Line of Descent Chapter 24
Chapter 24 As soon as Drayton and his men entered the forest, the pace of their withdrawal slowed as they carefully negotiated each twist and turn of the path, wary of an ambush. They leapfrogged from position to position, always covering the man whose turn it was to go ahead and check out each corner. … Read more
Line of Descent Chapter 23
Chapter 23 Drayton lay prone, squeezed between the other two men at the northern post. In front of them, the lawn stretched out in the moonlight to the treeline. Nothing moved or made a noise, not even his companions whose breathing had become almost inaudible. The moonlight turned the carefully tended lawn into a silvery … Read more
Line of Descent Chapter 22
Chapter 22 He lay full length on the ground, concealed within a clump of vegetation through which he studied the house and the hastily built positions in front of it. He held a rifle which poked out in front of him, stopping two feet short of the end of the cover. It had been in … Read more
Line of Descent Chapter 21
Chapter 21 ‘You did the right thing’ said Drayton handing him a glass of whiskey from the bottle Harting had produced from somewhere. Krupmeyer looked like he needed it. ‘If you’d stayed, he’d have got the lot of you.’ Krupmeyer accepted the drink. His hand still shook from reaction and the brutal physical effort of … Read more
Line of Descent Chapter 20
Chapter 20 Krupmeyer sneaked out of the house and across the lawn with five of the guards. Each was armed with a sub‑machine gun and a pistol. Before entering the forest, they stopped at the edge to rub some earth on their faces and hands. Krupmeyer went around each of them checking out the results. … Read more
Line of Descent chapter 19
Chapter 19 The medical supplies were kept upstairs in the control room. Krupmeyer and the guard dragged the wounded Drayton in there. Krupmeyer pulled the work desk away from the wall and cleared the top of it with one sweep of his arm before they laid him face down on it. His arms hung down … Read more
Line of Descent chapter 18
Chapter 18 Drayton rolled to his feet, still not fully recovered from the exertion of collecting Williams’ body. He felt light-headed and his thighs ached. He told the original ambush team to stay where they were and ordered the reinforcements to follow him as he headed as fast as he could in the direction the … Read more
Line of Descent chapter 17
They stood silently around the console, looking at the blank screen of the monitor. While they had watched the miniature tableau unfold on it, a creeping sense of horror had held them in its grip, gluing them to the screen with a compulsive interest that only ended with the camera’s violent demise. Suddenly they were free. The spell was broken. Drayton looked around to see wide nervous eyes in pale faces. He had been shaken by it and was relieved to see he wasn’t alone. There had been a nightmarish quality about the whole thing. Like an anxiety dream where something terrible is happening and you’re standing on the sidelines, ignored and powerless to stop it. Krupmeyer was the one to break the silence.
Line of Descent chapter 16
Chapter 16 By the time they reached the control room, Drayton had explained his reasoning to Krupmeyer. He agreed with Drayton’s conclusions. It all fitted together too damn well. ‘You’re right. You should have seen that mob in Coole’ he said. ‘They weren’t exactly world-class. A pop with an idiot son. It wouldn’t be like … Read more
