Toxic Treacle by Echo Freer

sulphur torches rather than heat-seeking equipment. That was one weight off his mind. And he couldn’t hear any dogs either. He started to relax a little.
    â€˜Just some old clothes,’ the male said.
    â€˜They look like providers’ clothes to me,’ remarked the female. ‘Best take them with us.’
    The male didn’t sound convinced. ‘Could be the pre’s. Or maybe they’re hers; she’s an artist apparently. You know what those Bohemians are like.’
    â€˜You’re not paid to make decisions. Just take them!’ the female ordered, and Monkey could hear the sound of scraping as though something was being picked up from the floor. ‘And check out those freezers at the back,’ she barked.
    â€˜Yes, Ma’am,’ the male voice acquiesced.
    Monkey went rigid. There was a creak as the lid of the other freezer was raised. He heard rustling, then a thud as it closed again. The footsteps grew closer and stopped next to their hiding place. The air in the freezer was warm now, almost stale with their breath. He felt Angel’s fingers creep across his hand and wrap themselves around it. He squeezed hers in return by way of reassurance and tried not to flinch as a bolt of pain shot through the wound on his palm. The lid of the freezer groaned upwards. Monkey couldn’t bear it. He wanted to jump up and shout, “found us!” like he did with Tragic when they were young. But he didn’t.
    â€˜Anything?’ the female voice shouted.
    The lid seemed to be raised for an eternity. They held their breaths.
    â€˜Just food,’ the male voice said eventually and the lid crashed down again.
    Monkey let out his breath and felt relief flood through him. He gave Angel’s hand another squeeze and allowed himself a smile as he listened to the conversation between the two Security officers from the basement and what sounded like two more on the ground floor.
    â€˜Anything upstairs?’ the female asked.
    â€˜The back bedroom window’s ajar and there’s a load of the pre’s schoolwork on the bed in there. The nurturer’s room’s empty.’
    â€˜No propaganda of any sort?’
    â€˜No, Ma’am.’
    â€˜Does the window look like forced entry?’
    â€˜Hard to tell in this light.’
    â€˜Very well.’
    â€˜Do you want us to take in the schoolwork?’
    â€˜No. We’ve found what looks like providers’ clothing in the cellar; we’ll take that to forensics and send a team out in the morning to collect the rest. Do we know how the door came to be open?’
    A fourth voice spoke, ‘Yes, Ma’am. The post-nurturer next door says a pre-breeder came round earlier and she let him in. And we’ve also issued her with a summons for misappropriation of electricity.’
    â€˜Good.’ There was a pause, then the female continued. ‘Bring her in for questioning; she probably knows more than she’s letting on. You - find out who the pre-breeder was that was snooping round. And, you, stand guard at the front until we’ve cleared the house and checked for prints in the morning.’
    There was a muttering of “Yes, Ma’ams” before they heard the door at the top of the steps close, then the distant sound of the back door slamming. After a while, the brakes of the stealth hissed and it went silently on its way.
    The house was quiet. Monkey and Angel stayed still; listening.
    When he was certain that the house was empty, Monkey whispered, ‘You OK?’
    â€˜Yeah,’ Angel said. ‘Now what do we do?’
    Monkey shuffled round until his back was against the front of the freezer and his feet could extend out through the hole at the back. He pressed them against the wall and slowly stretched his legs, pushing the freezer away from the brickwork and creating a space for them to escape. Still cautious, the two of them tiptoed up the steps and out into the