“Sorry, love. You’re not my type,” Shaun said.
Udo pointed to the cubicle, which Ingvar hadn’t moved from.
“Oh fuck,” Shaun said.
“We have to get him to his room before anyone notices,” Udo urged. “I can’t do it on my own.”
Shaun sighed. “Fine. You take one arm and I’ll take the other.”
They went to grab hold of Ingvar.
“Come on, you big lump,” Shaun grunted.
Between the two of them, they managed to get Ingvar on his feet.
“I’m sorry,” he wailed.
“Be quiet,” Udo said. “Can you walk?”
Ingvar nodded. He staggered forward before lurching toward the sinks. Shaun and Udo caught him.
“How are we going to get him to the lift?” Shaun asked.
Suddenly it had got very warm in the bathroom. Udo pulled at his tie to give himself some air.
“Go to the door and wait until we’re clear,” Udo said. “Then, Ingvar, you’ve got to really try. It’s not so far.”
Shaun nodded and dashed away. He peered out into the lobby.
“Wait,” he said. “There’s some people at reception. Looks like they’re nearly done.”
Udo ran the cold tap and splashed water on Ingvar’s face. He wasn’t sure if it worked but he would try anything.
“Are you trying to drown me?” Ingvar wailed.
“I think you’ve done a good job of that yourself,” Udo replied.
“They’re gone,” Shaun said, coming back.
With a nod, they both took hold of Ingvar and spirited him out of the bathroom as quickly as possible. Considering the weight of the Icelandic defender, that wasn’t as fast as Udo would’ve liked.
Mercifully, the elevators were close to the gents’ bathroom door. They got Ingvar and pressed him up against the wall. Gravity was certainly not their friend at that moment.
Shaun hit the button.
“Come on, you bastard,” he muttered.
Udo scanned the lobby. There was no one around except for the receptionist who was too intent on staring at her screen.
Then movement caught his eye. Steven was coming out of the function room.
“Fuck,” he said.
The lift came and they practically threw Ingvar inside. Once the doors had closed, he and Shaun breathed a sigh of relief.
“That was close,” Shaun said. “Cox would’ve ratted on us in a second.”
Udo’s initial reaction was to defend Steven’s professionalism but now wasn’t the time. Instead he just nodded.
