‘OK.’ Ed didn’t have any choice. He watched them go round the other side of the school building and followed them far enough to see that there were three big pens built out in the open ground, where about twenty more sickos were locked up. They were sitting on the floor mostly, looking defeated. Ed wanted to go nearer, but some of Josa’s boys swaggered over menacingly.

Ed headed back to the car, already working on a plan B.

If Josa was going to mess with him she had made a big mistake.

Chapter 47

47

Brooke had a few choice things to say about the local kids on the way back to the car. Lewis didn’t seem to be bothered. He’d removed himself from what was going on, shifted to another level. Whether that was a higher level or a lower one, Ed had no way of knowing.

Kyle and Ebenezer were mad as hell, shooting off about being treated like this, swearing and calling the locals all the filthy names they could think of.

Which was quite a lot.

‘We should go in there and bust a few heads,’ Kyle protested.

‘There’s too many of them, Kyle,’ Ed pointed out. ‘And they don’t look like wimps. It’d be stupid. We can outsmart them if we need to. And maybe they’ll give us something useful.’

‘We’re gonna lose a whole day at this rate,’ said Kyle. ‘It’s gonna be dark soon, and I doubt they’re gonna let us stay here.’

‘You think I don’t know all that?’ Ed shouted. He’d finally lost his temper. ‘You think I want to hang around here while they play their stupid games?’

‘We should never have come in here,’ said Ebenezer.

‘Thanks for stating the obvious, Ebenezer. But there’s no easy way out.’

‘Ed’s right,’ said Lewis. ‘I been checking out the gate. There’s always two guys up on the platform in the watchtower and another couple guarding the road.’

‘Turn the car round anyway.’ Ed forced himself to calm down. It didn’t help getting angry. ‘Face it towards the gates, just in case. Then let’s see what we can come up with.’

They sat in the car and discussed their options. Kyle’s suggestions all involved extreme violence, but Ed wanted to get out of this without hurting anyone, if possible, despite having recurring fantasies of cutting Josa’s head off with his mortuary sword. Lewis had some better ideas. He was more a fan of stealth, which fitted with Ed’s way of thinking.

It was growing dark and they were still talking when Kenton banged on the roof of the car.

‘You wanna talk?’ he shouted. ‘We’ll talk.’