‘We’ll head to the knick-knacks downstairs,’ Cortnee says, ‘if Dad gives us the car keys.’ She winks at her sister, as if Mum might just buy this and let them go down there without her. She has done it before, sometimes finding it better if she lets the kids do the nicking on their own. That way if they get caught she can come over and give them a good telling-off, and hopefully convince the Manager to let them go, assuring him that she would give them some proper punishment once they got home. The telling off was never faked: she was always pissed when they got caught while swiping the things she wanted.
‘Yeah, we ain’t that hungry,’ Jade says, standing shoulder-to-shoulder alongside her sister.
She gets a slap back, not being quick enough to move this time. ‘No, you bloody well won’t. We all stick together today.’
‘That’s probably a good idea,’ Ashley says. ‘The virus warning is all over north London now,’ he says, looking at his phone.
Mum takes a deep breath, her eyes shut. ‘Will you shut up with that virus bollocks?’
He nods back at her, almost knowing this is the only response he will get. His phone credits are nearly gone, so it won’t be long before he loses this source of information. It doesn’t seem to be doing any good, but he would at least like to know what’s coming next.
Luke watches Mike as he talks to the uniformed officers. He has finally decided to lock his weapon, which, strangely, has calmed the situation. At least that’s how it seems to Luke who is standing next to him, not really listening to the conversation, holding his weapon in both hands as it hangs across his chest. He spends his time staring at the patrol officer and then takes in the wider area. He times how long it takes him to complete a 360 degree survey, his overactive mind absorbing the view of the car park and shops in just over ten seconds.
Luke has already forgotten the names of these new guys, who have been drafted in from South London. He wonders how happy they are at being called up this way, and if they are going to be any help if they have to give chase through the surrounding housing estates. Not that he has any idea of what they might be chasing, but he is fairly sure that today is going to involve some running.
Perhaps it might be running away, Luke thinks. Mike certainly doesn’t look ready to run anywhere; his feet are locked in formation and his index finger regularly brushes against the trigger, like he’s almost teasing it before the main event.
‘I’ve heard it’s spreading quickly, like wildfire,’ Mike says, his thoughts mainly directed at the other two, because he knows that Luke doesn’t want to hear any more of his views on this subject. ‘It’s important to ensure you know as much as possible in these situations.’
The other officers nod. One of them has his phone out and is checking for live updates to add to the discussion. The radio chatter is pretty basic, and the regular briefings don’t appear to be giving any more information beyond what’s already on the news.
‘What you got?’ Mike says, looking at the officer with his phone out.
He looks up. ‘Not much, to be honest. Just the same stuff we’ve heard already. The BBC think it’s a virus that’s spreading quickly, starting from Heathrow Airport and making its way further into London.’
‘So the host has gone dark?’ Mike says, like he’s a detective now. He’s talking like he’s part of the solution, part of the team who are fixing the bigger problem. Luke wants to tell him that he’s not, that they are only part of a huge ground team, dealing with a very tiny part of whatever is actually happening. They are small part of the massive numbers who are here to fix what they’ve been told to fix, and he wishes he was with someone who understood that. ‘We should do another patrol,’ Luke says.
Mike puts a hand out in front of at him, indicating to Luke that he should calm down. ‘Yes, in a minute. Let’s make sure we know all the facts first.’
‘What, from a few newsfeeds on a mobile phone?’
The other two laugh, their heads nodding, hopefully agreeing with him. ‘He’s right, you know,’ one of them says. ‘The BBC say it’s a virus but Sky News are saying it’s a possible terrorist attack, and that we’re not being told so we don’t go and shoot the wrong people.’
Luke watches as Mike strokes his weapon, clearly reflecting on this possibility. He looks like he’s keeping it just on the right side of calm, like a dog about to start sprinting. Luke spots that the other two have noticed the same thing and he isn’t sure if they wish they had what he and Mike are carrying, or if they’re just glad they won’t be at the front, having to make the most difficult decisions.
Luke looks around, surveying the area, looking for anything different whilst mentally preparing for what will hopefully be an extended patrol. McDonald’s seems a little busier, despite the fact that they’ve already ran out of buns; the local residents clearly topping up their supplies from wherever they can get them. The main store still looks quiet – far too quiet for a Saturday morning. The doors are still open, which he takes as a good sign. There is now also less twitching of curtains and more people on the streets.
He looks across the vast, empty space, towards the car park entrance, and he sees another group of officers, and that they have a constant stream of people coming up to them, asking what he thinks must be all manner of questions. He notices that they don’t linger for long, clearly not getting much in the way of answers from his colleagues.
The clouds are hanging low and he hopes more than anything that it doesn’t rain. He looks around for Dave and his car, but they are nowhere to be seen; he hasn’t seen them for at least half an hour now. He looks around for possible shelter but the trees are far from big enough and he doubts he’ll be allowed to patrol the multi-story car park for the rest of his shift, however long it might be.
‘There’s a briefing coming through,’ Mike says, tapping his earpiece.
One of the others puts his radio on speaker and they all gather around. He’s still flicking through his phone, probably ready to compare the quality of what they are hearing to what’s freely available to everyone. They listen carefully and quietly, as if there is no one else around them who really matters.
‘So we have a possible containment issue in this area?’ Luke says.
‘Oh, great, so we all get infected,’ Mike says, shaking his head. ‘I was due to start my holiday this week and I bloody wish I had. I could be on a beach right now.’
No one says anything; there isn’t much to say. They all start to look around, trying to spot the real issue in the masses of potential problems.
‘Remember to look out for any strange behaviour,’ Luke says, trying to keep it real, trying to keep everyone focused. ‘They expect anyone infected to be aggressive or disorientated.’
‘And don’t let them touch you, for Christ’s sake,’ Mike says.
One of them nods but Luke spots that the other one is looking at his phone, playing around with the settings. He finally looks up at everyone, his face white and his eyes blank. ‘There’s no signal anymore and no 4G either.’
Everyone shakes their heads but Luke tries to keep calm. How many times has that happened before? If it happened in the middle of your day off, when you’re shopping or chilling out, you wouldn’t think of it as anything more than a mild annoyance. But he also knows that this could be something very serious; the networks do get shut down in the event of a threat, and this could signal big trouble ahead. He feels worried and annoyed at the same time – being expected to show bravery, yet being treated just like Joe Public.