Andy McNab - Meltdown

Danny was trying to peer through the stream of traffic and the huddle of shouting, yelling figures on the far side of the street. 'What's happening?' he shouted.

Storm wasn't interested. 'Come on – please! Just get us out of here.'

'But there's-'

'Leave it! Let's go. Please!'

Danny hesitated, holding the car door open. He couldn't see what was happening but he feared that Lee was in trouble. He wanted to go back to help his mate, but what could he do? If Lee was down, help would come. If Danny went back now, it might well endanger the mission.

Storm was becoming frantic. 'Danny, please! Before the police get here!'

The traffic had slowed; drivers were rubbernecking the scene playing out on the pavement.

Danny got in the car, started the engine and pulled away. And he didn't look back. On the pavement, two bouncers edged nervously towards Albie as he moved the knife from side to side. His eyes flicked from one dark-suited man to the other, following the path of the blade.

Dimly he heard a woman's voice screaming into a phone. 'Yes, police! And an ambulance! He's not moving! I think he's dead!'

Dead. Albie heard the word and something in his befuddled brain told him he had to get away while there was still a chance.

He lunged forward with the knife and the two bouncers leaped back, briefly off balance. Before they could recover, Albie turned and ran.

'Stop him!' yelled someone, and for a moment the bouncers started to give chase. But then they stopped. Their job was to protect the people in the club; they weren't paid to go chasing through the streets after lunatics with knives. The police could do that.

Danny was sitting in darkness at the end of his bed, staring vacantly at the closed curtains. He hadn't slept; he hadn't even tried. He couldn't. He was still dressed in the crumpled, damp clothes he had worn for his night out.

He got up and pulled back the curtains. Daylight flooded in, making his head pound. He flinched and squeezed his eyes shut.

The door opened and Fergus came in. He was talking on his mobile. 'No, don't bring anyone else in; Phil can manage while we're away. He'll have to… Yeah, bye,'

He ended the call and looked at Danny. 'It's bad.'

Danny went cold and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. 'He's dead?'

'No. He lost a lot of blood. Whoever made the emergency call sent the ambulance to the wrong club. It doesn't look good right now.'

Danny slumped down on the armchair. 'My partner, the bloke I'm meant to look out for, got knifed looking out for me. And I just ran away.'

'No, Danny. You did the right thing. Staying would have compromised the whole mission, and Lee knew the risks. These things happen on ops; sometimes they go wrong. When they do, you deal with it and move on.'

But Danny couldn't move on, even though his grandfather's words were meant to console him. Nothing Fergus said would make him feel any better or get over the fact that his mate was close to death. And it was down to him. Lee's words kept coming back to haunt him. He'd said that some day his life might depend on Danny.

Danny had known it was true, but he couldn't have imagined that he would be put to the test that very night.

Fergus sat on his bed facing Danny, knowing from experience that the best way to fight emotion was to blank it out by concentrating on work. 'Lee did good when he got to hospital; gave them his false identity and ACA, and then Phil got a call.'

'Can we see him?'

Fergus stood up and went to the window. 'No. Dudley's people just got him out of the hospital. They'll look after him. And he's out of it now, anyway. Sedated.'

He turned back to Danny. 'Tell me about Storm again. You're sure she didn't give you any clues about the DMP?'

'She was in too much of a state. I couldn't ask any more questions. She just kept telling me not to say anything to the twins about us going out together. They get jealous when anyone else shows an interest.'

Fergus shook his head. 'This girl's got quite a fan club. The twins, Albie, you.'

'I was working, Granddad!' said Danny angrily. 'Carrying out orders. Your orders!'

Fergus could see the strain on his grandson's face. 'All right,' he said gently. 'I just meant that for someone who apparently knows nothing, she seems to have a pretty big effect on everyone who is in the know. Let's hope Albie hasn't said anything to the twins. I don't want them any more spooked than they already are.'

He checked his watch. 'I need to get down to the coach yard; the twins are expecting me there. Have you packed?'

'Not yet.'

'Get a shower and sort yourself out and follow me down. And don't mention any of this to the twins.'

'But what about Albie? I'm gonna-'

'No!' Fergus pointed at his grandson and made sure he was staring directly into his eyes so that there was absolutely no doubt about what he had to say. 'You're not gonna do anything. Don't let your anger get in the way, Danny. Stay professional. When the time's right, I'll deal with that little shit. Not you. Get it?'

Danny stared back without answering.

'Danny, do you get it?'

Danny looked at the floor, then nodded.

'Good.' Fergus picked up the small suitcase he had already packed for the trip to Barcelona and went to the door. 'I'll see you at the yard.'

Danny stared at the floor for a long time. He thought of Storm. He thought of Lee. But mostly he thought of Albie, thinking and thinking until the anger burned like a fire in his chest. Albie hadn't shown up. He was meant to be on the Barcelona trip but no one had seen him. He hadn't called in and he wasn't answering calls to his mobile.

The twins were in the office with Fergus, and Will looked worried. Teddy did too, although more than anything he seemed relieved that Fergus was on hand to deal with any problems.

Fergus was doing nothing to discourage Teddy's increasing dependence on him. It could only help. Will remained more guarded, but Fergus was subtly encouraging that too: it was causing a growing rift between two brothers who had previously been so solid. Almost like one person.

Now they were most definitely two and the arguments were becoming more frequent.

Teddy glared at his brother. 'It was your job to keep an eye on Albie. He's probably out of his head on M somewhere. You were meant to make sure he didn't steal any more.'

Will glared back; he wasn't backing down as he usually did. 'We don't know that he has stolen anything. Maybe he got drunk last night, or met a girl.'

'Huh!' said Teddy. 'What girl would even look at him?'

'I don't know! I just know that there's no point in speculating. He might turn up soon.'

Teddy looked at Fergus. 'We should have got rid of him long ago.'

'Oh really,' said Will quickly. 'And what should we have done exactly?' He turned to Fergus too. 'Kill him?'

Fergus shrugged casually, as if that was an option he would certainly have considered. But he wasn't going to take sides; they were playing into his hands. As their tempers rose, he remained cool. 'Why didn't you get rid of him?' he said to Teddy.

'He wasn't like he is now when we started. He was a thug, yes, but we needed a few thugs. And he was clean; he said he hated drugs. Albie's like a lot of his' – he almost spat out his next word – 'type: they sneer at their betters for spending their disposable income on recreational drugs, while they go out and waste their money on cigarettes, beer and football.'

Fergus almost laughed. He couldn't decide who were worse, the Albies or the Teddys of this world, both riddled with stereotypical attitudes. It didn't matter; Fergus was focused on the mission. 'So what changed Albie?'

'We found out he'd been stealing tablets for some time. First to sell, but then he started taking them. He got hooked.'