaststroke. He climbed from the pool and dripped his way back towards the table and chairs. Picking up the phone once again, he dialled a good friend of his at the CIA headquarters in Langley Virginia.

‘Brian? It’s Mac here. Can you talk?’ he asked.

‘No problem, Mac,’ De Palma replied, rather more casually than the situation should have allowed.

‘Do you know of any eco-terrorist groups in Europe with some heavyweight financial backing – who might have been animal rights terrorists in a previous life. In fact, any groups of that nature looking to make their presence felt globally.’

‘Have you seen the light at last Mac and want to join?’ De Palma replied humorously, or so he thought.

Cuckoo waited for the mocking laughter to cease before he continued, ‘Yeah right. So have you heard anything?’

As De Palma sensed the charged tension of the question his mental constipation puckered his brow to a frown.

‘Well?’ Cuckoo prodded.

‘No sorry, Mac. Nothing that springs to mind. But that’s not to say there is nothing. I’ll speak to a few people. Tell my superiors I’ve unearthed some s**t on the internet - there’s plenty to blame it on you know.’

‘Are you in town at the moment?’ De Palma added as the expected reply failed to materialise.

‘Sort of. Can you meet me on the yacht at eleven tomorrow night? Near that dive site you swear by?’ Cuckoo replied: an order disguised as a question.

‘Can you make it twelve? I’m working on an op till eleven and it’ll take me an hour to get there. I take it scuba gear’s de rigueur?’

‘Yep, usual routine. See you at twelve,’ Cuckoo said, before ending the call.

De Palma was not so much a friend as a paid acquaintance but he was as close to a respected friend as anyone Cuckoo had ever known. De Palma would only help out with work carried outside their beloved United States of America; this was just enough to satisfy the CIA man’s half-baked sense of probity. They had met on an operation in Panama, working for different organisations that ultimately required an identical outcome. The Colombian drug cartels and the CIA had more in common than they would ever have known, were it not for the chance meeting of the two men. Cuckoo had been hired to take down the emerging drug traffickers from Panama by Emilio Kempes - the head of the most powerful of all the world’s drug co-operatives. The CIA had become aware of the massive production potential of such a government-backed manufacturing centre and decided to nip it in the bud before the income generated from such nefarious activities made them invulnerable to eradication. Ultimately, both parties coveted the same outcome: both knew that the drug problem could never be wiped out. So their strategy was to keep the prices high by reducing production and therefore decrease the seepage onto the streets. More profit for the Colombians; less affordable coke for the ordinary masses of America.

De Palma, sent as a CIA observer with Delta Forces to the Panamanian jungle, sat amongst the seething foliage that engulfed the area for hundreds of miles. Hidden deep in the undergrowth, he observed the production centre through field glasses and as he did so spotted the high-powered rifle sights trained directly upon his green and black camouflaged forehead. Cuckoo had held his fire on the gut instinct that a shot would bring more trouble down upon him than even he could cope with. His instinct had been correct and after a protracted and deadly stand off, Cuckoo instigated a meeting between the two clandestine forces within earshot of the intended target.

The Delta Forces commander had registered his displeasure at making deals with the proverbial ‘Devil’ and was duly overruled by the civilian De Palma. De Palma reasoned that there was a common goal to be achieved and that Cuckoo and his three other operatives located around the target site could, should and would help in taking down the drugs processing plant.

Two days later the jungle canopy signalled the end of the production plant and its surrounding crop with the intermittent expulsion of clouds of dense black smoke. The noise of the explosions and gunfire barely cleared the treetops. But before the Panamanian Army could arrive and see the destruction for themselves, the contamination caused by the cocktail of chemicals released into the previously fertile soil was complete. The perpetrators had evacuated the scene of devastation – with De Palma and Cuckoo going their separate ways - but it did not take the mercenary long to realise the full potential of such an unholy alliance. Meanwhile, De Palma had arrived at the very same conclusion as Cuckoo and, after meticulous planning by the CIA man, De Palma crossed paths once again with Cuckoo and became his most prized informant. The relationship over the years had developed markedly, with their distorted perception of corruption allowing both to sleep easily at night - and before their association was a year old it was hard to distinguish who was nestled in whose pocket.

FACT

Forests both affect, and are affected by, climate change; they perform a vital role in the global carbon cycle. Their survival, or destruction, could significantly influence the course of global warming in the 21st century.

We are losing earth's greatest biological treasures just as we are beginning to understand their true value. Rainforests once covered 14% of the Earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the remaining rainforests could be wiped out in less than 40 years.

Almost half of the world's species of plants, animals and micro-organisms will be extinct, or on the verge of extinction, over the course of the next 25 years due to rainforest deforestation.

In real terms, one and a half acres of rainforest are lost every second - the equivalent of destroying 73 football pitches every minute of the day…