Stuck

The atmosphere in the van was becoming unpleasant, both from the stuffy heat of the day, and the Major's increasing irritation.

They had ground to a halt after crawling along various minor streets that were, according to the driver, short-cuts.

"What the hell were you thinking of, coming this way?" he said to the man behind the wheel. While he spoke in a level voice, most people would have heard the menace in it, with its clipped, too-controlled tone.

The driver, unfortunately, was not one of those people.

"Same everywhere, this time of day," he said. "Roadworks on the High Street, everywhere else gets backed up, see." It wasn't so much what he said, as the way he said it, which infuriated the Major; the man was altogether too casual.

The Major sighed. "You wouldn't last five minutes in the Army," he muttered under his breath.

It perhaps wasn't quiet enough. But it was certainly quieter than when the driver muttered "wanker".

Hewson rolled his eyes.



Part Two begins here.