‘That’s all right.’ Mischief kindled suddenly in her eyes. ‘If we’re going to be a team we should get to know each other.’
Matt laughed. ‘Okay. Matthew Robin Lawson. Thirty-six years old, born in Newcastle, single. I’ve been here for a year, and before that I was working in Glasgow.’
‘You’ve moved around a bit?’ Matt shot Hannah a questioning look and she smiled. ‘You don’t have a Newcastle accent.’
‘Yeah. The only family I’m in touch with is my mother, and she lives in Devon. I go wherever there’s a great job that will challenge me.’
It sounded suddenly as if the life he’d made for himself was missing something. The vital ingredient that Hannah seemed to possess, a family and good friends. But this was what he knew. He’d grown up as an outsider, and that was how he felt comfortable now.
‘And you watch people.’ It came unerringly out of the blue, and combined with the warmth in Hannah’s eyes it carried a momentum that almost knocked him backwards.
‘I guess so. We used to move around a lot, and I found it pays to sit and watch for a while when you’re the new kid in school.’
She seemed to see more in that then he’d said. It felt good to be accepted, but Matt knew that being accepted wasn’t everything. Being safe was everything, and he didn’t want Hannah to know about that.
‘And you?’
‘Ah. Hannah... Do I have to tell you my middle name?’
‘You do now. How bad can it be?’
She grinned. ‘Hannah Eloise Greene.’
‘What’s wrong with Eloise?’ It suited her softer side perfectly.
‘It’s...well it’s a bit girly, isn’t it? I’d prefer something a bit more...’ She waved her hand, as if she were groping for the right word. ‘Adventurous, maybe.’
‘Flash? Jet?’
Hannah laughed, and Matt warmed to his theme. ‘How about Olympia, if you want to go classical? Or Juno?’
‘No! Olympia and Juno are far too elegant for me. And one of my friends called her little boy Jet.’
Matt chuckled. ‘Flash it is, then.’
‘Okay. Hannah Flash Greene...it’s got a ring to it. Twenty-six years old, born right here in this hospital. My father died six years ago, and Sam’s father and I split up before he was born. My mum and I bought a house together, and she looks after Sam when I’m at work. I’m lucky, because it’s a good arrangement for both of us.’
‘I imagine it’s great for her to be able to spend time with her grandson.’ Matt hadn’t had too much contact with his family. Staying below the radar had meant that his mother had considered it unwise to visit either set of grandparents, and his aunts and uncles had been just names to him.
‘Yes. She didn’t know what to do with herself when Dad died. I was away, and...’ Hannah shrugged. There was something she didn’t want to say, and Matt didn’t intend to press her. This had just been something to talk about, he hadn’t meant to share any secrets.
‘Contestants! This way, please.’ One of the production assistants called out suddenly and they both jumped.
They’d been told that there would be cameras in the tent, and that they should do their best to ignore them. Inside, there were four sections, each screened off from the others. A smiling woman handed Matt an envelope.
‘Everything you need is in here. Follow the red markers.’ She gestured towards the canvas door that bore a red flash. ‘You can go now.’
Hannah unzipped the doorway, and Matt saw trestle tables, piled high with medical equipment. He watched as another canvas door at the far end of the tent was opened, revealing a carport with a small red car parked in it. They stepped inside and someone zipped the doorway closed behind them. It was an odd feeling, being completely alone with Hannah, but knowing that they were being watched by cameras. He opened the envelope, sorting through its contents.
‘Car keys and a map... Phone... Ah. Instructions.’ He handed the sheets of paper to Hannah, craning over her shoulder to see.
‘Okay...’ She scanned the paper quickly. ‘We’ve got to take the things we think we might need, and wait for the phone to ring. The red car’s ours, and we’ll use it to get to a medical emergency that’s happening somewhere inside the red ring on the map. We don’t know where yet, or what kind of emergency...’
‘Sounds like a normal day for you.’ Matt grinned at her, spreading the map out on top of one the boxes that were heaped on the trestles.
Hannah studied the map, frowning. ‘The red ring’s a good thirty miles from here.’
‘Which means we have to make a decision. We can’t get everything here into the car, so we either take what we think we’ll need and make a start, or we wait here for the phone call and risk being delayed in traffic.’