his seatbelt and stepped out into a cloud of dust. A figure emerged from the glaring sunlight and bundled him against the car.
i told you,?Dave shouted furiously. Hou could have got us killed, you stupid little prick.?
James realised that Dave was about to slap him, but he got pulled off by the driver of the pickup.
Calm it down there,?the driver shouted.
James?legs felt like jelly as he staggered away from the car. Lauren was standing a few metres away, but the thunderbolts coming out of her eyes made it clear she was in no mood to help out.
When the pickup driver had calmed Dave down, he stepped back and let out a wry laugh. The blond-haired man was wearing black trousers and a shirt with a crest and the initials ADOP embroidered on the sleeve. James realised it stood for Arizona Department Of Prisons.
Ramee Scott Warren,?the man said. i just finished my shift and I headed down here to see three British kids and a man named John Jones. Ite not exactly what I had in mind, but I guess Ite found them e
11. REGRET
James knew he was an idiot. He felt like running off into the desert and never coming back as he sulked in a stiff-backed armchair. The skin was peeling off the back of his neck where Dave had shoved him against the baking hot roof of the car.
John had dished out a twenty-minute lecture: how totally irresponsible he was, how he could have ruined the mission before it had started, how a two-hundred-horsepower car is not a toy, and how he was going to spend all the time between now and his court appearance grounded at the house studying the background materials for the mission.
James kept seeing the crash in his head; imagining what might have happened if the car had rolled, or Lauren hadnt put her seatbelt on. Het never have been able to live with himself if shet been hurt.
While James sat with the curtains drawn feeling seriously sorry for himself, the others were cleaning up his mess. Dave found a tow rope and Scott Warren used his undamaged pickup to pull the back end of the Toyota out of the ditch and tow it back to the house.
The sideways slide had torn off the exhaust, buckled the front suspension and damaged the chassis on the drivere side. The car didnt look a wreck, but Scott said it wouldnt be economical to do much repair work on an elderly car that was only worth a few thousand dollars.
Meanwhile, John drove out to a restaurant on the interstate and picked up fried chicken. When he got back, he told James to wash his face and come to the dining table.
James dragged his chair up to the big Formica table in the kitchen. Lauren and Dave both looked pissed at him. He considered saying sorry, but an apology didnt seem to properly reflect the gravity of what het done. He avoided eye contact as he grabbed a box of fries and a couple of drumsticks.
John put a bottle of Coke on the table and handed Scott a cold beer, before sitting down.
ite spoken to James and hee been punished,?John said firmly, addressing everyone at the table. Lete all aware of how lucky it was that nobody got hurt. Now, whatever your personal feelings are, we have to draw a line under what happened and get on with preparing for our mission as a team. This mission is too dangerous for us to have people holding grudges and not speaking to one another. Is that understood??
Dave and Lauren nodded unenthusiastically.
Lood,?John said. Lames, shake Dave and Laurene hands.?
James reached across the table. Shaking hands seemed like the kind of thing yout ask a couple of six-year-olds to do, but he understood the point John was trying to get across.
it really sorry,?James said, as he let go of Lauren.
Hou should be,?she replied tersely.
i shouldnt have shoved you,?Dave said, as James grasped his chicken-grease-smeared hand. i just freaked out after the crash.?
James smiled uneasily. Laybe you scared a bit of sense into me.?
Inyway,?John said, Is you know, Scott is an FBI special agent. Hee spent the last three months working undercover as a correctional officer inside the boys?wing at Arizona Max. Hee just finished a twelve-hour shift and I expect hee tired, so I want you to listen carefully and we?? try not to waste any more of his time.?
Scott had to chew up a mouthful of fries before he began