She drove to the bramble-choked lane behind her rented cottage. The ivy had swallowed the fence. The blackberry canes had reached out like claws across the path to the shed where the fuse box kept tripping. A tree surgeon had quoted £400. She had £47.
Thwack.
The handle was black rubber with a lanyard hole. The blade was 18 inches of high-carbon steel, a spine thick enough to baton wood, a belly that curved into a point designed to sever green vines. It had a nylon sheath with a belt loop. It was utterly, terrifyingly competent. machete knife screwfix