Lone Wolf - Robert Muchamore Page 0,15

he could hear Ning running and – with the fact that they’d all get punished if neither team won – he decided that it would be best to chase after her. Over several hundred metres Ryan and Ning traded shots, several of which missed by only a few centimetres.

Eventually Ning found herself in the lowest part of the paintball range, which would run with a small stream after heavy rain. She dived against the embankment and waited, but it had all gone silent. After a couple of minutes with no sign of any noise, Ning crept back up the shallow embankment, using the paintball splats on leaves and branches as a reminder of her route.

She was surprised to see a leg sticking out from beside a tree root. Ning instantly shot it, but grew concerned when there was no movement.

‘Ryan?’

Ning crouched in the grass and rolled Ryan on to his back.

‘Ryan, are you OK?’

Ryan raised a hand to his head and spoke slowly. ‘I think I bumped my head on something while I was running.’

As Ning leaned further forwards to give Ryan an arm up, Theo jumped out from a position a few metres away and shot Ning square in the visor, leaving her half blind.

‘Dead meat!’ Theo shouted excitedly.

But Ning had other concerns. ‘Ryan hit his head on a branch. I think he’s got concussion.’

Ryan cracked a big smile and shrugged. ‘Me head’s fine, I don’t know what she’s on about.’

Ning shot back to her feet and threw her gun down furiously. ‘You . . . You, utter, utter . . . Lying, cheating . . .’

But there was something infectious about Theo’s victory smile, and Ning started to laugh.

‘I’ll get you two back for this,’ Ning said, as she walked towards the gates with her arms raised. ‘I don’t know how or when, but some fine day, when you least expect it . . .’

9. SEGREGATION

Wendy the guard opened a barred gate and offered a handshake to the policeman on the other side.

‘Detective Constable Schaeffer,’ Wendy said, shaking the officer’s hand. He was a tall man, with curly brown hair and a bulbous nose, but his most distinctive feature was the long scar Fay Hoyt had left down his cheek. ‘Welcome to Idris STC.’

Wendy led the officer a few metres to her office, and noted that he was holding a brown paper McDonald’s bag.

‘So the injuries Fay inflicted, is there anything beyond the scarring?’ Wendy asked.

‘Some nerve damage,’ Schaeffer said. ‘My cheek feels numb a lot of the time. It’s worst when you try to eat and end up with food dribbling down your face.’

‘You harbour no resentment towards her?’

Schaeffer shook his head. ‘I’m not Fay’s number one fan. But I regularly deal with people a lot less pleasant than her.’

Wendy slid a piece of paper across the desk. ‘This form gives you our consent to interview Fay. However, as Fay is a minor and there is no other adult present, nothing can be recorded or used in evidence and you must leave the room if she requests it.’

‘I know the score,’ Schaeffer nodded. ‘This isn’t about anything Fay’s done in the past. I’m hoping to offer her a path to redemption, and a way of avenging the death of her aunt.’

Wendy smiled wryly as she grabbed a worksheet off the desk and held it up. ‘As I warned when you phoned to request the interview, Fay’s never been very cooperative. For the last three days she’s been confined to our segregation room after a bullying incident. Anyone who bullies is required to complete a series of anti-bullying worksheets. Here’s an example of Fay’s answers:

‘Question four. If I see another inmate being bullied, what should I do? Fay’s answer, Grind up some glass and put it in their breakfast cereal. Question nine, If your room-mate bullies or intimidates you during the night, what is your best response? Fay’s answer, Wait till they fall asleep, then slit their guts open before plaiting their entrails to make an attractive skipping rope.’

‘Quite an imagination,’ Schaeffer said.

‘So now you’ve signed the form, would you like to meet the beast?’

Wendy led Schaeffer to the isolation room, which was located directly opposite her office.

‘Iso rules are harsh,’ Wendy explained. ‘Fay gets one set of clothes, school books and personal hygiene items only. There’s no TV or radio and you’re only allowed out of the room to exercise for one hour after the other girls have been locked down for the night.’

As she finished speaking,