“Where are you going?”
“You’re a Holmes. You figure it out.”
“I could, but it would be easier if you’d tell me.”
Nick turned onto the M6. The traffic was heavier now. “He’s taken them to the Osric Movie Studio.”
“You’re kidding. What would he do that for?”
“I don’t know, but that’s where we’re going.”
“Stop the car.” Nick kept driving. “I said stop the car.”
“What do you want, Holmes?” said Nick. “Do you want to lose her? Because if we stop, that’s exactly what will happen.”
“What makes you think he’s gone to this movie studio?”
“The name, Osric. If you knew anything about movies you’d know.”
This really seemed to get Holmes’s goat. “What’s so great about movies?”
Nick looked over at him. “You claim to be in love with a film fanatic and you’re asking what’s so great about movies?”
Holmes huffed but said nothing.
By Nick’s reckoning, if they were lucky they might arrive at the studio in twenty minutes. Even so they might be too late. He barreled along as fast as he could, but traffic was heavy and even changing lanes strategically and often he couldn’t go faster than about thirty miles per hour. If they continued at that rate it would take them twice as long, which, if he was correct, would be way too late, assuming Waltz was planning what he thought he was.
And then it happened. The car began to sputter and slow. They were out of fuel! Nick managed to pull over onto the shoulder just in time. The car glided to a stop and people behind him started to rubberneck.
Holmes turned to Nick and said, “Now who’s the idiot? She’s going to die because of your stupidity.”
As people stared, Nick got out of the car and raised the hood. He looked both ways, turned to the right, and started walking.
“What are you doing?” Holmes called after him.
“Getting petrol,” said Nick.
Holmes ran to catch up with him. “We’re going to be too late.”
“Do you see an alternative?” Nick said.
“I’m going to call the police,” said Holmes, taking out his phone.
“Do that and she’ll die,” said Nick.
“If I don’t do that she’ll die.”
“Waltz will use her as a shield. There will be a standoff and they’ll all die. I’m surprised you haven’t figured that out.”
Holmes hesitated, then put the phone away. “How far is it to the exit?”
“Half a mile. Whether there’s a petrol station down that ramp I don’t know, but it’s our best shot.”
Suddenly a patrol car pulled up alongside them and a policeman got out. Nick froze. Holmes looked like he wanted to say something but couldn’t make up his mind about it.
“Help you boys?” the man said. “It’s dangerous to be walking along here.”
Holmes swallowed and looked at Nick. Nick held out his hand and said, “Jeremy Stopgap, officer. And this here is my friend Oliver Pimento. My dad ran out of petrol and we’ve gone off to find some.”
The officer looked at Nick’s hand and shook his head. “No touching.” Then he pointed. “That your car up there?”
“Yes, sir,” said Holmes.
“I don’t see anyone,” said the policeman. “Where’s your dad gone?”
“Uh oh,” said Nick. Holmes looked at him sharply. “He said he was going to try to hail a ride. I guess someone picked him up.”
“Bad idea,” said the cop. “You should always stay with the car.”
“He’s been a bit depressed,” said Nick. “Lost his job. Lots of redundancies over at Mayhem and Donnybrook.”
The policeman wasn’t impressed. “Now look, you two, I’ve got a bit of petrol I can give you, but you get your dad back and make sure you fill up properly, you hear?”
Nick exhaled. He hadn’t even realized he’d been holding his breath.
“Yes, sir,” he said. “Thank you, sir.”
“Now,” said the cop. “Let me just run these plates.” He walked back to his vehicle and started to mess around with his tablet.
Nick froze again. Holmes glanced at him uneasily.
“Oh, officer,” Holmes called.
The man looked up. “Son?”
“Um, nothing,” said Holmes. His voice was shaking. He turned to Nick. “Even if the owner hasn’t reported the car missing, there’s that broken window. He’s going to arrest us.”
“I’ll just have to talk faster then, won’t I?” said Nick.
Holmes shook his head. “You think you’re pretty special, don’t you?”
“I think I’m nothing at all,” said Nick.
“You’re right about that,” said Holmes.
The policeman sauntered back to where the boys were standing.
“All right, plates are clean. Now let’s see about that petrol, shall we?”
He went to the boot of his vehicle and lifted the lid. Then he came back to the boys with a red container. Nick could hear Holmes gulp.
The cop started toward the Vauxhall. Holmes elbowed Nick and hissed, “The window.”
Nick looked at the cop and said. “Uh, officer, there’s something you should know.”
“What’s that?” said the man.
“I’m really sorry to have to do this.” Nick made a fist and punched the cop in the nose. The man crumpled.
“What the hell are you doing?” Holmes yelled. “Are you crazy?”
“Just get the petrol and let’s get out of here,” Nick said.
Holmes picked up the container and the boys ran to the vehicle. Now people were going absolutely nuts, taking pictures with their phones and sending texts. Nick opened the cap, poured the petrol in, and the boys got into the car. He hotwired the motor again and eased out into traffic, then changed lanes until he was at the center of the road, where cars were moving slightly faster.
“Brilliant,” said Holmes. “Just brilliant.”
“Shut up,” said Nick.
“Did you see all those people taking pictures?” said Holmes. “You assaulted a cop!”
“Just be quiet,” said Nick. “If I go to jail I do. I just hope it isn’t too late.”
He drove to the next exit and got off the highway. He saw a multistory carpark and pulled in.
“What are you doing now?” Holmes said.
“Would you be quiet already?” said Nick.
He parked the car, got out, and looked around. Spotting a Volvo with its window rolled down, he ran across the aisle and opened the door. Then he hotwired the car and threw it in reverse. Holmes jumped in the other side and they took off again.
“Nice trick,” said Holmes.
“I do what I have to,” said Nick. He pulled onto the M6 again and made for the studio.
When they arrived at the movie lot, they found that the only way to get in was to buy tickets for the tour. Otherwise the public wasn’t allowed. This they did, and were hustled onto a tram driven by a loud ponytailed girl named Peggy.
“Where does this thing go?” Holmes asked.
“Oh, all over,” she said. “It’s a great tour. In the next two hours we’ll see the sets where they filmed ‘Razor Elastic,’ ‘Totality Slush,’ and ‘The Carpet Ice.’ Do you remember that scene in ‘Razor’ where the vampires attack Shakespeare? It’s the most awesome scene ever.”
Nick ignored her and whispered, “He’s going to take her somewhere dangerous.”
“Is the tour dangerous?” said Holmes.
“No, you idiot,” said Nick. He lifted his head and addressed the guide. “Peggy, what’s the most dangerous part of the lot?”
“That would be the set of ‘Maelstrom,’” she said. “It’s got sea monsters in it. Lots of guns and stuff. We’ll drive by but you can’t go in. They’re filming. We’ll get there soon.”
Nick rose, made his way to the front of the tram, and slipped her some cash. “Take us now, love. It�
��s urgent.”
She looked into those blue eyes and seemed to waver. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’ll lose my job.”
Nick flashed a grin, dug in his pocket, and handed her some more bills. “Just take us. Now.”
The astonished girl looked at the wad of bills, glanced around, then turned to the three other passengers on the tram. “Tour cancelled,” she said. “You’ll have to wait for the next tram.”
The disappointed tourists got off the tram and Peggy started the motor. “You some kind of movie star?” she said to Nick.
“Just drive,” he said. “Please.”
But they never made it to the “Maelstrom” set. As they passed a Roman ruin Nick saw Blixus and Hugh. “Look!” he cried, and jumped off the tram with Holmes behind him.
“Why look who it is,” said Blixus in his snide way.
“Nicky!” yelled Hugh. “I’ve missed you so. And Holmes. This is a treat.”
“Shut up,” said Nick. “Where’s Amanda?”
A nasty grin spread over Blixus’s face. “Dead by now. You’re too late.”
“I don’t believe you,” said Holmes, and took off with Nick on his heels.
The boys had no idea where they were going. They dashed around the lot looking here and there, but it was a huge, crowded place, and if Amanda was moving around she might easily evade them. They looked behind facades, inside sound stages, around concession stands, on benches, everywhere except restrooms. That would be rather delicate, although at one point Holmes snuck into one and looked in all the stalls. But on a lot of forty acres it was impossible to cover all of them.
“We’ve got to get to that dangerous set,” said Nick finally. “We’re wasting time flailing like this.”
“What’s so special about that?” said Holmes.
Nick rolled his eyes. “He could kill her and make it look like an accident, Sherlock.”
That riled Holmes so much he looked like he was going to take a swing at Nick, but in the end he lowered his arms and started asking passersby where he might find the sea monster.
“It’s over there,” said a heavy woman pointing to the north.
“No, it’s that way,” said her kid, a cheeky little imp with a checked shirt, pointing east.
“No, it’s back that way,” said her daughter, a cute girl with buck teeth, pointing south.
“Thank you,” Holmes said, and asked someone else.
Finally the boys got the official word from someone in a corporate-looking jacket and took off for the sea monster. However, on the way they saw something that made them both do double takes. A fuzzy-looking bearish thing about Amanda’s height was arguing with a director. One second watching the interaction told Nick he’d found her. If he hadn’t been so worried he’d have laughed.
“It’s her!” he yelled.
But something had happened. The director had moved off and Waltz had moved in.
“Look out!” said Holmes. “Waltz has got her.”
Waltz did indeed have Amanda. He also had a gun. His arm was wrapped around her throat and the gun was pressing into her side. Nick had never been so afraid in his life. If anything happened to her he wouldn’t be able to bear it.
He yelled, “Waltz! Take me instead.”
Waltz looked around to see where the voice had come from. But before he could say anything, a woman wearing a cowboy hat came by and grabbed the gun out of his hand. Then a blonde man took him by the shoulders, unwrapped his arm, and started to march him off somewhere. Another man—a huge bruiser of a guy—grabbed Amanda and hustled her off as well. The boys saw their opportunity.
They threw themselves at the big man, causing him to let go. The blonde man who was holding Waltz said, “Hey!” and Waltz took off. Nick went running after him. Somehow Waltz managed to evade him and, realizing he’d lost his quarry, Nick gave up and returned to the set where he’d seen Amanda. She was nowhere to be found. Now what?
Suddenly he heard a scuffle. He followed the noise and discovered Blixus holding her with one hand and trying to cover her mouth with the other. Hair flying all around her, she was biting Blixus’s hand while Hugh slapped at her. His beautiful Amanda. Feisty as ever. How he loved her.
As soon as Blixus and Hugh caught sight of Nick they laughed. “Come and get me,” Hugh taunted. “Finish the labor and get into the sissy school. Of course if you do, your girlfriend is toast. Which will it be?”
Nick was not going to let anything happen to her. Whatever it took, even if he had to sacrifice himself, he would save her, the wild girl he loved more than life itself. “Let go of her,” he said. “This is between us.”
“Nicky!” cried Hugh. “I’m surprised at you.”
“Shut up,” said Nick. He’d had enough of Hugh to last a hundred lifetimes. Blixus too. “Let her go, Blixus.”
“Blixus now, is it?” said Blixus. “What happened to ‘Dad’?”
He wanted to kill the man who had abused him, tried to assassinate him, made him into the monster who had hurt Amanda. He could picture himself choking the life out of the fiend with his own two hands. But not until she was safe.
“Don’t you want me?” said Hugh, laughing. “You’re supposed to bring me in, aren’t you? I’m weak. You could take me easily.”
Hugh didn’t know what he was talking about. Nick had no choice. Amanda was the only one who mattered.
“Can’t have it both ways, son,” said Blixus, who obviously thought Nick was trying to choose between himself and her. “You can have Lestrade or you can have Hugh. Which will it be? I can’t hold them both.”
Nick glanced from Hugh to Amanda and back again. For one brief moment he wondered if he could bring both Moriartys down and save Amanda, but only for a split second. There would always be time to get them.
“Get him, Nick!” she yelled. Nick looked at her beautiful face and tried to see where he could hit Blixus without hurting her. “I’ll be all right,” she said. “You have to complete the labors. He’s right. Hugh is all brains. He doesn’t have a muscle in his body. Take him now!”
Nick flew into action. “No!” he yelled, then charged Blixus, kicking him in the shins and stomping on his feet, causing him to let go of Amanda. She turned around and kicked Blixus, then Nick grabbed her by the hand and the two of them fled. Amanda could hear Hugh behind her calling, “I knew you couldn’t do it, Nicky. You’re such a Wiffle.”
Yes, he was, and he was so proud he thought he’d burst.
25
THE LADDER
Nick and Amanda ran and ran. Blixus recovered from his beating quickly, however, and pursued them, with Holmes on his heels. After myriad twists and turns they found themselves back at the “Maelstrom” set where Amanda had been caught in the sea monster. Beyond the water was a huge apparatus that looked like a water tower with legs. It was at least a hundred feet high and reminded Amanda of those tall robots in “The War of the Worlds.”
She spotted an opening in one of the legs and darted in. Nick followed her, then Blixus. Inside was a tall, thin metal staircase. It was very dark. Amanda started up, followed by Nick, who had a phone with a light, then Blixus, who must have bought a flashlight at the studio store or something because he had one too. It was rough going but they didn’t dare stop. By the time they reached the top Amanda was panting so hard she could barely catch her breath.
They were in a compartment much like the sea monster. All metal with girders, struts, and pipes, it was a large space, very live, that clanged every time they moved.
“Get over there,” said Nick, nodding toward the far side.
“No,” she said. “You need me.”
Nick laughed. “You should see yourself.”
“Stunning, am I?” she joked.
“If you only knew. Listen, he’s coming.”
Amanda could hear Blixus’s footsteps on the ladder. The man was in great shape, but he was still thirty years older than they were, and they’d beat him by at least twenty seconds.
Amanda wasn’t a violent person, but she’d figured out that the best way to defeat Blixus was to push him down the ladder as soon as it was possible. She glanced at Nick. She didn’t know what he had in mind, but she suspected he was thinking the same thing. But Blixus didn’t let them do it. He stopped short of the top and yelled up.
“So, here we are once again. Lovely to see the both of you. Shall we have tea?”
“Yes, let’s,” said Amanda. “You can tell us all about Amboy.”
Nick looked at her questioningly. “Tell you later,” she mouthed.
“How do you know about him?” said Blixus, keeping out of reach.
Amanda smiled sweetly. “You told me.”
Blixus chuckled. “Perhaps I did, and you told me quite a bit as well.”
Amanda looked at Nick with horror. She didn’t remember what she’d said under the influence of the spiders.
“Yes, well, it seems we have each other at a disadvantage,” Blixus said. “I more than you, of course.”
“What do you mean?” she said, then slapped herself in the forehead. She’d taken the bait.
“Your boyfriend has blown his chance to get into your precious school. Now what’s he going to do?”
Amanda looked at Nick. He shook his head.
“I see we’re not in a talkative mood today. Perhaps we can do something about that.”
Amanda could hear Blixus descending the ladder. What was he up to? Oh no! He was going to turn the machine on with them in it.
“Come on,” she yelled. The two of them raced for the ladder, Amanda first and Nick following, but it was slow going. It was a lot harder to go down than up. And then the machine started to move.
Just as the leviathan had lurched and shuddered, so did the tower. The noise was deafening, way worse than in the sea monster. Amanda didn’t know what the decibel level was but she knew it was off the charts. The ladder in the leg swung forward, then back, then forward again. They wouldn’t be able to take this for very long.
“We need to go back up,” Nick yelled. “It’s more stable up there.”
Amanda Lester and the Red Spider Rumpus Page 25
