The Stand-In by David N Robinson

Author:David N Robinson [Robinson, David N]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781999605674
Publisher: Crosets Publishing
Published: 2020-04-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 35

London

Calum Ross burst out of the side entrance to St. Pancras station and turned right, directly into a one-way street, the traffic rushing straight towards him. In the distance, approaching at speed, were two police cars, lights on full-beam and flashing, sirens blaring. This was not a good start. He contemplated reversing direction, but ruled this out when he swivelled his head. The plain-clothed policeman in the mustard-yellow sweatshirt was already hot in pursuit. Thirty metres away and closing fast. Behind him, the other man with a gun was struggling to keep up. The chances of collateral damage from a stray bullet were arguably still too high for him to be risking a shot.

Ross raced across the road and darted down a quiet, residential side street. He was a good runner, especially over middle distances; however, the young lad on his tail seemed something of a sprinter. Ross checked again as he took a corner: the distance had reduced to less than twenty metres and was closing. At his running club in Istanbul, the Hash House Harriers, his pursuer might have made a good hare for hashers – the hounds – to chase after. Always assuming that alcohol didn’t impede the running process, which today was not going to be an issue. Ross ran with a pounding headache, the result of having head-butted the killer on the station platform, the pain jarring with every step he ran.

Dear God, he hoped Natalia was going to be all right.

There had been a lot of blood gushing from the knife wound to Natalia’s stomach even before the paramedics had arrived. Evidently the woman who’d stabbed her had escaped the station without being caught.

Unfamiliar with the neighbourhood and desperate to avoid running into a dead end, he zigzagged right and then immediately left at the next junction. The steady rhythm of pounding footsteps echoed off the tenement blocks and terraced houses along the street. Neither man had the perfect gear for running. Ross was thankful that he, at least, was wearing trainers. A T-junction loomed up ahead, and he decided to take another right-left combination once again. He snatched a quick glance behind, sensing the separation between the two men had reduced further. Perhaps, though, not by as much as Ross feared. Consciously, he began lengthening his stride, using his experience as a distance runner to increase speed little by little. Sure enough, a short while later, as the road curved gently to the right, he sneaked another glance over his shoulder. This time, the gap had increased. He tore through a set of bollards designed to prevent cars from cutting through to the busy road up ahead. He veered left onto the wide pavement, immediately sensing an opportunity to escape his pursuer. Two double-decker red London buses were stationary in traffic a short distance in front. Coming the other way, heading back in the direction he’d just come from, were various cars, a glazier’s van, and another double-decker bus. These, too, were slowing to a crawl, a set of traffic lights at a busy intersection nearby slowing everything down.

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