Lolly sat outside a street café in West London. She should have blended in with the hundreds of other locals, students, tourists, and passers-by, who were all out enjoying the Sunday summer evening sunshine. However, she formed a rather incongruous sight in her immaculate school uniform and sunglasses.
There was something about her poise, her self-assured attitude, which made her look older than her 16 years. She looked like she was doing a modelling shoot for a glossy magazine. The man at the table next to Lolly was sweating profusely in the heat. Lolly looked cool as a cucumber.
The windows had been folded back so that the entire front of the café was open to the street. A large television inside the café was showing 24/7 Interactive News. Footage was cutting from the riot scene outside the hospital, to the news anchor, to the live images from inside the building. These events were all happening less than five miles from where Lolly was sitting.
Lolly sipped her iced Coke, picked up her mobile phone and called her father.
“Hello sweetheart,” said the voice down the phone. “Yes, I’m watching. This wasn’t in the plan. What’s happened?”
“I don’t know,” Lolly replied. “Both their phones are out of action now so I can’t eavesdrop.”
The man at the table next to Lolly looked up from his paper, disapprovingly. Lolly smiled at him, put her hand over her mobile and mouthed to the man:
“It’s my younger sister. Going out with a man your age. We’re concerned.”
The man nodded uncertainly.
Lolly returned to the conversation with her father.
“We’re reliant on this journalist lady who is inside. Thank goodness she’s on the ball. She’s very impressive.”
“Are you referring to her journalism skills or her looks, Daddy?” asked Lolly, with a note of pique in her voice.
“Both.”
“Could this be something to do with whoever rescued the kids from the coach?” asked Lolly, steering the conversation back to the business in hand.
“I don’t think so,” said her father. “Whoever that was, they were obviously trying to save the kids’ lives. I’m looking into that at the moment. This is something different. Something else I didn’t foresee.”
“Shall I get in there and find out what’s going on?”
There was a pause.
“Yes. All right. But Lauren–”
“I know. I know. I’ll be careful.”
Lolly finished her Coke and got up. She felt excited. Time to do something useful at last!