Samira has arrived in her taxi and successfully talked her way through the barriers set up by the security forces. She looks in astonishment at the devastation left by the missiles and runs to Jackson, now sitting on the edge of a blast crater and staring blankly into space as tears stream down his face.
“Are you okay, Jacko?” she asks.
He shakes his head. “No, I’m not. I’m not at all okay.”
Pete takes a break from filming and goes to Jackson and Samira. “I’ve just been called by Mack saying that London wants an immediate ‘live’ using the satellite kit. Can you be ready in a couple of minutes?”
Jackson shakes his head again. “Samira will do it.” He turns to her. “Just describe what you can see and explain that all this has been caused by American missiles fired during a stuffed up attempt to kill the terrorist Ahmed Faisel Bin Hassan. That’ll be enough for now.”
He walks off towards the BBC car, a crushed man.
Pete watches him go. “Jeez! Jacko sure is a mess. Anyway, are you okay to do the live, Samira?” She nods agreement, still distracted by the emotional unravelling of a colleague. “Okay,” Pete says, “I’ll set up the satellite link while you put your thoughts in order.”
THE RECKONING
Thomas is in a dark suit and tie and standing with a group of about 20 mourners beside an open grave in the grounds of a parish church in a genteel suburb of West London. The sky is overcast and there is a slight chill in the air.
Thomas’s face is grey and drawn. He appears to have aged more than a decade.
The mourners include a man and three women standing together, but apart from the others. They are Felicity’s elderly parents and her two sisters, Beverley and Nina. All are in a state of shock.
Three coffins – one adult size and two smaller ones – are wheeled from the church on funeral biers. The mourners are acutely aware that the coffins are almost empty because so little of the bodies could be recovered from the blast scene.
The coffins are lowered into the grave by the assistant funeral directors – first for Felicity, then Sam and Sophie.
The elderly vicar steps forward in his black cassock, sprinkles a handful of earth on the coffins and intones the traditional words.
We have entrusted Felicity, Sam and Sophie to God's mercy,
and we now commit their bodies to the ground:
earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust:
in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who will transform our frail bodies
that they may be conformed to his glorious body,
who died, was buried, and rose again for us.
To him be glory for ever.
The vicar and the mourners murmur Amen.
Thomas is handed a red rose by the funeral director and he lets it drop into the open grave.
Felicity’s family move away without speaking and leave the church grounds in a chauffeur-driven saloon car. They have made it known that whatever the truth of the events leading to the deaths in Malik Malouf Park, they hold Thomas responsible.
Thomas steps away from the grave and accepts softly-spoken condolences from a line of male and female mourners. Last to speak to him is Bart Watson, his MI6 boss in Armibar. There is a protracted, rather embarrassed handshake. “I wish I’d taken better notice of your worries,” Bart admits. “No words, no matter how heartfelt, can bring back your wife and children. But I can assure you that despite this dreadful and regrettable event, our determination to bring Bin Hassam and his like to justice will continue undiminished.”
Thomas mutters a “thank you” and Bart departs. Thomas returns to the grave, takes one more look at the coffins and wipes away his tears. “Forgive me, Flip; forgive me, kids; forgive me, Lord,” he murmurs. He nods to the two grave diggers and they step forward with their shovels to complete their task.
******
In a different part of London, Jackson sits in a semi-circle of about 30 men and women of all age groups. The room is functional and austere, and a variety of signs and posters on the wall make it clear that it is in a community hall. A meeting is about to begin, chaired by Barbara, a woman in her forties with a warm smile, no-nonsense greying hair and wearing neat informal clothes.
“Welcome back,” she says. “I’m delighted to see that there are no drop-outs this week. Additionally, we have a new member who wishes to be known as Roger. Some of you may recognise him from the television news, but I know that there will be no breaches of our firm bond of confidentiality.” She signals to Jackson to stand up. “Right, Roger, perhaps you could introduce yourself and tell us a little about why you have joined our group.”
Jackson stands and begins speaking. “I am… I have… Umm. Let me start again: Hello. I’m here because I have finally recognised that I need help. I have an addiction – a gambling addiction and I drink too much. For a long while I have denied this. I have become a chronic liar to myself and to my colleagues and friends. I deluded myself that once I got the ‘big win’, I would walk away from gambling, but I can’t. If I won a million today I would try to double it tomorrow. And I’m not sure why. To be honest, this addiction is ruining my life. Worse, it has ruined – destroyed, even – the lives of others I loved. I am overwhelmed by shame and remorse. That is why I’m here.”
Jackson resumes his seat with tears running down his face. There is a ripple of sympathetic applause from others in the group. “Thank you for being so honest about your situation,” says Barbara. “Honesty is the first important step towards recovery. Your story is far from unique. Everyone with us today has a tale to tell about gambling as a compulsion, but you’re among friends now. Over the years, our little group has been very successful in helping addicts regain control of their lives. I feel confident that your honesty, with our support, will lead you back to a normal life. Please take heart, Roger.”
The meeting ends after an hour and Jackson shakes hands with his new friends. He is invited to join them for a coffee, but says he has someone waiting for him in the lobby. That someone is Zareena, now wearing an elegant business suit. They exchange kisses. “How did it go?” she asks.
“It’ll be a long haul,” he replies. “It’s not just the gambling problem; it’s the guilt that I’ll always feel about the deaths of Felicity and the children.”
“That’ll always be difficult,” she agrees, “but I’m pleased that you’re making a serious attempt to re-start your life.”
“Thank you, Zareena. It’s good to have the support of a good friend.”
“It’s Maya, my real name, from now on, Jacko,” she says with a gentle smile. “Zareena is my past; Maya is my present and my future.”
“Sorry, yes it’s Maya,” he agrees with a warm smile.
They are joined by a tall fair-haired Middle Eastern woman also wearing smart Western clothes and, like Maya, in her mid-twenties. She is introduced to Jackson. “I’d like you to meet my university friend, Luna. She also has a six-month study visa and we’ve taken a flat together to see how our relationship develops.”
“Very nice to meet you, Luna,” Jackson says.
“Yes, and you, too,” she replies. “I used to watch you on the television in Armibar. You’re a very brave reporter and Maya spoke of you as a good friend.”
“That’s very nice,” he says. He turns back to Maya. “What’s the situation with your mother?”
“Oh, I’ve saved up enough money for her to join us on a tourist visa,” she explains, “then we’ll have to see what happens. It’s looking good, though, as Luna and I have been told we have a very good chance of getting long-term jobs here as court and hospital translators. My mother will probably be allowed to stay here, as long as we can support her.”
Jackson checks his watch. “Well, I’d better get back to the newsroom. I’m working part time for a few months as a respite from the stresses and dangers of Armibar and while I try to sort myself out.”
He and Maya exchange kisses and he shakes Luna’s hand. “See you both again, soon, I hope.” He walks off and Maya and Luna go into a nearby coffee shop, hand-in-hand.
END NOTES
JACKSON DUNBAR:
With a combination of one-to-one psychiatric counselling and membership of the gambling addicts’ group, Jackson gradually comes to terms with the deep rejection he felt as a child when his parents took little interest in his life. He has successfully stopped gambling, accepting that he must view his addiction in much the same way as an alcoholic recognises that there is no such thing as “just a little drink”. He is grateful that circumstances prevented him from selling his apartment in London as this has given him a base from which to steadily re-establish his finances. The BBC has given him a new job as a London-based Middle East analyst, a post he enjoys. He knows that the images of what happened to Felicity, Sam and Sophie will be with him forever.
MACK GALBRAITH / SAMIRA LANG / PETER FOX:
Mack, Samira and Pete have remained in Armibar reporting on the country’s struggle to avoid becoming another Egypt, Libya, Yemen or Iraq. Mack has given up smoking at long last after an old school friend died of lung cancer. He is feeling better for it. He is enjoying what will be his final 10 years stationed in the Middle East.
After an intensive training session in London, Samira is doing most of the TV reporting from the Armibar bureau. She is pregnant with her first child. Her engineer husband, Nigel, now has a permanent job in Central Arabia.
Pete continues to be the best television cameraman in Armibar and is settling down with a local woman he met on a reporting job. He is hoping that one day the gangland death threats against him will be lifted and he will be able to return to Australia.
THOMAS FULHAM:
Thomas has been transferred back to London where he now works for MI5, Britain’s domestic security agency.
Because of his Arabic language skills and his experience of the Middle East, he is given a desk job monitoring the activities of local jihadis. He plans to retire in a year so that he can devote himself full time to the Felicity Fulham Trust, a charity he has established to raise funds to equip hospitals around the world treating child victims of war.
Although he has women friends, the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Felicity, Sam and Sophie are still too raw for him to consider another serious relationship.
AHMED FAISEL BIN HASSAN:
The United States Defence Department announces a $5m reward for information leading to the capture or death of Ahmed Faisel Bin Ahmed. His movements are consequently betrayed by a member of Soldiers of Allah. He is captured by an undercover American squad on his way to Armibar International Airport to catch a London-bound flight, posing as a prosperous businessman. He had a false British passport in the name of Jeremy Carlisle, his bushy beard was gone and his hair was short and neat. In place of an ankle-length Arab thawb and his keffiyeh headwear was a dark Paul Smith suit with a discreet striped tie.
The Americans smuggle him out of Central Arabia and fly him to a prison in a remote part of Texas where he is interrogated by a joint Anglo-American team. He is later reported to have been “shot dead while attempting to escape.” Despite the ferocity of the cross-examinations, Bin Hassan never revealed why he was trying to return to Britain.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My thanks to all the family, friends and colleagues who have supported and contributed to the writing of this book and an associated screenplay.
Particular gratitude must go to Penny Berry for her encouragement and expert advice about cultural, language and regional details, to Jan Woolf for the main editing of the book, to Pippa Gwilliam for her proofing and her assessment of the initial draft, to Rachel Lawston for the cover design, and Sally Glover for building the website.
Further thanks to Graeme Turpie, John Trevenen, Sue Flemons, Ruth Wheatmen, Barry Rocard, Sally Glover and Warwick Millar for agreeing to test read the developed manuscript.
Also by this author:
God’s Triangle
The unusual true story of church scandal and establishment
cover-up in Australia and East Bengal
http://www.godstriangle.com/
See also newspaper and magazine articles here:
http://www.preddonlee.com/archive.html
Table of Contents
TITLE PAGE
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
THE RECKONING
END NOTES
THANKS
The Mortal Maze Page 31
