The Whisper by Clayton Emma Read Free Book Online Page B

the wall, following them down the street.
    “Dad,” he said. “That camera’s watching us.”
    His father glanced up. The camera was pointed right at them, and the rest of the street was deserted.
    “OK,” Abe whispered. “Let’s walk back to Greek Street. I don’t think we should worry too much, but let’s go where we can’t be seen by it.”
    They began to wade. This time they heard the mechanism of the camera move.
    “It’s following us,” Kobi whispered. “Is it a police camera? Do you think they can see how old I am?”
    “Maybe,” his father said. “It’s difficult to see much of you with all that hair over your face, but you’re tall. Don’t panic. John will be here soon. Just walk slowly.”
    It wasn’t hard to walk slowly through the heavy water. But now, instead of feeling numb with cold, Kobi was hot beneath his coat, his back prickling where he felt the camera’s eye on him.
    When they reached the end of Greek Street, they saw two people wading toward them from the direction of Soho Square. When they quickened their pace, it was clear one was John.
    “Good,” his father said. “They’re here. We can get out of here now.”
    They began to wade up the street, planning to meet them halfway, but when they were still fifty feet apart, a police pod flew around the pillar in Soho Square, heading directlytoward them. Its engine whined. Its lights reflected off the slimy buildings and the dark water below.
    Then a mechanized voice filled the street: “Halt, civilians, put your hands in the air. Halt, civilians, put your hands in the air.”
    “Frag!” Kobi cursed. “They have come for me! What should we do?”
    “Just stick your hands in the air,” his father said quickly. “And do what they say. They’ve got guns, Kobi. I’d rather you were taken by the government than shot.”
    “I fragging wouldn’t,” Kobi said.
    “Just do it, Kobi! Please! For me! Put your hands up!”
    Kobi put his hands up and watched the police pod hover over John and his companion.
    A door opened in the side and one of the policemen leaned out to talk to John. Kobi watched John explain something and point toward the pub. After a brief exchange, the policeman nodded and the pod began to fly toward Kobi and his father. Then they felt like rabbits looking down the barrel of a gun.
    Suddenly, they heard a loud
BANG
.
    They were so startled they just stood and watched as the police pod veered and crashed through a cake shop window.
    Then John and his companion rushed toward them through the water. Kobi saw a gun in John’s hand and began to realize what had happened. John had shot the police pod; he’d made it crash. Now it was wedged in the shop with its siren wailing and smoke pouring from its engine. They could see the policemen struggling to get out, with their own, bigger guns.
    “Quick!” John shouted at them. “Go to that black door! Move!”
    The door was between the cake shop and a restaurant. They pushed through it, with John and his companion hard behind them. When they were all through, it was slammed shut and locked. Then they found themselves in a deeper darkness, still in water and wading again, down a narrow alley with strangers all around them.
    They were pulled into a building with rooms sloshing with water. Then out the back and into a watery yard. Then through a gate and along another alley, through another gate and into a building, up rotting stairs, and through a hole in a wall. Then down more stairs, and out again into deeper water, far from the smoke, siren, and guns.
    Now they were moving toward the river. The water was getting deeper. The people who surrounded them had faces covered with scarves. The buildings looked darker and more desperate, and soon they were wading through the old financial heart of the city toward one of many office blocks that hadn’t been used since the Golden Turrets were built. At the top was the company name:

FUTURE COMMUNICATION
     
    The foyer of the