Sure Fire by Jack Higgins Read Free Book Online Page A

“Put them in danger, and it’ll be the last time I work for you. Ever.” There was a pause. “That oldscrapyard? Yes, I know it. Totters Lane, isn’t it? Yes. Half an hour.”
    Jade grabbed Rich’s arm and pulled him into the bedroom.
    â€œWhat?” Rich said.
    â€œWhat do you mean, ‘what?’? If this job of his is so important and if it’s on the level, and if he really does work in the oil industry…”
    â€œIf?” Rich countered.
    â€œYes, if . If that’s all true, then why is he going to a meeting to hand over something he shouldn’t have, in a scrapyard?”
    Rich sighed. “All right. Look, he said there were things he couldn’t tell us right now. But maybe we should find out.”
    â€œYeah? Like how?”
    â€œBy following him and seeing who he meets.”
    â€œWe can’t do that,” Jade said. “Can we?”
    Rich shrugged. “You can nick his mobile – I don’t see why we can’t follow him to a meeting.”
    The bedroom door opened and Chance was standing there. “Look, sorry,” he said. “I have to go out. We’ll talk again when I get back, all right?”
    â€œAll right,” Jade said.
    They watched him cross the living room. He paused to pick up his cigarettes from on top of the television. He seemed about to open the packet, but he caught sight of Jade and Rich still watching him, and instead stuffed the cigarettes into his jacket pocket.
    â€œSee you in an hour or so then,” Chance said. He didn’t wait for a reply.
    They heard the hall door slam shut behind him.
    â€œWe’ll see you a lot sooner than that,” Rich said.

5
    The evening had drawn in and it was getting dark. There was a light drizzle, enough to permeate through Jade’s coat and make the air feel colder than it was.
    â€œThere he is, look,” Rich said, pointing to the dark silhouette of a figure passing under a streetlight further down the road. They hurried after Chance, keeping to the shadows in case he looked back.
    He did not look back, and Jade could not believe he knew they were following him. But even so, Chance suddenly darted into an alleyway. If she had blinked, Jade would have missed it – it would have seemed like he had simply disappeared into thin air.
    They approached the end of the alley hesitantly,in case Chance was standing waiting for them. Jade wasn’t frightened of him, but she didn’t fancy another argument. For all her bravado she didn’t like falling out with anyone – even when they were wrong. Like he was.
    Rich looked at her, and Jade nodded. “Let’s do it,” she said quietly.
    Together, they stepped into the end of the alley and looked along it.
    Nothing.
    The alley was empty.
    Chance was gone.
    They sprinted along the alley and found it turned a sharp corner and then came out in a busy street. A bus sprayed water up at them as it went through a shallow puddle. People walked past quickly, huddled into their coats as the rain got heavier. Cars and taxis splashed after the bus.
    There was no sign of John Chance.
    â€œIt’s like he knew we were following him,” Rich complained.
    â€œHow could he, though?” Jade said.
    â€œMaybe he just thought someone might follow him,” Rich said. “Not us, but someone else. I don’tknow. We need to find a bookshop.”
    Jade stared at him. “We need to find Dad.”
    â€œSo he’s ‘Dad’ now, is he?” Rich seemed amused.
    â€œWhat else should I call him? And what good will a bookshop be? Or do you just want to get something to read?”
    As they walked along the street, a woman stepped out of the shadows. She was careful to keep well back, though neither of the children had noticed she had been following them since they left the flat.
    There was a bookshop further down the same road. It was a small branch of a big chain, and it had what