the interloper, part seven

by nick nelson

part seven of eight

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carlos turned and faced me. “what’s the matter, jerry?” he asked me. “don’t you recognize me?” it all came back to me… “carlos” was an usher and the gamesmaster at my school. he had been known as “sergeant faraday” back then. i noticed that he had shaved off his bristling red mustache, and put on a few pounds, but it was unmistakably he. “helene” was the headmaster’s wife, who really ran the school. she had been “mrs foster-st john”. the woman with thick glasses was mrs bishop, who owned the little sweet shop in the nearby village. and the woman who had let me in the door was annie, one of the maids at the school… what a monster sergeant faraday had been. to me, on those long windy afternoons on the scrubbly fields behind the crumbling school, with the pale sun always peeking through the thin fogs and cold mists… he always singled me out for the worst abuse, even though two other boys, asquith and churchill, were even clumsier and worse at games than i was… but that was long ago. what did carlos/faraday want from me now? “are you ready?” carlos asked me. “for what?” i asked. “don’t play the fool, jerry. you know what we have to do.” “we are going to assassinate the prime minister. but you already knew that.” i gave in. “yes, i suppose i did.” “you needn’t act so mollycoddly about it. you know you hated the fat little bastard when you were in school, eh?” “i don’t hate anybody,” i responded weakly. “always the weak sister. no bleeding spunk at all.” “come on, let’s get on with it,” mrs bishop interrupted. “we have not got all night.” * i was in the back seat of a black bentley whizzing down a dark and winding road. carlos say beside me. mrs foster-st john was driving, with mrs bishop beside her. we drive in silence, with mrs foster-st john expertly maneuvering around the sudden curves. i thought we might be going back to the old school, but the car stopped in front of a large, almost castle-like dwelling perched on a smsall hill. the dwelling was dark. it looked deserted. carlos motioned to me to get out. i did, and he followed me. he handed me a dark object. it was some kind of pistol of firearm. “do you know how to use it?” he whispered. “i am afraid i don’t.” “then just wave it around if you have to. the safety is on. i will do all the shooting necessary.” he started up the hill. i followed him. “aren’t there any guards? any security?” i whispered. “just shut up and follow me.” part eight