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this reminder of our earlier argument.
    Cal swooped down and grabbed Nico by the arm. ‘Come on,’ he said.
    ‘What d’you think’s going on?’ I asked. ‘If those men just wanted money they’d have mugged us. Why have they brought us here?’
    ‘It doesn’t matter,’ Nico said sharply as he soared up behind Cal. ‘We just need to get out of here and get back to the mission. All that matters is finding out if
someone’s really developed Medusix.’
    ‘I know that’s the priority,’ I said, just as sharply back. ‘I’m just asking.’
    Up in the air, Nico twisted his hand and the lock on the small window clicked free. With a creak, the window itself opened.
    ‘It leads straight onto the pavement outside,’ Nico said.
    ‘Right, you go through,’ Cal said. ‘Then I’ll go down and fetch Ketty.’
    Both boys looked down at me. I nodded.
    Cal carefully hovered closer to the window, moving his hold from Nico’s arm to round his waist, then positioning Nico so that he could crawl through the narrow opening. Nico reached
through with his head and arms. I watched, holding my breath as he gradually disappeared from view. Cal stayed beside him, guiding his lower body.
    The bolts on the other side of the door rattled as someone dragged them back. Cal caught my eye. He was still pushing Nico through the window. He looked terrified. A key turned in the lock.
    ‘Go!’ I hissed at Cal. ‘Come back for me in a minute.’
    Cal shoved Nico fully through the window, but didn’t follow himself.
    ‘Come on, Ketts,’ he hissed, one hand clinging on to the window ledge, the other reaching down for me.
    The door handle started to turn. ‘No, there’s no time. Come back for me.’ With a grimace, Cal slithered through the opening – and I faced the door.
    Broken Nose stood in front of me. His mouth gaped as he took in the empty room. He looked up at the open window and shouted something in a language I didn’t understand. I heard Knife Man
pounding up the stairs to the ground floor.
    I held my breath, hoping Cal and Nico had enough time to get away.
    Broken Nose and I stared at each other. I took a step away from him. Hopefully Cal and Nico were hiding outside, around the corner. As soon as Broken Nose left me again, Cal could come back and
fetch me.
    But Broken Nose didn’t leave me. Instead he grabbed my arm and dragged me from the room. I tried to resist. He shouted. Then he opened the door of a tiny cupboard. It contained a mop and
bucket full of cleaning rags and bottles, plus a ladder. Broken Nose shoved me inside. I fell against the ladder. The door slammed shut.
    I stood gasping with the shock. My arm hurt where I’d landed on the rungs of the ladder. But worse, far worse, was the fact that the cupboard was pitch black.
    And that I was now completely alone.

4: The Trap
    I banged on the door, panic rising and whirling inside me. It’s not that I’m afraid of the dark, but the cupboard was tiny. Worse, no one knew I was here. If Cal
and Nico did manage to escape Knife Man and come back, they would have no idea where to find me.
    Well, I’d just have to make sure they heard me. I thumped on the door again, yelling at the top of my voice.
    ‘Let me out! Help!’
    I shouted for a whole minute, then I stopped and listened. I could hear nothing outside. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself. Perhaps if I looked a little way into the future, I
would see the boys coming back to rescue me.
    The thought of this was reassuring. I steadied my gaze into the darkness. It really was completely black inside the cupboard. No light at all shone in from outside, which meant the doors out of
the basement must all be shut. Probably locked. It didn’t matter. Nico would be able to handle the locks.
    Focus , I told myself sternly. Stop rushing ahead in your mind and let it take you properly into the future. Just the next few minutes. Just a little way .
    I stood as still as I could, keeping my breathing