Chapter 6 - Part 1

"Ha ha aha haa haa," came the thunderous laugh of Krank as he emerged from the front door, vast pump action shot gun held aloft in his right hand. He was six foot five, a towering hulk of a man. His head was shaved bald and his left eye was marked by a vast scar that ran from his temple down to his cheek. "This chick's got more balls than you Bishop," Krank boomed with a chuckle, gesturing to Anthony's crotch with the tip of his gun.

"Jesus, careful where you point that thing," Anthony cursed, pushing the gun away.

Krank laughed again and strode up to Ebbe, looking her up and down admiringly. He took in her figure lasciviously.

"Shame," he tutted remorsefully, "not bad."

Ebbe scowled at this ridiculous man, taking an instant dislike to his obvious disregard for human life. Thank goodness it wasn't this buffoon who'd been sent on the V6 mission. It's unlikely I'd have got a word in edgewise before he turned me into shark bait. An image of Roy Scheider, chumming chopped fish and blood into the ocean in disgust in Jaws, made Ebbe chuckle to herself. Chum, that was what she'd name this fool, because he was a blood and guts type.


"You sure he's a doctor?" Ebbe hissed at Anthony, doing her level best to maintain eye contact and feeling self-conscious that her cheeks often flushed when embarrassed.


"Where's your man Bishop?" Chum boomed with the subtly of a cannon.


Anthony, seemingly in no hurry to re-dress, nodded towards the Land Rover and made a small gesture with his hand. Ebbe took that to be a question to Chum as to whether he was free to move now. Clearly Anthony didn't wholly trust this man, that made Ebbe nervous. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible and truly hoped Chum was just the doorman, and the real doctor was hiding in the basement. Chum looked at his shotgun and let out another coarse laugh before tossing the gun to the Anthony carelessly. Anthony moved with the speed and precision of a panther, catching the weapon, spinning it around and pumping it to let out the remaining shells. When it was empty, he dropped it to the ground and strolled over to the Land Rover. Ebbe couldn't help admiring his muscular form, she had never seen someone as physically fit as Anthony strip down, outside of the movies. There are, she pondered, disadvantages to spending most of your life around geeks.


Ebbe shook her head, angry with herself for getting distracted by such fruitless thoughts. It isn't like me to be so easily distracted, she admitted. Has it just been too long since I...


"Sorry about, er..." Anthony, now partially dressed, suddenly loomed into view and startled her. Ebbe felt her face flushing hot and she was certain her cheeks must be glowing like a red delicious. She turned to see Anthony, trousers back on, but still topless until he pulled his sweater over his head, covering his chest. He looked flustered and Ebbe found that disconcerting. When Chum had them pinned down and under fire, Anthony was, as the saying goes, as cool as a cucumber. Now he looked uncertain and uncomfortable. He was about to speak again when Ebbe suddenly realised what the problem was. He was trying to apologise for his impromptu fondling earlier and was struggling. We're alike, this man and I, Ebbe thought, we've both loved and lost something. We've both thrown ourselves into our work and now because of a little sexual tension we're both acting like bewildered teenagers. Good grief, I never knew I could reach my forties and still end up as awkward as I was when I thirteen. Watching Anthony flounder was too much and she didn't want anything complicated. Instead of saying anything Ebbe lifted her forefinger and placed it on his lips, before gently shaking her head, forcing out a small smile. 


Anthony looked almost relieved, as if she had silently accepted his unspoken apology and the air was now clear. He turned to look back at the Land Rover and Ebbe followed his gaze. Grim Reaper and Shakes were waiting by the side door, which had been left open. 


"He's a good man," Anthony said, although Ebbe was unsure if he meant Moon Face or Chum. She opted not to ask. The gravel behind them crunched and they both turned simultaneously to see Chum emerge from the farmhouse carrying a stretcher. He lugged it over to the Land Rover and handed it to the waiting pair. Ebbe looked up at Anthony, his eyes focused intently on the group around the Land Rover.


"Go help," she insisted, sensing he was lingering with her out of some sort of protective duty, as if she might be shaken by the events. He didn't turn to look at Ebbe, simply nodding gratefully before striding towards the Land Rover purposely. She watched him tenderly help his prostate friend onto the stretcher with the utmost care, ensuring Moon Face's head and back remained straight. 


"You're a good man," Ebbe found herself saying out loud. It struck her suddenly that she had been thinking of him as Anthony, rather than the nickname Fearless Leader. Oh good grief, that means nothing, she rolled her eyes at her own thoughts dismissively. To prove it she forced herself to look up the midday sun, currently partially obscured by stretches of pepper grey clouds. You see Ebbe, there's a greater mystery at hand than my predilection for one name or another.There's the small matter of the sun switching itself off and on. 


Ebbe had expected many odd events, she had imagined the sun, over many decades, dimming, and perhaps one day, hundreds or even thousands of years away, fizzing out completely. But to just click off like a light bulb, with no discernible effect on the level of light or heat, that was pure insanity. That didn't just defy the laws of physics, it defied rational thought. It was, Ebbe decided, so irrational that she suspected most people would label it as such. She could just imagine TV, Radio and Internet abuzz with claims we had all experienced some kind of mass hallucination. That would sound infinitely more plausible. It certainly sounded more plausible to Ebbe.


"Oi, love? Make yourself useful and pop the kettle on would ya?" The coarse yell of Chum shook her from her thoughts.


The bloody cheek, Ebbe thought, who does he think I am? Kicking the shotgun aside she stormed up to the Land Rover. 

Moon Face was now safely strapped onto the stretcher, and Grim Reaper and Shakes had taken either side, so they could transport him into the house. Chum was striding alongside them, but Ebbe placed herself directly in his path defiantly. He looked down at her with a quizzical frown, his mouth curling into a smirk in the corner. Ebbe looked up at him with boiling blood. Chum turned to look at Anthony, perhaps in the hope Anthony could control her. Much to her delight Anthony just looked back at Chum and shrugged with a gesture that it was up to Chum how to proceed. Chum rolled his eyes and tried to step around Ebbe, but she simply sidestepped back into his path. With a sigh Chum clenched his fists and stepped back in the other direction, but Ebbe simply mirrored him. Her heart was pounding hard, but she couldn't let him get the better of her. She was determined, just as she had with Anthony, to get the upper hand. Every man had a button to press to deflate their ego, she simply had to seek it out. Once the ego was gone, they were much more amenable company.


"Lady, will you?" Chum started, gesturing at Grim and Shakes holding the stretcher. 


"Look here Mr Chum, for some reason Anthony has faith in your skills. But I can tell you one thing, he doesn't trust you. Nobody can truly trust a man like you, because you're a bully, you're unpredictable and you're foolhardy. Perhaps in the middle of a battlefield they are all good attributes, but..." Ebbe was in full flow when Chum simply placed a vast palm on her face and pushed her aside, sending her stumbling backwards onto the gravel driveway. Her hands fumbled back, trying to soften the blow, only have the little stones dig into the soft skin of the palms.


Bewildered and confused, Ebbe simply stayed sitting, staring at the gravel blankly. She was vaguely aware that the trio had marched off and disappeared into the house. Ebbe closed her eyes and fought back a wave of emotion. She had misjudged, she had lost control and she'd made a fool of herself. Now she sensed something worse, in corners of her eyes, she sensed a moistening, as if she may cry. This was utterly unacceptable. Ebbe didn't cry. She could count on one hand the amount of times, in her adult life, she'd cried. The last time was when Jorge had...


But the thought was halted when Ebbe, eyes still scrunched shut, sensed a presence. She opened her eyes, thankfully free of tears, to see Anthony leaning down, right hand held out, offering her a lift up. His eyes twinkled with playful mirth. Ebbe took a deep breath and dusting her hands off, accepted his outstretched hand. When she grasped it she noticed how rough and leathery it was. With minimum effort Anthony pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. 


"Can't win them all," he remarked, before leading her into the farmhouse.