Ivory Nation by Andy Maslen (free children's ebooks online txt) 📕

clearly know your wines. Why don’t you come up North and I’ll give you a tour around our winery? I think you’ll be impressed.’

Gabriel smiled.

‘I would like that very much. Very much indeed. When?’

‘How about the day after tomorrow?’

‘Works for me.’

‘Where are you staying? I’ll come and pick you up.’

‘The Marriott on De Korte Street.’

‘Shall we say 8.00 a.m.?’

‘Perfect. Just one thing. I’m travelling with a companion. Protection, you might call it. My job is purely administrative, you see, and she, well, she is more experienced in the,’ he rubbed his chin, ‘more dramatic aspects of my work.’

Coetzee shook his head.

‘Sorry. No friends, no companions, no bodyguards. You alone or forget it.’

Gabriel pretended to hesitate. Inwardly he was glad Eli was off the table. He knew it was wrong, some kind of long-dormant chivalry, but all of a sudden he didn’t want to put her in further danger.

He nodded after what he judged was a suitable interval.

‘Fine. No companion.’

Gabriel found Eli in the hotel bar. She’d put on a simple white cotton dress that showed off her olive skin, tanned now to a soft honey colour. And she’d put her hair up, revealing turquoise earrings that matched a string of beads round her throat. As he walked in, Gabriel noticed that several of the men present, and a couple of the women, were casting glances in her direction. He smiled. She’s mine, though.

She kissed him.

‘How did it go?’

‘Like a charm. We made a date for the day after tomorrow. He’s taking me up country. Presumably to vet me and see whether my “associates” and I will be of use to the cause.’

She smiled.

‘Great! So when do we set off?’

‘It’s not “we”. It’s me. I said I was travelling with protection but he said it was an invitation for one.’

Eli shook her head.

‘That’s a really bad idea, Gabe. You don’t know what you’re walking into. Listen,’ she said, raising her voice, so that a few of the nearer patrons turned their heads. ‘Listen,’ she repeated, quieter, ‘these people, they’re dangerous. What if they suspect you’re a journalist or a government spy? They’ll torture you or kill you. It’s what I’d do.’

He moved closer to her, breathing in her perfume.

‘One, yes I do know what I’m walking into. What I’ve walked into a hundred times before. And I’ve always walked out again. Two, I know they’re dangerous. That’s why we’re here. But I’m dangerous, too. And three, they may well be suspicious. I’d be worried if they weren’t. But I don’t think they’ll go for the nuclear option. Not if I show them a gesture of goodwill first.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I’m going to talk to Don. Have John wire me some money. I’ll take it with me as a love gift. We know they need cash. It’ll work, El, believe me.’

Eli’s lips parted. He waited for her to object. But she said nothing. Just leaned forward and kissed him.

‘Do what you have to do then come back to me. That’s an order.’

After a late dinner, Gabriel and Eli sat outside under a full moon, sipping brandies. He looked up at the stars, billions of pinpricks in a black velvet blanket. Were their stars meant to align? Did Eli see things the same way he did? What if she decided to leave the UK anyway, despite the new British passport? Would he follow her?

He wanted to say yes, wanted to be so sure he would leave behind the country he loved. The job, too. Though he was sure he could find a role in Israel that would give him the same kind of satisfaction as working for The Department.

And yet.

Would it be that easy? Eli felt she wanted to return home. But England was his home. He wanted to stay, he realised. Stay and fight. Tammerlane couldn’t last for ever, could he? He’d fuck it up like extremists always did, and then the voters would kick him out in four years’ time.

He had a flash of insight. A nightmarish vision. Tammerlane suspending political ‘business as usual’ in the light of some new threat. Declaring a state of emergency. Instituting ‘special measures’. Government spokesmen reassuring querulous journalists that normal service would be resumed as soon as was practicable, all the while removing obstacles to their boss remaining in power.

Was that possible? Really? In the UK? It had happened in Africa, hadn’t it? More than once. Strongmen elected by an enthusiastic populace who then found they enjoyed holding the reins of power so much they felt it was only right they should tighten their grip.

‘Penny for them.’

‘Huh?’

He turned. Eli was looking at him with a half-smile.

‘Where did you go? I asked you the same question three times. You just zoned out.’

Gabriel sighed.

‘I was thinking about home.’

‘Aldeburgh, you mean?’

He shook his head.

‘Britain. Tammerlane worries me.’

‘Worries? Is that all. Because he scares the shit out of me.’

‘What were you asking?’

‘I think I should get back. If you’re making the trip to see the BVR leadership alone, there’s nothing for me to do here. I can’t just sit around sunbathing. I’ll see what Don has for me.’

Gabriel nodded, and finished his brandy.

‘Probably best. You can always fly back.’

She tipped the snifter to her lips and drained the last few drops. She stood and took his hand.

‘In that case, I need you upstairs, right now.’

43

Two days later

With Eli gone, Gabriel found he was better able to concentrate. His first stop the following day had been a luggage store, where he bought a cheap aluminium-look attaché case. An hour later, he emerged from the Western Union office on Hanover Street swinging the now-heavier case by his left thigh.

He wasn’t bothered about his lack of hardware. As a self-declared ‘admin’ type, it would be out of character to carry anything more dangerous than a pocket calculator. His hands and feet were deadly enough until he could get his hands on something with an edge, a point or a trigger.

But he did want different clothes. A trip to a sporting