Free Provender Gleed by James Lovegrove Page B

somewhere to put this down first.'
    'Leave it here.'
    'Can't do that. The catering marquee's just that way. It won't take a moment.'
    'I'll come with you.'
    She cocked her head. 'If you like.'
    He followed her down one of the narrower alleys. His mother had told him the streets of Venice were categorised under various names, according to size and proximity to water. The narrow residential type, which this alley aped, was called a ... ruga ? Something like that. He thought about sharing this little factlet with the Columbine, Is. But he didn't want her to take him for a show-offy know-all.
    Soon they were crossing the perimeter of the party site, and the catering marquee appeared in front of them, voluminous and candy-striped, like a huge canvas cake. From within came a clatter of cutlery and glassware, and also the sizzle of cooking and the sound of chefs shouting at one another. Is entered through one of the flaps, emerging empty-handed a moment later. Provender, eager, pointed towards Venice's south edge.
    'That way,' he said.
    'Why don't we go over there instead?' said Is, gesturing past the side of the marquee.
    Completely the opposite direction. Nothing lay that way except a copse of silver birches, an expanse of lawn, and beyond, the untended pasture and woodland which constituted the majority of the estate.
    'There's a rise,' she explained. 'I saw it this afternoon. I bet up there we'll have an uninterrupted view. No one else around to get in the way.'
    Provender took this in; thought he knew what she was implying; liked it.
    They headed off side by side, into the dark. Provender was delighted at how things were turning out. He didn't the least bit mind Is taking the lead in this way. He knew, of course, the rise she was referring to. He pictured her and him sitting atop it. She was wrong about the view from there being uninterrupted. Most of the ground-level detonations, the Roman candles and Catherine wheels, would be obscured by Venice, but the rockets and mortars, the big loud airbursting bangs which were really the point of a fireworks display - these would be visible in all their scintillating, percussive glory. And if his hand should happen to settle next to hers on the grass, if their fingers should brush, their shoulders touch ... it would not be an unwelcome development at all. Provender was expecting no more than that. He wasn't expecting Is to pounce on him, Blaise-style. He didn't want her to, and didn't think she was that sort of girl. Just her presence beside him, her companionship, while the night sky exploded, was all he required.
    They were passing the copse. The ground was starting to slope upwards. The light from the party site threw everything into dim relief.
    To Provender's right, at the periphery of his vision, something moved. He thought it was the trunk of one of the silver birches, swaying in a sudden breeze.
    Then he saw that it was a figure. He glimpsed diamond-shapes, black on white. Someone who had been perfectly camouflaged amid the piebald trees.
    Bearing down on him.
    Before he could say or do anything, an arm banded around his chest. A hand clamped over his mouth.
    'Quick!' a hoarse voice yelled, right next to his ear.
    Provender struggled, but the man holding him was stronger, much stronger, than him.
    He saw Is fumbling among her skirts.
    'Quick! Fucking get on with it!'
    From a pocket she produced a small, thin, cylindrical object. It gleamed.
    A hypodermic.
    Provender struggled harder, but no more effectually. He yelled, but with his mouth muffled the yell came out a growl. Belatedly, he remembered the stick he was carrying. He had forgotten he still had it with him. He lashed backwards with it, going for his assailant's head, but the angle was awkward, he couldn't get in a decent blow.
    With almost casual ease, the man batted the stick out of his grasp. It spun uselessly away.
    Is moved in with the hypodermic. She grabbed the sleeve of Provender's cape and yanked it up to expose