Wednesday Picture: Spies in Kentish Town?

Extract from Jimmy Coates: Blackout by Joe Craig

Jimmy found himself mentally deconstructing the building: a huge place, detached from the houses around it. A converted cinema, Jimmy quickly realised from the crumbling art deco façade and the fact that it was all brick, no window. His brain filtered the information, rubbing every detail together, testing connections to see what became significant. The size of the crowd outside, for example. Jimmy found he was comfortable assuming that the place was similarly packed inside. And from the size of the building, that meant a lot of people.

A lot of places to conceal a hostage, he thought, picturing Viggo strapped down somewhere, possibly unconscious.

“We’ll need to get the vehicle close,” he said, scared for a moment at the unfamiliarity of his own voice. It sounded flat, almost mechanical. “The subject might be immobile.” These words were coming from somewhere else, a deep inner sense that operated more clinically, more automatically. A place where people were ‘subjects’ or ‘targets’ and life was just a mission to be executed. No doubts. No hesitation. No feelings.