| The Art of Leaking |
|
Funny as it may sound, it can be a delightful experience to be conned, subject to specific conditions being met. First, one has to be able to prove one's point. Second, the information from one's adversary must have reached one in a oddly roundabout fashion. Third and a source of great amusement, one should preferably be in a position oneself to bring one's adversary up to speed. But what is even more delightful is when the internal memorandums bear out that although "they" know full well that you're right, they nevertheless lie and scheme and possibly even succeed in formulating an argument that sounds like the exact opposite. My apologies for speaking in riddles. Let me explain what the above is all about. I have a claim against a very well-known company. Having been presented in nothing but good faith with their internal file, which more than bore out that I was right and they were not, I passed up this splendid opportunity to double my claim, preferring instead to impose an additional demand. It transpired from the file, you see, that there were several third parties with justified claims, so I insisted that these too should be dealt with properly, at the perpetrator's own initiative. If they refuse to follow through, it will give me demonic pleasure to blow their cover, warts and all, in one of the next editions of the Weekly. If they do as I have told them to, I won't. "That's blackmail," the lady lawyer speaking on behalf of the company in question spat into in my earpiece, implicitly confirming that the company she works for is susceptible to blackmail, not to mention quite helpless in this matter. (No guessing please.) But my thoughts didn't stop there. Although I occasionally believe in guardian angels, I'm also familiar with the phenomenon of leaks, as an example of abstract things which everyone is always alleging but hardly anyone can ever prove. Of course there could be someone within the organisation in question who is keen to do the dirty on one of his or her co-workers. I could even imagine there being someone wanting to do me a favour (a pleasing thought as such). However, what I can't imagine is that he or she would arrange for this to take place in an atmosphere of complete anonymity, although there is the possibility that the person concerned may consider it sufficient reward to watch future developments unfold. Knowing my temperament, perhaps he or she is counting on sparks flying. Good lord, so now I have to live up to expectations as well? At which point I reverted to being my nasty old self. The thought had never crossed my mind, but there was always the possibility of me leaking the story, albeit not in this place for the sake of obscuring my tracks. Perhaps it would be the sensible thing to do so as to keep up the pressure on the cheats, although I have to admit that it doesn't feel entirely upstanding. Tell you what, I may just keep you up to date on further developments. |