Capital Falling | Book 4 | Sever Winkless, Lance (most popular ebook readers TXT) 📖

us all a beer when we get back inside which we all eagerly accept. He joins us in one while he helps Lillian finish off the food, which I’m overjoyed to learn is steak, mashed potato, and veg.

While we eat, Bill and Lillian sit with us and their questions lead us into telling them why we have gate-crashed their home. We are all set to go so there is no harm in telling them. They are amazed by our story and wish us all the best in finding our friends and getting them out safely.

After we’ve eaten, we all help with the clearing up while we share some more beers. We are offered beds upstairs in their spare rooms, but we kindly refuse their offer, instead asking them if we can bed down on the kitchen floor, if they don’t mind, which they don’t. We don’t refuse the offer of some pillows though; however, we might not want to get too comfortable but there’s no point in being uncomfortable.

We thank Bill and Lillian for their hospitality as they hand us the pillows and we tell them we will let ourselves out in the morning. They then leave us to rest up and they go upstairs to bed. Nobody mentions if we will see them tomorrow, we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

I step outside to give Catherine a call, to see how they all are. I don’t spend too long on the phone and I don’t mention my phone call from Lieutenant Winters. Alarms are set and then the three of us settle down on the dining area floor with our pillows. Little sleep will be had tonight, if any, our brains, and nerves will be working overtime, but we must get whatever rest we can.

Chapter 11

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Lillian squawks as I jump out of my skin coming out of the downstairs toilet in the hallway.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you,” I ask, quickly regaining my composure.

“No, not at all. I don’t sleep well, so I thought I’d come down and make you all some breakfast before you go,” she tells me as she shuffles towards the kitchen in her dressing gown and slippers.

“Thank you, Lillian, but that wasn’t necessary,” I reply.

“Don’t be silly. You can’t set off on your journey on an empty stomach,” I’m told.

I smile to myself as I follow her into the kitchen, where she proceeds to switch the lights straight on. Josh and Alice groan as the lights blind them, but that’s okay, they need to wake themselves up now anyway. We will be setting off in just over an hour.

“Bacon sandwiches everyone?” Lillian asks loudly as she shuffles over to the fridge. There are no groans to that question but muffled ‘yes pleases’.

While Lillian begins to retrieve food from the fridge, I once again get my phone out of my pocket to see if there has been anything from Karen and Jim. There’s still nothing, not that any communication is expected yet unless their situation has changed.

I managed to resist checking my phone through the night, even though I don’t think I managed to get one wink of sleep. I did manage to relax, some, but it was tough not to keep playing the hours to come over and over in my mind. I tried to take the advice that Catherine had given me when I spoke to her last night, which was to concentrate on something else. I chose to concentrate on her, and it did work for a time, but the mission ahead kept seeping into my thoughts, until it took over completely once more.

“Mushrooms and tomato?” Lillian asks.

“Yes please,” I reply as I check the weather forecast for the day ahead.

According to the forecast, the weather isn’t going to be an issue today. It’s telling me that it will be overcast in London today, with sunny intervals. The news hasn’t changed much from yesterday, I see when I click off the weather. There is no good news, but at least it hasn’t got any worse. Although it is probably too early in the morning for the website to have updated with today’s latest horrors.

“Come on you two, look lively,” I say to Alice and Josh as I put my phone away.

“I’m up,” Josh tells me as he rises like the creature from the black lagoon.

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

“I’m okay. Wish I’d got a bit of sleep though.”

“You did,” I tell him. “Your snoring kept me awake.”

“Did I?” Josh asks surprised.

“Yes, you did,” I tell him.

“I don’t snore,” Josh protests. “Are you sure it wasn’t Alice?”

“Hey, you cheeky sod,” Alice bites.

“Only joking,” Josh quickly says.

“You’d better be,” Alice tells him as she picks up her travel bag and heads off to freshen up.

“Excuse me,” Bill says as he meets Alice at the doorway and lets her by.

“Ah, Bill, you can get the kettle on,” Lillian tells him, before he has had a chance to say good morning.

The bacon sandwiches come off the production line and they are gratefully received and consumed. Bill keeps the brews coming and before we know it, we are approaching the off.

Both Lillian and Bill sit on stools in the kitchen, cradling cups of tea and watch us in astonishment as we do our final weapons checks and load up with ammo. Their looks of astonishment turn to concern as we clip grenades to our bodies, throwing them between us like candy, to share them out.

I’ve got to hand it to the elderly couple, they have taken our arrival in their stride, and treated us kindly. I am sure the last thing they expected to happen last night was to have three soldiers arming up in their kitchen with assault rifles and grenades in the early hours of the morning.

Just as I am about to go over and thank them for looking after us, my phone starts to vibrate in my pocket. It must