Alex Knightly - Sudden Darkness - A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Thriller

“I know that. You already told me that. That’s why you’re going to build something for me.”

“Me? But I know nothing about electronics. I studied chemistry.”

Harry shrugged. “So? You told me you read up on this magnetic pulse business.”

“I did. That doesn’t make me an electronics expert.”

“I never said you had to be an expert. I need a way for my boys to talk to each other.”

“But that’s impossible. How am I supposed to—”

“I don’t know. Not my area of expertise.”

“It’s not mine either.”

Harry's eyes narrowed. “I think you misunderstood. This isn’t up for debate. I need a network and you’re going to make sure I get one. Understand? Now, I’m not unreasonable. You can have a car to get around. And if there’s anything you need, well.” He held up his hands. “Just let me know. My boys can get anything I ask for. We need your knowledge.”

“But I…” Josh shook his head. “I don’t even know where to start. I’ve never built a radio.”

Harry smiled, revealing a mouthful of mercury fillings. “There’s a first time for everything. You’re the best I’ve got, so I hope you won’t let me down. I don’t care if you make it yourself or find someone else to do it. Just do it.” He turned to Pete. “And just so you don’t get any funny ideas, Mo here will keep an eye on you for me, won’t you Mo?”

“Yes boss,” Mo said with a nod.

“Well then. You’d best get started. You can take a corner of the workshop out the back. Just tell Mo if you need anything.” He leaned closer. He only came up to Pete’s shoulder, but you’d never think it from the way he carried himself. “If I hear you’re not working your arse off, I’ll pay your mother a visit. You hear me?”

“Yes. Loud and clear.”

Mo started laughing suddenly as they made their way across the yard. “He means business!”

Pete glared at him. As far as he knew before, they’d always been equals. So why did it now seem like Mo had been put in charge of them? “He does. We’re the ones who told him about this.”

“I hope you’re happy,” Josh muttered.

“I knew you were up to something the other day,” Mo said as he pulled a key out of his pocket. “You should’ve just told me. Did you think I was going to try and take credit for it?”

Pete shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time you pulled something like that.”

“It didn’t work though, did it? All you’ve done is piss Zane off by going over his head to the boss man.”

“It’s good for everyone.”

“Is it? How come Zane came for me yesterday? Didn’t see you around.”

Pete shook his head. “I was busy at home. Couldn’t come out.”

“Yeah, right,” Mo laughed. “As if Zane would care about that.” He opened the driver’s door of the old Ford Escort. “Right. Where are we going?”

Josh shrugged.

“You’d better think of something. He’s relying on you. Pete, tell him.”

Pete had to admit Mo was right. They couldn’t just ignore Harry's orders. “Come on, Josh. Think. You must have some idea.”

Josh shook his head. “You have no idea what he’s asking, do you? How am I supposed to build a network from scratch? Even walkie-talkies…” He considered this for a moment before shaking his head. “Everything’s fried. No matter what you think of, it’s fried.”

“Well then you have to find someone who knows this stuff.”

“No,” Josh snapped. “I’m not dragging anyone else into this.”

“I don’t know then. Are there books you can read? There must be something. If you start small…”

Josh's eyes lit up. “I suppose there’s the uni library.”

Mo started the car.

“Where’d you even get this thing?” Pete asked when they’d been on the road for some time. “It’s ancient.”

Mo smirked, keeping his eyes on the road the whole time. “You should have been there yesterday. Zane turns up to my house telling me I had to go. What else was I going to do? You know I might have told him to stop and get you, only I’d seen you run off the day before so why would I have bothered?”

Pete knew there was no way Mo would have mentioned his name if he could keep all the glory for himself. He said nothing.

“Anyway, it was crazy. We drove along the motorway. It’s weird out there—cars all over the place. It was me who pointed out that any cars that still work aren’t gonna just have been left there. Then a minute later, Zane had the idea to look in the phone book for vintage car dealers. We found one in Brokenside. I got a lovely old Merc to start with.” His expression soured. “Then the bloody thing broke down and I had to walk back. Bloody knackered after that. What a crook selling a piece of crap like that.”

“What, you bought it from him?”

Mo snorted and shot him a scornful look. “No. Of course not. Come on, Pete.”

“I imagine that’s going to happen a lot,” Josh said, staring out the window. “With old cars. They’re not reliable.”

Mo raised his eyebrows. “You’re telling me. You’re not the one who had to walk miles in the cold. Anyway, that won’t be a problem. As soon as Zane heard what happened he had an idea. We went and got a mechanic. Job done. Now we’ve got someone to fix the motors if any of them break down.” He glanced in the mirror. “I bet that’s why he wants you to work on radios—so we can get in touch with each other if anything happens or if we break down.”

Pete shuddered. “What do you mean you got a mechanic?”

“What do you think?” Mo snapped. “We found a guy in the phone book and made him come with us.”

“What did you think was going to happen, Pete?” Josh said, shaking his head. “We were all going to live happily ever after?”

Pete stared straight ahead, unable to believe what he was hearing. What had he expected? He didn’t know. Praise? A clap on the back? He swallowed, feeling bile rise in his throat. He was starting to regret all of this.

He looked up and found Mo watching him. “What? Why don’t you focus on driving?”

“You need to watch it, Freeman. You were always too soft, no matter how much you pretended.”

He scowled. “Fuck off, Mo. You think you’re so—”

“Will you listen?” The urgency in his voice made Pete shut up. “You can’t be half involved in this. Harry won’t stand for it. Zane’s already out for your blood as it is for going above his head. You need to be careful. You know what they do to people who upset them.”

Pete turned and stared out the window. His jaw was starting to cramp because he’d been clenching it so hard. What gave Mo the right to lecture him like this? They’d been in the same class at school. Pete was a few months older. Now it sounded like Mo wasn’t just more involved, but he’d actually been talking to Harry or Zane about Pete. When did that happen?

But underneath his anger, Mo’s words swirled around and around in his mind.

You know what Harry does to people who upset him.

He didn’t, but he’d heard the rumours. And he wasn’t prepared to find out if there was any truth in them.

Clive was glad to get on the road. The sun was still weak and low in the sky. It was early. He didn’t know about the others but he was exhausted, having stayed awake for most of the night keeping watch.

That in itself wouldn’t have been so bad. After years in the Met, his body was used to switching from early shifts one week to lates the next. Staying up for a night wouldn’t have fazed him if it hadn’t been for the build up of exhaustion and worry over the past few days.