Hostage by Chris Bradford Read Free Book Online

deadline, Amir turned to
Connor. ‘Let’s go before she makes it any earlier.’
    He led Connor through a grand entrance hall
and up a wide sweeping staircase. Old paintings in antique frames hung from the walls
and the last of the sun’s rays filtered through a bay window on to the polished
parquet flooring.
    ‘So you’re a buddyguard?’
said Connor as they climbed the stairs to the third floor.
    Amir nodded. ‘Trainee. I’ve not
been on any assignments yet, so I haven’t earned my wings.’ He pointed to a
silver lapel badge on his jumper, the familiar shield and silhouette absent of its
guardian wings. ‘But hopefully it won’t be long. Just depends on who the
next Principal is.’
    ‘
Principal?
’ asked
Connor.
    ‘The person you’re assigned to
protect,’ explained Amir, turning right along a corridor. ‘It could be a
politician’s son, a member of a royal family, the daughter of an oil baron
…’ He nudged Connor with a conspiratorial elbow. ‘To be honest, I’m
hoping for a film star. Now that would be cool. All those red carpet events!’
    He pointed to an open door on their left.
‘That’s my room, by the way.’
    Connor glimpsed an unmade bed with clothes
strewn everywhere and a small desk upon which sat a gutted laptop. ‘What happened
to your computer?’ he asked.
    ‘Nothing. Just updating the hard drive
and installing a new multi-core processor,’ Amir replied, as if such a task was as
easy as replacing a light bulb.
    He stopped by a door marked with a number
seven.
    ‘This is your room,’ he
announced, inviting Connor to go in first.
    The bedroom was small and basic, comprising of
a desk, chair, lamp, single bed, washbasin and an old wooden wardrobe. Connor dumped his
bags on the bed. ‘I thought Jody said the school had been modernized.’
    Amir laughed. ‘It’s what you
don’t
see that’s impressive.’ He flicked open a panel on
the desk to reveal an internet port. ‘The whole place is wired with fibre-optic
broadband. It’s a closed system so no one can access it externally.’ He
pointed to the window. ‘The glass has shock detectors in case someone tries to
break in. Outside, there’s covert CCTV, thermal-imaging cameras and pressure pads
at every entry and exit. And beyond that there are perimeter alarms surrounding the
school grounds.’
    Connor looked out across the open fields,
deserted apart from a flock of windswept sheep. ‘Why the high-tech security? This
isn’t exactly a thriving metropolis.’
    ‘There’s no point protecting
others if we can’t protect ourselves,’ replied Amir. ‘That’s one
of the basic rules of bodyguarding. Also, only a handful of people know about
Buddyguard’s existence – that’s one reason why we’re so effective –
and Colonel Black wants to keep it that way.’
    Stuck in the middle of Wales, Connor
wondered if the colonel wasn’t being a little paranoid. ‘Then we should
watch out for those terrorist sheep!’
    Amir responded with a dry chuckle.
‘Just wait till you start training. You’ll be stunned at what lengths the
enemy will go to.’ He glanced at Connor’s backpack. ‘Have you brought
a laptop?’
    Connor shook his head. He only had an old
battered PC at home.
    ‘Don’t worry, I’ll sort
one out for you tomorrow.’ A mobile phone pinged in Amir’s back pocket.
‘That means dinner’s served. You must be starving after the
journey.’
    Making their way downstairs, they headed
through to the dining hall. Fifteen or so boys and girls were gathered at one end,
sitting at circular tables, chatting and eating. To their left was an open serving area,
steaming with freshly cooked food. Passing Connor a tray, Amir grabbed a large plate and
helped himself. Connor’s mouth watered at the impressive spread of pasta, chicken,
curry, rice and even steak.
    ‘This is
nothing
like school
dinners,’ he remarked, shovelling a mound of chips to go with his rib-eye and
mushrooms.
    ‘The colonel believes an army