James

Klempner pauses, sucking at his teeth, eyes vacant for a moment. Then he head-jerks up the stairs. “Keep going. I’ll be right behind you.” Then he reverses and, to the sound of running footsteps vanishes back the way we came.

“Klempner… where…?” But he’s gone.

Michael meets my eyes but doesn’t comment, simply heading upwards, Charlotte clinging to his neck with one arm, and to Cara with the other.

I follow. “You know the way out?”

He talks back over his shoulder. “Not sure. Finchby’s office is just up here.”

“Great. From there, out through the pool room, across the dance floor and out down the stairs.”

He grunts acknowledgement, stepping up his pace.

At the top of the stairs, now on the level, Charlotte and Cara in his arms, Michael goes through the office and past the pool room bar at speed. Ahead of us, women mill.

“Downstairs,” I yell, but none of them seems to understand English. The multi-coloured glare of the dance-floor lights illuminates complete chaos. Customers are looking wildly in all directions, pulling their pants on, dashing for the exit…

Thinking it’s a police raid maybe?

Michael pauses, looking around. “Which way?”

“There.” I point towards the stairs I entered by the first time I came here with Klempner. “Through that door then two floors down to the front exit. Go.”

off at a run, leaving

I go

of a fire bell. Klempner emerges from Finchby’s office. “Your attention, please,” he shouts. Everybody out! This is not a drill. Evacuate the building…

the belt. They at least know the way out, dashing for the exit. The women don’t, some heading for the

runs, this time

“Klempner, what’s going on?”

And quickly.” He glances at his

???

fuck have

Have

“No.”

to find them, or we’re

*****

Michael

hanging to me, clinging to a wailing Cara, I run out into the

by me, hammering into the ground a few feet ahead and my brain catches up with the fact that shots are being fired

of me,

Crap…

then I see the face. Richard at the windscreen, screeching in, almost on

in the back!” he yells, opening the doors

from the driver’s seat. “Michael. Get

her

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