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Four
"We’llhavetogothroughareallynastyneighborhood."Shedidsoundscared.
Richardsuppressedtheurgetoputanarmaroundher."Andwherewouldthatbe?"heasked.Sheturnedtohim,pushedthehairfromhereyes,andtoldhim.
"Knightsbridge,"repeatedRichard,andhebegantochuckle,gently.
Thegirlturnedaway."See?"shesaid."Isaidyou’dlaugh."
Thedeeptunnelshadbeenduginthe1920s,forahigh-speedextensiontotheNorthernLineofLondon’sUndergroundRailwaysystem.DuringtheSecondWorldWartroopshadbeenquarteredthereinthethousands,theirwastepumpedupbycompressedairtothelevelofthesewersfarabove.Bothsidesoftherunnelshadbeenlinedwithmetalbunkbedsforthetroopstosleepon.Whenthewarendedthebunkbedshadstayed,andontheirwirebasescardboardboxeswerestored,eachboxfilledwithlettersandfilesandpapers:secrets,ofthedullestkind,storeddowndeep,tobeforgotten.Theneedforeconomyhadclosedthedeeptunnelscompletelyintheearly1990s.Theboxesofsecretswereremoved,tobescannedandstoredoncomputers,orshredded,orburned.
Varneymadehishomeinthedeepestofthedeeptunnels,farbeneathCamdenTownTube.Hehadpiledabandonedmetalbunkbedsinfrontoftheonlyentrance.Thenhehaddecorated.Varneylikedweapons.Hemadehisown,outofwhateverhecouldfind,ortake,orsteal,partsofcarsandrescuedbitsofmachinery,whichheturnedintohooksandshivs,crossbowsandarbalests,smallmangonelsandtrebuchetsforbreakingwalls,cudgels,glaivesandknob-kerries.
