The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2872 by Angharad Copyright© 2016 Angharad

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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
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“I’ll step on you, you little squirt if you don’t behave yourself.”

“Okay,” I felt rather than saw her blushing.

As we drove, watching for police and speed traps, I explained what was going to happen. “You are not here to do anything brave—you’re a girl now, remember. We run away if the odds look too uneven—it isn’t cowardice, because it just means we look to do battle somewhere more favourable to us. Have I shown you how to put up and string a recurve?”

“Yeah, last summer, we did some shooting up in the orchard.”

“Is that why three arrows are missing?”

“Uh...” I felt the blush again.

“Never mind, I’ve bought some fibreglass ones, they’re a bit cheaper.”

“Won’t they break?”

“Possibly. Can you pull a twenty eight pounder?”

“What was the one we used before, then?”

“Twenty, it’s a youth’s bow.”

“What’s this one then?”

“A women’s.”

“I’ll give it a go.”

“We’ll see, it’s for emergency purposes. Okay, we’ll stop here and go on foot. They’re probably watching for us anyway and this car is a bit obvious.” I pulled the Jaguar into the D Day museum car park. And we collected our gear and began trotting towards the old castle, which was built as one of Henry VIII’s fortifications to keep the nasty French at bay. It was revamped during the Napoleonic Wars to fire much larger guns which replaced cannons. These guns fired a shell rather than a ball and would consequently be more accurate.

The area is criss-crossed with paths and bushes, dips and even the remains of a moat. So there are lots of places to hide and for opponents to do the same. Unfortunately, we don’t know who we’re up against only that text purportedly from Jim, but which I know is bogus. But as it came from his phone, he must have been involved somewhere along the line. Also, wouldn’t the law of averages suggest I’m unlikely to have two enemies at the same time?

“Want me to carry the bag, Mummy, you sound a bit puffed?” I’m thirty two not ninety two but it made her feel useful. I switched my phone to vibrate only and told Danni to do the same. Then with the image intensifier battery showing a full charge, we made our way towards the castle.

We agreed a way of pointing out danger using a clock face, twelve o’clock straight ahead, six o’clock behind and so on. I strung the bow and she hid behind a wall with a bush beside it, but where she could see me on the path towards the castle. To keep in contact I had my blue tooth hands free headset, so she was watching with her infra red binoculars and speaking to me at the same time. If I put my hand behind me, she shut up.

“Ah, Portsmouth’s answer to Wonder Woman, I half expected you to be wearing a cape and your knickers over your tights.”

The man that stood before me was probably about six inches taller, actually he was probably about six inches wider, too.

“What’s with the handsfree—tell your backup if they come anywhere near, you and your little investigator friend are dead.” He then snatched it off my head hurting my ear and stamped on it. I hoped that provoked Danni to call the police not try a rescue mission.

“Ooh, an image intensifier,” he took it off me and pulled it on his own head. He’d see Danni as soon as he looked that way. I took the little five LED torch I had and switching it on in my pocket I suddenly shone it in the front of the device temporarily blinding him. As he flailed at me I sidestepped, kicked the back of his knee and his chin as he went down. He hit the path with quite a thump. I wouldn’t like to pay for his dental work. He also broke my machine—bastard.

In the confusion, I jumped into a bush and stayed there, two men were running round like lunatics. “Well find her,” said a voice I recognised. I silently texted Danni to stay where she was and to call the police suggesting she’d seen someone with a gun. A moment later that was a fact. One of the men passed a few feet away from me and he was carrying a handgun.

“What about the prisoner?” asked the man with the gun.

“Kill him, and if you see her or any of her friends kill them too.” Shit, I knew I should have stopped Danni coming with me. “Look for her car, they’re bound to return to it.”

Sadly, none of this was loud enough for me to record or to photograph in the gloom. O’Connor walked off towards Danni who I hoped saw him coming and hid extra well. The man with the gun went off towards the other side of the castle. The man I’d dropped was groaning on the path. At least he wasn’t dead, but if he stayed there he’d freeze.

I picked up the image intensifier, I had to, it had a label from the university on it. I also picked up my Bluetooth headset—amazingly, it was still working though it wouldn’t fit over my ear.

With phone in pocket still picking up its signal I dashed around the castle, trying to keep to the shadows. The wind coming off the sea was cold and strong, but it muffled my trainer shod footsteps. I talked to Danni, saying for her to stay where she was and wait for me. If I wasn’t with her in fifteen minutes maximum, for her to takedown the bow and go to the main road and call the police, but to keep away from the car as they were watching it. I couldn’t hear her reply, so the blue tooth wasn’t working properly.

I saw the armed thug go down a slope into one of the ditches. I followed at a distance. “Right, soldier boy, this is where you find out what it’s like to die.” He raised his hand to shoot and I hurled the image intensifier—it was the only weapon I had. It struck him on the back of his head and he turned round and fired up the slope. I was already on the ground and moving towards him. Crawling slowly but quietly, all I could hear was the wind and the sea and the beating of my own heart which felt louder than both the other noises.

If he’d known what he was doing she should have shot James then come for me. He didn’t he came looking for me. Wearing black in the shadows, he was actually walking past when jumped on his back knocking him down and dislodging the gun. I rolled away and kicked the gun into the bushes.

“Right, bitch, I don’t know what you did to Marvin, but you ain’t doing it to me.” He drew a knife out of his pocket and rushed at me waving it in slashing movements. For a mini-second I was back on the downs with the maniac who stabbed me, then I was back to the present and this new lunatic was charging at me. I jumped to one side and he flew past me—then I just ran for it with him in hot pursuit.

As we came up to the bush in which Danni was hiding he was so focused on me he didn’t see her swing the bow bag straight in his face. He fell down and before he could recover, I stamped on his wrist, and kicked him under the jaw. Then the two of us rushed back up towards the castle. I hoped James was still alive.