in your physics lesson yesterday. I understand that you were the only one who succeeded in making a transistor radio. A sound knowledge of electronics could be a useful skill, in certain lines of work.’
As he said this, he raised an eyebrow. It made Zak feel distinctly uncomfortable. He downed the rest of his Coke, crushed the can completely and stood up. ‘I’m out of here,’ he said. ‘Stop following me, all right, otherwise I’ll call the police, tell them I’ve got my very own stalker.’
The old man inclined his head, as if to say,
‘Just one thing, Zak.’ The man’s voice stopped him short, but he didn’t turn round. ‘If you want to know the real reason your mum and dad died, we might want to talk some more.’
Zak didn’t look back. He didn’t say anything. But he didn’t move either.
‘I’ll be here tomorrow,’ the man continued. ‘Half past eleven. Think about it.’
Elsewhere in the park, children were shrieking with pleasure. A cloud briefly covered the sun, then drifted away again. Zak experienced it all in slow motion as the old man’s words echoed in his head.
He turned.
The wooden bench was empty. And when he cast around trying to find where the stranger had gone, the old man was nowhere to be seen.
Also available by Chris Ryan, and published by Random House Children’s Books:
Flash Flood
Wildfire
Outbreak
Vortex
Twister
Battleground
Survival
Rat-Catcher
Desert Pursuit
Hostage
Red Centre
Hunted
Blood Money
Fault Line
Black Gold
Untouchable
The One That Got Away
Chris Ryan’s SAS Fitness Book
Chris Ryan’s Ultimate Survival Guide
Fight to Win: Deadly Skills of the Elite Forces
Stand By, Stand By
Zero Option
The Kremlin Device
Tenth Man Down
Hit List
The Watchman
Land of Fire
Greed
The Increment
Blackout
Ultimate Weapon
Strike Back
Firefight
Who Dares Wins
One Good Turn (
About the Author
• Joined the SAS in 1984, serving in military hot zones across the world.
• Expert in overt and covert operations in war zones, including Northern Ireland, Africa, the Middle East and other classified territories.
• Commander of the Sniper squad within the anti-terrorist team.
• Part of an 8-man patrol on the Bravo Two Zero Gulf War mission in Iraq.
• The mission was compromised. 3 fellow soldiers died, and 4 more were captured as POWs. Ryan was the only person to defy the enemy, evading capture and escaping to Syria on foot over a distance of 300 kilometres.
• His ordeal made history as the longest escape and evasion by an SAS trooper, for which he was awarded the Military Medal.
• His books are dedicated to the men and women who risk their lives fighting for the armed forces.
Copyright
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY
A RED FOX BOOK
978-1-849-41346-6
First published in Great Britain by Red Fox, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books
A Random House Group Company
This edition published 2010
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