Free Desert Pursuit by Chris Ryan

face. She held out her arms towards him and looked as though she was about to run after him, but a gaunt man appeared behind her, laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and drew her back into the little house.
    ‘We have to do something!’ said Li, her face tight with misery as she watched the boys walk away from their home.
    Alex shifted uncomfortably. The truth was, none of them had thought this through properly before racing off into the desert after Khalid. ‘I’m not sure what we can do,’ he admitted. ‘There’s no way we can take on three men with Kalashnikovs. Even if we wait until dark and try to creep up on them, that dog is going to raise the alarm.’
    ‘Couldn’t we put the mutt out of action?’ asked Amber.
    ‘Then what?’ asked Alex. ‘We can’t just grab Khalid and leave the rest of the kids behind. But we can’t take them, either. We don’t have the room. And what if one of those kids gets hurt – even killed – because of us. No, I think we must . . .’ Alex hesitated, reluctant to admit defeat.
    ‘What?’ asked Li.
    ‘I think we must hand this over to the authorities. Hex can send a message on his palmtop, giving them all the details—’
    ‘No,’ said Li flatly.
    ‘No?’ asked Alex. ‘What do you mean, no?’
    ‘I’m not leaving Khalid,’ said Li. ‘He stayed for me, back at the minefield. He risked being arrested by those Moroccan soldiers. So I’m not leaving him now.’
    ‘Oh, yeah?’ mocked Amber. ‘So what are you gonna do?’
    Li stared defiantly at Alex and Amber. All the shame and fear and frustration of the last few days was beginning to eat away at her and she knew she just had to do something to help Khalid. She had to take action. But what?
    ‘I suppose you could just walk right up to them and ask nicely,’ continued Amber sarcastically. ‘The nice men might give Khalid back to you . . .’ She tailed off as a slow smile spread across Li’s face.
    ‘Good idea,’ said Li, scrambling down to the quads.
    ‘What’s a good idea?’ demanded Alex, sliding down after her.
    ‘Walking right up to them,’ said Li, rummaging in the box that was strapped to the back of her quad.
    ‘Li, you can’t—’
    ‘Maybe I couldn’t,’ said Li, finding the first aid kit and yanking out a length of wide, crepe bandage. ‘But Liang could. Look away, Alex.’
    Alex frowned. ‘Why?’
    For answer, Li lifted her shirt up over her head. Alex gaped, then spun round so fast, he nearly tripped over his own feet.
    ‘Listen to me,’ he said over his shoulder. ‘Whatever you’re planning, it’s not a good idea. I think we should just head back to the others—’
    ‘OK. You can turn round now.’
    Alex stared at Li. She looked like a boy. Her slight figure had been flattened by the thick crepe bandage that was wrapped tightly around her chest under the shirt, and she had twisted her long, silky black hair into a tight knot under her headcloth so that not a single wisp was showing.
    ‘Li—’
    ‘I’m not Li. I’m Liang. I came here from China with my father. He was a foreign oil worker, a labourer. He died in an accident at work and I’ve been left on my own. I need to find work – an apprenticeship maybe. I speak Chinese and French. I’m strong and I’m a hard worker—’
    ‘OK, I get the picture,’ snapped Alex. ‘You’re planning to walk out there and let yourself be taken by a bunch of armed slave traders. That’s very bright. Don’t you realize yet how dangerous these men are? It was you who was telling us how they sell the girls into the sex industry!’
    ‘That’s why I’m going in as a boy. I’m less at risk that way.’
    Alex made a disgusted noise and turned away from her.
    ‘Listen to me, Alex,’ said Li, hooking the tracker locket out from under her shirt, ‘and you’ll see it’s not such a bad idea. I’m wearing my tracker. You’ve got the tracker unit. Once I’m in that truck, I can lead you straight to their base! Then you can