Page 72 of No Man's Land

“Don’t give me tactics,” Josef growled. “Tactics got 20,000 men killed at the Somme in one bloody day. Sod tactics.We need to stick together, not let some ghoul or your Society friends pick us off one at a time.”

Alex’s brow furrowed as he smoked, gazing down at the pavement. Thinking, thinking… Abruptly, he gave a curt nod and lifted his head. “Yes, you’re right. It’s safer if we stick together. Someone should keep a close eye on me.” Then, to Josef’s astonishment, he reached beneath his overcoat and jacket and pulled out his gun, offering it grip-first to Josef. “Do you know how to fire this?”

He did, as it happened; he’d learned all sorts of things back in his radical youth. Nonetheless, he lifted his hands in refusal. “I’m sure you’re a better shot.”

Alex’s expression tightened as he offered the gun again. “A bullet through the head will stop a ghoul. Especially a…a newly minted ghoul.”

Newly minted? Fucking hell. Josef’s breath caught in horror. “You can’t ask me to do that.”

“I’m not asking,” Alex said. “I’m begging. If we fail, if we run out of time, I might not be able to…to act for myself. I need to know that you’ll act for me.”

Josef shook his head, even as he took hold of the offered gun. Alex didn’t let go. “Promise me,” he said. “Swear you’ll spare me that end.”

Throat too tight to speak, Josef looked at him. The idea of taking this man’s life was horrific, but the idea of seeing him turn into a monster was a thousand times worse. “All right,” he said thickly, “I swear.”

With a curt nod, Alex said, “Thank you.”

“Let’s just make bloody sure we don’t get into that situation,” Josef said, tucking the gun into the back of his belt to hide it from view. He didn’t want to draw any attention from the coppers.

“Right then,” Alex said, adjusting his coat. “Lead the way to the library...”

Chapter Twenty-two

It was a ten-minute walk from Blackfriars Station to the public library on Charles Street, and they were there within half an hour of leaving the museum.

Snatching off his cap, Josef pushed open the door and stepped inside. A familiar hush and the scent of books enveloped him, although today he didn’t feel the customary swell of ease that he usually associated with this place. All he felt today was fear breathing down his neck.

Alex was on his heels, looking about curiously. No doubt this was nothing compared with the private or university libraries he must be used to, but Josef would bet ten shillings that none of those places had what they needed. Public libraries were for the interests and needs of the working man, not for toffs buried in their Latin and Greek.

In the middle of the morning, the library was quiet. Probably especially so, given the air raid last night. People tended to stay at home when they were frightened.

Behind the long wooden counter opposite the doorway stood Mr Peters, and Josef’s spirits rose. Peters was an excellent librarian, keeper of an astounding volume of trivia and exactly the man for the job in hand. He was a fastidious man, rotund and balding, sporting an old-fashioned Imperial moustache meticulously groomed until its pointy tips aimed skyward.

“Mr Peters,” Josef said in his hushed library voice. “Good morning.”

Peters looked up from his work and smiled. He had a small mouth and small, neat teeth. “Mr Shepel, how do you do?” His curious gaze darted to Alex, who looked entirely too well dressed for the occasion.

“I’m very well,” Josef said. “This is my colleague, um—”

“Mr Beaumont,” Alex supplied. “How do you do?”

“We’re on a bit of a tight deadline,” Josef cut in. “You know how it is.”

“That I do,” Peters agreed. “How can I help you?”

Josef outlined what they were after—a map showing all the Underground lines, even the parts used for maintenance or anything else. Peters looked thoughtful, nodding, as Josef explained. Then he disappeared into the back room, returning a few minutes later with a stack of small books.

“As you know,” he said, setting the map books on the counter, “each railway company produced its own maps in the last century. It was only in ‘08 that they were brought together into a single map.”

Josef knew no such thing. “Each of these maps relates to different lines, do they?”

“That’s right.” Peters frowned. “I don’t know how much detail they go into, but I should think this is a jolly good place to start.”

Thanking him, they took the maps into the reading room and started examining them. They were old, some of them goingback to the late ‘90s, but unfortunately, they weren't any bloody use. All they showed were station stops, no sidings or storage areas. Nothing helpful. Fuck, this had been a mistake. They were wasting time—time Alex didn’t have.

“There’s nothing,” Josef said crossly, shoving his maps aside. “This is useless.”

That earned him a disapproving rustle of the newspaper from the man sitting opposite them on the large reading-room table. Josef didn’t care.

---