Fightback Read Online Free Page B

you just leave her alone?’
    Without warning, the man leapt from his seat and grabbed Kier by the throat.
    â€˜You shut your mouth,’ he hissed, squeezing until Kier began to choke. ‘Shut your mouth while I talk to my friend here, or I’m going to spread you all over this carriage. Understand?’
    Kier nodded, gasping for breath.
    â€˜Yeah, I understand.’
    As the man shoved him roughly back in his seat, Kier knew they were in serious trouble. The guy was a hundred and sixty pounds of solid muscle and Saskia had made him look stupid in front of his mates. Now, by the look in his eyes, someone was definitely going to pay for it.
    â€˜Stay calm, OK?’ Saskia whispered. ‘Don’t do anything.’
    â€˜What did you say?’ asked the man.
    â€˜I told him not to worry,’ said Saskia. ‘I told him everything was going to be all right.’
    The man smiled nastily.
    â€˜Is that what you think? You think everything’s going to be all right?’
    Saskia shrugged.
    â€˜Usually works for me.’
    â€˜Well, not this time, darling. This time, I’mgonna teach you and your friend some manners.’
    They sat in silence until the next stop, which was Covent Garden. Saskia tapped Kier on the shoulder and they made their way out on to the platform, but Kier felt his stomach lurch as the three men followed them. There were four lifts, and as they got into the first one, a woman began shepherding her two children in.
    â€˜Sorry,’ said Tattoo Man, stepping forward and standing in the doorway. ‘This one’s full.’
    As the door slid shut, he looked at Kier and squeezed his knuckles until they cracked.
    â€˜Are you scared?’ he asked.
    â€˜After the day I had yesterday,’ said Kier, ‘not really, no.’
    He was lying, of course. Inside, his stomach was turning to mush. But he wasn’t going to let them see it.
    Saskia winked at him and he guessed she didn’t realise he was about to get the beating of his life. But he wasn’t going down without a fight. If he could just keep Tattoo Man and his friends occupied for a couple of minutes, then at least Saskia might have the chance to run away. But as the man stepped forward and raised his fists, Kier knew it was going to hurt.
    A lot.
    â€˜Wait,’ said Saskia, tapping Tattoo Man on the shoulder and stopping him in his tracks. ‘Can you teach me first?’
    The man scowled and turned around.
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜You were going to teach us some manners,’ Saskia explained, ‘and I want you to teach me first.’
    Before he had time to react, Saskia went into a crouch and then there was a blur of movement, so fast and smooth it was almost impossible to tell what was happening. One moment she was leaning against the lift wall, the next she was bouncing between the three men as if they were posts in a pinball machine. Kier stood back and watched in amazement as she jumped and twirled, legs flailing and arms pumping like small jackhammers. Then, as quickly as it had begun, it was over and Saskia stood in the middle of the lift with her arms by her sides, the three men groaning on the floor around her. Kier noticed that her breathing was calm and relaxed, as if she had just popped out for a carton of milk.
    â€˜That’s better,’ she said as the doors opened. ‘Now I feel much more polite.’
    Kier stared in disbelief, first at her and then at the semi-conscious men on the floor behind them.
    â€˜I don’t understand,’ he said as they hurried back down the stairs towards the platform. ‘What just happened?’
    â€˜Well, I could hardly do it on the train,’ said Saskia. ‘They’ve got CCTV cameras everywhere. I had to make sure we went somewhere a bit more … private.’
    â€˜No, I mean what happened ? How did you do that?’
    â€˜Do what?’ Saskia seemed genuinely puzzled.
    â€˜You know. In the