the stairs and locked himself in the bathroom, Kyle cut into his bedroom, stepped over James?mess and grabbed his mobile off the window ledge.
Her missed two calls from Tom. He hoped they might be an invite to go see a film or something later on, but as his phone returned the call something dawned on him: Tom and Viv lived the bachelor lifestyle, partying into the small hours and never surfacing before noon on weekends.
Kyle, baby,?Tom said exuberantly.
Tou must have had a call from our terrorist friends,?Kyle said.
Nowr you know??
Tour first missed call was at nine forty-three. You're not usually conscious at that hour, let alone making phone calls.?
Tom sounded worried. Ehe gave me instructions, but theret an almighty spanner in the works. Viv took Sophie out to some new vegan restaurant in town. Het been up and down all night with gutache and he keeps getting the shivers.?
Did you say that to the person who called??
Teah and she chewed my ear off: We expect results not excuses. If you can't work your way around a simple operational difficulty then our organisation has no use for you. Then she slammed the phone down.?
Kyle was relieved that Viv was in no state to come along, but he couldn't say that to Tom. Tell me and James just went out for a run, so we're both in good shape. What else did she say??
Sot much, you know how cautious they are. The call lasted under a minute. She told us to head up to Rigsworth services on the M5. Were got to get there by six this evening and head into the buffet area.?
Eomeonet gonna meet us??Kyle asked.
Ehe didn't go into details, just told us not to be late. Rigsworth is only an hourt drive, but I reckon weEl give it an extra half hour in case theret traffic. So, IEl swing by in Vivt Merc and pick you and James up around four-thirty.?
*
Tom had only passed his driving test a few months earlier and looked edgy behind the wheel of the Mercedes, which was double the size of his MG. He kept in the slow lane and looked worried every time he had to pull out to overtake a tractor or caravan.
It was the first weekend of the school holidays, so half the country was on the move and the service station was hell on earth. Tom circled the car park for ten minutes looking for a space. Inside, they had to queue up to use the urinals, the restaurant area was jammed and every kid in the joint seemed to be bawling about something their brother had done or something they hadn't been allowed to buy in the gift shop.
In the end, Kyle bought three bottles of mineral water from a vending machine and the boys propped themselves on a tiled ledge by the windows at the back of the food court. James?phone rang at six on the dot.
Nowt it going, youngster??a female voice asked. She didn't give a name, but it sounded like Jo.
Sot bad,?James said. Eo what are we doing? Is someone meeting us here or what??
TouEl be meeting an old friend, of sorts. Head into the car park, row G, three bays from the end. The keys are taped under the wheel arch on the drivert side. YouEl find your instructions and all the equipment you need inside the vehicle.?
The phone went dead. James slid it inside his black tracksuit bottoms as he stood up and led the others outside. They headed into the early evening glare, dodging the traffic circling for a parking spot.
Tharrr she be, mateys,?James said, inexplicably putting on a pirate voice when he spotted the red VW van.
It was the same van her ridden in with Kyle three days earlier, though the lower half of the bodywork had been sprayed canary yellow and logos had been stuck along both sides and on the rear doors: Rapid Trak ?Speciality Courier. James reached under the wheel arch and threw the key at Kyle.
Tom looked a little put out. T thought I was driving.?
So offence, gorgeous,?Kyle grinned, But you drive like my grandma.?
The trio piled into the front of the van ?Kyle in the drivert seat, Tom in the middle and James on the passenger side. James flipped open the glovebox and a mass of papers slid out into his lap.
Bloody hell,?James moaned, as he reached down and picked them all off the vinyl floor.
The first thing he came to was a leaflet advertising Rapid Trak: