Authors: Joe Craig
Target (19 page)
“I don’t know,” replied Jimmy.
In his head, he remembered Viggo’s expression as he’d driven off in the taxi.
There’s no chance that man is going to let Saffron die,
he thought. He knew Viggo would do anything before that happened.
But what if it does happen?
Now there were only the sounds of soft breathing in the room. Not enough to stop Jimmy’s spiralling thoughts. Viggo’s words still echoed in his mind. ‘I’ll get revenge for this,’ he had said. Jimmy couldn’t forget that.
As he fell asleep, his mind tormented him with the image of one face: the man he had thought was his father. At first, he tried to push it away, but then he focused on it until he could see nothing else. Inside, the killer stirred.
SNEAK PREVIEW…
Jimmy’s eyes opened before he even realised he was awake. His head was throbbing – another nightmare that vanished before he could grasp it. When he was asleep, his programming took over his brain completely. It grew like a vine, reaching into every part of his psyche. It spread dangerous knowledge and developed his amazing skills. Day by day Jimmy found himself becoming more lethal – and there was nothing he could do about it. Time was turning him into a killer.
What had woken him, he wondered. Judging by the eerie half-light, it was the early hours of the morning. Jimmy didn’t dare move his head from the pillow in case someone was watching him, but he listened, analysing every sound. He felt a familiar agitation in his chest – a paranoia he could never shake off. It was part of his nature now and he had learned to trust in it.
He scanned what he could see of the room, his eyes quickly enhancing every shape, enabling him to see in the semi-dark. Three beds stuck out into the middle of the room, their headboards against the wall. In the bed next to Jimmy’s, his friend, Felix Muzbeke, was fast asleep. A slow thread of drool trailed from his lips, glistening like a spider’s web in the rain.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jimmy could discern the end of the third bed. His sister’s feet made a reassuring bump in the duvet. OK, he thought,
so Felix and Georgie haven’t been abducted. That’s a good start.
Then Jimmy heard it. A sound so faint that Felix’s drooling almost drowned it out. Immediately, an image popped into Jimmy’s head that identified the noise – grease trickling down wood. It told him two things. One: the room had definitely been breached. Two: whoever had broken in was highly dangerous.
They’ve found me,
he thought.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Thank you to:
My HarperCollins team, particularly Stella Paskins.
Sarah Manson, Ann Tobias, Nicola Solomon
and Penelope Webber.
Sophie Craig, Miriam Craig, Mum & Dad,
Oli Pockberger, Polly and David Pockberger.
This, and everything, is for Mary-Ann Ochota.
Joe Craig studied Philosophy at Cambridge University, then became a songwriter. Within a year, however, his love of stories had taken over and he was writing the first novel in the
Jimmy Coates
series. It was published in 2005. He is now a full time author and likes to keep in touch with his readers through his website www.joecraig.co.uk.
When he’s not writing he’s visiting schools, playing the piano, inventing snacks, playing football, coaching cricket, reading or watching a movie.
He lives in London.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
1. Jimmy Coates: Killer
2. Jimmy Coates: Target
3. Jimmy Coates: Revenge
4. Jimmy Coates: Sabotage
TEAM UP WITH
JIMMY COATES ON MYSPACE!
www.myspace.com/jimmycoates
First published in Great Britain by
HarperCollins
Children’s Books
2006
Harper Collins
Children’s Books
is a division of HarperCollins
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Ltd
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FIRST EDITION
Copyright © Joseph Craig 2006
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EPub Edition © JUNE 2010 ISBN: 978-0-007-37824-1
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