by Axel Lewis
Cabbie edged ahead, but Zoom was quickly getting back to full power himself. As the road widened and the finish line got nearer, three racers – Cabbie, Lightning and Zoom – were side by side, neck and neck.
Jimmy glanced across at Princess Kako in her silver motorcycle leathers and helmet, her face hidden behind a smoked black visor. Then he fixed his eyes back on the road, concentrating on every bend, every rock, every millimetre of the racetrack.
Without warning, a thundering blaze of flame exploded from Lightning’s exhaust pipe and Princess Kako shot ahead at an incredible speed.
“Time for the rocket-boosters, Jimmy!” said Cabbie. “The red button’s flashing.”
“Not yet, Cabbie,” said Jimmy, his voice calm and steady as Lightning sailed into the distance. “We only have ten seconds of rocket fuel left in the tank because we used some up earlier. We’ve only got one chance, so we’ve got to get it right.”
He glanced across at Zoom. For a moment, his eyes met Horace’s and Jimmy saw the other boy’s gritted teeth, his face creased with anger.
Not looking so smug now, is he? Jimmy thought.
“Come on, come on, we need rocket-boosters now!” Cabbie yelled again.
“Not yet, Cabbie,” shouted back Jimmy above the roar of the engine. “Not yet.”
“But look!” shouted Cabbie. “The finish line! Just over one kilometre.”
Ahead, a huge crowd had gathered at the finish line and the black and white chequered flags were flapping in the Nevada wind.
“Finish line in 0.7 kilometres,” said Cabbie.
Jimmy rested his finger on the flashing red rocket-booster button.
“Finish line in 0.5 kilometres,” warned Cabbie, his voice getting higher and more urgent. Zoom and Cabbie hurtled towards it, getting every last ounce of speed out of their engines.
Jimmy wiped his sweating hand on his jeans, and rested his finger on the flashing button once more.
“Finish line in 0.3 kilometres. At current speed, that’s in ten seconds,” Cabbie cried.
Princess Kako and Lightning were getting further away and nearly across the finish line. We can’t catch Princess Kako, Jimmy said to himself. But there’s no way I’m letting a spoilt brat like Horace Pelly beat me.
He locked eyes with Horace as the two racers touched wheels. Sparks flew off their bodywork and Horace gnashed his teeth in frustration. As the princess crossed the line, punching a fist into the air and saluting the screaming crowd, Jimmy took a deep breath ... and pressed the flashing button!
The world blurred for a second as the rocket-boosters fired up. Jimmy was forced back into his seat as Cabbie went from fast to super-fast in a single second.
“Nooooooo!” shrieked Horace as Jimmy and Cabbie hit the line, just 10 centimetres ahead of Zoom.
The crowd roared and the chequered flag waved. As Cabbie fired his retro-rockets to slow them to a stop, Jimmy looked out of the window at thousands of smiling faces looking down on him from the stands.
He stuck his head out of Cabbie’s window, raised his hands in the air to salute the fans and shouted, “Yeeeeesss!”
Chapter 15 - The Results
“We did it, Cabbie!” Jimmy whooped in delight.
“Well done, Jimmy,” said Cabbie.
“Me?” said Jimmy, grinning broadly. “Well done, Cabbie, I think you mean!”
“We were a pretty good team, weren’t we?” the taxi replied.
“I didn’t think we’d finish the race, let alone come second!” Jimmy laughed. “And we beat Horace Pelly!”
Jimmy watched in disbelief as one by one the other racers crossed the line.
“Come on,” said Cabbie, firing up his engines again, “let’s have a look at the results boards.” They headed for the main grandstand, where a huge hovering display board was just about to show the final results.
“What are we waiting for?” Jimmy wondered aloud, climbing out of Cabbie. “Everyone knows Princess Kako came first and we came second.”
The display boards flashed, numbers whirring, and high above them sailed Lord Leadpipe’s airship, his grinning face projected on its side once more.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” boomed Lord Leadpipe’s voice from the loudspeakers, “the results of this thrilling first leg of the Robot Races Championship are as follows...”
“In first place, with ten points,” boomed Lord Leadpipe, “it’s ... Princess Kako and Lightning.” The crowd cheered and the newspaper reporters swarmed around the princess and her robobike, their cameras flashing.
“In second place, with eight points,” said Lord Leadpipe, “it’s ... Jimmy Roberts and Cabbie!”
Jimmy felt his heart swell in his chest until he thought it would explode.
“In third place,” said Lord Leadpipe, “it’s Horace Pelly and Zoom. But,” continued Lord Leadpipe, “Horace Pelly will have two points deducted – repeat two points deducted – following the use of unauthorized gadgetry and suspicious conduct.”
“What!” screeched Horace Pelly. “Unauthorized? Suspicious? Is he calling me a cheat? Dad!” he shrieked, stamping his foot. “Dad! Get over here! And bring those NASA idiots with you!”
“So Horace Pelly and Zoom,” continued Lord Leadpipe, “are in equal third place on four points with Chip Travers and Dug. Missy McGovern and Monster have two points. Samir Bahur and Maximus did not complete the course and so are yet to score.”
Jimmy watched as Horace bellowed at his father and kicked dents in Zoom’s doors, but he soon lost sight of them as he and Cabbie were swamped by reporters with cameras and notebooks asking them all kinds of questions.
“How did you feel, knowing you were favourite to come last?”
“How do you feel about coming second?”
“What are your chances in the next race?”
“Who built your racer?”
“What were your tactics?”
Jimmy stood with his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish, and only one thought in his head: find Grandpa.
“I’ll answer that question,” came Cabbie’s voice from behind Jimmy. “At first,” Cabbie explained to the journalist, “we played it cool. Keeping our heads down. Not wanting to take the lead, but—”
Jimmy pushed his way through the crowd, leaving Cabbie to enjoy his moment in the spotlight. He was looking for a glimpse of Grandpa’s wild white hair. And there it was, bobbing its way towards him. He had his arms outstretched, with a smile so wide it nearly met round the back of his head. Jimmy leaped into Grandpa’s arms and they both hugged till they were gasping for breath.
“Well done, my boy,” Grandpa finally managed to splutter. “Well done!”
The crowd around them clapped and cheered.
“Thanks for your help out there,” said Chip, pushing through the crowd and shaking Jimmy by the hand until his arm ached. “I’d still be there now if you hadn’t come along and saved me.”
“No problem,” said Jimmy.
“Congratulations, Jimmy,” said a familiar voice behind him. Jimmy turned slowly to meet the twinkling eyes and rosy red cheeks of one of the richest and most powerful men on the planet – Lord Leadpipe. “You and Cabbie drove a marvellous race. Beautifully done. That’s one of the finest performances I think I’ve seen in all the years we’ve held the competition. And certainly one of the closest finishes.” His smile broadened and he leaned forward to pat Jimmy on the shoulder. “Why don’t you introduce me to the rest of your team. Is this your mechanic over here...?” Lord Leadpipe turned to Grandpa. “Good lord,” he said. “You’re ... I mean, it’s—”
“Wilfred Roberts,” finished Grandpa coldly. “Hello, Ludwick. It’s been a long time.”
“It’s so nice to see you after all these years,” Lord Leadpipe said, a smile spreading across his very-famous face. But what are you doing here?”
“Jimmy’s my grandson,” explained Grandpa, his voice growing colder. “And I built his racer, Cabbie. You see, Ludwick, my robot might not be as flashy and shiny as some of yours, but I’ve still got a few robo-tricks up my sleeves.”
“Well,” said Lord Leadpipe, looking flustered, “it’s – it’s lovely to see you again.”
“Is it?” snapped Grandpa. “I wish I could say the same.”
“Oh dear,” said Lord Leadpipe, his monocle dropping out of his eye and his face turning an even deeper shade of red. “Well,” he went on, trying to fix a smile on his face as a swarm of newspaper reporters and photographers surrounded them, “you’ve got a grandson to be proud of. I noticed him stopping off to help one of the other competitors who had got into a spot of bother, even though he knew it would probably cost him the race. It’s not every driver that would do such a thing. Either of you,” said Lord Leadpipe turning to Jimmy and Chip, “could have won that race, you know.”
Jimmy and Chip went bright red and stared at the ground, each burning with pure pleasure. “And who knows,” added Lord Leadpipe, “one of you may well win the next leg of the Robot Races Championship. Talking of which, I have an announcement to make.”
Lord Leadpipe waved a hand in the air and Joshua Johnson, the robot co-ordinator with the enormous eyebrows, came running over with a microphone. He still had cotton wool stuffed deep in his ears.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Lord Leadpipe said into the microphone, his voice ringing out around the Grand Canyon. “I am delighted to announce that the next stage of the Robot Races Championship will take place in just one month’s time. I can’t reveal where just yet – but rest assured it will be another action-packed, adrenaline-fuelled, no-holds-barred fight to the chequered flag! We look forward to seeing you all there! And remember, keeeeep racing!”
Jimmy and Grandpa looked at Cabbie, and then at each other, their eyes twinkling with excitement.
“A month?” said Cabbie, revving his engines. “Grandpa, get your spanner, we’ve got work to do! Today’s race might be finished – but the championship’s only just begun!”
RESULTS TABLE
RACE 1: Canyon Chaos
Read on...
...for a sneak peek of the next Robot Races adventure.
Rainforest Rampage
“Come on, Cabbie! You can do it!” shouted Jimmy at the top of his voice. Cabbie squealed around a corner, his back end swerving away from the road. He was going so fast he nearly toppled over the side of the narrow track into the deep canyon below. The wheels span as the robot racer tried to speed off, sending a cloud of dust up into the air.
“Well, hot dawg! If that ain’t the slyest, smartest bit of driving I seen in years!” said the American commentator on the TV.
Jimmy smiled proudly. “Watch your speed, Cabbie!” he shouted at the old, flickering television. Of course, he had no reason to worry. He knew exactly what would happen next in the race – he had been driving Cabbie at the time.
Jimmy and his best friend Max were sat on the mouldy old sofa in Jimmy’s living room, watching a re-run of the first stage of the Robot Races Championship. On the screen the plume of dust and exhaust smoke settled to show Cabbie racing along the sandy track, a heat haze rising in front of him. The camera rose to show the other contestants.
There was Princess Kako in her silver leathers, riding her robobike, Lightning. She looked effortlessly cool as she zipped along the track.
Chip, the American racer, was next in his large yellow digger-like robot called Dug. The size and weight of Dug meant that he didn’t look as elegant as Princess Kako, more like a terrifying herd of buffalo stampeding down the track.
In his deadly-looking hoverbot Maximus, Samir – the quiet Egyptian boy – swept by as smoothly as a skater across an ice rink.
Missy, the Australian tomboy, trundled along in her four-wheeled giant racer, Monster.
Finally the camera panned to show the sleek black racing-car like robot named Zoom, and Jimmy winced as the camera turned to its driver, Horace Pelly. Horace had been annoying enough when Jimmy was at school with him, but now they were racing against each other, he had hit new levels of smugness. Jimmy couldn’t believe it when Horace flipped the visor up on his helmet and winked at the camera, his gleaming white teeth reflecting in the sunlight before he accelerated off down the track.
Jimmy rolled his eyes at Horace. What a show off, he thought.
On the TV the racers were coming to the final section of the track and Jimmy allowed himself a grin. After all, he knew how the race ended!
“This is shaping up to be one of the most exciting finishes of a Robot Race ever!” bellowed the TV commentator.
“Go, Cabbie, go!” Max whooped in the living room, bouncing up and down on the sofa like a jack-in-the-box.
Jimmy watched as he saw himself and his rickety robot Cabbie closing in on the two state-of-the-art robots, Lightning and Zoom.
Jimmy had been watching the Robot Races for years and he still couldn’t believe that now he was actually taking part in them. Even though he knew how it all turned out, he couldn’t help feeling nervous as he watched himself speed down the home straight. With the finish line in sight, Princess Kako had opened up a gap between herself and the other two racers, leaving Jimmy and Horace battling it out for second place.
“Fire your rocket-boosters!” Max shouted at the TV, and Jimmy grinned. It was so strange to hear his best friend cheering him on in the same way that they’d always cheered for their favourite robot racers.
On the flickering screen, the other Jimmy held his nerve, waiting until the last moment to use his boosters. With the chequered flag in the air just a few hundred metres away, there was an explosion of fire from Cabbie’s thrusters. The rockets propelled him across the line into second place.
“Yes!” yelled Jimmy.
“Awesome!” shrieked Max.
They leaped up in the air and high-fived before doing a little jig together in the middle of the room. Jimmy immediately felt a bit silly celebrating a finish which had taken place over a week ago, but the re-run was the first chance he’d had to see the race since he’d taken part in it. The TV cut to the commentators in the studio.
“Well, I’ll be...! It don’t get more exciting than that! Princess Kako rockets into first place, while underdog Jimmy Roberts from” – the presenter paused while he tried to say the name of Jimmy’s town – “Smed-ing-ham in the UK, takes second. A fine performance, and we’re not the only ones who think so!”
The TV cut to a familiar face. Big Al, one of the superstars of Robot Races, stood alongside his robot, Crusher. He was Jimmy and Max’s favourite ever contender. Jimmy had posters of Big Al all over his bedroom walls. Max was an even bigger fan. He had once asked his mum if he could get a tattoo of Crusher.
“Big Al, when it was announced that Lord Leadpipe was going to run the Robot Races Championship for children under sixteen years old, did you ever think the talent would be this good?” the interviewer asked.
The large American racer laughed – a big, booming laugh that shook Jimmy’s old TV so hard that the picture frame on top of it slid off and crashed to the floor.
“We all know that Lord Leadpipe likes to shake things up, and he’s a smart guy. He knew what he was doing! The racing I’ve seen from these youngsters has been crazy, man! That first race was amazing!” Big Al said, almost spitting out his gum in excitement.
“Who stood out for you?” asked the interviewer.
Big Al turned to look at the camera. “Folks, you only need to remember one name in this competition, and that’s Jimmy Roberts.”
Jimmy’s mouth fell open as he heard his name being mentioned by one of his heroes.
“Jimmy’s got it all – speed, style and timing. His racing last week was outstanding!”
Back home, Jimmy could barely breathe with shoc
k. A little bit of dribble left his mouth and plopped onto the carpet.
“The robots this year are great,” continued Big Al. “There are some sweet designs out there, but Cabbie’s the one to watch. He reminds me of Crusher years ago when I first built him. He doesn’t look all that great, but he’s got soul.”
Max jumped up and down on the sofa in excitement, his floppy brown hair swishing in different directions. “Big Al is a fan of my best friend. That practically makes him my friend! Jimmy, do you think he’d take us for a spin in Crusher?”
But Jimmy was too speechless to reply. He felt like he was in a dream. It was just a few weeks since he had first heard of the special Robot Races Championship for children. And on that very same day he’d learned that his eccentric old grandpa who drove a taxi for a living was actually a robotics genius. Within days Grandpa had knocked together a robot racer made out of his old taxi and some spare parts he had lying around in his shed. The next thing Jimmy knew, he was in the local time trials, and when he sped to victory, he became a contender for the championship. He was whisked off to the Grand Canyon to compete against the best young racers in the world.
Sometimes it felt so awesome that Jimmy thought he might explode.
“Well, I suppose I better get home,” Max said. “Mum wants to take me and my nan to the shops.”
“Sounds like fun,” Jimmy replied, pulling a face as he opened the front door.
“Not really,” said Max. “I’ll have to spend an hour watching them choose a pair of woolly socks. It’s nowhere near as much fun as hanging around with your grandpa.”
Jimmy grinned. Max was right: living with Grandpa was pretty cool. He watched Max trudge off down the street, then went and peered out of the back window. At the bottom of the garden was a rickety old wooden shed with small dirty windows. It looked like the kind of building that you would use for storing a lawnmower and maybe a couple of spades, but Jimmy knew that behind those doors lay the entrance to his grandpa’s secret underground laboratory. It had been built by the most secret department of the Secret Services, and it was where Grandpa had built the world’s first-ever robot...