I saw a blank space in the mirror. That
woman’s bloody and bloated body could have been mine. That body
was
mine. That woman
was
me. We were the same woman. Her body had been so casually discarded, a life thrown
away; it could have been any woman, all women. The boys too, the gunmen. They were every boy. Tears ran and I saw that I looked very young, and also a hundred years old. I splashed water again so
the water dissolved my tears. In the washroom there was a small window, but it was much too high up to escape from. I looked out into the night sky and prayed to God to be delivered from all of
this.
Deliver us, Lord
. If I lived I would do better in this game of politics, which was mostly a game for men. I vowed to be there and stay there for the sake of the dead woman on the
floor.
When I returned to the chamber I sat back down next to Mervyn.
‘You didn’t tell me how bad things were in there.’
‘No. It’s bad . . . isn’t it?’
‘Terrible. There’s a woman lying dead. Under the table.’
He nodded, gravely.
‘I think she was a clerk from downstairs. She must have come up here on Wednesday afternoon to deliver papers or something. A young woman, she has kids. I know her.’
I could see Mervyn was upset.
‘They are crazy, these people, Mervyn. Their Leader, he gave a bunch of men some guns, he had some half-cooked plans, and now things . . . really, really bad. I wanted to be in politics
since I was young, since I was about
twelve
.’
Mervyn looked impressed.
‘I was one of the first people in Sans Amen to be a member of Greenpeace in the early 1980s . . .’ I laughed at this. It felt like a long time back; Greenpeace was then considered a
kind of terrorist cell. ‘I was an activist from an early age. Saving animals, you know . . . a conservationist. That was me. All I wanted to do was save the earth. It has been a passion of
mine, since childhood . . . since I saw a turtle on its back on the beach, with its fins hacked off. It took hours to die in the sun. It devastated me to know humans could be so barbaric, to see
the creature cry as it died. I went to school and university here on the island and studied politics. I was proud to be elected.’
Mervyn nodded. ‘Not me,’ he said. ‘I fell into it.’
‘Well I didn’t.’
‘I’ve never been an activist. I’m an observer. And a doctor.’
‘That sounds pretty active to me.’
‘No. I feel different, Aspasia. Quiet. I am a quiet man. I like to keep out of things. Really.’
The gunmen had been using Mervyn to help the injured and he’d been generous with his skills. Some more of the gunmen had been shot; one in the arm, another had had his ear badly grazed.
Another had fallen on broken glass. None of the hostages, luckily, had been hurt by the incoming gunfire. Mervyn was asked to do what he could with the medicine kit and he freely obliged. One of
the phone lines had been reconnected and I suspected this was how Hal and the Leader were communicating between the House and the television station. But Mervyn had also started to look a little
shaky. He was less steady on his feet. Like me, he must be hungry and scared. The gunman Ashes was helping him tend the injured men. The pair of them made a rather well-matched team. In different
circumstances, it was easy to see them as colleagues.
When he was done, Mervyn wrote a list of what was needed and gave it to Hal saying he should ring for supplies to be delivered as soon as possible. The gunman with the bullet in his arm faced
gangrene within hours in the heat if he wasn’t treated. Others needed stitches where he’d picked out large shreds of glass. But it was the Prime Minister he was most worried about.
‘The Prime Minister is now losing his sight from his diabetes. If he isn’t treated with his medication, he could slip into a coma. Then you will have lost your most valuable hostage.
Then you will have a body to throw over the balcony. His. Then the army will
woman’s bloody and bloated body could have been mine. That body
was
mine. That woman
was
me. We were the same woman. Her body had been so casually discarded, a life thrown
away; it could have been any woman, all women. The boys too, the gunmen. They were every boy. Tears ran and I saw that I looked very young, and also a hundred years old. I splashed water again so
the water dissolved my tears. In the washroom there was a small window, but it was much too high up to escape from. I looked out into the night sky and prayed to God to be delivered from all of
this.
Deliver us, Lord
. If I lived I would do better in this game of politics, which was mostly a game for men. I vowed to be there and stay there for the sake of the dead woman on the
floor.
When I returned to the chamber I sat back down next to Mervyn.
‘You didn’t tell me how bad things were in there.’
‘No. It’s bad . . . isn’t it?’
‘Terrible. There’s a woman lying dead. Under the table.’
He nodded, gravely.
‘I think she was a clerk from downstairs. She must have come up here on Wednesday afternoon to deliver papers or something. A young woman, she has kids. I know her.’
I could see Mervyn was upset.
‘They are crazy, these people, Mervyn. Their Leader, he gave a bunch of men some guns, he had some half-cooked plans, and now things . . . really, really bad. I wanted to be in politics
since I was young, since I was about
twelve
.’
Mervyn looked impressed.
‘I was one of the first people in Sans Amen to be a member of Greenpeace in the early 1980s . . .’ I laughed at this. It felt like a long time back; Greenpeace was then considered a
kind of terrorist cell. ‘I was an activist from an early age. Saving animals, you know . . . a conservationist. That was me. All I wanted to do was save the earth. It has been a passion of
mine, since childhood . . . since I saw a turtle on its back on the beach, with its fins hacked off. It took hours to die in the sun. It devastated me to know humans could be so barbaric, to see
the creature cry as it died. I went to school and university here on the island and studied politics. I was proud to be elected.’
Mervyn nodded. ‘Not me,’ he said. ‘I fell into it.’
‘Well I didn’t.’
‘I’ve never been an activist. I’m an observer. And a doctor.’
‘That sounds pretty active to me.’
‘No. I feel different, Aspasia. Quiet. I am a quiet man. I like to keep out of things. Really.’
The gunmen had been using Mervyn to help the injured and he’d been generous with his skills. Some more of the gunmen had been shot; one in the arm, another had had his ear badly grazed.
Another had fallen on broken glass. None of the hostages, luckily, had been hurt by the incoming gunfire. Mervyn was asked to do what he could with the medicine kit and he freely obliged. One of
the phone lines had been reconnected and I suspected this was how Hal and the Leader were communicating between the House and the television station. But Mervyn had also started to look a little
shaky. He was less steady on his feet. Like me, he must be hungry and scared. The gunman Ashes was helping him tend the injured men. The pair of them made a rather well-matched team. In different
circumstances, it was easy to see them as colleagues.
When he was done, Mervyn wrote a list of what was needed and gave it to Hal saying he should ring for supplies to be delivered as soon as possible. The gunman with the bullet in his arm faced
gangrene within hours in the heat if he wasn’t treated. Others needed stitches where he’d picked out large shreds of glass. But it was the Prime Minister he was most worried about.
‘The Prime Minister is now losing his sight from his diabetes. If he isn’t treated with his medication, he could slip into a coma. Then you will have lost your most valuable hostage.
Then you will have a body to throw over the balcony. His. Then the army will
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