Blink and You Die

by Lauren Child

  ‘Be careful. Don’t slip Ruby, just focus,’ Buzz urged. ‘LB is on her way.’

  Ruby tried not to think about what would happen if LB didn’t show.

  ‘Kid, you’re making a big mistake, the biggest of your life. Who fed you this information?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter who told me, because I just heard you talking to your accomplice not ten minutes ago. I know you want me dead! As soon as you have the code, I’ll be toast!’

  Her fingers searched for something to grip, to hold on to.

  ‘Kid, that wasn’t you I was talking about! – that was—’

  ‘He’ll kill you Ruby!’ Buzz warned. ‘Just like he tried to kill Bradley Baker, that day at the rapids, just like he tried to kill little Art Zachery.’

  ‘Not true!’ yelled Hitch. ‘The boy who almost got chomped by a crocodile was me.’

  ‘Well, forgive me if I don’t take your word for it.’

  ‘Wanna see the bite? It’s ugly, took an awful lot of stitches to put me back together.’

  Ruby felt her foot slip on ice and she barely managed to steady herself.

  ‘Ruby!’ cried Buzz. ‘Hold on, keep moving – focus on me.’

  ‘Focus on her and you’ll wind up dead,’ shouted Hitch.

  ‘Don’t listen to him Ruby! He stole someone’s name and plotted murder.’

  ‘Talking of names,’ shouted Hitch, ‘do you know what Buzz stands for kid?’

  ‘Of course I know,’ cried Ruby, ‘Brenda Ulla Zane. What’s that got to do with anything?’

  ‘Nothing,’ shouted Hitch. ‘Not until you know what those initials really represent: Baker, Uggerlimb, Zachery, all the agents Buzz wants dead. Baker, the boy who was better than her, and the two who tried to save him – oh, and you can add your name to that list – once she has obtained that code, you really will be toast. You can stake your life on it.’

  ‘You’re actually trying to tell me that an HQ administrator is part of this?’

  ‘Not part of this – the whole deal, the one who’s been pulling the strings all this time.’

  ‘Buzz is Casey Morgan? You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going to believe that!’ yelled Ruby.

  She was looking at a piece of jutting stonework, trying to figure out how to get past it.

  ‘He’s a liar and deep down you know it Ruby,’ yelled Buzz. ‘Ask him where he’s been all this time, where was he this evening, for instance – why didn’t he answer your call?’

  ‘Want to know where I was? I was on a wild goose chase, that’s where – and someone cut my line.’

  ‘It was you who shut down transmission, you!’ yelled Buzz.

  ‘Why would you do that?’ shouted Ruby.

  ‘You’re missing the big picture here kid.’

  ‘That’s funny, the last time I heard those words they came out of the Count’s mouth – friend of yours, is he?’

  She was grappling to find handholds, her feet kept slipping on the ledge.

  ‘The Count’s a friend of no one, you know that. Ask Buzz, she used to be his apprentice, didn’t you Buzz?’

  ‘You’re the assassin!’ shouted Buzz. ‘After all it was you who took her up in that plane! You who handed her to Marnie Novak! You who went missing without contact! Abandoning her to all that danger! It was you!’

  ‘I was left for dead in the back of beyond!’ yelled Hitch.

  ‘Don’t listen to him! He’s trying to save his own skin.’

  ‘Believe me, Ruby, you’re about to grab the hand of Casey Morgan!’

  ‘How could Buzz be Casey Morgan? Casey Morgan was a boy!’ yelled Ruby.

  ‘No kid, Casey Morgan was a girl who disguised herself as a boy in order to become Larva – no women in Spectrum, not back then, that made little Casey mad, it wasn’t fair and it wasn’t, was it Casey? It was most definitely not fair – but instead of proving herself, little Casey here decides to take out the competition.’

  ‘If I’m so smart that I can outwit all you brilliant agents with all your training, then how come I’m sitting surrounded by phones taking calls and passing on messages?’

  ‘It’s true,’ shouted Ruby. ‘How could a mushroom like Buzz be some evil genius!’

  ‘Because she’s not a mushroom, she’s a toadstool, sitting there attracting flies.’

  ‘He’ll say anything to make you believe his lies.’

  Who’s lying, who’s lying, who’s lying?

  RULE 29: JUST BECAUSE A LION SAYS IT’S A MOUSE, DOESN’T MAKE IT A MOUSE.

  Just because an agent says he’s a butler doesn’t make him a butler.

  Just because an agent says he’s one of the good guys, doesn’t make it true.

  Just because a toadstool looks like a mushroom doesn’t make it any less dangerous.

  Who’s lying?

  She was stuck halfway between Hitch and Buzz, her back to the building, the snow gently falling, with no idea which way to go.

  ‘He’s playing you, Ruby,’ said Buzz. ‘You’ve been working for him, feeding him information.’

  ‘All this time,’ said Hitch, ‘it’s been Buzz sitting right there in the corner of the room, so obvious we didn’t see her, like a spider spinning a web, catching flies, catching agents.’

  It was Ruby’s mind which was beginning to spin …

  She looked up and saw the great blinking eye at the top of the old City Eye Hospital.

  Who’s lying?

  Who’s lying?

  How to know?

  Who would know?

  Clancy would know …

  She closed her eyes. ‘Clancy, where are you?’ she yelled. And to her great surprise a voice came back to her.

  ‘I’m here, Rube! Up here!’

  Ruby looked above her to see Clancy’s small face looking down from the roof of the building.

  ‘Climb up to the sign,’ said Clancy. ‘Get up on the roof! I’ll be here for you!’

  Get up on the roof!

  And Ruby began to climb, away from Buzz, away from Hitch and up to safety. She looked down; she could no longer see Buzz but out of the corner of her eye she could see Hitch. He was at the far edge of the building and climbing.

  ‘Keep going Rube,’ urged Clancy, ‘just keep going.’

  She was moving fast. Though the snow was falling and the ironwork was slippery she was already halfway up the sign.

  ‘You’ve nearly made it,’ said Clancy. ‘Just grab the eye and you’re almost there.’

  ‘I can’t, I’m caught on something,’ she screamed. ‘My shoe is caught!’

  ‘Don’t panic Rube, take it easy, just try and wriggle free.’

  ‘I don’t know who to trust Clance,’ she cried.

  ‘Rube, what do you do when you meet a bear?’

  ‘Wish you hadn’t,’ whispered Ruby.

  ‘No,’ shouted Clancy. ‘You go with your gut instinct, tune into your sixth sense.’

  ‘I don’t have one!’

  ‘Everyone has one! Who is it telling you to trust?’

  Ruby closed her eyes.

  ‘Hitch,’ she said.

  IT WAS HITCH WHO REACHED THE ROOF FIRST. He looked around for Ruby and saw a figure crouching near the parapet, just caught by the light.

  ‘Clancy, is that you?’

  Clancy got to his feet. ‘Yeah, it’s me.’

  ‘Where is she?’ asked Hitch.

  ‘On the sign!’ said Clancy. ‘Her shoe is caught.’

  Hitch ran to the edge. ‘Stay there kid, I’ll get you.’

  ‘You gotta save her,’ said Clancy. ‘The Count – once he figures she’s up here he’ll follow – you have to save her!’

  ‘You can bet on it kid, but you have to hide, no heroics, do you hear me?’

  Clancy nodded.

  ‘So go hide in the shadows; no one will see you in that black suit.’

  Clancy did as he was told and Hitch began to lower himself over the parapet.

  Too late he heard the tap tap tap of Italian shoes.


  Too late he turned to see the silhouette of Victor von Leyden.

  And he was too late to save himself from what was to come.

  The Count didn’t hesitate. He aimed and fired – not a bullet, but a dart of paralysing parasol poison, and Hitch felt its sting as he reeled backwards, arms flailing as he grappled air.

  The Count picked his way carefully to the roof’s edge and peered down to see Hitch hanging on by an eyelash, quite literally clinging to one of the giant iron eyelashes which surrounded the vast neon eyeball.

  ‘Let’s hope it doesn’t blink,’ said the Count, looking at his watch. ‘Five minutes to go,’ he laughed. ‘It blinks and you die.’

  Hitch was trying to grab on with his other hand, but it wouldn’t move, the venom having already taken hold.

  ‘Want to strike a bargain Casey dear fellow?’ called the Count. ‘I’ll give you the girl – if you give me the location of those Mars Mushrooms.’

  ‘I’m afraid I can’t help you with that,’ shouted Hitch.

  ‘You don’t have long,’ warned the Count. ‘Once that paralysing poison takes hold, you will no longer be able to – those parasol fish really are quite deadly.’

  ‘Like I said, I can tell you nothing,’ yelled Hitch.

  ‘They’ll be no use to you once you fall, and you will fall.’

  ‘I don’t have the location,’ yelled Hitch.

  ‘Don’t lie to me. You betrayed me, Casey Morgan, and I want what’s mine.’

  ‘Oh, I’m not Casey,’ called Hitch, ‘you’ve got the wrong guy.’

  ‘Of course you’re Casey,’ hissed the Count.

  ‘No, Casey would be the woman standing right behind you.’

  As the Count turned, so Buzz kicked him hard in the back of the knees, the Count lost his balance, pitched forward and fell headlong into the sky.

  And at the very same moment Hitch lost his grip; the poison took hold, but as his hand let go of the lash so his jacket caught it. The dark grey fabric of his Savile Row suit was the only thing between him and the great abyss.

  And next they heard Clancy’s voice, yelling from the darkness. ‘Over here, I’m over here!’

  The distraction bought them time. Buzz ran to the shadows, but could not see the boy; his dark suit blended with the night.

  ‘Ruby!’ yelled Hitch. ‘Kick off your shoe and climb! Get out of here!’

  ‘What about you! She’ll kill you!’

  ‘Get out of here! That’s an order!’ he yelled.

  She yanked her foot and the shoe came away and she began to move, hand over hand, reaching for the top. She stretched out her arm and felt for the stone but instead of stone it found …

  ‘Buzz!’

  ‘Call me Casey,’ she said.

  THE WOMAN FORMERLY KNOWN AS BUZZ was much stronger than Ruby would have ever guessed. Her grip so strong Ruby was held there, struggle was futile.

  Casey Morgan pressed the 8-key key-tag that had once belonged to Bradley Baker into the snow and slowly the etched eyes appeared. Then, very carefully, Casey Morgan held the Lucite eyes over Ruby’s own.

  ‘Blink and you die,’ she hissed.

  She peered into green, trying to align the pattern in the Lucite over the pattern in Ruby’s irises. But something was wrong, she couldn’t get a reading, and then she realised why.

  ‘You’re wearing lenses,’ she hissed. ‘Pluck them out or I’ll kill your friend.’

  In the darkness Ruby could see Clancy creeping up. All he had to do was push.

  Suddenly Buzz flung out her arm and Clancy went sprawling across the roof.

  ‘I don’t think he’ll be getting up from that,’ she snarled. ‘Lose the lenses or I’ll pick them out myself.’

  And so Ruby did.

  Buy yourself some time: one minute could change your fate.

  And while she waited for Casey Morgan to read the code, through the blur Ruby thought she could see a figure, two figures, one human and the other animal … a dog.

  The human figure crept slowly and quite silently.

  Casey Morgan heard not a footstep until the figure drew something from its hair; it glinted in the moonlight.

  And then with one sudden move the figure jabbed it into the rump of Casey Morgan. The shock caused her to let go of Ruby and as she twisted around to face her attacker so Casey lost her footing, and tumbled away into darkness.

  Her scream could not be heard because at the very moment of her falling so the bells began to ring, announcing the arrival of 1974.

  THE FIGURE LEANED DOWN to help Ruby up, and Ruby saw the silver chopstick glinting in her hand.

  ‘Mrs Digby?’ said Ruby. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘Just looking out for what’s mine.’ said the old lady.

  ‘You know you saved my life?’

  ‘All part of the service,’ said Mrs Digby. ‘No one messes with my Ruby.’

  Then she hurried over to tend to Clancy, who was lying flat on his back while being licked vigorously on the face by the husky.

  A searchlight panned across the rooftop and suddenly there shone the brightest silver light, brighter than the Venus star, so bright it seemed it could almost blind.

  Ruby watched as the silver thing moved quickly towards her.

  ‘Ruby?’ came a voice. ‘Look Brant, it’s Ruby!’

  Sabina’s dress had become a mirrorball and as it moved so the light danced around it.

  ‘Honey, you’re much too close to the edge, you could fall,’ said Brant.

  ‘Yes, that occurred to me too,’ said Ruby, taking her father’s hand.

  ‘Oh, and Mrs Digby!’ said Sabina.

  ‘Howdie,’ said the old lady.

  Clancy opened his eyes. ‘Happy new year, Mrs Redfort,’ he groaned.

  ‘Are you OK son?’ asked Brant.

  ‘How jolly!’ cried Sabina. ‘How tout à fait joyeux! Our own little party! What a way to welcome in 1974.’

  ‘I don’t suppose you could give me a hand?’ The call came from somewhere not quite on the roof.

  Mr and Mrs Redfort peered over the edge of the building to see their house-manager dangling precariously, hooked on a single eyelash of the giant eyeball.

  ‘Hitch, whatever are you doing?’ asked Sabina.

  ‘I lost a cufflink – I was just reaching for it when this happened.’

  ‘Cufflinks,’ said Brant. ‘They’re a terrible liability.’

  ‘Thank goodness for a good suit,’ said Sabina.

  ‘You can always rely on Guy & Hills,’ said Hitch.

  ‘I think you should unhook him,’ suggested Ruby.

  ‘Yes,’ said Hitch, ‘I’m afraid my arms have gone rather numb.’

  ‘It will be the cold,’ said Sabina. ‘Help him up Brant, darling, his seams might go.’

  And just as Hitch was hauled back onto the roof so a helicopter hovered overhead and two figures began to descend, a woman and a man.

  ‘At last,’ said Hitch, and they all watched as Loveday Byrd and Agent Blacker touched down.

  ‘Have we missed anything?’ yelled LB.

  ‘No,’ shouted Ruby, ‘I’d say you’re just in time.’

  ‘Gee, how exciting,’ exclaimed Sabina.

  ‘What a show!’ said Brant.

  ‘Is it a show?’ asked Sabina.

  ‘It’s hard to say,’ said Ruby.

  ‘Well, something just happened,’ said Sabina. ‘What do you think, Mrs Digby?’

  ‘You know what, Mrs R,’ she said, looking up at the glittering figure with a placid expression. ‘It’s like I always say: ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.’

  It would seem Casey Morgan had been attempting to track down the child with the code in her eyes for the past eleven years. She had set elaborate traps hoping to draw the girl to her, though only two of these plots had come close to succeeding.

  The first was printed on the back of a Choco Puffles packet and although Ruby had spotted it, solved it and even filled in the
coupon with her name and address, the information had never reached its destination. This was due to her father’s forgetfulness: he had neglected to mail his daughter’s envelope and in so doing had undoubtedly saved her life.

  The second lure was a yellow balloon printed with a smiley face and tied to a long pink ribbon attached to a brown parcel tag. Had Ruby thought to look, she would have seen that there was something contained inside that smiling yellow sphere, but she missed it, finding the brown label more desirable than the balloon. She had carefully detached it from the ribbon and then let go, watching as it climbed high into the fall sky before completely disappearing.

  From the Twinford Hound …

  NEAR FALL AT THE EYE BALL

  It was high-rise mayhem last night at the Eye Ball. The New Year extravaganza, dubbed “the only party in town”, hosted by Twinford millionaires Mr and Mrs Gerald Hassensack, was brought to an early close when an intruder was spotted climbing up the side of the building.

  Detectives suspect that the woman, Brenda Ulla Zane, was there to rob guests of their jewels and valuables. She was challenged by plucky thirteen-year-old Ruby Redfort, who in a hair-raising turn of events had to climb for her life in a daring effort to escape the robber.

  Art ‘Hitch’ Zachery, house-manager to the Redfort family, came to the teenager’s rescue but was pushed from the rooftop by an as yet unidentified man. Mr Zachery was saved when his suit jacket became hooked on the Eye building’s landmark giant blinking eye. When asked to comment on his heroics he said, “I would just like to thank my tailor at Guy & Hills”.

  The incident was brought to a close when housekeeper and senior citizen Mrs Myrtle Digby bravely confronted Zane, who in an attempt to evade the law, leapt, slipped and plummeted 34 floors to her death.

  Brant and Sabina Redfort, parents to Ruby and employers of both Mr Zachery and Mrs Digby, said they were “relieved to have everyone home in three pieces”.

  The six friends had spent the afternoon sitting in the Donut Diner, eating pancakes and catching up on the previous night’s events, but it was now time to head on home.