Chapters (45)
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- Prologue
- 2046
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- 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
- Thirty-Nine
- About the Author
‘Is that what you think it was?’ he asks, smiling sadly. ‘But you had the benefit of looking back. We didn’t. We only knew what was in front of us and we trusted those that knew better. We’re here. We do not do one on the first mission as that drops everyone else in the cackymess and you don’t do that to your mates.’
‘Cackymess?’ Safa asks.
‘I don’t get it. I can’t . . . fuck me . . .’ Ben gasps and blows air out while looking frantically round the room. ‘Why are you letting Safa take charge?’ he asks Harry.
‘What did you just say?’ Safa snaps at him.
‘No,’ Ben groans. ‘I didn’t mean it like that. I meant that . . . like . . . Harry is a commando from the war, right, so . . . oh, fuck’s sake. Safa, I didn’t mean it in a negative way. You’re awesome and I’d follow you anywhere but . . .’
‘Just answered your own question,’ Harry says easily.
‘This is fucked. We’re waiting for boots in a fucking bunker in the past . . .’
‘Ben,’ Safa says gently, reaching over the table to place a hand on his arm. ‘Just take it easy and go with it, okay.’
‘Okay. Sorry,’ he says with a nod at her. ‘Sorry, Harry.’
‘No harm no foul.’
‘We’re here,’ Safa says to him. ‘It’s happening. This is real and Roland chose us because he knows we’re not the kind of people to run away or . . . or give up at the first hurdle.’
‘But . . .’ Ben stammers and tries to grasp at the words in his mind but it’s hopeless. He feels hopeless. Completely and utterly lost.
‘I saw what you did at Holborn. I know what you did when you were seventeen. That’s why Roland chose you the same as he chose Harry and me. The only difference is Harry and I have been trained and prepared to accept things a bit better, that’s all. Listen, Ben.’ She speaks so softly that he hangs on every word she says. ‘We’ll get you through this. What you’re feeling now will pass. I promise. I had it when I first joined the police and then when I joined the DPS and I’m sure Harry had it when he first signed up.’
‘Normal,’ Harry says. ‘Man up. You’ll be fine.’
Ben blinks and straightens his back from the mild sting in Harry’s words. ‘Okay.’
‘Good.’ She smiles at him. ‘You’ll be fine. I promise. You’ll feel better once we’re taking control for ourselves. Now, fancy some fruit? Or whatever that stuff is . . .’
Seventeen
Seventeen
‘That was quick,’ Safa says, turning round in her chair as Malcolm rushes into the main room carrying two huge black holdalls. ‘Get everything?’
‘Yep,’ Malcolm says, dropping the bags to gasp for breath. ‘Me and Kon went . . . was . . . we . . . yep,’ he says again.
‘Where’s Konrad?’ she asks.