First Response

MARYLEBONE (11.55 a.m.)

The midday rush wasn’t far away, thought Kenny Watts, as he looked at the wall-mounted clock. Once it started he’d be rushed off his feet so he figured he had better pop out for a cigarette now rather than try to grab a break later. He caught Bonnie’s eye and gestured at the door. ‘Just popping out for a fag,’ he said.

‘Have one for me,’ she said, bending down to fill the glass-washer. Two men in suits came up to the bar, one waving a twenty-pound note. ‘Get them first, will you?’ she asked.

‘Sure,’ said Kenny, thrusting his pack of cigarettes back into his back pocket. ‘What can I get you, gents?’

‘Two pints of Speckled Hen,’ said the guy with the money. ‘Straight glasses.’

Kenny was pulling the second pint when another customer came in. He grimaced, wondering if he’d lost the opportunity for a smoke. It was an Asian wearing a long coat. He had a straggly beard and a hooked nose and looked for all the world like the Kalashnikov-toting nutters he kept seeing on the evening news. The man came up to the bar and stared at his reflection in the mirrored gantry.

Kenny finished pouring the second pint, took the money and gave the man his change. He put his hands on the bar and nodded at the new arrival. ‘What can I get you?’ he asked.

The man turned slowly to look at him, a slight frown on his face.

‘What can I get you?’ Kenny repeated.

The man’s right hand shot out and grabbed Kenny’s arm. Kenny pulled back but the man’s other hand appeared and clamped a handcuff around his wrist. ‘What are you doing?’ shouted Kenny. He pulled back and the chain linked to the man’s left wrist tightened. The man yanked it and the metal bit into Kenny’s flesh, making him grunt in pain. The two men Kenny had just served were watching what was going on, their pints forgotten. ‘What the hell are you doing?’ shouted Kenny.

Bonnie stared in horror at the Asian man as he used his right hand to unbutton his coat and reveal that he was wearing an explosive-packed suicide vest.

‘Allahu Akbar!’ shouted the man, reaching into his coat pocket. He pulled out a metal trigger and held it above his head. ‘Everyone do exactly as I say or we all die!’