Last Light Read Online Free PDF Page B

positioned my thumbs over the two press els
    I was about to press when all three lights went out within a split second of each other.
    I got back on to the binos, just with my right eye, thumbs ready over the press els The group was moving en masse from left to right. I should have been concentrating on the bulbs but I wanted to see. The Chinaman's arm was around the boy's shoulders it must have been his son as they approached a smaller group of Latinos who were attacking a table laden with food.
    A bulb lit up: Sniper Three was confident of taking the shot,
    aiming slightly ahead of his point of aim so that when he fired the boy would walk into the path of the round.
    The bulb stayed lit as they stopped at the table with the other group of Latinos, getting stuck into the vol-au-vents. The boy was at the rear of the group and I could just ping glimpses of his navy blazer through the crowd.
    Bulb three died.
    I was having doubts, I didn't know why, and tried to get a grip. What did I care? If it was a straight choice between his life and mine there'd be no question. What was happening in my head was totally unprofessional, and totally ridiculous.
    I gave myself a good mental slapping. Any more of this shit and I'd end up hugging trees and doing voluntary work for Oxfam.
    The only thing I should be doing was focusing on the box. What was happening on the terrace shouldn't matter to me any more but I couldn't seem to stop myself looking at the boy through the binos.
    Number Two's bulb came up. She must have found his earlobe to aim at.
    Then the boy moved towards the table, breaking through the crowd. He started to help himself to some food, looking back at his dad to check if he wanted anything.
    All three lights now burned. How could they not?
    I watched him pick at the stuff on the silver trays, sniffing one canape and deciding to give it a miss. I studied his shiny young face as he wondered what would best complement his half-drunk glass of Coke.
    All bulbs were still lit as I looked through the binos. He was exposed, bunging peanuts down his neck.
    Come on! Get on with the fucking thing!
    I couldn't believe it. My thumbs just wouldn't move.
    In that instant, my plan switched to screwing up the shoot and finding something to blame it on. I couldn't stop myself.
    The snipers wouldn't know who else had a sight picture, and it wasn't as if we were all going to get together and have a debrief over coffee the next morning.
    I'd take my chances with the Yes Man.
    The boy moved back into the crowd, towards his dad. I could just about make out his shoulder through the crowd.
    The three lights went out simultaneously. Then Two's came back on. This woman wasn't giving up on her target. I guessed she wasn't a mother after all.
    Three seconds later it went out. Wrong or right, now was my time to act.
    I pushed the send press el once with my thumb, keeping my eyes glued on the boy.
    Then I pressed it again, and at the same time hit the detonation button. The third time, I pushed just on the send press el
    The explosion the other side of the Thames was like a massive, prolonged clap of thunder. I watched the boy and everyone around him react to the detonation instead of doing what I'd planned for him.
    The shock-wave crossed the river and rattled my window. As I listened to its last rumblings reverberate around the streets of Whitehall, the screams of the tourists below me took over. I concentrated on the boy as his father bustled him towards the door.
    As panic broke out on the terrace, the photographer was in a frenzy to get the shots that would pay off his mortgage. Then the Yes Man came into view and stood beside the PR women, who were helping people back inside. He had a concerned look on his face, which had nothing to do with the explosion and everything to do with seeing the target alive and being dragged to safety. The boy disappeared though the door and others followed, but the Yes Man still didn't help. Instead he looked up and