‘On the case, baby,’ Sam laughed as Gerard got marched away.

‘Oggy, oggy, oggy!’ Gerard shouted to a line of cuffed demonstrators.

‘Kill the pigs,’ a shout came back.

‘Since you’re both under sixteen, special custody rules apply,’ Jennifer explained as they went up. ‘You’re to be kept separate from adult suspects and we have to call a responsible adult to be here with you.’

On the second floor, Jennifer unlocked room C16 Juvenile Support. It was a stuffy, carpeted space, with an office behind the glass partition down one side. There were boxes of toys, brightly coloured armchairs and a toddler-sized drawing table.

Jennifer unlocked a metal cabinet and took out a pair of garden secateurs. ‘Will you do anything silly if I take those cuffs off?’

‘Does anyone ever answer yes to that question?’ Sam asked sarcastically.

Rather than take Sam’s bait, Jennifer snipped the cuffs around Georgia’s wrists. Sam held out his arms, but Jennifer gave him a you-wish look before putting the shears away. She came back with two forms on a clipboard.

‘OK,’ she began as she sat facing the two teens. ‘We’re snowed under. Since you’ve both been arrested for minor charges of trespass and criminal damage, all I need is your full names and addresses and the contact details for an adult who can take you home.’

Georgia had feared a night in a cell or an appearance before a judge. ‘Really?’

‘Really,’ Jennifer said, mockingly. ‘The charges and evidence will be reviewed by a prosecutor. You’ll receive a phone call or letter to say what will happen within a few weeks. That could be a dismissal, an invitation to admit guilt and accept a formal police warning or a notice that we intend to press charges and take you to court.’

Jennifer looked annoyed as Sam stretched into a bored yawn.

‘I’ll need my mobile to look up Dad’s number,’ Georgia said, dreading the moment when he got the call.

They filled in forms on clipboards. Sam struggled to write with cuffs but still scrawled I hate the fuzz at the bottom of the page. It was childish, but Georgia smirked when she saw it.

Sam put up his hands. ‘Excuse me, fascist tool of state oppression, I’ve finished.’

‘Quite the little radical,’ Jennifer scoffed, eyeballing Sam as she took the two clipboards back to her office.

‘No luck with your dad,’ Jennifer told Georgia a few minutes later. ‘I left a message on home, work and mobile numbers. Perhaps I should call your mother?’

Sam mucking around made Georgia feel less intimidated, but mentioning her mum sent stress levels back to max.

‘She’s a long way away,’ Georgia choked. ‘It’s not even ten o’clock. Dad’s probably driving. He’ll call back any minute.’

Georgia was relieved when the phone in the office rang, but feared a blast as Jennifer passed her the cordless handset.