Highbridge Read Free Page A

leaders, but also deepened the cracks. Understanding why people committed evil did not prevent it. Or excuse them. But it made killing them easier.
    ‘In a democracy, O’Connor, you’re supposed to ask. Not sit round carving it up for yourself. The political class we now seem to have are as bad as the herders round their campfires.’
    ‘What did you expect? They’d phone you up or something?’
    ‘Why not?’ Luke went back to his scope. ‘They’ve got my mobile. They’ve got all our mobiles. No point havin’ GCHQ, MI6, Echelon or Homeland Bloody Security if they haven’t.’
    Matt laughed. ‘They could just send out a sort of national emergency text, like: Do you, or do you not, agree with nuking Europe. Text one for yes. Or three for no.’
    ‘I vote we focus on tonight’s target and sort out the voting system tomorrow.’
    Matt rolled back to his spotting scope to see the chippy owner getting into his daily opening routine. ‘I know I’ve put on a few ounces, but he’s like a bin bag full of balloons.’ Then, without a pause, ‘Are we going to slot him?’
    ‘Dunno,’ Luke replied and then grinned. ‘Do we get to vote on it?’
    ‘Do you care?’
    ‘Gave up caring in Somalia.’
    ‘We weren’t supposed to be there, remember. And Janey definitely wasn’t there, Luke.’
    ‘But we were. And I was. When it happened.’ It was as harsh as it was still raw.
    Matt had learned over the past three years that, unlike his thigh, this was an open wound, but he never gave up trying. ‘You couldn’t have done anything. It was just one of those crap wrong place, wrong time things.’
    Luke knew his friend was right, but it never made it any easier. Why should Janey have been in the wrong place at any time? Just because of pieces of filth like the one in his scope right now. He tightened his finger. One small squeeze. Then he felt Matt’s version of the Vulcan nerve pinch on his shoulder.
    ‘He’s the bait. Bigger fish to fry.’
    Luke hesitated for a moment, but then relaxed his finger. ‘Was that an attempt to defuse the moment with humour, Dr O’Connor?’
    ‘Only following orders.’
    ‘I hate democracy.’
    ‘That is the point, mate. It makes it inconvenient for psychos like you.’
    The girls were heading along the High Street. In silence, heading for Sanderson’s, one of the few remaining independents to survive the supermarket wars, passing the local hoodies loitering with intent outside the Lion. Intent on doing what was always open to question, but typically one detached himself from the pack to stand blocking their path.
    Tanya instinctively reached for her phone. Becky and Carol instinctively stepped off the pavement to walk round. The hoodie instinctively turned and watched them, with a power grin. Until he suddenly felt himself knocked sideways. He spun round ready to confront whoever it was but hesitated as he took in the big brown eyes, big lashes and bigger hair as Tanya, apparently busy texting, looked up from her phone, and was right in his face. ‘You’re in the way.’
    Another instinctive reaction, as Hoodie stepped back. Meekly. The ASBO manual didn’t tell him how to deal with Barbie on steroids.
    ‘No need to apologise.’ Tanya threw the comment and her hair back over her shoulder as she strode away, leaving Hoodie to sidle back to the pack, all of them obviously enjoying his moment of discomfort.
    ‘If anyone’s a psycho, it’s you,’ said Becky as she looked back at the brooding hoodie, kicking out at one sidecrack too far.
    Tanya just grinned as she strode on. The young lioness. Her father’s daughter. And like Joey, she never realised how much she intimidated people. She was also her mother’s daughter and, like Natasha, she never realised that a lot of it was because of the way she looked. Just as she still couldn’t accept that she had been in real danger a fortnight before when she was clawing and scratching at some randomer who had tried to snatch not