Blind School Read Online Free Page B

relief to touch Ryan’s face, then hit him with the teaser punch-line: ‘I just think you've been smoking too much Jamaican Gold, Ryie.’
    ‘You know it's over a year since I touched that stuff.’ Ryan feigned offence, but Tommy’s brow simply knitted deeper.
    ‘Have you read any of the medical reports on just how long-lasting the effects of that are?’
    Smiling, Ryan shook his head and gave Tommy a mock shoulder-punch. Nobody was ever going to buy the story.
    They left the newspaper on the bench and headed into their next class.
    The room operations room was buzzing, all but two of its forty-seven screens manned with agents surveying security cam feeds.
       Ellis Kendell leant closer over Aaron Green’s screen as three pictures came up.   ‘Okay. Is that all the cam hook-ins for Thomas Edison school?’
    ‘Yeah. Main entrance corridor, schoolyard and main gate. Oh...’ Aaron pulled up another inset. ‘And one on the street corner fifty yards along.’
    Ellis nodded. ‘Pull up just the main gate and street corner cams.’
    Aaron clicked and tapped on his keyboard and just the two views appeared in a split screen: parents grouping outside waiting to pick up their kids.
    Ellis studied them closer, checking his watch.
    The wait seemed interminable, though it was only two minutes before a familiar face came into view on the street corner cam: the man he’d seen staring at his son Santos   the other day. Ellis pointed.
    ‘There... there . That man. Zoom in and get as many still frames as you can.’
    Ellis was distracted by Josh Eskovitz waving to get his attention across the room, but he held him off with a staying hand.
    Aaron zoomed and juggled, and within seconds had filled the screen with a succession of frame-shots. Ellis pointed to the closest to a front-facial view.
    ‘Okay. That one. Run him through the system and let me know what comes up.’
    Ellis hustled over to Josh Eskovitz.
    ‘Possible Culverton-related problem,’ Josh announced, leaning back in his swivel chair. ‘Jet ploughed into a stand at Andrews Air Force base. High body count.’
    Ellis rubbed his forehead as if suddenly in pain.
    ‘I'd better go down there.’
    ‘And looks like we got another one too. This time in Pittsfield , Massachusetts .’
    Ellis nodded ruefully. Josh released the on-screen freeze-frame and a video rolled of a 17 year-old blonde girl. After a moment they both observed an opaque light refraction in her eyes.
    ‘Are you sure that it's not just reflections or an odd light at that angle?’ Ellis pressed. ‘We've had that happen before.’
    ‘No. We've run it through others on that same cam. There's no doubt.’ Josh sighed. ‘Wanna fast-track this one, given recent activity in that area?’
    No, just standard surveillance for now. We put ourselves and the target as much at risk by not getting full background first.’
    But Ellis found his gaze drawn back to the girl on screen, wondering whether he'd made the right decision.
    The blonde girl was on a different street this time: quiet suburbia, no shops or street cams in sight. Dusk light, the last sunlight fast fading, she seemed disturbed as she glanced behind her.
    What had unsettled her was out of sight at first, but as it turned the corner forty yards behind her she could see it clearly again: a black van, its windows tinted. She couldn’t see inside it, but little doubt remained that it was following her.
    She picked up pace, now almost at a run. The van stayed with her, keeping the same distance behind. Its dark windows stared back ominously at her.
    Inside, its driver tapped a steady beat on the steering wheel with one finger.
    She forgot all pretence and started running, cutting frantically into the next side-turn – but then he did a strange thing. He went straight on.
    She caught a vague silhouette of his head through the glass. He appeared to be looking ahead, hardly gave her a passing glance.
    Sudden relief, she eased her pace, caught back some