condensed master

Will Bonner
Omah seated himself behind the desk in a chair that resembled a throne. Will
sat down in a chair facing his host. "You have the parcel for me?"
Will reached into his trouser pocket for the package, but it was empty. He was
about to panic when he remembered transferring it to his shirt pocket on his way
up to the Queen of Sheba's Wells. Quickly reaching into his pocket he passed the
package over the desk to Omah, who then opened the lid of a carved cigar box
sitting on the desk placing it inside. Will breathed a sigh of relief, his obligation had
now been discharged, and feeling the impulse to return to his ship, he commenced
to get up from his chair.
"You must stay for something to eat before going back to your ship," and Will
was about to decline when Omah continued, "there is something we must discuss."
Will was curious but did not feel pressured, accepting the invitation on the
basis he would not be back late as dusk was already falling. Omah had been
educated in England, and they conversed about the war whilst eating. During the
progression of the meal, Will had the opportunity to study him in more detail.
He was a fine sophisticated looking young man, about 30 years old, slight of
build, and well dressed in a dark blue business suit. He carried himself with an air
of someone who would be completely in command of any situation. Apart from
the colour of his skin, and the fact that his hair was pulled back into a small pony
tail in the nape of his neck, he looked very European.
Settling back to let his meal digest, Will was contemplating asking him directly
what he wanted to talk to him about when they were interrupted by the pockfaced
man with a colleague.
Quickly cornering Omah, they rapidly engaged him in animated conversation,
occasionally stopping briefly to look in Will's direction. At the apparent end of the
discussion the pock-faced man shrugged his shoulders, casting a final glance at
Will as he and his colleague walked out of the room.
Omah quickly came to the point. "The fact that you know me has cast a
shadow over this whole affair. They were listening when we introduced ourselves,
and they have been agitated ever since. Their lives are on the line if something goes
wrong, so we need to know more about you."
Will took a deep breath, circumstances were rapidly changing, and to use a
nautical term, the wind was being taken out of his sails. "I'll tell you the truth, the
parcel came to me by mail at Port Said. I was asked just to deliver it."
36