Free Brute Force by Andy McNab

world of stainless steel and glass, limed oak and spotlights. Four gas rings seemed to float in a polished granite island in the middle of the room.
Dom and Tallulah were on stools. Ruby was tucking into a bowl of cereal at the table in the corner.
I gave an exaggerated gesture of surrender. 'Well, I tried. No chance of a plumber this side of New Year. But I've got a mate coming over from London. I'll meet him off the ferry and take him up there. Soon as it's fixed, I'll give you a call.'
Dom looked at me as if I'd barked at the moon.
Ruby looked up from her cornflakes. 'I like it here.'
'You mean the TV's bigger?'
She grinned, caught out. 'Can we stay, Tally?'
Siobhan jumped in. 'Yes, why don't you stay a bit longer? We three girls could have a good catch-up.'
Dom got off his stool. 'OK, Nick – let's you and me go do some boiler talk.'
I followed him through double doors that had been punched through the dividing wall. He offered me a blue velvet two-seater one side of the low coffee table and sat down opposite. I had a good view of the car. Good; that meant they had a good view of me.
The fireplace to my left was tiled. The black grate was far too shiny ever to have been used. The mantelpiece was covered with all the usual pictures of two people's lives together, but no framed prints of Dom being heroic with a microphone. There was, however, a gold award that looked like the Flying Lady on a Rolls Royce. Veiled Threats, the documentary that had made Pete and Dom famous, had scooped the Emmys a couple of years back.
'OK, Nick, let's cut to the chase. This isn't about the boiler, is it?'
'Something's come up. I've got to go back to London and I didn't know how to tell them.'
'Work?'
'Sort of. I don't know how long I'll be. Just a couple of days, with any luck. Do you mind letting them stay, keeping an eye on them?'
'They're not in any danger, are they?'
'Why do you ask?'
'You keep glancing out of the window. Not expecting Leptis to make an appearance, are you?'
I looked up sharply.
'The message to the station I phoned you about – he said to tell you he knew what was happening at the house, and he knows what it's all about. He has the answers. He said to go and see him soon as you can. He said you'd understand.'
'And he said his name was Leptis? No mistake about that?'
He shook his head. 'You sure this shouldn't be a police matter?'

28
I said goodbye to Tallulah in the front room, in full view of the street. I waved my arms about, demonstrating some of the shots I'd use to beat Ruby at Wii tennis next time I saw her. She thought I was mad. Seconds later I stormed out of the house, slammed the car door and drove off much too fast.
I headed for the ferry terminal and bought a one-way ticket. To anyone watching, this was one man's Christmas that hadn't gone well.
I checked my rear-view all the way to the dock. I took note of the cars behind, and even stopped for a brew on the five-mile route between Ballsbridge and Dun Laoghaire. I checked who drove in with me, and if they followed me back onto the road. I checked anyone who got out of their cars or even just looked at me.
I saw nothing suspicious, and that scared me as much as it would have done if I had. Apart from the dud battery, these guys were good. They would come at me again; the only questions were where and when. For all I knew, they might brass it out on the boat and come and check the device was still where they'd placed it, and try and sort out whatever had stopped it from detonating.

29
I drove the Merc up the ramp, to where one of the crew directed me behind a van and next to a small truck. I rearranged stuff busily in the glove compartment and watched the wing mirror to see who came in behind me.
Maybe this ferry was their next killing ground. A risky place for a murder, but my body wouldn't be found until the ferry docked in Holyhead and my car failed to move. By the time one of the crew came to see why and found me slumped over the steering wheel with two