Yet she couldn’t stop loving Jonathon, and suddenly she wanted to be with him again, more than anything.
“But now no one knows where Jonathon and Charles are,” she murmured. “They could be dead already.”
“Don’t give up hope,” Denise tried to reassure her. “Two white captives make good bargaining power and if they decide to make a public spectacle, they’ll be sure to broadcast it loud and clear. In this case no news is good news.”
“What will our government do now?”
“Well, they obviously want you to show them where the fanatics are camping and then, who knows? Maybe grab the leaders and force them to say where Jonathon and Charles have been taken.”
Amie guessed Denise must have heard every word of her conversation with Liam and Edward in the living room the night before. She knew exactly what was going on.
“I don’t have a problem with them doing that,” she said, “but I’ve had enough of this cloak and dagger stuff.”
“Do you want to go back to England?” Denise asked her.
“No!” Amie said almost without thinking. “I … I don’t think so. I wouldn’t fit in. Too much has happened.”
“Do you know what I think?”
“No. What?”
“I think they’ll try and recruit you as well.”
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” Amie cried. “I’m an ordinary person, a housewife and I can make video programmes. That’s hardly good material for a spy! What rubbish!”
Denise chuckled. “After what you’ve been through, the resourcefulness you’ve shown and the times you have escaped, I shouldn’t think you would need much extra training.”
Amie shook her head and rose. “Thank you for confirming my suspicions. What you’ve told me explains a lot, but I should really go and see the others. They’ll be wondering what has happened to me.” On impulse she leant over and gave Denise a kiss on the cheek. On her way to the door she paused. “Is there anything else I should know?” she asked.
“Only a few extra details, but go and see how your friends are getting on. I’ve got a couple of things to do. Edward’s coming over about mid-day and he’ll expect to find you here.”
“I’m under a sort of house arrest?”
“Not exactly, but they know you don’t have any money, a passport, or legal transport, so where would you go?”
Amie nodded, and almost grinned. If her name was Shalima, those minor details wouldn’t be much of a hurdle. Apparently growing up in Sparkhill, taught you how to solve problems like that.
Next door, she found Ben idly flicking through the three television channels one after the other. Angelina and Mrs Motswezi had gone for a walk, Shalima was mooching around, unable to settle, and there was no sign of Hussein.
“Where is he?” she asked.
“They came in the middle of the night and took him away,” replied Ben.
“Noisy bastards, they woke everyone up, no bloody thought for others,” Shalima moaned. “And how long are they gonna’ to keep us here?” She kicked the leg of the sofa. Someone had provided Shalima with a long skirt and a loose t-shirt that looked all wrong for her ‘tough girl’ image.
“I’m sure you can leave whenever you want,” Amie said. “You were talking about going to France, right?”
“Well, you obviously ain’t seen the guards out the front, and the back, and I ain’t up to playing cat and mouse right now,” Shalima pronounced and flung herself on the sofa. “And the bastards have made off with the truck and all our supplies. Bleedin’ thieves.”
“Poor Hussein, I wonder what will happen to him?” Amie was upset. She’d grown quite fond of the quiet, frightened man who’d never shown any aggression towards them once they agreed to help him escape.
“They will want information from him,” Ben said replacing the TV controller.
“And what about you Ben?” Amie asked
“They will send Mrs Motswezi, Angelina and I back to Togodo I think. Where else would we go?”
Amie’s heart sank. She was to lose Angelina again? Her plans for adopting the child were looking very remote. She had no idea how these things worked, but she had no stable home to offer her, no employment and probably no husband either. She tried hard not to think of what Jonathon might be suffering right now. Were they torturing him? He would have information to give them. And Charles? What was his part in this? Denise hadn’t mentioned him at all. What a mess!
“It felt better when we were all together,” Amie said. “We did pretty well, didn’t we?”
The others nodded in agreement and no one said anything for several moments, until unexpectedly, Shalima piped up. “I might go to the States instead.” The other two stared at her in astonishment.
“What?”
“Big place, easier to make yer way. I got big plans.”
Sure you have, thought Amie. Now there’s a fledgling spy begging to be recruited. She was all for running away to war a few weeks ago, I should suggest that to Edward, she’s much better spy material than me. I’m sure spies don’t need a conscience.
It was difficult to make conversation; the surroundings were all wrong. Ben told her briefly what it had been like in Apatu during the civil war. He had not been able to get work, and food and other basic necessities were short. There was a lot of suspicion between families and friends, with no one quite sure whose side they were on. All the defeated Kawa, who were the majority tribe, hated being subjugated by the M’untus, who put down any insurrection with immediate brutality. It was impossible to remain neutral, your tribe was a lottery at birth and the African tradition of ‘if you are not with me you are against me’ was paramount. Ben told her he thought Themba Rabasi, Amie’s driver, now had a high position in the Togodo government.
Why oh, why can’t people live in peace and harmony? Amie mused.
“And the oil and minerals they found up north?” she asked. “Wasn’t that what started all this?”
Ben looked uncomfortable. “I do not know,” he replied and he didn’t really appear to care either. It was unlikely his immediate future was too bright; he was from the tribe who were now the underdog. But the fact the Kawas were the largest tribe suggested that soon they would make a bid to take back power and another civil war would break out. It was a rare country that could exist peacefully under a minority government, especially in Africa.
Mrs Motswezi and Angelina returned, closely followed by two young men who Amie could only guess were some sort of bodyguards, jailors or minders, or whatever you called people who were there to restrict your freedom.
Angelina ran to Amie, gave her a big hug and whispered that she had seen a blue teddy in a shop window. She had lost hers at the camp, so would Amie get it for her?
Amie hugged her and promised to see what she could do. She didn’t have any money, but it was possible Denise might help? She wasn’t going to ask Shalima, who might go and steal it. An arrest for shoplifting in a developing country was not to be recommended.
“Shalima, did they offer to send you back home?” Amie asked.
“Said they’d talk to me later. But I ain’t going and that’s that and they can’t make me.”
“How old are you?” Amie suspected she was younger than eighteen. If that was the case, she wouldn’t have a choice.
It was as if Shalima could read her thoughts. “They have no proof who I am. Or where I come from, and they can’t prove nuffin’.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure,” Amie replied as she tickled Angelina, making her squeal. “One shot of your photograph on the BBC news and someone will recognize you.”
Shalima’s face fell. That was something she hadn’t thought of. “Shit,” she muttered. “Thanks for the heads up.”
There was a knock on the door and Mavis poked her head around. “The madam says you go to her,” she announced before disappearing again.
Amie sighed and got up. Edward must have arrived. Was it time for the plane ride, or simply
more questions?
When Amie entered the lounge, Edward and another man were sitting on the sofa waiting for her. Edward didn’t look any friendlier than he had the day before and Amie couldn’t ignore her dislike of him. He was one of those rare people she’d met who had no warmth about them. She couldn’t imagine him ever chatting about his family, taking his dog for a walk, or tucking his children up in bed at night. He appeared like a machine with no human emotion. She wished now she’d asked Denise about him. Did he have family? Did he go to the social events in the capital?
Amie gave herself a mental slap. What was she thinking? All that mattered was this man might be the one to help get Jonathon out of danger and save his life.
He rose politely as she walked in, but he didn’t introduce his companion.
“I came to inform you we will be leaving in an hour,” he stated. “I take it you don’t suffer from travel sickness?”
“No,” Amie replied.
Both men stood up again not taking their eyes off Amie, which made her feel like a specimen in a Petri dish in the laboratory. Gratefully, she turned to Denise who had bustled into the room.
“Can I get you some tea, coffee?” she asked.
“No, thank you, we were leaving. We’ll be back in an hour to collect Mrs Fish,” Edward replied. Staring at Amie he added, “I trust you’ll be ready?”
“I suppose so.”
Denise showed them out while Amie paced up and down. She was trying to get her thoughts in order. No one had asked her what she wanted to do, where she wanted to go, nor even offered their condolences on having her husband kidnapped and taken hostage by fundamentalists. It was as if Jonathon was simply some collateral damage and a nuisance at the same time. She was an even bigger problem. Apart from her helping them find the terrorist camp, she felt she was expendable.
Denise reappeared and briefly gave Amie a big hug, which surprised her because Denise wasn’t the hugging sort. Her expression suggested she was fearful for Amie and that made her uneasy.
“Mavis has your clothes all ready, and I’ve told her to pack up a lunch for you,” she smiled. “Men never think of these things, do they? If it takes a few hours, I expect you’ll get hungry. What would you like to drink? I’ll get her to fill some bottles as well.”
“Water will be fine, thanks.”
Amie excused herself and went off to get dressed. As soon she was back in her own clothes she felt better. Silky floral shirt-waister dresses were not her scene, even her mother didn’t wear those any more. She looked down at her clean bush trousers, t-shirt, and jacket and felt some of her confidence return. Mavis had even cleaned her boots for her.
While Amie dressed, she had a feeling there was something Denise wasn’t telling her, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Her hostess was nervous, as if she was uncertain about what was going to happen. As soon as she was ready, Amie went to the kitchen where Denise was fussing around in the fridge, instructing Mavis what to put in the sandwiches. The huge pile of bread slices suggested there’d be enough to feed an army. She hovered in the doorway.
“Denise, how well do you know Edward? Who is he exactly?”
Denise turned to her, an uncertain expression on her face. “I don’t know who he is, only that he’s come to chat to Liam a few times. I can only suppose he’s attached to the embassy in some way. Why do you ask?”
“Uh, no real reason,” Amie hoped she sounded nonchalant. “Does he go to the social events at the club? I guess you have a club here?”
“Not at the moment. There’s been a huge row over the premises we use. The landlord wants to take it back, and refuses to pay for all the improvements, the pool, the tennis courts and the bowling green. So right now, we have to put up with getting together at each other’s houses. It’s really curtailed our social life.” As Denise prattled on, Amie could see she’d relaxed because she was on safer ground. She found herself tuning out as the older woman explained the difficulties they’d had in finding a suitable property anywhere in the capital that wasn’t exorbitantly expensive.
Precisely sixty minutes after Edward had departed, a smart car drew up outside the Matheson’s house and a driver stepped out and rang the bell. Amie said a grateful goodbye to Denise saying she would see her later, but she got the nagging feeling Denise wasn’t expecting her back. She had to ignore her over-active imagination; she was committed. Why did her radar always go into overdrive? It was about time she learned to chill out without continually trying to predict the future. Goodness knows, her life had been a roller coaster ride for the past few years. By now, she should’ve learned to expect the unexpected.
The driver held the car door for her and she slid into the back seat. To her surprise, Ben and Shalima were already occupying most of it and they moved over to make room for her.
“I didn’t know …”
“Neither did we.” Ben grinned.
“Guess they wanna make sure we all agree where the hellhole is,” Shalima said flatly. She was more subdued than Amie had ever seen her before. She was hunched up, stiff and very tense. She gave Amie the impression she was about to leap out of the car at any moment.
Edward was in the front seat. He glanced back at her briefly, gave her a quick nod, then turned away.
They sped through the centre of Atari, which Amie thought looked very like Apatu. The three-storey high glass and chrome buildings housing the banking institutions were separated by low level adobe structures, housing a variety of shops and offices and the ever-present steel shutters that replaced the glass facades. In several places the local people had set out their wares on plastic sheets along the pavements, forcing the pedestrians to zig zag their way past, and step out into the road to avoid trampling on the fresh fruit, vegetables and meat on display.
The biggest difference Amie noticed was the larger numbers of donkey carts in town. Sturdy little animals pulling what appeared to be oversized loads behind their drivers, who were content to let the animals find their own way between the traffic and the walkers.
Soon they were driving though the suburbs on the far side of the city sprawl where the houses were spaced further apart until they were out into the open countryside. There was a small sign announcing Atari airport, and the driver took a sharp turn to the right. When they drew up next to what was simply a large wooden shack, Amie knew this wasn’t the main airport. This was little more than a landing strip and the only plane she could see sitting on the hot tarmac was a twin-engine Cessna, which wouldn’t hold more than half a dozen people. Still, if they were taking a brief flight, they were unlikely to need a 737.
As soon as the car came to a stop, the driver climbed out and opened the back door for Amie. The others tried to get out of the other side of the car, but the child-proof locks were on, and they had to wait for the driver to open the door for them.
Shalima would have leapt out after Amie, but she was next to the door and Ben refused to move. She gave him a filthy look as she tumbled out of the car.
For a moment they just stared at the aircraft, then Edward motioned for them to follow him across the tarmac. He carried two laptop-sized bags, while the driver got a large suitcase out of the boot and wheeled it over to the bottom of the steps. Edward indicated they should climb aboard and he was right behind them as they went up the steps.
While they took their seats and buckled themselves in, Amie took stock. She’d never been in such a small plane before and it was the first time she’d been able to watch the pilot go through his pre-flight checks. He’d not even said hello when they boarded, but Amie didn’t like to interrupt him. Edward sat next to the pilot, with Ben and Shalima one behind the other on the port side of the plane and Amie on the right.
No sooner had they got settled than the engines roared. Amie was reassured to see there were two of them. They taxied down the landing strip, bumping faster and faster over the rough grass runway until the plane lifted up, left the ground and they were in the air. As soon as they’d levelled off,
although Amie thought they were flying too low for comfort, Edward got up and sat in the empty seat in front of her. He had to raise his voice, over the noise from the engines.
“So, this camp is next to a river?” he said.
“Yes, it’s on this side of the river, on the south, in a valley between ridges. It’s not the only river we crossed, when we drove down to Ruanga, but it is by far the biggest.”
“Any other distinguishing landmarks you can remember?” he asked. There was no warmth in his voice.
“No,” replied Amie and the other two shook their heads.
Edward nodded, got up and retraced his steps to the co-pilot’s seat. He appeared to be giving the pilot instructions, but it was impossible to hear what he said.
It occurred to Amie they weren’t really needed on this trip, so why had they been brought along? They could only give general directions to the camp, and if you flew around for long enough, you’d be likely to spot it. Yes, the tents were green but she didn’t remember any camouflage material, and the IS flag had been blatantly raised every morning. How hard were these fanatics trying to hide? Word must have got out about the villages that had been destroyed and the bodies found. There must have been some sort of uproar in Apatu surely?
To Amie’s discomfort the pilot didn’t fly the plane at a steady height. One minute they were looking way, way down onto tree tops and rocks and the occasional herd of elephants, zebra and wildebeest which all took off running away from the shadow they cast on the ground below. The next minute they were barely skimming over the earth and she was convinced they were going to crash into a termite mound or one of the large boulders scattered about.
She glanced at Ben and Shalima. She’d dearly like to ask them what they were thinking, but she’d not been allowed a moment alone with them and she didn’t want to speak in front of Edward. For some unknown reason she didn’t trust him, even if he did work for Her Majesty’s Government.
Ben looked as stoic as ever in the typically African way. It was impossible to guess what he was thinking.
Amie in Africa Box Set 1 Page 56
