Caspian sat down on a long bench at the shared table, sniffing cautiously at the polystyrene plate laden with chips and beans that he had taken. On the wall in front of him were hanging black and white photos of smiling men, proudly holding large smooth black balls in front of them.
'St Vincent Bowling Club, 1971', Caspian read, and shrugged as he looked back down at his plate. 'Same year as Diet for a Small Planet,' he thought, plugging in his headphones to drown out the sound of the police officers noisily eating around him. Walking in the Rain... He smiled at the algorithm's choice.
As he finished his plate, a figure on the TV screen at one end of the hall caught his attention. It showed an aerial shot of the streets outside, then the darkness of a park. He pushed his earphones back, but realised the sound was muted. He walked towards the screen to read the subtitles
I'M HERE FOR COP26, SO FAR IT'S SUCH A FRIENDLY CITY
BUT TONIGHT BECAUSE OF THE BIG DINNER I HAD TO WALK THROUGH THE PARK TO GET BACK TO MY HOTEL
IT WAS TOTAL DARKNESS
ALL THIS SECURITY FOR THE LEADERS BUT NOT FOR WOMEN CROSSING THE PARK...
IT'S THE SAME OLD STORY
ALL ROUND THE WORLD
The shot switched to the speaker. Caspian jumped back as a striking female face surrounded by wind-tousled hair appeared.
Beatrice!
He watched transfixed: her red-glossed lips, the lower trembling slightly as her enormous blue eyes stared straight into the camera. Straight at him...
YOU ARE READING
The COP26 Kabuff: A Beatrice Deft Short
Short StoryThe world of international book fairs has ground to a halt for over a year and a half. But when Beatrice Deft, International Publishing Consultant, receives a summons to Scotland to attend an even bigger and - some might argue - even more urgent eve...
