Page 93 of Reset

When the Star Wars theme tune started playing, Callum zeroed in on it. There were two boys sitting at a table near the window. They were mid-teens and scruffy. One of them switched off the phone and slipped it into his backpack, while the other carried on wolfing down his burger.

Callum nodded at Dimitri, and together they closed in on the boys.

“You have my friend’s phone,” Callum said in fluent French. “Get up and follow me out the front door, right now. I have questions for you.”

The boys shared a look before laughing. “I don’t think so, old man. You’re crazy. We don’t have anybody’s phone. Now piss off.”

Callum leaned over the table, a smile on his face for anyone watching. “In about two seconds, I’m going to pick your scrawny arse up and carry you out of here. Unless my colleague shoots you first.” Dimitri brushed back his jacket to flash his gun. The boys went pale. “We only need one of you. I’m happy to let him shoot the other. You can choose. Which one gets the bullet, and which one answers my questions?”

“The cops—” The skinnier one had gone ashen.

“Will arrive long after you’re dead.” Callum stood back. “Your choice. Make it now. I’m done talking.”

The teens scrambled, grabbing their backpacks as they stood. “We’ll follow you,” the taller one said.

“Good decision.” Callum led the way to the exit as Megan and Dimitri closed in on either side of them.

As they reached the front entrance, Lake flashed a cold smile at the teens as he opened the door for them.

“The courtyard.” Callum pointed to the archway that went through the building facing them, leading to a communal garden behind it.

Flanking the boys, the team casually walked across the street and through to the courtyard garden. As soon as they were on the other side of the building, out of view of the street, Lake indicated he was going to check the area out. It didn’t take long.

“Older couple feeding birds in the back right corner,” he said when he was done.

Backing the teens up against the wall, Dimitri and Megan played sentry as Lake and Callum faced the boys.

“Hand over the phone.” Callum held out his palm.

The shorter of the two dug around in his backpack, removed the phone, and tossed it at Callum. He thumbed the screen, and instantly a photo of Ryan and his sister Grace appeared. A cold fury settled in his stomach.

“Where’d you get it?” he barked at the boys.

“We found it,” the short one said, looking every bit the liar he was.

“Now, we both know that isnae true.” Callum pointed a finger at him. “Shoot this one—we don’t need him.”

Dimitri took out his gun. And the teen lost control of his bladder.

“We got it in the catacombs,” he blurted, his face red and his eyes wide as he tried to cover his accident with his backpack. “There was this couple. They said they were lost, and we helped show them the way out. They gave it to us as thanks.”

Callum frowned at the latest line of bullshit. Meanwhile, Dimitri cocked his gun.

“We stole it!” the other teen blurted, his eyes on the gun. “We stole the phone.”

“What else did you steal?” Callum asked calmly.

“There was an iPad,” he said. “But we don’t have it anymore—we sold it.”

Callum waited.

“We took their wallets too. We gave them to a guy we owed money.”

Callum’s jaw clenched. “Did you help the couple to get out of the catacombs, or did you just leave them there?”

Their shared look of guilt was all the answer he needed. And for the first time in his life, he wanted to hit a kid. But he didn’t. There were other ways they’d answer for their crimes.

“You’re going to take us to the place where you left our friends,” he said through gritted teeth. “And you’d better hope they’re alive and well, because if they’re no’, they won’t be the only ones who don’t come out of the catacombs. Do you understand me?”