Torrance: Betrayal in Burma by Jonathan Lunn

Author:Jonathan Lunn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canelo Digital Publishing Limited
Published: 2021-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Eleven

Torrance started to reach for the Thompson slung from his own shoulder, then realised Devereux had him cold. He raised his hands instead.

‘You’re the saboteur.’

The lieutenant nodded, his face expressionless.

‘Morris came to me that evening in Mogok,’ said Torrance. ‘Said you’d told him I wanted a word with him. I didn’t think anything of it… thought it was just Morris being a twit as usual… but it wasn’t, was it? You just wanted to get him out of the kitchens so you could slip a Mickey Finn in his and Ackroyd’s tea.’ As he pieced it together, Torrance’s confusion slowly gave way to anger: anger at the lieutenant’s treachery, and anger at himself for being taken in by it.

‘I only wanted to delay us on the east side of the Irrawaddy until the Ava Bridge was blown.’

‘Wouldn’t have done you any good. Even if we hadn’t gotten across the bridge in time, we’d’ve had plenty of time to catch the Kathmandu from Amarapura.’

‘I didn’t know that at the time. Give Phyo Khway the key to his cuffs.’

Torrance took the key from the breast pocket of his shirt, then hesitated. ‘And when chummy there gave you the slip at Indaw… he didn’t kick you in the goolies, did he? You just let him go and then pretended he had.’

‘The key,’ said Devereux.

Torrance returned the key to his pocket. ‘It wasn’t fifth columnists who killed Eaton, was it? It was you.’

‘You can give me the key now, or I can simply shoot you and take it from your corpse.’

‘You’re gonna kill me either way. You might ’ave the courtesy to satisfy my curiosity first.’

Devereux smirked. ‘Are you trying to keep me talking until someone comes along to rescue you? Who do you think will come? Your friend Rossi and the others are halfway to Hpakan by now.’

‘Why bring me here at all? Why not just disappear with Phyo Khway? You could’ve done it easily.’

‘It’s nothing personal. No one would’ve believed me if I’d said I was going to put Phyo Khway on the plane without someone to guard him. In a way, you’ve brought this on yourself: you’ve been a real thorn in my flesh this past week. Not that I don’t have a certain grudging admiration for that. I suspect you and I have rather more in common than either of us would care to admit—’

Hearing the drone of aero engines, Torrance looked up. A flight of bombers flew over in their usual triangular formation, three times three times three. ‘Speaking of the Japs…’

‘A bomber squadron, on its way to the airfield to make sure it can’t be used by the RAF.’

‘I thought they’d done a pretty good job of that yesterday.’

‘No one can accuse the Japanese of not being thorough,’ said Devereux.

‘Did you arrange that?’

‘Good lord, no. But it was fortuitous they bombed the airfield when they did. Otherwise we’d all be in Dinjan by now, Phyo Khway included.’

Behind Devereux, an explosion erupted several streets away, flame and smoke vomiting skywards.

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