"No
thank you - where is your next stop?"
"Next
stop, New York."
"Oh...
I thought this was going somewhere a bit closer...
that's a problem."
Lucyna
reached into her money belt again. "Could
you make a slight detour?" She launched
into a Polish discussion. This ended in a quick kiss
and nod of agreement. Her power as a communicator
left him astonished and not for the first time Dawes
felt totally useless.
Lucyna
gave a re-assuring smile. "So that's all
agreed. We leave the boat in twenty hours. We have
to share a cabin. I've sent an encrypted text to Tobler
and Braun. Their train is stuck in Sweden. The border
is closed with the Danes so they may head north. They
have also noticed many more folding bikes in use too.
All very strange. It looks like Der Bromptonaut has
found more allies."
"But
he blew up a branch of Ikea's sister company, the
Swedish bike retailler Bikea®?"
"Professor
- I have to say that the way events are unfolding
this incident is now considered a minor act of vandalism
against a company that is equally liked and disliked.
Der Bromptonaut thrives on confusion and his ability
to merge with events."
That
evening Lucyna and Dawes spent a cosy night in a tiny
cabin with bunk beds. Dawes mind even wandered away
from bicycles from time to time. His faith in Lucyna
was coming back. Outside the North Sea was grey. The
ship shuddered every so often against a large wave.
There was a loud knock at the door. He awoke with
a start. What time was it? Morning already? He had
slept so deeply. Lucyna was already up and dressed.
"Time
to leave the ship, Professor."
"Where
is that coast? I can't see any signs of life."
"It's
the west side of the Western islands. They are in
the Atlantic, north of Ireland I think."
For
the first time ever Lucyna sounded less than knowledgeable.
"Home to Harris Tweed - I know that much."
Dawes proudly pointed at the label inside his Endura
Harris Tweed All Weather Cycling Jacket which, if
truth be told, hadn't been washed for many chapters.
"They close on a Sundays. That's another
thing I know."
...
to be continued
