In Search of the Time and Space Mach (9 page)

Max stepped into the building where they hoped to find Francis and she turned around to see Linden holding the door open for Ella.

‘Thanks Linden, that's sweet,' Ella said.

Sweet? That's worth throwing up on, thought Max.

Valerie led them to the elevator but standing in front of it was like standing in front of a giant bear in hibernation. There were no lights working and not a single crank of steal or cables to be heard.

‘Looks like we have to do the five floors on foot,' she said.

Max cringed with the thought that Linden would probably offer to carry Ella up.

On the stairs, Linden and Ella were talking quietly.

‘When do you have to go back to Australia?' Ella asked.

‘We have to leave in a few hours,' said Linden.

Ella was disappointed.

‘Can I give you this?'

She handed Linden a small white machine.

‘What is it?' he asked.

‘It's a communication, tracking and recording device,' Ella said proudly. ‘Mum made it so she and I can always be in contact with each other. Just
press this button here and a communication signal will go directly to us.'

‘That's great! Will it work all the way from Australia?' Linden asked.

‘Mum says it could work from the moon. So we can talk to each other every day.'

Big deal, thought Max, who was listening in to what they were saying.

Linden beamed and for a second Max thought he was actually going to give Ella a kiss.

She couldn't stand it any more.

‘Linden, can I talk to you?' she asked.

Ella knew something was wrong and stepped past Max to walk with her mum.

‘Linden, if we're going to find Francis, you're going to have to keep your mind on the job and not go all gooey-eyed over some girl.'

‘I wasn't all gooey-eyed. She gave me this,' he said, holding out Ella's present. ‘It's a communication, tracking and …'

‘I saw what was happening. You can chase girls when we get back to Australia. For now we've got an important mission to complete, or have you forgotten that?' Max snapped and walked on ahead.

Linden muttered to himself, ‘Maybe if you
were a little less stressed out we could finish the mission
and
have a good time.'

Max swung around.

‘What did you say?' she asked.

‘I said it's a shame the elevator isn't working because it's a hard climb,' Linden said, smiling.

Max was sceptical but spun around on her heel and walked on.

On level five, Valerie found the room she was looking for. The corridor was dark and there was a strong musty smell, like no one had bothered to open any windows for years.

‘This is it,' she said, looking dubiously around at the papers and rubbish littering the floor.

She knocked on the door.

They waited but heard nothing.

Valerie knocked again and this time they heard the crash of crockery followed by an angry snarl and mumbled complaining.

‘Stupid, half-witted, ridiculous …'

Valerie pulled Linden, Ella and Max behind her.

They jumped as they heard footsteps clumping towards them. Then there was a thump against the door and a gruff voice shouted, ‘What do you want?'

‘Francis? Is that you?' Valerie was shocked. It sounded like Francis, only older and very angry.

The voice yelled back, ‘Who wants to know?'

‘It's Valerie Liebstrom, and I've brought some people to see you.'

There was a pause before the angry voice yelled again.

‘Well I don't want to see anybody, so why don't you all just turn around and go back to where you came from?'

The hall went quiet and Max looked at Valerie.

‘Maybe if he knows Ben's my uncle, he'll listen to me,' she said.

Max stepped closer to the door.

‘Mr Williams, my name is Max and I've come all the way from Australia …'

Before she could finish, Francis shouted again.

‘Are you still there? I thought I told you to go away?'

Valerie put her hand on Max's shoulder.

‘Maybe we should leave,' she said.

But something in Max fired up and she suddenly lost her patience for this rude man and wanted him to know it. She and Linden had come too far and done too much to find Francis and now they were here, she wasn't sure he was even worth it. If this was how their mission was going to end, she was at least going to tell him what she thought.

‘Now you listen here. You may be sick of the world, but there are some people who'd like to talk to you. If it was up to me I'd have nothing to do with you because you sound like a mean and cranky old man, but Ben and Eleanor do care. But if that's the way you want to treat …'

‘Ben and Eleanor?' the voice barked, but this time less loudly.

Max and Valerie looked at each other.

‘They're my uncle and aunt and I just wanted …' Max began.

‘Well why didn't you say Ben was your uncle instead of just raving on?' Francis interrupted.

Ella, Linden, Valerie and Max stared at the door as the hall echoed with the sound of bolts being drawn. They had no idea what to expect and stood back apprehensively, waiting to see what this man looked like. When the final bolt was released, the door opened with a tired creak and the shadow of a man appeared from the darkness of the flat.

‘Well don't just stand there,' he said. ‘Come in.'

They filed in slowly and when Francis flicked on a small lamp, the whole place took on a dim, blurry focus. The flat was just one small room which was the kitchen, bedroom and lounge room all in one. On the floor near the lamp was a broken
tea cup, which Francis stepped over as he lowered himself into a large, dusty-looking lounge chair. There were piles of yellowing newspapers everywhere and frayed curtains covering the windows. The fireplace was filled with soot and ashes below a mantelpiece strewn with cups, papers, unopened mail and apple cores. In the corner was a small, unmade bed, scattered with twisted blankets and discarded clothes. In the kitchen area, the table was covered with sauce bottles, cups, plates, salt and pepper shakers and gooey leftovers from breakfast. Dishes piled in the sink like a crooked tower about to topple over. There was a small fridge with a broken handle and next to this, garbage bags sat like obedient pets, waiting to be taken out.

Max and Linden stared with open mouths. They'd never seen such a mess.

‘You might as well sit down,' offered Francis gruffly.

When Valerie and Ella sat on the two-seater lounge, a small cloud of dust ballooned around them. Linden perched on the armrest next to Ella and sneezed.

‘Bless you,' she said, smiling up at him.

Max rolled her eyes and moved away from them to sit on a wobbly kitchen chair near Francis.
She studied his face as he stared at the floor. In the photos he was young, handsome and smiling, but in person he was a small, bony man who looked more like a ghost. Everything about him was grey. Grey hair, grey skin, even his eyes were grey. He looked like someone whose hard times had sunk into his skin and stayed there.

Valerie was the most shocked.

‘How have you been, Francis?' she asked, trying to make her voice sound calm.

‘I've been better,' Francis hurrumphed.

He played with a piece of wool dangling from his frayed jumper and his trousers hung around him like they were from a past when he was a much bigger man. He kept his head down as he spoke to Max.

‘So what did Ben have to say?' he asked softly.

‘That he misses you and is sad you don't talk any more.'

Francis kept looking down.

‘He said that, did he?'

‘He also said you were close to inventing a Time and Space Machine,' said Max.

Francis looked up.

‘That's all in the past now,' he said sharply.

Linden moved forward on the armrest. ‘Ben has
created a Matter Transporter and that's how Max and I got here.'

‘He did?' Francis asked, unable to hide his increasing curiosity.

‘And we thought you'd like to come back to Australia and finish the Time and Space Machine with him,' said Max.

Francis looked down at his hands.

‘I'm finished with science,' he said curtly.

Max looked at Valerie. How were they going to convince him to come with them?

‘Francis, you love science,' Valerie said. ‘And your brother needs you.'

There was a pause before Francis spoke again.

‘When we were kids, Ben and I were very poor. Our dad ran out on us when we were young. Some nights we were so cold we slept in the same bed to keep warm. It was on one of those cold nights that Ben and I made a pact that we would always stick together and we would make something of ourselves so we'd never be poor again.'

Francis wrung his hands in front of him like he was trying to keep them warm.

‘Mr Blue offered us money we'd only ever dreamt of and a chance to save lots of kids from ever having to be cold or hungry. I thought we had
it all. We had money, we were helping the world and we were together. But the money made me blind to what was really going on. When Ben told me the truth about Mr Blue, I didn't want to believe it. If I did, I'd have to give up everything.'

Francis sighed. ‘I took someone else's word over my own brother's,' he said sadly. ‘That's something you can never forget.'

‘But Ben
has
forgotten it,' Max almost shouted in excitement. ‘He really wants to see you again.'

Francis smiled.

‘We were very close to making the machine work.'

‘Great, let's go,' yelled Max, standing up.

‘There's only one thing,' Francis interrupted. ‘There's one vital part of the machine we need. The Time and Space Retractor Meter.'

Max and Linden frowned.

‘When I left the Department of Science and New Technologies, I destroyed all the files and components of the machine except for that.'

Francis smiled like he was savouring his favourite dessert.

‘Mr Blue has been after it for years. He's offered me everything he could think of, but there's nothing that would make me work with him again, ever.'

‘Where is it?' Max asked.

‘It's in a locker at Victoria Station.'

Ella and Linden jumped up.

‘Let's go and get it,' they said.

They all stared at Francis as he made up his mind. Max gulped hard, hoping he'd agree to come with them.

‘As long as all the windows in the car are wound down. I get carsick,' explained Francis.

‘All right!' shouted Ella and Linden.

Francis picked up a crumpled coat that was draped on the back of his lounge chair as the others made their way out to the corridor. He turned to Max, trying to find the courage to ask what was bothering him.

‘You're sure Ben wants to see me?' he asked nervously.

‘He said it eats him up that you two parted so badly,' said Max.

Francis smiled and looked like he was going to cry. Max hated to see people cry. It was just too much emotion for her to bear. She said quickly, ‘We better get going.'

Max walked with Francis down the five flights of stairs.

‘Aren't you afraid Mr Blue is still after you?'

Francis laughed as he pulled his coat around him against the cold.

‘Mr Blue has long finished thinking about me,' he said.

‘How can you be sure?' asked Max.

‘He has spent years having people follow me. He had my every move watched to make sure I didn't tell the world about him and to find out if I was still working on the Time and Space Machine.'

‘But why didn't you ever go to the police about him?'

‘When it came down to it, it was just his word against ours and because he moved in some pretty important circles, people were never going to believe us against him.'

Francis ducked his head as he stepped into the car. He looked awkward as he fumbled to do up his seat belt. Max leant between the front seats and did it for him. He turned and gave her a crooked smile like he knew everything was going to be all right. But something bugged Max. After what she'd heard about Mr Blue, she wasn't sure he was the kind of person who gave up so easily.

Alex Crane wedged herself into the small passageway just outside the entrance of the Galactatron V that was orbiting somewhere between Mars and Jupiter. On either side of her she could hear the talking of the evil and foul-smelling Blastaroids who were guarding the Galactatron's entrance. One thing Alex had learnt about the Blastaroids was that, even though they were known as some of the most evil, cruel and repulsive henchmen in the Galaxy, they also had a weakness for incessant talking. Once they started talking, they just wouldn't shut up.

Inside the cabin HQ was Captain Clearstink Glump, the mastermind of one of the most dastardly plans to ever face planet Earth. He had decided during a brief visit to the planet that not only did he like Earth, but that it would look good in the front yard of his home in Galaxy 423 on the far side of Spectre 7. All he had to do was knock Earth out of its orbit, much like a marble out of a chalk circle, and he would have his wish. He was in the middle of toasting his certain victory with a tall glass of Viridion Blast, a mixture of ice-cream and melted chocolate he discovered during his Earth visit, as Alex affixed the Orbit Thruster onto her belt. All she needed to do was adjust the settings of
the Thruster which, if she got it right, would eject the evil ship from Earth's galaxy and place a force field around it preventing it from ever entering again. Once the process had begun, she would have sixty seconds to leave the ship and be collected by the Spyforce Space Probe which was circling nearby, or she would be flung from Earth forever.

‘Good luck, Crane. We'll be standing by for your pickup,' Spyforce Probe Deck radioed into her earpiece.

‘We are just minutes away from being rid of Clearstink forever,' replied Alex.

She heard the continual chatter of the foul Blastaroids near her as she entered the final numbers of the code.

‘Byebye, Clearstink,' she whispered. But as she pressed the detonator, a double reverse thrust from the ship's engines forced the Orbit Thruster from her grasp and she tumbled onto the floor in front of the large, evil-smelling feet of the Blastaroid guards. They hovered over her, laughing and shouting all sorts of unintelligible things as the seconds melted away for her to make her getaway.

What was she to do? How was she to get away from these intergalactic stinkbombs? The Galactatron V was about to be thrown out of
Earth's galaxy forever and she was their newest passenger. Was this the end of Alex Crane? Would she ever get away from the incessant chatter of the Blastaroid baboons? Would she

‘Hahaha!'

Max held her pen in the air above her notebook and tried to block the laughter out of her head. They were in the car on the way to Victoria Station and Linden and Ella hadn't stopped talking about what they could do when the Time and Space Machine was finished.

‘We could go to Alaska or Antarctica or Andalusia.'

‘Or we could travel back in time to the land of the pharaohs or the dinosaurs or King Arthur and his knights.'

Linden rolled his eyes. ‘It'd make history lessons a lot more interesting.'

Ella nodded. ‘History isn't my favourite subject, either.'

Then they went on and on and talked about favourite films, insects they'd collected and books they'd read while Francis and Valerie talked about old times and how much they'd missed each other.

If this goes on much longer, Max thought, I'm going to be the first eleven year old in the world to spontaneously combust from too much mush.

Max looked out the window at the London streets. It was winter and the pale light reflected off the decorations that hung everywhere. Then Max remembered. It was Christmas in a few days and she suddenly realised she missed her mum and dad. This Christmas was supposed to have been the first one they'd spent together since she was three, and now she wasn't going to spend it with either of them.

Max looked around at the others in the car.

How could someone be in a small space with four other people and still feel like they're all alone!

‘Here we are,' said Valerie with a quiver of excitement in her voice. ‘Why don't you all hop out while I park the car and I'll meet you at platform six below the clock?'

Francis, Linden, Max and Ella got out of the car, waved to Valerie and made their way through the afternoon crowd.

Francis looked nervous.

‘There are so many people,' he said shakily. ‘Makes me wonder why I live in the city.'

Max moved closer to him and took his hand. If Francis had been a hermit for the last few
years, seeing so many people all at once was going to be pretty freaky.

Francis looked nervously at her. He clasped her hand tight as he wiped a handkerchief across his brow with the other.

Around them the busy station was flooded with announcements of late trains, cancellations and trains about to depart. There were signs for donuts, platforms, and advertisements for new perfumes and holiday destinations. But worst of all, there were people everywhere. Ticket inspectors, police, schoolkids and business people, and they were all in a hurry.

‘Make sure we stay close together so we don't lose each other,' Francis shouted above the noise.

Ella slipped her hand into Linden's.

‘There are more people here than I've seen in my whole life,' said Linden as they were jostled in a dark sea of business suits and long coats.

‘It has changed since I was here last but I think the lockers were over there,' yelled Francis as he led the way through the crowd.

‘Ouch!' yelled Max.

Francis turned around.

‘What happened?' he asked.

‘Some big guy in a suit just stood on my toe,' said Max huffily.

Francis put his hand on Max's shoulder.

‘We're nearly there,' he said.

Max scowled and thought about what they'd been through in the last few hours. She'd been slimed, had doors slammed in her face, was almost strangled by a crazed Geography teacher and now she was being trampled by a stampede of people who were twice as big as her.

Max forced her way between two suits in front of her and found herself with Ella, Linden and Francis standing in front of a wall of lockers. Francis stared at one locker in particular.

‘This is it. Thirty-two. My favourite number.'

Max was elbowed in the head by someone rushing to catch a train.

‘I know this is an important moment, but can we open the locker before we all get squashed to pulp?' she said, rubbing her head.

‘Sure,' said Francis taking a chain from around his neck. He fitted the key in the locker and turned it. With no effort at all, the door opened.

Francis removed a small leather pouch and carefully took out something wrapped in a white cloth.

Ella and Linden looked at each other in excitement.

Max stood on her toes to get a better view.

Francis unwound the cloth to reveal what they'd all been waiting for. The Time and Space Retractor Meter. A small, shiny, chrome disc with what looked like some kind of voltage meter and flashing lights.

Francis beamed in recognition like he was seeing an old friend for the first time in years.

‘This is it. The secret of time and space travel.'

Max turned to congratulate Linden and saw him giving Ella a hug. She looked away until she felt Linden tap her on the shoulder.

‘We did it, chief! Mission Matter Transporter has been successful.'

Max smiled. They had done it. They were good spies after all.

Francis rewrapped the Time and Space Retractor Meter and put it back in the pouch.

‘Now let's get to platform six to meet Valerie before we get trampled,' he said.

All four of them began to make their way through the crowd, but it seemed there were even more people now than when they'd first arrived.

What happened next was so quick that afterwards, Max and Linden had trouble remembering what really went on.

Max could hear Francis's voice shouting for her but she couldn't see him through the crowd.

‘Max, where are you?'

‘I'm here,' she yelled. But it was no good, Francis couldn't hear her above all the noise.

Max began to feel scared. London was a huge city, much bigger than Sydney, and she was frightened of being separated from the others.

‘Linden! Where are you?' she called.

‘I'm over here!' Max heard Linden's voice but she couldn't see him either.

Just then, a fat man in a brown jacket pushed past Max and she just managed to see the back of Linden's head.

‘Wait for me,' yelled Max. But with all the noise no one could hear her. She was hemmed in by so many people that all she could see were different coats and jackets moving past.

‘Hey! Get off me!' yelled Max, as one coat engulfed her like a net around a fish. ‘Get
off
me!'

Then suddenly everything went black and the ground fell away from under her feet. She was moving through the crowd much faster than she was before but her feet weren't touching the ground. She was being carried!

She struggled underneath the coat but was held
so tightly she couldn't move or make a sound. Then she felt herself being dropped onto a seat and the muffled sound of someone yelling out something as though they were in a great hurry.

Max was in a car and she was being driven away.

Away from the station.

Away from Linden.

Away from the Time and Space Retractor Meter.

Then she realised the horrible truth.

She was being kidnapped!