by Alesha Dixon
Craning over the sea of heads, I saw Kizzy standing as close to the painting as you can get, wearing a Museum Staff badge and looking in her element.
“What is she doing?” Georgie whispered, trying not to giggle.
“I think she may be giving a lecture on the Mona Lisa!” I replied, watching her in amazement.
“Now, can anyone tell me the artist of this world-famous oil painting?” Kizzy asked the crowd, as though she did stuff like this every day of her life.
Suzie’s hand shot up and she bounced on her tiptoes, wiggling her fingers excitedly.
Kizzy spotted her. “Yes? The young woman in the orange beret?”
“Leonardo da Vicky. OUCH!” Suzie glared at Georgie who had just nudged her sharply in the ribs. “I mean … uh … da Vinci?”
“Correct!” Kizzy beamed proudly. “Leonardo da Vinci painted this likely between 1503 and 1519, and there are several reasons why it is so famous. Firstly, the techniques used to paint it are quite something, and secondly, the painting is shrouded in mystery. Who is the woman of this masterpiece? Why is she smiling in this manner?”
I scanned the faces of those around me, all completely intrigued and eagerly listening to Kizzy’s talk. I reached for my phone in my bag to take a video of her and noticed I had a notification on my screen.
Missed Call (2)
Alexis
My phone had been on silent all morning from when we were in Notre-Dame Cathedral and I hadn’t bothered to check it on the way to the Louvre afterwards. Why had Alexis tried calling me twice? He never calls me.
I quickly racked my brain, thinking of anything I’d borrowed from him without his permission. I winced as I remembered taking one of his favourite blue hoodies the other day when I was cold and couldn’t be bothered to go upstairs to get a jumper. It had been hanging over the side of a chair, so I’d just put that on.
And then spilt a load of Dad’s delicious black bean chilli all down the front.
And then I’d taken it off and put it back over the chair. Instead of putting it in the wash.
Whoops.
“Aurora, you’re missing the talk,” Suzie whispered, ushering for me to put my phone away. “She’s just wrapping it up now. Anyone got any questions?”
“You know, for someone who claims to be forced to hang out with them, you sure are sounding more and more like a nerd today,” Georgie pointed out.
Suzie looked horrified.
“The history of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, the fascinating facts behind the Mona Lisa.” Georgie smiled. “Anyone would think you’ve been enjoying the culture more than the … what was it?”
“The chic vibe of Paris that runs through her veins like blood,” Fred sniggered.
Suzie whacked him over the head with her Louvre guide to shut him up.
“Whatever,” she said, adjusting her beret and sticking her hand high up in the air when Kizzy asked her audience if there were any questions. “Parisians are all about the geek chic.”
“They offered you a job?”
Kizzy blushed. We were standing outside the Louvre waiting for the rest of the class to gather at the meeting point and Kizzy had just handed back her honorary staff badge and introduced us to the Louvre’s Managing Director.
“Not right now, obviously. They just said that if I was interested when I’m old enough, there would be a job for me here.”
“That is awesome, Kizzy. Though I’m not surprised, you were great,” Fred said, giving her a high-five. “What happened? How did you get up there in the first place?”
“I got chatting to someone who was about to start a lecture on the Mona Lisa and I think she was impressed by my knowledge. I asked her what it was like to speak about the most famous painting in the world to a bunch of eager tourists and she said, ‘How about you find out?’” Kizzy grinned. “Next thing I knew, she’d passed me her badge and I was off!”
“You were a total natural,” Suzie informed her. “I now know everything about da Vicky.”
“All right people, get together please,” I instructed, getting my phone out. “We need a picture of this moment in case one day, Kizzy, you do end up working here.”
They struck a pose and I lifted my phone, only to find another missed call from Alexis from ten minutes ago. And a voicemail. Alexis NEVER leaves voicemails.
He must be really mad about the whole black bean chilli thing.
“Hang on,” I said, going into my call list. “I just need to listen to this.”
While the others fell about laughing at Fred pinching Suzie’s beret before running about with it, swinging it above his head victoriously with Suzie hot on his heels, I called my voicemail and listened to the message, prepared to get a boring lecture about why it’s not OK to borrow my brother’s hoodies and not wash them when I spill food on them.
But that’s not what it was. Instead, Alexis sounded breathless and panicked. He was talking in such a hushed tone I could barely hear him without really concentrating.
“Aurora, it’s me, Alexis. Look, something bad is going to happen. I’m in trouble, I think. A lot of trouble. It’s something… I think I may have been wrong about something important. I’m in the office and I… Just pick up your phone. Aurora, you need to call me back. As soon as you get this, OK? CALL ME BACK.”
I had never heard his voice shaking like that before. Something was really wrong.
I called him back and waited as it rang out and went to voicemail. I tried calling again, but the same thing happened. Why would he desperately ask me to ring and then not answer?
A text message suddenly flashed up on my phone from him:
I need your help, I’m in BIG trouble.
Please come to the HQ straight away.
Don’t tell Mum and Dad!!
Aurora, this is serious, I don’t know what to do.
I need you!!
I read the message twice to be sure and then without another moment’s hesitation, I pelted away from the Louvre and towards the main road.
“Aurora? Aurora, where are you going?” I heard Kizzy’s voice ring out behind me.
I desperately looked for a taxi coming from either direction.
“Aurora, what’s wrong?” Georgie asked as the Bright Sparks caught up with me and stood around catching their breath. “Are you OK?”
“I have to go back to London. I need a taxi to the Eurotunnel straight away,” I said hurriedly.
“What?” Suzie looked stunned. “Why? What’s going on? Has something happened?”
“I don’t know,” I said, my hands shaking. “It’s Alexis. He’s left me a voicemail saying he’s in trouble and he needs my help. WHERE are all the taxis?! I’ve seen hundreds when I didn’t need one and now there are NONE.”
“But we’re going back home in a couple of days,” Georgie said. “Can’t you help him then?”
I shook my head. “No, he texted me too. He needs me at the Vermore office straight away. Something’s wrong, he sounds really panicked. It must be to do with the Light of the World. YES! Finally!” I spotted a taxi and stuck my arm out as he put his indicator on, turning towards the pavement.
“How are you going to get back to London alone?” Kizzy asked with a panicked expression. “Wait, Aurora, please. We need to speak to Miss Nimble and—”
“I can’t wait. You’ll have to cover for me. Alexis needs me,” I told her, swinging open the car door. “And no matter what, family comes first.”
Without waiting for them to reply, I slid into the backseat and slammed the door shut, directing the taxi driver to head to the Eurotunnel as quickly as possible.
The car pulled away and I glanced back at my friends standing frozen on the pavement with stunned expressions, helplessly watching me go.
16
By the time I reached the reception desk at Vermore Enterprises, I practically collapsed on to it. The journey back from Paris to the Vermore Headquarters in London had only taken a few hours in total, but it had felt like a
lifetime. I’d tried calling Alexis again but had no luck, so had to make do with texting to let him know I was on my way.
“Alexis … Beam … please,” I wheezed, having run as fast as possible from the Tube station.
The receptionist looked me up and down in a snooty way.
“Which department?” he said tiredly, as though I was being a great inconvenience.
“I don’t know. He’s an intern.”
He sighed. “There are hundreds of interns here.”
“He has his own office downstairs. I can’t remember which floor it is but it’s one of the underground ones.”
“Very helpful,” he said sarcastically, before picking up the receiver. “I suppose I’ll just have to try them all until someone has heard of him.”
“Thank you,” I said, using my sleeve to wipe the sweat from my forehead.
Honestly, I really needed to pay more attention to Miss Nimble when it came to fitness.
I waited while the receptionist dialled each number, asked if there was an Alexis Beam in the department and then hung up, rolled his eyes and dialled the next one. He glared at me as I continually tapped my fingernails on the desk but I couldn’t help it. I was too nervous. What had Alexis come across in his research? And why was it so bad? It had to be something to do with the Light of the World, otherwise there’s no way it would be this urgent.
“Yes, that’s right, Alexis Beam. If you could put me through.”
I stood bolt upright as the receptionist finally got the right department. He didn’t say anything as he waited and then after a few moments, he hung up. I looked at him, baffled.
“He didn’t pick up. He must not be at his desk.”
“Please can you try again.”
“Look, he’s probably popped out and—”
“Please! It’s really important!”
“I’m sure it’s a matter of life and death,” the receptionist said in a bored tone.
“Please, I’m begging you, can you try one more time?”
He looked at me strangely but then shrugged, picked up the phone again and dialled the number. But Alexis didn’t pick up that time either.
“Can you call Mr Vermore’s desk, please?”
“What?” The receptionist spluttered. “You want me to call Mr Vermore?”
“Yes,” I said firmly. “Right now.”
“Mr Vermore is a very busy man, he doesn’t have time for—”
“Mr Vermore is family! He’ll have time for me!” I cried loudly, my voice echoing around the hollow building. “And not only that but also, I am LIGHTNING GIRL and my brother is in trouble and you do not want to mess with me right now!”
To give my outburst extra effort, I lifted my hands and made them glow and spark.
The receptionist looked utterly stunned, his eyes as wide as saucers. He scrambled for the phone, dropping it twice as he lifted it to his ear, and gulped loudly as he dialled in a number and waited.
“Mr… V-Vermore, Sir, so sorry to b… bother you,” he stammered, watching me nervously. “It’s just there’s a young lady down here at reception asking to see Alexis Beam and he’s not picking up his… Yes, yes that’s right, Alexis Beam… No, well, he didn’t pick up and so I couldn’t just let her in and I… Well, yes, I think so… L-Lightning Girl, she says, but I don’t… oh… Right, of course, Mr Vermore… I’m so sorry… No, I didn’t… Of course, right away, Mr Vermore, right away.”
He slammed the phone down and stood up, straightening his tie and suit jacket before gesturing towards the lifts. He looked very flushed and as though he might burst into tears.
“Please, Lightning Girl, do come this way. I’m so sorry about the mix-up. I didn’t realize who you were at first but do follow me. Let me personally escort you to the elevator.”
“Thank you,” I said, rushing through the barriers with him. After he pressed the lift button, I pushed it again and again in the hope that might hurry it up.
The glass doors finally pinged open and I ran in.
“It’s floor minus seven, Lightning Girl, to Mr Alexis Beam’s office. Do enjoy your time at Vermore Enterprises,” the receptionist called out as the doors closed.
I was so focused on getting to Alexis that this time the lift didn’t make my stomach flip. I felt relieved that Darek knew I was here in case Alexis really was in a lot of trouble. I know Alexis didn’t want Mum and Dad to know about any of this but maybe Darek could help in some way. When the doors opened on to the right floor, I didn’t stop to admire the madly realistic projections of the London skyline on the wall. I got to his office and didn’t bother knocking, swinging open the door so eagerly, it banged against the wall.
“Alexis?” I called out as I barged in.
The office was empty.
Maybe he’d gone to the bathroom or he had been forced to go to a meeting or something. I’d have to wait here until he got back. Making sure the door was closed, I started poking around his desk in the hope of finding something that might give away why he needed to talk to me so badly. But even though his desk was covered in important-looking files and papers, there was nothing I could see that had any link to the Light of the World or me.
I sat down at his computer and tried to log in to his account. It was password protected and nothing I came up with was right. I put my head in my hands. THINK, Aurora, THINK! What would Alexis have as his password?
“Aurora?”
I jumped at Darek’s voice and leapt up from Alexis’s chair.
“I thought I’d find you in here; the receptionist called and said you were here to see Alexis.” He smiled, handing the briefcase he was carrying to one of his ever-present security men. “Are you all right? You look a bit flustered.”
“I ran from the Tube,” I explained. “Good … for my fitness.”
“Ah! Good for you,” he said. “I’m sorry you had trouble getting in; I’ve always been a stickler for security, you never know who my competitors might send in to try and crack into my computer system!”
“No problem, I’m just here to see Alexis,” I said hurriedly. “I think… I think he’s in some sort of trouble.”
Darek’s forehead creased in concern. “What do you mean? What sort of trouble?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “He left me messages and he sounded really panicked. I’m worried about him. He said he thought he might be in BIG trouble and begged me to come here straight away but” – I gestured to the empty chair at the desk – “I don’t know where he is.”
“He doesn’t have any meetings today, so he should be here, I know that much,” Darek said, before glancing to his security team. “We’ll help you look for him.”
“I know you’re busy…” I said apologetically, but he just waved his hand.
“No, not at all. I’ll cancel my next appointment; it’s not important,” he said, typing a message into his phone. “I just hope that…”
He trailed off.
“What?” I asked, taking a step forward. “What is it?”
“Well, Alexis has been working on a project for Nanny Beam and myself. A top-secret project to … locate the Light of the World.” He gulped. “He’s so good with technology, we hoped that he could help us track Mr Mercury. Alexis has been very dedicated to the project and … I just hope that he hasn’t done anything stupid.”
“You think he may have found out where Mr Mercury is and … gone to confront him on his own?”
“We need to locate Alexis straight away,” Darek said, looking terrified. “You said he told you to come here? That’s good, maybe he is waiting for you to join him before he goes looking for whoever it is he’s after.”
I nodded, feeling sick with nerves. Alexis could be in a lot of danger if he’d tracked down the criminal who had the Light of the World. And I had no doubt that Alexis had succeeded in his task, just like he always does.
“Have you tried the rooftop?” Darek said suddenly.
“The rooftop?”
“Ye
s, I’ve come across him several times up there while having my morning coffee. According to the manager of this team, Alexis often likes to go up there to think. Or make phone calls. The reception isn’t great down here.”
“It’s worth a try.”
“Let’s go,” Darek said, taking his briefcase back from his bodyguard and marching towards the lift.
“Thank you for helping me,” I said as we all huddled into the lift together and Darek pressed the button.
“No problem,” he replied, attempting a weak smile. “I wish Alexis had come to me. I told him not to go after any leads himself. If anything happens to him…”
“It won’t,” I said firmly.
Darek nodded and we stayed silent until the lift doors pinged open on the top floor.
I followed Darek towards a set of glass steps that led to a door with ROOFTOP TERRACE printed on it in fancy block letters. Darek pushed open the door and held it for me as I hurried through. Although it was a cold day, the skies were blue, and I squinted through the sunshine, too intent on seeing if Alexis was up here to notice the views across London.
The terrace was empty except for one table at the far end. Someone was sitting at it with two men standing either side of him.
I placed a hand against my forehead to shade my eyes so that I could make out who it was.
Alexis.
His hands were tied behind his back and there was a gag around his mouth. The two men beside him were two more of Darek’s security team. I stopped in my tracks and spun round to face Darek, who had been walking behind me.
“What do you think of the view, Aurora?” he asked casually. “You’re not too cold, are you?”
“What’s going on?”
“Haven’t you worked it out yet?” Darek said, a thin smile spreading on his lips.
“W… what?” I stammered, my breath catching in my throat, my heart slamming against my chest.
He smirked triumphantly, as his bodyguards began to slowly surround and close in on me. “Yes, Lightning Girl, I have the Light of the World. I’m the person you’ve all been searching for.”
