Lynda smiled at her gently. ‘You didn’t have to. Anyway, let’s get some dinner. It’s been so nice just to sit and chat.’

CHAPTER 31

Chapter 31

Jack’s phone dinged at 2 am.

Meet me at the normal place in half an hour.

It was from Crumbs.

Adrenalin coursed through Jack as he threw the bedcovers back and dragged on a pair of jeans. What was this about? Had his scene at the abattoir given him entry into some other type of protest? He hoped so.

He typed out a quick text to Dave, telling him what was going on.

Make sure your phone is always on, Dave texted back. We can track your location that way. Be safe.

Checking that the two pens were in the bomber jacket sleeves and that he had everything, he let himself out of the unit and started to walk the dark streets to the meeting place.

He heard a van start up and felt the comfort of knowing the police were with him even though he wouldn’t see them.

Entering the pub where he and Crumbs had met last time, he saw two other men. One he recognised as having been behind the bar during his last visit. Maybe he was the owner. Maybe that was why they were able to be in a bar in the middle of the night when it should be closed. He glanced behind him, hoping to see the unmarked police van, but there was nothing in sight. He refocused on what was happening inside.

Crumbs was pointing to a piece of paper on the table. He was wearing a different pair of glasses—still darkened but not sunglasses. He saw that Crumbs’s eye had a cloudy look and suddenly realised the reason he wore sunglasses all of the time was that any type of light affected it.

Quickly, Jack walked over and saw he was pointing to a set of building plans.

‘Phone,’ Crumbs snapped, holding out his hand when he saw him.

Jack felt a sliver of fear trickle through. ‘What?’

‘Give me your phone. You can’t have it on while we do this.’

Seeing no choice, Jack slid his lifeline from his pocket, turned it off and handed it to Crumbs.

‘Right, take this.’ Crumbs handed over a set of night-vision goggles, a pair of overalls, rubber boots and a jacket with a hood.

‘What’s the go?’ Jack asked, taking what he was given and putting the night-vision goggles on to adjust them to his size.

‘You wanted action? You’re going to get action. This is Tonka and Blue. Make sure we all stay in sight of each other.’ He folded the map and put it into a backpack, which he hoisted over his shoulder. ‘Right, we good?’

The other men nodded, so Jack did the same.

‘Let’s go. This way.’