The name is absent

71

did they participate with his knowledge. Other times the police would simply appear in
plain clothes and begin breaking storefronts and burning cars. Nikos explained that most
of these police agitators were known to frequent protesters and so their unexpected
appearance indicated the time to leave for organizers and their crews. On the occasions
when Nikos wanted broad media coverage to convey a point or to draw attention to a
situation, he would contact his “friend” in the police explaining that “as long as they have
something to gain I can always count on something burning.” Asked if he pays for this
service, Nikos answered “no”, rather forcefully, that the police “eat from many troughs.”

Eventually, the discussion slipped into a tirade over police corruption. Nikos
became very animated as he explained the gamut of illegal police activities including
drug trafficking, human trafficking, and the importing of illegal goods: naturally, these
activities were carried out in partnership with local and international human smuggling
rings and local groups of illegal migrants, which the police exploited but had no qualms
targeting when public attention demanded it. All this served the corrupt and the powerful.

Checking his watch, Nikos took a deep breath, leaned back in his chair, and
looked me in the eye.

“You see, it is very complicated. Anarchy is not like it used to be. Today only
some people support us and our messages have to be edited to reflect their needs
and interests, which are often dictated by the needs and interests of the state, or
the few that run it. The state is powerful and organized, despite its appearance.
They know how to manipulate people, how to take away our rights covertly, and
how to silence detractors even before the voiceless victims want to be heard. We
have immigrants hitting them on the fundamentals of human existence. We have
the youth fighting their more overt attempts to confuse and further their own
destructive, corrupt agenda. We have traitors from within their own ranks joining
ours, helping the state on Monday and fighting against it on Friday - like hell
hounds feeding on sin⁶⁹. And Γm in the middle, coordinating the effort, tearing

⁶⁹ The reference here is to Milton’s Paradise Lost (Book 2) where Sin, bom of Satan, is raped by Death (her
son with Satan), and gives birth to hell hounds (dogs) which return hourly to her womb and feed endlessly

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