Tunnels 06 - Terminal

rich and famous. I’ve only seen places like this before on Mum’s TV programmes,’ he remarked.
    They chose the largest of the bedrooms and began to search it for warm clothes. Will opened a door in the corner, only to find that there was a walk-in wardrobe with beautifully made cedarwood shelves stacked high with men’s clothes. He called Elliott over and they helped themselves to whatever came to hand, donning jumpers and then another layer on top in an effort to keep warm.
    For the remainder of the night they took turns keeping guard at the doorway, while the other slept.
    Will had been right to get them under cover, as it wasn’t long before dawn broke. Turning his lens off, he gently shook Elliott awake. She had sunk into the sumptuous king-size bed, pulling the duvet right over her head. They both tiptoed downstairs, the light from outside allowing them to take in how extravagant the interior was.
    ‘This is nothing like your house,’ Elliott observed, standing on the polished marble tiles in the hallway as Will went into the large conservatory, which had a grand piano in it, surrounded by some rather thirsty-looking palm trees in large earthenware pots.
    ‘You’re saying,’ he laughed. ‘Which way’s the kitchen?’
    They found it – an incredibly expensive-looking room with white tiles everywhere and similarly white fittings. And in the first cupboard they checked they came across packets of chocolate digestive biscuits.
    Will wasted no time in tearing open one of these, passing Elliott a handful of biscuits. ‘A little soggy, but wow, taste that chocolate!’ Will mumbled through a mouthful. He stood in front of the twin sinks beneath the window, staring out at the garden, and continued to munch his way through the whole packet. He didn’t take much notice as Elliott went off to explore the house.
    Hearing a sound behind him, he spun round.
    A man, in his fifties with a grey beard and untidy hair, stood there with a handgun aimed straight at Will’s head. ‘What are you doing in my house?’ he demanded in a growl.
    With crumbs dropping from his mouth, Will tried to answer.
    ‘I see you’ve broken one of my windows. What are you? A bloody looter?’ the man said, his voice low with anger. ‘Some low-life up from the Archway come here to clear me out?’
    Will managed to swallow his mouthful. ‘No, not a looter,’ he replied.
    ‘If you don’t get off my property, so help me … I’ll put a bullet in you,’ the man threatened, taking a step back from Will as if giving him the option to leave without a fuss.
    Will sighed. ‘Why am I always the one who gets the gun pointed at him?’ he asked wearily.
    ‘What?’ the man asked in a rush of breath, amazed that Will was taking the situation so coolly.
    And Will was taking it coolly. After what he’d been through over the past couple of years, it took more than this to rattle him. Particularly because he’d noticed something. ‘So you’re going to shoot me with that poxy air pistol, are you? Then what?’ Will asked. ‘Because it’s not going to do much damage to me, and by the time you’ve cocked it and put a new pellet in, I’ll have cut you in half with my Sten.’ He turned slightly to allow the man a glimpse of the submachine gun slung over his shoulder.
    ‘That’s a Sten?’ the man said, looking markedly less confident.
    There was a click as Elliott did her party piece, slipping off the safety on her rifle with the barrel prodding the man in the nape of the neck. ‘Need any help there, Will?’ she asked.
    ‘No, we’re fine,’ Will said. ‘Me and beardy man are just talking, aren’t we?’
    The man slowly lowered his air pistol, but regarded Will and then Elliott with some indignation. ‘If you’re going to nick my clothes, do you think you could take something otherthan my best suits? Those are both bespoke Savile Row, and damned expensive.’
    Will hadn’t paid much attention to what they’d found in the wardrobe, but now examined the grey suit jacket he was wearing, and the double-breasted blue suit that Elliott had picked out, with the sleeves and trouser legs rolled up so that it was a better fit. They were both very fine suits.
    ‘Sorry,’ Will said. ‘We didn’t come here to steal from you, but we were just both bloody freezing. It was early in the morning when we arrived, and we needed clothes and somewhere warm.’
    ‘Why? Where did you arrive from?’ the man enquired. ‘Because I haven’t