condensed master

Will Bonner
Omah, was no doubt a well respected business man in Aden, and they would
never suspect him, so the chances were good that he would not be implicated. He
had heard of seamen being thrown into foreign jails for being drunk and disorderly,
and because of the Embassy acting too slowly in dealing with the situation, their
ships would sail without them. Was this going to happen to him?
Lying down on his side with his knees drawn up to his chest he fell into a series
of short but troubled naps, awaking each time to stretch his cramped legs, or being
disturbed by the guard checking up on him.
It seemed forever before the light of dawn came, but in reality it had only been
a few hours. Hearing noises in the corridor outside he stood up to see the hatch
in the door open, and a glass of water on a plate with a small pancake, appearing
on the shelf, adjacent to the hatch door.
Will was not hungry as he had eaten the night before, so he fortunately had no
desire to eat the stale looking pancake, but he would have to drink knowing the
problems the lack of fluid would bring, after sweating for so long.
Picking up the glass he took a sip. It was warm, as though it had been standing
out in the sun, it tasted shocking, and he could see bits of debris floating in the
bottom of the glass. Steeling himself and trying not to disturb the debris, he lifted
the glass and tried to take in as much as he could, shuddering as he did so.
Standing by the door, and placing his ear next to the barred opening, he
strained to listen to the activity going on in the reception area hoping to hear some
English language, but no such luck. He remained there nevertheless, it being the
best vantage point with nowhere else to go.
Quite early that morning he was surprised to be ushered into the reception
area, where it was obvious by the way he was dressed, that the man standing there
was from the Embassy. By the look on his face, he was definitely not very happy
being called out early. His bearing would have fitted in perfectly with the plush
decor of the Embassy, looking completely out of place in this filthy setting.
"My name is Forsyth, what have you been up to young man?" he asked
accusingly.
"Nothing, I just got caught out during the curfew."
"You should have known better, you've got us into a fine mess."
Will felt his anger rising. "Mr. Forsyth, isn't it your job to look after my
welfare? Ask whether I am being mistreated and properly housed? Also, when
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