Launch Code

SIXTY

‘Glenn?’ Bill was trying to keep his voice steady.

‘No, Bill. No more talking.’ The admiral raised his pistol and pointed it at Bill’s forehead. ‘Take two steps back.’

‘No,’ said Bill. He stood up straighter.

‘Take two steps back, or I will shoot you.’

‘No you won’t,’ said Bill. ‘They’ll find my body. They’ll find the bullet hole. They will know I didn’t jump. They will know you shot me.’

The admiral didn’t seem put off by this. ‘I’ll count to five. You jump before I get to five or I will shoot you.’

‘No,’ said Bill.

‘One… two… three… four.’

Bill was still standing upright on the cliff, calmly facing the admiral’s pistol.

The admiral swung his weapon towards Toby.

‘OK, Toby. Push him backward. Now. Or I’ll fire.’

Toby almost did what he was told. Part of his brain told him the admiral’s command was illogical. If he pushed Bill off the ledge, he would then be killed himself. And if Bill could call the admiral’s bluff, so could he.

On the other hand, part of his brain, the cowardly part, urged him to grab at any straw that might allow him to survive, even for a couple of minutes. Push Bill off the cliff and negotiate.

No.

Toby swallowed. ‘No,’ he said, drawing himself upright in an imitation of Bill.

The admiral didn’t bother starting to count this time. He paused to think.

Toby thought also. The admiral was running out of options. The only one left to him that Toby could see was to shoot both him and Bill then and there, and make a run for it.

In which case, their best chance was to jump him. One of them might live. Maybe both of them; bullet wounds from handguns were not always lethal.

The problem with that idea was that at that moment the admiral was pointing his gun straight at Toby’s eyes.

‘OK. This is what we are going to do,’ said the admiral. ‘We’re going to go back to Bill’s car. Then you are going to drive, Bill. If you don’t do exactly as I say, then I will shoot you and take my chances. Do you understand?’

‘Yes,’ said Toby.

Bill said nothing.

‘Bill?’

‘OK.’

‘All right. Bill, you go first.’

Bill hesitated, then squeezed past Toby and began to climb the narrow path upwards.

‘You next,’ said the admiral.

Toby followed. He could hear the admiral a couple of steps behind him. He was sure that the gun was pointed right at his back.

What was the admiral’s plan? Take Bill and him away from the cliffs, drive somewhere deep in the Norfolk countryside – a ditch in the fens maybe – and kill them. Hide their bodies somehow. And then brazen it out.

That seemed the most likely.

Which would mean Toby had a few more minutes to live. Maybe an hour, max.

His chances of getting out of this alive were very low. If any opportunity to jump the admiral appeared, they should grab it.

Toby looked up. Bill had reached the top of the short path up the cliff; if he kept going, he would be out of the admiral’s line of sight for a few moments and he could run off into the night.

This was it. A couple of seconds when one of them could get away. Problem was, the one of them wasn’t Toby.

Oh well.

‘Run, Bill!’ Toby shouted.

‘Run, and I’ll blow Toby’s brains out!’ The admiral yelled from right behind him.

‘Ignore him!’ Toby shouted. ‘Run!’ He waited for the gunshot behind him. Then he realized he would be dead before he heard it.

But Bill paused and stood upright on the cliff top. ‘Come on, you two!’ he shouted.

Toby scrambled up to join him, his heart pounding. He had really thought he was going to die.

He probably still was.

‘That was dumb, Toby,’ said the admiral. ‘All right. Both of you, walk toward Bill’s car side-by-side. I’ll be right behind you.’

Toby and Bill did as they were told.

‘You should have run then, Bill,’ Toby said. ‘You’d have got a good start before he was on cliff top.’

‘Nah.’ Bill grinned.

‘Quiet!’ came the rebuke behind them.

They could see the odd car driving along the parade, which was only a couple of hundred yards away. They could see houses with lights on and televisions flickering. But the illumination of the street lights formed a barrier as effective as any screen; no one could see through it into the darkness in which they were walking.

A car turned off Cliff Parade, driving fast past the lighthouse towards the car park.

‘Stand still,’ said the admiral. He was only a couple of yards behind them.

Bill and Toby halted.

The car’s single headlight lurched into the car park, the beam swinging through them as the car turned.

Then the beam veered back towards them. The engine roared and Toby was dazzled.

He broke left and ran. Bill broke right.

Toby had no idea what the admiral did. But the car swished past them, then there was a thump and a cry, which was immediately cut off. Toby spun around to see a car skidding into a fence post by the cliff path with a crash.

A body lay a few feet away. Dark matter oozed out of a bald head.

‘Toby!’ It was Alice’s voice. She was running towards him.

‘Dad!’ Brooke and Megan: Brooke was limping, and her face was covered with blood.

Toby glanced across to Bill, who was bent double, breathing heavily. Then Alice was in Toby’s arms. ‘Thank God you’re all right!’

Bill approached the body, a daughter on either side.

Admiral Robinson’s head was a mess. He was definitely dead.

‘Who was driving?’ said Bill.

‘Megan,’ said Brooke.

‘Figures.’