Adam and the Arkonauts (9 page)

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CHAPTER 14

Pheeeep!

Adam ran. He turned left, then right, then left again. Surely he could lose Officer Grivas.

There were whistles from all sides now. Other policemen had heard the call and were determined to join the chase. Adam needed a miracle. He charged round the corner and ran straight into a bike.

‘Owww!'

The cyclist didn't say anything. Adam realised why. It was the Mayor's daughter – dark, pretty, mischievous Anna. She seemed to think riding her bike into Adam was funny. She rocked with silent laughter.

‘I'm glad you find it funny,' said Adam, remembering that, although Anna was unable to hear or speak, she could lipread every word he said.

PHEEP! PHEEP! PHEEP!

‘The police are after me,' he told her. ‘I've been running as fast as I can down all the narrowest, darkest roads, but they seem to be able to follow me wherever I go.'

Anna pointed behind him. Adam turned to see a line of red footprints.
How could I have been so stupid?
he thought.

He turned back to the dark girl.

‘This is really important, Anna. I've got to get away.'

PHEEP! PHEEP! PHEEP!

The police were very close now. Adam had no idea which way to run. With a dangerous smile, Anna stood up on her pedals, leaving the seat of her bike free. She nodded to Adam to climb on. He wasn't sure he liked her smile, but he didn't have any other option.

As Officer Grivas sprinted round the corner, Anna swung her bike away from him and pedalled for all she was worth. Two more policemen were running up the road towards them. As Anna swerved to avoid the first one, the second officer jumped to block their path. She swerved back the other way and sped past.

But there was worse ahead. Another two policemen had formed a human cordon. Only by riding into them could Anna hope to get by. She pulled hard on both brakes and her bike juddered to a halt. Officer Grivas was behind them. They were trapped.

Or maybe not. Spotting the door of a house slightly ajar, Anna whirled her bike round and cycled straight at it.

The Marquez family were sitting down to lunch. Señor Marquez was pouring the wine, while Señora Marquez was spooning out portions of fish stew to the children. In the corner, Grandma Marquez was knitting a scarf. It was a scene of domestic tranquillity . . . which was abruptly shattered when the door flew open and a young girl riding a bike, with a boy sitting behind her, shot through their living-room-cum-dining-area, accelerated into their kitchen and sped out through the open back door.

The Marquez family's mouths dropped open.

Moments later four large policeman burst into the house.

‘I am Officer Grivas. These are other Officer Grivases. Hand over the criminals or face the consequences.'

‘Never!' screeched Grandma Marquez, waving her knitting aggressively at the police officers.

The rest of the Marquez family, their mouths getting wider every moment, turned to her.

Officer Grivas was taken aback but swiftly regained his air of authority.

‘I insist you hand over the criminals hiding in this house.'

‘You'll never take me alive!' shouted Grandma Marquez. ‘I've got a thimble and I'm prepared to use it.'

‘What are you talking about, Mother?' said Señor Marquez.

‘I said we should have put her in a home,' said Señora Marquez.

‘I thought I'd got away with it,' Grandma Marquez muttered.

‘Got away with what?'

‘Sixty-seven years I've been on the run,' the old lady went on.

‘You haven't run much in the last few years,' said Señora Marquez drily.

‘On the hobble, then,' she conceded.

‘But what have you done?' said Señor Marquez.

‘I can't remember,' admitted Grandma Marquez. ‘I think it was something to do with peas.'

‘Peas?' cried Officer Grivas. ‘I know of nobody in Buenos Sueños wanted for a pea-related offence.'

Grandma Marquez wasn't listening.

‘Take one step nearer,' she warned the policemen, ‘and I kill my hostage.'

‘You haven't got a hostage, señora,' Officer Grivas pointed out.

‘What do you call this?' shouted Grandma Marquez, holding her scarf up in the air. ‘Try to arrest me and I'll unravel it. I'm not bluffing.'

‘Now, now,' said Officer Grivas, ‘let's all stay calm. Just put the scarf down and . . . What am I saying? Destroy your scarf if you like. I don't care. I want to know where the two criminals are who just cycled into your house.'

‘They went out the back,' said Señor Marquez.

‘It's a dead end out the back. They've got nowhere to go,' Señora Marquez added.

The four policemen charged out of the back door. The yard behind the house was enclosed on all sides, and there were Adam and Anna astride the bike.

‘Arrest them!' cried Officer Grivas joyfully.

Adam slumped in his seat. They were caught.

But Anna wasn't giving in so easily. She stood high on the pedals for a moment and then cycled furiously towards the far wall.

‘You can't escape,' Officer Grivas crowed triumphantly.

‘What are you . . .' began Adam. But he didn't finish the sentence because he saw what she had in mind. An old plank was propped against a box at the far end of the yard. If Anna hit it right, and if she pedalled dead straight, and if it didn't break under their weight, then it just might provide enough of a ramp to launch them over the wall.

These were way too many ifs for Adam's liking, but there was no stopping Anna. He gripped the saddle tightly.

Would she hit the plank right?

Yes!

Would she cycle dead straight?

Yes!

Would it hold their weight?

Yes!

Would they have enough elevation to get over the wall?

No!

At least it didn't look like it.

The bike rose but not fast enough. The wall seemed to be growing in front of them. If they hit it, it was really going to hurt. Adam closed his eyes and waited for the crushing pain of impact.

When it didn't come, he opened his eyes again.

Anna had jerked the bike back at the last second and then jolted it forward. Like a horse jumping a fence, the bike flew over the wall.

‘Yessss . . . nooooo!' shouted Adam.

The ‘yes' was for getting over. The ‘no' was for what was on the other side. They bike was heading straight down into a swimming pool.

An empty swimming pool!

There was nothing to stop the bike smashing into the tiles at the bottom of the pool . . . except, possibly, the diving board!

Could they land on it? Anna tightened her grip on the handlebars. The bike was plunging almost vertically down now, and with great speed. She crouched, ready for the impact and . . .

BAM!

She hit the board perfectly and pulled with all her might on the brakes.

They screeched along the diving board and stopped right on the edge, teetering over the empty pool.

Adam exhaled.

Anna turned round to him. And winked.

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CHAPTER 15

‘Doctor! Doctor!'

Adam rushed up the gangplank of the
Ark of the Parabola
. When he reached the top he turned to give Anna a wave but was only in time to see the dark-haired girl on the bike disappear into the narrow cobbled streets of Buenos Sueños.

‘Where have you been, Adam?' said the Doctor. ‘And why isn't Sniffage with you.'

‘He hasn't come back?'

‘No.'

‘But the shots missed him.'

‘Shots?' snapped the Doctor.

‘Officer Grivas shot at him for being wild after Señor Le Blacas complained about the coffee on his trousers.'

The Doctor gave Adam a hard stare.

‘I warned you such behaviour would have serious consequences.'

It didn't stop you wanting to see the hotel register though
, thought Adam. But he didn't say anything because he had more important things to ask, like . . . ‘Can I have an advance on my pocket money?'

‘What on earth for?'

‘Err . . . I got fined.'

‘Fined. Who by?'

Adam took a deep breath and told the story of what had just happened to him. Before the Doctor could launch into one of his lectures, Adam swiftly, and a little deviously, moved the subject on to the hotel register. ‘So did you find out anything about Mum?' he asked.

‘I'm afraid not,' the Doctor said sadly. ‘It turns out your escapade yesterday was all for nothing.'

Adam felt utterly deflated. He was saved from having to think of a reply by a sudden flurry of green feathers from above, as Gogo and Pozzo landed on the deck. The Doctor lost interest in Adam immediately and turned to the parrots.

‘Have you located the source?' he demanded impatiently.

‘Do we get to tell a joke if you're pleased?'

The Doctor sighed. ‘I suppose so.'

‘OK,' said Gogo. ‘We flew all the way up to the fair.'

‘There were lots of parrots there,' said Pozzo.

‘None of them with a very good sense of humour,' added Gogo. ‘My joke about millet went down like a lead macaw.'

‘Concentrate on telling me what you found out.'

‘We found out that the tastiest leftovers are from the takeaway kiosk near the log flume.'

‘And that you have to keep an eye out for the local sparrow hawk or your most recent squawk could be your last.'

Adam saw the Doctor bristle with impatience.

‘And that further up the mountain in a place called Tibidabo beyond the amusement park, where people never go, is a murky wood.'

‘Suddenly, a month ago, just as it was getting dark, this wood became a nest of activity, with people dressed in black going in and out carrying machines – they made sure that they moved about only during the siesta when the rest of Buenos Sueños was sleeping. But the parrots saw them, even though they didn't have much to do with them because they didn't leave any leftovers.'

‘The people were working in the forest every night for two weeks, and after that the alarm started.'

‘Eureka!' cried the Doctor.

‘So would you if you'd been flying all morning in the sun,' snapped Gogo indignantly.

‘That wood must be the location of the alarm,' continued the Doctor. ‘Whoever built it would have done so far from the view of prying human eyes, but he would not have thought it necessary to conceal it from parrots. Yet again, the Arkonauts have discovered something humans could not. We will head up there immediately.'

‘We haven't finished yet,' squawked Gogo.

‘The parrots told us the edge of the wood is patrolled by guards. And they all have guns.'

‘Guns?' gulped Adam.

Both parrots nodded.

‘Hmm,' said the Doctor.

‘And now,' said Gogo, ‘time for a joke.'

‘Did you say it's time for a joke?' said Pozzo.

‘I say, I say, I say! What's the difference between a large bird of prey and a dog with mange?'

‘One's a golden eagle and the other's a mouldy beagle!'

Neither the Doctor nor Adam laughed.

‘I told you nobody was going to find mouldy dogs funny,' Gogo remarked.

‘We've got to be more edgy or we'll get stale,' Pozzo insisted.

The parrots flew up to the crow's nest, squabbling about new directions for their act.

‘We must go to Tibidabo,' announced the Doctor, ‘armed guards or not. If we're to switch off the alarm, that is where we must go.'

‘But how will that help Mum?' said Adam, unable to hide his frustration.

‘I have a theory about that. I'll explain on the way,' the Doctor replied mysteriously.

‘And how will we get past the guards with guns?'

But his father had already disappeared below deck. Adam was left alone. He thought sadly about his mother, possibly so close, but whom he might now never see if things went wrong in the woods. He felt exhausted – so much had already happened today. He slumped down on a chair and covered his face, only to be interrupted by a wet tongue licking his hands.

‘Sniffage! You're back!'

Sniffage was indeed back and as cheerful as ever, with a large stick in his mouth.

‘What took you so long?'

‘Yeah! Got distracted by some dead things. Whatcha doing?'

The spaniel stood in front of him, wagging his tail for all it was worth.

‘I was feeling sad,' admitted Adam.

‘Sad?' said Sniffage. ‘Don't do that! Not when there's sticks to throw!' And he helpfully dropped his stick at Adam's feet. ‘Yeah! Yeah! Throw it!'

Reluctantly, Adam picked up the stick and threw it for Sniffage. The dog was right – he did feel better.

But not for long.

Adam turned towards the harbour and saw what looked like the entire Buenos Sueños Police Force, headed by Chief Grivas, descending on to the dock. The Chief of Police stomped up to the gangplank, flanked by all his officers.

Adam gulped.

The noise of their arrival brought the Doctor swiftly back up on deck.

‘This young hooligan is going to pay us 1,920 pesos or he is going to prison for a long time,' Chief Grivas informed him. ‘Two more offences have been committed: “Escaping without permission” and “Riding a bike through a house during mealtimes.” Both are criminal acts according to the Buenos Sueños Crime and Punishment Code.'

The Doctor rushed across to Adam and stuffed some notes in his hand.

‘That's almost all our money,' he said furiously. ‘Whatever you do, don't commit any more crimes.'

So, beneath the burning sun and under the harsh, watchful eyes of the Buenos Sueños Police Force, Adam walked down the gangplank, stood on the large red spot and handed over the money. Chief Grivas did not seem particularly happy to receive it. It was obvious that he would have preferred to put the boy in jail. As Adam was about to move off the spot, Grivas grabbed his elbow.

‘Not so fast. We are going to require you to hand over your wild dog.'

‘Sniffage!' said Adam. ‘But Sniffage isn't wild.'

‘My officer says he's wild, and if my officer says something is true, then it is,' said Chief Grivas. ‘Now hand him over to us or we will board your ship and shoot him on sight.'

‘What will happen to him?'

‘He will be taken to the Buenos Sueños Dog Pound.'

‘Can I visit him?'

‘Of course not.'

‘Will someone throw sticks for him?'

‘They will not,' said Chief Grivas. ‘My officers have more important things to do than throw sticks for dogs.'

‘But he'll be miserable.'

‘You have ten seconds to hand over your dog,' Chief Grivas growled menacingly. ‘Or he dies.'

Adam looked up at the Doctor. His eyes were blazing, but he said nothing. Sniffage was standing next to him on the gangplank, wagging his tail. Adam had no option. He had to do it.

He whistled and Sniffage trotted down towards him trustingly.

‘Yeah! Yeah! Let's hope these policemen go soon. There's still time for some stick throwing. Yeah!'

Sniffage licked Adam's hand. At a signal from the Chief an Officer Grivas stepped forward and grabbed the dog roughly and looped a lead over his head.

‘Hey! Hey! Whatcha doing? I don't need a lead! I need to be able to investigate dead things! Take it off! Yeah!'

But to Officer Grivas, Sniffage was just another dog barking. He jolted the lead hard.

‘Ow! That hurt!'

‘You're being too rough,' protested Adam.

But with every bark, the policeman tugged the lead harder until, eventually, Sniffage was subdued and silent. Officer Grivas led him away. Adam could hardly bear to watch. The dog's head hung low and his tail was lifeless and limp.

‘The sooner you leave Buenos Sueños the better,' observed Chief Grivas, tossing his cigar carelessly on to the dock. ‘Before you lose any more of your friends.'

‘That's litter,' said Adam, pointing at the cigar stub. ‘Why isn't anyone arresting you?'

‘Arresting me?' repeated Grivas. ‘You have a very funny sense of humour, chico. Arresting me! Ha ha ha!'

And with his ugly, jeering laughter echoing round the port, Chief of Police Grivas led his men away.