Hostage (28 page)

‘Sure,’ she replied, her
hesitant smile unable to disguise what she’d really hoped he’d ask.
‘I’ll … um … go see how Kalila’s getting on with her
“date”.’

Connor watched Alicia walk away. As she
reached the edge of the dance floor, she glanced back over her shoulder at him, a fond
look in her eyes. He offered what he trusted was a reassuring smile, then headed to the
punchbowl table. He was halfway there when he noticed Ethan and Jimbo having an intense
discussion at a nearby table. Their two dates sat with them, ignored and appearing as
though they wished they’d never come.

Deciding it was best to avoid another
confrontation, Connor diverted his course and stepped out through the gym’s main
doors. He judged that it would be OK to leave Alicia for a short while. She was among
her friends and Secret Service were patrolling the grounds outside the building.

Passing the restrooms, Connor turned left to
pace a dimly lit corridor and ponder his dilemma over Alicia.
Who could blame me for
liking her?
She was fun, gorgeous and the daughter of the
President of the
United States
! Such a combination would be hard for any teenager to resist.
Especially when
she
was the one showing the interest. Under any other
circumstances, he’d have jumped at the chance.

No!
Connor told himself. He’d
made a promise to President Mendez – on his father’s memory – to protect Alicia.
And he couldn’t do that if he got involved with her. Besides, as soon as anyone
found out, he’d be transferred back to England – that is,
if
he survived
the wrath of her father first. Then Colonel Black would boot him out of Buddyguard and
all the care provided for his mum and gran would be taken away.

With regret, Connor knew he’d have to
harden his heart and maintain a respectful distance. The easiest solution would be to
say he had a girlfriend back in England … Charley, for instance. That would also help
explain the international calls he kept making. As he resigned himself to his decision,
Connor became aware of a figure at the far end of the corridor. Presuming it was one of
Kyle’s agents, Connor raised a hand and said, ‘How’s it
going?’

Without a word, the figure turned away and
disappeared round the corner.

His suspicions aroused, Connor hurried after
him. But the adjoining corridor was empty. Connor walked back to where the figure had
been standing. There was a row of lockers. One of them was numbered 235 – Alicia’s
locker.
It didn’t appear to have been tampered with, but Connor
was taking no chances.

He pressed a finger to his covert
earpiece.

‘Bandit to Bravo One,’ he
whispered, using his designated call sign.

Kyle’s voice immediately responded.
‘
Bandit. Go ahead
.’

‘I spotted a suspect in the east
corridor but lost him. He was looking at Ali–’ Connor corrected himself –
‘Nomad’s locker.’

‘
I’ll send an agent to
investigate. Stay with Nomad. Bravo One out.
’

‘There you are!’ cried a
voice.

Connor spun to see Darryl walking towards
him.

‘Who were you talking to?’ he
asked, looking around the deserted corridor.

‘Err … just myself,’ Connor
replied.

Darryl gave him a dubious look.
‘They’re about to announce the Prom Prince and Princess and Alicia’s
asking where you are. You haven’t seen Fariq, have you? Kalila said he went to
make a phone call and isn’t back yet.’

Connor shook his head.

‘What a weird guy he is!’
remarked Darryl, as they made their way into the hall and over to Alicia and the others.
The students were all gathered in a mass before the stage. The band had stopped playing
and the principal was addressing the school.

‘By popular vote, this year’s
Prom Prince and Princess are …’

‘
You got here just in
time
,’ Alicia whispered to Connor, not seeming to notice that he’d
forgotten the drinks.

The principal fumbled with an envelope. The
students grew quiet in anticipation and the drummer began a crescendo drum roll.

‘… Connor Reeves and Alicia
Mendez!’

The room erupted with applause and Alicia
hugged Connor in delight.

‘My knight has become my
prince!’ she laughed.

Connor was taken aback by the tribute. He
hadn’t even known what a Prom Prince or Princess was until this evening.

Grace winked at Connor. ‘Nothing like
a bit of superhero action to win the vote.’

Paige threw some confetti over them and
whooped, ‘Congratulations!’

‘You deserve it,’ said Kalila,
her face lighting up for the first time that night.

‘Now if you’d like to come up on
stage,’ said the principal, beckoning to the honorary couple.

The crowd parted, creating a corridor on the
dance floor for Connor and Alicia. The band launched into the classic
‘Celebration’ by Kool & The Gang and the two of them danced their way
towards the stage. On either side, students clapped and hollered. Alicia beamed with
joy, clasping Connor’s hand tight. Connor was also caught up in the infectious
atmosphere as party poppers went off and a large
bang
triggered a cascade of
silver glitter, streamers and balloons from the ceiling.

His earpiece crackled into life.
‘
Bravo Four to Bravo One. No intruder in east corridor. Just a couple of
kids necking in the locker room. Continuing search …
’

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Connor
glimpsed the muzzle of a gun.

For a brief split second, Connor’s mind
froze. Time seemed to grind to a halt. Amid the cheering crowd, falling glitter and
tumbling balloons, the ominous black barrel of a handgun poked out between two oblivious
students. Targeted on the Prom Princess, the deadly weapon seemed to grow in size as
Connor focused all his attention upon it. The roar of student applause faded like a
rapidly receding wave until he heard only his heart beating …
THUMPthumpTHUMPthumpTHUMPthump …

The moment of truth had come.

Deep within him, he heard Jody’s voice
bawl, ‘
A-C-E!
’

Assess. Counter. Escape …

Suddenly time speeded back up as his
bodyguard training kicked into gear. Within a matter of milliseconds he’d assessed
the threat and decided on his course of action.

‘GUN!’ shouted Connor, grabbing
Alicia and shielding her with his body.

At first, the crowd looked bemused,
uncertain they’d heard right.

Then a girl spotted the barrel too and
started
screaming. Like the spread of wildfire, the crowd panicked and
fled in all directions. There was a
BANG
and Connor tensed, expecting a bullet
to hit him. When none did, he crouched low, holding Alicia to him, and ran as fast as he
could.

‘This way!’ he yelled, heading
for the nearest exit.

Alicia, utterly bewildered by the sudden
turn of events, had no option but to obey.

Two more
bangs
went off. Total
chaos ensued. Tables were knocked over. Drinks spilt. Glasses shattered. People collided
and began falling over themselves. Connor kept a firm grip on Alicia as he barged a path
through the hysterical students. But his first choice of exit had become blocked as too
many people tried to escape through the narrow doorway.

Connor directed Alicia behind an overturned
table to reassess his options.

‘Where’s the gunman?’ she
asked, her voice trembling with fear.

‘Stay down,’ Connor instructed,
trying not to make her a target. It was impossible to see where the shooter was hiding
among the frantic crowd. Their closest exit was now at the rear of the stage. But that
meant going up the steps and exposing themselves to the gunman.

At that moment, Secret Service burst into
the gymnasium. Weapons armed and at the ready, their foreboding appearance created even
more panic and sent the students scattering. But the highly trained agents kept a level
head as they scanned the hall for the threat.

‘DROP IT!’ shouted an agent on the
far side, aiming his SIG Sauer P229 at a figure in the crowd.

Surrounded on all sides by Secret Service,
the gunman threw his weapon to the floor.

‘Don’t shoot me!’ cried a
stunned and terrified Ethan, holding his hands high above his head. ‘It’s a
water pistol … just a water pistol!’

The hall’s main lights came up and the
school principal, who’d dived off stage at the first ‘shot’, now
attempted to restore calm over the microphone. Secret Service agents had Ethan pinned to
the floor. The rest of the students hung around in shocked silence or spoke in hushed
tones as they watched their classmate being frisked for further weapons.

‘It was meant to be a joke,’
blubbed Ethan, as his hands were cuffed behind his back. ‘Tell them, Jimbo, tell
them.’

Connor cautiously rose from behind the table
to confirm the danger was truly over. Secret Service had the gymnasium locked down and
no else appeared to be a threat.

‘Can I get up now?’ asked
Alicia, still crouched in his shadow.

‘Yes, it’s safe,’ said
Connor, helping her to her feet.

Kyle spotted them and came running over.

‘Are you hurt, Alicia?’ he
asked, noticing an ominous dark patch on her ballgown just below her chest.

Alicia shook her head. Then she looked down at
herself and groaned, ‘Aww, but my dress … it’s ruined.’

She inspected the stain on her bodice and a
tear where someone had stood on the hem during their attempt to flee.

‘That can be replaced – unlike
you,’ said Connor.

Alicia sighed, ‘It’s actually a
one-off. But you’re right, I suppose it could have been a
lot
worse.’

An agent approached Kyle. ‘Looks a bit
like a Glock 17, but it’s a kid’s water pistol all right,’ he
confirmed, handing Kyle the evidence. ‘That idiot filled it with ink for a prank.
Said something about wanting to pay the English boy back … for stealing his
date!’

Kyle raised an enquiring eyebrow in
Connor’s direction and saw a matching ink stain on his jacket. Connor gave a
strained smile.

‘So what about the gunshots?’
Alicia asked, her cheeks flushing at the disclosure of her date.

‘His accomplice burst some
balloons,’ the agent replied, pointing to the remains of one on the floor.

Letting the matter of their supposed date
pass, Kyle showed Connor the ‘gun’. In the full glare of the gym lights, it
was obvious that the weapon was a plastic toy.

‘Sorry, I
thought
it was
real,’ said Connor, feeling an utter idiot. At the same time, he was glad it
hadn’t been. Judging by the stain on Alicia’s dress, he’d have reacted
too late to save her from a real bullet.

‘Easy mistake to make in the heat of
the moment,’ replied Kyle. ‘Many of our agents have been fooled one time or
another. You did the right thing by calling it in.’

‘I’m
so
angry with Ethan
–’ began Alicia, glaring in his direction. Then she frowned. ‘What did you
just say? Connor
called it in
?’

‘Erm … it’s just an expression
we agents use,’ Kyle replied, quickly trying to backtrack.

Alicia glanced between the two of them,
sensing there was something more to it than that. Then she noticed a tiny piece of
skin-toned plastic protruding from Connor’s left ear. Her eyes widened in
recognition. ‘Is
that
what I think it is?’

Connor discovered his covert earpiece had
become dislodged during their escape. He pushed it back in and offered a sheepish
grin.

‘What are you? My
bodyguard
?’ said Alicia, half-joking.

Connor said nothing. But she saw the truth
in his eyes and her jaw dropped in disbelief.

‘You ARE!’ she exclaimed.
‘The son of a soldier … martial arts expert … your reactions to the gun … all this
is starting to make sense …’

‘I can explain,’ said Connor.
‘It’s not what you think –’