begun to flow freely from the fresh wound, but was soon stemmed by a rag that the patrolman had tied round her shoulder tightly.
‘We can’t have you bleeding out, can we?’ he said cynically. ‘Got to leave something for the torture technicians, you see?’
She was beyond the point of caring now; she just wanted whatever it was to be as quick and painless as possible.
CHAPTER TEN
J ohn Cutter stared impatiently at his watch, wondering where Miriam was. By his estimates, she and the rest of the Mind operatives should’ve been back a lot earlier than the time suggested.
‘They should’ve been back by now, Max.’ he pointed to his wrist for emphasis. ‘What the hell could possibly have gone wrong? It was a simple enough mission, and shouldn’t have taken the whole day to complete.
‘Eight bloody hours they’ve been gone—eight! If they’ve been caught by any chance, we need to be ready to get out of here.’
Max nodded in agreement as he went to warn the others, who had found refuge in the other houses that lined the road outside the front door. John turned to Oscar, flashing an uneasy smile his way, wondering to himself:
what kind of relationship did Oscar have with Miriam? Should he simplify what he had told Max, in a way that a seven-year-old could understand?
‘Oscar, come here for a moment.’ he ordered.
He slowly made his way across the room to where John was standing. He looked scared, but there was no need to be. As the day wore on, he had figured out that John Cutter was a friendly sort. It was just what he had to tell him that had Oscar worried.
He took hold of Oscar’s shoulders and stared deeply into his eyes. He could sense that the man was worried about what was about to be said but waited patiently for him to speak.
‘Miriam might not be coming back, Oscar.’ he said sternly, not trying to sugar-coat the situation.
‘We need to get out of here as soon as possible; we may no longer be safe.’ he warned.
He may have been only seven, but Oscar knew what John was trying to say.
‘You think she’s been taken to a camp, don’t you?’ he said, with a hint of sadness attached to his voice.
‘What do you know of the camps? You are too young to know about these things.’ he said, almost shouting.
This scared Oscar a great deal.
Why had his question angered John so much? Why would he think that Oscar didn’t know about the camps?
‘My mummy and daddy were sent to one.’ he finally replied, snivelling.
John looked upon the boy with a sense of regret for something to which he may have been a party. However, it was the wrong time to dwell on his misgivings.
‘I’m sorry for your loss, young man.’ he said, with very little warmth.
Oscar backed away angrily, and then turned and ran. He headed back upstairs to his bedroom and slammed the door with emphasis, for John’s benefit.
A short while later Max re-emerged, with the others following directly behind him.
‘We need to pack up and leave.’ John blasted in frustration. ‘The mission to blow up the armoury has been compromised.’
Panic set in as the women scurried around like headless chickens trying to organise their children. The noise was deafening; crying and pandemonium ensued. Each of the women was thinking about their husbands, and what may have happened to them.
John held his head in his hands for the briefest moment.
‘
Qu-iet!
I can barely hear myself bloody think.’ he shouted over the din.
With that, a sudden silence followed. Everybody turned and looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something reassuring. All he could tell them was that they had probably hidden themselves away until it was safe to come out again, knowing full well in the back of his mind that they had all been captured.
How could they not have been?
He thought to himself. The odds had been stacked against them since the plan’s conception.
#
Oscar looked toward the crack between the floor and the door to his bedroom. A
‘We can’t have you bleeding out, can we?’ he said cynically. ‘Got to leave something for the torture technicians, you see?’
She was beyond the point of caring now; she just wanted whatever it was to be as quick and painless as possible.
CHAPTER TEN
J ohn Cutter stared impatiently at his watch, wondering where Miriam was. By his estimates, she and the rest of the Mind operatives should’ve been back a lot earlier than the time suggested.
‘They should’ve been back by now, Max.’ he pointed to his wrist for emphasis. ‘What the hell could possibly have gone wrong? It was a simple enough mission, and shouldn’t have taken the whole day to complete.
‘Eight bloody hours they’ve been gone—eight! If they’ve been caught by any chance, we need to be ready to get out of here.’
Max nodded in agreement as he went to warn the others, who had found refuge in the other houses that lined the road outside the front door. John turned to Oscar, flashing an uneasy smile his way, wondering to himself:
what kind of relationship did Oscar have with Miriam? Should he simplify what he had told Max, in a way that a seven-year-old could understand?
‘Oscar, come here for a moment.’ he ordered.
He slowly made his way across the room to where John was standing. He looked scared, but there was no need to be. As the day wore on, he had figured out that John Cutter was a friendly sort. It was just what he had to tell him that had Oscar worried.
He took hold of Oscar’s shoulders and stared deeply into his eyes. He could sense that the man was worried about what was about to be said but waited patiently for him to speak.
‘Miriam might not be coming back, Oscar.’ he said sternly, not trying to sugar-coat the situation.
‘We need to get out of here as soon as possible; we may no longer be safe.’ he warned.
He may have been only seven, but Oscar knew what John was trying to say.
‘You think she’s been taken to a camp, don’t you?’ he said, with a hint of sadness attached to his voice.
‘What do you know of the camps? You are too young to know about these things.’ he said, almost shouting.
This scared Oscar a great deal.
Why had his question angered John so much? Why would he think that Oscar didn’t know about the camps?
‘My mummy and daddy were sent to one.’ he finally replied, snivelling.
John looked upon the boy with a sense of regret for something to which he may have been a party. However, it was the wrong time to dwell on his misgivings.
‘I’m sorry for your loss, young man.’ he said, with very little warmth.
Oscar backed away angrily, and then turned and ran. He headed back upstairs to his bedroom and slammed the door with emphasis, for John’s benefit.
A short while later Max re-emerged, with the others following directly behind him.
‘We need to pack up and leave.’ John blasted in frustration. ‘The mission to blow up the armoury has been compromised.’
Panic set in as the women scurried around like headless chickens trying to organise their children. The noise was deafening; crying and pandemonium ensued. Each of the women was thinking about their husbands, and what may have happened to them.
John held his head in his hands for the briefest moment.
‘
Qu-iet!
I can barely hear myself bloody think.’ he shouted over the din.
With that, a sudden silence followed. Everybody turned and looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something reassuring. All he could tell them was that they had probably hidden themselves away until it was safe to come out again, knowing full well in the back of his mind that they had all been captured.
How could they not have been?
He thought to himself. The odds had been stacked against them since the plan’s conception.
#
Oscar looked toward the crack between the floor and the door to his bedroom. A
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