'Meg... Jesus Christ!' I half-laughed. 'I didn't even know that you could reach that volume!'

'What did you just say to me?' Chantelle asked in disbelief. 'Did you just -'

'You heard her,' Jenny pitched in. 'Shut up! If you don't want to help, then stay out of our way. Lisa's our friend and we're going to be the ones to find her.'

'Bloody hell,' I said as Chrissy was returning, 'what do they put in the Italian water?'

'I - I'm sorry,' Jenny said sheepishly. She pointed openly at Chantelle. 'I'm just so sick of her attitude!'

'Well,' I said to Chantelle, 'you heard them. Either help or shut up. What's it going to be?'

'I don't care what you do. Just leave me out of it,' she retorted furiously, her cheeks burning in humiliation.

Amanda clapped me on the back. 'Count me in. What's your plan?'

'Yeah, it seems like you've got this well thought out already,' Charlie said.

The boy smiled at Jenny as kindly as he was able, but she looked away to avoid his gaze. They still had a lot of talking to do, but this wasn't the time or the place. I still hoped that they could figure things out, and that Will would own up to his part in separating them, I just wanted to get Lisa back first.

Action now, heartfelt discussions later.

'I came up with something on the way over. I knew Dad wouldn't want us to get involved, but between us we know Gideon and Lisa way better than they do. Between us, we should be able to figure out where they're likely to go.'

Jenny spread out the map on the floor. We pushed aside some furniture so we could get around it. They'd been gone just under a day. It still worried me they might have left the city and flown somewhere, but if Lisa thought she could get married and then swiftly return to her friends to boast about it, then she was going to less inclined to hop on a plane somewhere. My gut told me they hadn't gone far, they were just too well hidden for the teachers to track them down.

'Sorry, it's just Rome,' Jenny said. 'I could only find a city map when we got here.'

'It's perfect,' I said. 'I needed the streets. Will you've been here before, right?'

'Yeah. We have a house out here.'

'Of course you do,' I teased. 'Look, I don't think Lisa and Gideon have gone as far as everyone thinks. Chrissy, where's the note?'

'Here.' She forced the crumpled paper into my hand.

I scanned it quickly. 'Right, so they want to have fun. Lisa's idea of fun is shopping, boys, and clubs. We need to mark out all the places we'd find those things together. I can't imagine Gideon would be into all those things, but that's what he'd have to indulge in if he wanted to keep her attention.'

'On it.' Amanda circled the areas with a green pen.

I passed a red pen to Will. 'Gideon's a gambler, right?'

'Among other things.'

'Bars and casinos.' I tapped the map.

'What makes you think I'd know where to find that kind of thing?'

'You're related to Freddie, aren't you? Don't act like you've never had a night out in this city. I wouldn't be surprised if your uncle owns some real estate here, too.'

'Fine...'

I explained, 'Anywhere that overlaps will be a target. If it's got stuff that appeals to them both, then they've either been there or will go there. We can take Lisa's picture with us and ask the owners if they've seen them together. That way, we can narrow down the search area.'

'Excuse you,' Chantelle piped up, 'but if they were smart, they'd totally avoid all those places.'

'Emphasis on the if, there. Chrissy, do you think Lisa knows how much trouble she's caused?'

She shook her head. 'No. She wouldn't see anything wrong with what she's doing.'

'What does that have to do with anything?' Chantelle asked. 'If Gideon knows that they shouldn't be seen, then he wouldn't be flaunting her in the streets. He'd want to go somewhere out of sight.'

I paused. She had a point, as loathe as I was to admit it. 'Okay, we'll highlight anything that's out of the way, back alley, that sort of thing. If it doesn't get a lot of foot traffic, we'll go there first. Congratulations, Chantelle. You're not a total waste of oxygen.'

'It'll probably be close to a cheap hotel, too,' Meg said. 'If they need to stay out of sight as much as possible, then they'll want to spend less time out on the street and more behind closed doors.'

Jenny paled at the notion. 'Oh my God, what if he -'

'He won't. We'll find them before that happens,' I said with more certainty than I felt. They'd been gone a day and a night already. There was a chance that Gideon had already coerced Lisa into jumping into bed with him.

'Are you sure we should go on our own?' Jenny asked. 'You're the one who said we should bring in our parents. Maybe we should tell them the plan?'

'They wouldn't listen,' I said. 'It was the right thing to tell them what had happened, but they've already said we can't leave the hotel. Don't get me wrong, we'll let them know that we're helping. It's just that we'll have to do that after we've escaped.'

Someone knocked on the door. I folded the map over to conceal our plan. It was with some hesitation that I answered the door, suspecting that Dad and the others had considered we might attempt our own rescue while unsupervised. My panic was entirely unnecessary. Georgia was in my path, an expression of utmost determination on her face. She wasn't alone, either. Almost every student who'd taken the trip had joined her. Some appeared more anxious than others, but all waited upon an invitation to the room.

There were so many that I didn't know how they all expected to fit.

'What's this?' I asked. 'Revolution?'

'We want to help,' Georgia announced.

I feigned ignorance. 'With what?'

'Don't give me that,' she retorted. 'You're going to find Lisa, aren't you?'

'No,' I lied. 'We're going to sit here like we were told. You should all go back to your rooms.'

'Either you let us help, or we'll go out on our own,' she said stubbornly. 'We're friends and classmates. We want to find her just as much as you do.'

I wasn't sure that was true of everyone, but the more people out searching, the better our chances of finding her. Then again, I didn't want to be held accountable for the fates of a bunch of teenage girls and boys as they ran free through Rome. It was only because we were desperately short on time that I said, 'All right. But we're being calm and organised about this. Got that?'

Dividing up each section of the city was easier than I thought. I ensured that every group was large enough to provide an element of safety, and that they all had at least one boy to deter any unwanted male attention they might otherwise garner. However, I ensured that none of these groups were given the task of searching the dark alleyways. I wasn't prepared to risk anyone else's safety. It was bad enough that Lisa was in danger, I couldn't handle it if I were inadvertently responsible for another boy or girl coming to harm because I'd sent them into a dodgy part of the city. They would look in the larger, high-end stores and restaurants. If nothing else, they could put the proprietors on the alert for the couple should they wander into any of those buildings.

'Don't go out through the lobby,' I warned them. 'They'll be expecting that. We're going to have to stagger it so we don't draw attention to ourselves. There should be an exit through the kitchen,' I said, using the hotel map stuck to the back of the door for my reference. 'And another through the underground car park. Don't go through fire exits because that'll set off alarms. Questions?'

'What do we do if we find her?' Georgia asked.

'If she's alone, convince her to come back to the hotel. If she won't come willingly, then drag her back if needed. If she's with Gideon, then don't approach them. Just keep them in your sights and text back a location. We'll let her parents know and they can intervene. Agreed?'

They nodded and gradually left the room. Dad wouldn't be concerned about the other girls heading out. It was the rest of us he'd be looking out for. That was why it was important for us to go last. Then, if we were prevented from joining the search, we'd already have teams out on the ground doing the work for us.

I should have been a military leader.

My talents were completely wasted at school.

'Jen',' I said when the room was empty of all but our group, 'go with Charlie, Chrissy, and Meg.'

'What about you?'

'I'll go with Will and Amanda, and Chantelle if she's up for helping us.'

'No,' she said. 'I'm staying here.'

'Big surprise,' I muttered.

She bristled at that. 'Because if our parents knock, one of us should be here to cover for everyone else.'

'That's... actually a good idea,' I said, making no effort to hide my surprise. 'Okay, you stay.'

I didn't enjoy betraying Dad's trust. We'd only had each other for most of my life and had built up a relationship built on mutual trust and respect. Throwing it all back in his face was likely to cause that relationship irrevocable damage, but I couldn't do anything else in such a situation. The longer we took to talk and plan, the less likely it became that we'd get Lisa back.

Charlie left first, taking Jenny and the others with him. No one would figure them as the rebellious sort. I was the bad influence amongst my friends. At least, I suspected that was how the teachers saw me. I was the one who'd transferred in, the poor girl, the one who'd gone to a normal school and learnt how the world worked outside of the bubble created by our boarding school. I was just the kind of teenager who'd stage a mass exodus from a hotel under cover of darkness without informing a single responsible adult.

'Ready?' Will asked when we were the last ones left.

'I am,' Amanda confirmed. 'Beth?'

'To get into trouble? Always.'