We pedalled as quickly as we could to keep up with the van, but it was hard. Luckily, the roads were busy enough for it to have to slow down and stop a lot, giving us time to catch up whenever we fell behind. We bobbed and weaved through traffic. Charlie threw me the walkie-talkie, and as I put it in my pocket it crackled to life.
‘Brown Bear, come in, Brown Bear.’ It was Johnny J! But Sumo had been the last one to have the walkie-talkie. I was confused and beginning to regret using the handle Brown Bear.
‘This is Brown Bear. You OK, Number One Buddy? Over,’ I asked.
‘I’m OK, but where’s Cash? He threw in Titch and the walkie-talkie and closed the door. Over.’
‘He’s in the front seat of the van. Over,’ I said.
‘WHAT?!’ Johnny J said. He was so freaked out he forgot to say, ‘Over.’
‘Don’t panic. We’re on your tail. Do you have control of the van? Over?’
‘Titch bit me, but we’re fine. What are we going to do? Over.’
I didn’t know what to do, and it was hard to think when I was trying to keep up with a van on a bike with a backpack full of Ireland gear and face paint on my back.
Suddenly Walker was on the walkie-talkie. ‘Is he insane? What did he do that for? How are we going to come back from this?’ He sounded frantic. Then he disappeared because the van got too far ahead for the signal to work. I had to speed up.
‘Faster,’ I shouted at Charlie. ‘We need to go faster.’
She nodded and changed gears, I changed mine too and we sped up so much that our bikes wobbled. The walkie-talkie crackled back to life. Walker was still talking as though I’d been listening to everything he said.
‘It’s the only way. Agreed? Over,’ he said.
‘What’s the only way? Over,’ I said.
‘I just said it. Over.’
‘Well, I didn’t hear it. Over.’
‘Well, pay attention. Over.’
‘I’m half killed trying to keep up with a speeding van. Over.’
‘Oh, OK. Sorry. Over,’ he said. ‘We’ll jump out with the bag of money after they make the first stop. Sumo’ll have to make a run for it when he can. If he’s sent into the bank, he’ll just have to pretend to go inside and leg it, or if he’s left in the van, he’ll have to wait until Big Tom goes in and then leg it. Over.’
‘OK. How will he know to do this? Over,’ I asked.
‘You’ll have to stay behind and tell him. Over.’
Oh no. I thought. More pressure. My knees were buckling. I had not realised the first bank would be so far away. I also worried about the prospect of Sumo and Big Tom talking. What was Sumo saying? What were they talking about? I prayed it was football.
‘OK. Over,’ I said, and despite every muscle in my legs burning, I cycled on. Charlie kept up, but she was tired too.
‘We’ll be OK,’ I called out to her.
‘We have to be,’ she said, and we cycled on for ANOTHER HOUR! AT BREAKNECK SPEED!
Eventually the van pulled in beside a large bank. As soon as I stopped, my legs gave way. I felt sick. Charlie flopped to the ground. Her bike fell on her. She didn’t care.
‘Water,’ she gasped, but I didn’t have any water. We watched Big Tom get out of the van and walk into the bank. This was my cue to run across and tell Sumo the new plan, but I couldn’t stand up.
‘Stand up,’ Charlie said.
‘I can’t,’ I said.
‘Don’t be so ridiculous.’
‘You stand up then.’
She tried to stand up. She couldn’t. ‘Oh.’
I kneeled, then I climbed a little using my arms, holding on to a wall, and pulled myself up. Once I was on my feet I took one unsteady step, then another, and after a few seconds I was walking properly.
‘Go,’ she said as she pulled herself up using the wall.
My wobbly walk turned into a shaky run. I made it to the van and knocked on the window. Sumo rolled it down.
‘Hi, Jeremy,’ he said.
‘What are you doing in the van?’ I almost screamed.
‘My best,’ he said.
‘The next time Big Tom goes into a bank, get out and run.’
‘Any chance I could just run now?’
‘The lads have to get the money and get out first,’ I said.
He thought about it. ‘OK. Do you know where we are?’ he asked.
I hadn’t got a clue. I moved to leave, but he stopped me.
‘He’s very nice,’ he said, and I could tell he was feeling bad.fn1
‘Sorry,’ I said, and I don’t know why I apologised except that I felt sorry.
‘Me too.’
I shaky-ran back to Charlie, who was examining the blisters on her hand from gripping onto the handlebars. We got back on our bikes and waited for Big Tom to come out with the bag. It was a big bag and it looked full. He fed it through the slot on the side of the van and we saw it go in.
‘They have it,’ I said. Then I radioed on the walkie-talkie, but we were parked too far away to communicate. I watched Big Tom get back in the van and the van take off.
‘Let’s go,’ I said, and Charlie sighed deeply, closed her eyes, gripped the handlebars and took off. I followed, and we were giving chase once again.
‘Number One Buddy, come in. Over. Tango, come in. Over?’
The walkie-talkie crackled to life.
‘It’s me, Tango. Number One Buddy is holding the bag. Over.’
‘OK, great. Over.’
We followed the van until we reached a long queue of traffic and all the cars came to a standstill.
‘I think there’s been an accident up ahead,’ Charlie said, and she cycled on to have a look.
‘Tango, come in. Over?’
‘Yeah? Over?’
‘Looks like a traffic jam. Get ready to jump,’ I said.
‘Ready. Over.’
Charlie came back. ‘Four cars – no one looks hurt, but the road’s a mess,’ she said. It was now or never.
‘Jump out, turn left, into the shopping centre, meet in the toilets, over,’ I said, thinking on the spot. Charlie nodded. I could see she was impressed.
The van door opened. Johnny J jumped out holding the bag and ran toward the shopping centre, but as Walker tried to follow, Titch broke free of his ropes and grabbed him. Walker dropped the pepper spray. Charlie and I watched from three cars back, frozen to the spot and really no help at all.
‘Get off me,’ Walker shouted.
‘Hmm hummm hummmny hummmm,’ Titch shouted, on account of the socks in his mouth. They pushed and pulled one another around the van. Titch pressed Walker’s face up against the side of the van, but then when he tried to untie the scarf that held the socks in his mouth, he let go for a second and Walker made a run for it. As Walker ran out, Titch grabbed his jacket, but Walker was thin and wily and he escaped out of his own jacket. He’d got such a fright he ran right, not left as instructed. Just then Big Tom and Sumo jumped out of the van. Titch dropped the jacket and pulled the scarf off his face. He grabbed the can of pepper spray that Walker had dropped in the scuffle. Big Tom ran around to the back of the van in time for Titch to spray him in the face. Big Tom hit the ground moaning and crying, and poor Titch didn’t know what to do. Then he saw us – Charlie and me. He looked right at us and pointed. My insides threatened to fall out, but before they did, he tripped over Walker’s jacket and fell beside his moaning friend. Sumo had got such a shock he ran straight up the road toward the car crash.
Charlie and I looked at one another, frozen.
‘Go,’ I shouted, and we bolted on our bikes, weaving in and out of traffic, experts now, fire in our bellies as well as our legs. We were on the run with no idea where we were or where we were going. Only Johnny J and the bag were in the shopping-centre toilets. I tried to use the walkie-talkie, but of course it wasn’t working.
‘What now?’ Charlie asked.
‘The forest,’ I shouted.
‘How? Which way?’ she shouted.
‘I don’t know!’ I shouted back. We cycled on for a few minutes before we saw a 14A bus.
‘It’s a 14A!’ Charlie shouted.
‘Follow it,’ I shouted back. She nodded and grinned. A 14A would guide us back to our area. It felt like a miracle.