Jimmy Coates by Joe Craig Page B

election.”
    â€œBut did he?” Felix scooped up the last crumbs from the bottom of his crisp packet and licked them off his fingers. “Do you really think he lost? I thought we all agreed that the Government must have rigged the election.”
    â€œThat’s still no good to the Capita,” said Jimmy. “So it’s no good for us.”
    â€œNo, I think Felix has a point,” said Saffron, rising slowly to pace round the table. “What if we could actually overturn the result of the election? Or at least show that the result is void and force another one? That would at least give Chris another chance to give the Capita what they want, or do… well, whatever he needs to do.”
    â€œExactly!” Felix’s face suddenly lit up with delight. Jimmy had almost forgotten how easily his friend came up with crazy schemes. But it looked like this one was being taken seriously. “The Capita only took him because he lost and can’t give them this code thing,” Felix went on. “Or pay them their money back. But if there’s still a chance he could win an election, they might keep helping him until he won. Then he can give them whatever they want.”
    They all looked at each other. Jimmy could sense everybody trying to work out the flaw in Felix’s logic, but there wasn’t one.
    â€œI think he’s right,” said Jimmy at last. “Question is: how do we overturn an election?”
    â€œHold on,” said his mum. “Let’s think about this…”
    â€œThat UN Inspector man,” Georgie exclaimed. “We have to tell him.”
    â€œTell him?” Helen frowned. “He’s had an inspection team in the country for months watching everything that’s been going on and they’ve found nothing wrong. You think if we just turn up and tell him the result was rigged he’ll listen to us?”
    â€œWe don’t tell him.” It was Jimmy this time, his mind racing on. “He needs evidence. So let’s find some.” Jimmy could feel an exhilarating rush in his veins. A plan was growing in his imagination faster than he could get the words out.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Georgie asked him. Everybody leaned in closer, and he could see from their faces they were already thinking along the same lines.
    â€œThe UN team can’t have watched everything,” he explained.
    â€œThat’s right,” Saffron chipped in. “They will only have seen what Miss Bennett wanted them to see. It was a show. To demonstrate to the world how ‘fair’ the election was.”
    â€œSo all we have to do,” said Jimmy with a deep breath, “is find out how NJ7 rigged the election, get hold of the evidence and find the UN Inspector so we can show it to him.”
    â€œAnd we’ll have to make sure the Capita know what we’re doing,” added Georgie.
    They all looked to Jimmy’s mum, as if asking her permission. She puffed out her cheeks, widened her eyes, then finally announced, “Looks like it’s going to be a very busy day.”

The journey from the Scottish Highlands to London had been long and uncomfortable. For two passengers on the 4.30 arriving into Kings Cross it had also been silent. Neither the man nor the woman had spoken a word. Now, they stepped off the train, blending into the small crowd with ease, having discarded their jumpsuits in the rubbish bins. Underneath they looked like any other weary businesspeople, with long, grey woollen coats. The only difference was that neither of them carried a briefcase or baggage of any kind. And they were the only two passengers shelling boiled eggs as they walked up the platform.
    The smell of the eggs wafted away in the cold wind, but that was the only trace they left. They were careful to hold on to every fragment of shell, gathering it all together in their pockets while they bit into the white flesh of the eggs.
    The