Brute Force

122

I turned left along the corridor, following the line of det cord. I needed to know how she planned to detonate the Semtex before going on to find Ruby.

The cord ran up the wall next to a set of steep metal steps. I saw what I was looking for: a TPU just like Daddy used to make.

I clambered upwards.

I could hear sobbing. Ruby was on the bridge.

A sliding door opened onto the deck. She was tugging uselessly at the handle in an uncontrolled frenzy. Whether it was because the door was locked or too heavy, she couldn't budge it no matter how frantically she tried.

I ran over to her. 'Ruby! It's me, it's me.'

She was still fumbling at the door.

'Ruby! It's OK. It's me, Nick.'

She wasn't listening; she was in a blind panic.

I put a hand on her shoulder.

Finally, she turned, and the moment she saw me her body went rigid. She screamed at the top of her voice.

'It's me . . . it's Nick . . .'

Then I realized: my head, face and hair were covered in blood. The deck was reddening round my feet.

I didn't know what to do. Did I just pick her up, or what?

'It's OK, Ruby. Everything's going to be all right. Calm down, please, it's all right.'

I started throwing open drawers looking for a first-aid kit. There should be a good one on a boat this size. But all I could find was a sort of wooden shoe box with a couple of bandages and bottle of cough mixture inside. It would have to do.

Looking out of the bridge window, I could see a four-seat fibreglass powerboat bobbing alongside us in the swell. We couldn't be that far out to sea.

The door had a weather latch on the top. I threw it. There was no way she was getting out. 'Just stay there, darling – I'll go and get Tally.'

I hobbled back down the stairs. There was nothing more I could do for her right now.