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The Jackal Speaks!
An Exclusive Interview
with Jean-Paul Prideaux
{In the four years since their break with
the Wildcats, the Jackals have become one
of the ten most successful squadrons in
Turkey. Such is the stuff of local legend.
For the first time, hearing that SUDDEN
DEATH was preparing a special Wildcat
issue, Prideaux agreed to break his policy
of silence. He contacted us and agreed to
grant us an exclusive interview, on the
condition that we’d present it in the
Wildcat edition. We gladly agreed.
“I want my side of the story to be told,”
he said over the phone. “No doubt, many
of the Wildcats will have harsh things to
say about me and my team. I wanted the
chance to present my own point of view.”
I met with Prideaux at his usual table in
the back of Selim’s, and this is the
conversation that transpired:]
SD: I understand that this is pretty much
your exclusive table. Is that correct?
PRIDEAUX: Yes. The management of
Selim’s reserves it for me each night.
SD: Am I to understand that employers
actually come to you here and offer
you jobs?
PRIDEAUX: You understand correctly. It’s
a measure of our tremendous success
over these past four years. Like most
mercs, I used to wander from table to
table in the cafe, soliciting prospec-
tive clients, looking for work. Now,
the work comes to me.
SD: Let’s back up a minute. Tell me about
your break with the Wildcats.
PRIDEAUX: James Stern and I go all the
way back to Annapolis. Even then, he
wasn’t known for his practicality. He
was as concerned with martial
philosophies as he was with martial
techniques.
SD: Yes, but he graduated Valedictorian,
didn’t he? And you were Salutatorian?
PRIDEAUX: (pause) Yes. I’ve never denied
Stern’s capabilities as a leader. I
question his commitment to the
mercenary way of life. Especially his
commitment to making money.
SD: You’re referring to Stern’s penchant for
“moral” missions. Obviously, as leader
of the Jackals, you don’t share his
reluctance to handle… well, just about
any kind of mission.
PRIDEAUX: A job is a job. I’m not
oblivious to the philosophical aspect
of this business. I’ve looked at the
issues involved. The only difference
is, I’ve come to a separate conclusion
from Stern.
SD: You mean, you feel you can justify
taking any mission, no matter how
dirty it is?
PRIDEAUX: Absolutely. You see,
conventional morality simply doesn’t
apply to business concerns. Evil is a
useful enough concept for conducting
personal affairs, but is a singularly
meaningless concept when applied to
the conducting of business. In any
profession where death plays a factor,
ethical questions are raised. But
ethical questions are the forté of the
philosopher and the fool, not the
businessman. Evil is an act of free
will. Business is a function of what
the market will support. If I commit
an act under contract, it is neither
good nor evil, only… profit or loss.
SD: Let’s go back to the split itself. Can
you tell us something about how it
came about?
36
July 2011
• SUDDEN DEATH