Dan and the Dead (11 page)

‘S'okay, Si.'

He puts his hand on my shoulder. I can't actually feel it, but right now it's nice to know it's there.

‘The shoplifting skills?' he asks.

And I grin.

‘Yeah, she knew I wanted those all along.'

I rummage my mind and feel Ems's gift to me nestling there, not far from the blob of escapology experience I got from Gubie. Ems has gone on to the Hereafter, but a tiny part of her will live on in me. And you never know when a little pick-pocketry will come in handy, not with my line of work.

‘Are we really going to wait here for that young police lady to make you tea, Daniel?'

‘Nah,' I say, and I hold up the handcuffed wrist. Si gives a little bow, pops his pinky into the lock and the stupid thing finally falls off my arm. I get up and drop the golden cage on the chair. The cops'll need that as Exhibit A.

‘I'd rather have a bag of chips. Let's get out of here.'

‘Very good, Master Dyer,' says Si, and I wrap my coat around me, adjust my purple specs, and stroll off into the darkness.

First published 2012 by
A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP

www.bloomsbury.com

www.acblack.com

This electronic edition published in June 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages

ISBN 978-1-4081-5412-0
eISBN 978 1 4081 6358 0

A CIP catalogue for this book is available from the British Library.

Visit
www.acblack.com
to find out more about our authors and their books
You will find extracts, author interviews, author events and you can
sign up for newsletters
to be the first to hear about our latest releases and special offers

Everything changes for Odysseus Fitch when he arrives home to discover his father has been abducted by terrorists. Od then discovers that his father has been designing the most powerful weapon known to mankind,
Warsuit 1.0.
A 7m-tall robotic exoskeleton designed to form a permanent bond with whoever pilots it first. And that person is Od.

Armed and dangerous, Od is now trapped in a race against time, to save his father… and the world.