darkness on tiptoe. Matt tried to relax, to enjoy what they were doing. This was an adventure, wasn’t it? An hour from now, they’d be laughing about it with their pockets full of cash. But he was uneasy, and when Kelvin reached into his pocket and produced a knife, his stomach tightened and he felt even worse.
“What’s that for?” he whispered.
“Don’t worry. It’s just to get us in.”
Kelvin inserted the point of the blade into the crack between the door and its frame, and began to play with the bolt. Matt watched him without saying anything, secretly hoping that the door wouldn’t open. The lock looked secure enough and it seemed somehow improbable that the seventeen-year-old would be able to unfasten it with anything as cumbersome as a knife. But then there was a click and light spilled out as the door swung open. Kelvin stepped back and Matt saw that he was equally surprised, although he was trying not to show it.
“We’re in,” he said.
Matt nodded. For a moment he wondered if Charlie might have been right after all. Perhaps this was going to be as easy as Kelvin had said.
They went through the door.
Inside, the warehouse was huge – much bigger than Matt had expected. When Kelvin had talked about the place, he had imagined nothing more than a few racks of DVDs in an otherwise empty space. But it seemed to go on for ever, with hundreds and hundreds of shelves numbered and divided into corridors that formed a complex grid system, all lit by vast industrial lights hanging on chains. And as well as the games and the DVDs, there were boxes of computer equipment, Game Boys, MP3 players and even mobile phones, all wrapped in plastic, ready for the shops.
Matt looked up. There were no security cameras – just like Kelvin had said.
“You head that way.” Kelvin pointed. “Go for the small, expensive stuff. I’ll meet you back here.”
“Why don’t we stick together?”
“Don’t you worry, Matty. I won’t leave without you!”
The two of them split up. Matt found himself in a narrow corridor with DVDs on both sides. Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt… All the familiar faces in the most recent feature films were there. He reached out and took a handful, not even looking at what he’d chosen. He was sure there were more expensive things in the warehouse but he didn’t care. He just wanted to get out.
Everything went wrong at once.
It began with a smell that was suddenly in his nostrils, everywhere, coming from nowhere.
The smell of burnt toast.
And a voice. “Come on, Matthew. We’re going to be late.”
A flash of colour. A bright yellow wall. Pine cupboards. A teapot shaped like a teddy bear.
The smell told him something was wrong in the same way that a dog will often bark before danger actually appears. Matt knew that it was odd but he had never really questioned it before. It was a knack… a sort of instinct. A warning. But this time it had come too late. Before he knew what was happening, a heavy hand had clamped down on his shoulder, spinning him round, and a voice exclaimed, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Matt felt his arms go weak and the DVDs cascaded to the floor, clattering around his feet. He found himself looking into the face of a security guard and knew at once that this wasn’t the old codger Kelvin had described. This was a tall, serious man in a black and silver uniform with a radio transmitter attached to some sort of holster on his chest. The man was in his fifties but looked fit, built like a rugby player.
“The police are already on their way,” he said. “You set off the alarm when you opened that door. So don’t try anything funny.”
Matt couldn’t move. He was too shocked by the appearance of the guard. His heart was hammering in his chest, making it difficult to breathe. He was suddenly feeling very young again.
“What’s your name?” the guard demanded.
Matt said nothing.
“Are you alone?” This time, his voice was a little kinder. He must have seen that Matt was no threat to him. “How many of you are there?”
Matt drew a breath. “I…”
And then, as if a switch had been thrown and the whole world sent into a spin, the real horror began.
The security guard jerked upright, his eyes widening, his mouth falling open. He released Matt and fell sideways. Matt looked past him and saw Kelvin standing there, a dazed smile on his face. At first he didn’t understand what had happened. Then he saw the hilt of the knife, sticking out of the guard’s back, just above his waist. The security guard didn’t look hurt. He just looked surprised. He collapsed slowly, rested on his knees, then pitched forward on to the floor and lay still.
A whole eternity seemed to pass by. Matt was frozen. He felt he was being sucked into some sort of black hole. Then Kelvin grabbed hold of him.
“We’ve got to move,” he said.
“Kelvin…?” Matt fought for control. “What have you done?” he whispered. “Why did you have to do that?”
“What else was I meant to do?” Kelvin demanded. “He’d seen you.”
“I know he’d seen me. But you didn’t have to stab him! Do you know what you’ve done? Do you know what you are?”
Matt was speechless, horrified, and before he knew what he was doing, he had thrown himself at Kelvin, hurling him into one of the shelves. Kelvin recovered quickly. He was bigger and stronger than Matt. He coiled forward, then lashed out with a fist, catching Matt on the side of the head. Matt fell back, dazed.
“What’s the matter with you, Matt?” Kelvin snarled. “What’s your problem?”
“ You are! You didn’t have to do that! You must be out of your mind!” Matt’s head was spinning. He didn’t know what to say.
“I was only thinking of you, mate.” Kelvin jabbed at him with his finger. “I only did it for you.”
The security guard groaned. Matt forced himself to look down. The man was still alive. But he was lying in a pool of blood that seemed to be spreading with every second.
“Let’s go!” Kelvin hissed.
“No. We can’t leave him.”
“What?”
“Where’s your mobile? We have to call for help.”
“To hell with that!” Kelvin ran his tongue over his lips. “You stay if you want to. I’m out of here.”
“You can’t!”
“Watch me!”
And then he was gone, disappearing back up the corridor. Matt ignored him. The security guard groaned a second time and tried to say something. Feeling sick, Matt crouched down beside him and placed a hand on his arm. “Don’t move,” he said. “I’m going to get help.”
But help had already arrived. Matt heard the sirens seconds before the screech of tyres announced that the police had arrived. They must have begun their journey to the warehouse the moment Kelvin forced open the door. Leaving the guard, Matt stood up and walked out into the open. A whole section of the wall suddenly slid aside. Matt could see all the way down the warehouse and out into the darkness, which was flashing black blue black blue. There were three cars parked across the entrance. A set of headlamps came on and a dazzling beam of light shot through the darkness and hammered into his eyes. At the same time, half a dozen figures, no more than silhouettes, moved towards him. He could see that they were all dressed in protective clothing. Some of them were carrying guns.
They had already caught Kelvin. He was being led, squealing and crying, by two armoured men a great deal bigger than him. Then he saw Matt. At once he turned and pointed.
“It wasn’t me!” he whined in a high-pitched voice. “It was him! He made me come! And he killed the guard!”
“Don’t move!” somebody shouted, as two more men came running towards Matt.
Matt stood where he was. Slowly, he raised his arms. The palms of his hands were caught in the light from the cars and now he saw that they were glistening red, covered in blood.
“He did it! He did it! He did it!” Kelvin screamed.
