The Arrangement

By Cliff Lake

 

The Arrangement

 

The agitator had been caught in the early morning.

Someone so seemingly well-funded

Should have known the coffee shop was under surveillance.

Bold as brass,

Sitting in the front window,

This Enemy of the State went willingly enough,

And now sat quietly before the Interrogator.

As expected, his answers were too often cryptic,

Misleading or

Outright lies.

His poise remained unshakeable,

Bordering on impudence,

Even in the face of known whereabouts,

Aliases,

Operations,

And even knowledge of incidents

Attributed to him,

That were not his.

His nerve seemed unshakeable.

Expected, yes, but maddening for all of that.

One question remained:

“Who is funding you so adequately?”

The agitator’s eyes flicked to the guards in the room,

To the Recorder,

Then back to the Interrogator…

A tacit gesture,

Delivered with a seriousness not worn before.

The Interrogator dismissed the guards,

Waved the Recorder off.

When the room cleared, he posed the query again:

“Who is funding you?”

“You are”, was the answer, “Rather,

Your masters, such as they are.”

This was spoken with such weight,

The Interrogator’s eyes widened…

“You see, the Agency has performed too well.

The malcontents have been sought, found, prosecuted,

Eliminated.

Only some few remain.

We that are left have come to ‘The Arrangement.’

Our actions are frightening, yet harmless,

Loud and ineffective.

Just often enough

To convince the populace

That the Agency and the government owning it

Are necessary to the nation’s survival.

Outside the door to this room are men known to you,

Though you do not know their names.

They will collect me,

And things will proceed as they ever have.”

The Interrogator did not believe.

Calling for the guards he opened the door –

To five men. Five that he knew. Men without names.

The news outlets the next day spoke of the daring raid.

Nameless men had rescued the agitator.

It was said that the operation appeared to be well-funded.

 

Cliff Lake 11/1/2024

Copyright © Clifford Lake 2024

Location: Wichita, KS, USA

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