‘You should get a different colour,’ she had said to Emma.
‘I want black too,’ Emma had replied. ‘It’s my favourite colour.’
‘You can both have the same. It doesn’t matter,’ said Mary, as she ushered her daughters out of the shop. ‘Although why you want to buy woollen gloves on a day like this, I don’t know.’
‘Where’s daddy?’ said Charlotte. ‘I thought we were meeting him for lunch.’
‘He will be here soon. Then we can get something to eat.’ Mary was hoping he wouldn’t be too much longer. She was getting hungry.
‘Who are you?’ Joe’s voice was harsh.
Robin was having trouble speaking. His throat had gone dry, and he was shaking violently. It didn’t help that there was a gun being pushed hard into the small of his back.
‘I am ... I mean I ... My name ...’
‘Spit it out. Who the fuck are you?’ shouted Joe.
Joe’s partner was shouting something from the entrance to the alley. He was still standing next to the patrol car.
‘Is everything all right Joe?’
Joe hesitated for a few seconds before he replied. ‘I’ve got this under control. Wait there. There’s an ambulance on the way.’
He turned his attention back to the man with the red hands. He had managed to stop the flow of tears, but his anger was still boiling over.
‘What have you done to my brother?’ he whispered to the trembling man in front of him.
‘I’m sorry... I couldn’t help...,’ Robin managed to splutter.
Joe pulled him away from the wall. Grabbing hold of the back of Robin’s jacket, he pushed him forwards, in the same direction as the other three men had gone a short while earlier.
‘You need to get out of here, quick. You’re in great danger. Do as I say. Run. Quickly, run. Get away from here as fast as you can.’ Joe’s voice was quiet, more like a whisper, but with urgency and panic in it.
Robin turned his head slightly. ‘What ... why ...’
‘Go quickly. Run.’ Joe pushed him forward.
Robin started to run off down the alley. He was terrified, and confused. In his current state of shock, he couldn’t think what would be the best thing for him to do. So he obeyed the police officer, and ran.
Officer Joe Harper raised his Glock 22 and aimed directly between the shoulders of the running man.
‘Stop immediately or I’ll shoot,’ he shouted at the top of his voice.
There was no second warning. And there was no time between the warning being shouted and the first shot being fired.
In total, Joe fired three shots. They all struck Robin in the back. One of the bullets went straight through his heart. He felt a searing pain running through his body. Not a normal pain, this felt white hot, and it stung like nothing he could ever imagine. He tried to draw breath, but his lungs wouldn’t work. Then, suddenly, his vision went black.
Robin died as he fell to the ground.
A few streets away Charlotte was getting angry.
‘Where is daddy? I’m really, really hungry?’ she shouted, and stamped her foot hard on the floor.
If you would like to correspond with the author, then please email him at –
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Kind Regards
Kevin Bradley
The Terminate Code: A gripping, page-turning, action adventure revenge thriller, with a fast pace, and a terrifying twist in its tail ! (Hedge & Cole Book 2) Page 20
