Page 92 of A Long Way Back
“I don’t. I’m fine.”
“Have you ever eaten steak?”
“No, but I’m a culinary expert on chips.”
Tay sighed.
“Hey, we’re having fun. Stop sliding down or youwillbe climbing that ice wall. I’m pretty sure you have to book well in advance, so you’re safe for tonight. I’ll come up with something else if you don’t keep smiling.”
Tay smiled.
Ink winced. “And not like a chimpanzee.”
“That was my best smile.”
“Oops.” Ink grinned. “Well, the doctor seemed pleased with your progress. Are you?”
“No more wheelchair by the middle of next week. That’s what I’d like.”
“Good.”
“I’m supposed to be calling my mum to tell her what the doctor said.”
“Do it now.”
“Tomorrow’s fine. I want this to be a perfect date, not one where I have a chat with my mum and she reminds me to use the loo before I go to bed.”
Ink smiled, then his attention was caught by a kerfuffle developing a little way away. The crowd surged towards them like a shoal of fish, then spread out in all directions. A woman screamed, and Ink jolted. In seconds, people were running, pushing each other, shouting, picking up kids, knocking people out of the way as they fled. What the hell was happening?Did they need to run too?
“What’s going on?” Tay was looking over his shoulder.
Ink pushed to his feet. “Oh God. There’s a guy with a knife. He’s just randomly stabbing people and he’s coming this way.” He grabbed the crutches from the back of the chair and gave them to Tay. “Get inside the restaurant.”
Tay stood up but some of the other diners sat watching what was unfolding.
“All of you move,” Ink yelled.
A few hurried inside, others ran in a different direction. Tay was too slow. The guy would be at the restaurant door before him. It was no longer the safe route.
“The other way.” Ink pushed and pulled him towards the shop next door. As Tay pulled open the door, Ink hesitated.
“I need your crutch.”
Tay took one off and gave it to him. “What are you doing?”
“Get inside,” Ink said, then stepped back onto the street, ignoring Tay’s call.
Only yards away, a young woman in a pretty flowered dress lay at the feet of a guy who looked no older than Ink. He was wearing black trousers and a black jacket and in his hand was a long knife, the blade covered in blood. A guy lay on the pavement further back with blood pooling around him. When the man with the knife turned to look at Ink, Ink didn’t hesitate. He ran straight at him, holding out the crutch like a spear and slammed it into his chest. When the guy staggered back, Ink brought the crutch down onto the hand holding the weapon.
The man yelled something in a foreign language and tried to grab the crutch, but Ink was too fast. He struck out as hard as he could, anywhere he could, not just at the hand with the knife. When the weapon fell to the ground, it was kicked away by a middle-aged man, and Ink sighed with relief, only for the attacker to pull another knife from inside his jacket.Shit.
Everyone was screaming and yelling, and while the guy was waving the knife around, it was too dangerous to get close. A man snuck up behind the attacker and tried to knock him down, only to get slashed in the arm. He was yanked back to safety by another couple of men.
The police would come soon. There were always policemen patrolling Covent Garden. All Ink needed to do was prevent the guy hurting anyone else—particularly Tay who couldn’t run—until help arrived. He wanted to glance back and check that Tay had gone into the shop, because he suspected he hadn’t, but he kept his eyes on the attacker.
As the man advanced, dark eyes fixed on Ink’s, Ink jabbed the end of the crutch into the man’s stomach, then hit his chest, his face, his head, his arm, his arm. Except the guy kept coming and Ink had to move back. The fucker looked calm and focused, as if the blows with the crutch were little more than irritating insect bites. The crutch wasn’t heavy, but Ink had hoped it would be enough.Was this a terrorist attack or someone delusional with mental health issues?
He heard Tay call out his name, but Ink didn’t take his eyes off the knifeman. He had no choice now but to keep hitting him, and not let him get anywhere near Tay because Tay couldn’t dodge out of the way. When Ink tripped and stumbled backwards, the man bared his teeth and lunged. If Ink hadn’t been so fast to roll and get to his feet, the guy would have stabbed him.
