'We were always taught to be careful of strangers.'

'Stranger danger?' said Ed.

'Exactly.'

Ed looked at the boys who were standing staring at him in silence.

'Where the hell did you all come from, anyway?' he asked.

'We're from St Hilda's in Surrey,' said the leader.

'St Hilda's school?' Ed grinned, which sent a spasm of pain up his wounded cheek. 'I know St H. We used to play you lot at rugby. And football. I'm from Rowhurst.'

'Rowhurst? God, I know you buggers!' Another boy stepped forward, a big, keen-looking guy with fluffy hair, his shirt-collar turned up and sticking out of the top of his jumper.

'You're a Rowie, are you?' he went on. 'We came over in the autumn term. Good game too. You had a killer prop forward. Guy called Bam. Do you know him?'

'Of course!' Ed cried excitedly, and then a twinge of sadness got him and he bit his lip.

'What about Johnno?' said the St Hilda's boy. 'Piers?'

'I know them all,' said Ed quietly.

'Are they with you?'

'No,' said Ed. 'They were. They ...'

A lump formed in his throat, stopping him from saying anything else. The boy obviously got it, though, and didn't press Ed any further.

'Bad luck.' He stuck out his hand. 'I'm Pod, by the way. What's your name?'

'Ed Carter.'

'Pleased to meet you, Ed.'

'Ed Carter?' A boy with a big nose jostled to the front of the crowd. 'I know you. Andy Thomas,' he said, patting his chest. 'I remember you from the football team.'

'Yeah, hi,' said Ed, smiling at Andy, although in truth he couldn't remember him at all.

'You all right? That looks bad,' said Andy, pointing to Ed's cheek.

Ed shrugged. 'I think it is bad,' he said.

'So, are you just wandering the streets or do you have a safe place to go somewhere?' said the boys' leader.

'Safe place,' said Ed. 'I was trying to get there. The Imperial War Museum, actually.'

The leader looked interested.

'Could you take us there?'

'I could,' said Ed, 'but I'm not in charge. The guy who runs the place is ... Well, he's not very welcoming. He's got a good set-up and he doesn't want to spoil it. He doesn't really want any newbies.'

'I'll deal with that when we get there,' said the boy confidently. 'I'm David, by the way, David King. I was head of the junior school at St Hilda's. Now, shall we get going?'

'Sure.' Ed dug out his A to Z and checked it quickly. The museum was much nearer than he'd realized.

They set off, Ed wheeling his bike at the head of the column with David. There were black smuts being blown on the wind now, which had grown even fiercer, and hotter. Ed had to raise his voice to be heard over the noise of it.

'Have you walked all the way from your school?' he asked.

'Yes. There were quite a lot more of us when we started.'

Ed looked around at the matching red blazers.

'You haven't picked anyone else up on the way?'

David smiled. 'Your chap who runs the museum,' he said, 'he's got the right idea. Look after your own. May I see your gun?'

'Sure.' Ed passed it to him.

'A gun is a very valuable thing,' said David, weighing it in his hand.

'You're telling me.'

Ed looked at David. He had a very serious, slightly snooty expression. It was quite funny in a way, on a boy his age, but Ed knew better than to laugh at him.

'I get it,' he said, a note of amusement in his voice. 'You weren't trying to rescue me, you were trying to rescue the gun!'

'Something like that,' said David. 'But now you can help us at the War Museum, so it's worked out quite well all round, really, hasn't it? We can get you there safely and you can get us in.'

'I'll try,' said Ed. 'But there may be certain conditions.'

'I'm good at negotiating.' David sounded very sure of himself.

'Yeah?'

'Yes. I suppose, really, I should keep this as a reward for saving your life.'

David aimed the pistol at Ed. Ed smiled, not sure if David was being playful but giving him the benefit of the doubt.

'I went through a lot to get that gun.' Ed kept his voice flat and calm. 'So, I'm afraid I'm not going to give it up.' He gently took the gun back off David and put it in his holster. 'You can have this bike instead, though, if you want.'

'No thanks,' said David. 'I could have shot you then, you know?' he added.

'No you couldn't,' said Ed, forcing another smile though it badly hurt his face. 'It's not loaded.'

60.

'You've got to come and see this.' DogNut was standing at the main doors looking out at the open ground in front of the museum. 'It's the bloody red army.'

The boy who was on guard duty came over to join him and he laughed at what was going on outside.

David was marching up the pathway at the head of his column with Ed at his side. The St Hilda's boys were keeping in perfect step and singing as they went.

The column marched right up to the doors, Ed's bike bumping up the steps.

'Hey!' Ed called out. 'Open up! It's me.'

DogNut came out to meet him.

'Where'd you pick this lot up, brother?' he asked. 'You got yourself an escort?'

'I needed one.'

DogNut looked at Ed's ruined face with a pained expression. 'Yow,' he said. 'You want to get that seen to.'

'Yeah, I will,' said Ed, moving towards the doors. 'Let's go inside. I need to sit down.'

DogNut put up a hand.

'You know Jordan's rules,' he said, and nodded towards David and the others. 'They can't come in.'

'Oh, don't be so silly,' said David, and before DogNut could do anything he pushed past him and took his boys inside.

DogNut turned to Ed, looking panicked.

'Ed!'

'I'm not responsible for them, DogNut.'

'You brought them here.'

'Had no choice, really.'

'Hold up.' DogNut looked puzzled. 'Where's Jack and Bam? Ain't they with you?'

Ed followed David inside. 'No,' he said bluntly over his shoulder as DogNut hurried after him.

'What do you mean?' said DogNut. 'Where they at? They coming back?'

'No,' said Ed. 'They're not coming back.'

'You mean they '

'DogNut!' Ed snapped. 'They're dead, all right?'

'Shit ...'

Inside the museum it was chaos. David's boys were milling around and Jordan's guards were shouting at them.

'Ed, you got to sort this out, man,' said DogNut.

'Not my problem.'

Kids were filtering out of the cafe to see what was going on. Brooke was among them. When she saw Ed, she broke out into a broad eager smile and trotted over to him. Halfway there, though, she caught sight of his wounds and stopped dead, one hand up to her mouth, her eyes wide.

'Oh, Ed,' she said into her fingers. 'What have they done to you?'

Ed felt suddenly deflated. Everything that had happened in the last few days came tumbling down on top of him. What had they done to him? Tears came into his eyes. Someone pushed past. He ignored it. The angry shouting of the boys in the atrium sounded a million miles away. Through a film of tears he saw Brooke shaking her head, backing away, horrified. Before he could say anything, Jordan appeared at the head of the stairs.

'Be quiet!' he shouted, and miraculously everyone fell silent. All eyes turned as he came down, his long military coat rustling on the stone steps.

'What's going on?' he asked, and David stepped out of the crowd.

'I'm David King,' he said. 'We brought Ed Carter back for you.'

'He doesn't belong to me.'

'He lives here, doesn't he?'

'Yes.'

'And you're in charge, aren't you?'

'I am.'

'Then he belongs to you.' David was holding his hand out. 'You must be Jordan Hordern,' he said.

Jordan looked at David's hand through his thick glasses, but didn't make any attempt to shake it.

'Thanks for helping Ed,' said Jordan. 'But I'm afraid you're gonna have to leave now. We haven't got enough food for you all.'

'I understand that,' said David. 'I would do the same in your position. But might I talk to you for a minute?'

'You might,' said Jordan, intrigued by David's strange, stiff, grown-up manner. 'Your boys can wait outside, though.'

'They'll wait inside, actually,' said David. 'I don't want them exposed to any danger. I've got them all the way here from Surrey. I'm responsible for them. They stay with me.' He was so firm, so sure of himself, that Jordan was taken aback. He looked round at the scattering of red blazers.

'Fair enough,' he said. 'But they stay here in the atrium. And no trouble. Whatever you and I agree on they don't argue about, OK?'