condensed master

The Reluctant Agent
A Compelling Story of Espionage
the others were present, there was hope. At least, one of the officers had
appeared sympathetic, but now everything seemed hopeless, with only ferret man
there.
The ferret man was now wearing a trench coat and trilby hat, which in Will's
eyes made him look more menacing than ever. What would happen now? All the
questions had centred around Will's background, his upbringing, family, friends
and activities, practically from the day he was born, up to the present day. He
remembered how violent things had got when he could not remember a part of his
past that they wanted to know. The answer, "I don't know" always provoked
fierce repercussions.
He still had no idea what it was all about. His confidence had been completely
destroyed. The ferret man made a sudden movement causing Will to concentrate
on what he was about to do. Extending his arm, he pointed his finger directly at
Will, shouting. "You have been supplying harbour passes to enemy agents in
Gourock!"
Will was completely and utterly shocked, finding just enough energy to say in
a wavering voice, "No, no, I haven't!"
"Don't lie to me Brenner, we have the evidence to support it." Will was still
struggling with the impact of the accusation. What evidence did they have? he
asked himself, his mind racing out of control.
The ferret man reached into his trench coat pocket, producing a number of
shore passes. “Are these yours?"
Will moved closer to get a better look, recognizing his signature. "Yes, they
are."
The ferret man promptly scooped up the passes, returning them to his pocket.
"You have been deceiving the guard at the gate and keeping the passes to give to
German agents," he continued, "if you don't tell us who they are, we will charge
you with spying for the enemy, and you must know what the penalty is for that!"
Will tried to compose himself so that his answer would not sound false, but he
failed completely, the words tumbled out, "I don't know any agents, and I don't
know what you are talking about!"
The ferret man got up from his chair and walked past him towards the door.
Will guessed that he was about to leave the room, but he was mistaken. A sudden
blow to the back of his head forced him from the chair to his knees followed by
--- 15 ---