Omar and the Price of Loyalty
The moment Ali left, Ammar signaled to the guard standing in front of the second door. The guard opened the door and Omar, a thirty-year-old man, sauntered in. He was a peculiar man with a protruding head covered in thick, black hair. He was a slick, oily- looking man with an air of smugness that seemed to envelop him. He was a relatively new member of the Supreme Party, and his reasons for joining the organization were very different from the reasons that had prompted the senior members to join. For the senior members of the Party, the reason had been love for their country. For Omar and people like him, it was love for themselves, for money, and for power that drove them to join the Party. He had found like-minded people in the Party and his position was strengthening with every passing day. Every successful mission meant more money and more power for him.
“You heard that?” asked Ammar. He had an arrogant smile on his face.
“I did. Every single word he said,” replied Omar.
“Ali’s loyalties are to the nation, not the Supreme Party, and certainly not to our Leader.” Ammar’s words seemed to reflect his love for the Leader, but his tone conveyed otherwise.
“Yes, yes—the gratitude of the nation and the Leader. That may be enough for the likes of Ali, but not me,” said Omar.
He was expecting Ammar to ask what he wanted, but Ammar chose to ignore Omar’s statement altogether.
Ammar said, “So, do you know what needs to be done now?”
Omar was not happy to be ignored like this, but he decided to play on and in a voice brimming with confidence, he replied, “Trust me. Where, when, and how—leave it all to me.”
Ammar chuckled. “Very good. Do well and you will have the gratitude of the Party, which is much better than the gratitude of the nation.”
Ammar was baiting Omar, who was all too eager to take the bait. Conniving people like Ammar and Omar did not hesitate to take advantage of principled people like Ali, for whom commitments and values were the guiding forces of their actions, their words, and their lives.