by Paul Mason
With a spring from its powerful legs, the tiger lunged forward…
Chapter Fourteen
Home again
As predicted, back home at their hideout in the abandoned plane, Mr Arturi was in a state of total shock. He got up from his stool more than once to walk the floor. ‘You’re kidding me,’ he said at last, taking off his glasses and wiping them where they’d got steamed up.
‘I kid you not,’ said Ian chuckling. ‘I scorched that man’s shoes something rotten.’
‘I’m just so glad we got to see a tiger after all,’ said Tara. ‘And I feel a whole lot better knowing Hussein and his gang are out of business.’
Mr Arturi sighed. ‘I wish we could say the same about all the tiger-smuggling rings out there. We can only hope they get stopped before it’s too late.’
The plane fell silent for a moment.
Finally Zaf spoke up. ‘Well, while there are people like my uncle out there, we have some hope, right?’
Mr Arturi smiled. ‘True, true.’ He patted Zaf on the back.
‘So what’s next for Factor Four?’ Ian asked, rubbing his hands together. ‘I’m getting a real taste for this superhero business. Blasting fireballs, catchy one-liners, rescuing my friends from total disaster.’
‘Rescuing who?’ Tara punched Ian on the shoulder.
Ian held up his hands in surrender. ‘Just kidding,’ he laughed.
‘In all seriousness, I wanted to show you this,’ said Mr Arturi. He pulled out a file from his desk and pushed it across the table to Zaf. ‘This article came out while you were away.’
Zaf opened the file and pulled out a newspaper clipping. ‘“Cluna Sands Closed by Health Department”,’ he read aloud. ‘“Local beach and popular tourist destination Cluna Sands was this week closed by the authorities following the latest round of water quality testing, throwing the tourist season and seafood industry into jeopardy. Martin Johnson of the health board declined to give an explanation, saying that investigations into the matter were on-going.”’
‘But I swim there all the time!’ April muttered.
‘Well, I think we should do some investigating of our own,’ said Mr Arturi. ‘I don’t want to be living in a place where the water is like poison.’
‘No one should have to,’ said Zaf. ‘And if Factor Four have anything to say about it, no-one will.’
‘Now, that sounds like a plan,’ Ian grinned.
Copyright © 2013 A & C Black
Text copyright © 2013 Paul Mason
Illustrations copyright © 2013 Sean Longcroft
First published 2013 by
A & C Black,
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP
www.bloomsbury.com
This electronic edition published in February 2013 by Bloomsbury Publishing
The right of Paul Mason and Sean Longcroft to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages
A CIP catalogue for this book is available from the British Library.
eISBN 978-1-4081-8186-7
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Find out how Factor 4 got their
superpowers and their mission in
Factor 4: The Awakening.
available now from A&C Black
