They_Came_to_Baghdad-Agatha_Christie

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Victoria lay in bed listening. She heard loud drunken arguing. Heard a voice insisting, 'I had a fight
with a man outside.' She heard bells ring. More voices and a lot of movement. Then silence. She heard the
gentle opening of her door and sat up in bed and switched on the lamp.
Dakin brought a chair up to the bed, sat down and looked at her as if he was a doctor.
'Tell me what it's all about?' demanded Victoria.
'Suppose,' said Dakin, 'that you tell me all about yourself first. Why did you come to Baghdad?'
Victoria thought afterwards that it was something in Dakin's personality, but for once she simply
told him everything: her meeting with Edward, her determination to get to Baghdad and the wonderful
luck of Mrs Hamilton Clipp.
'I see,' said Dakin when she had finished. 'The point is, you are involved in this whether I like it or
not. So, you might as well work for me.'
'You've got a job for me?' Victoria said hopefully.
'This job, Victoria, is dangerous.'
'Oh, that's all right,' said Victoria happily. She added doubtfully, 'It's not dishonest, is it? I know I
tell an awful lot of lies, but I wouldn't like to do anything dishonest.'
Dakin smiled. 'Strangely enough, your ability to invent a good lie quickly is one of your
qualifications for the job. No, it's not dishonest. In fact, you will be working for law and order. Have you
thought much about world politics?'
'I know everybody says there's going to be another war sooner or later. Between Russia and
America.'
'Exactly,' said Mr Dakin. 'Therefore everything depends on them agreeing with each other. Instead,
the opposite is happening. Every time there is a chance of agreement, something happens to create more
distrust or hysterical fear. These things are not accidents, Victoria, they are deliberate - a group is
working undercover to cause this destruction. A group that wants to take control.'
'But how do you know?'
'Money, Victoria. Money is always the clue to what is happening in the world - it's the key to any
plan. A group of people are cleverly moving very large sums of money around and using that money to
create conflict.'
'But who are these people?'
'Idealists who intend, I fear, to "make the world better"! To think that you can force "Perfection" on
the human race is one of the most dangerous ideas in existence. The belief that some men are Supermen
and therefore good enough to rule the world - that, Victoria, is the most evil of all beliefs. For when you
say, "I am not like other men", you have lost the two most valuable qualities: humility and brotherhood.'
He sighed. 'Well, I mustn't preach a sermon. What we know is that in the past two years, many of the
best young scientists have disappeared. The same has happened with engineers and other people with
valuable skills. And we are beginning to guess what they are doing.'
Victoria listened with increasing concern.
'There is a remote part of the world, protected by mountains and deserts, that is only visited by