Code Red Lipstick Read Free

overrun in the last month. What excuse could she give this time?
    A bad-tempered snake tried to drown me? Hatchet Hatcham would never buy it. She’d get a detention and a note sent home, which meant Dad would ground her, like, for ever. She’d made a pact with him that modelling wouldn’t get in the way of schoolwork.
    As soon as the doors swung open again, she dashed down the street, past cafés, launderettes and takeaways, not slowing until she reached St Alban’s Comp. She clung on to the railings, panting. She’d just given Usain Bolt a run for his money. The front gates were open so she could still make it. She hesitated. Form prefects would be lurking about, waiting to pounce on stragglers with their dreaded “late notes”.
    If she just charged in, detention would be a dead cert. She pulled out her dad’s iPad from her rucksack and shoved in a headset. She turned the device on, waited for it to load and entered his secret password.
    Jellybean.
    Honestly. Her dad was a private detective and ex-MI6 agent. Couldn’t he think of something less obvious – and hackable – than his old nickname for her?
    Jessica bean – Jellybean.
    She took a photograph of the school using the iPad and uploaded it on to the thermal heat-sensor application. Within seconds, she had a 3D image of the school and a seething mass of orange blobs which represented the pupils and staff inside. She didn’t need every floor. She isolated the grounds, the route to the rear entrance and the whole of the ground floor just to be on the safe side, just as she’d done at a hotel in West Kensington when her dad needed her to help plant a bugging device in a target’s suite.
    She clicked on to “start audio” and gripped the iPad tightly. Time to play. The screen showed two orange blobs walking along the perimeter of the building: patrolling form prefects.
    â€œEnemy approaching from east in approximately thirty seconds,” the electronic voice in her headset said. “Take a sharp left. Go now. Thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven…”
    Jessica tore through the gates into the deserted courtyard. She’d almost made it to the rear door.
    â€œStop!”
    Jessica slammed against the wall, heart pounding
    â€œEnemy passing. Five, four, three, two, one,” the voice said.
    Two prefects walked towards the bicycle sheds. As soon as their backs were turned, she flung open the door and burst into the corridor. She took a deep breath, awaiting instructions.
    â€œHead north along corridor, two hundred metres. Stationary figures ahead. Caution advised.”
    She turned the corner, pressing herself against the wall as she moved slowly up the corridor. Up ahead, two boys were arguing. She reached the row of lockers and crouched behind them. Damnit. Tommy Williams, a prefect and world-class bully, blocked her escape route. No way could she talk her way round him. He’d take great delight in giving her a late note.
    The instruction came. “Take corridor to left. Clear route to destination. Five, four, three, two, one.”
    Jessica stared at the screen. The monitors were retreating, probably back to their own classes. She hesitated. Tommy’s braces glinted menacingly as he pinned a much smaller boy against the locker. He was rifling through his pockets, snatching coins.
    She flicked off the thermal imaging programme and clicked on to “magnetization”. She’d never tried this function before but it looked pretty cool. She scanned in Tommy’s face and highlighted his enormous metal braces. He really did resemble a henchman in a James Bond movie.
    â€œLet’s see how you like this, Jaws.”
    Click.
    â€œWhat the… ?” Tommy began.
    A coin flew out of his fist and stuck to his braces.
    Interesting. Using the mouse, she turned up the magnetization strength. More coins shot into the air and clamped to his