Terminal Velocity by Andy McNab

Author:Andy McNab
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781409025320
Publisher: RHCP

15

Ethan was sitting in a 24/7 café. He was starting to think that if he had to do another four hours waiting around for nothing to happen he might go insane. Opposite was the alleyway Johnny had called home for the past three nights. Ethan had a good viewpoint of anyone going in or coming out. It was a dead end anyway, so at least no one could come at Johnny from behind.

It was close to midnight and the streets were filling up with boozeheads all out to see if they could find somewhere else that stayed open even longer. A girl in a minidress stumbled against the window Ethan was staring through. She giggled, blew him a kiss, fell away. Watching her leave, half wishing he was out trashing himself like everyone else, he spotted a group of three blokes on the other side of the road. They were hanging around the entrance to Johnny’s alleyway. Ethan wasn’t sure, but they looked like they were shouting at something down it. Probably a dog, he thought.

Then they moved into the alleyway, leaving the main road behind.

Ethan knew something was wrong. These weren’t the guys come to snatch Johnny, that much was for sure. This was no organized street abduction; it was the beer talking everyone up to a tough walk, a lot of shouting and a chance of some easy, risk-free violence.

Ethan called it in.

‘Keep an eye,’ said Sam. ‘It might be nothing. Stay clear, but keep me updated.’

‘Want me to go help?’

‘Negative,’ said Sam. ‘Do not blow Johnny’s cover.’

Ethan knew he needed to get a closer look though. Downing his tea, which had gone cold a long time ago, he shuffled out of the café and into the night. As he strolled down the street, then crossed over, the cold bit hard, snapping at his skin like it was trying to pull it off in little pieces.

The men were further down the alleyway, and they were still shouting. Ethan couldn’t make out any words, but they were definitely shouting at something. Or someone.

Over the road now, Ethan did a sweep of the alleyway, doing a walk past as though going somewhere else, glancing down to get a quick look. And what he saw confirmed his worst fears; Johnny was about to be on the wrong end of a serious kicking. The three men were towering over him as he lay in his sleeping bag, trying to get some shelter from the weather by squeezing in close under a skip filled with trash.

Ethan called it in. ‘Sam, he’s about to be beaten up.’

‘Positive?’

‘Totally,’ said Ethan. ‘Three pissheads and not a brain between the lot of them. Definitely pushing him for a fight. Any minute now they’re going to drag him to his feet and give him a serious hammering.’

‘You sure this isn’t what we’ve been waiting for; Johnny getting taken?’

‘They’re drunk, Sam,’ said Ethan. ‘No transport in sight. This is just three blokes cruising for a fight. Against three, Johnny doesn’t stand much of a chance, even with what Natalya’s taught him.

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