Chapters (88)
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dear Reader …
- Also by Robert Muchamore
- PART ONE
- Walter J Freeman Adolescent Mental Health Unit – East Grinstead, UK
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- PART TWO
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- PART THREE
- Walter J. Freeman Adolescent Mental Health Unit – East Grinstead, UK
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- PART FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- EPILOGUE
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- Have you read KILLER T?
- 1 SLASHED RUBBER
- 2 NOT HARRY POTTER
Duke narrowed his lips in slight disapproval, before beginning to explain. ‘Your mother’s church campaigns heavily for your uncle, obviously. But the stalls in this precinct are controlled by the Transport Union. They’re the people who gave us the green ticket to enter this part of town. The union supported your uncle in the last election, but former governor Rotimi got the union leadership back on his side by promising to use Ondo State oil revenue to give fuel subsidies to taxis and buses, and no doubt a healthy bundle in the pockets of the union’s leadership.’
‘I remember,’ Julius said, nodding. ‘Ma threw a vase when she found out.’
Thirty union men had piled into the centre of the precinct and weight of numbers had forced the church women to surrender. There were shouts of Don’t touch me and Keep your hands away as the angry women were stripped of leaflets and banner and muscled out of the precinct.
But a new sound was growing from of one of the streets feeding into the precinct. A mix of shouts and footsteps.
Duke closed his food box and shot to his feet.
‘We have to bounce.’
‘Why?’
Before Duke could stand, sixty burly men armed with wooden clubs and black masks charged into the precinct. A man screamed as his costume jewellery stall was toppled. Merchandise flew everywhere as men used bats and crowbars to tear the wooden stall apart.
‘Who is this?’ Julius gasped, glancing around, not sure which way to run.
‘Area boys,’ Duke explained. ‘Like the ones we paid five hundred to park. They still support Adebisi. My guess is, they sent the ladies into the square, knowing it would lure all the Transport Union thugs into one place.’
More masked area boys poured from another alleyway. They’d clearly been well drilled, some with orders to smash market stalls and shop windows, the remainder charging into the centre of the precinct, launching clubs and iron bars at union men while chanting, ‘Adebisi, Adebisi, Adebisi!’
Julius felt sick with fear as a stall selling lamps a few metres in front of him got toppled. Its owner tried escaping with the day’s takings, but an enormous area boy booted her in the back, then tore the money pouch from around her waist as another punched her brutally in the face.
Pie Oven’s plate-glass frontage got caved as a mass brawl broke out between the area boys and Transport Union enforcers in the precinct’s centre.
‘Back to my bike,’ Duke said, tossing his pie and starting to run, with Julius close behind.
They pushed their backs to a wall as union reinforcements stormed past them into the square. A woman with two screaming kids turned her ankle in a pothole as Julius heard a bang, followed by a flash of flame.