muscles ached. Nothing. What if they were doing their rounds
inside
the building, rather than outside? How
would Jake draw them away then? After what felt like a thousand minutes, there was a sudden explosion of noise: a large dog barking; a man shouting; and Jake yelling nonsense at the man and racing
off into the distance, taking the guard with him.
‘This is it,’ hissed Millie.
Max’s ears had gone flat on his head when he heard the first bark, and he jumped into her bag, a plan he had rather unwillingly agreed to for the sake of speed – although he could
outrun Millie over short distances, he wasn’t used to running very far at a time, and they planned to go straight through the doors and up three flights of stairs. Millie dialled the number
Jake had given her, waited for it to ring three times, and hung up. She looked at the building, hoping she would see something happen. Seconds later, the few lights on inside went out and, almost
immediately, a second set came on. Millie guessed they were powered by an emergency generator. She just hoped the cameras weren’t as well, but she reasoned that some lights would have to stay
on in any building, in case of fire. Cameras didn’t really help in a fire, unless you had a special passion for grainy video footage of burning buildings, so she felt a little reassured.
Millie pulled up her hood on the off chance she was mistaken, thinking that if the CCTV
did
capture her, Shepard might think he was being robbed by a midget, not a twelve-year-old girl. She
ran as fast as she could to the front doors. As she peered in through the glass, the lobby seemed to be empty. None of the cameras was moving, although they only changed direction every few
minutes, so that didn’t necessarily mean she was safe. She expected the doors to open as she approached them, but they stayed resolutely shut. The outer doors must be on the same circuit as
the cameras and lights, she reasoned. The only other possibility – that Jake’s brother had made a mistake, and that the airlock doors upstairs wouldn’t open for her either –
didn’t bear considering. She was sure the outer ones would open manually. Who knew she’d been paying so much attention in last term’s fire safety lecture? So she pushed on the
doors.
They didn’t move.
‘The other way,’ hissed Max, from her bag.
Millie took a quick, deep breath, trying to focus her brain. She pulled the doors sideways, and they were inside.
Upstairs, the noise of the dog barking almost woke Arthur Shepard, as he slept the sleep of the unjust. And the sound of the emergency generator firing into action might have
woken him too, if it weren’t for the fact that it was a floor below, on the other side of the building. The lights going off and coming almost immediately back on merely made him murmur
something incomprehensible. But he just, just about, slept on.
The driver of the white van pulled a mobile phone from his glove box. He had followed the map that had been faxed over this afternoon as best he could, and he was still lost.
His sat-nav appeared to think that he was in the middle of nowhere and had stopped offering suggestions several miles ago. He would ring for further directions. He was dialling the Haverham area
code when he paused, remembering just how obnoxious Arthur Shepard had been that afternoon when he’d called to arrange the pick-up. No – he wouldn’t give that jumped-up little
beggar the chance to be rude to him again. He snapped the phone shut. He would just have to be a little late.
Millie and Max had already decided that they would go up the nearest stairwell. Now Millie raced up the three flights of stairs. She was breathless by the time they reached the
second floor, panting uncontrollably by the time she wrenched open the fire door on the third.
‘You ride that bike everywhere,’ said Max, still sitting happily in her bag, peering over the side. ‘How come you’re so
inside
the building, rather than outside? How
would Jake draw them away then? After what felt like a thousand minutes, there was a sudden explosion of noise: a large dog barking; a man shouting; and Jake yelling nonsense at the man and racing
off into the distance, taking the guard with him.
‘This is it,’ hissed Millie.
Max’s ears had gone flat on his head when he heard the first bark, and he jumped into her bag, a plan he had rather unwillingly agreed to for the sake of speed – although he could
outrun Millie over short distances, he wasn’t used to running very far at a time, and they planned to go straight through the doors and up three flights of stairs. Millie dialled the number
Jake had given her, waited for it to ring three times, and hung up. She looked at the building, hoping she would see something happen. Seconds later, the few lights on inside went out and, almost
immediately, a second set came on. Millie guessed they were powered by an emergency generator. She just hoped the cameras weren’t as well, but she reasoned that some lights would have to stay
on in any building, in case of fire. Cameras didn’t really help in a fire, unless you had a special passion for grainy video footage of burning buildings, so she felt a little reassured.
Millie pulled up her hood on the off chance she was mistaken, thinking that if the CCTV
did
capture her, Shepard might think he was being robbed by a midget, not a twelve-year-old girl. She
ran as fast as she could to the front doors. As she peered in through the glass, the lobby seemed to be empty. None of the cameras was moving, although they only changed direction every few
minutes, so that didn’t necessarily mean she was safe. She expected the doors to open as she approached them, but they stayed resolutely shut. The outer doors must be on the same circuit as
the cameras and lights, she reasoned. The only other possibility – that Jake’s brother had made a mistake, and that the airlock doors upstairs wouldn’t open for her either –
didn’t bear considering. She was sure the outer ones would open manually. Who knew she’d been paying so much attention in last term’s fire safety lecture? So she pushed on the
doors.
They didn’t move.
‘The other way,’ hissed Max, from her bag.
Millie took a quick, deep breath, trying to focus her brain. She pulled the doors sideways, and they were inside.
Upstairs, the noise of the dog barking almost woke Arthur Shepard, as he slept the sleep of the unjust. And the sound of the emergency generator firing into action might have
woken him too, if it weren’t for the fact that it was a floor below, on the other side of the building. The lights going off and coming almost immediately back on merely made him murmur
something incomprehensible. But he just, just about, slept on.
The driver of the white van pulled a mobile phone from his glove box. He had followed the map that had been faxed over this afternoon as best he could, and he was still lost.
His sat-nav appeared to think that he was in the middle of nowhere and had stopped offering suggestions several miles ago. He would ring for further directions. He was dialling the Haverham area
code when he paused, remembering just how obnoxious Arthur Shepard had been that afternoon when he’d called to arrange the pick-up. No – he wouldn’t give that jumped-up little
beggar the chance to be rude to him again. He snapped the phone shut. He would just have to be a little late.
Millie and Max had already decided that they would go up the nearest stairwell. Now Millie raced up the three flights of stairs. She was breathless by the time they reached the
second floor, panting uncontrollably by the time she wrenched open the fire door on the third.
‘You ride that bike everywhere,’ said Max, still sitting happily in her bag, peering over the side. ‘How come you’re so
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