Part 44 (1/2)
”So...”
”The boy wants even more from me?”
”I was wondering if you could supply light disguise for up to seven, no, make it nine guys. Just in case. They'll be on the periphery as a distraction.”
”Hmm. Skin colour?”
”Whites and browns” Josh thought of Vikram ”quite dark, no orientals.”
”I'll prepare a selection. Did you bring a bag of some sort with you?”
”Er, no.”
”Aren't you supposed to be master planners, all of you?”
”With all those girls outside, master something springs to mind.”
”Tsk, tsk. Well, let's see... Oh, why don't you pop next door, while I'm getting things together.”
”You got some kind of secret setup going in here, Taff? Something I shouldn't see?”
”No, but it's almost curtains up. You want to catch the last few t.i.tties before they disappear, better take the opportunity now.”
Josh looked at the door.
”If it's necessary for the mission,” he said, ”I guess I can manage it.”
[ TWENTY-EIGHT ].
With his backpack slung over one shoulder, Josh got through the ground-level entrance, despite its being locked, climbed up to the top-floor hallway, and knocked on Suzanne's front door. Then he stood waiting, unable not to smile.
The door opened. Suzanne looked at him.
”h.e.l.lo?”
He said nothing.
”Look, who are you and what do you? Josh Josh? My G.o.d, Josh.”
”You're not supposed to recognise me.”
”I almost didn't. That's so spooky.”
”You want to make out with a stranger? We could switch the lights off.”
”Come in. For G.o.d's sake, come in before Mrs Arrowsmith sees you.”
After he was inside and Suzanne had locked the door, he said: ”Who's Mrs Arrowsmith? The neighbour?”
”Yes, and I've got a reputation to uphold, Mr c.u.mberland. Strange men coming in and out at all hours would not be much help.”
”Well, I'm certainly strange.”
”You are, in fact. You weren't thinking of not taking that stuff off, were you?”
”I wasn't... Was that some kind of psych trick?”
”What do you mean?”
”The way you said something about what I wasn't thinking of.”
”Ah, so you have been paying attention.”
”To you, definitely.”
”Then go in the bathroom and remove that disguise right now.”
”Yes, ma'am.”
Afterwards, he came out looking normal but smelling like turpentine. He went out to the kitchen.
”Hi,” he said. ”What are you doing?”
”Cooking us supper, because you're staying the night, in case you hadn't realised.”
”Ah.”
”So what have you been up to? And where did you get that disguise?”
”A friend of mine, works in an interesting place.”
”What kind of interesting place?”
”Do you know” he stared at her brown eyes ”I forget. Really. When I'm looking at you.”
”Hmm. So why the disguise, if you won't tell me where?”
”So no one recognises me afterwards. After I confront Zebediah Tyndall on camera.”
”In the middle of this knife-final thing?”
”In the middle of this thing” Josh blew out a breath ”that millions of people will be watching in realtime, yes. On the day of the general election, when a large chunk of the population are expected to vote online in the evening.”