condensed master

The Reluctant Agent
A Compelling Story of Espionage
"I was convinced that the road would take me back to the Queen of Sheba's
Wells where I could get transport, and I was going as fast as I could to get back
to the ship."
"You must have heard the shots."
"Yes, but that gave me all the more reason to start running."
The Inspector nodded his head as though in agreement, and Will started to feel
relieved. Was this going to be as straight forward as it sounded?
The Inspector gestured towards the others and his handcuffs were removed.
Will rubbed his wrists to get the circulation back to normal. "We will have to hold
you until tomorrow," the Inspector remarked, "the British Embassy will have to be
informed, and somebody will come to see you. It is routine."
What a blow! When the handcuffs were taken off Will thought he was going
to be released, but he was still in trouble, not knowing how it would all end.
The Inspector gestured again, coupled with a short remark in Arabic, and the
two policemen escorted Will out of the room and into the cloisters, the sole of his
shoe making clapping noises in the still night as he raised and lowered his foot.
The cell block was only a very short distance away, and they escorted him into
a large reception area leading to the cells. Other policemen were on night duty
there, and they took over the responsibility of getting Will under lock and key.
There had been no more pushing since his interrogation by the Inspector, and he
was beginning to gain his composure, but he was not prepared for what was going
to be his home for the night, and well into the next day.
The cell was of reasonable size, about 12 x 12 feet, probably to cope with
several prisoners at the same time. One small barred window was inset into the
very thick stone outside wall. There was no chair or bed, no washbasin or toilet,
just the four bare walls, ceiling and floor.
The door clanged shut behind him, and he was suddenly aware of a horrible
smell. It took him seconds to detect it's location. There were stale faeces in the
corner and someone had urinated on the walls. The stench was so pungent that
Will found himself trying not to breath in an effort to subdue it's effect.
He moved into the centre of the room, coming to the conclusion that due to his
condition he would not be able to stand for the remainder of the night. Lowering
himself into the sitting position he began mulling over the past events, and what
could happen the next day.
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