The Declaration

course, that Longevity can be withheld in prison. For the duration of your stay with us, if we deem it necessary.’
    Julia stared at him incredulously. ‘You can’t do that,’ she said quickly. ‘I want to have my solicitor contacted. Frankly, Mr Roper, I’ve had enough of this.’
    ‘And frankly, Mrs Sharpe, we’ve only just begun,’ Mr Roper said angrily.
    Julia bit her lip nervously.
    ‘Do you know what happens,’ Mr Roper continued, ‘when someone of your age stops taking Longevity?’
    Mrs Sharpe shrugged. She didn’t care, she told herself. These nasty men with their bully-boy tactics weren’t going to scare her.
    ‘After a month, all those signs of ageing that we’ve conveniently forgotten about start to return,’ Mr Roper said, a thin smile on his lips. ‘An aching back, knees that feel painful in the cold, lethargy, listlessness. After six weeks, your muscles will start to weaken, and your organs will start to fail. Two months and your hair will have thinned, your eyesight deteriorated along with your hearing, and your skeleton will begin to curve inwards. Up to six weeks, the situation is reversible. Two months, and you’ll never go back to full health. At ten weeks, the ageing process really starts to kick in – your body will be susceptible to disease and rot, your muscles will have all but disappeared. Twelve weeks and . . . well, no one’s made it past twelve weeks. They’re usually glad to die at eleven, frankly. Can’t move, can’t think, can’t do anything but wait for death to take away the pain of old age.’
    ‘You wouldn’t dare,’ Julia said, her eyes narrowing. ‘You’re saying you’d let me die just because you suspect – and this is just a suspicion, let’s be clear – that I may have hidden two Surpluses, two youngsters who managed to escape from that horrible Surplus Hall?’
    Mr Roper looked Julia right in the eye. ‘I’m so glad you understand,’ he said.
    ‘I want to call my husband,’ Julia said firmly. ‘I want to call him right away.’
    Mr Roper nodded at one of the Catchers, who handed Julia the phone. She quickly jabbed at the numbers and listened as her husband’s phone began to ring.
    ‘Hello?’
    ‘Anthony? It’s me.’
    He sounded tired, drained. ‘Julia, thank God. What’s going on down there? I’m being turfed out of my office, suspended. They seem to think you’ve got yourself involved with that Surplus breakout.’
    ‘Suspended?’ Julia felt herself going white.
    ‘I told them it was preposterous. But one whiff of Surplus trouble and the rules change, I’m afraid. Just straighten things out, Julia, will you? I can’t get an answer out of anyone at my end. They’ve even frozen the bank account. It’s —’
    One of the Catchers disconnected the phone.
    ‘Like I said,’ Mr Roper said smoothly, ‘Surplus Management is not a game. If you cooperate fully, we can come to some arrangement. Your husband need not even learn of the truth. If you refuse, then I’m afraid, Mrs Sharpe, that you will be detained indefinitely under the Surplus Act 2098, and your husband’s career will be over. It’s really up to you.’
    ‘You can’t do this . . . you can’t.’
    ‘Oh, but we can, Mrs Sharpe. We can.’
    As he spoke, another man emerged at the doorway. He was carrying Anna and Peter’s overalls, which Julia had hidden in the summer house, unable to decide how to dispose of them. Her eyes widened, and she saw a little smile appear on Mr Roper’s lips.
    ‘What will it be?’ he asked. ‘I believe you don’t have a choice, Mrs Sharpe. Not if you wish to live.’
    Julia looked at Mr Roper for what felt like an eternity, then looked down at the kitchen table, her shoulders slumping, defeated.
    She had done what she could, she told herself, her hands skating slightly. She didn’t have a choice. There was simply no alternative to cooperating.
    Forgive me, Anna , she said silently. I’m sorry I’m not stronger. But I’m not ready to die – not yet. I’ve got too much to lose. It’s all right for you – you’re still young .
    Slowly, she looked back up at Mr Roper.
    ‘I’ll cooperate,’ she said flatly. ‘Just tell me what you want to know.’
    Anna woke up to see a woman’s face hovering over her, and she didn’t know what to say, so she said, ‘I’m sorry,’ because she realised she must have fainted, and that wasn’t the sort of thing Pendings did.
    But instead of saying anything, the woman lifted her hand