Chapter 3: An Indecent Proposal

But what worried me more than making a profit on Gramps' goods was in getting to the Bow Valley and surviving.

The university library was open but no staff was in attendance. It was cold. The heating was off.

There weren't many people there. I made my way over to the computers and illegally went under the table and unscrewed the back off one of the terminals and connected a hidden USB socket to my hard drive.

Round to the front and I accessed the internet. The university logo came up, "An unidentified problem prevents connection to the internet," and it gave today's date and a time just before 2.a.m.

Well, into the Geography Department; cartography and I sorted by locality. I read the blurb about not printing out this copy-righted stuff.

Fuck that! There was nobody to stop me. There were about a dozen people spread out, silently engaged in their own tasks.

I started to download all maps from the whole of the Bow region moving outwards. Hell! I included Geology and Land Use and Zoning, the lot. I might be there a long time.

Then I went to another terminal and started printing out large scale maps of a wide band between the university and the River Bow

I wasn't sure when or where I might have to detour.

To hell with cost! I just kept feeding my faculty card in. It must have finally totalled well over a hundred pounds by the time I'd finished covering them with a plastic film.

With one last look around, I carried my bulky pile out to the backroom and spotted a couple of reinforced cardboard tubes in which the library had received posters. I rolled my maps up and was on my way out when I looked around for one last time.

Would I be back here in the January?

"Where are you going?" the young coloured girl looked scared.

"Sarita," she reminded me. I'd met her at Tony's engagement party briefly. She lived in the same block as Quin and had gone to the party because she was staying over for the Easter break.

"Hi, er, home." I didn't want to say anything about Gramps.

She was about to burst into tears. "I can't get home."

"I'm going to see if I can get a bike. I suggest you do the same."

She giggled hysterically and I frowned, "To India?" she added by way of explanation.

India? I never thought. She was foreigner? OK a touch of an accent but her parents could have been immigrants.

She was shaking so much I had to physically hold her still.

"Will you take me with you? I'll walk."

Well over a hundred miles! No way was I being held up by a girl. I'd had enough of them. I didn't even know her.

She looked at me and held her sweater at the waist with two hands then she pulled it down tight and pushed out her upper body. Tears came to her eyes. "I know you don't want me, I'll pay you."

I snorted, "I heard on the radio shopkeepers won't take any money," then tried to treat the matter good naturedly, "Maybe they'll take rupees."

Me and my sense of humour! That went down like a lead balloon.

She leaned into me closer, her voice quavering, "Please take me with you. I said I'll pay."

I looked, was confused.

"Come on, you know what I mean."

I didn't

"Abba!" It was a surprise she knew my name.

Yeah, everyone who had ever heard it remembered, Abba!

"Have you not read any apocalypse books? You are strong, you look as if you know what you're doing. I'm a woman I have one thing I can offer you. And I'll do as you say."

"You mean?"

I mean I'm prepared, I'm willing, to sleep with you if I can come with you. I heard that two girls got raped last night. I'm scared that I'll be the next."

"Why me?" I pointedly looked in the direction of a couple of others within earshot.

Edging her away I whispered, "Keep it quiet." Sound carried in the silent atmosphere of the library.

"Why not?"

No, that's the wrong answer. "I liked you at that party. You look strong. You look as if you know what you're doing now and you stopped that girl from making a fool of herself."

I vaguely remember a drunk girl offering herself and my fighting her to keep her clothes on.

Later I found there had been some sort of drug involved. She'd never come to say thank you. I had heard she was so embarrassed she hid herself away until the end of the year and went to another university. It had all been vague rumours; I never did know what happened exactly.

Yes, Sarita could have been there.

I was thinking of that incident when she added, "Oh and they said you were good at the marital arts."

"Marital arts?" I frowned. Not understanding this, "I'm glad my prowess in that field is so renowned that it's the gossip in the female rest rooms."

"I hope it is," she laughed with nervousness. "Sorry, it was meant to be a joke. Someone reported you had won a cup for some fighting sport."

"What about you? I don't know who you are"

"I've just been sacked, at the hospital."

That decided me, a tart probably sleeping with anyone who'd take her out for decent meal if they were onto a certainty. Taking her up on her offer was a certain way to get myself one of those diseases.

And she'd be off with next man who had a Pina Colada and a sports car, if you know what I mean?

On top of that, she was not going to be much help. To be sacked by the Health Service you really had to so something wrong. And at this time when they were crying out for staff, they must be inundated with patients! As a student nurse she probably gave the wrong drugs or left a patient to drown in the bath!

She looked to be a right nutter! I murmured something about having a girlfriend and I couldn't help her. I suggested she find one of her friends.

OK, I felt bad about turning her down, not about turning down the sex. That's no way to get a girl into bed. I wasn't brought up like that.

I think the deciding factor, when I thought about it, was that she had offered me sex. I wasn't the sort to go out with anyone thought so little of herself.

Then I hung around until she had left the library. Cussing, I knew I'd handled that badly, I knew I was not very good with people.

I made sure she had left the library before me. I could always turn another way if she were outside. I moved into the toilets and stuffed the tube of maps down my jerkin and into my waistband lest an officious librarian enforce the copyright rules. It took a minute or two. Yes, someone else departed through the swing doors into the corridor.

Good! By the time I went along, the only door that was open was at the far end. No one was in sight.

Pushing my way through the revolving door, I came out on the top of the Grand Steps.

The library was an imposing building where, out of habit, in the summer, students congregated to sit on the steps as a meeting point. Today it was cold and empty but for two struggling figures half way down.

On a wide stone platform, half-way up the steps, it was obvious that a hefty male student almost twice my weight and over some six feet in height was pulling the coloured girl off to one side of the façade.

He had hold of her arm and, I saw already her top was torn as I watched. His other hand was stifling any cry.

I was already on the move jumping down three, four steps at a time diagonally aiming for the pair. Even as I approached he swirled her around so she went crashing down the steps. "You want a fuck, I'll give you one you, wog!"

I have no idea how he managed to get all that out. As he was still spinning, he caught sight of me and his mouth snarled into a grimace as if anticipating my destruction. He let his own momentum continue around and with a deft movement of his feet he was still spinning but this time in my direction with a hefty fist aimed straight at my belly.

He must have been double my weight. I knew if he connected I'd be severely incapacitated. I'd have no breath. He was enormous, close up, nearer six feet five with broad shoulders to match and heavy!

My continued run inwards, almost in contact with his body, surprised him. I grabbed his clenched hand and used his own momentum to swing around. I could have let him go flying down the lower rise of steps but I anticipated he'd be formidable opponent if he rose to his feet again.

He believed that I was going to let go as he had swung Sarita but as she staggered down onto the lower step and his weight was falling away from me I gave quick jerk on his hand and felt a "Clop!"

I gulped at the damage I had done to him. His heavily-boned arm was obviously dislocated before I finally let go and he fell to the ground. And I felt faint at the tearing of his muscles I had sensed.

Relief hit me but it was only for seconds.

He was a bugger of a brute, as he yelled and crawled back to his feet grimacing with angry intent I saw him, not subdued by the painful arm, but made furious by the fact I had denied him his victim.

That I should have hurt him, was added indignation.

I thought of just running. I admit it. But then the girl, even now hobbling to her feet would be his new renewed target.

All this was happening so quickly I was still off balance, dancing with my feet. It was not eagerness that had me again jumping down the steps in his direction, it was my moving to try to retain my equilibrium. I was purely dropping one foot down after another and they had to drop a few steps each time, in an effort to keep upright.