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Back The Enemy Save as PDF
Chapters (69)
  1. Table of Contents
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
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  25. 24
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  32. 31
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  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. 35
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  38. 37
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  40. 39
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  52. 51
  53. 52
  54. 53
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  58. 57
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“I’ve got a package of cookies,” said Ollie. “You got any food?”

“Can of carrots.”

“Okay—I’ll bet my cookies against your carrots.”

“These cookies?” said Sophie. “Are they stale?”

“What do you think?”

Sophie thought about it. “Okay,” she said at last. “You’re on.”

They shook on it.

34

Ollie won his bet sooner than he expected. As the main body of kids was crossing Berkeley Square, Achilleus and Big Mick, who had been scouting ahead, came running back, out of breath.

“There’s grown-ups. Up ahead,” Achilleus panted.

“Can we go around them?” Maxie asked.

“They’re attacking some kids,” said Mick. “It don’t look good.”

“How many are there?” said Blue.

“About fifteen or twenty.”

“Can we take them?”

“Yeah,” said Achilleus. “We can take them.”

“Okay,” said Maxie. “I’ll stay here with my squad. We’ll guard the little kids and the non-fighters. Blue, you take everyone else down. Once it’s safe, send someone back for us.”

“You got it.”

In less than a minute Maxie had the little kids safely in the center of the square, and Blue was hurrying off with Jester and the fighters. They turned a corner into a short straight street that ran down toward Green Park.

“They’re just up ahead!” Achilleus yelled, and Blue slowed down.

“Lewis, take the left flank,” he shouted. “Ollie and Sophie, keep your group on the right. Fire as soon as you can. The rest of us, wait for the missiles, then we go in hard and fast.”

The street opened out on to the top of Piccadilly. Ahead was a wide four-lane highway, with the trees of Green Park on the far side. To the left was the Green Park tube station and the Ritz Hotel.

A bloody battle was taking place in the middle of the road between five kids and a much larger group of grown-ups. This was a mean-looking bunch, very different from the ones in Selfridges. They were half naked, lean and battle-hardened. Twelve fathers with no shirts, and five mothers in vests. They all looked like they’d been regulars at the gym before the disaster, and they’d somehow kept fit since. Fit but not healthy. They were studded with boils and sores and festering, weeping wounds. They were massacring the kids—three of whom were already down. The two kids left standing were a boy and a girl. The girl’s face was covered in blood, but she was supporting the boy, who was on his last legs and clutching a sword. A ring of grown-ups was circling them, ready to finish them off.

So far they hadn’t noticed the Holloway kids’ arrival.

“Leave the ones in the circle,” said Ollie, fitting a shot to his sling. “We might hit the kids. Take the others out first.”