He pulled back so the stinking body was almost halfway over him and what he got in reply was what he wanted to hear.

‘Clear!’

Tom let go and the man rolled back onto his face, Tom rolling the other way and back onto his feet. He grabbed hold of the heap and, as he turned it over, twisted a fistful of face hair to get a reaction.

The lips moved, but that was it.

Chapter 83

83

Sam had never been completely smitten before. It was as if he had been drugged. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. Nothing else mattered now – except Karza. After all, it was he who had brought them together. And together they would free him. That was her promise.

He slept deeply and by the time he woke, she had disappeared into the other bedroom. He had to get to Party HQ, so he showered and dressed. As he was about to leave he tapped gently on the door. She answered and he went in. She was preoccupied, as if Sam wasn’t even there, and barely acknowledged him.

Then she looked up. ‘You understand?’

He nodded.

He hoped this wasn’t how it would be from now, that she would still show him the attention she had earlier. But he had a new bond with her. He had seen these mood changes before and decided not to sweat it. The least he could do was cut her some slack after she had been so good with him. He told her he would be back in a few hours. She didn’t seem to hear him so he shut the door and left.

All the things that had besieged him before, Karza’s fate, his mother’s hassling, the ignominy of the assault by Dink, the threats from Derek Farmer, were diminished now, so much so that he hardly noticed them. He felt a heady kind of freedom.

Pippa was delighted to see him. ‘I’m so glad you’re still with us. It seems the line you took at that meeting with Vernon Rolt definitely resonated elsewhere.’ She gave him a conspiratorial look.

He waited for her to go on.

‘Number Ten, no less. I know this must seem a bit arse about face, but the messages coming down from the PM’s office now are to keep the faith, not to throw multiculturalism under the bus just yet. We’ve had some terrible setbacks but we mustn’t be deflected by them and so forth. We need to keep a bit of outreach going. Okay?’

And that after the humiliation of having his words written for him by Derek Farmer. Sam was almost amused at how much party policy got made on the hoof when there was a panic on, not that he cared any more. All the same he grinned enthusiastically. ‘Right. Got it.’