Interrupted Journey

Chapter 7 - Home

The most frightening thing about watching people like Mike go into combat mode is how quickly it happens.

One moment we were walking back from Mr Ahmed's shop towards my house. We were carrying two heavy boxes that had been packed for us. Mike seemed his normal laid-back self though I did notice that his eyes were everywhere.

Then there came a scream from Susan's house.

He instantly pushed the girls and me back against the hedge. "Do I get involved?" he asked in a low voice.

It was Susan; I nodded.

"How many people live there?"

"One woman, Susan, quite tall, fair hair."

With a nod he vanished.

A few seconds later his pistol sounded twice.

And less than a minute later he was back. "Ok, you can come now," he said picking up the box he had been carrying. He had a broad smile but his eyes looked slightly strange.

He nodded at one of Susan's neighbours who was peering through a window and mimed that she should open it. "Sergeant Mike Jenkins," he said when she did so. "Susan had an unwanted visitor but the situation has now been resolved. Oh... and may I suggest that next time you hear gunfire; you find a better observation spot. Window glass provides neither effective cover nor concealment, Ma'am."

"You seem remarkably cheerful," I observed as we walked together towards the house.

"It's not often I get to shoot someone who so utterly deserves it," he responded. "I literally caught him with his pants down!"

"Don't worry about it," he added, when he saw my uncomfortable expression. "It's just my way of coping. I'll probably throw up later."

The door to the lounge was firmly shut and Mike led us into the kitchen where Susan was standing. She looked shaken but unhurt.

"So stupid," she was muttering, "so stupid."

"Don't worry about it," I said, cautiously putting a hand on her shoulder. When she leaned towards me and started shivering violently, I put my arm round her and held her.

"I should never have opened the door to him!"

"You know better now," Mike said. "No real damage done."

"Did you know him?" I asked.

"He was one of the pharmaceutical sales reps from work," she answered. "I always thought he was a bit creepy."

"World's light one creep," Mike observed. "He won't be missed." He thought for a moment, then asked thoughtfully, "What do you do?"

We had forgotten that Lizzie was there until she announced, "She's a nurse."

"Practice nurse down at the Church Road medical centre," she said with a smile to Elizabeth.

"Do you want a job?" Mike asked. Susan and I turned to him in shock and his face told us he was dead serious

"What job?" she managed to ask at last.

"You understand that bad times are coming, don't you?"

She nodded.

"Well, I have a couple of military mates. I thought we could provide security and some labour to, say, a small, remote farm," he grinned at me, "to everyone's benefit. We could really use a medical officer, though."

"Any particular small, remote farm you had in mind?" I asked him but, without waiting for an answer, turned to Susan. "Don't let him railroad you. What are your plans?"

"I don't really have any," she answered. "I can't stay here, not now." She glanced towards the living room and gave a shudder. My parents live down in London..."

"That would be madness!" Mike snapped.

"Speaking as a slightly more... balanced observer, I have to agree. It would not be a particularly wise place to go."

"The food will have run out within a week, there'll be cannibalism within two," Mike snapped.

"Gently, Mike," I said, putting my hand on his arm. "You're not doing your cause any good here."

"He's not normally like this," I explained to her. "He's just wound up after the shooting. He's right, though."

There was silence for a few seconds then I briefly outlined our plans. I added that, as a practice nurse, she was probably one of the most valuable people around. "Anyone you can't help is probably going to die anyway."