The contract

Calgary, May 2025

Joseph was a scientist. He was working as a head of the rocket development department of the large weapons manufacturer. Sometimes people asked him if he felt guilty developing products for killing people, and he had standard answer to that: “My rockets soar to the sky, and it is up to the politicians to decide where they fall down.” But for some people this wasn’t a convincing argument, and one of those was Maria, his wife.
"Without your rockets, there would be less grief in the world,” she kept saying.
“And without my rockets we wouldn’t have this nice house, two cars, comfortable life and we wouldn’t be able to pay education for our children.”

It was all true, but those were the arguments of the past. Joseph was now in his fifties and felt his career was approaching the end. Science and engineering are domains of young people. But he had still good 10 years to retirement, and he had to decide what to do with the rest of his life. He could teach engineering at the university, but it didn’t appeal to him. Joseph liked to do things, not to teach. Another option was to start his own consulting company, but there would be too much of the business portion of the job. Joseph was contemplating this dilemma when one day while going home from work, a man approached him. “Hello sir, can I have a few minutes of your time?” he asked.
Joseph wasn’t in a mood to discuss his work with a reporter, but he didn’t want to be impolite. “What is it about?”
“I have a proposition for you.”
“Proposition? About what?”
“Proposition about work.”
Obviously, the man wasn’t a reporter. “What kind of work?”
“There is a cafeteria round the corner. We can discuss it there.”

They found a table at the corner, ordered two coffees and the man introduced himself:
"My name is Mustafa, and I represent the government of a foreign country.”
“What country?”
"At this point, I would rather not say. But my government is developing its own defence industry, and we are looking for people like you. We can offer you a job.”
“What job?”
“To head the design and development of rockets. We want to be self-sufficient, not to be dependent on foreign supplies. Politics can change and we could be left out."
This was something Joseph didn’t expect. “You know, I cannot give you the answer right now. I must think about it,” he said.
“Of cause. Let me know when you decide. But I can tell you, if you decide to take it, the contract would we lucrative,” and Mustafa gave him his business card.

It was tempting, but Joseph needed more information, and he arranged another meeting with Mustafa. “First of all, what country is it?” was hist first question, and Mustafa named one country in the Middle East. Then he explained their policy, the potential enemies and why the country needed its own defense industry. It sounded reasonable, but Joseph knew he would have to do his own research.
“Here is my next question,” Joseph continued. “You said that the contract would be lucrative. Tell me more.”
The contract indeed was lucrative. It was for two years with the option of extension, with the salary twice what Joseph was making, and it also included free accommodation for him and his wife. It would be hard to refuse.
"I am interested," said Joseph. "But before I can accept, I must talk to my wife and to my employer. I will let you know in a few days.

The research about the country didn’t show anything surprising. It was a populous, poor nation, and Joseph was surprised their government wanted to spend so much money on weapons, while there was so much poverty. But this wasn’t his problem. His next step was to talk to Maria.
“Darling, I must tell you something. They offered me a job,” he began.
“What job?”
“A job in a foreign country,” and Joseph told her the country’s name.
“Building rockets for them, I presume.”
“Yes. Building rockets for them.”
“Will you take it?”
“I don’t know. That is why I want to talk to you, but the contract is very lucrative,” and he explained the details of the contract.
“Are you asking my opinion?”
“Yes.”
“Then don’t take it. We don’t need the money, and without your rockets there will be less people killed. I was hoping that now you will work less, and we will have more time together. You know, to have the vacations we always wanted, no more business trips, no more deadlines. Just to enjoy life.”
“But the contract is only for two years, and it would be the culmination of my career. Something I could be proud of.”
“You mean a monument to your ego.”
“Yes, a monument to my ego. If I accept it, will you come with me?”
This was a difficult question. Maria didn’t want to spend two years in a third-world country, but she also didn’t want to be alone for two years.
“I will go with you, but I don’t know if I stay. As I understand it, western women aren’t exactly welcomed there.”
Maria’s conditional acceptance solved Joseph’s biggest dilemma. He didn’t want to go alone. Next, he talked to his boss and asked for two years of leave without pay, and the boss agreed happily. Replacing Joseph with somebody younger and cheaper will save money. Then Joseph called Mustafa and accepted the contract.

When Joseph and Maria landed at the destination airport, there was a car waiting for them, and they entered the traffic of the third-world city. Joseph knew what to expect, he had been in places like that before, but Mary couldn’t believe her eyes. The crowds, the noise and the chaos were something she had never seen before. "Will we live in this for two years?” she asked Joseph, but he calmed her. “We will stay in a separate compound reserved for Westerners. It will be just like home,” and he was right. They arrived at a gated estate where a guard was protecting the entrance. The driver showed him some papers, then drove in and stopped in front of a house. Another man was waiting there and showed them their accommodation. “You will also have a servant who will cook for you and will take care of all your needs.” Then he turned to Joseph. “Also, every morning somebody will come to drive you to work,” he said.

It was all very comfortable. At work, Joseph was in charge of a group of engineers and technicians who seemed to know what they were doing. Under his guidance, they were making progress, and it looked like the project would indeed be a monument to Joseph's ego. But for Mary the situation was different. She couldn’t leave the compound, and even if she could, she wouldn’t want to. The trip from the airport was enough. There were wives of other contract workers, but they were much younger and had different interests. Maria couldn’t fit into their group.
“What am I supposed to do here?” she was asking Joseph.
“Make some friends.”
“Where? The other women don’t interest me, and I don’t interest them.”
“Perhaps I can arrange a trip to the city for you. To see something interesting.”
Maria went once; it was enough. The crowds and the chaos were overwhelming.
"I want to go home," she said one evening.
“I cannot leave now, in the middle of the project.”
“I know, you stay, and I will go home alone.”
Joseph wasn’t happy. He liked to be with her after work, to spend evenings together, to feel her body beside him at night. But he also remembered the agreement they made. She could return home any time she wanted. Therefore, one day they went to the airport and Joseph watched Maria to disappear at the departure gates. “When will I see her again?” he was wandering.

Since Maria's departure Joseph was spending more time at work and the project was going well. The first test launch was successful, others followed, and the government had big plans to expand the project. They offered Joseph a contract extension, and he had to decide. If he wanted to save his marriage, he had to return home now. But if he stayed, this project would be an even bigger monument to his ego. He might become a famous rocket scientist like those in the USA and in the Soviet Union, so he stayed. However, the enthusiasm for the success of Joseph's rocket program wasn't shared by the rest of the world. There were questions about why the country was spending so much money on weapons while there was so much poverty. There was diplomatic pressure to stop it, and one country in particular decided to do something about it.

"We must increase the security of Joseph and his team," said the head of the secret service during the meeting with the minister of defence. "My spies are indicating that the enemy is planning something." Therefore, more guards were protecting the development labs and the rocket manufacturing factory, and Joseph got a bodyguard, Omar. He was a young and pleasant guy, and Joseph liked him. “From now on I will be traveling with you to and from work. You know, they are worried about security,” he explained, and Joseph didn’t mind. At least he had somebody to talk to. He even sometimes invited him for dinner. Joseph was lonely and considered Omar to be his friend.
One day Omar asked Joseph to go with him to visit his parents. “I want to brag to them about being a bodyguard of an important person,” he justified his invitation. “I will pick you up Saturday morning and drive you there. They live close to the compound, it wouldn’t take long,” he said. Joseph agreed, but that Saturday, as they left the compound, Omar started to drive through the poorest and most dangerous part of the city. It looked scary.
“Where are we going?” asked Joseph. Instead of the answer, Omar stopped the car, put a gun at Joseph’s head and said: “Get out.” Joseph opened the door and while stepping out, he asked: “Why are you doing it?”
“The other side paid me more,” and Omar pressed the trigger.

P. S. Most of the story is true. It happened during early 1960s in Egypt, when President Gamal Nasser initiated a rocket development program. Joseph of my story was a German scientist Heins Krug, and Omar was a famous Nazi commando Otto Skorzeny, whom Israel’s Mossad contracted to disrupt the Egypt’s rocket program in exchange for being removed from the list of war criminals.