second. She spotted a big shield thing with a window in it that hadn’t been there last time—probably bulletproof. Just visible through the window was a camera and the famous eyes of Kara Malone. ‘Where the bloody hell was that thing when we were in the car park?’ Ashley muttered to herself bitterly. And then aloud to Rick, ‘They’re here.’
‘Kara Malone and everything?’ he clarified.
‘Yep, she’s here in the flesh,’ Ashley assured him.
Rick’s teeth flashed for a second before he turned his attention back to business. ‘Gina?’
Gina stood, and he handed her camera back. ‘Get every second of this.’ He turned to Ashley. ‘After that, I want this sent to your station. Just in time for the nine o’clock news.’
‘I’m sure Bernie will be thrilled about that,’ Ashley assured him. He probably would be too.
‘OK, you three,’ Rick ordered. ‘Line up at the door, like we discussed.’
Bum Fluff Waiter and the middle-aged patron - whose real names had been revealed to be Jack and Lenny - trooped over. Polly paused before she joined them, looking at Tina and Leanne. Tina grabbed her in a hug. Leanne stood back from it. When the hug broke, Polly turned to Leanne. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Go fuck yourself,’ Leanne told her plainly.
Polly shrugged and walked away.
‘A beautiful moment,’ Rick said as Polly joined the men at the door. ‘Gina, you shooting yet?’
‘Rolling,’ she said from behind her camera.
‘Right then.’ He walked over to the front of the queue, putting his hand on the lock. ‘Jack, you go first,’ Rick said with an odd eyebrow waggle. He slid the lock across and cracked the door ajar, kicking it the rest of the way open and jumping back out of the way of it. Jack stepped forward, took a deep breath… and then turned to Rick. He put out his hand. Rick took it with his non-gun hand. ‘Good luck, Rick,’ Jack said.
Ashley’s mouth dropped open. What the hell was this?
‘Thanks, mate,’ Rick said with a grin, a quick glimpse at the camera.
Jack stepped out into the night. ‘Sir, could you please walk calmly down the steps and across the car park,’ DI Conway called from beyond the door through her bullhorn.
Everyone heard Jack ignore her completely, his loud, quick footsteps slamming down the concrete and fading away.
Lenny came next. He also put his hand out to Rick. ‘I really hope you get out of this alright,’ Lenny said. Rick took his hand, holding it in place a bit tightly. Lenny added quickly. ‘You’re a good bloke in a tight spot,’
So this was what the little meeting had been about. He was giving them their lines, to be spoken in exchange for freedom. Ashley was appalled. She found herself glancing over at Gina, though she couldn’t see her through the camera. But the camera briefly swung to her, and somehow, she sensed that Gina was thinking exactly what she was. This fucking guy.
Lenny was released through the door. The DI made another attempt to get a hostage not to run from the restaurant and failed utterly. His pace was double that of Jack’s.
Last came Polly. At the door, she turned to Rick and took a deep, fortifying breath. And then she hugged him. Ashley shook her head, horrified for Polly that she was having to do this. As they parted, Polly said through gritted teeth, ‘If only we’d met under different circumstances, Rick.’
Rick smiled and said, ‘Maybe in another life, honey.’
It took every ounce of will Ashley had to not physically gag.
But then Polly was through the door, and the sound of her footsteps was like Usain Bolt compared to the other two. Rick slammed the door shut and slid the lock back in place. He turned to the camera. ‘I’m sorry I ever had to keep them here, but I think they understood it. And cut there!’
Gina dropped the camera. Rick turned to Ashley. ‘How do you think that went? Looked good, right?’
Ashley nodded voraciously. ‘Oh, yeah. Couldn’t have gone better.’ She could tell he wanted a bit more than that, so she summoned further bullshit. ‘I think when the public see that, they’ll come down here to support you.’
Rick nodded. ‘That’s exactly what I was thinking. I mean, the “law” is only supposed to make people do right. So if people support me, the police are more likely to see that it’s right to give me what I want, don’t you think?’ he asked, a slight note of desperation in his voice.
Ashley was close to going