Page 69 of Captive Hearts
But then someone else was getting in and shutting the door. ‘Pete, we’re in,’ Ashley said.
‘Fuck areyoudoing in here?!’ Pete said.
‘I’m just… You needed the door shut, didn’t you?’ Gina turned to see Ashley sliding into a seat, hunching her knees up on the chair. There was nowhere for her feet to go; the footwell was full of people. ‘Gina couldn’t do it, not quickly anyway, without exposing you. So I just… took the initiative. Hope you don’t mind.’
Pete huffed. ‘For fuck’s sake. Youneverdo as you’re fucking told, do you?’
‘I was just trying to get this done safely, Pete. You needed the door shut.’
‘So why not do it with you on the other side?’
‘I didn’t think of that,’ Ashley said. Gina didn’t buy that at all. Nor did Pete. ‘You don’t think I know you did this on purpose?’
‘I wasn’t thinking,’ Ashley assured him. ‘That’s all. Anyway, we’ll be going now, shall we? Leave you to crack on.’
Pete went quiet for a second. ‘Look, I’m safe. I can’t risk the door opening again now.’
‘What do you mean?’ Gina said into Pete’s shoulder.
‘I mean, I… You’re gonna have to come with me.’
Gina couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen this coming. You couldn’t trust Pete as far as you could throw him.
‘So you were just gonnatakeGina? After what you promised?’ Ashley said. Gina could hear in her voice that she’d known he was gonna do this.
‘Gina, can you do me a favour and get the fuck off me? My leg’s going numb.’
Gina was happy to oblige, and she clambered gingerly up into the seat, sitting next to Ashley. She peered down at the floor where Pete was awkwardly stuffed, out of the view of the windows, cuddling his gun like a teddy. Gina glanced around the vehicle. The interior was about the size of a hatchback, quite tatty looking.
Gina eyed Ashley. ‘You shouldn’t have done this.’
Ashley shrugged. ‘I told you at the start of the day. I go where the story is.’
Gina shook her head at Ashley. ‘Bullshit.’
Ashley turned away. ‘Look, you’re my camerawoman. I’m not much good without you, am I? So ifyou’rein the plane,I’min the plane.’
Gina swallowed, deeply touched. ‘Ashley, you’ve done the stupidest thing you could possibly have done. But… Idoappreciate it.’
‘Just matching your stupid gesture,’ she shrugged, acting like it was no big. But it was. It really was.
Gina glanced out of the window to see what was happening, hoping for some last-minute cavalry to appear. But no. Not a single police officer had moved a muscle, still in their holding pattern. The hostages were nowhere to be seen, though. They’d clearly legged it the second that door closed. It was reassuring to Gina. There was a point to this. They were safe—even fucking Leanne.
‘So, we going?’ the pilot asked, glancing down at Pete over her chair.
‘Yes.’
‘No,’ Ashley said. ‘We’regetting out. Like we said.’ Clearly, she wasn’t quite ready to go to Egypt.Shewas the cavalry.
‘You’re really fucking not,’ Pete told her sternly.
Ashley’s eyes went round. ‘But yousaid.’
‘Well, I changed my mind. I don’t have to explain myself, anyway. I say, you do. So, here’s what happens next. This plane takes off, and we all fly to Egypt.’
‘Via Malta,’ the pilot said.
‘Yeah, fine, whatever,’ Pete said grumpily. ‘Malta, then Egypt.’
