Secret Scouts and The Lost Leonardo

by Mr.

  “1-0 to me,” Lisa said gasping. She nudged her sister. “Come on, keep walking, or before you know it we’ll be in trouble.”

  Halfway across the square, Leonardo came to a halt. “Calcio!” he cried. He picked a spot next to a wooden barrier that surrounded a sand-covered field. Jack and Tom threw their arms over each other’s shoulders in brotherly fashion and watched the men on the field with mounting excitement.

  “Calcio is played between two teams, each with twenty-seven players. You have to throw that leather ball over there, the red and white one, over the barrier behind your opponent,” Leonardo quickly explained.

  “Like football on sand?” Sophie asked.

  Leonardo nodded. “Football... yes, you can use your feet. In fact you can use everything: your feet, your hands, whatever, but you’re not allowed to kick your opponent in the face. After that anything goes. Slapping, kicking, choking, as long as you get the ball over the barrier. That’s how you score a point, a cacce!”

  Sophie and her sister looked at each other uncertainly. “Choking?”

  “Yeah!!!!” Jack and Tom were hopping and cheering.

  Right in front of them, a player managed to steal the ball by stomping hard on his opponent’s face. With the ball under his arm he took off straight across the field, managing to avoid several opponents until he was brutally tackled to the ground. Several extremely muscular men pounced on him and began roughing each other up as they tried to gain possession of the ball.

  “They’re nothing but barbarians!” the sisters said simultaneously, both horrified.

  Jack and Tom whooped as they watched the spectacle. They imagined themselves running across the field, the strongest and fastest of them all, and everyone cheering them on.

  Suddenly a loud horn sounded signaling the end of the match.

  “Our turn now,” said Leonardo, his chest swelling with pride. “See the men walking onto the field wearing black leggings, that’s our district!”

  “Why aren’t they wearing shirts?”

  “Weren’t you just watching? Shirts would be torn to shreds in an instant. And they’d be able to catch you from behind and tackle you more easily, too.”

  Not much later, the man with the ball was buried under a mountain of players right in front of them. After much pushing and pulling, one of them managed to escape with the ball under his arm. The others pulled themselves to their feet and gave chase. One player, however, remained motionless on the ground, blood pouring from his mouth and out of one ear. After a quick inspection by a few of his teammates he was carried off the pitch.

  “Ouch,” said Leonardo, almost apologetically, “I think he’s just had all of his teeth knocked out. I hope he recovers quickly, he’s on our team after all.”

  A loud voice amplified by a horn blared out something in Italian across the field. Jack and Tom could hardly stand the excitement.

  “We’ve got to win, Leonardo,” shouted Jack, jumping up and down behind the barrier. “Woohoo!!!” He raised his arm into the air to point at something when all of a sudden the players on the pitch began to cheer. The man with the horn made another announcement and everyone looked in Jack’s direction.

  Leonardo’s face went white.

  “What?” Jack suddenly saw that everyone was staring at him. Perplexed, he looked at Leonardo. “What’s up?”

  “Stay calm,” said Leonardo, putting both his hands on Jack’s shoulders.

  “What? What do you mean stay calm? What’s going on? Tell me!”

  Lisa glanced at the pitch and saw that the players were still staring at Jack. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling when she realized what was about to happen.

  “What? Why is everyone looking at me?” Jack said, before it dawned on him what was going on and he went pale.

  “Okay, you have to hurry, otherwise they’ll come and get you themselves.”

  Jack looked helplessly at Leonardo.

  “A moment ago, the man with the horn asked who wanted to replace the man who was carried off and you put up your hand...”

  Jack began to shake his head furiously. “No! I was pointing at someone on the field, I didn’t raise my hand!”

  “You want to try telling them that?” Leonardo said quietly. “Sorry Jack, you’ll have to do it. If you don’t they’ll come and get you. I can’t protect you from all those men.”

  “No, no, no!” Jack stood in front of Leonardo shaking his head.

  Tom threw an arm around his brother’s shoulder and slapped him on the back reassuringly. “You’ve got this man!”

  For the past thirty minutes Sophie had been carefully analyzing the game. She pulled Jack close and whispered in his ear. “If you stay on the right… those two guys there…” She kept pointing until she was sure Jack was looking at the right men. “That dude with the bald head and the one next to him with the greasy black ponytail…” Jack nodded, “those two are a lot slower than the rest. You’re faster than they are. And the fat one in defense… he’s constantly covering the left side. So your best option is to run down the right. That way you’ll only have to steer clear of the big guy with the blond hair. He’ll probably try to tackle you by your ankles. If you jump in the air the moment he starts to dive, hopefully you’ll be able to avoid him.”

  The crowd began cheering again.

  “Come on, hurry,” Leonardo said firmly. “The crowd is getting restless, you have to go, and fast. Take off your shirt.”

  Jack pulled off his tunic and removed his shirt. He slowly and reluctantly climbed over the barrier.

  Lisa jumped onto the fence, grabbed Jack, and whispered something in his ear. Without anyone noticing, she pressed the knife into his hands. Momentarily stunned, Jack nimbly slipped it into his leggings.

  Jack looked out over the field, turned around, and stared at Lisa. “Thanks,” he said as he walked onto the pitch.

  A deafening applause erupted as Jack, bare-chested, stepped onto the pitch. Each and every man here was a hero. The crowd was going mad. Nobody had been brave enough to volunteer as a substitute. Except for Jack, even if it was by accident.

  The largest man on Jack’s team walked up to him and clapped him reassuringly on the shoulder. The difference between them only became really apparent when the man was standing next to him. His muscular arms were thicker than Jack’s thighs. The only advantage Jack had was his height. Despite the difference in age between them, Jack was just as tall as the other men.

  When the man slapped him amicably on the back, Jack’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. He shuddered at the thought that the gesture was meant to be reassuring.

  The horn sounded again and the ball was tossed back onto the pitch. Jack kept to one side in the hope that he could stay out of harm’s way. The scuffles took place mostly in the middle of the field where the teams fought each other fiercely for possession of the ball.

  Jack shot across the field like a rabbit attempting to avoid the worst of the violence. He wasn’t even looking at the ball. He only had eyes for the opponents who occasionally tried to grab him. His speed came in handy. With their large, bulky bodies, the men couldn’t keep up with him.

  After what seemed like an eternity, a whistle suddenly blew.

  “The last three minutes,” Leonardo cheered. “Your friend’s going to make it.”

  Tom stood behind the barrier with clenched fists. He watched his brother’s every movement.

  “Jack, watch out!” Sophie screamed as hard as she could.

  Jack saw the ball being thrown in his direction. Up until that point he had managed to keep himself out of the game, but now came the moment of truth. Catch the ball or run away? Jack quickly realized he didn’t have a choice. His teammates would pummel him to pieces if he missed the ball on purpose.

  As the ball flew through the air he adjusted his body and with outstretched arms jumped up and caught it. Gotcha!

  A man with a square jaw charged towards him with his fists clenched. Out of nowhere, one of Jack’
s teammates jumped on the man’s back and tackled him to the ground. Jack looked around frantically. No other teammates were nearby. He was completely on his own.

  He ran down along the right-hand side of the field. The two slowcoach opponents Sophie had pointed out tried to stop him. He accelerated and slithered around them like a snake. The bald man’s hand grazed his calf, which immediately began to burn.

  With just ten yards to go his confidence began to grow. Then, from the left, the man with the blond hair suddenly started closing in. The enormous man was charging right at him with outstretched arms. Jack tucked the ball firmly under his arm. The man bent forward as he made a dive for Jack’s ankles. Jack jumped and his foot scraped along the man’s left ear. The man fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

  Jack just managed to keep his balance and carried on stumbling forward. He threw the ball over the barrier just as the horn sounded.

  Euphoric, Leonardo climbed the fence screaming wildly. The crowd was in hysterics. Jack crumbled to the ground when he saw his teammates rushing towards him. Twenty-six enormous men piled on top of him. The cloud of sand they kicked up obscured the view of the field. A few seconds later, Jack was sitting on the shoulders of a huge man and being paraded like a hero in front of the crowd.

  “We won!” Leonardo screamed. “And Jack scored the winning point!”

  Tom and the sisters stood proudly along the side of the pitch as the players carried Jack across the field like a trophy. Leonardo ran over to him the moment they set him back down on the ground.

  “Did you see that?” Jack triumphantly flexed his muscles.

  “Unbelievable!” Leonardo reached out and pulled him over the railing. “Unbelievable!” he repeated. “You’re the hero of the day!” cried Leonardo, tossing Jack his clothes. “But now we have to get out of here. You’re the reason we won, and now the other team can’t wait to get their hands on you. Let’s leave before there’s trouble.”

  Waving his arms wildly, Leonardo showed them the way. “Come on, we’re almost there.”

  Jack followed close behind Leonardo, walking tall and bursting with pride. No longer afraid of anything or anyone, he wormed his way through the crowd. The others could barely keep up. The crowds thinned out the farther they got from the pitch. When they reached the city outskirts the streets were almost deserted.

  Sweating and still reeling from the experience, they walked through the empty streets towards the cemetery. On a public holiday like today, the cemetery was probably the last place anyone would want to be. So for Leonardo it was the ideal opportunity to dig up a body without being seen.

  Leonardo pulled a heavy shovel from the bushes running along the cemetery’s periphery. “I hide it here so I don’t have to carry it through the city every time.” He crisscrossed the cemetery with the shovel in his hands before finally crouching over a grave that looked like it had just been filled in. He ran his hand through the dark soil.

  “This is what we’re after. The earth is still moist, so the grave must be a fresh one!”

  Leonardo pushed his shovel into the dirt and began digging furiously. The others gathered eagerly around the grave, curious as to what he might find.

  Jack went and stood next to Lisa, discretely pulling the knife from his leggings. He handed it back to Lisa. “Thanks, but where did you get it?” he whispered.

  Lisa quickly slid the knife into her pocket and shrugged her shoulders.

  Jack looked at her inquiringly, but Lisa took a quick step forward. As Leonardo continued to dig, sweat began to appear on his forehead.

  “Need any help?” Lisa asked, not sure what to do.

  “Yes, Jack, help me out here.”

  Lisa looked surprised, but Jack quickly grabbed the shovel and immediately began digging. He fell into a rhythm as he dug deeper into the soil. Leonardo monitored his progress closely until Jack suddenly hit something.

  “Stop!” Leonardo snatched the shovel out of Jack’s hands and threw it on the ground behind him. He dropped to his knees inside the grave and continued digging with his hands.

  “We have to be really carefully now, we don’t want to damage the body. Do you really want to see this?”

  Tom looked horrified when he saw a piece of cloth sticking out of the ground, but he didn’t protest. The others mumbled their consent. Leonardo used his hands to carefully brush away the remaining dirt around the lower body. As he repositioned himself in the grave to free the upper part of the body, Sophie leaned forward to help.

  “Remove the dirt from there.” She swallowed when she saw a bloody mouth appear. “I think I know who this is.” She looked at Jack.

  “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” said Lisa, thumping Jack on the shoulder.

  “Lisa!” Sophie looked angrily at her sister.

  “Cry baby! There’s no harm in trying to lighten things up with a little humor!”

  When Leonardo had freed the head they knew for sure. Lying in the grave was the lifeless body of the man who had been carted off the field seriously injured during the calcio match.

  “He didn’t make it after all.” Leonardo made the sign of the cross and quickly inspected the body. A few of his teeth were broken, but the rest of his body was completely intact. “Probably a broken neck, but an otherwise sound body. Perfect for my research.”

  He beckoned to Jack and Tom and the three of them lifted the corpse out of the grave and lay it on the ground. Leonardo pulled a rag out of his pocket and brushed away all the dirt from the body. When he was done he went and got a long purple coat from a bag he had hidden in the bushes. He quickly dressed the corpse in it.

  “Now he looks lively enough to come for a stroll with us.” He winked at the others, picked up the body, and in one fluid motion threw it over his shoulder. “Can you clean up my stuff… there, in the bushes? I know a few backstreets that will take us to my studio without being seen. If we bump into anyone, I’ll think up something. People are getting hurt all the time, and you can’t really see that he’s dead. If someone asks, I’ll say he’s drunk.”

  Leonardo walked across the cemetery with the lifeless body hanging over his shoulder. When he saw a rough-looking group of men approaching along the street they had just walked into, he slowed his pace. He tried to walk in front of Jack so as to hide him, but he could tell by the look on the men’s faces that they had already spotted him. They stared at Jack and started calling him names. When one of them threw something at him, Jack had just enough time to duck. He slipped behind Leonardo and ran to the end of the street.

  “Who were those men?” Jack asked Leonardo after they had caught up to him.

  “Fans of the other team. They’re angry at you, obviously. By now everyone will be drunk and the atmosphere will be getting grimmer.” Leonardo shook his head. “We should get a move on, there are a lot of people in the city who will have a bone to pick with you. It’s important we get back to the studio as quickly as possible. Come on, this way!” Leonardo turned left into a quiet alley that led to the street where his studio was located.

  The body landed with a thud on the examination table.

  “It’s boiling outside, there’s no time to lose. I need to work fast before the smell becomes unbearable.”

  Aware of what was about to happen, everyone stared in horror at the body on the table.

  “I think you should go, this isn’t something kids should see. I’m going to sever his head and his legs. Then I have to slice him open.”

  No one protested. Even Lisa realized this was a bridge too far for them.

  “Actually, I just want to go home before they discover we’re gone!” said Sophie, who hardly dared think about the consequences on the home front.

  Tom nodded vigorously in agreement.

  Leonardo da Vinci made over 240 extremely detailed anatomical drawings, which was unique at the time. By his own account, Leonardo dissected over 30 corpses in his lifetime in his attempts to understand the structure of the human body.
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  “Besides,” Leonardo continued, “it’s no longer safe, now that half the city is out to get Jack.”

  Jack laughed sheepishly and rubbed his calf. He could already feel the pain in his muscles.

  “Friends,” Leonardo said, sounding a little sad. “I’d like nothing more than to spend the next few days and weeks, years even, with you, but that’s not possible. It’s too dangerous for you here, you have to leave as soon as possible. Come, let’s go over to the orrery so you can prepare yourselves.”

  Everyone was quiet for a few minutes, until Leonardo broke the silence. “Come on, hurry up. I’m really, really anxious to see how this thing works!” Leonardo tried to sound upbeat, but it was obvious he was putting on an act.

  “It’s your invention!” Sophie looked at Leonardo surprised.

  “Yeah, I know that, but I’ve never succeeded in using it. This is the first time I get to see the orrery in action.”

  As they crossed the studio, Lisa picked something up off the floor and walked back to Leonardo’s ‘laboratory’. Without anyone noticing, she set the object down on the shelf next to the knives Leonardo would soon be using.

  Ms. Prattle’s ermine crawled out of the darkness and sat on the same shelf next to the knives. “Wait here, I’ll come back for you in a minute.” Lisa gently petted the creature, hoping she would stay there and felt around in her pocket.

  She discreetly pulled out her own telephone. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought the phone was her sister’s. She turned it on, opened the photo app, and set the timer to five seconds. It would start counting down when she pushed the button. She walked back to the studio with the telephone concealed in her hand.

  “Everything’s in place,” Jack said to Leonardo. He moved the planetarium to the middle of the studio and adjusted the rods to align all the planets. He then carefully opened the bottle and poured in the water before adjusting the date and writing down the destination. “Now all we need is to place the telephone in here. The flash will set everything in motion and then we’ll be on our way home.”

  Leonardo was paying close attention. He was euphoric. This was exactly how he had envisioned it. “Angels,” he said. “You are all angels.” He bowed his head and thanked the four of them for coming to visit him.