No Good Deed Goes Unpunished by William Webb

Author:William Webb [Webb, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-04-27T04:00:00+00:00

Later in the morning Mike had no problem arranging a meeting with the local mayor. On hearing of the attempted break-in, the official admitted that there had been a spate of similar crimes reported over the weekend. It appeared that such incidents were becoming more common with the increase in migrants in the area. He had no objections to barbed wire being fitted immediately but requested that a formal request be submitted from head office when time allowed.

Most of the week was spent carrying out pressure tests on the cable link from Wittes to Bethune, unfortunately much of it done in the rain. The fibre-optic cable was carried in pressurised ducts from line amplifier to line amplifier. Mike’s job was to ensure that these ducts, once pressurised to the correct level, did not leak.

This entailed him being at one end of the duct while air pressure was applied from a pump a few hundred metres away. First, a sponge was blown along the duct to ensure it was clear of blockages. On arrival of the sponge at his end the duct was sealed off and the pressure monitored. At the correct pressure level, the pump was disconnected, and the other end sealed off. Then it was simply a matter of hanging about for half an hour to check that there was no leak in the system. If the pressure remained at a suitable level Mike would sign the paperwork and the little band of workers would move on to the next section of ducting.

Most of the workers on the ducting spoke little or no English but Mike managed to communicate with them with little problem. Breaks for lunch were usually noisy affairs, always in a nearby restaurant where pitchers of red wine always adorned the tables. Mike soon learned to leave wine well alone at lunchtime as he found it difficult to stay awake in the hot afternoons if he over-imbibed. He would restrict himself to one ice cold beer per session, although this had been known to stretch to three on certain occasions.

Almost before he knew it, it was Friday lunchtime again and soon after he was heading once more to Embry and looking forward to seeing Janine again. The young woman had been on his mind a lot that week.

It was almost five o’clock as he drove past the Le Meurs’ residence. There was no sign of the Audi. Janine had evidently not arrived home yet. A quick glance up the road at seven o’clock also revealed no sign of the car. The young lady in question was either arriving late or not at all that weekend. Mike fervently hoped it was the former of the two.

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