The Lies of the Victors Page #5

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You tae his envelope, and he taes yours.

You do not count the money, understand?

lf we are lucy, he'll tae the bait.

''Usually media exposure is the best thing

that could happen to a zoo.

But there's no baby polar bear

maing headlines at the Gelsenirchen Zoo.

lt's a human. Thomas Rangel.

Army veteran. Recycling plant worer.''

We need to give it

a bit more 'Woche' style.

What did l write?

''Thomas Rangel had no intention of going

out quietly on his final visit to the zoo.

The army vet was a regular at the zoo,

especially attracted to the big cats.''

What was that?

''Going out quietly''?

l sent it to you.

Don't write it down.

''But on this day, Rangel doesn't come

to see the new Bengal tiger.

He's interested in another sensation.''

You'll probablythin

the next bit is too artificial.

''ln a horrendous way, this account

matches the desperation of his action,

because Rangel throws himself in

to be devoured bythe lion...''

l dressed it up a bit with details:

''At 10:
54 the factory worer climbs over

the guard rail

to the lion cage

that holds the 12-year-old male Kimba.

lt's right before feeding time.

lt onlytaes a few seconds before the

550-pound beast pounces on the intruder.

With a single bite

he severs Rangel's throat...''

Just a second, windpipe is better.

A bit more visceral.

''After the shoced caretaers

force Kimba bac into his cage,

only a tattered corpse remains.''

Why are you laughing?

- It's a bit sensational.

Of course, we're at the 'Woche'.

Well, you should now.

''Only a tattered corpse remains.''

Can you continue?

''No matter what drove the man to leap,

one thing can be said with certainty:

Rangel had no interest in a quiet death.

He wanted a bang.''

''Bang'' won't do.

We have that at the beginning:

''lnterested in a new sensation.''

Change it.

O, continue:
''What maes a 44-year-old

commit such a desperate act?

To understand his motives, we have to

travel far bac, to Afghanistan, in 2004.

He arrives as a soldier

in Mazar-e Sharif in the north.

The conditions are miserable, every rain

floods the latrines with waste oil,

and hazardous chemicals,

the soldiers call it 'Dragon Blood.'''

See, you have to tell a story.

''Rangel is a hard case. He is slapped

with extra cleaning duties regularly.

After one of his latrine shifts, he has

headaches, nausea and blurred vision.

He twice files for a transfer

and both times he's denied.

His complaints increase

in intensityto the point...''

''He is examined in Germany while on leave.

He doesn't tell his superiors

in fear of reprisals.''

''ln such contexts, conflict specialists

spea of lightning rods in male societies,

in which fear has no outlet.''

That's good.

''This year Rangel attracts a lot of

electricity, dangerous wees are afoot...''

lt's great...

- ''... for the army.''

Nadja, come here please.

Let me introduce you

to Hans-Jrg Gassen,

he's here to answer any legal questions.

Gnther, from records, you've met already.

Fabian, let me give you a big hug.

l hope you're as flexible

as you once were.

Have a seat.

l'll stand if it's O.

We've read it a couple of times,

Hans-Jrg and Gnther have too.

And in fine companytradition, we'll now

raise questions and voice doubts.

First let me say, great wor.

Strong piece.

l wouldn't have thought that last wee.

Would you lie to start?

Sure. Names.

l have a problem with using full names.

They are deceased,

we cannot as them for permission.

There isn't any written consent from the

next of in, and it'd be doubtful anyway.

Rangel's name has been all over the place,

but l would still recommend

using first names only.

Not naming Rangel would be academic.

And Bodin's name is too important.

l also thin that naming Rangel is fine.

Bodin on the other hand...

Gnther?

l couldn't find anmhing

about this Ms. Kodolsi.

At the very least, she's not registered.

That was Bodin's girlfriend, right?

- Yeah, she called us here.

l also couldn't reach her by phone.

So l have to trust you two,

which l don't lie doing.

l'll verify it.

The other thing is the numbers you named

about the Afghanistan deployment.

l'm referring to line 33.

Where did you get those?

They do not match the official numbers.

That's the joer.

We got the list from him.

He let us buy it off him.

So, you do not have any official sources?

No, it's deep bacground.

ln this case,

we can't present it as a fact.

What about:
''Experts estimate...''

You guys have to do some more digging.

l'm trying to find

the central thesis of the article.

The army puts pressure

on disabled soldiers

to leave willingly and in good health

against their better judgment.

Bac home, theyfind them a lousyjob

and no longer tae care of them.

O, pretty scandalous so far.

But l am missing a core statement

whythey do that.

ls it reallyjust for the numbers?

Is it cheaper?

And the toxic waste plant?

An isolated incident or a plan?

With the article the way it is now

we'd be taing a major ris.

The two paragraphs

on Afghanistan and suicide

suggest a connection,

which we cannot prove.

A slight insinuation is O.

We do mention later

that one of them has a medical history.

What l find strange is the relative

importance placed on the plant.

The story is about the army

and their cover-up practices.

The toxic waste plant is then

of peripheral interest.

Plus, we now how sensitive

the industry can be.

Should l stop writing then?

- l'd hate to lose paragraphs 3 and 4.

You mean those two, right?

- Yes.

Primarily because they

represent the basis of facts.

The entire story is built upon it.

- l agree:
we went down the wrong trac.

For the military angle,

that's onlythe example.

Maybe it's enough for an opener.

Fabian, are we on the safe side?

Absolutely.

Then l would suggest

you polish up the story a bit,

reduce the landfill part

and then we'll have a nice cover.

Are you serious?

Did you just saythe cover?

Yes.

2,1, You can't sav that,

According to our information,

it's accurate.

We don'r hae ro,,,

We don'r wanr ro commenr,

And point 2.2?

lr's true that Thomas Rangel leftthe

serice in 2006 for personal reasons,

And the posttraumatic stress disorder?

A clear no, Nor rrue,

DEATH IN INSTALLMENTS

WITH HELP OF A SLUSH FUND

TRAUMATIZED SOLDIERS ARE PRESSURED

TO ''VOLUNTARILY'' DISCHARGE

FROM THE MILITARY.

THE ARMY DENIES THE ALLEGATlONS.

lt feels good to now,

what the 'Woche' is doing, isn't it?

Let's see.

Maybe we're named as authors.

My God, have you heard?

''That's Berlin'', she said:

''Low rent eternity and marble plastics.''

Cheers!

Shall we leave?

Before you start crying...

You don't want to stay?

l have to...

... get up earlytomorrow?

l have to go to Hamburg

for a job interview.

Wish me luc.

Good luc.

Wait.

l now her.

Kodolsi.

Not blond today.

What are you doing here?

'Patsy'.

That's the name of the character.

Why haven't you returned my calls?

None of your business.

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