Hamza listened to his words, took in the weight of them. He watched as Emrys slowly pulled himself up to standing. Brushed himself off and walked towards the boat. Hamza sat looking straight ahead, his body suddenly cold.

32

Favour ♦ Ffafr ♦ Muhabaa

THE LIEUTENANT COLONEL WAS apoplectic, the Captain could see that. It was in his every movement, the set of his jaw. He gestured for him to enter his office, could barely bring himself to sit down. He nodded to the chair. The Captain sat.

‘I guess you know what this is about,’ the Lieutenant Colonel said through gritted teeth.

‘Yes, sir.’

He was still standing, the heat of his anger raging through him.

‘I can’t begin to understand what possessed you.’

The Captain didn’t answer. He sat trying not to look defeated. His posture neutral.

Passive.

‘What have you got to say for yourself?’

‘I’m afraid the records I saw don’t match the original records for this particular soldier. I couldn’t overlook that, and I shouldn’t be asked to.’

The Lieutenant Colonel studied him, squeezing his hands on the back of his chair, his back bent.

‘The investigations team is arriving tomorrow.’

The Captain kept quiet.

‘You know how close to the completion of this project we are, and what this could do to my record, even when I’m proven innocent?’

The Captain sat impassive as the older man looked at him, changed tack. Sat down.

‘I thought we were friends?’

‘We’re colleagues, sir.’

‘I’ve helped you out God knows how many times.’

‘And for that I thank you, but I couldn’t turn a blind eye to this, particularly when a man has committed suicide. The circumstances around that have to be investigated and any anomalies addressed.’

The Lieutenant Colonel had held his post at the barracks since before the Captain arrived. He could tell that he was privately educated, one of the boys, but still, he seemed pleasant enough. He had invited him for dinner several times but the Captain rarely seemed to have a gap in his diary. He knew he was ambitious, of course, but he hadn’t thought he’d be quite so inflexible. The Lieutenant Colonel lowered his voice.

‘Listen, perhaps you made a mistake, mistook his record for someone with a similar name. It’s easily done.’

The Captain looked up.

‘What you’re asking me to do is illegal.’

‘What I’m asking you to do is be decent. I didn’t touch that soldier. I don’t know why he did what he did but it was nothing to do with me.’

‘Then you have nothing to worry about,’ the Captain rebutted.

‘Do you know how hard I’ve worked to get where I am?’

‘Yes, sir.’