Ignoring the reactions, Daz leaned across the table and nonchalantly offered Sean his hand to shake. After only a fractional hesitation, Sean took it. Their eyes met and something seemed to pass between them, some unspoken message I didn’t fully catch or follow. But when Sean turned away he was frowning.
The boys had obviously ordered food while we’d been outside and the first of it was brought out at that point. Jamie lost some of his newly-acquired colour but managed to stay in his seat while they tucked in.
The conversation turned general while they ate. Daz gave Paxo grief for stuffing his face with chips and a non-diet soft drink. “Have you any idea how much sugar there is in one can of that stuff, mate?”
Paxo broke into a smile for once. “Good job I’ve got a metabolism that can burn it off quick then,” he said, undeterred.
“Yeah, won’t stop you becoming diabetic, though, will it?” Daz said. “Just wait until someone has to jab a needle full of insulin into your arse every morning and see how you like that.”
“Mate, I tell you, that’s about the only thing I
They all laughed. Sean sat with his forearms resting on the table and his fingers linked together, watching them interact without joining in. It was as though he was conducting some kind of silent assessment. He used to do that with his trainees when he was an instructor. Without a hint of it showing on his features, he’d always been able to convey the impression that we were all somehow falling short of his expectations.
He was doing the same thing now and I could see they were all aware of it. A couple of times Daz met Sean’s gaze in direct challenge, but he was the only one of them who did.
“I suppose I’d better go try and placate Tess,” Daz said with a show of reluctance when they’d all finished. He got up and strolled out.
“Have you been to Ireland before, Charlie?” Jamie asked when he’d gone. It was the first time he’d addressed me directly since we’d set off and I turned to him trying to hide my surprise.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I was booked to come once, but the trip was cancelled.”
It was supposed to have been my first posting when I came out of Special Forces training. Straight into the thick of it in Shankhill. The army were conducting surveillance operations throughout the six counties and, much as they hated to admit it, women were more effective, more unobtrusive, than some big hairy squaddie who, especially in the favoured civvy garb of jeans and tan Cat boots and a bomber jacket, stood out a mile for what he was.
So although I’d never set foot there I knew a lot about Northern Ireland, but the wrong things. I knew about the soldiers killed at Warrenpoint, about the skirmishes in Newry and the running battles on the Bogside. If I dredged my memory I could probably still tell you which parts of Belfast were safe and which were no go areas. Not quite what the Tourist Board had in mind.
And, now I came to think about it, I couldn’t help a prickle of unease about going there as a civilian.
***
If there was one thing the Devil’s Bridge Club didn’t do on the ferry crossing, it was sit still in one place for any length of time. Paxo announced he was going to try his luck on the slot machines he’d noticed in the bar and Jamie went with him. Sean went out shortly afterwards and although he didn’t say anything I knew he was still hoping to spot whoever was keeping an eye on us. Daz still hadn’t returned with Tess, so that left me and William. And I wasn’t quick enough.
“I think I’ll just go and see if I can find myself a good paperback in the shop,” he said. “You don’t mind staying and keeping an eye on our gear, do you, Charlie?”
Resigned, I shook my head and found myself alone in a sea of lids and backpacks.
The First Class lounge had a selection of newspapers and I grabbed one of those, scanning the headlines without too much interest. The next time I glanced outside, Daz and Sean were standing talking by the aft rail.
Actually, ‘talking’ was too mild a way of putting it. Sean was standing with his arms folded and his head on one side, listening intently, and Daz seemed to be pleading with him about something. There was no way I could hear what they were saying but I stared intently, knowing the dark tint on the cabin windows would mean they couldn’t see in.
Eventually, Daz seemed to talk himself out. He stood, shoulders tensed, as though waiting for a judgement. Sean took his time about delivering his verdict but then, at last, he gave a short reluctant nod. Whatever it was he’d just agreed to, he wasn’t happy about it.
Daz almost sagged with relief. It gave his smile a brittle, artificial brightness. He moved forwards as if to clap the other man on the shoulder but Sean froze him with a single look. Daz turned down the volume on his smile, his manner sheepish now, grateful. Instead, he offered Sean his hand again and they shook, like they were sealing a pact. Then Daz stuffed his hands into the pockets of his leather jeans and walked away quickly. As though, if he stayed around, Sean might change his mind about something.
But what?
Sean stayed by the railing for a moment longer. As I watched, he turned his head and stared straight at the glass towards me. It made me draw in a sharp breath, though I was certain he couldn’t see me. With Sean you could never quite tell. The normal laws of physics sometimes didn’t seem to apply to the man.
After a few moments he pushed himself away from the railing and strolled back round towards the doors into the main cabin. A few moments later, he was back in First Class taking the seat opposite me.
“Well?” I demanded.
“Well what?” he said, playing the infuriating card to best effect.
“Come on, Sean,” I said, speaking fast in case any of the others walked back in. “I saw you out there with Daz. What are they up to? What did he say to you? Come on, spill it!”
Sean regarded me without expression for a moment, then he gave me a rueful smile. “I’m sorry, Charlie,” he said, “but I can’t tell you.”
“What do you mean you can’t tell me?” I said between clenched teeth, trying to keep to a frantic whisper and stop my voice rising with outrage like an air raid siren. Even Sean looked vaguely alarmed.
