Long Time Lost by Chris Ewan Read Free Book Online

muzzle flare lighting up the terror-struck eyes of the masked man looming over her.
    ‘That’s perfect.’ Hanson checked the digital screen on the back of his camera. ‘You can relax now.’
    Kate drifted away from the white photographic backdrop, a faint whistling in her ears and a taste like aniseed in her mouth. She steadied herself against Hanson’s chair as he downloaded the photographs to one of his laptops.
    And then there she was. A collection of head-and-shoulder shots. Washed out. Stark. Somehow reduced. Her, but different. The cropped red hair styled into a no-nonsense bob. The peach lipstick, in the same pale tone as the underwear she had on. Like a stranger. Or maybe a long-lost twin sister, one who’d grown up in a completely different environment to Kate, with a look and a bearing all her own.
    And a style that positively repelled men, judging by the way Hanson had grimaced, clutching his hands to his head, the first time she’d followed Becca out of the bedroom.
    She had on dark blue jeans with a high waist, a baggy pale blue sweatshirt and white trainers over white sports socks.
    Next to her, Becca looked glam and effortlessly fabulous, armed with the make-up brushes and foundation she’d used to tailor Kate’s appearance, and it occurred to Kate that this was the exact opposite of all the dumb rom-com movies she’d ever seen. This time, the cool girl had worked her magic only to transform Kate into the ultimate dork.
    ‘That works,’ was all Miller had to say, from where he was slouched on a high wooden stool over by the kitchen counter, surrounded by wonky cabinets, a stained fridge-freezer and a grotty, fat-smeared cooker.
    He hadn’t moved or spoken since. He was monitoring events silently and Kate had to fight an urge to go over and shake him. Didn’t he get how freaked out she was? Didn’t he understand that this was more than just routine for her?
    It was different from before, with the police. Back then, she’d been told that she’d come out of protection shortly after Russell’s trial. Everything had been officially sanctioned. Everything had been reversible.
    Here, there was no safety net.
    She wasn’t only afraid of what she was getting into. She was scared by everything she was giving up. Not just her life as she knew it, but also the life she’d hoped to have. She was smart enough to know she couldn’t walk away from this unscathed.
    ‘Gotcha.’
    Hanson had selected the least flattering headshot, opened it in a new window and tweaked a series of parameters. Then he hit a key and a compact black machine started to whir and hum until it spat out a British passport, opened to the laminated page at the back. Hanson removed the document and wafted it in the air. He bent it and crushed it, then handed it to Kate.
    ‘Kate Elizabeth Ryan,’ she read.
    ‘It’s best you keep your first name,’ Miller explained. ‘Easier to remember in pressure situations.’
    It was the opposite of the advice the police protection officers had given her.
    ‘Why Ryan? Why Elizabeth?’
    ‘Why not?’ Becca asked.
    ‘Kate Elizabeth Ryan,’ she said again. But the name meant nothing to her.
    Hanson eyed her from over the tops of his spectacle frames. ‘In case you were wondering, you should be totally impressed by me right now.’
    ‘Will it work?’
    ‘I’m not going to pretend that doesn’t hurt.’ He took the passport back, wheeling his chair over to another laptop where he tapped a key and typed a password into the dialogue box that appeared onscreen. He flattened the passport and slipped it beneath a scanner.
    There was a brief pause before multiple lines of green text appeared over a black background.
    ‘What is this?’
    ‘The main database for the National Passport Office. If you pass through UK border control and an officer scans your passport, this is what they’ll see.’
    ‘You mean it’ll look like this?’
    ‘No, I mean it is this. I have a back door into their system.