Siege

Forty-eight

19.37

SCOPE SAT ON the floor against the bed, Ethan beside him. Abby had drifted off to sleep, and after checking that she was all right, Scope had let her be. Although it was clear she was still in a lot of pain, the bleeding had stopped and it seemed she’d stabilized.

‘When are the police coming?’ Ethan asked for the hundredth time.

Scope knew how he felt. The slow turn of the minutes was hugely frustrating. ‘They’ll come as soon as they can,’ he answered, yet again. ‘They just need to find out where the bad guys are so they can come in here and save us.’

‘They need to hurry up. Mom’s really sick.’ Ethan’s face was white and strained. He took her hand and tried to wake her.

‘Leave her now, Ethan,’ said Scope gently. ‘She’s resting.’

Ethan looked at him, his gaze imploring. ‘She can’t die, though. She can’t.’

‘She won’t.’

‘I wish my dad was here.’

‘Where is he?’

‘He left home. Last year.’

‘Do you still see him?’

Ethan shook his head. ‘No. Mom says he still loves me, but he’s very busy. She says when he’s less busy, he’ll come and see me. He calls me sometimes, though.’

‘I’m sure he misses you.’

‘I miss him.’

Scope wished he’d seen more of his own daughter when he’d had the chance. And yet, like Ethan’s dad, he’d left home and his family, and since then he’d lost count of the number of times he’d wondered how different things might have been if they’d all stayed together. He remembered Mary Ann as a laughing two-year-old running round the back garden on tiny legs while he and Jennifer looked on with the broad, dopey smiles of new parents full of love for the beautiful creature they’d created.

‘Are you OK?’ asked Ethan.

Scope smiled down at him. ‘Yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking.’

‘What about?’

For a moment, Scope considered telling him. It was almost like he wanted to unburden himself, which came as a surprise to him. He’d never been much of a talker. ‘Nothing much,’ he answered.

Silence.

‘Grandpa brought us here as a treat. I’ve never been to London before. And I don’t want to come again now. Never.’

‘Where are you from?’

‘America.’

‘I guessed that. Whereabouts in America?’

‘Florida.’ Ethan looked at Scope again, his face calmer. ‘Near Disneyworld. Have you ever been to Disneyworld?’

‘No, can’t say I ever have.’

‘Where are you from? You’ve got a funny accent.’

‘A place called Manchester, and it’s not funny.’

‘What are you doing here?’

Scope thought of the three men upstairs. ‘Visiting friends.’

Ethan was silent a moment, his face scrunched up in thought. ‘Why are those men killing people?’ he said at last. ‘They killed Grandpa. And the man in the mask wanted to kill Mom and me too. Why?’

‘Some people like hurting other people for no reason. There aren’t very many of them, and you were very unlucky to have run into some today. I’m sorry for you.’

Ethan’s eyes flashed. ‘I’m glad you killed them,’ he said defiantly.

Scope nodded. So was he.

‘Are you a policeman?’

‘No.’

‘A soldier?’

‘You ask a lot of questions.’

‘I think you’re a soldier,’ said Ethan knowingly. ‘Thank you for helping us.’

Scope shrugged. ‘You should never walk by and leave people who are in trouble.’

But even as he said this, he wasn’t sure he believed it. Helping Abby and Ethan had already caused him a hell of a lot of grief. Quite how much depended on what happened when – or, of course, if – they got out.

Scope’s attention was caught by something on the TV. The camera had suddenly panned from a reporter to the front entrance of the hotel. As Scope watched, the far left door was slowly opened and a masked terrorist in navy overalls appeared in the doorway with a small group of children. The terrorist then disappeared back inside, locking the door and leaving the kids standing on the front step, holding hands and looking confused.

As the camera panned back to reveal more of the scene, two armed police officers, accompanied by a pair of paramedics, rushed over, and led the children away from the hotel entrance, the camera following the group as they went behind the cordon before disappearing into a mêlée of emergency services people.

‘What’s happening?’ asked Ethan, who was also watching the TV.

Scope got to his feet and stretched his legs. ‘I think they might be releasing some of the hostages.’

‘Can we go too?’ For the first time, there was excitement in Ethan’s voice.

‘I’m not sure,’ said Scope, trying to figure out a plan of action, knowing that there was no guarantee they would let Ethan go. But knowing too that he couldn’t simply sit here waiting for events to unfold, not with Abby injured and in need of insulin.

Scope sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was draw more attention to himself, not after what had gone on upstairs. But it looked as though he didn’t have much choice.