Rico put his hands over his ears as the scream was repeated, but he couldn’t block it out. It seemed to run round and round inside his head like the rats running up and down the walls.
The screaming went on for a long time.
‘Please don’t!’ he heard Zoe cry. ‘No… Oh, no! I don’t know anything…’
Then she went back to the high-pitched screams that tore Rico’s nerves to shreds, and final y the screaming gave way to a soft moaning that was as horrible to listen to as the screaming.
The moaning kept on, until Rico thought he’d go crazy. He tried to stand up, but his shaking legs wouldn’t support him. He sat there, his hands over his ears, his eyes shut and his heart pounding. He had sweated right through his clothes, and he felt exhausted, as if he had been running without rest for miles.
He became aware suddenly that the moaning had stopped. For some moments he only heard the rustling of rats and the sound of the rain against the walls. He sat in the darkness, not moving, his nerves screwed up to meet another outburst of screaming.
Then the choked bang of a gun shattered the silence. The violence of the sound threw Rico on his knees. The echo of the shot rolled through the empty building, sending the rats scurrying madly to their holes.
Rico remained on his knees, too sick to move or think. He was still there among the slime and muck on the floor when Baird came down the steps.
‘What the hel do you think you’re doing?’ Baird asked, and dragged Rico to his feet. ‘Lost the little guts you had?’
Rico made an effort to pull himself together.