couldn’t break the expertly held arm lock. Paul seemed like a nice kid and she didn’t want to hurt him, but she had to know if James was in any danger.
‘I’ve sworn an oath,’ Paul gasped. ‘You can hurt me all you like; the Devil will do a billion times worse to me if I break my oath.’
Lauren tightened the hold, making Paul gasp in pain. She was worried that he might be so strongly under the Survivors’ influence that he’d rather suffer a broken arm than break an oath.
‘Please,’ Paul begged, almost crying. ‘Please don’t make me break my oath.’
Lauren didn’t have the stomach, either to break Paul’s arm or for the trouble it would cause. She let him go and backed off.
‘What’s your problem?’ Paul screamed, humiliated and trying not to sob. ‘I told you he’s not hurt. What more do you want?’
‘Everything,’ Lauren said, with a sense of desperation that was exaggerated, but not entirely false. ‘You’ve got a brother. Wouldn’t you want to know if something happened to Rick?’
The emotional tug had more of an effect on Paul than the arm lock, making Lauren wish she’d used this tactic first.
‘OK …’ Paul said, thinking hard. ‘Ween made me swear not to say anything about what happened, but I guess I can tell you where James is. Then you can find out for yourself. But you’ve got to swear not to say it was me that told you.’
Lauren nodded. ‘I swear as an angel on pain of eternity in a fiery hell.’
Paul seemed reassured by this oath, which was as strong as they come in Survivor speak.
‘James is over in Elliot’s office.’
‘Is Elliot there?’
‘No, but Ween’s around.’
Lauren smiled. ‘Right, I’ll go and see him.’
‘You’d be better off leaving it,’ Paul said. ‘Ween’s going crazy. You’ll get punished if you stick your nose in.’
Lauren lied to reassure Paul. ‘OK, I’ll leave it for a while and see if they make an announcement. You’re a good guy, Paul. I’m sorry I hurt you.’
‘It didn’t hurt much,’ Paul lied. ‘But I’ll report you if you pull a stunt like that again.’
Lauren thought everything through, as Paul headed off to play basketball on one of the outdoor courts. She would have liked to ask Dana or Abigail for advice, but they were both on washing-up duty and she knew there was no chance of a private conversation in the commune’s chaotic kitchen. Besides, if she got caught she could just say that she overheard someone who’d seen James going into Elliot’s office.
Lauren headed inside the mall and towards the offices at the far end of the ground floor. The corridors were busy and she’d learned that you had to move purposefully around the commune unless you wanted a bunch of over-helpful angels asking what you were up to.
She passed through the open-plan offices where she’d taken her aptitude test a few weeks earlier and found them deserted. The trouble was, she’d never gone past this point and didn’t know what to expect beyond the double doors that led to the senior staff’s private offices.
After poking her head through the door for a cautious glance, Lauren stepped into a reassuringly empty corridor, containing a water cooler and piles of stationery. There was a glass-fronted office on either side of her, with Venetian blinds blocking off the view inside. She crept between a photocopier and a stack of boxed paper and peeked between the slats into the office on her left. She felt a rush of nerves and ducked down when she saw Ween, sitting at her desk having a highly animated telephone conversation.
It took Lauren a couple of seconds to get her composure back. She popped her head above the copier paper and took a longer look. There was no sign of James, so she stepped across the corridor and looked into the other office.
James was on a sofa, with the back of his head touching the glass. Lauren was tempted to rap on the glass and make him jump, but these were hardly the right circumstances. She crept around and stepped into the office. James looked well scrubbed. His hair was wet and he wore nothing but trainers and his favourite pair of ragged denim shorts.
‘What’s going on?’ Lauren whispered, as her brother turned and smiled at her.
James explained briefly, keeping to the essential details. He told Lauren to find Dana and Abigail and tell them everything, but Ween came into the room before she got a chance to leave.
‘What are