Chapters (58)
- Cover
- Also by Oliver Harris
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Her glass whistled past my head and smashed against the wall. She went for the door, then changed her mind and came at me, slashing my face with her nails. I got hold of her wrists.
‘Look in the case,’ I said. I turned her towards the case. She hesitated, then opened it and stared at the money. ‘Ten minutes,’ I said. ‘Explain why this is nothing to do with you, and tell me who it’s to do with. Then I drive you back with as much money as you want.’
‘Who are you?’
‘I’m the one who’s going to stop you from being arrested. I can get you out of here. But I need you to trust me.’
I poured her a drink in the remaining glass, then took a swig from the bottle. She sat down on the bed, holding the glass, staring through it to the dirty walls, finally knocking it back.
‘I did what they told me.’
‘Who?’
‘Worldwide Media.’
‘What do Worldwide Media do?’
‘They said it was about helping with social media, encouraging real voices. Opening Kazakhstan up.’
‘What happened in London?’
‘It was like a job interview. They paid for me to go. I was recruited.’
‘To do what exactly?’
‘Write for them. They wanted young people in Kazakhstan. They’d read my blog. They said they were looking for young people who knew the local perspective – music, events, celebrities, places, customs. Kazakh and Russian.’
‘Who else did you meet while over there?’
‘Lots of people. Other organisers, other people being recruited.’
‘How many being recruited?’
‘Around twenty of us.’
‘What ethnicity?’
‘A mix.’
‘And the people in charge? Where were they from?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘What accents did they have?’
‘English.’
‘Were they staying at the hotel?’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘Did you ever visit an office?’
‘No.’
‘Receive any correspondence with a company address?’
‘No.’
I put on a bedside lamp and turned off the neon tubes. We were talking now, and I needed her to continue. I needed to arrive at a point where I understood who was behind this, and what they wanted. I topped up her glass, then asked Aliya to lead me through the whole experience from first contact. She took a breath and began to speak.