looked at Sami, ‘Why didn’t you go back and try to kill the fourth soldier, when he might have
the documents?’ ‘I made a judgement,’ Sami said. ‘I don’t think he got the documents and we could have both been
killed if we’d gone hunting for him. I think it was the right decision under the circumstances.’ Captain nodded, ‘On balance, I agree. It seems unlikely the documents were stolen… Now Sami, I want you to think carefully and tell me everything you did wrong. ’
‘I should have obeyed your orders and driven straight back to camp,’ Sami said. ‘I should have taken your documents with me when I left the car. I shouldn’t have brought the old lady back with us. I should have gone into hiding overnight in case anyone was tracking us.’ Captain nodded, ‘Do you think you deserve to be punished for this?’ ‘Yes,’ Sami said quietly. ‘Of course I do.’ ‘What about you Jake?’ Captain asked. ‘What did you do wrong?’ I couldn’t think what to say. The end of the spoon was getting so hot the metal was turning orange. ‘Sami was in command,’ Captain said. ‘Did you disobey any of her orders?’ ‘No,’ I said. ‘Was it your idea to go and look for your brother?’ ‘Partly,’ I said. ‘It wasn’t,’ Sami said. ‘Jake didn’t even know we were near to where we found him.’ Captain quickly dabbed the back of my hand with the spoon. Don laughed in my ear as the smell of
my burned skin wafted upwards. ‘Never lie to me,’ Captain shouted. ‘Mistakes are understandable and will be punished lightly, but I
cannot tolerate liars.’ ‘No,’ I sniffled. ‘It was Sami’s idea.’ I felt really bad that all the blame was getting put on Sami. ‘So,’ Captain said, looking back at his daughter. ‘Am I correct in saying that Jake did nothing wrong
that wasn’t because of an order from you?’ ‘Yes,’ Sami said. Captain flicked me away with his hand. ‘In that case Jake, you’d better go.’ ‘It’s not fair for Sami to get all the blame,’ I said. ‘It’s at least partly my fault.’ Captain looked at me coldly, ‘It’s very noble of you to defend my daughter. But the matter is closed
and I want you to leave.’ I walked to Amo’s hut, to get the burns on my hands treated. Amo had washed and fed Grandma and dressed her in a set of clean camouflage that was way too big for her. She was sleeping in the back of the hut with Becky curled up beside her. ‘Did you get any beats?’ Beck asked. ‘No. Captain says it’s all Sami’s fault.’ Beck laughed, ‘I hope she gets whipped.’ I dived inside the hut and grabbed Beck by his t-shirt. ‘Do you want a punch in the mouth?’ Amo pulled me off him, ‘Cool it boys. Beck, that’s not a nice thing to say.’ Beck shrugged, ‘I got beaten when Edo died. Sami laughed.’ ‘Show me your hands,’ Amo said. She looked at the oval marks under her gas lamp. ‘It’s nothing much,’ Amo said. ‘It’ll sting for a couple of days. Stick your hands in cold water if it starts to hurt.’
. . .
Sami was in with Captain for another hour. I walked to the water barrel and listened at the office door. I couldn’t understand what was being said, but Sami was definitely crying. I went back to our hut and waited in the darkness.
When Sami came in she was all stiff shouldered. She sat on our sleeping mat and pulled off her boots, without saying a word.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘For what?’ I shrugged, ‘Everything.’ She unbuttoned her jacket, threw it on the floor and laid face down on the mat. Her back glistened
with blood. There were six deep welts where she’d been whipped. I reached for my gun. ‘I’ll kill him,’ I shouted. Sami grabbed my arm, ‘Don’t be a moron.’ ‘What kind of Father does that to his daughter?’ ‘Don’t you get it?’ Sami shouted. ‘He’s right. We broke orders and took a stupid risk. We could have been tracked back here. They could have killed everyone. Not just the
the documents?’ ‘I made a judgement,’ Sami said. ‘I don’t think he got the documents and we could have both been
killed if we’d gone hunting for him. I think it was the right decision under the circumstances.’ Captain nodded, ‘On balance, I agree. It seems unlikely the documents were stolen… Now Sami, I want you to think carefully and tell me everything you did wrong. ’
‘I should have obeyed your orders and driven straight back to camp,’ Sami said. ‘I should have taken your documents with me when I left the car. I shouldn’t have brought the old lady back with us. I should have gone into hiding overnight in case anyone was tracking us.’ Captain nodded, ‘Do you think you deserve to be punished for this?’ ‘Yes,’ Sami said quietly. ‘Of course I do.’ ‘What about you Jake?’ Captain asked. ‘What did you do wrong?’ I couldn’t think what to say. The end of the spoon was getting so hot the metal was turning orange. ‘Sami was in command,’ Captain said. ‘Did you disobey any of her orders?’ ‘No,’ I said. ‘Was it your idea to go and look for your brother?’ ‘Partly,’ I said. ‘It wasn’t,’ Sami said. ‘Jake didn’t even know we were near to where we found him.’ Captain quickly dabbed the back of my hand with the spoon. Don laughed in my ear as the smell of
my burned skin wafted upwards. ‘Never lie to me,’ Captain shouted. ‘Mistakes are understandable and will be punished lightly, but I
cannot tolerate liars.’ ‘No,’ I sniffled. ‘It was Sami’s idea.’ I felt really bad that all the blame was getting put on Sami. ‘So,’ Captain said, looking back at his daughter. ‘Am I correct in saying that Jake did nothing wrong
that wasn’t because of an order from you?’ ‘Yes,’ Sami said. Captain flicked me away with his hand. ‘In that case Jake, you’d better go.’ ‘It’s not fair for Sami to get all the blame,’ I said. ‘It’s at least partly my fault.’ Captain looked at me coldly, ‘It’s very noble of you to defend my daughter. But the matter is closed
and I want you to leave.’ I walked to Amo’s hut, to get the burns on my hands treated. Amo had washed and fed Grandma and dressed her in a set of clean camouflage that was way too big for her. She was sleeping in the back of the hut with Becky curled up beside her. ‘Did you get any beats?’ Beck asked. ‘No. Captain says it’s all Sami’s fault.’ Beck laughed, ‘I hope she gets whipped.’ I dived inside the hut and grabbed Beck by his t-shirt. ‘Do you want a punch in the mouth?’ Amo pulled me off him, ‘Cool it boys. Beck, that’s not a nice thing to say.’ Beck shrugged, ‘I got beaten when Edo died. Sami laughed.’ ‘Show me your hands,’ Amo said. She looked at the oval marks under her gas lamp. ‘It’s nothing much,’ Amo said. ‘It’ll sting for a couple of days. Stick your hands in cold water if it starts to hurt.’
. . .
Sami was in with Captain for another hour. I walked to the water barrel and listened at the office door. I couldn’t understand what was being said, but Sami was definitely crying. I went back to our hut and waited in the darkness.
When Sami came in she was all stiff shouldered. She sat on our sleeping mat and pulled off her boots, without saying a word.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘For what?’ I shrugged, ‘Everything.’ She unbuttoned her jacket, threw it on the floor and laid face down on the mat. Her back glistened
with blood. There were six deep welts where she’d been whipped. I reached for my gun. ‘I’ll kill him,’ I shouted. Sami grabbed my arm, ‘Don’t be a moron.’ ‘What kind of Father does that to his daughter?’ ‘Don’t you get it?’ Sami shouted. ‘He’s right. We broke orders and took a stupid risk. We could have been tracked back here. They could have killed everyone. Not just the
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