The Shattering by Karen Healey

Author:Karen Healey
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: book, JUV028000
ISBN: 9781742694092
Publisher: Allen & Unwin Pty Ltd
Published: 2011-06-30T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

KERI

Even if the big guy hadn’t said what he had, I figured I could have picked Sione’s ex-friend Luke out in a crowd. It was the way he looked at Sione — raw hatred, the kind where you wanted to know what someone had done to deserve it, because that kind of hate shouldn’t just come out of nowhere.

But I knew Sione hadn’t done anything. If anything, he was too nice, too easy.

I did a quick risk assessment, working out our available resources and going through a few strategies. There weren’t many pluses for our side. There were two of us, and we had home-ground advantage — or at least, I did — and my baton.

And Luke was much bigger than us, I had my stupid broken arm, and I was betting that Sione wasn’t much of a fighter.

‘Hi, Luke,’ Sione said. His voice was tight, and I wanted to shake him. Didn’t he know not to show fear?

‘Let’s go,’ I said.

‘Got another girl to bodyguard you, Sione?’ Luke asked. ‘You a real player, man. Or are you just putting in a little girl time?’

‘Where’s Mark?’

‘Not here to save you this time, runt.’

‘I don’t want to fight,’ Sione said.

It was a dumb thing to say. Luke strolled closer — loose steps, hands swinging, he knew exactly how to be threatening — and stared down at him. ‘Yeah? I don’t reckon that’s your choice.’

It was clear that the situation was going to get physical; all of this was just to gear up to the battle. Luke was unbelievably stupid to pick a fight with a local, in the middle of the street, in the middle of the afternoon, but I reckoned he was going to do it.

Plans whirled through my head. If we gave him time to make the first move, we could get hurt too badly to back him off. But if we started it, and Rafferty turned up, he might take Luke’s side. It might be convenient for him to get us watched, turf Sione out of town . . . I slid the baton out of my pocket and gripped it unex-tended, hesitating.

‘Yeah, I want a word with you, faggot,’ Luke said, and I moved.

The baton hissed out and clicked into place, and I struck — not with much style, but I was very, very angry, and I put all my rage into the hit, reaching around Sione’s recoiling body to thrust straight into the other guy’s stomach.

Luke folded, gagging, and I whipped my arm back. He straightened and started forward, fury in his eyes, but he was lunging for Sione, not me, even though I was clearly the bigger threat. What a dumbshit. I crouched and swung the baton at his legs. It didn’t quite trip him, but I managed to tap at his ankle, and what would have been a punch at Sione’s face turned into a grab at Sione’s shoulder for balance, ripping the strap of his messenger bag.

The bag thumped to the pavement, contents scattering everywhere.

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