The Harder They Fall Read Online Free PDF Page B

task of arranging all of this, even though they had spoken just once during the past decade. He shoved the piece of paper with the storage container number deep into the zip pocket of his rucksack and headed out into the wet Kathmandu afternoon, genuinely thrilled to see his old friend and sharing a heartfelt embrace.
    As they drove away from the airport, they caught up on the less complicated aspects of life in the years that had passed since they last saw each other, both much younger then and with fewer cares for the future. Andy had been hiking through the Himalayas at the time: the end of a three month treacherous journey across India. Unlike most of the other people he met on his travels, he wasn’t driven by any convoluted need to ‘find himself’, or attain some sense of inner peace; he sought adventure and it’s safe to say he found it the moment he accepted a lift on the back of Bhagwan’s pickup—as far as he could tell the exact same vehicle he was sitting in now. Last time, it had been the depths of winter, when snow and ice had blocked the road down into Kathmandu, turning a ten hour drive into a two day trial interspersed with impromptu stops to work with others traversing the pass, to clear rocks and massive hunks of ice from the narrow carriageway carved into the side of the mountains. This time, nearing the end of monsoon season, he didn’t expect it to be much safer and hoped his estimate of a one week round trip wasn’t overly optimistic, afraid to let Eleanor down for many reasons, not least that she was the champion of holding grudges. She’d yet to forgive him for breaking his leg and ‘shirking’ in the weeks preceding Adele and Tom’s wedding two years previously.
    Bhagwan was coming to the end of the bit where he talked about his family and his wife, with whom he had three children: two girls and a boy. The girls were twins, aged eight, and the boy was four. Since the birth of his son, they had been unable to conceive again, much to Bhagwan’s sorrow. Andy thought it apt that ahead of them vast black clouds were forming, for he could sense where the conversation was going.
    “And you, Andrew. Tell me of your beautiful wife and children.”
    “I, err, I’m not married.” Andy began uneasily.
    “Still enjoying the bachelor life, yes?”
    “Something like that, yeah,” Andy said, relieved to be off the hook. Just to make sure, he added, “My brother has a young daughter, called Shaunna. She’s very precious.”
    “How so?” Bhagwan asked. Andy was only too glad to oblige him with the information. It was raining heavily again, the lightning flashes casting the mountains in ominous black relief, the back of the truck skidding occasionally, but mostly taking the terrain confidently in its stride. If Andy were the cautious type, then he might have been a little more concerned about the dangers of tomorrow’s trip, but as with all these things, it was a challenge he’d accepted and therefore it had to be won.
    They had arrived at the hotel, and he took money from his pocket, offering it to Bhagwan, who initially pushed it away, but eventually took it at Andy’s insistence. He knew that what would seem a pittance back home was significant compensation in Nepal and he wasn’t one to take advantage. Bhagwan thanked him for his generosity and stopped briefly to chat with the owner of the hotel (a distant cousin of some sort, like all the people in places like this), then left Andy to check in and find Dan. The owner of the hotel, who introduced himself as ‘Alan’, which Andy presumed to be a western name he had adopted to assist his guests, showed him to his room, indicating across the hallway to another door as they passed. Andy dumped his bag on the small bed, gave his face a quick freshen-up with a splash of cold water and went straight to Dan’s room. By now he would have the connection up and ready for the video conference and would no doubt have some comment to make about his