‘I don’t think so,’ he said. ‘We’re in for two bottles of champagne, and you were fairly clear you were game. So I rather think youwillhave that drink.’
‘Not tonight,’ Margaret said, feeling a burst of adrenaline cutting through the fuzziness from the drink. ‘I’m feeling rather woozy, and I rather fear I’ll be asleep as soon as I catch sight of my room.’
‘Asleep, awake, it’s all the same to us,’ Todd said. ‘In fact, Muggers here prefers them when they’re lying still. Me? I like a bit of a fight.’
‘Would it help if I asked nicely?’ Margaret said. She spoke politely. Demure. Ladylike. She felt it was only fair to giveone opportunity for this to end peacefully, and she hadn’t been lying. She really did want to lie down for a couple of hours, and if they ended up fighting, she knew where it would lead – she’d be pacing around her room, buzzing with adrenaline for hours on end until it abated, leaving her with stomach cramps. Frankly, she could do without the whole faff.
‘You two chaps are obviously looking for a bit of fun. I’m sure there are plenty of ladies out there who’d like to spend the night with you, or at least as long as it takes. They charge by the hour, I’m told, so if you’re quick you might only be looking at a few bob.’ She looked Todd in the eye. ‘And it would be quick, wouldn’t it?’
‘You’ve got a mouth on you,’ Todd said, stepping away slightly, as if he was offended that the woman he’d picked as his prey talked in such a way. ‘Your feller know you talk like that?’
‘I don’t have a feller,’ Margaret said. ‘Or rather, I had one, but then I had to give him up. It’s complicated.’ As she talked, she stared at the back of the head of the lift attendant. Would he turn around? Would he intervene? Her bet was on no. He was doing his best wise monkey impression, seeing nothing, hearing nothing, saying nothing.
‘I say, is there a security detail in the hotel?’ she asked, loudly, but the lift operator’s only response was to lower the lever he’d been holding, slowing the lift.
‘Fifth floor,’ he said, averting his eyes as the doors slid open and the two men ushered Margaret out into the corridor.
‘Listen,’ Margaret said to Todd, putting an edge into her voice. ‘We can end this right now – you go to your room and I go to mine, no harm done. Or one of you’s going to spend the night in a police cell and the other’s going to spend it in a hospital.’
Todd fished in his pocket for his room key with his right hand, his left arm still bent around Margaret’s arm.
‘I don’t think so,’ he said. ‘We’re going to have a nice time in here. Although, word to the wise, the more you run that mouth, the less nice I’ll be. Got it?’
He unlocked his door and pushed Margaret inside.
Margaret stumbled into the room, putting some distance between her and the men. The door closed behind her. She was afraid, of course. Only a fool wasn’t afraid at the start of a fight. But she was quietly confident.
‘Last chance,’ she said. ‘Really. Let’s say you’re both good chaps who’ve had a few too many drinks. You’ve both got mothers, maybe sisters. You’ve signed up to do your bit to defend your country. So we can all agree it wouldn’t be congruent with those thoughts for you to force yourselves on a defenceless woman in a dingy hotel room. Wouldn’t exactly be your finest hour.’
Todd removed his jacket. He unbuckled his belt and pulled it out of the belt loops in one whistling motion.
‘Keep talking and you’ll get the buckle end,’ he said. ‘Muggers, help the lady undress.’
Muggers took a step towards her. He seemed unsure.
‘Which one of you’s the better pilot?’ Margaret asked.
Muggers stopped, confused.
‘Why?’ he asked.
‘Doesn’t seem very sensible to take out two pilots,’ Margaret said. ‘From what I read in the papers we’re running short of you lot as it is.’
‘I’m the better pilot,’ Todd said.
‘Can you fly with a broken arm?’ Margaret asked.
‘If I had to.’
‘Right or left?’
Todd gave a nervous look towards his friend, then took another step towards her.
Muggers lunged at her, got a handful of her dress. He pulled her towards him.
‘I suppose you don’t need your testicles to fly,’ Margaret said, glad she’d come to an acceptable solution. She kneed him, giving it all she had, and as he crumpled, she grabbed his left arm and held it out straight, letting the weight of his falling body dislocate the arm at the shoulder, with a deep, loud snap of cartilage.
‘Last chance,’ she said to Todd. But he wasn’t listening.
