“Right let’s go,” said Norm, setting off at a trot, Jack followed, through a gap between the two buildings. A dark brick lined passage led to a flight of steps. Both of them were sweating, half from the fright and half from the running. The passage gave out onto a track beside a canal.
“Come on,” Norm said, “this will get us out of the area. I’m pretty sure those MCF red flaps won’t know about this. It’s been disused for years.”
“You know London pretty well for an Irishman.”
“We’re a well travelled lot. I used to go to the school up there,” he nodded towards a tall building just behind them. “Came down here when I wanted a smoke.”
The two of them dropped their pace to a walk. The canal towpath was uneven, bricks had fallen down from the walls of buildings and dumped supermarket trolleys and old bicycles got in their way. As they got further from the scene the evening light began to fade and street lamps flickered on in the roads that crossed the canal. Between the bridges it was pretty dark and both Jack and Norm had to pick their way carefully. They walked for about two hours, going as briskly as the ground would let them. Norm reckoned they had gone about five miles from Mudchute.
“Where are we going?” Jack asked. He was feeling safer. The shock of the failure of the ExCel Centre raid was giving way to anger at Gerry abandoning them.
“Fucked if I know. Away from Mudchute is about all I have in mind at the moment. We can keep following this north as far as we like. It goes all the way to Hertford. I’m pretty sure we won’t see any curfew patrols down here along the towpath but I’m not sure I’ve got much of an idea apart from that. The friends I’ve got are all to the south of London. How about you? Assuming you can trust anybody after that last fuck up.”
“Apart from those back there,” he nodded towards where they had come from, “they’re all in the west country. No one near here. Except…. Daisy is living in Victoria, I think. Maybe she could come find us.”
Norm thought about it for a minute. It was as good an idea as any he had. He thought about trying to get in touch with Danny, but he imagined his reaction would be something along the lines of ‘You’ve dug the hole, you get yourself out, boyo’. At least he had his Irish passport and ID and his flight ticket. Victoria would be good — he could get the train back down to Gatwick from there. “OK,” he said, “Let’s try calling your girlfriend.”
Chapter 20: Victoria
It took Jack several attempts to raise Daisy from his mobile. When he did get through the conversation was stilted. He was conscious that his phone might be being monitored and he was sure that the authorities would be on high alert after the ExCel centre debacle.
“Hi,” he said. “I wondered if you could do me a favour. I was hoping we could get together but I’m not sure about being out on the streets alone.”
Jack’s uncharacteristic coyness gave Daisy a clue that something was wrong. “Oh, poor baby,” she responded, teasingly, “of course I’ll come and get you.”
“I’m with a friend. We’re by the Costco in Chingford.”
“I’ll be there baby, be good.”
It took her an hour. Jack and Norm found a place to hole up behind an advertising hoarding. They saw her climb out of a cab, hunched up in her puffer jacket against the cool morning and looking around to see if she could spot them. Jack and Norm stepped out from behind the hoarding and Jack called across to her.
“You two are looking pretty dishevelled,” she said. “I guess you could use a coffee. There’s a place over there. I brought some camouflage.” She opened the bag she had slung over her shoulder and took out two collars and a pair of leashes. “Put these on and come along like good boys.”
“You seem to be enjoying this more than seems proper for someone concerned with men’s rights,” Jack smiled as he fastened his collar on, relieved to be finding a way out of their predicament.
“Let’s just say it’s nice to be asked to help out, which is more than Gerry did when it came to the ExCel thing.”
“You heard about that?”
“It’s all over the news. If he wanted publicity, he got it. Probably not the coverage he’d have liked though.” Daisy led the way across the car park towards a coffee stand. “Lots of headlines like ‘Three Arrested in Failed Escape Bid at Detention Centre’. Plenty of comments along the lines of ‘useless men can’t even break IN to a prison’.”
They got their coffees. Norm and Jack were both was grateful to get the hot drinks and for the feeling that with Daisy around they were far less likely to attract the attention of the MCF.
“Come on,” Daisy said as they finished their drinks. “Let’s get back to Victoria.” She got out her phone and called a cab.
“Blimey,” the cab driver said as she drew up at the coffee stand. “You haven’t got two of them to worry about have you? One would be more effort than I could manage.”
“Oh, you know how it is.” She turned to Jack and Norm. “In you get boys, let’s go home.”
The two men sat quietly for the ride back across town. Norm couldn’t help noticing that Daisy was groping Jack’s thigh suggestively.
The taxi driver kept up a running commentary on the news from Docklands for most of the drive. “Can you believe it?… They tried to bust some of those deviants out of the ExCel…. Must have been blokes that organised it — sounds like a right cock up…. One of them dissident groups… There was a vote and they lost, I don’t understand why they can’t just accept it. … Word is the MCF were waiting for them…..”
Daisy managed the occasional “Uhuh” in response but their driver didn’t seem to need any further interaction. It wasn’t long before they got to Victoria.
“There you are, love,” their driver announced. “You keep those boys on the straight and narrow. You wouldn’t want them to get caught up in anything like that.”
“You’re right there!” said Daisy as she paid the driver and showed Jack and Norm inside.
It was a comfortable flat in the basement of a terraced house. Jack was surprised Daisy could afford it as a student but maybe her family had money. As they got through the door, a shouted “Hi Daisy!” came from inside.
Jack recognised Spencer Hames’ voice. He looked at the coat discarded on the chair in the hall and the pile of books on the table. He hadn’t realised Daisy and Spencer were sharing the flat. It was a disappointing discovery.
Inside the flat, Norm couldn’t wait to unfasten his collar. Jack seemed a little slower off the mark. It seemed to Norm that Jack’s political enthusiasms were waning in the face of his attraction to Daisy. Luckily, Norm thought, that’s not my problem.
Spencer appeared from the kitchen apparently unsurprised by Daisy arriving with the two others in tow. “Hi — it’s Jack isn’t it? From Fitzroy Square?”
“Yeah. Good to see you again.” Jack tried hard to sound sincere although Norm was pretty sure he’d been disappointed to see Spence at Daisy’s place.
“Hi Spence,” Daisy gave Spencer a kiss on the cheek which seemed more sisterly than passionate, Jack told himself. “This is Terry, he’s a friend of Gerry’s.”