‘It’s cut,’ Max breathed. He turned round. He remained on the floor, hugging his knees as he surveyed what was going on in the room. Lili had resumed her officious patrol. It was plain that the younger children were frightened of her and the way that she was apparently siding with the terrorists. They seemed to shrink away whenever she came close. The older kids looked contemptuous of her, but they didn’t say or do anything to make her notice them. The other recruits were still kneeling on the stage. Abby had a distant but steely look on her face, like she was preparing herself for something. Sami was staring up at the far wall. Max assumed he was looking at the clock as it ticked its way towards 14:00. It was Lukas who caught Max’s eye. There was something in that brief look. It was an expression of support, confidence and respect. Was there an apology there too? Max wasn’t sure, but it meant a lot to him anyway, even though he didn’t dare acknowledge it. T11 was patrolling close to him.

Most alarming, though, was the behaviour of the terrorists. T1 had stepped down from the stage. He shouted something in a foreign language. The seven other targets joined him and stood in a ring. A nervous hush fell on the hall as they discussed something in low voices. It took no longer than thirty seconds. They each made a strange gesture, something between a handshake and a fist bump.

Max checked his watch. It was 13:45.

Fifteen minutes until 14:00.

He felt his blood go cold. ‘They’re getting ready,’ he said quietly. He was able to speak because the terrorists were focused entirely on themselves for a moment.

– Wait. Hector’s voice was emotionless.

Max didn’t get a chance to reply. His attention was on Lili. She was standing at the front of the hall, staring officiously over the heads of the hostages. Was she trying to avoid catching his eye? Max wondered.

T1 stood behind her. ‘You,’ he said harshly, ‘get down.’

Lili turned. ‘What do you mean?’ she said. ‘I’ve been helping you. You said you would release me first.’

‘Nobody gets released,’ said T1. ‘Get down.’ He raised his fist as if to strike her. Lili fell to the ground. Lukas, Abby and Sami watched her in horror. Just like Max, they surely knew what this meant. If the terrorists were silencing Lili, their supposed helper, it meant they were definitely approaching their endgame.

‘We have to do something …’ he breathed.

– Wait.

‘We can’t wait! It’s about to happen! They got into a kind of huddle, like they were giving each other confidence to do something big. They’ve forced Lili onto the ground …’

– Keep cool, Max. You’re no use to anybody if you’re panicking.