Sitting Target
Authors: John Townsend
Titles in Teen Reads:
FAIR GAME
ALAN DURANT
HOME
TOMMY DONBAVAND
KIDNAP
TOMMY DONBAVAND
MAMA BARKFINGERS
CAVAN SCOTT
SITTING TARGET
JOHN TOWNSEND
THE HUNTED
CAVAN SCOTT
THE CORRIDOR
MARK WRIGHT
WORLD WITHOUT WORDS
JONNY ZUCKER
Badger Publishing Limited, Oldmedow Road,
Hardwick Industrial Estate, King's Lynn PE30 4JJ
Telephone: 01438 791037
Sitting Target ISBN 978-1-78147-565-2
ISBN: 9781781476642 (Epub)
ISBN: 9781781476659 (Mobi)
Text © John Townsend 2014
Complete work © Badger Publishing Limited 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any form or by any means mechanical, electronic, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
The right of John Townsend to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Publisher: Susan Ross
Senior Editor: Danny Pearson
Copyeditor: Cheryl Lanyon
Designer: Bigtop Design Ltd
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Lee lives with his mum in a quiet street.
Too quiet. When a stranger breaks in, Lee is suddenly thrown into the secret and disturbing world of international espionage. Now he has a scary job to do in a frantic race against time. He might only be fourteen and in a wheelchair, but he's sure of one thing â he must never become a sitting target. Not now
they
are after himâ¦
HOME ALONE
Lee first saw the face through the front door. A nose pressed against the frosted glass.
A steamy smear spread from the lips. Dark eyes peered in. Blinking. Staring. Scary.
Lee threw himself on the floor and lay still. His heart was thumping like mad. No one ever called at their house. Mum always told him not to answer the door to strangers. He'd never felt so scared. Not in his own home. He just hoped the eyes hadn't seen him.
Being alone had never been a problem before. Lee was used to it. Until now. He'd always liked
being in the house on his own. It was the only time he could do what he liked. No one to nag or fuss. But all of a sudden it felt different. Who could he call for help? No one was next door â they were away. It was already getting dark.
The phone was just out of reach. Lee grabbed a leg of the wobbly hall table. It shook and crashed down on him. The phone, note pad, pens and a pot plant fell on top of him. As he lay at the foot of the stairs, he wished he hadn't snapped at his mum at breakfast.
“Of course I'll be all right here by myself. I'm fourteen. I like being on my own. Why do you treat me like a helpless zombie?”
But now he couldn't manage â and he knew it.
There was nothing Lee could do. The dark shape through the glass was pushing a key in the lock. It jangled and clicked as Lee pulled himself across the floor towards the door. He'd try to fix the chain before the door could open. He might
even reach the catch on the lock. That would stop the man getting in. That's if Lee's legs didn't give way. But he didn't have time to find out. Just as he crawled to the door, it opened and pushed towards him with a thud.
Lee fell back and stared up at a man standing over him. The door slammed shut, followed by a scary silence. They were alone in the house. Both sweating and breathless, they stared into each other's eyes.
It was Lee who spoke first. He was surprised at how calm he managed to sound.
“Before you kill me, there's something you should know.” He held up his phone.
“I've filmed you breaking in. I've just sent it to my mum's phone. The police will know who you are from your eyes. They can read them like fingerprints. So now you know.”
The man stood very still for a few seconds. He seemed lost for words. Slowly he pulled the hood from his head and took off his gloves. He knelt down beside Lee and held out his hand. “I'm really sorry,” he said softly. “I'm sorry you fell. I'm sorry I broke in. I'm sorry I scared you. But it was the only way. You are a brave boy.”
Lee's heart was still thumping. He tried to make sense of this man with jet-black hair and staring brown eyes. Quite young â with a soft voice â foreign.
“We haven't got anything,” Lee told him. “There's no money in the house. Mum doesn't get paid much and I haven't got a dad living here. I've only got a few quid in a tin upstairs. You can have it. But if you must rob us, don't smash things up. Please. Mum gets upset and stressed. She hasn't been well, you see, and⦔
The man put a finger to his lips. “Shhh. I am not here to hurt you. I am not a robber. I'm a friend. I want you to be my friend.”
Lee tried to pull away and shuffle into the kitchen.
This man's a nut case,
he thought.
He's broken into our house just to ask me to be his friend. How weird is that?
The man read his mind. “Don't worry, I'm not mad. And I'm not a killer. If you can help me, I will pay you.” He took a wad of £20 notes from his pocket. “Have this to begin with.”
“Mum's told me never to take money from strangers. Even scary ones who break in.”
For the first time the man smiled. “You're a bright kid. I knew you were. I've been watching you for a few days. I could tell you have a lot of spark.”
“Watching me?” Lee moved his hand to the phone under his leg. He'd try to call the police. “Where have you been watching me?” His finger pressed 9 on the keypad.
“At the clinic.”
“I go there a lot.” Lee tried to keep the man talking while his finger pressed two more 9s. “I'm still having physio. I was born with something called CP. As I grow, I have to have my legs twisted. I had a big operation this year. They broke the bones and re-set them. I want to be walking on my sticks by next year. Till then I have to use the wheelchair. I like being at home as I can crawl around as much as I like. At least, I used to like being at home⦔
“I'm sorry. I did knock on your back door. I knew you were in. I must talk to you. Alone.” The man put his hand on Lee's arm. “I know what you are doing. I can't blame you. Go ahead and call the police. I won't stop you. It's just that I thought you might be able to help. Maybe I was wrong. But you're the only one who can save us. I'm desperate. I'll pay you all I've got. I'll do anything.”
Lee lifted the phone. He paused as the voice on the other end asked for his details.
“Are you still there?” it asked.
“Yes,” he said softly. He looked up at the man's face. A worried face, with pleading brown eyes. Eyes with tears in them. Lee stared at them as he calmly whispered into the phone. “It's OK, thanks. I think I'm all right now.”
He slowly put down the phone.
THE DEAL
The kettle boiled as Lee poured milk into two mugs.
“I can't believe I'm doing this,” he said. “Mum will go mad if she ever finds out. A minute ago you were breaking into our house and scaring me to death. And now I'm making you a cup of tea. This is crazy. Biscuit?”
“Thanks. Can I help?” The stranger stood by the sink, watching.
Lee turned on his kitchen stool and gave him a stare. “Don't go there. It might not be the best
cup of tea you've ever had, but I can do it by myself. I didn't tell the police to come just now because I felt sorry for you. It was a great change from the other way round. All my life people have looked at me with pity. But you didn't treat me like I was a helpless kid who couldn't walk. You were different. You're the first person who's ever asked me to help them. It felt good. That's what I've been waiting for. The chance to show I can cope.”
The man smiled. “You can cope all right. You've got guts. I like you, Lee.”
“You know my name?”
“Sure. I've checked you out. Call me Alex. I won't tell you my full name. It's too long.” He looked up at the clock on the kitchen wall.
“Don't worry,” Lee said. “Mum won't be back yet. She's doing extra hours on the check-out at Tesco's. Anything to pay the gas bill. She's upset about money at the moment. She takes pills
for stress.” He bit into a Jaffa cake. “Why am I telling you all this? It's none of your business! You're a total stranger. I always talk too much when I'm scared.”
“Your secrets are safe with me,” Alex said. “I know far too many secrets already.” He put his hand on Lee's shoulder. “And there's no need for you to be scared. I'd never harm anyone. Anyway, you've sent your mum my picture, remember?”
Lee paused. “That was a lie. A bluff. It was all I could think to say in the panic. I didn't have time to send it. But I can tell you're not going to kill me now. You don't look like a killer any more.” Lee sipped his tea thoughtfully. “I think you're some sort of a spy. I like spy books.”
