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By Root 354 0

God, she'd go back to her mum's if she had to – it wouldn't be for long. She looked all right, she was well presented, she was an asset. Everyone had always said so, in every household she'd been in. She'd be fine. She had to leave.

Cynthia shivered. She'd never forget the way Mrs Kreiner had talked, the way she'd moved, the look on Russell Waller's face, or the glimpse of Peter Taylor as he'd stomped off to the Restraint Room. No one would tell her what was going on, not properly, but it had to be bad. Whatever it was, it had to be bad.

She breathed deeply, clutched the bear, closed her eyes.

She'd fetch the Doctor in a minute.

***

There was a loud banging at the door. Fitz waited for someone to appear and open it, but no one came.

He looked around, feeling a little uncomfortable, he and Sam alone in Roley's hallway. The banging at the door came again.

'You going to answer that?' called Fitz to no one in particular.

At the third lot of persistent banging Fitz was about to go and open the door when three things happened at once.

Roley emerged from down the hall, moaning to himself about his relaxation therapy being interrupted.

Sam roused herself from her torpor with an almighty shriek of terror.

Then the huge, heavy old oak door was smashed off its hinges by a man in a badly cut suit wearing bandages.

'Bloody hell!' yelled Fitz. 'We were just coming!'

With the bandaged guy was the bloke in the dark-blue coat he'd seen on the bus. He'd been followed! His first thought was that the police had found him - but then he realised that Sam was right.This was the pair from last night

And the bandaged guy had a gun. An old gun - some kind of duelling pistol, it looked like.

'Is that yours?' he hissed at Roley.

Roley had gripped Fitz's arm in fright and bafflement. 'Of course it isn't.'

'Pity. Thought he might've been returning it.'

'Zaaaaam!' said the guy in the bandages.

'I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong house,' said Fitz, politely.

Sam climbed shakily to her feet. 'And probably the wrong century.'

Fitz was impressed. She was obviously scared to death, but she was standing up to them. Well... she'd probably had more practice than he had.

Whether she'd get any more at this rate was debatable, and a line of thought he didn't want to follow.

Bandage-face made a weird announcement. 'I veeeel it. The arnzwerssss eeeeear.'

'Yeah, well, anything you say.'

The guy in the coat stepped closer. Now Fitz had a dear look at him he was even more infuriatingly

familiar.

'My friend Azoth needs certain items in this building. We might kill some of you if you get in our way.' He turned to his dodgy mate, speaking as if to someone slightly deaf. 'Who do you want us to take?'

Fitz decided he wasn't waiting around for this. 'I'm off,' he whispered to Sam, as Azoth burbled electronically to the other guy.

'You're just going to walk out on us, are you?' Sam hissed back, accusingly.

'Rescuing you once was a miracle. I'm not going to push my luck.' He looked at Roley. 'Where's my mum?'

Roley looked as if he was about to go to pieces. 'I... she's... that is to say...'

'Fitz.' Sam clearly wasn't giving up. 'What about the others?'

'Screw the others!'

Sam rolled her eyes. 'You can't just go - in case you hadn't noticed he's pointing a gun at us! Look, if they're only working out what they want now, they're amateurs. If we stay together, we can take them.'

'Not likely! I'm off. And if you had any sense you'd come with me.'

'Oh really? And why's that?'

"Cause whatever else they want here, you're definitely on the list,

"Zaaaaam"!'

A prim northern voice bellowed out from the landing above. 'What is the meaning of all this?'

Azoth said, 'Beeeee Gwyaaat,' or something very like it.

'Maria, get back! Run!' cried Roley, running himself back the way he had come. 'He's got a gun!

Maria ran across the landing in the same direction.

'Stop!' yelled the other guy, and Azoth fired the pistol. A large chunk of the wooden banisters went up in