The captain’s voice boomed across the lounge. ‘You, Mr English, are the man who has paid for this man,’ he said, turning to the Malagasy Government official and kicking him down to the floor with his heavy black boot, ‘to be our head of military operations. Is that correct?’

Edward shook his head. ‘That is incorrect.’

The captain’s chest swelled. ‘Incorrect?’ he demanded. ‘Yes, incorrect!’ said Edward, his voice icy.

‘Explain!’ shouted the captain.

‘I didn’t  put  that  man  in  power,  your  government  did.  All I did was ensure that he and I were of, how shall we say, an understanding.’

‘Is that what you call bribery, Mr English? An understanding!’ spat the captain.

‘I never bribed the man, I merely agreed to negotiate. A two-way process,’ continued Edward.

The captain spat a phlegmy glob of spit on the official.

‘This man is a pig to accept money from you and your kind. To take money that keeps the people of this island in poverty and only some in wealth. You and your ways disgust me. You are not wanted here Edward English!’ said the captain as he walked over to Edward, drawing a handgun from his waist and cocking the trigger.

‘Do not be too hasty, sir. We could come to an agreement that would benefit the people. Using my resources  and  contacts, we could use the money to help more Malagasy people,’ said Edward, the slightest hint of fear in his voice.

The captain stopped and stared down at Edward. William watched the man’s chest rise and fall as he breathed. The seconds seem to tick by slowly.

‘And what will you and your kind want in return for this money you will give to my people?’ demanded the captain, the spittle gathering in the corner of his mouth.

‘Housing, education, roads. Whatever you need,’ said Edward, as if he were listing off the items, he wished to purchase off a shopping list.

The captain threw his head back and laughed a loud angry laugh.

‘You think that with your money you can just come here and  fix us, fix my people so that we can be like you. Like the West?’ asked the captain, staring at Edward. ‘Well, let me tell you, Mr English, we do not want to be anything like you and your people. You are filth. And we do not want your money. We want you gone, forever from this island!’

‘You can’t make us leave!’ said Edward, defiant.

‘Really?’ the Captain turned and pointed the gun at William.

‘I will make you want to leave. One by one, I will kill these people. With their blood on the wall of this palace, you will not want to be here anymore,’ he said waving the gun at William’s face.

Edward shifted in his seat and clenched his jaw.

‘What do you say? Leave now and never return or we encourage you to leave?’ said the captain, the gun still pointed at William.

Karabo’s voice rang through William’s head,

“Take the key and run!”

It still didn’t make any sense. William watched the gun and swallowed hard each time the captain waved it at him.

‘Leave him, he is nothing but an employee,’ said Edward. ‘He can’t give you anything.’

The captain looked at Edward.

‘But he works for you, no?’ responded the captain, before turning back to face William and pointing the gun directly at his face. At that exact moment, everything seemed to freeze and move  in slow motion. William shut his eyes and heard the bang of the gun. But, instead of feeling the impact of the bullet, he felt the weight of a body falling on top of him.

 

He fell backwards and knocked his head on the floor, rendering him unconscious for only a few seconds. When he came to, William realised he was pinned under another body. The lounge had erupted into chaos and Charles’s security team were now involved in a gun battle with the soldiers. William looked at the person who had saved him. His heart stopped as he realised it was his father. Edward lay face down on William, his breath rasping. Edward must have thrown himself in front of William to save him. Struggling to pull himself out from under the huge man, William turned Edward over.

‘Dad, oh my god, Dad!’ said William, desperately pulling his leg out from under his father to pull him up behind a couch to safety. Shots continued to ring across the lounge, and William could hear the fighting in other areas of the house.

‘Charles!’ screamed William. ‘Charles, Damon!’ he shouted, trying to find out if anyone was alive.

‘We’re fine. Look after Dad. We need to get to the jetty!’ shouted Charles.

‘Dad, can you hear me?’ said William, leaning over Edward.

Edward’s hand clutched at William and he could see the blood pumping out of his father’s chest. It didn’t look good. He leaned closer to his father as Edward’s rasping breath turned to words

‘Take…the…key,’ he wheezed.

‘What do you mean, Dad?’ asked William, desperately looking around for a key.

Edward’s hand grabbed at his chest, nearly knocking William over, but he fumbled unsuccessfully. William pulled his father’s bloody shirt away from his throat, to reveal a gold chain hanging around his thick neck.

‘The…key…the…gold,’ Edward stammered.

William grabbed at the necklace and pulled it, breaking the chain; a gold dog tag, inlaid with a small diamond and numbers engraved on it, lay in his blood-smeared hand.

‘It’s…ours. The…gold…is ours,’ breathed Edward, ‘Look…after it.’ Blood began to gurgle out of Edward’s mouth.

‘Dad!’ shrieked William. ‘Dad!’ he screamed again.

Charles was next to him.

He could hear him breathing over him. William clutched the tag in his hand so Charles couldn’t see it.

‘Shit! Go, just go. Get to the jetty and go. Run. I’ll deal with this!’ shouted Charles, shoving William towards the windows that led out of the house so he could run to the jetty.