London Rules / C00
Prologue
Summary
Five men in mismatched military gear arrive in a sand-coloured jeep at a village in a valley shortly before noon and spend several minutes stretching and spitting by the roadside before taking weapons from the back of the vehicle. Villagers watch them: an old man leaning on a stick, two women, a barefoot boy who steps out of a doorway into the sunlight, and others further off. The old man seems to understand what is coming, and when he drops his stick the shooting begins. The gunmen fire indiscriminately; the old man, the two women and the boy are hit, the boy as he runs towards tunnels in the hillside, and the rest of the village scatters into fields and ditches. Two minutes later it is over and the jeep drives away. The chapter ends with what follows: trucks of armed men facing outwards, helicopters bringing doctors and military personnel, television cameras, shrouds in the streets, wandering chickens, a bell people only remember hearing, and long shadows on the Derbyshire hills.
Beats
- C00S01 · Narrator — The five killers drove a sand-coloured jeep into a village at midday, wearing mismatched military gear, neckerchiefs and sunglasses, and took their time stretching and spitting at the roadside before lifting weapons from the back. The villagers watched: an old man leaning on a stick, two women, a barefoot boy in a doorway. The old man alone seemed to understand what was coming. He dropped his stick, and the shooting began.
- C00S02 · Narrator — The gunmen fired for two minutes, killing the old man, the two women and the barefoot boy, who was caught in the neck as he ran for the tunnels in the hillside; the survivors scattered into fields and ditches. The jeep idled, then left. Afterwards came the screams, then trucks of armed men facing outwards, helicopters, doctors, shrouds in the streets, and a bell people only remembered hearing, under an unbroken blue sky above the Derbyshire hills.
Places
- Abbotsfield — An unnamed village in a valley, attacked at midday; no name is given in this chapter.
Lines worth keeping
“The killers arrived in a sand-coloured jeep, and made short work of the village.” — Narrator, Opening line of the chapter.
“It was approaching noon, and the sun was as white as the locals had known it.” — Narrator, The gunmen arrive and begin limbering up.
“The last ordinary noise was the one the old man made when he dropped his stick.” — Narrator, The village’s final moment before the firing starts.
“And two minutes later it was over, and the killers left.” — Narrator, The attack ends and the jeep drives off.
Threads
- Plants: Five armed men, identified only by their equipment and two of them dressed in black, arrive and leave without names or claims of responsibility.; The village is never named in this chapter, and no death toll is given.
- Continuity: The attack begins shortly before noon and lasts about two minutes.; Five killers; two in black, the others in mixed gear.; Afterwards trucks, helicopters, doctors and military personnel arrive, with television cameras present.