“Who’s Gregor?” my father asked.
I put the papers back into the envelope and looked at the bike. It was gorgeous. I ran my hand over paintwork on the tank that was so smooth and so unblemished it was silky to the touch. There was zero mileage on the clock, and the release agent still shone like skin on the virgin tyres.
“Oh, he’s just someone I did a favour for,” I said softly.
Definitely a promise then, not a threat.
My father looked at me, waiting for me to go on. At last he said, “It must have been some favour.”
“Yes,” I said, and realised that I was smiling. “Yes, it was.”
From the Author’s notebook
This was Charlie Fox’s first brush with the world of close protection, which she would go on to make her own. When I first came up with the idea to send Charlie undercover into a close-protection training school, the book was originally going to be set in a remote part of the English Lake District. Then the school shooting at Dunblane in Scotland in 1996 caused handguns to be widely banned in the UK and I had to look for another location. Most of the actual bodyguard training schools here moved to Europe – mostly France, Holland or Germany. As I knew Germany as a location better than either of the others, the village of Einsbaden and the surrounding area began to form in my head.
I used some old pictures of Wannsee Manor in a suburb of Berlin as my inspiration for Einsbaden Manor. It had the right air of brooding menace about it, and the flat roof of the design also came in very useful during various scenes. The lack of speed limits on the autobahns also became an integral part of the plot, so the story moulded nicely into its location. Being able to set the action in the middle of winter, on a continent as large as Europe gave an added glint of frozen danger.
For the writing of this book it was absolutely necessary to drive at speeds in excess of one-hundred-and-fifty miles an hour on the German roads – erm, purely for research purposes, of course. Just goes to show that this game can be a lot of fun.
One final point. Please note that this story was originally written in 2002 and first published in the UK in 2003, when mobile phones and internet access had not reached the level of sophistication we take for granted today.
Acknowledgements
Many people have let me trawl through their collective experiences in order to put together this book. Former VIP protection officer Brad Blake was one of them, as was Glynn Jones. The people at the Revere Gun Range in Pompano Beach, Florida also helped, but never knew it. I’m still drawing on the lessons learned during self-defence classes with Ian Cottam and Lee Watkin.
Key pieces of German information were provided by Derek Harrison and Armin Mohren. Technical info vital to the plot came from Luke C in Colorado; Tim Enderby and Ike Flack at SAS; and Ian Hill and John Whitehead at Hiteq. Thank you also to Chris Brown at Alpine Electronics (UK) for explaining the finer points of their navigation system. Any factual errors are all my own work.
Once again, many people were kind enough to offer their opinions during the early stages, including Iris, Jean, Sheila, and everyone at the Lune Valley Writers’ Group. The usual pre-publication vivisection was carried out by Peter Doleman, Claire Duplock, Sarah Harrison, Clive Hopwood, Tim Winfield, and copy editor Sarah Abel. Keep on digging, people, and don’t mind me squealing . . .
As always, the biggest thank you goes to my husband, Andy, who has a lot more to put up with than he lets on about.
Grateful appreciation goes to Libby Fischer Hellmann for her help and advice, and generously allowing me to include an excerpt from DOUBLEBACK as a bonus feature at the end of this novel.
Finally, huge thanks to ZACE-eBookConversion for immaculate conversion of the printed book to e-format; and to Jane Hudson at NuDesign for the stunning new covers.
if you’ve enjoyed HARD KNOCKS, why not try Zoë Sharp’s Other Works:
Buy the Books!
the Charlie Fox crime thrillers
KILLER INSTINCT
RIOT ACT
(HARD KNOCKS)
FIRST DROP
Excerpt from FIRST DROP
ROAD KILL
SECOND SHOT
THIRD STRIKE
FOURTH DAY
FIFTH VICTIM – out in e-format Spring 2012
Short stories – eBook exclusive
FOX FIVE: a Charlie Fox short story collection
A Bridge Too Far
Postcards From Another Country
Served Cold
Off Duty
Truth And Lies
KILLER INSTINCT
Charlie Fox book one
by Zoë Sharp
‘Susie Hollins may have been no great shakes as a karaoke singer, but I didn’t think that was enough reason for anyone to want to kill her.’
Charlie Fox makes a living teaching self-defence to women in a quiet northern English city. It makes best use of the deadly skills she picked up after being kicked out of army Special Forces training for reasons she prefers not to go into. So, when Susie Hollins is found dead hours after she foolishly takes on Charlie at the New Adelphi Club, Charlie knows it’s only a matter of time before the police come calling. What they don’t tell her is that Hollins is the latest victim of a homicidal rapist stalking the local area.
Charlie finds herself drawn closer to the crime when the New Adelphi’s enigmatic owner, Marc Quinn, offers her a job working security at the club. Viewed as an outsider by the existing all-male team, her suspicion that there’s a link between the club and a serial killer doesn’t exactly endear her to anyone. Charlie has always taught her students that it’s better to run than to stand and fight, But, when the killer starts taking a very personal interest, it’s clear he isn’t going to give her that option . . .
‘Charlie looks like a made-for-TV model, with her red hair and motorcycle leathers, but Sharp means business. The bloody bar fights are bloody brilliant, and Charlie’s skills are both formidable and for real.’ Marilyn Stasio, New York Times
‘Sharp deserves a genre all her own – if you are just discovering Zoë Sharp then you are in for a real treat.’ Jon Jordan, Crimespree Magazine
‘Charlotte (Charlie) Fox is one of the most vivid and engaging heroines ever to swagger onto the pages of a book. Where Charlie goes, thrills follow.’ Tess Gerritsen
RIOT ACT
Charlie Fox book two
by Zoë Sharp
“I am a violent man, Miss Fox,” Garton-Jones said, without bravado or inflection. “I can – and will – do whatever is necessary to control this estate. Remember that.”
A self-defence expert with a motorbike and an attitude, Charlie Fox doesn't need to go looking for trouble. It generally finds her. House-sitting for a friend seems like an easy favour at first but the house in question is in the Lavender Gardens estate. Teenage gangs are running riot and Charlie's desperate neighbours have been forced to employ an expensive – and ruthless – security firm to apply rough justice where the legal kind has failed. The situation gets even uglier when a young Asian boy is fatally wounded in what appears to be a racially motivated shooting.