by Hatchett
“Might as well try it,” Gina suggested. “We can’t keep driving around in this shit heap with the broken window.
Issy went through the same routine as before and was pleased to find no occupants in the car and that it started first time. The radio blared out static so Issy quickly reached over to turn it off. When she flicked the light switch, two full beams came on and she smiled in relief.
Issy turned off the engine and lights then quickly went back to her car to help Gina move vehicles and make sure she still had the map.
When she was done and Gina was safely ensconced in her new seat, Issy used her knife to tear a strip off the bottom of her t-shirt and wringed it until it formed a short rope.
“What are you doing?” Gina asked in confusion.
“Leaving a marker,” Issy replied cryptically and closed the door before heading back to their old car.
Issy removed the petrol cap and inserted her piece of t-shirt as far as it would go. She then took the lighter from her pocket and lit the end. It didn’t take long for the t-shirt to start burning, so Issy ran back to the Shogun, climbed in and started it up.
They were twenty metres further up the road when there was a massive ‘whoomph’ from behind them and they could see their old car on fire through their rear-view window.
“What did you do that for?” Gina asked.
“As I said, to leave a marker.”
“Yeah, but who for?” Gina asked.
“Well, Mamba will be dead to the world, and maybe Tom might pick it up with the satellite.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t say ‘Issy and Gina were here’ does it? Anyone could have done it.”
“But, if they spot it, at least they should take a look, even if it gets them closer to Mamba. Maybe we’ll set another one off further down the road, like leaving a trail.”
“Sounds like a good idea but we’ll run out of clothing if we’re not careful,” Gina noted, “and we haven’t got much to start with!”
“Tell me about it!” Issy replied, “I’m now showing off my midriff, like some sort of 80’s style statement and it’s a bit draughty around the nether regions!”
As it happened, Heathrow didn’t pick up on the fires because they were concentrating on a completely different area.
43
Day 18 – 02:00
East Finchley, London
Issy had been driving for around five and a half hours and both women were absolutely knackered, almost falling asleep as they moved carefully along the North Circular in another new vehicle, a Nissan X-Trail.
After getting back onto the A105 earlier, they’d stayed on it for the short trip to Winchmore Hill. The going was very slow, and the front of the Mitsubishi was getting covered in gore from where Issy had driven into zombies wandering across her path. She had tried to avoid them at the outset, but it was an impossible task and just wasted more time, so she just decided to drive straight through them. However, this decision had given them a couple more problems; the radiator grill at the front of the vehicle was getting seriously clogged up with gore, leading to the engine’s temperature to rise, and Issy had been fast running out of washer to clean the windscreen. Therefore, she either needed to get out of the vehicle to clean it or they needed to find a new set of wheels. Getting out and cleaning it wasn’t going to happen as it was simply too dangerous, especially as Gina wouldn’t be able to help, so they decided they would swap vehicles when the time came. There were plenty around.
After Winchmore Hill, they had continued through Palmers Green heading vaguely South towards the North Circular.
By midnight, they had reached the North Circular and had done just two kilometres in the three and a half hours and they were close to calling it a night, turning off the vehicle and getting some much-needed sleep.
The journey had been frustratingly slow because they had needed to detour on a couple of occasions and had needed to double-back at one point, but they hoped the North Circular would be quicker as it was dual-carriageway in parts.
Although they had originally estimated the journey to Hendon would be around eleven kilometres, that was as the crow flies, and in reality, it was turning out to be a much longer journey. According to the satnav when they reached the North Circular, they still had eleven and a half kilometres to go by road and looking at the highlighted route they weren’t surprised. The sat nav suggested that it would only take eighteen minutes. If only!
Getting onto the North Circular had been a nightmare as the roundabout had been clogged with traffic. Issy had gone against the usual traffic flow, shunting some vehicles aside to create a gap large enough to let them through. The Mitsubishi was heavy and solid and had done a good job, but the front end was slowly disintegrating, so she had turned it around on a couple of occasions to use the rear end to push things out of the way. Driving against the flow on the clockwise lane had been weird and the headlights had illuminated numerous zombies still stuck and writhing in the vehicles they passed. Eventually Issy damaged one of the headlights of the Mitsubishi, so they’d had to find a replacement vehicle before the other was also damaged. They wouldn’t have been able to go anywhere without light.
Once they started moving on the North Circular, they made reasonable progress through Arnos Grove to New Southgate, but the approach to Muswell Hill became far more troublesome with the full width of the road blocked. It was here that they decided to abandon the Mitsubishi, cross the central reservation into the less busy anti-clockwise lanes and search for a replacement vehicle. Although they left the Mitsubishi running with its one remaining headlight on high beam to attract the attention of nearby zombies, it wasn’t easy moving across to the other lanes with Gina still unable to put much weight on her ankle.
They had found the Nissan occupied, and Issy had needed to prop Gina up against the side of the vehicle while she dealt with the occupants. Then they were off and running once again.
44
Day 18 – 06:00
Hendon
During the past four hours, Issy and Gina had driven West along the North Circular before leaving it to join the Great North Way on the outskirts of Hendon. Then they entered Finchley Lane and now had just over a kilometre to go.
The knowledge that they were close gave them a new lease of life, but they realised that they had missed a trick in their eagerness to escape from Mamba, and that they should have stayed where they were. Hindsight was a wonderful thing.
If they’d thought about it a little more, they could have found a way to take him and his new gang down, especially as the majority of them were unconscious and unlikely to wake anytime soon. However, they’d thought they could get to Hendon easily, arrange back up and then fly back and take him out. But nothing was ever that simple.
The last few hours helped the two women bond even more than they had over the past couple of weeks. Their conversation had continued for almost the entire journey and they had covered various topics including a frank discussion about their childhoods, their goals, their achievements and their failures. They had talked at length about their love lives, especially Andy and Travis, and speculated about how the guys had reacted to Mamba capturing them and what their relationships might hold for the future. And, of course, they had discussed Mamba. A lot.
At one point, during one of their frequent periods of delirium caused by lack of sleep, they imagined how they would like to get rid of him once and for all. Their ideas grew more and more outrageous the longer the conversation went on, and what Issy had inflicted on the Judge and Jury paled into insignificance compared to some of their newer ideas. They had it all planned out and all they needed to do now was capture him alive.
Only a kilometre to go. Nearly there. It would probably have been quicker to get out and walk, but with Gina’s ankle this simply wasn’t an option. They just had to hope that when they arrived, whoever was on guard at the police training centre wasn’t trigger happy; they’d have to maintain their distance until they were satisfied that
they wouldn’t be shot.
45
Day 18 – 06:00
Travelodge, Enfield
Mamba woke to find the duvet wrapped around him and his face buried in a pillow. His head was thumping, and he couldn’t remember anything from the night before. He tried to think about it, but his head hurt. What was the last thing he remembered? He remembered being in the bar having a beer…feeling all horny because Ayla was winding him up…Cobra and the Princess either side of him… and then…nothing.
Mamba raised his head and could just about see Ayla in the darkness, sleeping with her back turned towards him. He looked over her then all around the room, but there was no sign of Cobra or the Princess. ‘Where the fuck were they?’ he wondered, thinking, ‘they betta fuckin’ not be in Ahmed’s bed’.
Mamba then noticed that he was still fully clothed, and that Ayla was too. Something was definitely not right. He should at least be naked. He tried to remember how much he’d had to drink, but he couldn’t figure it out. He didn’t think he’d drunk that much. He didn’t need a piss, so that proved it.
He rolled and sat up, flinging the duvet off him. He leant over Ayla and shook her shoulder.
“Oi, wake up,” he said.
Ayla groaned and stretched but didn’t open her eyes. “Wha time issit?” she mumbled.
Mamba looked at his watch. “Fuck, it’s jus’ gone six. We betta get a shifty on.”
“What?” Ayla asked, coming fully awake. “Ya mean you don’t want a shag first?”
Mamba looked at Ayla and considered it. Yes, he did want a shag. Badly. But something wasn’t right, and he needed to find out what it was. “Laters,” he said, slapping her backside as he climbed to his feet.
He was a little unsteady at first, putting his arm against the wardrobe to keep himself erect. Then he thought he was going to be sick, but the moment passed. He rustled around in his rucksack and brought out a torch then staggered to the door and headed down the corridor to Ahmed’s room.
Ahmed was also fully clothed lying on top of his duvet at an angle. There was no sign of Cobra or the Princess, thank God, which meant that Ahmed hadn’t been giving them a good seeing to. But it also meant that they weren’t here, and he didn’t know where they were.
“Wake up, Ahmed!” he shouted, shaking him roughly. God, he shouldn’t shout. It hurt his fuckin’ head.
Ahmed groaned and slowly turned over. “Where am I?” he asked groggily.
“In the fuckin’ hotel, where’d ya think?”
“I don’t remember,” Ahmed slurred as if he was still pissed. “Musta bin a good night. Wha’s the time.”
“Late. Now fuckin’ shift yer arse. Ya seen Cobra or the Princess?”
“Nah.”
Mamba waited until Ahmed had got off the bed and found his own torch before he went back to his own room. Ayla was now up, looking a bit dishevelled, but not too bad considering. She was setting up a lamp, so he nipped into the en-suite to wash his mouth out, have a drink of water and take a piss.
“Where’s the totty?” Mamba called out.
“How should I know?” Ayla retorted. “You were the one following every bounce of their tits, not me.”
Mamba chuckled. Nothing better than a jealous woman to pull out all the stops in the sack. He finished what he was doing and re-entered the bedroom.
Ayla was semi-naked and in the middle of changing her clothes. Mamba was instantly hard and walked over to grab her around the waist.
“Get off!” she shouted as he flung her down on the bed. “I’m not in the mood anymore.”
Mamba advanced, unbuckling his trousers.
“Anyway, you said we haven’t got time,” Ayla pointed out.
“Always time for a bit of hide the snake,” Mamba replied as he climbed on top of her.
A minute later Ahmed walked into the room. “Fuckin’ Hell, Mamba, I thought ya said we was in a rush.”
“We’ll go…in a mo,” Mamba replied, pounding into Ayla. A few seconds later he ejaculated with a groan then carried on spastically for a few seconds, all rhythm lost. He climbed off, wiped his penis on the duvet and did his trousers up. Ayla slowly grabbed another part of the duvet to cover herself, making sure Ahmed had plenty of opportunity to take a good look.
“Thanks Mamba,” Ayla said sarcastically, “glad you enjoyed it.”
“Ya want some more?” He asked as he turned to Ahmed. “Fancy sloppy seconds?”
“Bastard!” Ayla shouted.
“So, I’ve bin tol’,” Mamba acknowledged.
“Man, yer disgustin’,” Ahmed muttered, turning away.
“Yeah, so I’ve bin tol’. Where’s Cobra ‘n the Princess?”
“I tol’ ya afore, I dunno,” Ahmed replied, getting exasperated.
“Well, go ‘n fuckin’ find ‘em ‘n wake all ‘em fuckin’ Turks up. It’s time we was leavin’.”
As Ahmed wandered off down the corridor to wake up some Turks, Mamba picked up his rucksack and retrieved a pistol before going downstairs and heading for the bar.
There were bodies slumped all over the room, but from what he could see, there was no Cobra or the Princess.
“Where the fuck are my prisoners?” Mamba shouted at the top of his voice, pointing his gun at the ceiling and pulling the trigger.
The bar erupted into life, people jumping to their feet from the floor, from chairs and from tables. They were all staring vacantly, wondering what day of the week it was.
“Well?” Mamba asked menacingly, moving towards them like a storm cloud about to unleash its fury.
Basir bravely spoke up. “What are you looking for Mamba?”
“The two women. Where are they?”
“I don’t know. They left the bar when you did last night.”
Mamba thought about it but couldn’t remember anything. “I want everyone to search this fuckin’ hotel top ta bottom. Yer’ve got five minutes so MOVE!” he screamed.
Dazed Turks scrambled for the exits, some of them moving from side to side as if they’d been spun around a few times and lost their sense of direction.
Just under five minutes later, they started trudging back into the room, shaking their heads and avoiding eye contact. Sami came into the room and walked straight up to Mamba.
“We’ve not found them, but we think we know where they went.”
“Well?” Mamba asked, his patience wearing thin.
“We found a fire escape door which had obviously been broken open.”
“So? Spit it out, man!”
“Well, the staircase has some zombies in there.”
“Where?”
“First floor at the far end of the corridor.”
“Yer comin’ with me,” Mamba ordered before looking around the room and seeing everyone looking back at him.
“Listen up!” Mamba shouted. “Get dirty. We leave in five!”
With that, Mamba left the bar with Sami in tow. He bounded up the stairs and went back to his room where he pulled out a jar of gore from his rucksack and shared it with Sami as they got themselves dirty.
Ayla came out of the en-suite and Mamba told her they were leaving in five. She wondered what he and Sami were doing but couldn’t be bothered to ask.
Mamba grabbed two knives and put his rucksack on. As he and Sami left the room to head down the corridor, Ahmed appeared from his room. Mamba quickly told him what he was up to and instructed him to get everyone in the car park and allocated to the vehicles.
Mamba started jogging down the corridor, closely followed by Sami, and they only slowed as they got close to the fire door.
Mamba shone his torch through the glass and could see what Sami had meant, although there weren’t too many zombies around. Mamba checked that Sami had his knife then, putting the torch in his mouth, slowly eased the door open and slid through.
As soon as he was on the other side, Mamba started stabbing zombies like a man possessed. He took out four and Sami had just enough time to take out the last on
e.
There were a couple trying to crawl up the stairs and Mamba just stamped down on their heads until there was nothing but mush. Sami was impressed by the level of aggression, but also a little concerned. He didn’t want Mamba’s anger directed at him and he would do whatever he could to avoid that ever happening.
Mamba continued down the stairs towards the bottom and they could both clearly see the door to the outside propped open. As they went after the other zombies in the stair well, Sami almost tripped over the two containers which Issy and Gina had used to get dirty. The two of them cleared the stairwell then Mamba removed the obstacle from the door and pulled it shut.
“Good job,” Mamba acknowledged Sami’s bravery, then picked up one of the containers.
“You reckon it was them?” Sami asked.
“Yeah. The bitches left the door open on purpose. They must’ve waited ‘til we was unconscious then nicked some of our gore ‘n done a runner.”
Mamba thought it through and then removed his rucksack and searched inside. Everything seemed to be accounted for.
“Something wrong?” Sami asked.
“Yeah,” Mamba replied, thinking some more. “Why didn’t they take my knives ‘n guns?”
Mamba looked though the outer door and surveyed the surrounding buildings. He couldn’t see anything so took out his binoculars and had a closer look. He still couldn’t see anything.
“Come with me,” Mamba ordered. He checked there were no zombies nearby then let himself and Sami out onto the pavement. The sky was slowly beginning to brighten, and it looked like it was going to be a cloudy day.
“Where’re we going?” Sami asked in a whisper.
“Short cut to the car park.”
Mamba led the way around the hotel and hopped over the wall into the car park. He was pleased to see that everyone seemed to be getting organised and that the lights on the cars had been turned on.
