Green Desert - Chapter 6.6.5 - Irézí

Why did Taíséma have to ask so many questions? She should just be saying, “That’s great! Wow!” and leaving it at that. Not interrogating me.

“Taíséma, I do not know the answer to that question.” I could feel my smile drooping. “I have not yet had a chance to interview a police officer.”

The policeman in the shadows behind Nıléké stirred and started walking towards me. Was he going to give me an interview? I slapped on smile twelve. The policeman was young, with dark hair, kind of short, and walking right past me.

“Hey!” I spun around. “Do you have a minute?”

He looked at me with a frown. “Where is everybody?”

“They went inside. Do you know the whereabouts––”

But he had already turned away, stepped over to the helicopter. “Séara?”

I turned back to the camera with a knowledgeable smile. “As you can see––”

“We’re off the air,” Míro cut in.

“What?” But I. . .

“They took it back to the studio. Sorry.”

“The fucking bitches! My big moment and they just cut me off!”

Nıléké switched off the light and I was blind.

“I bet Taíséma put them up to it. That old hag was––”

“Hey, could you turn that light back on? I think this guy’s still alive.”