Cornered

At the sound of the Major's shout, Adam and Hewson looked at one another and then looked back down the other fork of the corridor.

What they heard next made them hurry back; the sound of gunfire, and a shout of "No!" that could only be Adam's gran.

When they got back to where the corridor forked, Adam saw the Major pointing his guns at the women, with one of them lying on the ground. Adam held Hewson back. Had they been seen? He waited, and when the Major didn't turn round, he realised they hadn't.

Craning his neck, he tried to see who was on the ground. Margaret. Was she... no. No dead person ever swore like that.

Molly's shout had been to keep the stop the rest of the women charging the Major, who she now fixed with a stare.

"So," she said. "You going to kill all of us then, son? Well, I don't doubt you've got enough bullets in those things, but do you think you'll be fast enough to get all of us before we get you?"

The man snorted. "I'll take my chances, madam," he replied, haughtily. "I'd say the odds are in my favour."

"Tell me," she said. "Is the accent hard to do, or have you got used to it by now?"

The Major said nothing, but was that a slight movement of his head?

"Come on, you can drop the act. You're no more a major than I am. You're just some sharp-eyed, light-fingered little conman on the make. And you're going nowhere."



Part Three begins here.