looked animated for once. Karim cringed inside. It was a hard and fast rule back in Iraq to dive for cover the moment you saw so much as a flicker of amusement cross a mukhabarat agent’s face.
The little man spoke into a grille set in the wall next to the door.
‘Wo shi Kao Shien-nun. Zhe wei shi Karim shiansheng.’ The door opened soundlessly. Karim stepped inside, followed by his tail. The door closed, leaving them in a small vestibule. There were photographs on the walls. Karim tried not to look, he knew what they were, but it was hard to avoid them. Over the years, he’d learned how to prevent himself being sick. He took a deep, slow breath and waited for the next door to open. It was heavier than the first, and he knew it would be soundproof.
There was a click and a soft whirring sound, and the second door rolled back. Waiting for him a few feet across the threshold was a familiar face. Huang Zhengmei smiled and held out her hand. Karim smiled back. It almost made him feel better to see her here. Perhaps things wouldn’t turn out as bad as he feared. Huang Zhengmei was aged about thirty. pretty, with a musical voice and frighteningly intelligent eyes. You couldn’t imagine anything remotely unpleasant happening while she was around. He took her hand in his. It was no larger than a child’s.
‘Miss Huang. It’s good to see you again.’
She’d been responsible for settling him in over the first couple of days he’d spent in the complex. They communicated in English, which she spoke fluently: he’d been impressed to learn that she’d spent several years studying at London University.
‘And you, Dr Hasanoglu. I’d like you to meet someone we all admire. Allow me to introduce Colonel Chang Zhangyi.’
A man stepped forward from a cluster of shadows on Huang Zhengmei’s left. He’d been watching them all along, hidden. Now, as he came forward, Karim realized that he’d been foolish ever to think that the presence of a pretty woman might be allowed to get in the way of what happened here.
‘Colonel Chang Zhangyi is head of security for Sinkiang Province.’
Karim felt the familiar chill, the instinctive lowering of emotional temperature he experienced every time he met men like Chang Zhangyi. Today, he thought, he was an honoured guest. Tomorrow, he could be served up to the colonel as a wholly different form of humanity. All it would take would be a word out of place, a hint of betrayal, or too great a degree of curiosity. He reached out his hand for a second time and tried to smile.
The colonel was like a statue come partially to life. Animate, but only in so far as there was movement in his face and limbs. Otherwise dead. No heart, no proper feelings, no remorse, no love, no depth, no fear, no compassion, no true hate - just the mechanics of life, without the essence. The perfect servant of a state system predicated on obedience. It was all there in the face, Karim thought, as though a fine calligrapher’s brush had painted letters of the true man across his pockmarked skin.
‘I’m grateful to you for coming today, Doctor. I know you’re a very busy man and that you’re engaged on important work here. But I assure you, this won’t be wasted time.’
‘You speak very good English, Colonel. You’ve been to England like Miss Huang?’
‘Hong Kong. I spent some years there very early in my career, working for a British finance company. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get this over with.’
Chang Zhangyi gestured casually, and a guard standing near the door flicked a switch, turning on more overhead lights. Huang Zhengmei stood aside, allowing Karim to look past her into the rest of the room. It was a long, narrow room. The walls were painted black, a very deep, matt black that seemed almost to swallow the light as rapidly as the lamps threw it out. Karim felt a bitter taste in his mouth and swallowed hard. Chang Zhangyi led the way to the other end of the room.
There were
The little man spoke into a grille set in the wall next to the door.
‘Wo shi Kao Shien-nun. Zhe wei shi Karim shiansheng.’ The door opened soundlessly. Karim stepped inside, followed by his tail. The door closed, leaving them in a small vestibule. There were photographs on the walls. Karim tried not to look, he knew what they were, but it was hard to avoid them. Over the years, he’d learned how to prevent himself being sick. He took a deep, slow breath and waited for the next door to open. It was heavier than the first, and he knew it would be soundproof.
There was a click and a soft whirring sound, and the second door rolled back. Waiting for him a few feet across the threshold was a familiar face. Huang Zhengmei smiled and held out her hand. Karim smiled back. It almost made him feel better to see her here. Perhaps things wouldn’t turn out as bad as he feared. Huang Zhengmei was aged about thirty. pretty, with a musical voice and frighteningly intelligent eyes. You couldn’t imagine anything remotely unpleasant happening while she was around. He took her hand in his. It was no larger than a child’s.
‘Miss Huang. It’s good to see you again.’
She’d been responsible for settling him in over the first couple of days he’d spent in the complex. They communicated in English, which she spoke fluently: he’d been impressed to learn that she’d spent several years studying at London University.
‘And you, Dr Hasanoglu. I’d like you to meet someone we all admire. Allow me to introduce Colonel Chang Zhangyi.’
A man stepped forward from a cluster of shadows on Huang Zhengmei’s left. He’d been watching them all along, hidden. Now, as he came forward, Karim realized that he’d been foolish ever to think that the presence of a pretty woman might be allowed to get in the way of what happened here.
‘Colonel Chang Zhangyi is head of security for Sinkiang Province.’
Karim felt the familiar chill, the instinctive lowering of emotional temperature he experienced every time he met men like Chang Zhangyi. Today, he thought, he was an honoured guest. Tomorrow, he could be served up to the colonel as a wholly different form of humanity. All it would take would be a word out of place, a hint of betrayal, or too great a degree of curiosity. He reached out his hand for a second time and tried to smile.
The colonel was like a statue come partially to life. Animate, but only in so far as there was movement in his face and limbs. Otherwise dead. No heart, no proper feelings, no remorse, no love, no depth, no fear, no compassion, no true hate - just the mechanics of life, without the essence. The perfect servant of a state system predicated on obedience. It was all there in the face, Karim thought, as though a fine calligrapher’s brush had painted letters of the true man across his pockmarked skin.
‘I’m grateful to you for coming today, Doctor. I know you’re a very busy man and that you’re engaged on important work here. But I assure you, this won’t be wasted time.’
‘You speak very good English, Colonel. You’ve been to England like Miss Huang?’
‘Hong Kong. I spent some years there very early in my career, working for a British finance company. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get this over with.’
Chang Zhangyi gestured casually, and a guard standing near the door flicked a switch, turning on more overhead lights. Huang Zhengmei stood aside, allowing Karim to look past her into the rest of the room. It was a long, narrow room. The walls were painted black, a very deep, matt black that seemed almost to swallow the light as rapidly as the lamps threw it out. Karim felt a bitter taste in his mouth and swallowed hard. Chang Zhangyi led the way to the other end of the room.
There were
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