18
I WALKED ALONG the aisle in the bus and sat on the soft leather bench opposite Margarethe.
Alone. Sheydu stayed behind. Deyu stayed behind.
We had left the dead zone, but there was no communication noise in my head. The bus probably contained a different kind of communication block.
The door shut, and it was just us in a woolly bubble of silence.
Footsteps sounded along the side of the bus, a door slammed and we were off.
“Did you get my message?” Her face looked tired.
“I did. We were escorted out of the airport and had no opportunity to see you. I tried to see Conrad Martens the day before yesterday, because I had a feeling he was going to relay your message, but you know what happened there.”
She nodded, her face grave. “It’s the situation we are in. We can’t trust anyone, es
