Carte Blanche

EJT S ERVICES L TD., D URBAN, C APE T OWN, K INSHASA.
    The office was small and staffed with only three employees, their desks covered with files and the paperwork that is the mainstay of such entrepreneurial dens throughout the world, however noble or dark their products or services.
    Dunne said, “We thought we’d save you the trouble.”
    “Did you now?” Theron responded.
    Hydt knew that the mercenary understood that they had made their surprise visit because they didn’t trust him completely. On the other hand, Theron was in a line of work where trust was as dangerous as unstable explosives, so his displeasure was minimal. After all, Theron must have done much the same, checking out Hydt’s credentials with the Cambodians and elsewhere before coming to him with his proposal. That was how business worked.
    Scuffed walls and windows offering a bleak view of a courtyard reminded Hydt that even illegal activity such as Theron plied was not necessarily as lucrative as the movies and news portrayed it. The biggest office, at the back, was Theron’s but even that was modest.
    One employee, a tall young African, was scrolling through an online catalogue of automatic weapons. Some were flagged with bold stars, indicating a 10 percent discount. Another employee was typing urgently on a computer keyboard, using only his index fingers. Both men were in white shirts and narrow ties.
    A secretary sat at a desk outside Theron’s office. Hydt saw she was attractive but she was young and therefore of no interest to him.
    Theron glanced at her. “My secretary was just printing out some of the files we were talking about.” A moment later pictures of mass graves began easing from the color printer.
    Yes, these are good, Hydt thought, staring down at them. Very good indeed. The first images had been taken not long after the killings. Men, women and children had been gunned down or hacked to death. Some had suffered earlier amputations—hands or arms above the elbow—a popular technique used by warlords and dictators in Africa to punish and control the people. About forty or so lay in a ditch. The setting was sub-Saharan but it was impossible to say exactly where. Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Central African Republic—there were so many possibilities on this troubled continent.
    Other pictures followed, showing different stages of decay. Hydt lingered on those particularly.
    “LRA?” Dunne asked, looking them over clinically.
    It was the tall, skinny employee who answered. “Mr. Theron does not work with the Lord’s Resistance Army.”
    The rebel group, operating out of Uganda, the Central African Republic and parts of Congo and Sudan, had as its philosophy, if you could call it that, religious and mystical extremism—a violent Christian militia of sorts. It had committed untallied atrocities and was known, among other things, for employing child soldiers.
    “There’s plenty of other work,” Theron said.
    Hydt was amused by his sense of morality.
    Another half-dozen pictures rolled from the printer. The last few showed a large field from which protruded bones and partial bodies with desiccated skin.
    Hydt showed the pictures to Dunne. “What do you think?” He turned to Theron. “Niall is an engineer.”
    The Irishman studied them for a few minutes. “The graves look shallow. It’s easy to get the bodies out. The trick is to cover up the fact that they were there in the first place. Depending on how long they’ve been in the ground, once we remove them there’d be measurable differences in the soil temperature. That lasts for many months. It’s detectable with the right equipment.”
    “Months?” Theron asked, frowning. “I had no idea.” He glanced at Dunne, then said to Hydt, “He’s good.”
    “I call him the man who thinks of everything.”
    Dunne said thoughtfully, “Fast-growing vegetation could work. And there are some sprays that will eliminate DNA residue too. There’s a lot to consider but nothing seems impossible.”
    The technical issues fell away and Hydt focused again on the images. “May I keep these?”
    “Of course. Do you want digital copies too? They’d be sharper.”
    Hydt gave him a smile. “Thank you.”
    Theron put them on a flash drive and handed it to Hydt, who looked at his watch. “I’d like to discuss this further. Are you free later?”
    “I can be.”
    But Dunne was frowning. “You’re at the meeting this afternoon and there’s the fund-raiser