Summary
Overview
In Chapter 7 of Steve Bruce's thriller 'Striker,' protagonist Steve Barnes faces his most perilous moment yet when Irish assassins take him at gunpoint to the remote Pennine moorlands, intending to execute him for Pat Duffy's murder. Through vivid descriptions of the bleak landscape and Barnes' increasingly desperate situation, Bruce delivers what the hosts unanimously agree is his best chapter yet - filled with geological tangents, historical diversions, and a dramatic escape sequence involving a concrete water chute. The chapter showcases Bruce's peculiar writing style while creating genuine tension and atmosphere.
Irish Assassins and the Manchester Orbital
Steve Barnes is bundled into a car with two armed men - a tall man with a musical Irish accent and a fat driver. As they drive along the fictional M30 motorway (which doesn't exist), Barnes realizes these aren't police officers but Irish hitmen who believe he killed Pat Duffy. The tension builds as the kidnappers carefully obey speed limits while transporting Barnes to what he fears will be his execution site.
- Barnes is driven by a tall man with a gun and a fat driver on the non-existent M30 motorway
- The driver carefully stays within speed limits, making Barnes suspect the car might be stolen
- Barnes attempts to get his captors talking by asking 'What's this about fellas?' but receives no response
- Barnes becomes convinced the men are Irish assassins sent to avenge Duffy's death
" There's never a police officer when you really need one. "
" I no longer doubted. Whether they were members of Pat's family or two guys hired to do the deed, I did not know. It really didn't matter. What mattered was the realisation that for most people there is only one suitable way outside of the law to avenge a murder. That is by summary execution. "
Bruce's Historical Tangents: Pack Horses and Bronze Age Moorlands
As Barnes is driven to his apparent execution, Bruce indulges in lengthy tangents about the history of the Pennine moorlands. He describes how people once transported wool and cotton by pack horse, explains how modern lorries struggle on steep hills as a throwback to pre-motor vehicle days, and delivers an extensive lesson on how Bronze Age tribes with 'powerful tools' created the moorlands by cutting down forests. Despite facing imminent death, Barnes takes time to educate readers about landscape formation and water collection systems.
- Bruce describes how goods were once transported by pack horse and mule in the old days
- Barnes observes that heavy lorries struggling uphill remind us of how steep climbs really are
- Extended digression about Bronze Age nomadic tribes with powerful tools creating moorlands by cutting forests
- Explanation of how rain eroded goodness from the soil after landscape was cleared
" In the old days, before motor vehicles were invented, this was a tough climb. People carried wool and cotton and other goods in carts on rough tracks or moorland paths by pack horse and mule. "
" The fat guy was finding the exercise a bit difficult. He was not in the best physical shape. Few people are. "
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