Yasmin wanted to cry. Since rushing into the storeroom, she’d tried to open two dozen lockers. She was sure that one of them had to hold a cleaner’s uniform that’d provide her with the disguise she needed to get across the railway station undetected by Jackal. But every locker lived up to its name: locked! She was running out of time. The train was leaving in just a few minutes. She didn’t have a way to avoid Jackal or to get onto the train.

Then Yasmin saw her salvation. A big hamper at the back of the room beneath a sign that read LAUNDRY. She scrambled across to it and gave a little whoop of triumph. The hamper was a treasure chest of discarded uniforms awaiting washing. Beside it was a tub of gloves. Without worrying about the smell or the stains, Yasmin whipped off her green scarf and stuffed it into her pocket. She put on a blue scarf, threw a cleaning apron over her top and stretched gloves over her fingers. To complete her look, Yasmin commandeered a trolley standing by the back wall that was loaded with sprays and wipes.

‘What’re you doing?’ a voice said behind her.

Yasmin turned slowly. A security guard stood in the doorway. He munched on a cheeseburger, belly straining against his shirt. Smiling, Yasmin pushed the trolley towards him. She saw his name badge on his shirt—Benny.

‘Just about to start my shift, Benny,’ she said.

Benny wiped his mouth. ‘I don’t know you,’ he said. ‘I know all the cleaners.’

‘I, uh, just started,’ Yasmin said. ‘Today’s my first day.’

‘I’ll still need to see your ID badge,’ he said.

Yasmin slapped her gloved hand to her forehead. ‘I left it at home.’

As soon as the words left her mouth she realised her mistake, and saw the guard had too.

Benny tossed his wrapper into a bin. ‘I thought today was your first day,’ he said, reaching for the radio hanging on his belt. ‘I’ve got to check you out wi—’

The guard’s eyes flashed with surprise and he frowned like he was confused. When he opened his mouth, blood trickled out and down his chin. He let out a wheeze and fell forwards with a thump.

Jackal stood there, holding a bloodied knife. He closed the door and stepped over Benny’s body. ‘See what you made me do,’ he said with a cold smirk.

Yasmin’s hands gripped the trolley’s handles. She wondered whether she could rush Jackal with it.

‘This little chase of ours has been fun,’ he said, ‘but I’ve had enough now. Come with me and you won’t get hurt.’

‘Like he didn’t get hurt?’ Yasmin said looking at poor Benny’s bleeding body. ‘You won’t let me live. I’ve seen too much. I’ve seen your face.’

Jackal stepped closer. ‘Good point,’ he said, lifting his sunglasses, revealing dark eyes absolutely without pity. ‘But I can get a ransom and then kill you anyway.’

Yasmin didn’t have a comeback for that. She didn’t need one.

Her hand flew to a spray bottle.

Jackal screamed as she squirted cleaning chemicals into his eyes. He whirled and slashed blindly with the knife. That’s when Yasmin shoved the trolley forwards, slamming him into a wall of lockers. She ran to the door, tore off the cleaner’s uniform, bolted across the food court and bounded down the escalator steps.

‘The train to Alexandria will be departing in four minutes,’ a pleasant voice said from the station’s speakers. ‘All passengers please make your way to platform three.’

Yasmin broke into a sprint.

Platform three was at the other end of the station!