Big Boy Did It and Ran Away (56 page)

Ray was offering a hand to the nearest spluttering hostage when out of the corner of his eye he caught a glint of metal. ‘Gun,’ he shouted to Angelique, both of them instantly pointing their weapons at the backs of two drookit figures who were getting to their feet, machine guns swinging from straps around their shoulders.

‘Drop them,’ Angelique commanded. ‘And turn around, slowly.’

They complied without argument, which was when Ray could see that they were actually on their feet, but a good half‐
metre shorter than everyone else. The kids looked back and forth at their captors.

‘Don’t worry, we’re the good guys,’ Angelique assured them.

‘Whit aboot the terrorists?’

‘We owned them,’ Ray said, grinning.

Suddenly, one of the kids gaped, face filling with astonishment.

‘Mr Ash?’ he asked, incredulous.

‘Fuck, Lexy, so it is,’ confirmed the other.

‘What are you doin’ here? I mean …’

‘We’re havin’ a serious truancy crackdown at Burnbrae. You pair are in a lot of trouble.’

‘No way,’ said ‘Lexy’, which would make him Alex Sinclair; the other one Jason Murphy.

‘Naw. He’s an undercover agent, aren’t you?’ Murphy ventured. ‘You were just at the school as part of an operation, in’t that right, tae track these guys doon? I mean, nae offence, we knew you werenae a real teacher.’

The car pulled into Kintore Road just after ten o’clock. Ray sat in the back with Angelique, a police driver up front at the wheel. Neither of them had said much all the way down, but he was grateful for her company nonetheless. In such an aftermath, it would have been difficult to be with anyone else, and she probably felt that way too.

Ray pointed out the house in time for the car to stop just before his front gate. The living‐
room curtains were drawn, a dim light playing behind them. The driver opened her door, clearly intending to get out and escort Ray, but he told her not to bother, and thanked her for the trip. Angelique reached for her doorhandle as Ray opened his.

‘A word before you go,’ she said, climbing out of the car and out of earshot. She winced a little as she got to her feet, clutching a hand to her rib cage.

Ray stood up and faced her across the roof of the Rover.

‘Make sure you get some rest,’ she said. ‘Baby or not. You’re gaunny be givin’ statements for about a week.’

‘I’ll try.’

‘And, ehm … It’s up to you, obviously, an’ I wouldnae want you to be anythin’ less than truthful, but if you could maybe see your way clear …’

‘To not mentionin’ the fact that you destroyed a few million quid’s worth of power station?’

‘Eh, that, aye.’

‘It all happened so fast, officer. The details are a bit of a blur.’

Angelique grinned. ‘Sleep tight, Ray.’

She got back in the car, which pulled away and left him standing before the garden path leading to his wee mortgaged house, his beloved wife and his infant son. His ‘ordinary, anonymous little life,’ Simon called it.

Ray called it home.

He put his key in the lock and smiled.

‘I heard he’s a fanny. I’m gaunny rip it right oot him.’

‘Naw, Ger, seriously. I don’t care how hard you ’hink you are, or how long you’ve been suspended. I’m warnin’ you: do not, under any circumstances, ever, ever fuck wi’ the new English teacher.’

‘Hell of a result, de Xavia. No arrests, though, I notice.’

‘You better be takin’ the piss.’

‘It just looks better on the records.’

‘You are takin’ the piss.’

‘I suppose they’re a lot less bother this way. Plus, they never sue.’

‘How many bodies have been recovered?’

‘Ten, including the security guard. There were six around the machine hall, one – well, parts of one – at the dam and the divers found two more washed out into the loch.’

‘We guessed there were twelve on their team. The rest must have been obliterated by the blast. Wait a minute, you say only two in the loch?’

‘That’s right. One with half his chest missing, apparently, and another with a broken neck.’

‘There wasn’t one with a spear through his throat? I left him in the tailrace too.’

‘I believe he was found in the machine hall.’

‘And Darcourt?’

‘Not so far. The currents caused by that outflow can be pretty strong. The divers are still working, but they said his body might never be recovered.’

‘Where have I heard that before?’