The Getaway (Sam Archer 2) by Tom Barber Read Free Book Online Page A

River .
    Looking around the carriage to pass the time, he saw a young boy sitting on one of the blue benches, his father standing over him, both in jeans and polo shirts. The kid was no older than fiv e or six but they were already the spitting image of each other, and the boy looked excited as if they had something fun planned for the day, an outing or maybe just a chance to spend time with his father. Archer watched him. His shoelaces were untied, and they swung back and forth in the air as the train moved and slowed, the plastic tips occasionally brushing the ground. His father realised, and knelt down, tying them up, keeping his balance as the train started to slow. Archer smiled, then swallowed and averted his gaze.
    There were more people waiting on the platform here, as there always were. Queensborough Plaza was where the N and Q line met the 7 train, the line that ran through all the other neighbourhoods in Queens . The doors opened and everyone on the platform moved i nside, the carriage becoming even more crowded, everyone packed in together, the carriage full. Eventually, the doors closed again and the train rolled on. He saw people making last minute texts or ending calls on cell phones. They were about to go into the tunnel, under the river, heading towards 59 th Street and Manhattan , and all cellular service would cut out shortly .
    The train entered the tunnel and rumbled and rattled on through the darkness. Despite the crowd around him, the sudden change in light made him realise how clean the train was. Archer had seen photos from the 80’s and early 90’s of the NYC MTA subway system. Graffiti, dirt, scores of homeless people, murders, intimidating gangs waiting for prey and chances to mug passengers. This was a marked change. He’d read in the paper that Mayor Giuliani had cleaned up the streets and the city’s transport system during the last decade after 9/11 and he’d done a great job. Archer could think of only one better system that he had used in his lifetime, and that was the subway in Washington D.C. That was about as good as it got. Carpets, no music, no food, everyone sat pretty much in silence, everything clean, no trash. But then again, the New York MTA ran all night, which drew the two just about even.
    After another minute or so, the train rolled into 59 th Street and Lexington Avenue , the darkness of the tunnels suddenly illuminated by the lights of the station at they flashed past the windows. The train slowed as a female voice announced the station over the train’s intercom system, then eventually pulled to a halt, the brakes screeching and stopping the train with an operatic crescendo. The doors opened, and the carriage suddenly started to empty, pretty much everyone inside getting off. Archer saw the boy climb off the bench and grab his father’s hand and the two of them joined everyone else exiting the train . The sudden increase in room was pleasant, and Archer saw the few people left inside the carriage visibly relax like himself, enjoying getting their personal space back. After another moment, the doors shut, and the train moved on.
    They stopped three more times, at 5 th Avenue , 57 th Street and 7 th , and 49 th Street before the train pulled into Times Square 42 nd Street . This station wa s the central transport hub in M idtown Manhattan, conjoining a series of various subway and transport lines from all sorts of different paths and routes through the city. After the train stopped and the doors opened, Archer stepped out and began walking briskly through the crowd down the platform, headed towards the stairs. He didn’t need to look behind him. He knew the guy would be following. He jogged up the steps, quick enough to move up them swiftly but not fast enough to alert the man following him that the game was up.
    But the moment he reached the upper tier, he moved fast, gaining some distance. He rushed through a winding turnstile and walked swiftly towards the stairs,