Read Online Deviant by Adrian McKinty - Free Book Online

hill, and then the first right at the—
    â€œHi,” Tony said.
    Hearing a voice after all that quiet startled him.
    Nonplussed, he turned and then smiled at her. “Hi,” hereplied. “That pager thing that Tom gave me was pretty awesome—”
    Tony shook her head and said in a whisper, “Let’s not discuss that here. We can talk on the way.”
    To avoid the big bend on Alameda they took a shortcut back across the school playground, but this was a move that apparently had been anticipated. Before they could reach the gate at the far side of the basketball court a tall boy with a long face, light brown hair, and a mouth full of big tombstone teeth grabbed Danny by the arm and began dragging him to a school building. The boy had a tan line across his face where his baseball cap had stopped, and he looked uncomfortably like one of those zebras that just stare at you in the San Diego Zoo. “This way,” the boy said.
    â€œWhat do you think you’re doing?” Danny cried, but the boy had gigantic fingers and a powerful grip.
    Danny knew he was outgunned. He was a little small for his age, and this kid was massive. He pulled down with his wrists and tried to kick him, but it didn’t do any good.
    â€œLeave him alone, Todd!” Tony protested.
    Todd ignored her.
    Danny let himself be led. He had been in this precise situation before, and it held few terrors for him now.
    Waiting around the back of the building were three more kids. A girl from 9A with red hair in pigtails, very pale skin, and a rodentlike cast to her face, and two snarky-looking boys from 9B (his own class). One had green eyesand Flight of the Conchords specs and black hair combed rigidly across his forehead in an old-fashioned kind of way. Not a nice face—the face of a farter who always blames it on the kid sitting next to him. The other boy was tall with blond hair and dark brown eyes.
    â€œSo you’re in trouble already,” the boy with the glasses said.
    â€œStop it, Hector. Leave him alone!” Tony said.
    â€œYou keep out of this!” the redheaded girl muttered.
    Danny got one arm free from Todd and tried to free the other by pulling down hard.
    â€œHold his arms, Todd,” the second boy from 9B said, and Todd grabbed Danny’s wrists in one of his big paws and pinned them behind his back.
    â€œWhat are you doing, man?” Danny yelled. “Don’t touch me!”
    The second boy searched in Danny’s pockets and came out with a couple of bucks, a pen, a set of keys, and the text-messaging pager that Tom had given him. The boy threw the money and the pen on the ground and put the pager in his pocket. He turned to Tony. “Now we can read whatever you send. So your little lame-ass group of losers better watch its step!”
    â€œCharlie, leave him alone. Hector, tell Charlie to give him that back,” Tony attempted.
    Hector looked a little embarrassed. “You can’t really take his stuff, Charlie,” he said.
    â€œI’ll take whatever I want,” Charlie said.
    â€œHe’ll take whatever he wants,” the girl echoed in a high-pitched, mocking voice.
    â€œYou better watch out, Rebecca!” Tony said, her face red with fury.
    Tony stared at Rebecca, Danny struggled against Todd, and Todd stared into space like a character in a TV show whose lines were finished.
    â€œWhat is going on here?”
    A deep, furious voice.
    Everyone turned. One of the teachers was looking at them. Danny opened his mouth to speak, then checked himself, remembering that he was still on school grounds.
    â€œWhat is going on here?!” the teacher demanded again.
    None of the other kids felt that they could speak either.
    â€œYou can talk!” the teacher said. He was an older man with a red beard and a crumpled checked suit.
    â€œSir, we’re not allowed to talk to you; that would be triangulating,” Rebecca said.
    The teacher looked