Scene 19

It's a quintessential part of evil that it habitually wants to decry everything noble – mostly by insinuating that the agents of good commit nefarious deeds, which actually are committed by the evil itself. Where the good does not succeed in preventing such (mis)deeds, the story proceeds in a way that is determined by this misunderstanding. That's the rule. Even though Maille did not know how the three paper balls arrived in the swamps of Hann, he knew for sure what they meant: Hing's henchman planned to assassinate President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal. And definitely the evil act should be blamed on him – so it was always. The time was ideal for an assassination, the timing would be the opening of the Art Biennial of Dakar and the setting was expected to be the Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire (IFAN). When Maille entered the terrain of the IFAN at the Place de Soweto, the opening ceremony of the biennial was in full swing: drummers in traditional costumes were beating with élan on their instruments; school classes were standing in readiness as the welcome choir; dancers were swinging their hips through the morning air. There was an air of official exuberance.

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