Defend or Die by Tom Marcus

Author:Tom Marcus [Marcus, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Pan Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

28

I decided to walk home. I needed time to figure out how I was going to play my next meeting with Martindale – or, rather, Stevie’s next meeting. But I had a feeling all I really needed to do was let Stevie get on with it and just say whatever came into his head. If Martindale was looking for restless, tormented souls, desperate to be absorbed by something bigger and more powerful than themselves, then he couldn’t do any better than Stevie Nichols. I already suspected that my real problem was actually going to be keeping my own head above water once Stevie had taken the plunge.

I pushed thoughts of Stevie to one side and focused on my surroundings. I needed to stay sharp and make sure I didn’t miss any followers. I turned into the park. If anyone came with me, they’d be easy to spot in the open, and if they decided to wait for me at the exit on the other side, I could lose them by going through a hole in the fence and sneaking out down the back of a row of shops.

I pulled out my phone and pretended to take a call, turning 180 degrees back towards the entrance.

There was someone following me.

It was Alex. I put the phone away and waited for her to catch up.

‘You were out of there a bit sharpish,’ she said.

I shrugged. ‘The nine to five doesn’t really suit me.’

‘You going back to the flat?’

‘Nowhere else to go. What about you?’

‘Thought I’d take the bike out, get some miles under my belt. You know me; I need to be doing something. Be good to get out of London. And I can practise my counter-surveillance drills while I’m at it.’

‘Sounds good. What held you up?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Mrs Allenby wanted a word.’

‘About you speaking up about Martindale? I’m surprised you didn’t get a detention.’

‘No, not that. It was about you.’

I gave her a quizzical look. ‘Me?’

‘She wanted to know whether I thought you were unstable. “Coming apart at the seams” was the phrase she used.’

‘And?’

‘I told her the truth.’

‘Jesus, I fucking hope not.’

‘I said you’d been through a tough time, and you still had some dark moments, but when it came to the crunch you still had what it takes.’

I swallowed. ‘I hope that’s true.’

‘You don’t think so?’

‘Yeah, I mean . . .’

I suddenly realized there was so much I wanted to tell her. About Sarah. About Daisy. About Lucy. Alex was my only real friend – the only living one, anyway – and I desperately wanted to empty out all the crazy thoughts filling my head in front of her and let her sort them out.

But I knew I couldn’t risk doing that. Not if I wanted to keep her as a friend. Plus, what if she then told Mrs Allenby what sort of nutjob her partner really was? Alex was as loyal as they come, but if she thought I was going to compromise the operation and possibly risk the lives of the rest of the team, that would put her in a tough situation.

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