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“No.” She shakes her head, all wide-eyed innocence. “And now they’ve got my late husband’s very expensive camera and all my other gear.”
She’s practicing alright. I’ve heard some crap stories in my time, but this is off the scale! Fuckin’ hell, I know it’s better for me, but does she never stop talking?”
“They said it’d be used as evidence.”
“Evidence of what?” Miller Liu asks.
Fuck me, he’s awake!
“You’ll love this. Smuggling! Me? Do I look like a smuggler to you? Don’t you think that’s ridiculous!”
There’s some play that has a lady protesting too much. Fucked if I can remember its name, though.
“Forgetting to pay for a trolley of groceries or a packet of wine-gums is about my limit!”
She sounds like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, but I reckon she’s up to her eyes in it. The patrols might be overzealous, but they’re not idiots. No way she’s clean.
“That sounds terrible, Crystal,” says Anar. “Especially about your husband’s camera. I hope it’s not damaged.”
“Oh, don’t say that, Anar.”
Miller Liu looks up. “Don’t worry about it, Crystal. I’m sure everything’ll be fine.” He even smiles.
I keep quiet. First the badge, now the smuggling accusation? What kind of smuggling, though? Get that info out!
“What did they say you were smuggling, Crystal?”
Her voice does a little shake. Fear, nerves, guilt, the full works. “Drugs,” she says. “They said there’s evidence I’ve been smuggling several kilos of narcotics a week.”
I could see that. Not many would suspect her, I’d say.
“I don’t even know the names of any narcotics, never mind know how to smuggle them!”
That right there. She’s taken it too far. She’s up to her eyes in some bollocks. I’d stake my reputation on it. Not much then. That’ll be ringing bells next door.
Watch it, I can’t snigger when she’s talking.
Anar says, “It sounds like someone has made you a goat. No, what do you call it?”
“A scapegoat,” Miller Liu jumps in. “How about you, Anar? How does a stunning foreign princess like you end up in a Heritage Front cell?” You’re doing my job for me, big man. Can’t give you a cut, though.
Ha, I reckon he’s just like me. Sick of the sound of Crystal’s voice.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Liu. I can’t divulge any information regarding any supposed crime I may or may not have committed. I’m under instructions from the Khazakh embassy not to speak on matters involving local law enforcement.”
That’s you told, grey boy.
Miller Liu looks like he’s holding back a smirk.
She goes on, smooth as ever: “In any case, I hear what you’ve all been saying, and suffice to say, I expect to be released as soon as the embassy is informed.”
It’s like everything pauses. What kind of official crap was that when it’s at home? It sounds like the disclaimer on my travel insurance that I read once when my flight was delayed. In the days when there were flights, anyway.
Turning back to Miller Liu, she says, “What about you?”
I can’t look at his eyes. They’re too cold. People with eyes like that are always up to something. I can tell. Can’t tell you what it is, but people with eyes like that are to be avoided in my book. They cause way too much trouble wherever they go. Evil, these eyes are.
“I was caught driving with no insurance”, he says in his small voice, totally at odds with his bulk, and especially his eyes.
“Oh, yeah?” I say. I was trying to put him off his stride. What the fuck am I doing? I don’t want to upset this guy.
“I was up by the old quarry, coming down the hill into town to go to the antique shop, when I turned a corner, you know the one?”
Crystal and I nod.
“And drove straight into a checkpoint. They checked my papers, and to my surprise, my insurance had lapsed.
In a show of solidarity, Crystal says, “That happened to me once. It’s embarrassing, isn’t it?”
“It was embarrassing, but it’d never happened to me before. I usually stay on top of those things. I feel like an old fool.”
“Tough shit,” I say. “When I was a kid, my little brother got killed in a hit-and-run. It turned out the guy panicked because his insurance had expired. Not saying you would do that, but it really gets my back up, if you know what I mean!”
Anar is looking at me. Her big blue eyes are full of sympathy. Maybe she pities me; that could be a way in.
“That’s terrible, Shifty. But I’m sure Mr Liu here had no intention of killing anyone.”
Crystal nods; Miller Liu looks at the floor again.
“I suppose,” I say.
I still amn’t convinced… To me, Anar’s sympathy feels like one of these unfeeling upper-class responses, so I don’t believe her either.
God, it’s that hatch again. Like metal fingernails dragging along the edge of your soul.
Who’s this youngster coming in? He looks about twelve. Can he even shave yet? Better not be looking for me or I’m screwed. The deal is that I’m always the last one out.
“Could I ask which one of you ladies is Mrs. Crystal Daniels?”
Crystal raises her hand sheepish as anything.
He must have had that uniform for about a week. Just about long enough to spill his lunch on it by the looks of it. Creases still look new, though. His mum’s ironing, no doubt. The Heritage Front must be scraping the barrel if its recruits are so young. Maybe his mum made him enroll the second he finished school. The way things are, I wouldn’t put it past some people. They’re only looking after their families, I suppose. Wouldn’t be me, though.
“I need to ask you how you intend to plead, Mrs. Daniels. Guilty or not guilty?”
Her face twists. “Are we going to do this here, really? Isn’t there somewhere private we can go to go through this nonsense?”
“I’m afraid not, ma’am. I’ve been instructed to ask you here due to… ongoing renovations and current staff pressures.”
“Do I have a right to a lawyer?
Is there a duty solicitor on site?
I don’t want these people to listen to everything I say.”
She flashes what I suppose is an apologetic look our way.
“Who the hell is in charge here?
I’ll have their guts for garters if they don’t get in here right now and take control of this circus.”
I don’t know why I’m not laughing. I’m struggling to keep a straight face here.
She’s losing it. Proper losing it.
Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce to you, the one and only genuine Crystal Daniels. Rapturous applause from the audience. Encore!
The poor kid looks as if he’s desperately trying to stay professional, bless him.
She’s still going full tilt. She doesn’t like taking a breath, does our Crystal.
What’s happening here?
“Bring him here. Now!”
“I can’t, ma’am…”
“Now!”
“I’m sorry, I… everything must be conducted…”
“Son,” she steps forward, stabbing her finger into his chest, “if you don’t fetch your superior this instant, I’ll tear that shiny uniform off your back and send you home in your birthday suit! Get him! Now!”
He actually clicks his heels. Salutes. “Yes, ma’am. But… you’ve only received a caution, ma’am.”
We all freeze.
A caution?
For smuggling? What the fuck? Who is she? Connected. Has to be. Someone’s wife? Someone’s daughter? A bigger grass than me?
Everyone stares. Even Liu’s sneaky little piggy eyes widen.
Only someone dangerous makes a rookie jump like that. Anar glances at me, not with her cool look, maybe a bit embarrassed or a bit sad. Wary?
Miller Liu, disbelief written large across his fat face, mutters, “I hope we’re not all to be questioned in here, officer. That would be completely unacceptable. Don’t you agree?” He looks from Anar to me.
Anar stands up, back poker straight, a glint in her eyes and the faintest hint of a smile on her lips.
“It would, in fact, be incompatible with rights granted under Section 252, sub-paragraph 26 of the Human Rights Act regarding the questioning of suspects in custody,” she recites.
“That section clearly states that any person not formally charged and still assisting with inquiries must be afforded suitable space for questioning, in private, so that allegations may be confirmed or denied prior to release or transfer.”
God, I love her. God help me, I do. God, she is a goddess. Not just looks, not just guts, not just grace, but officialese too! We’d be amazing together! I wonder if she can cook. What is it they say in my wife’s videos? I think I’m going to swoon!
Anar isn’t done.
“So, to recap: continuing to question this good lady in this, or any other shared cell, is wholly inappropriate. And if I may add, it would likely be in the best interests of both you and your superior to remove her immediately. Caution or no caution.”
He’s going for it.
“Mrs Daniels, if you could follow me, please.”
Crystal or whoever she really is, is standing beside the guard as he gives the signal for the door to open.
Enjoying these stories? Try the book.
Then it hits.
A sound. Not a sound. A scream that drills straight into my skull like a dentist’s tool from hell. Max volume.
Noise…
I can’t…
The boy and Crystal fall to the floor.
I can barely think…
I can see.
Can’t move…
Trying…
Is this real?
What the fuck!
I watch, but…
Anar moves.
Slowly. Deliberately. Beautifully.
Somehow, the shriek in my skull doesn’t touch her.
She’s fluid, unaffected.
Unnatural.
God, I’d do anything for her.
But …… How can she move?
Why is she not frozen like us?
She reaches for her sapphire ring.
Twists it.
Pulls it.
Or something.
A thin wire uncoils into something sharp.
A needle?
What the fuck!
The noise.
Is it coming from her ring?
She’s not just beautiful… she’s dangerous.
All that official crap she was spouting earlier; it wasn’t a bluff.
She’s government.
Military.
Something.
It doesn’t matter.
I’ve been captured.
Completely.
I’d do anything for her.
Would I die for her?
Yeah, probably.
Well, no.
That’d be stupid.
Dead people don’t get the girl.
She’s in front of Miller Liu now.
Anar lifts his chin up with her left hand, calm as ever.
I can see her say something.
I’ve never been a lip-reader.
Then… like it’s nothing…
She drives the needle straight into his right eye.
It vanishes deep, right into the brain, and he’s about to fall forward… but she’s already in motion. One foot on the bench, then the other, straddling him. She grabs his grey hair, yanks his head back, and slices his throat wide open.
Is that joy in her eyes?
No, not just joy.
Pleasure.
I tell you what.
This floor is good.
The blood is already draining. The tiles have pink streaky whirls now. The whole place looks like an abstract art installation. They should leave it like this for the next few weeks to see if it helps people relax or confess quicker or something. Ergonomic blood, the new wave in interior design. It could be a trend!
Anar’s at the door. Still open. She hasn’t slipped. I couldn’t imagine her ever slipping, to tell you the truth. If she did, I guess she’d just bounce gracefully back up and carry on as if she’d meant it.
I can’t believe it.
She’s smiling.
At me.
Maybe she’s not who I thought she was, but she hasn’t forgotten me.
Maybe she’ll take me with her.
Where would we go? Just the two of us in some cabin in Kazakh nowhere, shagging ourselves senseless by a huge open fire till we can’t even stand up.
She’s actually coming back.
She’s bending down.
My heart’s beating too fast!
Am I getting a kiss?
Is she really going to take me with her?
Is she really going to love me forever?
She’s put something in my hand.
A token.
A memory.
I can’t turn my head to see it. I can’t move anything. But I can feel it. Smooth. Cold. Precious.
Please don’t go yet. I want to give you something too.
But she’s gone. Through the door. Off to… what? Another kill? Another mission? Some other poor bastard’s heart to break?
Wherever it is, she’s certain she’s leaving here.
What a fucking turn-on.
I still can’t move, but I can see. Liu’s sprawled like a beached whale in a sea of his own blood. The rest of us, Crystal, the kid, and me. We’re still down. Covered in it. Blinking through it, trying not to swallow it, trying not to breathe it.
I’ll live like a king off this story. Get drunk on it. I was there. I saw it.
But nothing will be the same.
I won’t be the same.
Anar. Oh, Anar. Look at me again with those cool blue eyes. Say something else in that perfect Khazak accent.
All I have is what you left in my hand. I’ll never let it go. I’ll hold on to it forever so I can remember this day for as long as I live.
The noise is fading.
No one’s moving much.
Sound’s coming back.
The real world’s pressing in.
Did that just happen?
What an amazing dream!
Who’s this?
“He’s still here, sir. Still got the weapon in his hand.”
“Take him away.”
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