The Disappeared by Amy Lord

Author:Amy Lord [Lord, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Unbound
Published: 2019-03-21T16:00:00+00:00

*

It was late and I couldn’t sleep. The rain hadn’t stopped all night. I lay in bed with the curtains open, listening to the sound of the storm striking the glass. I wondered if Jasmine was out there somewhere, in a boat on the open ocean.

My throat was dry. I wanted my mother. I pulled back the covers, shuddering as the cold air wrapped itself around me. Wrapping my arms across my chest, I went to her room.

From the landing, I heard the major’s voice. I hadn’t heard him come home; after their argument earlier he’d summoned the driver and he was still out when I went to bed. The door was ajar and the blue light of the television flickered. He was watching the government channel, with its endless propaganda cycle masquerading as news. My mother was in bed beside him. I could hear her faint snores.

Tonight there were raids on properties across the city, where associates of those responsible for the Whitehall bombing were taken into custody. In total, thirty-seven people were arrested.

My stomach dropped. I crept closer to the door, just enough so I could peek into the room and see the screen. A young man was standing in front of a block of flats, a blaze of light behind him as three men and a girl were dragged outside in handcuffs and shoved into the back of unmarked cars, blue lights strobing on their roofs. The caption in the corner of the screen read: David G. Tubby reporting live. Uneasiness prickled across my skin. This wasn’t how the Authorisation Bureau usually operated. They arrested people in silence and secrecy; there were no light shows or television cameras to record the moment for posterity. But they wanted people to see this.

I focused on the family, being dragged away in the back of the shot, praying it wasn’t Jasmine or her parents. The girl looked even younger than we were. Two of the men weren’t even men at all, just teenage boys. The third man might have been their grandfather. He was stooped, his shoulders slumped, refusing to acknowledge the camera.

When the major spoke, I jumped. For a horrible moment I thought he was talking to me.

‘I’m watching now. It looks like the raids went well. Hmm. Well that’s a pity.’

He was on the phone. There was a long pause.

‘Look, I know these people have nothing to do with the bombings, but it wouldn’t be the first time a few nobodies had to disappear to strengthen our hand.’

I stopped breathing.

‘No, no. Of course, sir. That’s right, it was my plan. We managed to round up all those who took part in the bombing campaign last month, but I didn’t feel it was enough. We’ve caught three of these groups in the last six months, all trying to rebel against us. What if they start banding together next? There are enough of them out there.’

He fell silent again.

‘That’s exactly what I’m saying, sir. We have to do something public. There has to be a deterrent.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.