Free Eye of the Storm by Mark Robson

anything else.
    Eventually, she got so annoyed with her preoccupation that she berated herself. Oh, get over it, Niamh! It was just a kiss. There are far more important things to worry about than a boy! And holding that thought in mind, she finally relaxed enough to cross the barrier into sleep.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    Sherri unclipped the rope from her harness and used the carabiner to clip her inertia reel on to a nearby cupboard door handle. ‘Come on, Sam. We’ve come this far.
I’m not leaving without David.’
    ‘Wait for Nipper,’ Sam urged.
    Sherri didn’t listen. She was already at the door and cracking it open. With her tight-fitting black outfit and her furtive movements, she looked like a cat burglar. Her hair was scraped
back and tied in a neat ponytail and her eyes were constantly on the move. Nipper, on the other hand, could never look anything like a cat burglar. He was making quite a bit of noise as he
attempted to scramble up and through the freshly created window without dropping the cutter.
    Sherri threw him a sharp frown. ‘Keep it down!’ she hissed. ‘We don’t want to wake the entire science lab staff. Come on, Sam. The corridor’s clear. Follow
me.’ And she was gone, slipping through the door and out of sight.
    Sam grabbed the cutter from Nipper, struggling with its weight as he dragged it into the room and marvelling that the raptor had held it with one arm. With both hands free, Nipper all but leapt
into the room after it. The raptor glanced at the door through which Sherri had disappeared and then at Sam. Baring his teeth, Nipper gave a short burst of quiet clicking noises. Sam did not need
to understand the raptor language to guess that Nipper was saying something about Sherri, and he doubted it was complimentary.
    There was no time to waste. Sam detached his inertia reel and secured it next to Sherri’s. Nipper followed his lead and they both went to the door. Sam peered out. The corridor was empty
in both directions. Which way had Sherri gone? There was no obvious way of telling. With a gesture to Nipper to go left, Sam turned right and ran lightly along to the next door. It was slightly
ajar. Inside he could see a dim light and hear the sound of low voices.
    Sam peered in through the narrow opening. Sherri was inside, being held at knifepoint by a young man who was wearing nothing but a pair of sleeping shorts. She had her hands in the air and was
whispering urgently at him, but the man did not look impressed. Sam backed away from the door for a moment and waved frantic gestures at Nipper who was already some distance down the corridor
checking doors. It took a few seconds to catch his attention, but as soon as the raptor saw Sam’s signal, he raced swiftly and silently back.
    Sam didn’t wait for Nipper to arrive. He stepped in through the door.
    ‘Another one!’ the man said. ‘And this one barely more than a boy! How many of you are there?’
    ‘Enough,’ Sam said, keeping his voice much lower. ‘Is this David?’
    ‘Yes. I’m sorry. He surprised me,’ Sherri replied. She began to lower her right hand. Sam could see the pistol holstered at her lower back. ‘I didn’t expect him to
be sleeping with a big knife under his pillow.’
    ‘Keep your hands up,’ David ordered, waving his knife menacingly.
    Sherri complied.
    ‘Seems pretty paranoid,’ Sam observed, walking forward slowly. ‘I wonder why someone would keep such a big knife in their bed.’
    ‘Stop right there!’ David ordered, turning the knife towards Sam. ‘I don’t want to hurt anyone.’
    Sam stopped. Nipper appeared at the door, but Sam raised his hand in a gesture that kept him at the threshold. Strangely, this felt like a situation he could handle. His four and a half years of
tae kwon do training might not be much use against raptors, but from the way David was holding the knife, Sam could tell he was no fighter.
    ‘David, we’re not here to hurt you,’ Sam said softly. ‘I’m sure