Page 26 of Everything That Kills Me
“We can drop you off,” Thomas said. “You don’t live far from us.”
“Okay. Thanks.” Zeph had hoped to have some breakfast in town with Jack, but he could see that wasn’t going to happen.
They walked to Thomas’s car, which was an old Land Rover and Jack got in the back next to Zeph.
“Have you always lived in Middleton?” Thomas asked.
“I was born in Greenwich and we lived there until I was nine. Then we moved to Middleton.”
“What does your father do?”
“He’s in banking.”
“Jack tells me you want to work for GCHQ.”
Zeph shot Jack a glance. Had he told Thomas everything? “Possibly. I probably didn’t ought to tell anyone. I wonder how many people who say they want to work in intelligence, actually end up doing that.”
Thomas chuckled. “Maybe more than you’d think. MI5 openly advertises for applicants.”
“But you can’t apply until you’re seventeen,” Zeph said, “and not work for them until you’re eighteen. There are tests and quizzes you can do online and…”Oops.
“Have you done them?” Jack asked.
Zeph nodded. “They test observational skills and whether you can hold a conversation while you use those skills. Things like that.”
“And how did you get on?” Thomas asked.
“Fine. But I know it would be different if it was real. Spotting that a man with a package got in a silver car, that a woman not making eye contact and walking very fast was suspicious. Little observations but lives could be at stake. What do you do, Mr… Is it Steel like Jack?”
“Yes, but call me Thomas. I’m a design curator. I procure, interpret, maintain and protect artifacts or artworks.”
“That must be fascinating. For museums, business or private collections?”
“All three.”
“Is there a lot of travelling.”
“A fair amount.”
Zeph turned to Jack. “Do you get to go too?”
“Sometimes.”
“Lucky you. I’ve hardly been anywhere. I went to France with school to look at the war graves in year seven and to Spain on holiday, last year, and it was horrible. Not Spain, though I didn’t see much of it, but the hotel and the fighting for sun loungers and the all-you-can-eat lukewarm buffets of mostly English food. My stepmother is frightened of flying so we had to go by car. It was a really long way and everyone was bad tempered. I never want to do that again.”
“Did you go anywhere this summer?” Jack asked.
“The Norfolk Broads. I did a sailing course. It was fun, though I’m not going to be setting off across the Atlantic anytime soon.”
“Worried the water would be cold?” Jack asked.
Zeph laughed. “More worried about thingsinthe cold water.”
Thomas pulled up on the road near Zeph’s house.
“Thanks very much for the lift. See you at school, Jack! I enjoyed the run.”
Zeph waited for the car to turn and leave before he faced the house. Nerves had made him talk too much. He’d hoped Jack might wave, but he didn’t. He’d climbed in the front next to Thomas.
