by R M Scotford
“The roof, she’s going to try and escape in a helicopter. QUICK.” Click.
Maggie and Douggie darted for the nearest stair well. Douggie spoke into the walkie-talkie as he ran,
“We’re coming, try to stop her from leaving.” Click.
Every second counted now. As they ran up the flights of stairs the dull thud of the helicopter blades grew louder.
Kimiko and Maximus burst through the last set of fire doors and were immediately blown back by a strong gust of wind. The chopper’s blades picked up speed. It began to gingerly bounce on its wheels as the metal rotors whizzed faster. They covered their faces with their arms and tried to move forward. They had to stop Nurse Hobbs escaping, but the power of the downdraft was too strong. Nurse Hobbs waved out of the small helicopter window and blew them a kiss.
“Bye, bye, me darlings” she cackled.
It was no use. They’d arrived too late. The chopper lifted elegantly into the air, engulfing the helipad with a blustering wind. Kimiko and Maximus battled desperately to stay on their feet amid the turbulence. As the helicopter lifted higher into the clear sky, the other Scanner Kidz came running up the last flight of stairs. Maggie screamed when she saw the helicopter rising higher. She ran onto the roof waving her fist in the air.
“I’ll get you; you fat, old trout! Just you wait.”
The helicopter swiveled in the air and pulled slowly away. Douggie grabbed Kimiko’s arm.
“Break it, Kimi. Use your power to break the chopper’s equipment.”
Kimiko’s eyes lit up.
“I’ll try,” she said eagerly.
She closed her eyes and imagined the helicopter’s cockpit. In her mind, she saw a small radar screen surrounded by many buttons and toggles. She concentrated hard on the screen, imagining it cracking and causing all the buttons to dance on and off. The other members of the gang watched her intently, willing her on.
In the chopper, Nurse Hobbs laughed and laughed crazily. It had been a close call. Her plan had gone horribly wrong, but at least she’d escaped. She would live to fight another day. Robots could be rebuilt, plans could be remade, and she’d have her day of revenge. Maybe not today, but revenge would be hers. She laughed another evil laugh and patted one of the pink latex knees of her K-BOT bodyguard.
“Where to, Ma’am?” asked the pilot.
“Back to my mansion,” she barked.
She would regroup. The world hadn’t heard the last of her. The pilot slowly eased up the accelerator lever. Flying time to the Hobbs’s mansion was just a couple of minutes. He turned the chopper’s joystick but met a slight resistance.
“Urgh?” exclaimed the pilot. That wasn’t normal.
He tried to move the joystick again. It was stuck. He looked at the instruments. They were malfunctioning! He tapped the radar screen gently with his finger. To his horror, the thick, green glass splintered into a hundred cracks. The helicopter immediately filled with alarms and flashing red lights.
ERH. ERH. ERH. ERH. ERH. ERH. ERH. ERH. ERH. ERH.
The pilot calmly spoke into his radio.
“Mayday! Mayday! This is Charlie-Zulu-four-zero-nine-ah. Experiencing technical problems. Mayday! Mayday!”
Nurse Hobbs screamed from the back,
“What the hell’s happening you moron?” Her voice was filled with fear and panic.
The pilot ignored her and desperately tried to regain control, but it was no use. All the instruments were broken, and the accelerator was jammed at top speed. The helicopter was whizzing out to sea. The chopper’s alarms continued to blare out as the pilot sent his last message.
“This is CZ 409, going down. 409 going down.”
On the rooftop, the children cheered as they saw a puff of blue smoke billow out of the chopper’s engine. Kimiko had done it. Everyone hugged each other and cheered. The chopper was engulfed in smoke now. If Nurse Hobbs survived the crash, then the police could easily pick her up. The Scanner Kidz had done it. They’d defeated Kiddy-Care, one of the biggest companies in the world. The K- BOT army lay in ruins and Nurse Hobbs was history.
Behind them, the sound of sirens blared out. Soon The Egg would be crawling with police, firemen and TV crews. It was time for the Scanner Kidz to leave. There would be no explaining all this destruction. Secretly, each child wished they could appear on TV and tell everyone that they’d saved the world, but in reality, they all knew it wasn’t possible. That was not how real superheroes behaved. So they slipped quietly from the scene, leaving Bob to explain the mess to a shocked Inspector Dent.
The End.
Epilogue: A Slow Boat To China
ERH. ERH. ERH. ERH. ERH. ERH. ERH. ERH. ERH. ERH. ERH. ERH.
“409, going down, 409 going down.”
The pilot wrestled with the controls of the helicopter, but it was no good.
“We’ll have to ditch in the sea, brace for impact, people. Mayday! Mayday! 409 going down.”
The pilot remained calm and collected. It was his job. It was a different story in the back, however. Nurse Hobbs and the two Ninjas bounced off each other like pinballs; it was sheer mayhem. If the chopper hit the water, then the chances of the bodyguards exploding on impact were high. They had to find somewhere to land. Desperately Nurse Hobbs tried to look outside, but the aircraft entered a flat spin. Flashes of boundless, blue sea whizzed past the window. Her head swam, and she puked.
They would soon all be fish food.
What a way to go!
It had been a really bad day.
But it wasn’t to be. The pilot gave out a shriek,
“A ship, there’s a ship. I’ll try and put her on that ship.”
Nurse Hobbs crossed her fingers, her toes, and her eyes. Anything to help their chances,
“Please, please, please let us land on the ship,” she muttered.
For the longest time, the helicopter was free falling and then — BANG! Impact. The air filled with a shower of bright yellow sparks and a screeching roar as it bounced, then soared, then bounced and soared once more before coming to a stop at the bow with an almighty crash.
A group of stunned sailors looked on as two ruffled Elite Ninja Nannies helped Nurse Hobbs out of the wreckage. Nurse Hobbs adjusted her cracked spectacles and took out a tissue from her purse. Slowly and deliberately she dabbed the puke stain on her dress. Demurely she looked up and addressed the shabby looking crew,
“Gentlemen, can you show me to your captain?”
A small Chinese man wearing a grubby vest and flip-flops stepped forward,
“I am Captain of ship. Who are you?”
He thrust his grimy chin at Nurse Hobbs and sucked through his teeth. Nurse Hobbs scowled at the little man,
“Where is this tin can of a boat going?”
The captain scowled back at Nurse Hobbs,
“My ship,” he paused and took another long suck through his teeth, “my ship going Hong Kong.”
Nurse Hobbs shook her head vigorously,
“Hong Kong? What am I going to do in Hong Kong? Turn this rust bucket around.”
The crew erupted into raucous laughter, and the captain spat onto the deck,
“Not possible. Ship going east. Next stop Hong Kong.”
So, what happened to..?
Grenwold Hobbs
Amazingly, Grenwold managed to slip quietly away before the police arrived. With just a handful of dollars, Grenwold escaped to Switzerland where he set up a small handmade toy company.
Mr. Augustus Pew
Mr. Pew was picked up by the police two days later and charged with funding an illegal army. He was sentenced to fifteen years in prison and now spends his days working in the prison gardens.
Mrs. Audrey Pew
Audrey escaped all charges and languishes in luxury on the Pew family estate.
Guillermo Pew (Guilly)
With his father in prison, Guillermo fulfilled his father’s wish and became the youngest CEO of a multi-billion dollar company ever. The cerebral assault by the
Scanner Girls left Guilly with no memory of the Kiddy-Care Convention. To this day Guilly is completely unaware that he is a gifted telepathic fighter.
Bob
Bob was forced to clean up the destroyed Egg. This time it wasn’t all bad news though for the characteristically unlucky Bob. While rummaging through the tangled body parts, Bob found one of Nurse Hobbs briefcases; which was stuffed full of cash. Bob promptly resigned from his job and went on a round- the-world trip.
Chief Inspector Dent
Dent was discharged from the police force after an independent inquiry found him negligent of ignoring countless warnings from his peers about the danger that Kiddy-Care posed to the world. He now runs a small import and export company out of his back room.
Inspector Tony Hatchet
Hatchet was promoted to Chief Inspector and moved into Dent’s office.
Nurse Hobbs and The Scanner Kidz
Well, you’ll have to read the next book to find out what happens to these guys.
Check out www.scannerkidz.com for lots more stories and background info of all the kids.
Want Some More?
We’re Scanner Kidz Too - Attack Of The NanoBots
The whole world is going crazy for the hot, new game, ‘Storm Rider.’
Nurse Hobbs is back and up to her old tricks: It’s world domination or bust and this time she’s teamed up with the unscrupulous Sammy Chan, the dastardly toy manufacturer from Toy-city, Hong Kong.
The stage is set for an outlandish battle for the hearts and minds of the world’s children.
Sparks are going to fly as all the Scanner Kidz finally get together for a Christmas party no one will ever forget.
Here’s an excerpt from the Book Two – you don’t want to miss this!
Death By Floaters
The two fat guards dragged the four struggling children down the filthy corridor. Try as they might the children couldn’t break free; the guards were each as strong as gorillas on steroids. Rommi desperately tried to zap a guard with a Numb Skull Brain Zapper but missed.
“WHERE ARE YOU TAKING US?” screamed Libby at the top of her lungs.
One guard let out a deep, rumbling, belly laugh.
“You’re going where all the crap goes, down the chute.”
The other guard let out a thunderous laugh.
“Yeah, consider us the waste disposal guys and you – you kids are the waste and waste goes – DOWN THE CHUTE.” He pulled open a huge, rusty door and fired each child one by one into the waste disposal unit like they were bags of rubbish.
As the children sped down the chute they clattered against each other and the slimy, brown walls until they finally hit the hard, cold floor;
THUMP – OW!
THUMP – OW, OW!
THUMP – OW, OW, OW!
THUMP – OW, OW, OW, OW!
Cammy was the first to get up and look around the small room.
“Well, that wasn’t so bad.” He said with relief.
“ARE YOU INSANE?” cried Rommi. “LOOK WHERE WE ARE.”
Jessie searched the dark room with her big, blue eyes.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“HOW THE HELL SHOULD I KNOW,” Rommi screamed even louder.
“OK, guys keep it cool. It can’t be that bad. I mean, it’s just a smelly room right? How bad can it be?” said Libby.
Suddenly the sound of grating metal reverberated around the tiny room which was quickly followed by a thunderous gushing of water.
“OK, now it’s bad.” shrieked Libby as a tidal wave of sewage exploded out of a hole in the wall.
“EVERYONE HOLD ON TO EACH OTHER.” ordered Cammy but his voice was drowned out by the tremendous din of the enormous, brown wave.
Within seconds the whole room was engulfed in a sea of stinky soup, and the children were bounced around like a set of juggler’s balls. Eventually, the water calmed and one by one the children’s heads popped up out of the sewage.
“YEW, we’re in a toilet.” spluttered Jessie.
Rommi desperately tried to clear his mouth of dirty, bog roll while frantically treading water,
“Argh, argh, argh!” he gasped.
“Oh, it smells so bad.” cried Libby. She tried to reach for the wall but missed and grabbed a large, floating poo instead. She flung it into the air and it squished against the wall with a splat.
As always Cammy was calm,
“Everyone be quiet and concentrate on swimming. Keep your heads out of the water and try not to swallow any. I’ll think of a way to get us out of here.”
By now Rommi was treading water at ninety miles and hour and whipping up the mucky brew into a brown, pooey bubble bath
“Rommi, stop splashing the water and calm down,” called Cammy.
Oblivious to Cammy’s pleas Rommi continued to froth up the water like an out of control, clockwork frog,
Things were not looking good. All around the children floated thick, meaty turds like prowling crocodiles. Not only did the children have to struggle to stay afloat but they also had to move out of the way of the scary floaters. An especially large floater sailed lazily under Cammy’s nose. It was huge and incredibly whiffy. Cammy struggled to think where it could have come from. It must have been one seriously big bum-hole to have squeezed out such a super-sized monster.
Rommi gave out a last desperate squeal,
“HELP,” gurgle, “HELP,” gurgle, “HELP!”
Cammy and Libby both reached out and grabbed the fast sinking Rommi by the scruff of the neck. After treading water at lightening speed for a minute, his body had now completely run out of power and was just a second away from sinking to the bottom like a stone.
“Stay afloat Rommi,” shouted Libby.
Rommi’s eyes were full of fear. He was convinced they were soon to meet a crappy, stinky end. Death by floater, what a way to go. Behind them, the hole in the wall spewed out another jet of hot, steamy human waste and the children were once again tossed around in the stinking stew.
“It’s no good,” cried Libby in desperation. “The room will soon be full. We have to think of a way to get out, now. We’ve no time to lose.”
Cammy desperately scanned the room even he was beginning to panic now. Above his head, a mean looking rat with bright, red eyes and sharp, yellow teeth squeezed its fat, greasy body through an old grill. It dropped into the water with a large PLOP. It was quickly followed by another and then another. Soon the ceiling seemed to be raining grey, gnarly rats. The children shrieked with fear. Drowning in poo was bad but being eaten alive by rats was a nightmare come true.
How will the new Scanner Kidz get out of this mess?
Find out in the next book.
Coming soon!
