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“I’m shocked. Truly shocked,” Peri interjected.

“You do not sound shocked. Anyway, the argument was accepted that thirty regional offices is far too many. The council President was quite firm in insisting on two principles, namely co-location in existing UN premises, and starting with the minimum presence to provide a follow-the-sun management structure. It could be expanded in future if necessary. So, the conclusion reached was that there should be four regional offices, to be sited in New York, Vienna, Bangkok and Seoul.”

“Not Geneva?” Peri asked.

Li gave a snort of derision. “The council President needed to leave his fingerprints on the proposal. The task of mobilising the new organisation was given, as expected, to Ad-Hoc Committee 23. The job of director of the new organisation was debated.” She smiled at Peri.

“No! Not me!” Peri looked genuinely alarmed.

Li laughed. “No, not you. Your carefully planned F-bombing run earlier in the day had the effect you intended.”

“I don’t know what you mean…”

“Yes, you do. I know you think you would be a disaster in such a role. No, the honour goes to the People’s Republic of China.”

“You?”

“Me. On a two-year secondment to the UNSC.”

“Congratulations, I think.”

“We’ll see. What is the phrase the Americans use? A hospital pass? I suspect it was intended as a hospital pass. But my eyes are wide open.”

“And now you need to recruit your team.”

“Do I hear you volunteering?” asked Li.

Peri laughed. “I might be persuaded, as long as you don’t have crazy ideas about letting me anywhere near politicians. I’m not only an expert in dropping F-bombs, I’m good with a lot of bombs in a lot of different languages.”

Li smiled. Peri suddenly realised it was not a happy smile. “Could I trust you, Peri?” she asked.

Peri stared, and stayed silent for a minute. Li just sat there, and waited.

“Damon Wilkinson asked me that, six weeks ago, in the Annex,” said Peri, slowly. “He asked, because you asked for me by name. He wondered why. He wondered whether I could be trusted.” She sat forward suddenly, and observed that she had startled Li. “It was because you knew , didn’t you? Somehow, you knew .”

Li looked slightly nervous. “I knew? I knew about what?”

“You know about what. How did you know?”

Now it was Li’s turn to remain silent.

Peri asked again. “How did you know?”

“I was stationed in Shanghai, eight years ago. My work required that I take an interest in foreigners. Your saving a small boy came to my attention. The Public Security Bureau preserved camera footage for the purpose of prosecuting the taxi driver, so they carefully studied the vehicles. I believe I was the only one who paid closer attention to the pedestrians, simply because one of them was British.”

“So?”

“Did you realise how fast you moved, to reach the boy?” She shook her head, reliving her own astonishment. “Inhumanly fast.”

The silence stretched out. Li was tense. Finally, Peri sagged back into her chair with a sigh. “Being quick is a long way from being untrustworthy.”

The stiffness in Li’s posture faded slightly. “Help me, Peri,” she said, softly. “Tell me what you omitted from your report. It does not need to be written down, but for us to work together there should be no secrets.”

There was another lengthy silence. Li more than half expected Peri to question whether either of them could trust the other. In the end, though, she heard Peri begin, “I became aware on Anifail Island that I am not human. It seems I never have been, not one hundred percent, and now I am less human than ever…”

After a varied career in the IT industry, David Wallace retired from consulting and is now spends his time writing, and independently publishing novels. He has two grown up children and a lovely grand-daughter. His debut novel, “Child of the Servator” was published in 2017.

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“Island of Fog and Death” – Copyright © 2018 David Wallace

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the author.

Book design by David Wallace

Cover design by David Wallace

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

This work originally published under the title “Child of the Servator” in 2017.