‘I’ve counted them,’ Max said to the boy. ‘There’s six. That must be enough to take the roof off this place.’

Max thought the ginger-haired boy couldn’t have turned any paler. He was wrong. The boy looked down at the floor, as if he couldn’t bear to look at Max or at the wires. Max didn’t like worrying the kid, but he had to get the intel to the Watchers somehow.

‘Why do eight out of the sixteen terrorists have their guns taped to their hands anyway?’ Max continued. The more information he could relay to Hector, he figured, the better. ‘I wish they’d all take their balaclavas off so we could see their faces …’

‘Quiet!’ T1 shouted. For a short while, it had the desired effect. He couldn’t stop the little kids crying, however, and after a few seconds the low-level hum of voices started up again. The ginger-haired boy put his hand up. T6 approached. Max held his breath. What was the kid doing? Did he suspect Max? Was he going to tell the terrorists that Max had been quizzing him? His heart thundered in sudden panic as the gunman stood over them.

‘I need the toilet,’ the boy said quietly. The gunman pulled him unsympathetically to his feet and pushed him in the direction of Block Blue, where he queued with a couple of others.

In the middle of the dining hall was a group of about ten students. One of them stood up. She looked Chinese, as did everyone in her group. Max remembered Hector saying that there were some Chinese exchange students at the school. This girl had long dark hair, very straight, and her features were hard and cold. She crossed over to a group of younger children and said something waspishly to them. The terrified kids fell silent. Then the Chinese girl picked her way through the hostages towards the stage. There were steps on the right-hand side. Head high, the girl mounted them. All eyes were on her as she approached T1. She spoke to him. There was no way Max could tell what she was saying. For a moment, he wondered if she was brave or stupid. But as T1 nodded and a smug smile spread across the girl’s face, it became clear to Max what she was doing.

T6 had moved away. None of the other terrorists was in the vicinity, so he was able to speak, but he had to be subtle. He put his head in his hands, as if in desperation. He didn’t have to act too hard.