inside the packs. It that clear??
Crystal,?Kyle said.
Mnce youre done that, wait at your table for ninety seconds. Then head to the lift and take it down to parking basement three. When you step out of the lift, youEl see our van. Climb in the back, hand us your packs without making eye contact and then lie face down on the floor.?
The phone went dead in Kylet ear.
And??James asked.
Kyle allowed himself to smile a little. Looks like we're in.?
Two minutes later, a set of elevator doors broke apart and James and Kyle stepped out, surveying the lines of parked cars, looking for their ride. While the other passengers headed towards their vehicles, Kyle stood by the doors looking confused.
Are you sure you got the right floor??James asked.
Ehe definitely said basement three.?
Kyle was beginning to wonder if it was one of Vivt crazy jokes, when a red Volkswagen Transporter turned off the entrance ramp and started coming towards them. The woman in the driving seat had made herself unrecognisable with a baseball cap and dark glasses. She pulled up gently as the rear doors swung open.
As instructed, James and Kyle clambered into the rear compartment and lay face down on the ridged metal floor.
Backs,?a woman shouted, as someone else closed the rear doors, plunging everything into darkness.
As the van pulled away, James tried glancing up.
Mace down, kid,?the woman shouted, clanging her boot on the metal floor in front of his head to emphasise the point. As the van twisted its way around a series of ramps to leave the car park, one of the women in the back flipped on a roof-mounted interior light, before both of them squatted down on cinema style fold-out seats and began rummaging through the backpacks.
Nomework diary,?the woman with James?backpack smiled. That takes me back a few years. Pens, books, mobile telephone 厭
The woman flipped James?mobile open and began looking through the stored numbers. As always, James had a special SIM card fitted just for the mission, so none of his friends or contacts on campus were listed. Once Kyle and James?phones had been checked out, the women switched them off to prevent their signals from being tracked.
T suppose you're a bit young to be an undercover cop,?the woman grinned, as she zipped up James?backpack. Both of you sit up, face towards the rear doors and take off everything except your underpants. Don't try looking at us unless you want my boot up your arse.?
Stripping down was an awkward experience because the van kept stopping and starting as it moved through some heavy traffic. The women checked the pockets and turned each item of clothing inside out before throwing it aside. The boys couldn't see out of the van, but by the time they were told to get dressed again, theyr clearly made it out of the city centre and were doing a good speed on a stretch of open road.
A quarter of an hour later, the van pulled off the fast road and after some twists, turns and the squelch of mud under the tyres, came to a halt.
One woman threw blindfolds at James and Kyle. Once they were tightly knotted, the boys were led across a muddy path and into a space that echoed to their footsteps.
The blindfolds were ripped off and it took James and Kylet eyes half a minute to adjust to the brilliantly lit space. The building seemed modern and was built from breeze blocks. It had a concrete floor, giant skylights cut into the roof and James guessed that it had been built as a small factory.
The three women were bigger than average, but hardly imposing. They wore trousers and boots and all three had slipped into Balaclavas before removing the boys?blindfolds. James was stunned to realise that the tall one standing in the centre had a handgun pointing at his chest.
Lames, Kyle,?she said, in an accent with a touch of American to it. Thanks for coming. I'll sorry that we have to treat you this way, but the police and intelligence services are extremely keen to uncover groups like ours, so we take every possible precaution to protect our identities. For the purposes of this meeting, you can call me Jo, although that isn't my real name.?
James and Kyle each took a small bottle of mineral water from one of the other women. It had been stifling inside the van and both lads unscrewed the caps and drank greedily, keeping one eye on the gun.
Eo you're the AFM??James asked.
Eome of