‘There’s Sandhurst then. Is a smaller place. Or Bracknell. The smallest camp of all, though, the most country-style, is Ascot. But they in’t nobody lives out in the open, talking to the trees and flowers, playing FarmVille. Too dangerous. You get me? All the kids is in towns.’

‘But Ascot’s the smallest camp?’ Ed asked.

‘Yeah. They all nuts in Ascot, though. Seriously, I was you, I’d try Windsor first.’

‘It’s just over the way,’ said Kenton. ‘Other side of the motorway. Go down through Eton and you’re there. Three, four miles at most. If you’re quick you can make it in, like, an hour or so. Course, we’re sorry it’s got so late and that, and dark with it. Should make it more exciting for you, though, yeah? More of an adventure.’

‘Yeah,’ said Josa. ‘We might even put some bets on how long it takes you and which of you don’t make it.’

‘What do you mean, a couple of hours?’ Ed asked, although he was pretty sure of the answer. He’d been wondering about Josa’s plans. Had discussed it with the others. Why she might want to keep them here. Whether she’d been balancing up the risks of a fight. Why there were a few other cars in the car park and they hadn’t all been carted over to reinforce the fence. Wondering what might count as treasure around here.

‘Why would it take us a couple of hours to drive four miles?’ He was doing all the talking, letting them forget about Lewis, who had hung about on the edge of the car park for a while, fiddling with his Afro, staring at the sky, and generally looking like a dope, before wandering over to stand with some of the Slough kids. He was chatting to them, as if he had no interest in the main conversation. Even Ed kept forgetting about him, and hoped he could be trusted to do his bit if it came to it.

So Ed was by himself. Out in the open. Exposed. The centre of attention.

Kenton was waggling his shotgun, some of his team holding back like before, watching, with their crossbows. It was all locked down. Josa was confident. Unafraid. There was no threat.

‘We could drive there in ten minutes,’ Ed went on.

‘That’s the other thing we wanted to talk to you about,’ said Josa. ‘That sweet motor of yours.’

So there it was. No big surprise. These kids wanted working vehicles. The other cars in the car park must have petrol in their tanks. That’s why they kept them. A big car like the people carrier – that was a useful piece of kit.

Which is why he was prepared.

‘Yeah?’ he said, acting innocent. ‘I don’t get it.’