Grief was like a drug, shutting them down. When Ben woke he climbed down the broken wall for shellfish. Hana opened her eyes to find him eating. He pushed mussels towards her with his foot. ‘I never thought they’d beat him,’ he said. ‘Nor did I,’ Hana whispered. ‘He’s too strong. So . . .’ He cut a mussel hinge and flicked the shell open. ‘That’s the only way to deal with Vosper.’ ‘Ben, you’ll never get close.’ He swallowed the mussel. ‘I can try. What are you going to do?’ ‘I don’t know. But Queenie would have told us –’ ‘Queenie’s dead.’ ‘So will you be if you try to fight him. What we’ve got to do is find out.’ They argued. Ben was angry and aggressive and Hana stubborn. Although he was afraid, he trusted himself. If he could get close to the Limping Man and make one throw . . . Hana did not believe he would ever get close, and if he did, by some piece of luck, the man had defences that would freeze Ben’s arm. Hers was the only way that had a chance.
