Julia retrieved her weapons from the guard at the lobby under the watchful gaze of the agents in the hall. She’d already spotted the man she’d help captive and she returned his glare with a self-satisfied smirk as she handed him his gun back.

The humour she felt, however, evaporated when she stepped out into the morning. A quick glance at her watch revealed that it was 10 o’clock. The slanting sunlight, warm and moist on her skin, presaged a hot, cloudless day, with none of the dryness of the December harmattan. The arid climate had been broken by the heat, as it often was, but it would be back. Julia wished it would. She wished for the rains even more. All this heat was just not good for her.

Her mind left the issue of her discomfort and swung onto other things as she stared for the parking lot. She was a little disappointed at the outcome of her meeting with Kanemi. She’d harboured some hope that her presence and aggressive attitude would rattle the man into revealing something. Anything that would guide her investigation of what was going on. But she hadn’t reckoned with the man’s character. Kanemi’s imperturbability was legendary. He may or may not have ordered the hit on her, but nothing short of excruciating torture would get the truth out of him. (more…)