“There are two men, both evil. One is a former concentration-camp commandant, responsible for the murder of half a million people; he’s ninety years old, living in hiding in the South American jungle. The other man is much younger—barely twenty-five, in excellent health—and living openly in the middle of San Francisco. He’s only killed once so far, but he’s discovered he has a talent and a taste for it, and it’s likely he’ll kill again many times…though of course, the total number of his victims will never be more than a fraction of the commandant’s.
“The death of either of these men would leave the world a better place. You have the power to kill one of them—but only one. Whom do you choose?”
“That’s easy,” I said. “The young guy.”
“Why?”
“Because killing the Nazi is the obvious choice, and this is a trick question.”
“Clever,” True said, in a tone that suggested it was anything but. “Now how about a less glib answer.”
“In this hypothetical situation, I’m supposed to be you?”
“Someone with my job description, let’s say.”
“Then the answer’s the same. Kill the young guy.”
“Why?”
“His worst days are still ahead of him. With the Nazi, the Holocaust is already out of the barn—killing him might be more satisfying, but the net benefit is smaller.”
“What about deterrence?” True said. “Wouldn’t killing the Nazi discourage other people from following in his footsteps?”
“It might, if it were a public execution. If I were the government, I could put him on trial for genocide and then hang him on pay-per-view. That might turn some heads. Trouble is, I’m not the government, I’m a member of a secret organization that dresses its agents like cheerleaders so people can’t talk about them. An execution that no one knows about won’t deter squat.”
“What about justice?”
“Is this a hypothetical real situation, or a hypothetical comic book?”
“And what about vengeance?”
“It’s fun. But it doesn’t have anything to do with fighting evil.”
“No,” True agreed, “it doesn’t.”
“Does that mean I pass the test?”
“The first half. The second half is less theoretical…” He laid a couple booklets on the table. They looked like those question booklets you get when you take the SATs. A name was written on the cover of each one in felt-tip pen. The one on the first booklet was BENJAMIN LOOMIS; the one on the second was JULIUS DEEDS.
“Two men,” True said. “Both evil. One you’ve already met—”
“Yeah, I have,” I said. “And he’s not ninety years old, if that’s where you’re going with this.”
“Julius Deeds has been indicted for murder. The case against him is strong, and despite his efforts at jury tampering he’ll probably be convicted. Even if he avoids prison, his actions have made him enemies on both sides of the law. A ninety-year-old might well outlive him.”
“And Loomis? Let me guess: he’s barely twenty-five, in excellent health…”
“Twenty-seven, actually. And he’s killed four times, not just once. Other than that, yes, he’s just like the younger man in the hypothetical. A predator. He’s been operating on a three-month cycle, so unless someone stops him, we expect he’ll take his next victim in early December.”
“The police don’t have a clue who he is?”
“The police aren’t even aware of his crimes yet. He hunts male prostitutes, men who’ve been abandoned by their families and have no one to report them missing. He kills discreetly and buries the bodies. In time he’ll be found out, of course—they almost always are—but it could be years from now.”
I stared at the tabletop. “The gun’s a one-shot, isn’t it? That’s the special modification. And the test is I have to choose.”
“We need to know what your real priorities are,” True said. “In a moment you’ll select one of these booklets; inside, you’ll find all the information you need to complete your first assignment. The other booklet will go back into our files, with a notation that its subject is never to be harmed or otherwise acted against by any agent of the organization.”
“So if I pick Deeds, Loomis gets a free pass? You’d really do that?”
“It wouldn’t be much of a test, otherwise.” He looked at his wristwatch. “You have one minute to decide.”