they

“THEY”

They’d have to kill him, and sooner rather than later. “How could you let this happen?” Anne hissed as Jeremy sat down. He was far to calm considering the predicament they were facing. But then again, that was Jeremy in a nutshell. With his blonde hair , hazel eyes and the kind of confidence other people would pay good money for. She’d been against his initiation from the start for this very reason, overconfidence having been the downfall of far too many people who had their sights set on world domination. Anne did not in fact have any plans for world domination, nor did anyone else in the organisation. If only her present company had similar insight there might’ve been some hope for him. She didn’t have long to muse however. “I’ve got everything under control.” He said in a stage whisper and she might have given him the benefit of the doubt had he not winked at her after saying it. She nodded and left it at that and as he paraded out of the room she vowed to take a personal interest when the time came to terminate Jeremy’s contract. His arrogance after a mistake that could ruin them all was an affront to her.
His recruitment came as a matter of necessity rather than choice and it seemed that it was a choice they were going to regret. If things went even more pear shaped then at least she would have something on Charles. Charles was average, average build, hight and features but this belied a mind like a diamond, sharp and with a slightly chilly edge. The worst part about him was that he ended up making you think like him. He didn’t use mind control or any of the wonderful little conditioning tricks you see in movies, instead he just manipulated you in such a way that you ended up changing yourself.
“We’ll need someone to take the fall then.” Anne was almost surprised when she heard her own voice. She silently cursed herself for falling into the trap and thinking like the rest of them, but she also knew such a risky operation would need a fall man. Charles didn’t say anything, he just smiled at her and Mark and nodded. There were times when she hated him simply because he was always so knowing, and there were other times when she hated him because he was such a jerk. Jerk or no, he was also one of the best, a brilliant mind in such an unassuming package that no one ever saw what was there. Charles had been part of them far longer than either her or Mark and even though he never said anything, every knowing smile served to remind her of the fact. “I have someone in mind.” He said in his usual calm monotones. At that moment without even knowing why, this infuriated Anne. Then she realised, she’d played right into his hands yet again! He was so good at reading and steering people that he could pull your strings without lifting a finger. What’s worse is part of her wanted to comply to win his approval, knowing full well this was the only way to get allowed into the inner circle.
People who were allowed into the organisation were always top of their class, the kind of people who could do anything they felt like. The endless ability to follow their dreams wouldn’t be enough though, the organisation needed people they could steer. A certain lack of direction coupled with a brilliant mind were key ingredients to their success. The hardest part about ruling the world, was convincing people that you were the right person for the job. And that’s what they did, they ruled the world. This is not to say that they sat somewhere in a dark and quiet room plotting away over the troubles of mankind, in fact darkened rooms were out of the question. They operated in plain sight during daylight and were far more effective than conspiracy theorist could ever imagine.
Now, ruling the world might seem like a nifty idea when you’ve had a couple of drinks and you’re sitting around building castles in the sky with your friends, but in truth it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. There is no one person sitting somewhere on a throne ruling the world, nor were there a group of people in dark robes plotting by candle light, there was simply them. Sitting in a rather drab office building in South Africa of all places! Mark had been excited when Charles came to him, but this soon faded when he walked in the first day, right into Anne. She was annoyingly beautiful and after five minutes in her company he felt like an absolute idiot. Maybe it’s the way she always seemed to be talking at you instead of to you, but to be fair Mark had never been very good with women. Anne had been recruited two months before Mark and even though she recognised her own uncertainty in his eyes she was far to suspicious of people to let up. The memory of that first confusing week was still fresh in her mind, and after she’d given him a gruff brush off she did at least feel a little guilty. All of this was less than a year ago, but it seemed like a lifetime. The people they had been were long gone and had been replaced by suspicious paranoid individuals and even though he suspected that this was barely a switch for Anne, for him it had been an enormous leap. He was right in a way, Anne had always been weary of people but she wasn’t nearly as tough as she was pretending to be.
Charles did the recruitment, usually taking potential candidates to a local coffee shop and inviting them “to join a little club he belonged to that sported some powerful people.” Jeremy was half under the impression that he was joining some sort of country club up until his first meeting. There were a group of people sitting around a table, calmly discussing which country was bordering on a war and which ruler needed to be taken care off. He walked in and got introduced to three people even though there were twelve in the room, when he asked who the others was an elderly woman simply replied:” We are They.” He never thought the world could be run this way, but as soon as he realised what he’d joined he started plotting ways to gain even more control. Jason it has already been mentioned was one of those rather unfortunate people without insight, making him even more of a perfect choice. The trick was never to rule the world, but rather gaining full control of those who do. Nobody in the inner circle wanted to be the one standing in the spotlight waving a sceptre. They wanted to stand at the back, pulling the ruler’s strings. Far enough at the back in fact that if or should I say when a scandal came, they couldn’t possibly be connected to it. There are times when some wayward ruler tried to point a finger at them, but even though drowning men clutch at straws, this has precious little effect on their salvation. Nobody would believe a fallen ruler when he claimed that twelve people from Africa made him do it, people were far too clever for that. This disbelief made them even more effective and made a laughing stock of anyone unwise enough to speak out.
Jeremy had never been a mastermind when it came to keeping secrets, but the speed with which he blurted out this one really was quite ridiculous. He was burning to tell someone from the very minute he walked out the front door and since even Jeremy had enough sense to realise the possible repercussions of such a comment, he decided to tell his younger brother Ben. He knew Ben was trustworthy and he was so proud to have been taken up by such an organisation he just had to tell someone. He barely made it to his apartment before he punched the number on his phone. “Guess what I did buddy!” He said even before the customary ‘How are you?” etc. “ I don’t know, why don’t you tell me” Ben replied, he wasn’t in the mood for any of Jeremy’s boastful rants. Jeremy told him and he went through all the obligatory ooh’s and aah's without really believing any of it. Ben knew that Jeremy was full of flights of fancy and he had no reason to believe that this was any different.
This all changed a couple of weeks later when Jeremy told him about a war they were planning on causing in the middle east, he hadn’t taken any notice of it at the time but when the news came on that evening he had a change of heart. There had been no real reason for the Americans to invade Iraq, but there it was all over the news along with some fabricated story about terrorism. As time passed there were even more stories involving war, stock markets and for some reason cheese that Jeremy leaked to him and as he listened it became clear that his brother was in way over his head. Originally Ben just took solace in the fact that Jason was still very low in the ranks and as such unlikely to get into too much trouble, but when Jeremy started boasting about a possible presidency he knew something was up. He hinted a few times but it soon became clear that nothing short of a neon sign would be needed to reach his brother. Jeremy was so caught up in his own illusions of greatness that he was convinced of his own invulnerability.
“I don’t think you should trust them Jeremy.” Ben hadn’t meant for it to sound like an order, but he was on edge and apparently this was how it came across. He knew it the moment he saw the flicker in his older brother’s expression. Jeremy may have gotten better at hiding his emotions, but he still had a long way to go before he would be able to hide them from someone who’d known him his whole life. Originally he thought Jeremy was joking when he’d first told him he’ been approached by them. As this whole thing started spiralling out of control it started looking like a joke gone south. Jeremy was bright enough, but having a high IQ is rarely enough of a counterbalance for arrogance. He lacked the common sense and street smarts that even hermits were born with. Don’t be fooled however, when it came to public relations he had charm in spades. Whatever else Jeremy lacked, he was always good with people. This along with his boundless ego was why he wasn’t all that surprised when Charles came to him with a little ‘offer’. Fresh out of Varsity with a law degree that he’d only just managed to obtain he was hardly a prime candidate for a top secret organisation. However, a natural born narcissist like Jeremy had no qualms about believing that he alone had the right stuff for the job. “You’re just jealous you petty child!” Jeremy screamed as he charged out of the room. He didn’t even stop to listen to the rest of what Ben had to say, convinced that his brother was somehow the one that was out to get him.
He never noticed the car that was following him around, nor did it ever occur to him that his cell phone might be tapped. It’s a sad truth of the world that people are often important instruments in bringing about their own demise. They knew that he had told his brother and they weren’t impressed at all. Anne didn’t know why she got chosen to talk to Jeremy since she had raised concerns about his suitability from early on. She couldn’t help feeling like Charles had it in for her, but she also knew better than that. Jason was a macho, egotistical idiot and she was simply the right person for the job. She rung him up and told him to come see her in her office and gave her P.A strict instructions not to interrupt them once he came. Jeremy showed up fifteen minutes late and by the time he sauntered in she was ready to grab him by his throat. “We know about your indiscretion.” She said as soon as the obligatory pleasantries were exchanged. Strangely enough Jeremy didn’t argue or even ask how, he simply said :” I trust him completely, he’ll never talk.” “I’m inclined to disagree.” She snapped as she threw the newspaper on the desk, it was open on page 3 along with a headline that read “CONSPIRACY EXPOSED”. She was livid and Jason’s complete lack of understanding was just adding more fuel to the fire. “We can only be glad the editor didn’t put much faith in your brother.” “It’s only a varsity newspaper!” He cried indignantly, but she could hear the slight trebble in his voice. She decided then; They’d have to kill him, and sooner rather than later. Jeremy was becoming more than just a security risk, he was turning into an embarrassment. Today it was a short story in a varsity newspaper, but tomorrow who knows? Anne wasn’t a big fan of murdering families and the whole bullet to the head cliché was a little old, but he had left her no choice. Besides, it was a surprisingly effective way of making sure that secrets stayed secret. They’d been around for long enough to know that a little leak today could break the dam tomorrow and she wasn’t about to let this pompous little man ruin it for all of them. She still waited almost an hour before calling ‘the cleaners’ since murder was still not fully on her menu. The call ended up lasting less than ten minutes, and when she put the phone down she took a deep breath and started with her paperwork. At least now things could get back to normal.