by Andrew Cope
The evil criminal reached into the backpack and pulled out the professor’s latest invention. The moon came out from behind a cloud and he squinted at the scribbled diagram. ‘I hope you know what you’re doing, old man,’ he muttered under his breath. ‘Your dog’s life depends on it.’
Mr Big fiddled with the gadgets for a while before making his way to the bar-less window. He dropped a stone to signal phase two. ‘Go, boys, go,’ he smirked.
Gus and Archie didn’t know it but they were the decoys. They were also doomed. Mr Big loved double-crossing people and this was going exactly to plan.
‘There’s the pebble,’ woofed Spud, his ears on red alert. Down below Mr Big’s cell, the puppies coaxed Archie and Gus out of the shadows.
‘This way to the front gate,’ woofed Star quietly. ‘Follow us out here, guys.’
‘That’s a lot of woofing, doggies,’ sobbed Gus, limping badly. ‘What are we supposed to do? Follow you? There’re guards everywhere.’
‘Yeah, and Big isn’t going to be happy that we left him behind,’ Archie added nervously.
They shrank behind a barrel as another searchlight cut through the darkness.
‘A few more steps,’ urged Star. ‘Just a teeny bit further.’
Archie was propping up his huge friend as Gus dragged his broken foot behind him. They were both out in the open, darkness their only cover. The next searchlight came their way and the men fell to the ground. But Star and Spud stood tall and waved at the tower.
‘Cooee!’ woofed Spud in his loudest bark. ‘We have two escapees here!’
The light swept across them and then doubled back in search of the noise.
‘What are you doing, dog?’ said Gus, grabbing on to Archie even more tightly.
Spud stood proudly in the prison yard, the spotlight picking him out like a lead singer on stage. He stood on his hind legs and barked his best bark. ‘Wakey, wakey, everyone,’ he woofed. ‘We’re escaping. Let the action begin!’
A siren sounded as the prison officer hit the emergency button.
Archie tried to run for it but Gus wouldn’t let go and they both collapsed in a heap. All the other watchtowers focused their lights on the area as the two criminals stood up, blinded by the glare.
‘Put your hands on your heads,’ came a voice from a loudspeaker. ‘One false move and we shoot.’
Gus fell back to the floor in floods of tears, one hand in the air and one hand clutching his ankle. ‘I’ve broken something,’ he sobbed. ‘I want my mum.’
Archie’s life sentence stretched before him and, with Gus no longer hanging on to him, he started running. Bullets thudded into the ground and he ran faster, zigzagging towards the prison wall. But when he reached it he realized there was nowhere left to run. He turned and raised his hands, squinting into the dazzling searchlights. ‘Don’t shoot!’ he panted. ‘We’ll tell you everything.’
A van pulled up and men with snarling guard dogs emerged.
‘Yikes!’ woofed Spud. ‘I don’t like the look of them. Let’s scoot.’
Star knew the plan off by heart. She guided her brother through the shadows towards the prison’s kitchen door and leapt into the skip outside. ‘We leave first thing in the morning,’ she woofed. ‘With the trash.’
Spud bounced into the skip. ‘Mmm,’ he woofed, ‘leftover food. This is the best plan ever!’
16. Over and Out
The governor was woken by the phone ringing. ‘Yes,’ he croaked. ‘Captured? When?’ He sat up and switched on the bedside lamp. It was 2 a.m. ‘Who have you got?’ He leapt out of bed and attempted to get dressed while still on the phone. ‘What about their pal, Mr Big?’ he asked. ‘I want his cell checked,’ he shouted, holding the phone in place with his shoulder while he poked his feet into his pants. ‘I’m on my way.’
Mr Big leant out of his cell window to check what was going on. ‘Exactly as it says on the note,’ he purred. ‘All the attention is on those two idiots while I just slip away.’
The master criminal sat on the window ledge and looked at the view. It was the dead of night. Clouds were scudding across the sky and he could see the prison wall. Beyond that was blackness. The sea! And beyond that some twinkling lights. Freedom!
‘Here goes,’ he told himself as he swung out of his cell and threw his hand at the wall. There was a squelch as the sucker stuck. A foot followed, then his other hand and foot until he was hanging seven storeys up. He unsucked a hand and moved it down. Then a foot. Slowly but surely he was crawling, lizard-like, down the prison wall. The professor’s invention was working perfectly.
Mr Big was almost at the bottom when a searchlight came his way. Archie and Gus had been captured and the guards were now back to routine checks. Mr Big froze as the powerful beam scanned the wall and moved slowly across his body. His slate-grey outfit blended in and he breathed a sigh of relief as the light kept sweeping.
He jumped the last few feet and dusted himself off in preparation for the next move. This had to be perfectly timed. Mr Big faced a thirty-metre sprint across no-man’s-land towards the external wall. The professor’s note had said this was the riskiest part.
Mr Big waited for another sweep of the beam before making a dash for it. He reached the external wall and leapt as high as he could, suckering himself like a lizard once more. This time it was upwards. His breathing was heavy as he squelched to the top, stopping once more to let the light sweep over his slate-grey suit. He cursed as he cut himself on the glass on the top of the wall.
He looked out at the free world just as a platform was being raised from a cherry-picker vehicle below. Professor Cortex smiled grimly and offered his hand as Mr Big jumped off the wall. The professor pushed a button and the platform was lowered to the ground and, for one evil criminal, to freedom.
This was the professor’s first ever true crime. Mr Big stood opposite him, and if he was counting he’d know that escaping from maximum security prison was his seven hundred and ninety-third offence in a life devoted to crime. In the good-versus-evil battle, the professor was a novice. He didn’t stand a chance.
‘We’ve kept our part of the deal,’ noted the professor, his voice wavering slightly.
‘That’s very noble of you,’ sneered the one-man crime wave. ‘Nearly didn’t make it, though. I had a very uncomfortable moment with the governor.’
‘We broke you out. Now we need the antidote. GM451 is very ill. We may already be too late.’
‘Deary me,’ said Mr Big. ‘How dreadfully sad.’ He reached into his top pocket and pulled out a small bottle of purple liquid. Professor Cortex reached for it and Mr Big withdrew his arm. ‘Not so fast, old man,’ he snarled. ‘If that dog recovers, then there’s only one thing she’ll focus on. And that’s catching me. I’ll be much safer with her out of the way, thanks very much.’
Professor Cortex reached for his mobile. ‘I’ll c-call the p-police,’ he stammered.
Mr Big’s plastic face stretched into an uncomfortable grin. He reached into his jacket and pulled out one of the iron bars from his cell window.
The professor was terrible at crime. With one menacing look from Mr Big he handed over the mobile before being ushered into the cherry picker. Mr Big pressed the button that lifted the scientist back up as high as the prison wall.
The scientist looked over into the prison and cringed at the chaos he’d caused. All the courtyard lights were on as prison officers rushed about, their guard dogs yapping and sirens blaring. He looked back at Mr Big, far below.
‘Bye bye.’ The criminal waved to the stricken scientist. ‘I’ll be sure to send you a postcard from Brazil.’
Mr Big stumbled towards the shoreline, looking for the professor’s boat. ‘No way,’ he said, slapping his head in frustration. A black pedalo had been pulled up the shore. ‘That’s his escape vehicle?’ But Mr Big had no time to lose. He heaved the pedalo to the water and scrambled in. His legs started pumping. The sea may be black but freedom shone brightly in the distance.
He headed for the lights on the far shore, a part of him regretting he’d not been a regular at the prison gym.
17. Big Trouble
The head of MI5 had been summoned from her bed. The professor stared down at his shoes. The Cook children looked ashamed and the puppies cowered underneath Ben and Sophie’s legs. Mr Cook wiped the sleep from his eyes and Mrs Cook was wearing one of her sternest looks.
‘How could you, Maximus?’ yelled the MI5 chief. ‘What on earth were you thinking?’
‘The plan was –’
‘Whatever the plan was,’ bellowed the lady, ‘it’s resulted in an escaped prisoner. A very dangerous escaped prisoner,’ she reminded him. ‘And you planned his escape!’
Ollie was marvelling at the veins in the lady’s neck. He’d never seen veins stick out so much.
‘You actually helped him over the wall! And provided him with an escape boat.’
‘Pedalo,’ piped up Ollie.
‘And as for you lot,’ she continued, walking the line. ‘Don’t think you’ll get off scot-free.’ She held up a photograph of the children hugging Mr Big. Mrs Cook stifled a shriek as the spy boss continued. ‘This is a very serious offence indeed. Aiding and abetting an escapee from a maximum security prison.’ She paused to calm down but couldn’t. ‘I can hardly think of a worse crime!’ she exploded. ‘What on earth am I going to tell the Prime Minister?’
‘That our dog’s ill,’ suggested Ben bravely. ‘And breaking out Mr Big was our only chance.’
‘And now that chance seems to have gone,’ sobbed Sophie. ‘And Lara will die.’
Star and Spud hung their heads. It was bad enough that Mr Big had escaped. But that he’d double-crossed them and taken the antidote with him was even harder to bear.
Star checked her watch. She knew her mum was now desperately ill. It was 8 a.m. Lara had a maximum of four hours to live.
The family returned home in subdued mood. Lara followed in a pet ambulance and was stretchered into the lounge. She lay on the floor, her breathing difficult and her nose bone dry.
‘Come on, kids,’ said Mr Cook. ‘Your mum and I don’t agree with what you did but we understand why you did it.’ All eyes fell on Lara. ‘There’s nothing you can do. We’ve been up all night.’ He smiled. ‘Let’s get some sleep.’
The children volunteered to bed down in the lounge with their beloved pet. Ben and Sophie went nose to toe on the sofa and Ollie curled up on the chair. Star and Spud snuggled up to their poorly mum. Silence fell on the room as everyone slept. The clock seemed to tick louder than normal, a deadly reminder that Lara’s life was slipping away.
At 9 a.m. Ben was woken by a text message. His bleary eyes checked it and he sat upright. ‘Can’t let GM die. Already in big trouble. Fancy more? Only u + pups outside now.’
Ben shook his sister and brother awake. ‘The prof wants me to help him,’ he croaked. ‘I think he’s got another plan. I’m taking the puppies. I need you to cover for me.’
‘No way,’ said Sophie. ‘I’m coming too.’
‘You can’t. It’s too dangerous,’ Ben replied. ‘Just cover, OK?’
Sophie looked at the sleeping dog. ‘OK,’ she agreed.
‘Is this another spy-pup mission?’ asked Ollie excitedly.
Spud and Star wagged furiously.
Who dares wins, panted Star.
Ben grabbed his backpack and slipped quietly out of the front door.
Sophie and Ollie watched from the window as Ben and the puppies got into the professor’s van. It pulled away slowly and quietly. Sophie checked the clock and then Lara. Three hours and counting.
Once away from the house the professor put his foot down and the van accelerated noisily. ‘What’s up, Prof?’ woofed Star. ‘What’s the plan?’
‘OK, Ben,’ said the scientist, ‘here’s the deal. I’m already in the biggest trouble I’ve ever been in, and that’s before I speak to your mother properly. I’m facing disciplinary measures. Possibly even the sack. Maybe a stint in prison myself,’ he winced. ‘Breaking that evil man out of prison was a stupid thing to do. But we can’t just let GM451 die. She’s my life’s work. I…’ he began. ‘I… I love her. There, I’ve said it. Prison or no prison, I owe it to GM451 to give it my best shot.’
‘So what are we going to do?’ asked Ben.
The puppies’ tails were wagging furiously. They liked the professor’s fighting spirit.
‘I know I did some very stupid things last night, but I did have one success. Before Big escaped in the pedalo,’ he explained, ‘I planted a bugging device on him.’ The professor pressed a button and his dashboard lit up. ‘That dot is the evil man. Remember his last words to me? About Brazil? He’s heading for the airport. And we’re going to track him down and get the antidote off him. We still have a few hours to save GM451 and I’m going to give it my all.’
‘Will it be dangerous?’ asked Ben, his heart pounding.
‘One hundred per cent,’ said the professor, taking his eyes off the road for a second and casting a glance at Ben and the pups. ‘Are you up for it?’
The puppies’ tongues lolloped out and their eyes shone. ‘Never been more up for anything in my entire life!’ woofed Star.
‘Agent Spud reporting for duty,’ wagged her brother.
Ben looked at the puppies and took a deep breath. ‘A hundred per cent danger,’ he said. ‘Bring it on!’
18. All Aboard
The professor’s van pulled up outside the perimeter of the airfield. It was a relatively minor airport with a cabin for an office and one thin strip of tarmac. Within the fence they could see a few small planes. They watched as Mr Big emerged from a car and marched into the tiny airport office. ‘Probably hiring a plane to take him abroad,’ guessed the professor. ‘Let’s call the police.’
‘Too late,’ said Ben, pointing into the distance. Professor Cortex put the binoculars to his eyes and watched as the criminal marched up to a small aeroplane and hauled open the door. He threw in a bag and then shut the door again. A lorry lumbered out of an airport garage and pulled up at the plane. Mr Big and the lorry driver spoke for a few seconds before the escapee went back towards the office and the driver began refuelling the plane.
‘Here’s our chance,’ said the professor. ‘We’ve got a few minutes while he refuels. Then he’ll be taking off. We have to get the puppies on to that plane so we can stop him before he leaves.’
Spud punched the air in delight. ‘What an adventure,’ he whooped. ‘Being a spy pup is the best thing ever!’
‘Calm down, bro,’ barked Star. ‘We’ve got a lot of thinking to do. We need to work out how to get on that plane without Mr Big or the lorry driver seeing us.’
The professor put the binoculars to his eyes and scanned the airfield again. He could see Mr Big buying a coffee from a machine. ‘It’s now or never,’ he said. ‘This is our moment, pups,’ he gulped. ‘No,’ he corrected, ‘this is your mum’s moment. We just need to get you on the other side of this fence.’
‘I’ll help,’ suggested Ben. ‘I can put the pups on leads and pretend to be walking them. I can get through the fence and accidentally wander on to the airfield. If anyone tells me off, I’ll just pretend I didn’t know.’
‘And when we get close enough you can open the plane door, let us off our leads, we can scamper on to the plane – and get the antidote!’ woofed Spud. ‘It’s perfect.’
‘Not quite perfect,’ corrected his sister. ‘But probably the best we can do in the limited time we have.’
The professor was reluctant. He was already in massive trouble. Getting Ben involved in more danger was just digging him into an even bigger hole. ‘It’s a risk,’ he said aloud.
‘But the pups will be on the plane, not me,’ pleaded Ben. ‘And they’re trained agents, so if anyone can stop Mr Big they can.’
There was a moment’s silence, broken only by the thumping of Spud’s tail. ‘OK,’ agreed the professor. ‘Go, go, go!’
Mrs Cook pee
red into the lounge to check on Lara. ‘Where’s Ben?’ she asked. ‘And the puppies?’ Sophie pretended to be asleep. Mum touched Sophie on the shoulder to wake her. Sophie yawned and stretched. ‘Where’s your brother and Star and Spud?’ she asked, this time a little more seriously.
‘They couldn’t sleep,’ said Sophie. ‘So Ben took them for walkies.’
‘Oh,’ said Mrs Cook, relaxing a little. ‘Where did they go?’
‘Not sure,’ replied Sophie truthfully. ‘But I’m sure they’ll be back soon,’ she said hopefully.
Professor Cortex took some wire cutters from the back of his van and handed them to Ben. The boy walked the puppies casually along the side of the perimeter fence then, as they pretended to have a toilet stop, he bent down to cut a small hole in the wire. He pulled the wire back and squeezed through, getting his backpack caught in the process. Star grabbed it with her teeth and unhooked it, then the puppies scampered through, their tails swishing excitedly. Ben picked up their leads and they dragged him along, noses to the grass.
They walked past Trespassers will be prosecuted and Beware of the dogs signs.
Star gulped. ‘The dogs on the picture sure look big and scary.’
‘We’re trained in martial arts,’ reminded her brother. ‘Mum’s passed on her knowledge. I hope those dogs don’t pick on us, for their sake!’
Ben watched from a distance as the tanker driver removed the hose from the plane. He jumped into his cab and the lorry trundled back to base. Time was running out. Ben led the puppies towards the small aircraft, then crouched down and let them off their leads. He felt around in his backpack as his mobile vibrated. ‘Yes,’ he whispered, ducking behind one of the wings.
‘He’s coming,’ hissed Professor Cortex, nearly dropping his binoculars in alarm. He watched from afar as Mr Big strode from the office towards the now refuelled plane. ‘Benjamin, get the dogs into the plane and make your escape.’