the
passerby
A sample...
Nic Falvo walks down the same street every day on his way to work. He knows the shops and the people like the back of his hand. Or so he thinks.Nic is also a secret agent with a special gift. He is a super-recogniser who can identify suspects by their eyes alone. Which makes him a terrorist's worst nightmare. Now IS's most bloodthirsty cell are after him. One day he meets someone that will change his life forever. As the circle tightens around him and everyone he knows could be a potential suspect, who can he trust to be on his side?
chapter 1
London, 1st June 2016
By the time I realised what had happened, the gun was pointed at my face. The man in front was holding it in mid air, tilted to one side. His eyes darted from me to the balaclava-clad body on the ground. I recognised the peculiar shape and colour of his eyes, his hair. Something about the texture and colour. Richly grained, ice blue. Something in my brain clicked. In a flash, my life up to that point made sense. The identities of the people I had met in the last 6 months cracked open. Many were not who I thought they were, and even fewer had been on my side. The pieces of the jigsaw slotted together. My heart pounded in my chest. Sweat started trickling down the sides of my face. My world shuddered, warping as it did so. A dark, twisted image formed in my head, making a discordant, strident sound. Unblinking, my eyes froze on the black hole of the gun, its muzzle perfectly round and still. A muffled cry from the body on the ground made my shoulder jerk. The gunman’s eyes narrowed and flicked to the body, his focus sharpening. Slowly, he tilted the gun up, aiming it straight between my eyes. Its tapering black exterior swung in full view. He pressed his lips together, his breathing faster. His nostrils flared. A sweat drop ran down his face, his eyes blinking. An echo resounded in the hall, someone’s steps outside the room. He jerked his head to one side, his eyes fixed on me. His gun shifted slightly. He looked up and nodded at someone behind me. Something shuffled about my head. My breathing stopped. A veil descended over my eyes. A gag tightened over my mouth. I heard a sudden noise, a gasp. A figure moved towards me, shadows and light shifting through the blindfold. The butt of the gun came crashing down on my head. My ears buzzed. The cold ring of steel pressed against my forehead. A shiver crept through me. The pressure pushed my head backwards. I thrust forward, gritting my teeth against it. The rope around my wrists loosened slightly. I groaned and shook. I jerked my head but the gun jabbed harder into my skin. The light shifted, blurred shades and objects wiping across my eyes. A shrill sound burst through the room, a desperate cry. Then the gunshots began.