Panic Button by Frazer Lee Read Free Book Online Page A

Dave’s butt playfully, like a jockey lashing a racehorse.
     

    “Yeah! Let’s see some of the hard stuff!”
     

    Gwen winced. “No, no I’m all good, thanks.”
     

    “Well stop going on about it then!” Visibly annoyed, Dave turned and stomped to the bar.
     

    “Dave?” Gwen’s voiced wavered. She looked shocked by his sudden change in mood.
     

    He ignored her, opening a bottle of whiskey. He poured a sizeable measure into a glass tumbler.
     

    “All right mate?” Max said, looking up at him.
     

    Dave downed his drink in brooding silence and poured another.
     

     
     

    Jo knelt on her seat, head resting against the cool glass of the window. Peering out into the night sky, she watched the wing lights blink amidst cloud vapour like the beam of a lighthouse in thick fog.
     

    The fizzy water had finally begun to offset the effects of the champagne. Her head had cleared a little and she felt at peace gazing out of her little porthole. Just then, a momentary flash of lightning caught her eye, way off in the distance. Thunder rumbled faintly over the drone of the engines.
     

    “Atlantic’s meant to be clear.”
     

    Jo was thinking aloud, her voice barely more than a whisper.
     

    Slumped back in his reclined seat, another large whiskey in hand, Dave shrugged.
     

    “So?”
     

    Jo looked over her shoulder at him. “I checked the weather, you know... before the flight.”
     

    Gwen looked nervous, swallowing hard. “And?”
     

    “And it’s meant to be clear.”
     

    Dave shrugged again, bullish. “Bloody weather men, always get it wrong.” He got up, groaning and stretching, and headed to the bar. Glasses and bottles clinked as he rummaged around, looking for something.
     

    “What are you doing?” Gwen asked. His rummaging was putting her nerves even more on edge.
     

    “Looking for something to eat. You’d think there would at least be some bloody bar snacks on this plane. Bet the business travellers don’t have to ask twice, know what I mean?”
     

    No-one answered. Dave gave up his search with a grunt of frustration and poured himself yet more whiskey.
     

    “Probably left food out of the equation deliberately,” Max said, watching Dave commit further crimes against his liver.
     

    “How’s that?” Dave asked, his speech slightly slurred.
     

    “Get us into the games more quickly,” Max replied, “Lots of booze, empty stomachs...”
     

    “You seem to know quite a bit about it.”
     

    Dave’s statement sounded like an accusation. The whiskey was evidently making the big man surly. Max fell quiet.
     

    Hearing another distant rumble of thunder, Jo turned her attention back to the window. She arched her hands over her forehead to block out the glare of the interior lights. Squinting out into the blackness, another flash of lightning revealed the swirling shapes of storm clouds gathering.
     

    Huge dark forms, like black ships rolling in toward their fragile little island in the sky.
     

Seven
     

     
     

     
     

    “Please take your seats. It is time for Round Two.” Alligator’s voice echoed around the jet.
     

    “Any fucking food on this boat?” Dave said, stomach gurgling in concert with his needs, hunger churning the lake of champagne and spirits in his tummy.
     

    The monitor screens flickered to life once more, the Alligator regarding them with his black- slitted eyes.
     

    “Dinner, and desserts, will be served upon arrival at your destination,” Alligator said.
     

    “What about a bag of peanuts while we’re waiting, eh? I’m bloody starving.”
     

    Dave rubbed his ample beer belly and licked his lips.
     

    “I’m famished too mate,” Max said.
     

    “Me too,” Jo said, “I skipped breakfast I was so excited about the flight.”
     

    Dave looked over at Gwen, who clearly did not want to discuss food.  

    “What about some pretzels then?” Dave ventured.
     

    Only the throb of the jet engines replied.
     

    “Tight