Assassin Read Free Page B

Robson had been evicted from the house after repeatedly beating his wife. Weller had always been aware of Robson's capacity for violence and, on more than one occasion, had seen it put to use. He feared rather than respected his companion but was willing to put up with the older man's volatile nature. Weller had suffered enough loneliness to last him a lifetime and even the company of someone like Robson was preferable to the solitude which he had known before they met. He knew that Robson was dying but he did not dare to imagine life alone once the older man was gone. Only now, as Robson coughed and spat blood, did Weller consider him with something approaching pity. When the bottle was offered to him again he wiped the blood flecked sputum from the rim before drinking, the sound of his companion's choking coughs ringing in his ears.
    Robson held his chest, gritting his teeth until the pain subsided slightly. He drew breath but even that simple act sent fresh waves of pain through him and he held out his hand for the bottle which Weller reluctantly passed back.
    `Fuck,' muttered Robson, rubbing his chest.
    He hawked again but this time the thick mucus merely dribbled over his chin, hanging like obscene streamers from his beard.
    'You all right?' Weller wanted to know.
    'No, of course I'm not,' snapped Robson. 'But there's not much I can do about it is there?' He wiped the crimson saliva away.
    Weller could only shrug.
    The scream made them both look round.
    'What the fuck was that?' murmured Robson, his pain momentarily forgotten.
    The sound had barely died away when another split the night. Like the first. A scream yet something more. A howl. A roar of pain. Or rage?
    Silence descended for a few seconds and then the sound came again. Louder this time, it seemed to fill the men's heads and Weller felt the hairs at the back of his neck stiffen and rise. An uncomfortable silence descended and both men remained still, as if fearing that their own movements might trigger a repetition of the sound.
    For interminable seconds they sat as if frozen. Then Weller got slowly to his feet and moved towards one of the windows on his right. It had been boarded up but there were gaps between the planks which enabled him to see into the darkness beyond. A watery moon illuminated the rubble of the site and cast thick shadows.
    Weller cupped his hands around his eyes and peered out into the darkness, eyes flicking back and forth for the source of the sound.
    Something moved.
    A swift almost imperceptible deviation in the mounds of rubble drew his attention.
    Before he could focus properly on it, the shape had gone, swallowed by the shadows.
    'Probably kids pissing about; said Robson, appearing at his companion's side.
    'It didn't sound like kids,' the younger man noted, still scanning the gloom.
    When the sound came again it seemed to reverberate inside the shell of the supermarket itself, so strident and loud did it seem.
    But, this time the roar did not die away swiftly, it seemed to build slowly, from a low rumble to a deafening bellow which caused the men to shudder.
    It finished with startling suddenness.
    'Kids my arse,' hissed Robson. 'What the fuck is that?'
    His breath was coming in short gasps and, even in the gloom,
    Weller could see how pale his face was, as if all the colour had drained from it.
    It was then that the doors at the far end of the building began to shake.
    Both men spun round, squinting through the darkness towards what had once been the main entrance to the supermarket. The doors were padlocked and boarded up, but the pressure from outside was such that they continued to rattle. It sounded as if heavy blows were being rained upon them.
    'Come on,' snapped Robson, tugging on the younger man's sleeve.
    Weller needed no second prompting. He turned and followed him towards the back of the building where they had first gained entry. Through what had been a store room, on into an area which still held fridges the size of