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Divide and Conquer Tom Clancy; Jeff Rovin; Steve R
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Doctor Who Salvation Steve Lyons
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cry mercy andrews ilona
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.His hair and beard were bobbled to the same short length, and from both his manner and his breath I guessed he'd been drinking for a while: possibly several days.Sitting beside him, Cardo was taller, rangier and in his early twenties, dressed in baggy sports gear and a baseball cap that hid most of his face.In contrast to Choc, he was slouched and uncommunicative: more interested in his mobile than the people beside him.But I did a trick - bare hands, sleeves rolled up, coin produced from behind his ear - and he broke into a sheepish grin, like a teenager whose cool had slipped.Aside from those two, the rest of the table was a weird mixture.It felt like a gathering of strangers who'd all, if they were honest, probably rather be somewhere else.As I worked through my routines, I slowly figured out the glue between them all was the girl on one end.I perched on the arm of the settee across from her.'Hi there.What's your name?''Tori.''Nice to meet you, Tori.I'm Dave.'She was small and self-contained, wearing her long brown hair tied back, and dressed in a flimsy, pale-blue shirt.The top two buttons were undone, revealing a silver cross on a necklace that I would later learn belonged to her sister, who'd died four years ago.Her face was pretty without being beautiful, but there was something about her that caught my attention as soon as I sat down there.Throughout the earlier part of my routine she'd been quiet, mostly just sitting back and smiling to herself, as though content to enjoy the evening from a distance, comfortable in her own thoughts.I didn't know it properly then, but this was the truth about Tori.Most people, by their mid twenties have usually been messed around with, and they've hardened themselves up as a result.They take longer to trust someone: to relax the protective shell they've formed.Tori wasn't like that; she offered everything about herself without any kind of guard.That's a rare thing.'Okay,' I said.'I want you to tell me when to stop.'I held a pack of cards face-down, then riffled slowly down the edge.'Stop.'I did: not quite halfway down.I cut the deck at that point and, turning my head away, held it up for everyone at the table to see.'That's the card you cut to.I have no idea what it is, but I want you to remember it.''Okay.'I put the deck back together, then handed it to her.'Have a look through, and make sure the cards are all different, so you know I'm not cheating.'I watched her fan them out towards her.Her hands were very delicate and precise.'That's good.Now you might think I know where in the pack your card is, so I want you to shuffle them as much as you like.'She did, her actions methodical and unhurried.Then I went through a few more things she should do.By the time we were finished, the cards were shuffled, cut, back inside the packet again, and she'd chosen a bemused man standing nearby to hold the resealed deck for us.I looked into her eyes.'Okay.I can't see him.He's not making any sounds or giving me any clues.Right?''Right.'We'd both leaned forwards a little now, and she was looking back at me, amused and unintimidated.I realised that although her face was pretty, her eyes - big and brown - were fully beautiful.For a moment, the trick almost got away from me.'Okay.' I breathed deeply, apparently making a real effort, then said to one side: 'Sir? Can you tell me - do you smoke?''Er, yeah.'I nodded once, as though it mattered.'I thought so.Tori, would you do me a favour and look under the ashtray, please?'She lifted it up to reveal a single card lying face down.'Is that the card you cut to?'It bowed in the middle as she fumbled slightly, and then a smile broke across her face when she turned it.'Yeah.' She looked across at the guy holding the deck, then back at me, and it felt like my heart beat a little harder.Just once.'Well, that's impressive.'I smiled and stood up.'Thank you.'I'd noticed three couples in the group around the table, discounting Choc and Cardo, and then her.It was why I'd gone for that particular card: a small flourish that Rob swore - and occasionally boasted - by.I wasn't so good with the cheesy come-ons, but something about her had made me think: why not?'Two of hearts.You know what that means? Maybe the man of your dreams is here tonight.' Whatever effect Rob managed with this, it sounded a lot less suave coming from me.'But anyway - thanks for having me, and enjoy the rest of your evening.' I nodded around the table.'All of you.'I got a small round of applause, Choc clapping like he was smacking something hard, over and over, one step from fucking wolf-whistling, and I acknowledged it all gratefully before moving on to the next table.And later on, when I was done for the night and a few drinks down, I tentatively went back.It's at this point that I'd like to be able to tell you it was perfect.But it wasn't.It turned out that Tori and I had very little in common.She didn't drink, for example; I did.Her CD collection consisted mostly of women playing acoustic guitars or pianos very quietly.I liked heavier stuff, but never dared put any on in case it bruised her.I watched crap, whereas she knew a lot about obscure foreign arthouse films, and for some reason wanted to see more of them.And she was ludicrously well read: an English graduate with shelves full of poetry and proper literature, which she was actually capable of discussing.When we were together, I found I was always editing myself in a bid to keep us together, and a relationship like that is never going to last.Ours lasted for two and a half months.I spent most of it feeling very confused with myself, and I could tell that she did too.We both liked each other a lot, but for some reason it wasn't enough.There was destined to be no happy ending.But at least there was an ending.The night it finished, we were lying in bed together in her house: on our backs, arms touching.We both knew it was over.'This is probably where it should stop, isn't it?' Tori said.I forced myself not to disagree.Something told me not to ruin this the way I might have ruined other things in the past.'I think so,' I said.'It's not what I wanted to happen.''Me neither.I'm sorry it's not worked out.I really am.''Can we be friends?''Of course.' She turned on her side to face me, and I did the same.Huddled up together, she smiled and touched my face.'Always.'I looked at her and, even though I knew it was right, I felt about as sad as I could remember.I'd never been in a relationship that had ended up this way.There'd always been cheating, or screaming, or just growing indifference; whereas with Tori, I felt none of those things.Whatever would or wouldn't work between us, something about her mattered to me more than I could explain, and I wanted her to be part of my life.'If you ever need me,' I said, 'I'll be there for you [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]