The Quest: A Novel

think we should know.”
    Getachu seemed to have a lucid moment, and he nodded. “You make a good point. In fact, you have nothing to give me.” He added, “And I have nothing to give you.”
    “Except,” Purcell suggested, “our belongings, and a ride to Addis.” He added, “Our embassies and our offices are awaiting word from us.”
    “Then they will have a long wait.” Getachu informed everyone, “This proceeding is finished. I will consider my judgment. You remain under arrest.” He said something to the soldier, who escorted them out into the bright sunlight where a squad of soldiers waited with leg shackles.

Chapter 13
    T hey were marched to a deep ravine, and Purcell saw that there was fresh earth at the bottom, and shovels, and it was obvious that this was a mass grave, and perhaps a place of execution. They were ordered to climb into the ravine, and it seemed to Purcell that Getachu’s judgment had traveled faster than they had. But to be more optimistic, he didn’t think that Getachu was through with them yet.
    At the bottom of the ravine, they could smell the buried corpses. Purcell and Gann looked up at the soldiers, to see if these men were their executioners, but the soldiers were sitting at the edge of the ravine smoking and talking.
    Gann said to Purcell, “Sloppy discipline.”
    “You should have taken the job.”
    “They’re a hopeless lot.”
    “Right.” But they won.
    No one had anything else to say, and Purcell was sure that each of them was thinking about what had transpired in Getachu’s office. It had been a very unpleasant experience, he thought, but it could have gone worse, though not better. In any case, everyone seemed relieved that it was over, even if it wasn’t.
    Finally, Gann said, “The man’s a bloody lunatic.”
    No one argued with that, and Gann added, “Ungrateful bastard. Got a decent education from the good Church of England missionaries, and he complains about a few strokes on his arse. Did him more good than harm, I’m sure.”
    Purcell smiled despite the fact that little Mikael had grown up fucked up and was looking for payback. And he didn’t have to look too far.
    Vivian admitted, “I was very frightened.”
    Purcell wanted to tell her she did fine, but that was Henry’s job, though Henry wasn’t speaking to her. Mercado, in fact, was glancing nervously up at the soldiers with the automatic rifles.
    Gann noticed Mercado’s anxiety and assured him, “We’re not getting off that easily, Mr. Mercado.”
    Mercado did not reply.
    Vivian looked at Purcell and said, “You gave me courage, Frank.”
    He didn’t reply.
    Vivian said to Gann, “You’re very brave.”
    “Thank you, but you were seeing more anger than bravery.” He added, “Men like that are taking over the world.”
    That might be true, Purcell thought. He’d seen the Getachus of Southeast Asia, and they seemed to be springing up everywhere. Or maybe they’d been around since the beginning of time. He’d written about these men and about their so-called ideologies without comment or judgment. He reported. Maybe, he thought, if he got out of here, he should start being more judgmental. But then he’d sound like Henry Mercado.
    Purcell looked at Mercado, who was sitting on a pile of fresh earth, staring off into space, unaware that there was probably a rotting corpse under his ass. No one had told Henry how brave he’d been. Maybe because he hadn’t been. But he
had
lied, boldly and recklessly, to Getachu about Father Armano. And Vivian had loyally backed him up on that lie. It was a good lie and the right lie, but Purcell knew that Mercado had lied for the wrong reason. So, this being the private moment that Getachu had offered them, he said to Mercado, “You put us in some jeopardy, Henry, by lying about the priest.”
    Clearly, Henry Mercado had nothing to say to Frank Purcell, but he replied for everyone’s benefit, “Getachu has no way to discover the truth.”
    “Well, he does if he hangs us all from a post for a few days.”
    Mercado said impatiently, “It may have occurred to you that even if I told him what little we knew, he wouldn’t have released us.”
    “Right. In fact we’d be here forever. But you’re not answering my question, Henry.
Why
did you risk lying to him about Father Armano and the black monastery?”
    Mercado replied sharply, “You know damned well why.”
    “I do, but if we do get out of here, none of us should be coming back to find