Work in Progress Extract

Here's an extract from the first chapter of my new novel, the one I'm working on in the creative writing course. I've got a pretty good idea where the novel is going, but I've only written about 6,000 words so far. As far as genre is concerned, I'd pigeon-hole this as crime fiction, or a noir police thriller (not sure that last one is an actual genre, but you get the idea). This is a random grab from Chapter 1;

~

Mitchell slotted the Glock back into the waistband at the small of his back and pulled the man upright, pushing him against the side of the car. The man had brown hair, shot through with grey, combed into a rough left-to-right side parting. He was wearing sensible black trousers and beneath his waterproof Gortex jacket he was wearing a navy blue sweatshirt which held back a moderate sized paunch. He was soft and rounded, the edges smoothed by a loving family and a comfortable suburban life. This was someone unfamiliar with acts of extreme violence. He reached into the man's jacket and retrieved his wallet, flipped it open and pulled out his driving licence. Mitchell memorised the details and shoved it back into the man's pocket.

"This is what you're going to do, Brian Whitaker, you're going to drive away. This never happened. The police will call you soon, they'll have you on CCTV leaving the car park minutes after the shooting. You'll be the prime suspect. Just tell them you took the stairs to this floor. As you drove away you heard what might have been gunshots, but you weren't sure. Got it?"

The man nodded.

"Stick to that story. If you deviate, or tell other people about this or me, I'll come after you and your family."

The two of them stared at each other, faces centimetres apart, both breathing hard. Mitchell let go of him and stepped back, an unmistakeable signal that the conversation was over, the man's life had been spared. He watched the man's clumsy fumbling at the door handle followed by the multiple attempts to slot the key into the ignition. The Ford lurched forward, sped down the centre of the car park and down the ramp, wheels squealing as he disappeared out of view.