Finn shrugged, squinting ahead and scratching his arm in its grubby sling.

‘No reason why it’s gonna be any more dangerous than the pier on the other side,’ said Courtney. ‘This is as far as we was gonna go. I say if there’s steps here we use them.’

‘We’re gonna try and land at the stairs then,’ DogNut shouted up at the kids on the terrace. ‘Can you give us a hand?’

The kids above started running back into the building and through to the other side, so that by the time the rowing boat had reached the stairs there was a small crowd waiting for them, all shouting directions at the same time in a very unhelpful manner.

The stone steps sloped gently down to the water and although they looked slimy and wet they also looked pretty solid. They must have been used for hundreds of years by boatmen arriving at the parliament buildings.

Finn came alive, shouting instructions to the rowers, but this was the trickiest part. They knew that if they went too close to the edge too early their oars would simply crunch against the embankment wall that rose several metres above them. At some point, though, they were going to have to raise the oars and drift in to meet the stairs. If they overshot it, it would mean trying to row back against the current, which they all felt too tired to even think about.

They heaved at the oars in grim silence, concentrating hard. No one wanted to make a mistake.

DogNut’s arms ached all the way up to his shoulders. They were rigid with tension. He risked looking round. They were only a couple of metres from the stairs. Finn was guiding them in expertly. He allowed himself to relax.

‘Get ready to raise your oars on my side,’ he said, and just then the boat jolted and there was a horrible scraping sound along the bottom. He felt it through his bones. As if something was gouging into his own body.

‘We’ve hit something,’ Olivia screamed.

5

The boat nearly tipped over, and the kids scrambled madly to right it, tangling their oars in their panic. Then it gave another lurch and there was the sound of splintering wood.

‘Crap. Must be a wreck, or something,’ said DogNut. ‘Pray it ain’t done too much damage.’

But even as he said it he knew they were in trouble. Water started to bubble into the bottom of the boat. Then there was another rending crack and a ripping sound and this time they could see a metal spar tearing through the planks at their feet.

The kids in the boat were thrown into chaos, floundering about and yelling at each other. They completely lost control and a couple of them dropped their oars over the sides. Now they were paddling and poling and splashing inelegantly as they struggled to get the sinking boat to the edge.

The skiff rocked madly from side to side and the stern was lower than the front. There was a real danger now that they might not make it to the bank. And if they fell in …

Courtney remembered what had happened to Aleisha when the tourist boat had sunk not far from here. How the water had seemed to reach into the cabin and grab hold of her. How quickly she had been dragged away.

DogNut tried to hold his nerve and not give in to the fear that was causing the others to be totally useless. He needed to try to think straight. He was their captain, after all. He lifted his oar from the water and held it out towards the knot of kids on the steps who were all shouting at the same time.

‘Someone get a hold of this!’ he shouted back at them. ‘Pull us over!’

A big lad wearing a T-shirt with a Coke logo on it managed to get a hand to the oar, then his other hand, and he grunted as he tugged with all his might. A couple of his friends joined in and the boat, weighted down and sluggish with all the water in it, slowly drifted closer to the edge. Marco saw what was happening and was clear-headed enough to offer his own oar to the kids on the stairs. For once Felix didn’t have a go at him; instead he gripped Marco’s oar and the two of them held it hard.

Now the boat moved more quickly and at last bumped against the stonework. Helping hands took hold of the side as DogNut and his crew desperately chucked their soaking-wet belongings ashore. Bags of food and water, backpacks, spare clothing, sleeping bags, blankets, armour and weapons were passed in a chain from the stricken boat and up the stairs to dry land.

Finally, to a chorus of cheers from above, the kids scrambled ashore. DogNut was the last one off, and he jumped clear just as the edge of the boat dipped beneath the swirling grey water. It was too heavy now for the kids to hold on to. They let go and it disappeared into the murky depths. They all thought that would be the last they saw of it, but a few seconds later the prow bobbed up and skimmed along the surface like a shark’s fin for a few metres, before it slowly sank and was swept away with all the other debris that was floating on the river.

DogNut swore. Unless they found another boat they would have to walk all the way back to the Tower. It had been going so well. If only he’d stuck to their original plan and gone over to the pier on the other side. He was suddenly filled with a vicious rage.

‘Why didn’t none of you tell me that wreck was there?’ he blurted into some poor kid’s face, spraying him with spit.

‘We didn’t know.’

‘Yeah … well …’

DogNut stopped, deflated. There was no point in taking it out on this lot.

‘Who’s in charge?’ he asked, looking around.

‘I am,’ came a voice from above and he looked up to see a girl with pale skin and a bright flash of flaming red hair leaning over the wall. The sun caught in it and it looked like a golden mane around her head. DogNut smiled. The sight of a pretty girl always lifted his spirits. He bounced up the steps and offered her a high five.

She returned it self-consciously – this was obviously not her style. She stood there slightly unsure of herself, a group of guys standing around her holding clubs. DogNut sucked his teeth, giving the girl the once-over.

‘Pleased to meet you, gyal,’ he said. ‘The name’s DogNut.’

The girl raised her eyebrows, but didn’t smile. She looked very serious.

‘Was my gamer’s tag,’ DogNut explained. ‘And it, like, stuck.’

The girl looked none the wiser.

‘You know what a gamer’s tag is?’ he went on.

‘No. Do I need to?’

‘Not really.’ DogNut laughed. ‘I ain’t played no computer games in ages. So, what’s your name?’

‘Nicola.’

‘Cool.’

Nicola had a posh voice, which only made DogNut fancy her more. He’d always been attracted to posh girls. Although they weren’t always attracted to him. Not wanting to be caught staring at her, he checked out his surroundings. As well as the guys with clubs there were about twenty other kids arranged in a loose circle round DogNut and his crew. They were in a long triangular park surrounded by trees that extended from the end of the Houses of Parliament. The kids had added to the original fence with poles and spikes and barbed wire to keep out intruders, and the lawn had been dug up and planted with vegetables. The planting looked much more professionally done than their efforts back at the Tower.

DogNut spotted the equipment that had been rescued from the boat piled up a few metres away.

‘We better get our gear,’ he said, and made a move towards the pile. Nicola put up her hand, halting him.

‘In a minute.’

Now it was DogNut’s turn to raise his eyebrows.

‘You got a problem?’ he said, keeping it polite for now.

‘You tell me.’

‘I ain’t got a problem.’

Nicola turned to the watching kids.

‘Get back to work,’ she said, and the kids drifted away in ones and twos. Only the ones who were armed stayed with Nicola. They didn’t look very welcoming.

Nicola turned back to DogNut. ‘We need to talk.’