'Thanks, Sal,' I replied, already understanding that this conversation had a point beyond a casual chat.
'Can I be blunt, Richard? When you three arrived, we were all a little worried. Perhaps you can understand why…'
'Of course.'
'But you all fitted in so well. You really entered into the spirit of what we have here, better than we could have hoped… You mustn't think we didn't appreciate you doing the Rice Run, Richard, and catching that lovely shark.'
'Oh, well.' I tried to look modest. 'The shark was a fluke.'
'Garbage, Richard. The shark gave everyone something to feel good about, and morale does get low during rainstorms. I still feel a little guilty about the way I spoke to you that miserable wet morning, but sometimes I need to be… pushy. I don't consider myself to be the leader here, but…'
'We all understand that.'
'Thank you, Richard.'
'And you are the leader really, Sal.'
'Oh, maybe in some ways I am. Reluctantly.' She laughed. 'People come to me with their problems and I try to sort them out… Keaty, for example. I know you and Keaty are close, so I presume you know about his problem.'
'He wants to leave the garden detail.'
'That's right. Such a headache. It isn't easy moving people around. Someone has to provide the space before he can move, and the fishing detail is already full… He wants the fishing detail, you know.'
'Uh-huh.'
'For months now I've been telling him it isn't possible. You see, he was about to start fishing when your little group arrived… He was terribly disappointed, Richard, but he took it very well. Others might have… I don't know… held it against you.'
'Sure. Three people turning up out of the blue, taking his job.'
'Exactly, Richard. I was so grateful to him, and so pleased when you became friends… I was only sorry I couldn't do anything to improve his situation…' A weed caught Sal's eye and she pulled it out, tutting at its stubborn grip on the dirt. 'But my hands were tied without a vacancy in the fishing detail. And now I've realized that one isn't going to appear unless I make it…'
I gulped. 'Uh, no one wants to move, I suppose. What about one of the Swedes?'
'One of the Swedes?' Sal chuckled. 'You couldn't break up their trio without a gun, and even then you'd have a job. No, they're together to the death. The three blond musketeers.'
'Moshe?'
'Mmm… I don't think I'd want him to move. He's rather good with those Yugoslavian girls.'
'Who then?' I asked, and obviously failed to keep a note of anxiousness out of my voice.
'Yes, Richard. I'm sorry, but it has to be you. I don't have a choice.'
I groaned. 'Oh no, Sal. Please, I really don't want to move. I love the fishing detail, and I'm good at it.'
'I know you are, Richard. I know. But do try to see it from my position. Keaty needs to move out of the garden, I can't separate Étienne and Françoise, Gregorio has been fishing for two years, the Yugoslavians…' Sal shook her head. 'Well, I shouldn't really tell you this, Richard, but they haven't the wit to do anything else. Jean can't bear them and they could never cope with carpentry. I regret bringing them here at all. I'm a pushover for refugees… Truly, Richard, if I had a choice
'Yeah,' I muttered.
'…And it isn't like I'm going to put you on the garden detail.'
I paused. 'You aren't?'
'God, no. I don't think I'd be able to do that after the things Keaty must have been telling you.'
A terrible thought crossed my mind. Given a choice between the garden detail and working with Bugs in carpentry, I'd have taken Jean's iron discipline any time.
'Well,' I began to say, not bothering to disguise my nervousness. 'He hasn't said that much…'
'I'm sure he's said plenty, Richard. No need to be diplomatic.'
'No, Sal, honestly…'
She waved her hand. 'It doesn't matter anyway. You won't be working on the garden detail…'
I closed my eyes, waiting for my sentence.
'…You'll be working with Jed.'
I opened my eyes again. 'Jed? '
'Yes. He wants a partner on his excursions, and he suggested you.'
'Wow,' I said, genuinely. It had never occurred to me that Jed might want someone with him. Although we'd become friendly, he still struck me as a loner.
'I know, he never seemed the team type,' Sal continued, apparently reading my mind. 'I was just as surprised. You must have made a good impression on the Rice Run.'
'…But what does Jed need help with? Doesn't he just… steal grass?'
'He does that, yes, but other things besides. He'll explain.'
'…I see.'
Sal beamed. 'Richard, I'm so glad we've sorted it all out. I've been worried about telling you this for days… Now then, all that remains is to find Keaty. Would you like to give him the good news or shall I?'
Ich bin ein Beacher
Dislocation
The Decisive Moment
IN COUNTRY
Aspect One
White Lies
Ol' Blue
Credit
'Can I be blunt, Richard? When you three arrived, we were all a little worried. Perhaps you can understand why…'
'Of course.'
'But you all fitted in so well. You really entered into the spirit of what we have here, better than we could have hoped… You mustn't think we didn't appreciate you doing the Rice Run, Richard, and catching that lovely shark.'
'Oh, well.' I tried to look modest. 'The shark was a fluke.'
'Garbage, Richard. The shark gave everyone something to feel good about, and morale does get low during rainstorms. I still feel a little guilty about the way I spoke to you that miserable wet morning, but sometimes I need to be… pushy. I don't consider myself to be the leader here, but…'
'We all understand that.'
'Thank you, Richard.'
'And you are the leader really, Sal.'
'Oh, maybe in some ways I am. Reluctantly.' She laughed. 'People come to me with their problems and I try to sort them out… Keaty, for example. I know you and Keaty are close, so I presume you know about his problem.'
'He wants to leave the garden detail.'
'That's right. Such a headache. It isn't easy moving people around. Someone has to provide the space before he can move, and the fishing detail is already full… He wants the fishing detail, you know.'
'Uh-huh.'
'For months now I've been telling him it isn't possible. You see, he was about to start fishing when your little group arrived… He was terribly disappointed, Richard, but he took it very well. Others might have… I don't know… held it against you.'
'Sure. Three people turning up out of the blue, taking his job.'
'Exactly, Richard. I was so grateful to him, and so pleased when you became friends… I was only sorry I couldn't do anything to improve his situation…' A weed caught Sal's eye and she pulled it out, tutting at its stubborn grip on the dirt. 'But my hands were tied without a vacancy in the fishing detail. And now I've realized that one isn't going to appear unless I make it…'
I gulped. 'Uh, no one wants to move, I suppose. What about one of the Swedes?'
'One of the Swedes?' Sal chuckled. 'You couldn't break up their trio without a gun, and even then you'd have a job. No, they're together to the death. The three blond musketeers.'
'Moshe?'
'Mmm… I don't think I'd want him to move. He's rather good with those Yugoslavian girls.'
'Who then?' I asked, and obviously failed to keep a note of anxiousness out of my voice.
'Yes, Richard. I'm sorry, but it has to be you. I don't have a choice.'
I groaned. 'Oh no, Sal. Please, I really don't want to move. I love the fishing detail, and I'm good at it.'
'I know you are, Richard. I know. But do try to see it from my position. Keaty needs to move out of the garden, I can't separate Étienne and Françoise, Gregorio has been fishing for two years, the Yugoslavians…' Sal shook her head. 'Well, I shouldn't really tell you this, Richard, but they haven't the wit to do anything else. Jean can't bear them and they could never cope with carpentry. I regret bringing them here at all. I'm a pushover for refugees… Truly, Richard, if I had a choice
'Yeah,' I muttered.
'…And it isn't like I'm going to put you on the garden detail.'
I paused. 'You aren't?'
'God, no. I don't think I'd be able to do that after the things Keaty must have been telling you.'
A terrible thought crossed my mind. Given a choice between the garden detail and working with Bugs in carpentry, I'd have taken Jean's iron discipline any time.
'Well,' I began to say, not bothering to disguise my nervousness. 'He hasn't said that much…'
'I'm sure he's said plenty, Richard. No need to be diplomatic.'
'No, Sal, honestly…'
She waved her hand. 'It doesn't matter anyway. You won't be working on the garden detail…'
I closed my eyes, waiting for my sentence.
'…You'll be working with Jed.'
I opened my eyes again. 'Jed? '
'Yes. He wants a partner on his excursions, and he suggested you.'
'Wow,' I said, genuinely. It had never occurred to me that Jed might want someone with him. Although we'd become friendly, he still struck me as a loner.
'I know, he never seemed the team type,' Sal continued, apparently reading my mind. 'I was just as surprised. You must have made a good impression on the Rice Run.'
'…But what does Jed need help with? Doesn't he just… steal grass?'
'He does that, yes, but other things besides. He'll explain.'
'…I see.'
Sal beamed. 'Richard, I'm so glad we've sorted it all out. I've been worried about telling you this for days… Now then, all that remains is to find Keaty. Would you like to give him the good news or shall I?'
Ich bin ein Beacher
When we reached the garden, Jean told us that Keaty had already started out back to the camp, so I jogged off to catch him up and Sal stayed behind, explaining to Jean that he'd have to make do with one less worker.
I found Keaty a few hundred metres down the track, and when I told him the news he was very sympathetic, despite the fact that it was good news for him.
'I feel shit about this, Rich,' he said after I'd finished explaining. 'I didn't mean for Sal to take you off fishing, I swear.'
I nodded. 'My guess is it has more to do with Jed than you. You've been asking to leave the garden detail since I got here, and it's only now that something's happened.'
'Maybe… You're pissed off, right?'
'…Well…'
'I'm sorry.'
'No, it isn't your fault. It's just bad… luck. Or something. But not your fault.'
'Well, I hope not, Rich… And I'm sorry anyway…'
We walked in silence for a few moments, then Keaty said, 'Do you know why Jed's suddenly decided he needs help?'
'I don't even know what he needs help with. We still don't know what he does up there.'
'At least now we'll find out.'
'I will, you mean. If I were to tell you what goes on I'd have to kill you straight after.'
Keaty smiled. 'You know what? I bet you're secretly pleased about all this. I bet you're looking forward to prowling around up there.'
I shrugged. 'Ask not what your beach can do for you.'
'That's the spirit.'
'Yeah…' I paused. '…I suppose if I've got to leave the fishing detail then I'd rather I was working with Jed than anyone else.'
'Uh-huh. I wouldn't wish the garden detail on you.'
'And the other option was carpentry. For a moment I thought that's what Sal was suggesting and I nearly had a fucking heart attack. I got this sudden flash of working with Bugs all day, so when Sal said it was with Jed… I don't know… I almost had to feel relieved.'
'If you say so, Rich.'
'I think I do.'
We turned a corner on the path and saw the longhouse through the trees. There were figures around the kitchen hut, so I guessed the other fishers were back with their catch. I couldn't see any of my detail. They probably weren't back from the corals yet.
Just as we were about to enter the clearing, someone behind us called our names. We both turned round and saw Jesse jogging along the track with a bag of vegetables from the garden.
'Hey, man,' he said to Keaty, as he reached us. 'Hear you're leaving the Jar Dan.' It took me a couple of seconds to translate his Kiwi accent to jardin.
'Yep. I'm moved to the fishing.'
'I heard, you lucky bastard.' Jesse looked at me. 'Not you though, mate. You must be pissed off, losing that cushy number. You'll be sweating with us now.'
'I'm not going to the garden.'
Jesse grinned. 'Carpentry! With Jesus!'
'No. Jed.'
'Jed?'
'Uh-huh.'
'Blow me. What's all that about? Not enough weed to go round?'
'Maybe. I'll find out soon, anyway.'
'Yeah… You will.' He nodded thoughtfully, then he patted Keaty on the back. 'You'll be sorted, anyhow. Get to watch Françoise swimming all day. I could do with a bit of that.'
Keaty shot me a quick glance, which puzzled me, and said, 'Watch it, Jesse. You don't want Cassie to hear you.'
Jesse laughed. 'Too right. Skin me alive.' He winked at no one in particular, then looked into the clearing. 'So. Looks like the cooks have got food on the way. Better get the veg down there.'
'Sure,' said Keaty, and Jesse jogged off. Keaty watched him go, then turned to me. 'He's the one person I'll really miss out of the garden detail.'
'Seems like a decent guy.'
'He is. You'd like him and Cassie a lot. Especially as they aren't exactly Bugs' biggest fans.'
'Oh?'
'I used to bitch about Jean being a tough boss, but Bugs… he drives Cassie nuts.'
'I'd picked up on that before.'
'…I guess you'll miss working with your detail too.'
'Mmm.' I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Probably too deeply and too slowly, because I noticed Keaty giving me another curious glance. 'I'm sure I will.'
I found Keaty a few hundred metres down the track, and when I told him the news he was very sympathetic, despite the fact that it was good news for him.
'I feel shit about this, Rich,' he said after I'd finished explaining. 'I didn't mean for Sal to take you off fishing, I swear.'
I nodded. 'My guess is it has more to do with Jed than you. You've been asking to leave the garden detail since I got here, and it's only now that something's happened.'
'Maybe… You're pissed off, right?'
'…Well…'
'I'm sorry.'
'No, it isn't your fault. It's just bad… luck. Or something. But not your fault.'
'Well, I hope not, Rich… And I'm sorry anyway…'
We walked in silence for a few moments, then Keaty said, 'Do you know why Jed's suddenly decided he needs help?'
'I don't even know what he needs help with. We still don't know what he does up there.'
'At least now we'll find out.'
'I will, you mean. If I were to tell you what goes on I'd have to kill you straight after.'
Keaty smiled. 'You know what? I bet you're secretly pleased about all this. I bet you're looking forward to prowling around up there.'
I shrugged. 'Ask not what your beach can do for you.'
'That's the spirit.'
'Yeah…' I paused. '…I suppose if I've got to leave the fishing detail then I'd rather I was working with Jed than anyone else.'
'Uh-huh. I wouldn't wish the garden detail on you.'
'And the other option was carpentry. For a moment I thought that's what Sal was suggesting and I nearly had a fucking heart attack. I got this sudden flash of working with Bugs all day, so when Sal said it was with Jed… I don't know… I almost had to feel relieved.'
'If you say so, Rich.'
'I think I do.'
We turned a corner on the path and saw the longhouse through the trees. There were figures around the kitchen hut, so I guessed the other fishers were back with their catch. I couldn't see any of my detail. They probably weren't back from the corals yet.
Just as we were about to enter the clearing, someone behind us called our names. We both turned round and saw Jesse jogging along the track with a bag of vegetables from the garden.
'Hey, man,' he said to Keaty, as he reached us. 'Hear you're leaving the Jar Dan.' It took me a couple of seconds to translate his Kiwi accent to jardin.
'Yep. I'm moved to the fishing.'
'I heard, you lucky bastard.' Jesse looked at me. 'Not you though, mate. You must be pissed off, losing that cushy number. You'll be sweating with us now.'
'I'm not going to the garden.'
Jesse grinned. 'Carpentry! With Jesus!'
'No. Jed.'
'Jed?'
'Uh-huh.'
'Blow me. What's all that about? Not enough weed to go round?'
'Maybe. I'll find out soon, anyway.'
'Yeah… You will.' He nodded thoughtfully, then he patted Keaty on the back. 'You'll be sorted, anyhow. Get to watch Françoise swimming all day. I could do with a bit of that.'
Keaty shot me a quick glance, which puzzled me, and said, 'Watch it, Jesse. You don't want Cassie to hear you.'
Jesse laughed. 'Too right. Skin me alive.' He winked at no one in particular, then looked into the clearing. 'So. Looks like the cooks have got food on the way. Better get the veg down there.'
'Sure,' said Keaty, and Jesse jogged off. Keaty watched him go, then turned to me. 'He's the one person I'll really miss out of the garden detail.'
'Seems like a decent guy.'
'He is. You'd like him and Cassie a lot. Especially as they aren't exactly Bugs' biggest fans.'
'Oh?'
'I used to bitch about Jean being a tough boss, but Bugs… he drives Cassie nuts.'
'I'd picked up on that before.'
'…I guess you'll miss working with your detail too.'
'Mmm.' I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Probably too deeply and too slowly, because I noticed Keaty giving me another curious glance. 'I'm sure I will.'
Dislocation
It was a long walk from where I entered the clearing to where Étienne, Françoise and Gregorio stood talking. I had plenty of time to think about how much the change of work detail would affect my life on the beach. Mainly I thought in rapid slide-show images, different shots of the four of us chatting and having fun: diving off our favourite fishing boulder, taking bets on who would catch the biggest fish, swimming for spears that had missed their mark or found their mark, or re-enacting throws that were comically bad. The image I lingered on the longest was, unsurprisingly, of Françoise. Françoise as an Amazon, frozen, with a spear poised above her head, concentrating fiercely on the shapes beneath the water. Even now it's a picture I can clearly recall.
It seemed to me, as I got nearer, that they must have heard the news. They paused in their conversation and all turned, watching me with quiet and serious expressions. But it was simply that they'd read the look on my face. That and my posture, and the speed I was walking. If someone walks unhurriedly towards you, head bowed, you have to know that something's up.
There was a strange moment when I reached them. They remained silent, waiting for me to speak, but I felt like I'd already been isolated from their group. It reminded me of the first morning after my fever, discovering that Étienne and Françoise had made themselves a part of the new world while I had been asleep. When no words came I frowned and put a hand on the back of my neck, then shrugged helplessly.
'What is it, Richard?' said Étienne apprehensively. 'There is something the matter?'
I nodded.
'What? Tell us.'
'…I'm off the fishing detail.'
'Off?'
'Moving to another detail. Sal… She just told me.'
Françoise gasped. 'But why? How can she do that?'
'Something to do with Jed. He needs a work partner. Keaty's going to replace me.'
Gregorio shook his head. 'But wait, Richard. You do not want to move, yes?'
'I like the fishing detail…'
'Then OK. You will stay. I will find Sal and talk to her now.' Then he marched off towards the longhouse.
'Gregorio will stop this,' said Étienne a few moments later. 'Do not worry, Richard. You will not have to move.'
'You will not have to move,' Françoise echoed. 'We are a good team, Richard. Of course you will stay with us.'
I nodded, pleased by my friends' display of solidarity, but at the same time I was entirely unconvinced. I knew that Sal's decision would be final, and as if to force the point home, the sound of her low voice began to drift across the clearing, telling Gregorio that this could be the only way.
Although I was feeling sorry for myself, unsure of the sudden way in which things had developed, as the day went on I felt more sorry for Keaty. After Gregorio's failure to change Sal's mind, the four of us spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in a circle, getting stoned and bitching about the way things had turned out. Keaty, however, sat by the entrance of his tent. He was apparently engrossed in his Gameboy, but he looked miserable. I think he felt responsible for everything, and it must have been depressing to feel that his new workmates were so unhappy with the circumstances of his arrival. Eventually, Keaty's obvious discomfort became intolerable. Sensing that the onus was on me, I called over to him and suggested he join us. He sheepishly put down his Nintendo and came over, immediately launching into an apology for the situation he felt he'd caused. All of us protested at once, but it did nothing to cheer him up. He also told us that he'd spoken to Sal himself, insisting that he didn't mind remaining on the garden detail, to no effect. This, at least, provided a topic of discussion that didn't make Keaty's discomfort any more acute, because it raised the underlying reason for the job switch.
'Perhaps,' Françoise said, 'there is something happening on the island. Something to do with the drug farmers.'
Keaty muttered his agreement, but Gregorio looked doubtful. 'So maybe the Thais are putting new fields on this side of the island. It would be a problem, but why would Jed need a partner? If he had ten or fifty partners, he could not stop them. There is no difference.'
'Is there ever any talking with the Thais?' Étienne asked.
Gregorio shook his head. 'Daffy spoke to them when they first came, but he is the only one. He said they knew we were here already, and they were not interested in us if we did not move from the lagoon. Since then, nothing.'
'Maybe they've got pissed off with Jed nicking grass,' I suggested.
'Yes, but it is the same thing. If they are angry or not angry, what difference if Jed has a partner?'
'So what else could it be?'
Gregorio looked down at his hands, then back at me. 'I do not know, Richard… I really do not know.'
We continued chatting until late evening, but only going round in circles. Without Jed or Sal there was no way our questions could be answered, but Jed was still absent by the time we went to bed, and no one felt like talking to Sal.
It took me over two hours to get to sleep that night, and the thoughts that kept me awake were as unusual as the rest of the day had been. For the first time since arriving on the beach, I started thinking about home. Almost, in fact, wishing I could return. Not to leave the beach permanently – just to contact a few important people and let them know I was still alive and OK. My family particularly, and a few of my friends. I suppose it may have had as much to do with my earlier conversation with Françoise as with the subsequent unsettling events. The thought of parents had hovered in the back of my mind, reluctant to fall under the beach's amnesiac spell.
It seemed to me, as I got nearer, that they must have heard the news. They paused in their conversation and all turned, watching me with quiet and serious expressions. But it was simply that they'd read the look on my face. That and my posture, and the speed I was walking. If someone walks unhurriedly towards you, head bowed, you have to know that something's up.
There was a strange moment when I reached them. They remained silent, waiting for me to speak, but I felt like I'd already been isolated from their group. It reminded me of the first morning after my fever, discovering that Étienne and Françoise had made themselves a part of the new world while I had been asleep. When no words came I frowned and put a hand on the back of my neck, then shrugged helplessly.
'What is it, Richard?' said Étienne apprehensively. 'There is something the matter?'
I nodded.
'What? Tell us.'
'…I'm off the fishing detail.'
'Off?'
'Moving to another detail. Sal… She just told me.'
Françoise gasped. 'But why? How can she do that?'
'Something to do with Jed. He needs a work partner. Keaty's going to replace me.'
Gregorio shook his head. 'But wait, Richard. You do not want to move, yes?'
'I like the fishing detail…'
'Then OK. You will stay. I will find Sal and talk to her now.' Then he marched off towards the longhouse.
'Gregorio will stop this,' said Étienne a few moments later. 'Do not worry, Richard. You will not have to move.'
'You will not have to move,' Françoise echoed. 'We are a good team, Richard. Of course you will stay with us.'
I nodded, pleased by my friends' display of solidarity, but at the same time I was entirely unconvinced. I knew that Sal's decision would be final, and as if to force the point home, the sound of her low voice began to drift across the clearing, telling Gregorio that this could be the only way.
Although I was feeling sorry for myself, unsure of the sudden way in which things had developed, as the day went on I felt more sorry for Keaty. After Gregorio's failure to change Sal's mind, the four of us spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in a circle, getting stoned and bitching about the way things had turned out. Keaty, however, sat by the entrance of his tent. He was apparently engrossed in his Gameboy, but he looked miserable. I think he felt responsible for everything, and it must have been depressing to feel that his new workmates were so unhappy with the circumstances of his arrival. Eventually, Keaty's obvious discomfort became intolerable. Sensing that the onus was on me, I called over to him and suggested he join us. He sheepishly put down his Nintendo and came over, immediately launching into an apology for the situation he felt he'd caused. All of us protested at once, but it did nothing to cheer him up. He also told us that he'd spoken to Sal himself, insisting that he didn't mind remaining on the garden detail, to no effect. This, at least, provided a topic of discussion that didn't make Keaty's discomfort any more acute, because it raised the underlying reason for the job switch.
'Perhaps,' Françoise said, 'there is something happening on the island. Something to do with the drug farmers.'
Keaty muttered his agreement, but Gregorio looked doubtful. 'So maybe the Thais are putting new fields on this side of the island. It would be a problem, but why would Jed need a partner? If he had ten or fifty partners, he could not stop them. There is no difference.'
'Is there ever any talking with the Thais?' Étienne asked.
Gregorio shook his head. 'Daffy spoke to them when they first came, but he is the only one. He said they knew we were here already, and they were not interested in us if we did not move from the lagoon. Since then, nothing.'
'Maybe they've got pissed off with Jed nicking grass,' I suggested.
'Yes, but it is the same thing. If they are angry or not angry, what difference if Jed has a partner?'
'So what else could it be?'
Gregorio looked down at his hands, then back at me. 'I do not know, Richard… I really do not know.'
We continued chatting until late evening, but only going round in circles. Without Jed or Sal there was no way our questions could be answered, but Jed was still absent by the time we went to bed, and no one felt like talking to Sal.
It took me over two hours to get to sleep that night, and the thoughts that kept me awake were as unusual as the rest of the day had been. For the first time since arriving on the beach, I started thinking about home. Almost, in fact, wishing I could return. Not to leave the beach permanently – just to contact a few important people and let them know I was still alive and OK. My family particularly, and a few of my friends. I suppose it may have had as much to do with my earlier conversation with Françoise as with the subsequent unsettling events. The thought of parents had hovered in the back of my mind, reluctant to fall under the beach's amnesiac spell.
The Decisive Moment
'Hi,' said a voice, and I turned round. A small boy was standing in the gateway of the house behind me. He grinned and marched over the pavement. 'Would you like a drink?'
I looked at him blankly. Mister Duck was fair-haired and close to tubby as a child. It surprised me that this well-fed kid would become the scrawny figure I'd meet on the Khao San Road.
'That is you, isn't it?' I said, to make certain.
'It's me.' His chubby arms stretched out and clapped me on the shoulders. 'Would you like a drink?'
'Well…' I rubbed my throat. 'What have you got?'
'Ribena or water.'
'Ribena is good.'
'OK. Wait here.'
Mister Duck went inside the house, waddling slightly as he walked. I wondered if that was where his nickname had originally come from. A minute later he came back out, holding a cup in both hands.
'I'm afraid it's not really very cold. It takes ages for the tap to run cold.'
'That's OK.'
He gave me the cup and watched me closely while I drank.
'Is it all right? Maybe I should've put some ice in it.'
'It's very nice.'
'I can get some ice for you.'
'No.' I drained the remainder. 'It was just right.'
'Great!' He smiled radiantly. 'You want to see my room?'
Mister Duck's bedroom was a lot like mine had been – clothes in heaps, dog-eared posters on the walls, duvet scrunched up at the bottom of the mattress, battered Matchbox cars on the shelves, marbles and toy soldiers everywhere else. The main difference was that I'd shared my room with my younger brother, so the mess was doubled.
In the middle of the floor was a collapsed pile of Tintin and Asterix books.
'Shit,' I said admiringly, as I spotted them. 'That's a good collection.'
Mister Duck's eyes opened wide, then he ran to his bedroom door and peered nervously out. 'Richard,' he hissed, turning back to me with a sternly raised finger. 'You mustn't say that!'
'…Shit?'
His tiny face went bright red and he waved his arms. 'Shh! Someone will hear you!'
'But…'
'No buts!' He dropped his voice to a whisper. 'Swearing carries a two-pence fine in this house!'
'Oh… right. I won't swear any more.'
'Good,' he said gravely. 'I should ask you for some money, but you didn't know the rule, so we'll leave it at that.'
'Thanks…' I walked over to the pile of books and picked one up – Cigars of the Pharaoh. 'So you like Tintin, huh?'
'I love Tintin! Do you? I've got every Tintin book except one.'
'I've got every Tintin book except none.'
'Including The Blue Lotus?'
'Only in French.'
'Exactly! That's why I haven't got it. It really annoys me.'
'You should get someone to talk you through it. My mum went through it with me. It's pretty good.'
Mister Duck shrugged. 'My mum can't speak French.'
'Oh…'
'So which is your favourite one?'
'Hmm. Tricky question.' I thought for a couple of seconds. 'It isn't Tintin in America.'
'No. And it isn't the Castafiore Emerald.'
'No way… It might be Tintin in Tibet … or The Crab with the Golden Claws … I can't decide.'
'Do you want to know what my favourite is?'
'Sure.'
'Prisoners of the Sun.'
I nodded. 'That's a good choice.'
'Yes. Would you like to know another book I like?'
'OK.'
Mister Duck walked over to his bed and crouched down, feeling around underneath. Then he dragged out a large hardback, coffee-table size. Its cover was plain red and stamped with gold-leaf writing. It read Time. A Decade in Photographs: 1960-1970.
'This book is my dad's,' he said airily, squatting down and beckoning me to sit beside him. 'I'm not even supposed to have it in my room. You know what?'
'What?'
'In this book…' He paused for dramatic effect. 'There's a picture of a girl.'
I snorted. 'Big deal.'
'A naked girl!'
'Naked?'
'Uh-huh. You want to see it?'
'Sure.'
'OK… hold on.' Mister Duck started flicking through the pages. 'It's somewhere near the middle… Ah! Here it is!'
I pulled the book on to my lap.
The girl was indeed naked, and aged somewhere between ten and twelve. She was running down a country road.
Mister Duck leant over and put his mouth to my ear. 'You can see everything ! he whispered excitedly.
'You certainly can,' I agreed.
'Everything! All her bits!' He started giggling and rolled forwards with his hands over his mouth. 'Everything!'
'Yes,' I said, but I was suddenly feeling uncertain. There was something puzzling about the photo.
I noticed the fields that surrounded the country road; they were strangely flat and alien. Then I noticed the collection of indistinct buildings behind the girl, either out of focus or made fuzzy through clouds of smoke. And the girl was upset, holding her arms away from her sides. Other kids ran beside her. A few soldiers, apparently indifferent, watched them as they passed.
I frowned. My gaze flicked quickly from the girl to the soldiers, back to the girl again. It was as if my eyes had become confused, unsure of where to settle. I wasn't even sure what they were settling on.
'Fuck,' I muttered and shut the book with a snap.
Mister Duck sat up. 'I'm sorry, Rich,' he said. 'But I've already warned you about swearing once. This time it's going to cost you.'
I looked at him blankly. Mister Duck was fair-haired and close to tubby as a child. It surprised me that this well-fed kid would become the scrawny figure I'd meet on the Khao San Road.
'That is you, isn't it?' I said, to make certain.
'It's me.' His chubby arms stretched out and clapped me on the shoulders. 'Would you like a drink?'
'Well…' I rubbed my throat. 'What have you got?'
'Ribena or water.'
'Ribena is good.'
'OK. Wait here.'
Mister Duck went inside the house, waddling slightly as he walked. I wondered if that was where his nickname had originally come from. A minute later he came back out, holding a cup in both hands.
'I'm afraid it's not really very cold. It takes ages for the tap to run cold.'
'That's OK.'
He gave me the cup and watched me closely while I drank.
'Is it all right? Maybe I should've put some ice in it.'
'It's very nice.'
'I can get some ice for you.'
'No.' I drained the remainder. 'It was just right.'
'Great!' He smiled radiantly. 'You want to see my room?'
Mister Duck's bedroom was a lot like mine had been – clothes in heaps, dog-eared posters on the walls, duvet scrunched up at the bottom of the mattress, battered Matchbox cars on the shelves, marbles and toy soldiers everywhere else. The main difference was that I'd shared my room with my younger brother, so the mess was doubled.
In the middle of the floor was a collapsed pile of Tintin and Asterix books.
'Shit,' I said admiringly, as I spotted them. 'That's a good collection.'
Mister Duck's eyes opened wide, then he ran to his bedroom door and peered nervously out. 'Richard,' he hissed, turning back to me with a sternly raised finger. 'You mustn't say that!'
'…Shit?'
His tiny face went bright red and he waved his arms. 'Shh! Someone will hear you!'
'But…'
'No buts!' He dropped his voice to a whisper. 'Swearing carries a two-pence fine in this house!'
'Oh… right. I won't swear any more.'
'Good,' he said gravely. 'I should ask you for some money, but you didn't know the rule, so we'll leave it at that.'
'Thanks…' I walked over to the pile of books and picked one up – Cigars of the Pharaoh. 'So you like Tintin, huh?'
'I love Tintin! Do you? I've got every Tintin book except one.'
'I've got every Tintin book except none.'
'Including The Blue Lotus?'
'Only in French.'
'Exactly! That's why I haven't got it. It really annoys me.'
'You should get someone to talk you through it. My mum went through it with me. It's pretty good.'
Mister Duck shrugged. 'My mum can't speak French.'
'Oh…'
'So which is your favourite one?'
'Hmm. Tricky question.' I thought for a couple of seconds. 'It isn't Tintin in America.'
'No. And it isn't the Castafiore Emerald.'
'No way… It might be Tintin in Tibet … or The Crab with the Golden Claws … I can't decide.'
'Do you want to know what my favourite is?'
'Sure.'
'Prisoners of the Sun.'
I nodded. 'That's a good choice.'
'Yes. Would you like to know another book I like?'
'OK.'
Mister Duck walked over to his bed and crouched down, feeling around underneath. Then he dragged out a large hardback, coffee-table size. Its cover was plain red and stamped with gold-leaf writing. It read Time. A Decade in Photographs: 1960-1970.
'This book is my dad's,' he said airily, squatting down and beckoning me to sit beside him. 'I'm not even supposed to have it in my room. You know what?'
'What?'
'In this book…' He paused for dramatic effect. 'There's a picture of a girl.'
I snorted. 'Big deal.'
'A naked girl!'
'Naked?'
'Uh-huh. You want to see it?'
'Sure.'
'OK… hold on.' Mister Duck started flicking through the pages. 'It's somewhere near the middle… Ah! Here it is!'
I pulled the book on to my lap.
The girl was indeed naked, and aged somewhere between ten and twelve. She was running down a country road.
Mister Duck leant over and put his mouth to my ear. 'You can see everything ! he whispered excitedly.
'You certainly can,' I agreed.
'Everything! All her bits!' He started giggling and rolled forwards with his hands over his mouth. 'Everything!'
'Yes,' I said, but I was suddenly feeling uncertain. There was something puzzling about the photo.
I noticed the fields that surrounded the country road; they were strangely flat and alien. Then I noticed the collection of indistinct buildings behind the girl, either out of focus or made fuzzy through clouds of smoke. And the girl was upset, holding her arms away from her sides. Other kids ran beside her. A few soldiers, apparently indifferent, watched them as they passed.
I frowned. My gaze flicked quickly from the girl to the soldiers, back to the girl again. It was as if my eyes had become confused, unsure of where to settle. I wasn't even sure what they were settling on.
'Fuck,' I muttered and shut the book with a snap.
Mister Duck sat up. 'I'm sorry, Rich,' he said. 'But I've already warned you about swearing once. This time it's going to cost you.'
IN COUNTRY
Aspect One
Jed's eyes were a little wider apart than mine, so it took some adjustment before I was seeing one crisp circle instead of two hazy ones. Then I had to scan slowly across the sea, steadying myself on my elbows as the tiniest movement sent the image a mile off track. It took me several seconds to find the strip of sand and the line of green palms, but once there I located the five familiar figures almost immediately. They were the same place they'd been yesterday morning, and nearly every morning for the past nine days. The only exception had been four days ago when the beach had been completely empty. That had caused us a bit of concern, until they reappeared from the tree-line a couple of hours later.
'They're still there,' I said.
'Up to anything?'
'Uh-uh.'
'Just lying there.'
'Looks like one is standing, but he isn't moving.'
'And you can count all five.'
I paused. 'Five, yeah. They're all there.'
'Good.' Jed coughed quietly into his hand. We had to be careful about noise, this close to the dope fields, and we couldn't smoke either, which didn't do much for my nerves. 'Good.'
My first day with Jed had started off badly. I'd woken up in a shit mood, the previous night's dream still clinging to me, faintly depressed about leaving the fishing detail. But as soon as he'd explained about the people I'd understood. Then I'd been thrown into a panic, saying, 'It's the worst-case scenario,' over and over like a mantra, while Jed waited patiently for me to calm down. It took some time, but eventually I stopped jittering long enough for him to get a word in, and I was able to take in the exact nature of the situation.
The good news was that Sal still didn't know about my indiscretion with the map. Jed had only told her that someone had turned up on the neighbouring island, but not that they might have a connection with me. As far as Sal was concerned, the reason I was working with Jed was because he'd got fed up with being alone and wanted a partner. The other good news was that the people had been hanging around on the island for two days before Sal had agreed to move me. So, if they were aiming for our beach, they were obviously finding it difficult to reach us.
On the downside, we had to assume that the people were aiming for the beach. We also had to assume that two of them were Zeph and Sammy, and the other three were the Germans Jed had seen on Ko Pha-Ngan. We couldn't be sure about this because the people were too small to make out clearly, even to see a flash of blond hair, but it seemed likely.
I'd spent the rest of that day in a state of shock, sitting with Jed's binoculars clamped to my face, convinced – every time one of them appeared to move – that they were about to start swimming towards us. But they didn't start swimming towards us. In fact, they barely budged from their patch of sand, occasionally taking a brief dip or disappearing into the jungle for a couple of hours. After three or four similar days had passed, my initial level of panic became impossible to sustain. It faded, mellowing into anxiousness, finally settling as a generalized tension. With the tension I was able to think more clearly, and in a manner of speaking, relax. That was when the other aspects of my new detail began to emerge.
The first was getting to know Jed. We spent every hour until nightfall sitting on a rocky outcrop at the highest point of our island, and aside from the spying, all we could do was talk. Mostly we talked about Plan B, which was what we were going to do when they finally got here. The only problem with Plan B was that, like most Plan Bs, it didn't exist. We had several options but could never agree on which one to take. The option I favoured was that Jed went down to intercept them and told them that they weren't welcome on the beach, but he didn't want to do that. Although he was sure he'd be able to make them leave, he was also sure that they'd go straight back to Ko Pha-Ngan and tell everyone what they'd found. Instead, Jed wanted to rely on the natural barriers the island put up. There was the swim, they had to get past the dope fields, find the lagoon, and then find a way of getting down to it. Jed was confident that this obstacle course would put them off, apparently unconcerned that it had failed to deter me, Étienne, Françoise, the Swedes and himself.
It was during one of our endless Plan B discussions that I discovered Jed had once watched me in exactly the same way as we were now watching Zeph and Sammy. He'd seen the spiv drop us off and when we'd made the swim he'd told Sal – which was why she, Bugs and Cassie had been ready to greet us when we reached the camp. This was the main function of his detail, as a look-out, and the dope collecting had been more of a sideline. He went on to tell me that since his arrival there had been three groups that had tried to find the lagoon. Two had given up at one or other of the obstacles. The one to get through had been the Swedes'.
Knowing this made me feel marginally less guilty about having given out a copy of the map, because people were managing to find their way to us anyway. Jed explained they'd have heard about the beach as the Eden rumour Zeph had described. Jed himself had heard it from a guy in Vientiane, and 'with nothing better to do' he'd decided to follow it up. He'd had to check out six other islands in the marine park before finding the right one. The Swedes had gone on more concrete information. They'd overheard Sal talking with Jean on a Chaweng Rice Run.
It came as a surprise to me to hear that acting as a look-out was the primary function of my new detail. I couldn't understand why the job needed to be clouded in so much mystery, and Jed, in turn, was a little surprised to hear that the mystery existed. He admitted that Sal didn't want it talked about as she felt it would be bad for the atmosphere, but as far as he was concerned, the main reason he didn't talk about it was because nobody ever asked him.
This had led to my most interesting revelation about Jed, connected to Daffy's reaction to his uninvited arrival on the beach. I remembered Keaty telling me that the camp had listened outside the longhouse while Daffy shouted and Sal tried to calm him down. What I didn't know was that Daffy had refused to speak to Jed from that day on. For the thirteen months until Daffy had left the island, he and Jed had never exchanged a single word. It had been the original reason for the creation of Jed's detail – to keep him away from the rest of the camp for most of the day.
I felt a great deal of pity for Jed when he told me this. It explained why he'd always seemed so distant from the rest of us. His apparent aloofness was only because he felt he ought to keep out of people's way, even now that a year and a half had passed. It also explained why he so conspicuously accepted unpopular tasks, such as the Rice Run.
But Jed didn't appear to feel any pity for himself. When I suggested to him that it must have been hard to have faced such a cold reaction, he shrugged and said he could understand it.
'Something's bothering me,' I said, putting down Jed's binoculars.
Jed frowned. 'You and me both.'
'I'm afraid they'll find my rucksack.'
'…Your rucksack?'
'I hid my rucksack there, and so did Étienne and Françoise. We couldn't swim with them… and if they find our bags they'll know they're on the right track.'
'…How well did you hide them?'
'Pretty well. The thing is, I'm starting to think I might have copied the map down wrong. I drew it in a real hurry and there were a lot of islands to fill in. I remember there were differences between Daffy's map and the map in Étienne's guidebook too. I easily could have missed out an island between Ko Phelong and here.'
Jed nodded. 'It's possible.'
'So if they reckon they're on the right island, that explains why they haven't moved for the last nine days. They're checking the place out, looking for the beach… which they won't find… but they might find the rucksacks.'
'It's possible,' Jed repeated. 'But they might also have spent the last nine days wondering how the fuck they're going to get back to Ko Pha-Ngan.'
'And wondering how they could have been so stupid as to believe in a map that someone slid under their door.'
'That would make them about as stupid as you then.'
'Stupid as me… Yeah.'
Jed scowled and ran his hands over his face. 'What I want to know is what they're doing for food and water.'
'Magi-Noodles and chocolate. That's what we did.'
'And water? They'd have needed to take a barrel of the stuff to have lasted this long.'
'Maybe there's a source on the island. It's high enough.'
'Must be… I'll tell you what, though, you're wrong about that map. Look at them. They sit on that one spot all fucking day. It faces us, right? So they know this is the right island. They're sitting there and trying to work out how to reach us…'
I sighed. 'You know what we should do?'
'No.'
'We should take the boat and head round to them. Then we get them on board, set a course for the open sea, and make them walk the plank. Problem solved.'
Jed tilted his head at the sky. 'OK, Richard, let's do it.'
'OK. Let's.'
'OK.'
'OK.'
We looked at each other briefly, then I went back to staring through the binoculars.
'They're still there,' I said.
'Up to anything?'
'Uh-uh.'
'Just lying there.'
'Looks like one is standing, but he isn't moving.'
'And you can count all five.'
I paused. 'Five, yeah. They're all there.'
'Good.' Jed coughed quietly into his hand. We had to be careful about noise, this close to the dope fields, and we couldn't smoke either, which didn't do much for my nerves. 'Good.'
My first day with Jed had started off badly. I'd woken up in a shit mood, the previous night's dream still clinging to me, faintly depressed about leaving the fishing detail. But as soon as he'd explained about the people I'd understood. Then I'd been thrown into a panic, saying, 'It's the worst-case scenario,' over and over like a mantra, while Jed waited patiently for me to calm down. It took some time, but eventually I stopped jittering long enough for him to get a word in, and I was able to take in the exact nature of the situation.
The good news was that Sal still didn't know about my indiscretion with the map. Jed had only told her that someone had turned up on the neighbouring island, but not that they might have a connection with me. As far as Sal was concerned, the reason I was working with Jed was because he'd got fed up with being alone and wanted a partner. The other good news was that the people had been hanging around on the island for two days before Sal had agreed to move me. So, if they were aiming for our beach, they were obviously finding it difficult to reach us.
On the downside, we had to assume that the people were aiming for the beach. We also had to assume that two of them were Zeph and Sammy, and the other three were the Germans Jed had seen on Ko Pha-Ngan. We couldn't be sure about this because the people were too small to make out clearly, even to see a flash of blond hair, but it seemed likely.
I'd spent the rest of that day in a state of shock, sitting with Jed's binoculars clamped to my face, convinced – every time one of them appeared to move – that they were about to start swimming towards us. But they didn't start swimming towards us. In fact, they barely budged from their patch of sand, occasionally taking a brief dip or disappearing into the jungle for a couple of hours. After three or four similar days had passed, my initial level of panic became impossible to sustain. It faded, mellowing into anxiousness, finally settling as a generalized tension. With the tension I was able to think more clearly, and in a manner of speaking, relax. That was when the other aspects of my new detail began to emerge.
The first was getting to know Jed. We spent every hour until nightfall sitting on a rocky outcrop at the highest point of our island, and aside from the spying, all we could do was talk. Mostly we talked about Plan B, which was what we were going to do when they finally got here. The only problem with Plan B was that, like most Plan Bs, it didn't exist. We had several options but could never agree on which one to take. The option I favoured was that Jed went down to intercept them and told them that they weren't welcome on the beach, but he didn't want to do that. Although he was sure he'd be able to make them leave, he was also sure that they'd go straight back to Ko Pha-Ngan and tell everyone what they'd found. Instead, Jed wanted to rely on the natural barriers the island put up. There was the swim, they had to get past the dope fields, find the lagoon, and then find a way of getting down to it. Jed was confident that this obstacle course would put them off, apparently unconcerned that it had failed to deter me, Étienne, Françoise, the Swedes and himself.
It was during one of our endless Plan B discussions that I discovered Jed had once watched me in exactly the same way as we were now watching Zeph and Sammy. He'd seen the spiv drop us off and when we'd made the swim he'd told Sal – which was why she, Bugs and Cassie had been ready to greet us when we reached the camp. This was the main function of his detail, as a look-out, and the dope collecting had been more of a sideline. He went on to tell me that since his arrival there had been three groups that had tried to find the lagoon. Two had given up at one or other of the obstacles. The one to get through had been the Swedes'.
Knowing this made me feel marginally less guilty about having given out a copy of the map, because people were managing to find their way to us anyway. Jed explained they'd have heard about the beach as the Eden rumour Zeph had described. Jed himself had heard it from a guy in Vientiane, and 'with nothing better to do' he'd decided to follow it up. He'd had to check out six other islands in the marine park before finding the right one. The Swedes had gone on more concrete information. They'd overheard Sal talking with Jean on a Chaweng Rice Run.
It came as a surprise to me to hear that acting as a look-out was the primary function of my new detail. I couldn't understand why the job needed to be clouded in so much mystery, and Jed, in turn, was a little surprised to hear that the mystery existed. He admitted that Sal didn't want it talked about as she felt it would be bad for the atmosphere, but as far as he was concerned, the main reason he didn't talk about it was because nobody ever asked him.
This had led to my most interesting revelation about Jed, connected to Daffy's reaction to his uninvited arrival on the beach. I remembered Keaty telling me that the camp had listened outside the longhouse while Daffy shouted and Sal tried to calm him down. What I didn't know was that Daffy had refused to speak to Jed from that day on. For the thirteen months until Daffy had left the island, he and Jed had never exchanged a single word. It had been the original reason for the creation of Jed's detail – to keep him away from the rest of the camp for most of the day.
I felt a great deal of pity for Jed when he told me this. It explained why he'd always seemed so distant from the rest of us. His apparent aloofness was only because he felt he ought to keep out of people's way, even now that a year and a half had passed. It also explained why he so conspicuously accepted unpopular tasks, such as the Rice Run.
But Jed didn't appear to feel any pity for himself. When I suggested to him that it must have been hard to have faced such a cold reaction, he shrugged and said he could understand it.
'Something's bothering me,' I said, putting down Jed's binoculars.
Jed frowned. 'You and me both.'
'I'm afraid they'll find my rucksack.'
'…Your rucksack?'
'I hid my rucksack there, and so did Étienne and Françoise. We couldn't swim with them… and if they find our bags they'll know they're on the right track.'
'…How well did you hide them?'
'Pretty well. The thing is, I'm starting to think I might have copied the map down wrong. I drew it in a real hurry and there were a lot of islands to fill in. I remember there were differences between Daffy's map and the map in Étienne's guidebook too. I easily could have missed out an island between Ko Phelong and here.'
Jed nodded. 'It's possible.'
'So if they reckon they're on the right island, that explains why they haven't moved for the last nine days. They're checking the place out, looking for the beach… which they won't find… but they might find the rucksacks.'
'It's possible,' Jed repeated. 'But they might also have spent the last nine days wondering how the fuck they're going to get back to Ko Pha-Ngan.'
'And wondering how they could have been so stupid as to believe in a map that someone slid under their door.'
'That would make them about as stupid as you then.'
'Stupid as me… Yeah.'
Jed scowled and ran his hands over his face. 'What I want to know is what they're doing for food and water.'
'Magi-Noodles and chocolate. That's what we did.'
'And water? They'd have needed to take a barrel of the stuff to have lasted this long.'
'Maybe there's a source on the island. It's high enough.'
'Must be… I'll tell you what, though, you're wrong about that map. Look at them. They sit on that one spot all fucking day. It faces us, right? So they know this is the right island. They're sitting there and trying to work out how to reach us…'
I sighed. 'You know what we should do?'
'No.'
'We should take the boat and head round to them. Then we get them on board, set a course for the open sea, and make them walk the plank. Problem solved.'
Jed tilted his head at the sky. 'OK, Richard, let's do it.'
'OK. Let's.'
'OK.'
'OK.'
We looked at each other briefly, then I went back to staring through the binoculars.
White Lies
We'd stay at our look-out post until the bottom curve of the sun was just about to hit the horizon, then we'd head back. There wasn't much point spying if it was too dark to see, and anyway, Jed said it wasn't safe to be up on the island after nightfall. You didn't know what or who you might be walking into. Back at camp, Jed would go and talk to Sal – filling her in on the day's non-events – and I'd get some dinner. Then, carrying my bowl of leftovers, I'd look for my old fishing detail. Usually I'd find them near the kitchen hut, having a smoke before bedtime.
Lying to Sal and Bugs was easy but I hated lying to my old detail, and I hated lying to Keaty even more. The truth was that I didn't have a choice. Until we knew whether Zeph and Sammy would make it to the beach, there was no sense in stirring. The best I could do was satisfy Keaty's curiosity about the exact nature of Jed's work, and when I told him he wasn't as surprised as I'd expected him to be.
'It's a good idea,' he said, matter of factly. 'Since the Swedes, people have been worried about who might turn up.'
'What about since me?'
'Daffy told you. It's different.'
'Were people angry about the Swedes then?'
'…Daffy mainly.'
'Jed said Daffy didn't like him much either.'
Keaty started cleaning his Gameboy screen against his shorts. 'He didn't make it very easy for any of them, but once they were here… you know… what could he do?'
'Is that why he left the beach?'
My question hung in the air while Keaty carefully inspected the tiny glass panel.
I asked him again.
'Basically,' he said eventually. 'Yeah.' He pushed in the Mario cart and switched on the machine. 'You completed this yet?'
'About twenty times.'
'I was wondering where the batteries were going…' He gazed at the Nintendo but didn't begin playing. 'So what do you do when you find someone coming?' he asked casually.
'…Just watch them, I guess.'
Keaty grinned. 'You mean you take them out, right? Extreme prejudice.'
'I'll tell you when it happens,' I replied, laughing uncomfortably, and was spared any further questions by the arrival of Jesse, looking for some Rizlas.
After that conversation I'd more or less managed to avoid the subject of my detail. It wasn't difficult. Keaty had taken to his work in a big way and it only took a small nudge to get him talking about it. To my relief, the same applied with my other ex-colleagues, so I could always steer the conversation towards fishing. From their point of view, I suppose they were trying to emphasize my inclusion in the group by sticking to topics of shared experience. From my point of view, I was happy to talk about anything that upheld a sense of normality.
For the first few days, during my panicky stage, this was a bit of an effort. Given the way I was feeling, a calm exterior required constant concentration. When I let my guard drop I would drift off into my own anxious thoughts while people were talking to me. I could only use the excuse of being stoned or tired up to a point.
But there was a helpful side to the constant concentration: I never had time to feel jealous of the ease with which Keaty had replaced me, or sad that the secrets I was keeping were causing unexpected barriers between me and my friends. Unexpected, because I'd been worried that the detail would distance me from them, but soon I understood that it actually distanced them from me. I was still involved in their lives. I knew what was going on. I knew when they'd caught a pretty fish, and that Jean was trying to lure Keaty back to the garden, and that Cassie was trying to arrange a move from carpentry so she could work with Jesse, and that Bugs wasn't having any of it.
I no longer had to struggle to maintain a calm appearance. In theory, perhaps, then I should have started to feel jealous of Keaty and sad about the lies, but I didn't. Curiously, I took comfort from these things. I realized that I had been given one less problem to worry about, because if I was the one creating the distance then I had equal power to remove it. And if Zeph and Sammy failed in their attempt to reach us, I would be able to bring them closer without any effort. It would simply be a matter of not lying to them any more, which would be easy, seeing as there'd be nothing to lie about. Obviously, this was only a comfort if Zeph and Sammy failed to reach us, but if they didn't then Sal would certainly get to hear about the map, and I'd be fucked anyway.
It was in this frame of mind – alert but calm or something close – that the second aspect of my new detail emerged. I think I first noticed it on the fifth day, when I woke half an hour before Jed and impatiently counted the minutes until it was time to go. Or maybe it was the sixth day, when Zeph and Sammy were missing from their beach and we scanned the sea for three silent hours, coolly professional, nothing to be said, until they reappeared three hours later. Most accurately, Keaty noticed it first, although he didn't realize it at the time. 'I bet you're secretly looking forward to prowling around up there,' he'd joked when I'd told him about the switch, but my mood had been too sour to see that he was right.
There was nothing strange about it. Jed and I were on a covert mission. We had binoculars, jungle, a quarry, a threat, the hidden presence of AK-47s and slanted eyes. The only missing element was a Doors soundtrack.
Too familiar to be strange, and too exciting to dread. Before long, impossible not to enjoy.
Lying to Sal and Bugs was easy but I hated lying to my old detail, and I hated lying to Keaty even more. The truth was that I didn't have a choice. Until we knew whether Zeph and Sammy would make it to the beach, there was no sense in stirring. The best I could do was satisfy Keaty's curiosity about the exact nature of Jed's work, and when I told him he wasn't as surprised as I'd expected him to be.
'It's a good idea,' he said, matter of factly. 'Since the Swedes, people have been worried about who might turn up.'
'What about since me?'
'Daffy told you. It's different.'
'Were people angry about the Swedes then?'
'…Daffy mainly.'
'Jed said Daffy didn't like him much either.'
Keaty started cleaning his Gameboy screen against his shorts. 'He didn't make it very easy for any of them, but once they were here… you know… what could he do?'
'Is that why he left the beach?'
My question hung in the air while Keaty carefully inspected the tiny glass panel.
I asked him again.
'Basically,' he said eventually. 'Yeah.' He pushed in the Mario cart and switched on the machine. 'You completed this yet?'
'About twenty times.'
'I was wondering where the batteries were going…' He gazed at the Nintendo but didn't begin playing. 'So what do you do when you find someone coming?' he asked casually.
'…Just watch them, I guess.'
Keaty grinned. 'You mean you take them out, right? Extreme prejudice.'
'I'll tell you when it happens,' I replied, laughing uncomfortably, and was spared any further questions by the arrival of Jesse, looking for some Rizlas.
After that conversation I'd more or less managed to avoid the subject of my detail. It wasn't difficult. Keaty had taken to his work in a big way and it only took a small nudge to get him talking about it. To my relief, the same applied with my other ex-colleagues, so I could always steer the conversation towards fishing. From their point of view, I suppose they were trying to emphasize my inclusion in the group by sticking to topics of shared experience. From my point of view, I was happy to talk about anything that upheld a sense of normality.
For the first few days, during my panicky stage, this was a bit of an effort. Given the way I was feeling, a calm exterior required constant concentration. When I let my guard drop I would drift off into my own anxious thoughts while people were talking to me. I could only use the excuse of being stoned or tired up to a point.
But there was a helpful side to the constant concentration: I never had time to feel jealous of the ease with which Keaty had replaced me, or sad that the secrets I was keeping were causing unexpected barriers between me and my friends. Unexpected, because I'd been worried that the detail would distance me from them, but soon I understood that it actually distanced them from me. I was still involved in their lives. I knew what was going on. I knew when they'd caught a pretty fish, and that Jean was trying to lure Keaty back to the garden, and that Cassie was trying to arrange a move from carpentry so she could work with Jesse, and that Bugs wasn't having any of it.
I no longer had to struggle to maintain a calm appearance. In theory, perhaps, then I should have started to feel jealous of Keaty and sad about the lies, but I didn't. Curiously, I took comfort from these things. I realized that I had been given one less problem to worry about, because if I was the one creating the distance then I had equal power to remove it. And if Zeph and Sammy failed in their attempt to reach us, I would be able to bring them closer without any effort. It would simply be a matter of not lying to them any more, which would be easy, seeing as there'd be nothing to lie about. Obviously, this was only a comfort if Zeph and Sammy failed to reach us, but if they didn't then Sal would certainly get to hear about the map, and I'd be fucked anyway.
It was in this frame of mind – alert but calm or something close – that the second aspect of my new detail emerged. I think I first noticed it on the fifth day, when I woke half an hour before Jed and impatiently counted the minutes until it was time to go. Or maybe it was the sixth day, when Zeph and Sammy were missing from their beach and we scanned the sea for three silent hours, coolly professional, nothing to be said, until they reappeared three hours later. Most accurately, Keaty noticed it first, although he didn't realize it at the time. 'I bet you're secretly looking forward to prowling around up there,' he'd joked when I'd told him about the switch, but my mood had been too sour to see that he was right.
There was nothing strange about it. Jed and I were on a covert mission. We had binoculars, jungle, a quarry, a threat, the hidden presence of AK-47s and slanted eyes. The only missing element was a Doors soundtrack.
Too familiar to be strange, and too exciting to dread. Before long, impossible not to enjoy.
Ol' Blue
At the end of the tenth day we were, as usual, hurrying to get back to the lagoon before nightfall. The sun was already below the western curve of the seaward cliffs and the orange light of early evening was turning blue. Whenever we were on the move we wouldn't talk, so all our communication was by hand signal. A clenched fist meant stop and stay still, a flat palm held horizontally to the ground meant hide, a pointing gesture with all fingers kept together meant move forward cautiously. We'd never discussed the meanings of these signs, neither had we discussed the new words we'd started using. We'd say, 'I'll take point,' instead of, 'I'll walk first,' and we described distances in terms of klicks. I don't actually remember how or when these things had been adopted. I think they'd simply felt like the most appropriate vocabulary for the situation.
That evening, Jed had taken point. He always did if the light was failing because he knew the island so much better than I did. I was having a little difficulty in keeping up with him, unable to find his easy compromise between speed and stealth, and when he gave the clenched-fist signal I missed it and walked straight into his back. The fact that he didn't frown or swear made me aware that something serious was up. I eased myself away from him and stood still.
Just ahead of us the jungle became patchy and broke into a wide area of grasses and shrubs, so at first I assumed that Jed had seen someone in the clearing. Then I noticed that his gaze was pointed almost directly at his feet. For a couple of moments we both remained motionless. I still couldn't tell what the problem was because his body was obscuring my view. After a long minute of silence, I cautiously reached out and tapped him on the shoulder. He didn't react and it suddenly struck me that there could be a poisonous snake on the ground in front of him. I glanced around for a stick but I couldn't see one, then I inched to the side in order to get a better view.
I would have gasped if my jaw and chest muscles hadn't seized up. Lying less than a metre from Jed's feet was a Thai. He was flat on his back, eyes closed, and he had an automatic rifle lightly resting in the crook of his arm. Jed slowly moved his head to face me, as if he was afraid that by disturbing the air he might wake the man. 'What now?' he mouthed. I jabbed a finger in the direction we'd. come, but he shook his head. I nodded vigorously, and Jed shook his head again, glowering. Then he pointed at his foot. He was standing on the barrel of the rifle. The pressure had lifted the butt several inches above the Thai's bare arm. As soon as he moved his foot away, the butt would drop.
'Shit,' I mouthed, and Jed rolled his eyes desperately.
I thought for a minute. Then I started to creep backwards along the track. Jed stared at me as if to say, 'Where the fuck are you going?' but I raised a hand to tell him not to worry. I knew what to do because I'd seen it done on Tour of Duty.
I can never remember the names on Tour of Duty. That's partly because the series is so terrible, but it's also because the characters come from the same school as NYPD Blue's (black lieutenant, unorthodox cops who get results). So in Tour of Duty you have the tough sergeant who knows all the tricks, the green lieutenant who learns all the tricks, the simple Southern hick who learns to make friends with the sassy blacks, the Hispanic you can rely on in a firefight, and the East-Coaster who wears glasses and probably reads books. The names really aren't important.
The main thing is the scenes that these characters play out – tending the orphan who's been wounded by shrapnel, stopping a rival platoon from doing a Zippo raid, leaping from helicopters into a whirlpool of flattened grass, hugging comrades as they cough and die, and dealing with mines.
The platoon is walking through the jungle when suddenly there is a barely audible click. Everyone hits the dirt except one man, an FNG, who stands rigid with fear. 'I don't wanna die, Sarge!' he blurts, and starts to recite the Lord's Prayer. Sarge crawls over on his belly. 'You hang on in there, soldier,' he mutters. He knows what to do. He had the same thing happen in Korea, '53.
Bizarrely, Sarge starts to tell the soldier about an apparently unrelated incident that happened when he was a kid, working on his daddy's farm. Sarge had a hound dog that he loved dearly, name of Ol' Blue, and the soldier listens, distracted by the clever ploy. Meanwhile, Sarge is easing his knife under the soldier's boot and sweat is cutting a line through the dirt on his brow.
Ol' Blue was caught in a rabbit snare, Sarge explains, and every time he struggled the snare grew tighter. The soldier nods, still not grasping the connection. 'What happened to Ol' Blue?' the soldier asks. 'Did ya get him out, Sarge?' 'Sure we did, soldier,' Sarge replies. Then he tells the soldier to lift his foot, nice and easy now. The soldier is confused, frightened, but he trusts Sarge. He does as he is told, and Sarge slips a rock on to the knife blade, maintaining the pressure on the mine. Sarge chuckles. 'Son, all Ol' Blue had to do was relax.'
I wasn't going to start blathering on to Jed about Ol' Blue. As I gently laid the stone on the rifle barrel, even the noise of rock scraping against metal sounded like someone hammering on a petrol drum. When the stone was positioned I looked up at Jed. He shrugged calmly and motioned for me to get up. I suppose he wanted me to be ready to start running if the gun dropped.
Inch by inch, Jed eased up his foot. The butt shifted downwards a fraction and I heard him draw in a quick breath, but it didn't contact the Thai's arm. We exchanged a glance, stepped gingerly over the man's legs and continued quietly down the island. Drama over.
It took us another forty-five minutes to reach the top of the waterfall, and I grinned solidly every step of the way. I was grinning so much my jaws were aching, and if we hadn't needed to keep silent I would have been laughing out loud.
That evening, Jed had taken point. He always did if the light was failing because he knew the island so much better than I did. I was having a little difficulty in keeping up with him, unable to find his easy compromise between speed and stealth, and when he gave the clenched-fist signal I missed it and walked straight into his back. The fact that he didn't frown or swear made me aware that something serious was up. I eased myself away from him and stood still.
Just ahead of us the jungle became patchy and broke into a wide area of grasses and shrubs, so at first I assumed that Jed had seen someone in the clearing. Then I noticed that his gaze was pointed almost directly at his feet. For a couple of moments we both remained motionless. I still couldn't tell what the problem was because his body was obscuring my view. After a long minute of silence, I cautiously reached out and tapped him on the shoulder. He didn't react and it suddenly struck me that there could be a poisonous snake on the ground in front of him. I glanced around for a stick but I couldn't see one, then I inched to the side in order to get a better view.
I would have gasped if my jaw and chest muscles hadn't seized up. Lying less than a metre from Jed's feet was a Thai. He was flat on his back, eyes closed, and he had an automatic rifle lightly resting in the crook of his arm. Jed slowly moved his head to face me, as if he was afraid that by disturbing the air he might wake the man. 'What now?' he mouthed. I jabbed a finger in the direction we'd. come, but he shook his head. I nodded vigorously, and Jed shook his head again, glowering. Then he pointed at his foot. He was standing on the barrel of the rifle. The pressure had lifted the butt several inches above the Thai's bare arm. As soon as he moved his foot away, the butt would drop.
'Shit,' I mouthed, and Jed rolled his eyes desperately.
I thought for a minute. Then I started to creep backwards along the track. Jed stared at me as if to say, 'Where the fuck are you going?' but I raised a hand to tell him not to worry. I knew what to do because I'd seen it done on Tour of Duty.
I can never remember the names on Tour of Duty. That's partly because the series is so terrible, but it's also because the characters come from the same school as NYPD Blue's (black lieutenant, unorthodox cops who get results). So in Tour of Duty you have the tough sergeant who knows all the tricks, the green lieutenant who learns all the tricks, the simple Southern hick who learns to make friends with the sassy blacks, the Hispanic you can rely on in a firefight, and the East-Coaster who wears glasses and probably reads books. The names really aren't important.
The main thing is the scenes that these characters play out – tending the orphan who's been wounded by shrapnel, stopping a rival platoon from doing a Zippo raid, leaping from helicopters into a whirlpool of flattened grass, hugging comrades as they cough and die, and dealing with mines.
The platoon is walking through the jungle when suddenly there is a barely audible click. Everyone hits the dirt except one man, an FNG, who stands rigid with fear. 'I don't wanna die, Sarge!' he blurts, and starts to recite the Lord's Prayer. Sarge crawls over on his belly. 'You hang on in there, soldier,' he mutters. He knows what to do. He had the same thing happen in Korea, '53.
Bizarrely, Sarge starts to tell the soldier about an apparently unrelated incident that happened when he was a kid, working on his daddy's farm. Sarge had a hound dog that he loved dearly, name of Ol' Blue, and the soldier listens, distracted by the clever ploy. Meanwhile, Sarge is easing his knife under the soldier's boot and sweat is cutting a line through the dirt on his brow.
Ol' Blue was caught in a rabbit snare, Sarge explains, and every time he struggled the snare grew tighter. The soldier nods, still not grasping the connection. 'What happened to Ol' Blue?' the soldier asks. 'Did ya get him out, Sarge?' 'Sure we did, soldier,' Sarge replies. Then he tells the soldier to lift his foot, nice and easy now. The soldier is confused, frightened, but he trusts Sarge. He does as he is told, and Sarge slips a rock on to the knife blade, maintaining the pressure on the mine. Sarge chuckles. 'Son, all Ol' Blue had to do was relax.'
I wasn't going to start blathering on to Jed about Ol' Blue. As I gently laid the stone on the rifle barrel, even the noise of rock scraping against metal sounded like someone hammering on a petrol drum. When the stone was positioned I looked up at Jed. He shrugged calmly and motioned for me to get up. I suppose he wanted me to be ready to start running if the gun dropped.
Inch by inch, Jed eased up his foot. The butt shifted downwards a fraction and I heard him draw in a quick breath, but it didn't contact the Thai's arm. We exchanged a glance, stepped gingerly over the man's legs and continued quietly down the island. Drama over.
It took us another forty-five minutes to reach the top of the waterfall, and I grinned solidly every step of the way. I was grinning so much my jaws were aching, and if we hadn't needed to keep silent I would have been laughing out loud.
Credit
I dived off the waterfall that day, much to Jed's surprise, and much to my surprise too. I hadn't been planning it. We were standing on the cliff edge looking at the sunset, which was cloudless and very beautiful and deserved a moment's reflection. Sometimes, with these cloudless evenings, the light played a strange trick. Instead of beams of brightness radiating out from the horizon, there were beams of darkness – in other words, the polarized image of a traditional sunset. At first glance you accepted the image, only vaguely aware that something about it was wrong. Then, as with Escher's endless staircase, you suddenly realized it made no logical sense at all. Each time I saw this effect it intrigued me and I could always pass twenty quiet minutes, pleasantly confounded.
Jed had no better answers for the phenomenon than me, but he always gave it a try. 'Shadows, cast by clouds hidden behind the horizon,' he was arguing that night, when I tapped him on the arm and said, 'Watch this.' Then I toppled forwards. The next instant I was watching the cliff face rushing past me and feeling a distant sense of alarm that my legs were bent. Their displaced weight was turning me in the air, and I was in danger of landing on my back. I tried to straighten them and a moment later I hit the pool, where I spun through several violent underwater revolutions, lost all the air from my lungs, and drifted back to the surface.
Up on the cliff top I could see Jed watching me with his hands on his hips. He didn't say anything, but I knew he disapproved. A little while later he snapped at me as we made our way from the waterfall pool to the camp, although it may also have had something to do with the song I was singing.
It was 'I saw a mouse! Where? There on the stair. Where on the stair? Right there! A little mouse with clogs on, well I declare, going clip-clippity-clop on the stair, right there!'
'Jesus, Richard!' he said, as I looped the tune and began the chorus again. 'What's got into you?'
'I'm singing,' I replied breezily.
'I know you are. Cut it out.'
'You don't know that song?'
'No.'
'You must know it. It's famous.'
'It's the stupidest song I ever heard.'
I shrugged. I couldn't deny it was a stupid song.
We walked in silence for a few minutes, me turning the tune over in my head and humming under my breath, then Jed said, 'You know, you want to watch yourself, Richard.' I didn't know what he meant so I kept quiet, and a couple of seconds later he added, 'You're high.'
Jed had no better answers for the phenomenon than me, but he always gave it a try. 'Shadows, cast by clouds hidden behind the horizon,' he was arguing that night, when I tapped him on the arm and said, 'Watch this.' Then I toppled forwards. The next instant I was watching the cliff face rushing past me and feeling a distant sense of alarm that my legs were bent. Their displaced weight was turning me in the air, and I was in danger of landing on my back. I tried to straighten them and a moment later I hit the pool, where I spun through several violent underwater revolutions, lost all the air from my lungs, and drifted back to the surface.
Up on the cliff top I could see Jed watching me with his hands on his hips. He didn't say anything, but I knew he disapproved. A little while later he snapped at me as we made our way from the waterfall pool to the camp, although it may also have had something to do with the song I was singing.
It was 'I saw a mouse! Where? There on the stair. Where on the stair? Right there! A little mouse with clogs on, well I declare, going clip-clippity-clop on the stair, right there!'
'Jesus, Richard!' he said, as I looped the tune and began the chorus again. 'What's got into you?'
'I'm singing,' I replied breezily.
'I know you are. Cut it out.'
'You don't know that song?'
'No.'
'You must know it. It's famous.'
'It's the stupidest song I ever heard.'
I shrugged. I couldn't deny it was a stupid song.
We walked in silence for a few minutes, me turning the tune over in my head and humming under my breath, then Jed said, 'You know, you want to watch yourself, Richard.' I didn't know what he meant so I kept quiet, and a couple of seconds later he added, 'You're high.'