“He has, and he’s not about to let anyone come in and take it over. You do realize that, don’t you?”
“Of course I do, and I wouldn’t expect any different. A man in his position is naturally going to want to protect his investment and not give up power. Which is why I didn’t actually say anything about taking over. The best option for all concerned would be to get him on our side.”
“I can tell you now, that’s never going to happen. Hinchcliffe’s not much of a team player.”
“I get that impression, and ultimately it’ll be his decision. People who’ve taken charge of places like he has don’t usually tend to give a damn about anyone or anything else. I’m not that naive, Danny. I know what I’m dealing with here.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve done this before. We used to call them dictators. Anyway, my focus is the people, not Hinchcliffe. From what I’ve heard, there are a lot of people in and around Lowestoft who need help. We are thousands strong, with more firepower than—”
“I know you used to be in government, but that doesn’t mean anything now. I know exactly how Hinchcliffe will react when you turn up. He won’t ever recognize any authority but his own. He’s only out for himself. You turn up and you’ll just be walking into a fight to the death, no matter how many soldiers or guns you’ve got.”
“You’re probably right,” Ankin says nonchalantly. “Like I said, though, situations like this have been successfully dealt with before. Hinchcliffe isn’t the only person trying to carve out a place in the history books for himself. We have to start somewhere, and we have to make a stand.”
History books—now there’s a quaint, old-fashioned notion. People don’t bother with any books these days, much less those that are concerned with our irrelevant lives before the war. Ankin just told me he wasn’t naive, but I can’t help wondering if he really does appreciate how deep-rooted the damage inflicted on the population as a whole has been. I look at him across the table. His face is frustratingly difficult to read.
“Was that your plane that flew over Lowestoft?”
“Yes.”
“What exactly was the point of that?”
“Threefold, I suppose. First, it was a signal for Llewellyn, and his excuse if you like, to come to Norwich and rendezvous with us. We’ve had to carefully coordinate our arrival here.”
“Coordinate with who?”
“Llewellyn for a start, and various other people, too. The plane was the easiest way of letting him know it was time. Second, I wanted to stir up the people of Lowestoft and get them thinking. I thought a flyover by a small, unarmed plane would be enough of a distraction to make them ask questions, but not enough for them to misconstrue it as a threat. I didn’t want to bring out the big guns just yet.”
“And the third reason?”
“To get Hinchcliffe thinking, too.”
“You certainly managed that. Fucker was livid.”
“That really wasn’t my intention. I just wanted him to realize he’s not the only one left with any influence around here.”
“He’s the only one with any influence in Lowestoft.”
“At the moment, yes, and we can both say what we like about him, but the fact remains, he’s managed to turn the town into the largest and most established community we’ve yet come across.”
“It’s hardly a community. It’s just several thousand people who happen to be in the same place, nothing more.”
“Okay, wrong choice of word perhaps. Settlement, then. Whatever you want to call it, he’s managed to keep a lot of people in order.”
“The fighters are scared of him, and everyone else is scared of the fighters, that’s all.”
“What about you?”
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared of what Hinchcliffe might do. I’ve seen him in action. He genuinely doesn’t give a shit about anyone else, and he’ll do whatever he thinks he needs to do to make his point. He says everything boils down to the two f’s—food and fear.”
“I don’t necessarily agree with that, but I know where he’s coming from.”
“So how come you know so much about Lowestoft?”
“We’ve had people in and around the place for a while. Llewellyn risked a hell of a lot for us, and there were several others. Do you know Neil Casey?”
“I thought he was dead,” I tell him, remembering the day I spent gravedigging, desperately trying to see if one of the bodies I was helping to bury was Hinchcliffe’s missing foot soldier.
“He wasn’t this morning.” Ankin chuckles to himself. “Last time I spoke to him he was still very much alive.”
“Hinchcliffe sent me to look for him in Southwold. Was that place your doing, too?”
“What had been happening in Southwold was initially because of John Warner, nothing to do with us. I’d been talking to John for some time. He shared a lot of our ideals, and we were doing what we could to help. He was definitely on the right track.”
“I assume you know what happened there?”
“What Hinchcliffe did to Southwold was unforgivable. We were hoping to use the place as a staging post instead of here. It was a difficult one to call, and I got it wrong. I didn’t intend for John and his people to get dragged in like that. Hinchcliffe was obviously under the impression that Southwold was a threat.”
“He saw it as a threat to his authority, nothing more than that.”
I keep my mouth shut about the part I played in Warner’s downfall. Even though Hinchcliffe maneuvered me into that position, I still feel partially responsible for what happened.
“The thing is, Danny,” he continues, the tone of his voice suddenly changing, “what Hinchcliffe’s doing won’t last. He’s going to run out of supplies and ideas eventually. Then he’s screwed.”
“I know. I’ve tried talking to him about it.”
“When people like Hinchcliffe realize their number’s up, they never go quietly. What happens next in Lowestoft is crucial, and we can’t afford to fail. We’re in danger of losing so much of what we used to have, you know? All that knowledge, technology, and experience … it’s too important just to throw it all away. We’ll end up living in caves again.”
“So what exactly are you planning, and why are you talking to me?”
“I honestly didn’t know anything about you until we arrived here. You’re an unexpected bonus, Danny. You’re someone who’s had unprecedented access to Hinchcliffe. You know how he thinks and how he works. Long and short of it, I want your help. Because, in answer to your first question, as soon as all my people are in position, we’re heading for Lowestoft. There are thousands of people there who are suffering, and I’ve got a duty to try to help them.”
“What about Hinchcliffe?”
“Well, that’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? If I’m honest, we’d been planning to infiltrate and get rid of him.”
“That’s what he did to Thacker, the guy who was in charge before him.”
“I know.”
“If you do that, you’ll be operating down at his level. That makes you no better than him.”
“I’m well aware of that, too, and it was a price I was willing to pay—but it doesn’t have to be that way now.”
“Why not?”
“Because we’re going to give Hinchcliffe a choice and make him think he’s still in control. Who knows, if he plays ball with us, he still could be.”
“What if he tells you to fuck off?”
“Then that’s up to him. Like I said, we’re going to give him a choice. He can let us in to help strengthen and support the town…”
“Or…” I press when Ankin pauses.
“Or he can get out and leave running the place to me and my people.”