Torn by O.M. Faure

Author:O.M. Faure [Faure, O.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781916437067
Publisher: Forward Motion Publishing, Ltd.

17

Olivia

Kampala, Uganda, January 2082

* * *

Dinner is quite subdued. Everyone is behaving in front of Groebler.

‘So, Olivia, Captain Burke tells me that you’ve done quite well these last few months.’

‘Olivia has been getting along really well with everyone,’ Anthony says, with a sideways glance to Groebler. Could it be? Have I really fooled Anthony into believing that I’m one of them?

‘Oh, yes, the boys are lovely.’ I try to remember how I felt about them before New Year.

‘I hear there was an incident at Christmas.’

Shit. The orphanage. The one thing that could unmask me.

‘Oh yes, I’m really ashamed of that. I used to help after Mass at my church in Chelsea, so I did it here without even thinking of the consequences.’ I put a hand on Anthony’s thigh and lean towards Groebler. ‘I’m so sorry about the worry I caused.’ The Colonel narrows his eyes.

I continue as innocuously as possible, feeling Anthony’s leg rises to meet my palm. ‘We were attacked… by the… the gangs.’ I should use a racial slur. Swallowing my distaste, I raise a hand to my chest. ‘I never thought the negroes could be so ungrateful and violent.’

Colonel Groebler’s watches me, then his face smoothens as he plants his fork in a potato. ‘Well, I’m glad to hear that. Part of the reason we sent you to Uganda was to open your eyes to the current situation.’

‘I realise that now and I’m grateful for it Colonel. I’m also keen to move on to the next assignment.’

‘Ah yes, we’re nearly ready for your… transition.’ An unpleasant smile stretches on Groebler’s face. ‘Soon, I should think.’

My next assignment is supposed to be in India for the next six months. I’m ready to bet money that instead it will be a morgue slab.

‘Excellent!’ Anthony says, jaw clenched in a fake grin. ‘Well, that’s settled then, Olivia – we’ll make sure you’re sent safe and sound on to your next mission.’

‘Oh, brilliant,’ I titter. ‘You have no idea how much I’ve been looking forwards to leaving this awful place.’

Halfway through dinner, DeAnn arrives looking exhausted and dirty from work. The whole table tenses up when she walks in, but she seems oblivious. She eats quickly and locks herself in her room, as she always does the few times she spends the night here.

Dinner ends, Colonel Groebler and Anthony disappear and the boys all go upstairs to watch a movie. Oh God, I don’t want to die. I wonder how they’ll execute me. Probably a bullet to the head as soon as we’re back in London. My hand shoots up to my temple, my fingers trembling. Or maybe Jarrod will slit my throat in my sleep and then there’ll be no need to lug me anywhere.

I need to warn DeAnn. The time for secrets is over. I can’t wait any longer to reconcile myself with her. I’ve been trying frantically to connect with the bloody woman since the debacle of our post-New Year fight. But she’s ignored me every time I’ve tried.

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