Read Online Survival by Joe Craig - Free Book Online Page B

He switchedeffortlessly into French without even realising. “Youcame. How did you know…?”
    “Anyone trying to escape an immigration processingcentre—”
    “You mean a detention centre?”
    “I know what I’m saying,” Stovorsky countered,raising an eyebrow. “This is my first language, notyours, remember?”
    He walked slowly towards Jimmy and stood rigid atthe foot of the bed. He picked up the clipboard there andwhile he spoke he pretended to examine the paperwork.
    “Anybody trying to escape from… from this sort ofplace gets flagged up and sent to the DGSE for analysis.When the person escaping is eleven and manages toknock out half a dozen guards on his way, the case getsa little more attention that usual.”
    “I’m twelve.”
    Stovorsky looked up, perhaps surprised at Jimmy’ssharp tone. “Well, look at you,” he cooed with mockpride. “All grown up.” Jimmy forced himself to stay calm.
    “Anyway,” Stovorsky went on, “I heard thatsomebody was asking for me by name, so I had to lookinto it. You see, most of the people who know myname are dead.”
    “Including me.”
    “Exactly.”
    The pair of them stared blankly at each other.
    “Nice of you to come,” said Jimmy bitterly. “Butit’s a bit late.”
    He scooped his hand under the newspaper andthrust it towards Stovorsky, who grabbed it andscrunched it into a tiny ball without looking at it.
    “Jimmy, you’re a nice boy,” he said, his fist so tight itwas almost throbbing. “But I didn’t come to chat andcheck on your health. Do you think I would have turnedup if it was too late?”
    Jimmy didn’t respond, so Stovorsky carried on.
    “Tell me if I’ve got this right,” he said softly. “Youblew up that oil rig. You found out that the Britishthought Zafi had done it and you knew they wouldstrike back at France somehow. You wanted to stopthem. How am I doing so far?”
    Jimmy nodded reluctantly. He hated hearing the doubtsand fears that had been tormenting him spoken out loud.
    “But you had a little problem,” Stovorsky continued,clearly beginning to enjoy Jimmy’s attention. “Youcouldn’t tell the British you’d blown up the rig becausethey think you’re dead. And if you reveal you’re alive,you’ll be back to square one.”
    “Worse than square one actually,” Jimmy cut in.
    “Of course – your family.”
    “NJ7’s watching them. Any sign that they lied aboutme being dead and…”
    Stovorsky held up a hand to stop him. “Enough,”he whispered.
    There was a long silence. Stovorsky circled Jimmy’sbed. What’s he thinking ? Jimmy wondered. Why’s he come ?
    “Will France strike back?” Jimmy asked at last.
    “Probably,” Stovorsky replied with a shrug. “That’snot my department.”
    “And will Britain attack again?”
    “This isn’t chess, Jimmy. You don’t take turns.Anything could happen.”
    “But I can stop it,” Jimmy insisted. He sat up straighter,rattling his cuff against the bed frame. “I can show themthey’ve made a mistake and there’s no need to go to war.”
    “They don’t need to,” Stovorsky growled. “They want to.” His glare was full of fire. “You think that just byturning up and telling the British Government they’vemade a mistake, you’ll convince them to call off theirwar? They’re not fighting because of the oil rig, becauseof politics, or even because of you, Jimmy. They’refighting because it suits them to fight. And soon they’lltell the public they’re at war, just to keep them afraid.Showing Miss Bennett you’re still alive will only put youin danger. If she wants a war, you can’t stop it.”
    “But if I show people the reason for the war is a lie,they’ll have to stop.”
    A half-hearted laugh escaped Stovorsky’s throat.“Lies work, Jimmy. They hurt and they can kill, but theywork – especially lies to nations. Millions of people mightdiscover the lie, but somehow they still ignore it.”
    “They won’t ignore me,” Jimmy snarled. The