by Paul Bristow
“Over here,” said John. “Look!” He pointed to a desk and lamp tucked away between some crates. The desk was scattered with old newspaper pages, comics, yellowing letters and photos – all of them about Tin Jimmy.
“Someone is very interested in your robot,” said Cam.
A tin robot-shaped piggy bank stood under the lamp. John picked it up and rattled it. A sigil coin fell out, catching all of them except John by surprise.
“What we have here,” said John, as he examined it, “is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
“To be fair John, we did just break into his office,” said Megan.
John had also picked up a little leather pouch beside a box of highlighter pens.
“That’s the one from last night!” said Megan.
Carefully tipping the coin into his hand, John smiled. “This one was mine.” He passed the sigil to Megan, and stroked the bag between his fingers. “My dad made me this wee bag for taking money to school. I haven’t seen it for years.” As if it were the most precious treasure, John gently tied the little pouch strings together and placed it in one of his many pockets.
“Ok, this has gone well; three–nil to us now,” said Cam. “Let’s quit while we’re ahead and get out of here.”
“TJ and Megan should take a sigil each for now in case Cam and I need to change,” said John. “Plus, that way we’ve split them up if there’s any trouble.”
“Shouldn’t we take all this stuff about TJ?” asked Megan, pointing to the files spread out across Mr Finn’s desk.
John was carefully placing the robot piggy bank back where he had found it. “It might take them longer to figure out someone’s been here if we don’t. Cam’s right, let’s just go before a sculpture catches up with us.”
Chapter 34.
Furs and Feathers
Outside, Megan carefully shut the back door. “Oh wait,” she said, “did you set the alarm again?”
“Why would I do that?” asked John. “They are the baddies, I don’t care if they get burgled.”
“Plus I’ve forgotten the code already,” said Cam.
“Two nine zero nine,” said TJ.
John, Cam and Megan all stared at him.
“Grease and dirt signatures on the most-used buttons,” he said, tapping his eyes by way of explanation. “After that it’s just a matter of variables. And I am finding those much easier to work with since Megan’s upgrade.”
“So,” said Cam, frowning, “why did we bother going in the back way as animals then?”
“Oh,” said TJ, “I thought you could use the practice.”
“Anyway,” said John, quickly changing the subject, “we got what we came for, so…”
Megan was no longer paying attention to the conversation, she was looking over towards Civic Square, where the Phoenix Egg sculpture had recently been installed.
“Uhm,” she said, “I think the statue’s hatched.”
The others followed her gaze to see the ornately crafted steel eggshell, unfolded like an opened Chocolate Orange.
“I knew there was something in there,” said Cam.
“Yeah, so the big question is, where has it gone?” said Megan.
The answer arrived suddenly from above. Something swept at TJ, metal talons screeching against his tin skin, before it shot upwards again.
“Bird robot,” said Megan, as the sculpture settled clunkily on the Waterworx roof above them. “Makes sense.”
“Quick!” John pushed Megan and Cam away from the robot towards an alleyway, and TJ marched out towards the square. Wings outstretched, Phoenix squawked and shrieked at him. Flames burst from its beak.
“TJ!” shouted Megan.
“This is his fight,” explained John. “Neither of you are fireproof, so stay out of it.”
“No, he needs help!” Megan struggled to get past John.
“He’s fought wars against Napoleon and Hitler. I think he’ll be fine.”
Megan quickly looked around the narrow alley where they were protected from the flames. The sides of the filthy buildings climbed towards the sky. She glanced back at Cam and John.
“Sorry,” she said, and flew straight up into the evening clouds.
***
Everything looked prettier from above. Grey streets softened into patchwork, making everything seem like it was in the right place, part of some larger pattern – except the bit that was on fire.
Steam and black smoke billowed upwards from the riverside as Tin Jimmy and Phoenix clashed. It was difficult to make out the fight properly, but it didn’t look like TJ was winning. Phoenix just kept sweeping upwards and flying down, talons out, flames blasting at its prey.
The sculpture, however, wasn’t thinking about what might be above it. Megan dived down, landing hard upon its back. She began pulling at its head from behind, yanking at the beautifully sculpted metal feathers.
This certainly got its attention; it spun around and upwards, spiralling through the air, desperately trying to shake her off. Megan held on for as long as she could, but when she fell, instead of dropping towards the ground, she pushed further up, fairly sure that Phoenix wouldn’t be expecting that. She was absolutely right. This moment of confusion gave her enough time to launch herself once again at the sculpture’s head.
Megan summoned every ounce of strength she had, genuinely hoping she might be able to knock its head off entirely. She stunned the sculpture enough to knock it down towards the ground, where she could now see that TJ, a gorilla and a polar bear were waiting to help.
Megan and Phoenix crashed onto the cobbled dock, the statue’s outstretched wing slicing a nearby bench in two.
“Hold the mouth!” shouted Megan to John. “Stop it fire-breathing.”
She scrambled back as the polar bear clamped its mighty paws around the sculpture’s beak while gorilla-Cam sat on its feet.
TJ, meanwhile, was busy searching through the metal shell Phoenix had escaped from. “I think I have it,” he announced, tearing a huge handful of wires out from inside the eggshell. In the tangled mess of cables, Cam spotted the little red and green light he had seen inside Chronos just as it flickered out. There was a strangled squawk and Phoenix stopped moving.
Megan stared quickly around Civic Square. Amazingly, no one had responded to the commotion yet, but they wouldn’t have long before the fire brigade turned up to check out the smoke. “Is everyone ok?” she asked.
TJ walked over and hugged her, his tin skin still hot from Phoenix’s flames. “Thank you Megan.”
“You’re welcome,” she smiled, “but we’d really better get out of here.”
The polar bear pointed back towards the alleyway they had originally been hiding in, then loped off towards it. He had already hauled up the drain cover by the time the others reached him. Turning back into John, he issued a hoarse “Follow me” and lowered himself down into the drain.
“Great,” Cam said. “I was wondering what could be more fun than breaking and entering.”
He, Megan and TJ splashed into the dark after John.
***
Out by Civic Square, hidden from view, Kevin quietly replayed the footage he had just filmed on his mobile phone. Massive wild animals smashing up statues? It was just too good not to share.
THE
GREENOCK
GAZETTE 50p
JAIL BREAK!!!
Disgraced Waterworx CEO Egon Finn has shocked prison staff with his ‘inexplicable’ disappearance from his cell last night.
Only a few weeks ago, Finn was imprisoned for designing and manufacturing enormous violent robots disguised as public art sculptures, which attacked citizens and knocked down listed historic buildings. A search of his house later revealed a huge underground laboratory filled with dangerous weapons and plans for world domination.
He was also being held under suspicion of poisoning the water and causing the recent surge of mutated fish washing up on the shores of the Clyde. Prison
guards arrived at his cell this morning to discover a huge hole melted in the wall. Despite his cell being more than one hundred feet above the ground, it is assumed Finn escaped through the hole.
The public are warned not to approach Finn. He should be considered very dangerous and potentially diabolical.
Chapter 35.
Two and Three
After the footage was shared across every phone in the town, it was more important than ever to maintain a low profile. Luckily, the shaky recording didn’t start until Megan and Phoenix had already crashed to the ground, so she wasn’t visible in the film. Unluckily, that did make it look like John and Cam were just battering a helpless sculpture rather than defending themselves from a terrifying, fire-breathing robot bird.
The weird thing was, when they all watched the film back at John’s cave the next day, the gorilla and polar bear did look unrealistic. Perhaps it was because they seemed so out of place in the town square, your brain just forced it to make sense. All the same, it gave them something to think about. So when stories also started circulating about a wee boy who claimed a flying girl had saved him from drowning, well, it was time for a talk.
“I can’t believe Richard didn’t mention me,” said Cam. “I was the one who actually pushed him out of the water. Unbelievable. This must be how Robin feels all the time.”
“I am not Batman,” said Megan. “We do need to be more careful not to be seen though.”
“This is why I think we should have costumes,” said Cam. “Or at least you should when I’m disguised as an animal.”
“He’s right,” said John.
“Yes,” said Megan, “because crazy colourful superhero outfits will work like camouflage.”
“Look, even if it’s just a mask for now, Megan, you really should think about it,” said John. “It’s just safer that way.”
“It seems silly,” said Megan, “like we’re playing a game or something.”
“Well, we aren’t,” said John. “If people know who you are, they can find out who your family are too.”
Megan thought of John, hiding away from his family for years just to keep them safe. Suddenly a mask didn’t seem quite so silly.
“But we’re winning!” said Cam, trying to lighten the mood a bit. “We have three sigils and we know where the fourth one is.” He pulled out his phone and showed John his digital map. “The final place to go is the old Sugar Sheds. Unfortunately, that’s where they’re putting the last sculpture, so there’ll be a robot waiting for us.”
Megan was frowning. “There are five sigils, though,” she said. “That’s right, isn’t it John?”
“Yep. Five sigils. Five guardians. And we’ve only got three of each.”
“So how come we only have one place left to look?”
“We could do with more guardians as well,” said Cam. “That way we could maybe take on one robot each.”
“Yeah. There should be a water person like Hannah and an invisible person like Tam.”
“Great, it should be really easy to find someone invisible,” said Cam.
A sudden beeping made them all jump.
“Morse code again,” said TJ, tapping his chest.
“Any change to the message?” asked Megan hopefully.
“No,” said TJ. “Still incomplete.”
“I really wish we knew who that was,” said Cam. “Maybe they have the other sigil. Do you remember yet who might be contacting you?”
TJ suddenly began banging his head with both of his metal hands. “What. What. What.”
“TJ! Calm down!” said Megan.
“What. What. What?” There was a small pop and a few sparks, then TJ was silent.
“He’s gone funny again,” said Cam. “I thought your upgrade was supposed to stop him malfunctioning every time he got a Morse-code message.”
“I thought so too,” said Megan. “Maybe he got damaged by Phoenix. Hang on.” She took a screwdriver from John’s shelf and carefully unscrewed the plate at the back of the robot’s head.
“Cool,” said Cam, “he looks much more interesting on the inside.”
“I was a bit worried that the solar panel might not be a good idea with our weather,” said Megan. “Perhaps he needs a back-up power source. Are you ok, TJ?”
“What. Yes. I… I… I…”
“We’re sorting it TJ,” said Megan.
Cam was peering inside the back of the robot’s head, looking slightly worried. “Meg, what’s that?” He pointed to a large microchip connected to a little bulb that was flashing red and green.
“Dunno,” said Megan. “That microchip is one of the older pieces. Every time I tried to disconnect it, he completely switched off. It was wired to the Morse-code machine originally.”
“Right,” said Cam, “but you fixed that?”
“Well, there’s still a connection, but the Goozberri Five is the main control now.”
“Ok,” said Cam, “it’s just that Chronos and Phoenix have the exact same bit inside them.”
“What? Seriously? TJ, do you know what this chip is?” asked Megan, tapping it.
Sensing her hand inside his head, TJ moved it slowly from side to side as if trying to crack his neck.
“Yes,” said TJ, “communications from Finn.”
“Finn?!” said Megan. “What do you mean? You speak with Mr Finn?”
“There are five,” said TJ.
Chapter 36.
Heroes and Villains
There had never been a more awkward silence, and considering how rude and tactless Cam could be, that was really saying something.
“Finn! Mr Finn?!” shouted Cam angrily. “From Waterworx?! The bad guys!”
John looked horrified. “What does this mean? Have you been spying on us?”
Megan stepped in front of the bewildered robot, firing a warning glance at John and Cam. “No. He wouldn’t do that to us.”
TJ clicked and whirred in confusion. “Megan, I do not understand.”
“It’s not your fault, TJ. It’s not your fault,” said Megan.
“Yes it is his fault, Meg,” said Cam. “He’s why the sculptures keep turning up wherever we go!”
John was holding his head in his hands. “TJ, how long have you been in contact with Mr Finn?”
“Professor Finn reactivated me in 1953. It was forgot-ten. Until now.”
John was shaking, and patterns of fur were rippling in waves just under his skin. Cam could see he was struggling hard not to become a wild animal, to lash out. “I can’t believe this Jimmy. The day of the submarine attack… That’s how they knew we were coming… You were our friend…”
“He is your friend,” said Megan. “He couldn’t help it.”
“Mr Watt built me to protect,” said TJ. “I protect.”
“Well, you didn’t protect Hannah and Tam!” roared John.
Cam quietly stepped beside John, just in case he had to move quickly to stop him.
“You just do what you are programmed to, you can’t help it,” said Megan.
“I do not want to,” said TJ, still shaking his head. “It was forgotten.”
TJ stood, clicking and whirring as he tried to find a way for it not to be true.
“Professor Finn must have known you were a guardian and reprogrammed you to find the others and act as a double agent,” said Megan.
“I did not know!” whirred TJ. “I would not harm.”
John had slumped into his chair. “Some guardians,” he said. “We were leading the bad guys to the sigils all along.”
“Not quite. You did it right, especially when Gran hid them herself,” said Megan. “You kept the sigils safe from Professor Finn. We just have to get all the sigils before his son finishes the job.”
***
Megan spent the next hour fiddling with the wires behind TJ’s tin skin, while John and Cam sat wordlessly in the shabby makeshift living room.
“It looks like Professor Finn’s rewiring made TJ send a regular signal di
splaying his GPS location.”
“So that’s how they always know where we are?” asked Cam.
“Yes,” said TJ, obviously once again dismayed at having put his friends in danger. “I am sorry. I did not know.”
“Remember there was beeping as soon as we switched TJ on? You thought he was a bomb.”
“Well, he did blow up my shed,” said Cam, “so I’d say I was half right.”
“There is a second function,” said TJ. “The Morse-code link allows two-way communication. I am programmed to respond.”
“And have you?” said Megan.
“I have sent no functional messages since 23 May 1965.”
“The day of the submarine attack,” growled John.
“I think you have been fighting it, TJ,” said Megan, “even if you don’t remember.”
“Is that why he goes all haywire whenever he receives the message?” asked Cam.
Megan suddenly got so excited she started hovering. “This is brilliant!”
TJ, Cam and John all looked at her, clearly not seeing how brilliant it was at all.
“Mr Finn can track TJ, right? And that means we’ve been leading them to the sigils this whole time.
“That explains why they haven’t tried harder to actually kill you…” John grumbled.
“Yes, and if we’ve been leading them to the sigils…”
“We can lead them the wrong way too,” said Cam. “We can send TJ somewhere else while we go and find the fourth sigil!”
John smiled for the first time in hours. “You’re both even smarter than my lot were, and there are only two of you. Sarah would have been so proud.”
“But it gets better,” said Megan. “We know Mr Finn can contact TJ, but he doesn’t know we know. Y’know? So we should pretend we don’t know.”
“Ok, I’m lost now,” said Cam. “And actually I think I’ve been doing pretty well.”
“Mr Finn keeps sending TJ the Morse-code signal but TJ hasn’t responded,” said Megan. “If he does respond, maybe Mr Finn will send him specific orders…”