The Snake Trap by Kevin Brooks

Author:Kevin Brooks [Brooks, Kevin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781447241522
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Book

36

At around the same time that Mason was on the tower-block roof with Lenny and Jalil, finding out about the threat to Jaydie, I was still cooped up in the converted bathroom with Khan and big Claude, listening to the same devastating details myself – the two men in Jalil’s flat, the sniper rifle trained on Jaydie twenty-four hours a day, the prearranged back-up plans, the coded texts, the hourly phone calls, the threat to my life if anything went wrong . . .

I didn’t know how Khan had found out about my relationship with Jaydie, and I didn’t ask, but it was obvious he knew how much she meant to me, otherwise he wouldn’t be using her to threaten me. I could only guess he’d had someone watching us – and for quite some time too – which not only made me feel really annoyed with myself for not noticing, but it also made me feel sick. The idea of someone following us, studying us, probably taking photographs of us . . . invading our lives, stealing our privacy . . .

But right now I couldn’t care less about that. It was nothing compared to the very real – and very present – danger to Jaydie.

‘Listen’ I said to Khan, ‘I’ll do whatever you want, OK? Anything at all . . . I don’t care what it is. I give you my word I’ll do exactly what you want. But please leave Jaydie out of it. She doesn’t know anything. She’s not even—’

‘Enough,’ Khan said simply. ‘You will do exactly as I say or your friend will get a bullet in the head. Is that clear?’

‘Yeah, but—’

‘Is that clear? Yes or no?’

‘Yes,’ I sighed.

He held up his phone. ‘Remember . . . one quick text, a press of a button, and she’s dead. You don’t want that to happen, do you?’

‘No.’

‘You’d never forgive yourself, would you?’

I held my tongue, too angry to risk saying anything.

Khan smiled. ‘Hatred’s a powerful motivator, isn’t it? Perhaps you can understand just a little of how we feel now. Imagine the loathing you have for me multiplied by a thousand . . . you still won’t be anywhere near the hatred that burns in our hearts. That’s what this is all about. That’s why—’

‘Just tell me what I have to do,’ I said bluntly.

He looked at me. ‘You’re not interested in our ideology then?’

‘You haven’t got one. You just like killing people.’

He laughed.

I lost it then. I just completely lost control of myself. My mind filled with a swirl of red mist, and before I knew what I was doing I’d launched myself at Khan and ripped the phone from his hand. He didn’t do anything to stop me – I was too quick for him even if he’d wanted to – but as I backed away from him, with the phone firmly in my grasp, I saw Claude lumbering across the room towards me. I braced myself, getting ready to skip away from

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