Again, he struggled to think of what they could do.
Why not use the CTR to call the top security forces in England so they could rescue them! But he didn’t know the number or how they would find Mr Blue’s hideout.
He did know Ella’s number though!
‘Max?’ asked Linden.
‘We’re going to die,’ sighed Max, watching the jelly seep into her favourite pair of blue sports shoes.
‘No we won’t, I’ve got an idea,’ said Linden. ‘We can get Ella to rescue us.’
Max stopped panicking and turned her head towards Linden.
‘Well isn’t she just great?’ said Max sarcastically.
‘What is your problem with Ella?’ demanded Linden.
Max thought hard.
‘She … she …’ Max floundered.
‘Well?’ asked Linden.
‘She flirted and wasted our time when we had important work to do.’
‘You’re jealous!’ Linden said.
‘Me?’ Max laughed. ‘Jealous?’
‘Yeah, and the sooner you get over it the better because the jelly has reached almost up to our shins.’
Max looked down, saw the jelly soaking into her jeans and forgot all about Ella.
‘We’re going to die!’ she called out.
Linden pressed the button on the CTR that sent a signal to Ella.
He waited a few seconds before a signal came back and he heard Ella’s voice.
‘Linden, where are you?’ she asked frantically.
‘We’re at Mr Blue’s hideout,’ said Linden.
‘It works!’ shouted Max. ‘That’s great!’
‘Are you okay?’ asked Ella, sounding worried.
‘I’ve been in more friendly places,’ said Linden, trying not to let on they were about to become giant jelly babies.
‘We just need to talk for a few minutes to give the CTR a chance to get a reading of where you are,’ said Ella.
‘We want you to do something first,’ said Linden. ‘We’ve got a recording of Mr Blue that will prove to the world he is a fake. Is there any way we can get it to you?’
The jelly soaked up to Max’s and Linden’s knees as they listened to Ella’s instructions.
‘Each recording is saved as a document,’ explained Ella. ‘Enter the number of the document and using the main menu press transfer.’
Linden did what Ella said and the communication device hummed as it transferred the recording.
‘Got it!’ Ella cried.
‘Take it to the top security forces as soon as you can and we’ll finally stop Mr Blue in his tracks,’ said Linden. ‘Has the reading of our location come through yet?’
‘Nothing. Mr Blue may have put some kind of magnetic force around his hideout to stop detection by devices such as radars and the CTR,’ said Ella.
‘At least we’ve got him on tape,’ said Linden.
‘Yeah. Mum and I will get it to the right people as soon as we can. Then we’ll see you soon,’ she said hopefully.
‘We’ll be gone,’ said Linden sadly.
‘Oh,’ said Ella, unable to hide her disappointment.
‘We’ve got to get back to Australia. But I’ll talk to you when we get there,’ Linden added.
‘I’ll miss you,’ said Ella.
‘Me too,’ Linden replied quietly. ‘Bye.’
Just then the door opened and Francis, with his arms held behind his back, was hustled into the room by the two bodyguards. Linden quickly turned off the CTR and tucked it into his pocket.
‘Francis! You came!’ shouted Max.
The bodyguards stood over Francis.
‘When you’re ready to help, just press this button here and the kids will be saved,’ said one of the guards, pointing to a large red button on the wall.
‘It’s all up to you, Mr Professor,’ they sneered as they left the room.
Francis was shocked to see how deep in the jelly Max and Linden were.
‘I’m sorry I got you kids mixed up in this,’ he said. ‘We have to find a way of getting you out of here.’
Max’s face brightened, knowing exactly what Alex Crane would do in a situation like this.
‘That depends,’ she said as the jelly squelched up to her waist. ‘Are you ready for a big trip?’
Linden smiled excitedly, knowing what Max was thinking.
‘We could use the Matter Transporter to take us to Australia.’
Max looked at Francis.
‘That’s if you want to,’ she said quietly.
‘That way we escape from here, keep the Time and Space Machine from Mr Blue and get back to Australia before Ben and Eleanor wake up,’ cried Linden.
They sank deeper into the jelly as Francis’s face grimaced in trying to decide what to do.
‘Only we have to go now,’ said Max.
Francis saw the jelly rise still higher.
‘Let’s do it!’ he said.
‘Do you have the Retractor Meter with you?’ asked Max.
‘It’s somewhere safe,’ Francis replied, pointing to the soul of his left shoe.
Linden and Max beamed.
‘Now for the control panel,’ Linden said.
Max instructed Linden over her shoulder. ‘See if you can reach into my bag and get it.’
Linden managed to do as she said and manoeuvred the panel out, holding it so Max could see.
‘How does it look?’ he asked nervously.
The red light beeped faintly.
‘The signal’s really weak,’ said Max.
She looked at Francis. ‘Do you think it will work?’
‘If Ben has made it following our plans, it will be fine as long as the jelly hasn’t short-circuited the initialisation panel,’ said Francis.
Max, Linden and Francis looked worried.
‘We have to try,’ said Linden.
Max’s fingers wriggled towards the rod at the side of the control panel.
‘Can you hold it out a little more?’ she asked Linden. ‘I can’t quite see the screen.’
Linden forced his hands to stretch as far as the rope would let him towards Max. An image of the room appeared before her on the LED screen and she did her best to draw an outline with the plastic rod around her, Linden and Francis.
‘Done,’ she said breathlessly. ‘You might feel a bit of tingling when you make contact with the transporter capsule, but you’ll be fine,’ Max explained to Francis.
She moved the rod onto the activate key. There was a small zap sound and a quick flash of light. Francis held his arm out in front of him as sparks ricocheted around him. His eyes brightened.
‘Ben, you did it,’ he said quietly.
Linden held the control panel above the rising jelly. Max tried not to panic as she used the rod to type Ben and Eleanor’s address in Australia.
‘See you all when we get there,’ she said.
‘Happy flying,’ said Linden, trying to smile, but worrying that transporting all three of them with a weak power signal was probably very risky.
‘Ready? Three, two, one.’
Max took a deep breath and brought the rod down onto the transport key.
The room shook and filled with noise. There was the whirring sound that got louder and louder, echoing off the walls of the Jelly Room. Max and Linden closed their eyes as the jelly wobbled around them and swirled across the room in green flying bits.
There was an explosion of sound and light.
And then they were gone.
Ms Peckham’s eyes widened as she stared at the monitor.
‘Mr Blue, I think you should see this,’ she said.
Mr Blue walked over to the monitor. He was smiling.
‘Have they finally decided to give themselves up?’ he beamed.
‘Not quite,’ said Ms Peckham shakily.
Mr Blue looked at the monitor and the smile fell from his face like a brick.
‘Where are they?’ he asked, his voice shaking with anger.
�
�They just,’ Ms Peckham struggled to find the right word, ‘disappeared.’
‘Disappeared!’ shouted Mr Blue. ‘They can’t just have disappeared!’
He turned to the two bodyguards, who shrugged their shoulders.
‘Find them!’ he barked. ‘Or you’ll end up in something far worse than a vat of jelly!’
Mr Blue’s face went beetroot red as the guards backed out of the room.
‘If Francis and those kids have escaped, this will not be the last they hear of me,’ he said to Ms Peckham. ‘The day they met me will haunt them forever!’
‘Boy, you really panicked back there.’
Max opened her eyes and saw Linden and Ralph standing over her.
‘Where am I?’ asked Max, frowning and trying to remember what had happened.
‘Same place as me,’ said Linden. ‘On Ben and Eleanor’s farm. Only I landed on a few bails of hay and you landed in Larry’s feed trough.’
Max looked around her.
‘Urghh! Why is it me who always has the smelly landings?’
Linden smiled. ‘Ben really needs to iron out those hiccups before you land in too many more stinky situations.’
Max wasn’t impressed.
‘Just help me out,’ she said.
Ralph barked and licked Max on the nose.
‘Not you. I said Linden.’
Ralph whined.
‘Max is excited to see you, Ralph,’ said Linden sarcastically. ‘She just has a funny way of showing it.’
Linden helped Max out of the trough.
‘Do you still think we’re going to die?’ Linden asked.
Then Max remembered where they’d escaped from.
‘I know I seemed a little worried back there,’ she stammered, ‘but I always thought we’d get back safely.’
Linden frowned at Max as she tried to pick bits of Larry’s food and green jelly from her hair and clothes.
After all they’d been through, he still didn’t understand girls.
Or at least this girl.
Then Max remembered something else.
‘Where’s Francis?’ she asked.
Linden turned around.
‘Somewhere very cosy if you ask me.’
Max followed Linden’s eyes and saw Francis asleep in a rocking chair on the verandah.
‘Should we wake him up?’ asked Linden.
‘No. I’ve got a better idea,’ said Max with a smile and she walked towards the house.
‘I hope it involves breakfast,’ said Linden to himself.
Later, after they’d washed away the green jelly and changed their clothes, Max and Linden stood in the kitchen and heard Ben and Eleanor’s bedroom door open.
‘Here they come!’ whispered Max excitedly.
They could barely stop shaking with excitement as Ben and Eleanor walked into the kitchen.
‘Well, what do we have here?’ asked Ben, squinting against the early morning sunshine that was flooding the room.
Max and Linden beamed.
‘Hash browns, fried eggs, bacon, toast, tea, muesli, yoghurt, fruit salad and freshly squeezed orange juice,’ said Max proudly.
‘What did we do to deserve this?’ asked Eleanor.
‘We just wanted to tell you that we think you’re really cool,’ said Linden.
Max rolled her eyes. He was probably going to say that everything was cool from now on.
‘But that’s not the only thing we have for you, right Max?’ asked Linden.
‘Right! Stay there, I’ll be back in one moment,’ said Max as she went outside.
‘I hope it’s not something too big. I don’t function very well before breakfast,’ said Ben with a smile.
Linden flung the screen door open and Max reappeared.
‘Linden and I have someone we want you to meet,’ she said.
Francis stepped forward and Ben’s smile melted away like he’d seen a ghost.
‘Francis? Is that you?’ Ben asked quietly, thinking his eyes and the sun were playing tricks on him.
‘It was the last time I looked in the mirror,’ Francis answered. ‘But a lot has happened over the last few hours.’
Ben looked at his brother and a smile spread across his face like jam across toast.
‘It’s good to see you, Francis. Now come here.’
Ben gave him a big hug. Then Eleanor hugged Francis and Ben hugged Eleanor and everyone got pretty teary.
Including Max.
Linden looked at her.
‘You’re not crying, are you?’ he asked.
Max wiped her eyes.
‘No. The sun’s making my eyes water.’
Linden smiled at her.
‘You’re really something, Max Remy. And you know what? I think we make a good team. Next time you have a spy mission, I’m your man.’
Max felt like she wanted to cry even more.
‘It’s great to see you, but how did you get here?’ said Ben to Francis.
Francis looked at Max and Linden.
‘Why don’t we talk about it over breakfast,’ he said. ‘It’s a long story.’
Francis, Max and Linden told Ben and Eleanor everything that had happened. Landing in London, finding Valerie and Ella, riding on the Mobile People Mover, sinking in the vat of jelly and meeting Ms Peckham and Mr Blue.
Ben wasn’t happy about Linden and Max using the Matter Transporter, especially after he’d told Max it wasn’t ready to transport people. He also told them what they did was dangerous and they could have been hurt, but he couldn’t stay angry at them. The transporter had worked and, for the first time in years, Francis was back with them.
‘Let’s make a toast,’ said Ben, raising his orange juice. ‘To Francis, who I waited too long to see again.’
‘To Francis,’ they all said as they clinked their glasses.
‘And to Linden and Max, two of the bravest kids I know,’ said Ben proudly.
The glasses were clinked again as Max and Linden looked at each other and smiled.
There was a lot to catch up on and as everyone talked and laughed and listened to each other’s stories, Eleanor put her arm around Max.
‘You’re a very special person Max Remy, you know that?’ she whispered. ‘Life around here will never be the same again because of you.’
Max blushed and thought about what had happened since she came to the farm. She looked around the kitchen with everyone talking and laughing and eating, and realised she felt more at home here than she had anywhere else in her life.
When they had finished, Max and Linden suddenly felt exhausted and almost fell asleep at the table.
‘I think it’s time for our two top spies to get to bed,’ said Ben.
Max and Linden dragged themselves up from the table.
‘Do you think you and Francis will finish the Time and Space Machine now?’ asked Max.
Ben and Francis looked at each other.
‘We’ll have to talk about that. For now you two get some rest,’ said Ben. He gave her a big hug and said goodnight.
When they were in their beds, Max turned to Linden.
‘Linden, you’re right, we are a good team and I wouldn’t want to work with anyone else. I also want to tell you what I was going to say before we went through the waterfall.’
Max took a deep breath.
‘I’ve never had a best friend before, but now I’ve met you I know what it’s like. The pact we made before we used the Matter Transporter was one of the nicest things anyone’s ever said to me. And even though I don’t say it very often, you’re really okay, you know, for a boy and everything, and I hope we stay friends for a really long time.’
There was a pause.
‘Linden? Did you hear me?’
Max stepped over to Linden’s bed and lifted the blankets off his face.
He was sound asleep.
Max smiled.
‘Maybe I’ll tell you another time,’ she said.
Max yawned and climbed back into bed.
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She dreamed of spies and missions and Alex Crane, Superspy from Spyforce.
Eleanor stepped onto the back verandah and called out, ‘Max, Linden? Where are you?’
‘Why am I even asking?’ she mumbled. ‘Like I don’t know the answer to that myself.’
Eleanor walked down to the shed and knocked on the door.
Nothing.
She knocked again.
Still nothing.
‘Sometimes I wonder if they even remember I’m here,’ she said.
She turned the handle and slowly pushed the door open to see Ben, Francis, Linden and Max leaning over a small contraption with buttons, dials and knobs and flashing lights.
‘Max and Linden, there’s a telegram for you,’ said Eleanor, handing it over. ‘And it looks important.’
Max took the telegram and opened it.
Her eyes widened.
‘It’s from Spyforce!’
‘What?’ Linden asked. ‘I thought you made that up?’
‘So did I,’ Max exclaimed.
‘What does it say?’ asked Ben.
Max read out loud.
* * *
Dear Max and Linden,
On behalf of Spyforce, the Secret Government Security Agency, we would like to extend to you our gratitude for helping to uncover the illicit activities within the Department of Science and New Technologies. Your service to this country and the world has been invaluable.
Yours truly
R.L. Steinberger
Administration Manager,
Spyforce
* * *
‘Wow!’ said Linden. ‘There really is a Spyforce!’
‘And they seem to think you’ve done a pretty good thing,’ said Francis. ‘I wonder where Mr Blue has ended up?’
‘Somewhere far from us, I hope,’ said Eleanor.
‘The world would be a better place if he just disappeared forever,’ said Ben.
‘I don’t think there’s much chance of that,’ said Max. ‘Mr Blue doesn’t give up easily.’
A ringing sound came from Linden’s pocket.
‘It’s the CTR,’ said Linden, his hands bolting into his pocket like lightning.
Max, suspecting it was Ella, rolled her eyes.
‘Really, now how can you tell that?’
Linden missed the sarcasm and excused himself as he walked outside to take the call.
In Search of the Time and Space Mach Page 11