Page 76 of Inbetweeners
“No,” Phoenix said.
Emmett gritted his teeth in irritation.
“The other thing you probably ought to know,” Phoenix said, “is that we can each only die eight times. On the ninth, we go back to where we came from.”
“What’s the score?” Harry asked.
“No lives lost by me. Three for Emmett. The third was my fault even though Vin did it. We need to be careful. If you see trouble coming and you can warn us, then warn us, okay?”
“Yes!”
“But don’t put yourself in a position where you might get…” Emmett couldn’t find the words.
“Body-snatched,” Phoenix said.
Harry gasped. “Oh. You think that might happen?”
“We haven’t figured out what all this is about.” Emmett followed the next instruction on the satnav. “Until you move on, just be careful, okay?”
“We’re like The Three Amigos!” Harry said. “Did you know that triangles are the strongest shape? We could be The Three Musketeers. Three Wise Men. Rock, paper, scissors. Three Billy Goats Gruff.”
“Three Blind Mice?” Phoenix said. “Didn’t they have their tails cut off with a carving knife?”
“The Three Stooges,” Harry continued as if Phoenix hadn’t spoken. “Shrek, Donkey and Fiona. Harry, Ron and Hermione. Hey, that one was made for me! Who’s going to be Hermione?”
“Stop talking,” Phoenix snapped.
“I’m not being Donkey, even though he’s smart and cute.”
Phoenix growled. “Stop talking now!”
“Okay. I’ll be Donkey. I think you should be Shrek because Donkey annoyed Shrek a lot, so that—”
“If you don’t stop talking, I’ll—”
“Both of you shut up,” Emmett said. “This time we have a plan. Hopefully, the grey-haired guy will still be around. We need to follow him. Remember that he can see you, Harry. So, be careful. We don’t want to risk him getting his hands on you. He wanted you once. He might not have changed his mind.”
“What a pity,” Phoenix muttered.
“I heard that,” Harry said. “It wasn’t nice.”
“What’s the plan?” Phoenix asked.
“You and Harry hang back and I’ll try to flush the guy out.”
“How aboutyouand Harry hang back andI’llflush him out?”
“If he’s already killed someone, I’m better at getting them to move on.”
Phoenix laughed. “Who’s sitting in the back of the car?”
“Apart from Harry. They’ve all moved on through me and not you. So you follow him, or them, call me when you know where they live. Just promise not to do anything unless I’m there.”
Phoenix sighed. “You’re going to get yourself killed again.”
“No, I’m not. I know what he’s capable of. This time I’ll be more careful.” Emmett pulled up outside a place selling used cars. “This is the address.”
When they were out of the car, he tossed Phoenix the keys. There was no sense of disturbance amongst the cars that were lined up for sale, so the three of them made their way to the portacabin at the back of the lot.
