Under Cover (Agent 21) by Chris Ryan

Author:Chris Ryan [Ryan, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
ISBN: 9781409026778
Publisher: RHCP
Published: 2015-02-25T23:00:00+00:00

13

TRIDENT

Hunter sidled up to Ricky. ‘She ain’t leaving Keeper’s House.’

‘What if she wants to?’

Hunter gave him one of his nasty leers. ‘Izzy, love,’ he called across the basement to the girl. ‘This fella wants a chat. Feel like going for a little walk with him?’

Izzy Cole shook her head. ‘I’m not going anywhere,’ she whispered. Her voice was cracked and weak, and her eyes darted around the room.

‘Like I say’ – Hunter smirked – ‘she ain’t leaving.’

Ricky stepped forward. His footsteps were the only noise in that basement. ‘I just wanted to talk to you, Izzy. Is that all right?’

She looked uncertain. But after a few seconds, she nodded and disappeared back into the side room.

‘You’ve got ten minutes,’ Hunter muttered. ‘Then I’m kicking you out.’

The side room was smaller than the main basement room. About ten metres by ten. The only light came from a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. The floor was covered with thin, dirty mattresses. Clearly this was where the Hunter’s Thrownaways slept. Izzy was in the far corner, huddled on the ground, clutching her knees. She stared, not at Ricky but into the middle distance, with big, lonely, frightened eyes.

‘My name’s Ricky.’ He tried to sound friendly and upbeat. It was difficult in a place like this.

No reply.

‘I’m here to help you.’

‘I don’t need any help,’ Izzy said.

‘I’m sorry, but . . . Ricky looked around meaningfully. ‘It doesn’t look like it.’

‘You don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Izzy whispered.

Ricky walked over and crouched down next to her. ‘Your mum and dad want you back home,’ he said.

Izzy gave a mirthless laugh. ‘That’s what they said, is it? Well, I’m not going. What’s it got to do with you, anyway?’

Ricky didn’t reply.

Izzy moved her head slightly to look at him. ‘I think I’ve seen you before,’ she said slowly.

Ricky nodded. ‘Christmas Eve maybe? If you were around King’s Cross then? In a woolly hat, right? I saw a picture of you there too. Your face was badly bruised. It looks a bit better now.’

Izzy touched her cheek. ‘That’s why I’m not going back,’ she whispered. ‘Who are you anyway? Did my dad send you?’

‘No.’

‘Then who did?’

A difficult question to answer. Ricky decided not to. ‘Why don’t you want to go home?’ he asked.

‘You wouldn’t understand.’

Ricky stood up. He started pacing. ‘I ran away from home too,’ he said. ‘Eighteen months ago. Never been back.’

He could instantly tell that he had Izzy’s attention. ‘Why?’

‘I was living with foster parents. My mum and dad had died. My foster parents kept dragging me to this obscure church and saying he wanted to save my soul. Not a normal everyday church either, but some weird sect . . .’

‘At least they didn’t beat you up,’ Izzy said. ‘My dad just . . .’ She touched her cheek again. ‘Please don’t tell him where I am.’

Ricky looked towards the door. ‘Why are you staying with Hunter, though?’ he asked.

‘I’ve got nowhere else. And I met Tommy and some of the others on the street and they said this was safer than being on my own .

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