28/10/07
10:00 AM
Holloway
Ros put her handbrake on and turned the engine off. She sighed and ran a hand backwards through her hair. This was an unenviable job. She was parked in a residential street near Holloway, the listed address for a Nidhi Younis, Zaf's mother. Ros checked her mirror and got out of the car. The street was a terrace, there were people moving around, women pushing prams, children in groups, even at this time on a Sunday morning.
She walked up to the door and knocked. After a moment, she heard footsteps behind it, and a woman opened the door. She was probably in her mid fifties, she'd thrown a scarf over her hair, Ros could see Zaf in the lines of her face.
"Mrs. Younis?"
"Yes?"
"Mrs. Younis, my name is Ruth Malone. I work for the government. I'm here to talk to you about Zaffar." She didn't faint. She didn't cry out. She barely moved, but a stillness came over her.
"Is he alright?"
"May I come in?"
Nidhi Younis hesitated. "I have a student with me. I must send her home first. Please come in." Ros followed her over the threshold. "Please sit down." She indicated a small sitting room. Ros walked in slowly. In another room, Nidhi Younis was talking to another woman in another language. Urdu perhaps? Ros looked around at the room. There was enough space to sit perhaps five people down if they were willing to squash up. A box of brightly coloured children's toys was just visible under a small table. There were photos along the windowsill, just this side of the net curtain. Ros looked. Some of the photos were older than others. Two children, a boy and a girl, grinned up at her from one in primary school uniforms. The girl was taller than the boy, her arm around his shoulders. In the pictures, they grew. The height gap started to close, the girl started to cover her hair, the primary school uniforms changed to secondary school ones, the boy suddenly grew, then it was obvious that he was Zaf. The girl beamed, now dressed in white, standing arm in arm with a man who wasn't Zaf. The front door opened and closed again. Nidhi Younis walked in to the room after Ros. Ros sat down.
"About Zaffar?" Nidhi Younis prompted.
"Mrs. Younis, please do sit down." Ros said, quite firmly. The other woman sat, her face set. She was expecting to hear that he was dead. "I understand that about a month ago, Zaffar contacted you and said he was going to be away for a while."
"Two to three weeks." She said. "It has been nearly five weeks now."
"During those three weeks," Ros continued, "he was in Syria, as planned, acting as an Arabic-speaking interpreter for a British diplomatic unit. His operation was thought to be a very safe one, no military or secret service involvement. For reasons we are not yet certain of, Zaffar's entire unit was abducted on what was supposed to be the last day of their operation. For days we simply had no idea where they were, who had taken them or why. They were retrieved and returned to the UK yesterday night, we still know very little about what happened, but it appears they were all questioned aggressively while they were held prisoner."
"Questioned aggressively." Nidhi Younis repeated, looking at the floor between them. She looked up at Ros. "Is that your way of saying they were tortured?"
"The details are very uncertain at this stage. All of the men are injured-"
"But they are alive."
"Yes, yes they are alive."
Nidhi Younis took a deep breath. "Where is he?"
"He's being cared for at a specialist hospital for people who've-"
"When can I see him?"
"When the doctors say he can have visitors, we will let you know, and arrange transport to get you to him if he's willing to see you."
"I am his mother. It should not be his choice. When will that be?"
"I don't know. We can't get near him either. I understand that-"
Nidhi Younis got to her feet suddenly and turned to face the back of the room. "Mrs Murphy, do you have children."
"I…" Ros hesitated. "No."
Nidhi Younis turned back to face her. "Then you do not understand. You do not understand what it is to tell me that my son has been… tortured and that I cannot see him."
"Truly I am sorry." Ros said. "I'm sorry that this happened, I'm sorry that I have to do this to you, but there's nothing in my power to do. I can only tell you what I've been told, and what I've told you so far is more or less it."
Nidhi Younis hissed and raised a hand towards her head. She turned one way, then the other, as though casting about for another person. She made a strange sound, as though she'd meant to say something but stopped herself. "Will he survive?"
"They think so."