Other published books by Michael Maguire
Adult Novels:
Shot Silk
Slaughter Horse
Scratchproof
Scorcher
Young Adult Novels:
Mylor: The most powerful horse in the world
Mylor: The kidnap
Swiftly
Swiftly 2
Superkids (New Title: Kool Kidz)
Copyright © 2020 Michael Maguire
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries
concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Matador
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ISBN 9781838597597
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Matador® is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
So what happened during the next three years?
About the Author
Chapter One
‘Three, four, five…’ Lucy Scott was pointing at the well-squeezed tubes of toothpaste that lay at Troy’s bare feet. ‘You’ve got all that icky white stuff between your toes.’
Troy laughed. ‘I’ll rinse my feet in the sea before I go back to the house.’
His sister had arrived in Cornwall with her twin brother Archie and their dog Oscar a few hours ago. Their Uncle Jacob had met them at the station and had talked non-stop about his latest invention on the drive to Milford-on-Sea. He’d spent a year designing and building a replica of a Great White Shark.
‘His teeth look polished,’ Lucy said. ‘How many teeth does a shark have?’
‘Between forty and fifty,’ Troy told her. ‘This shark is slightly smaller so he has forty and they’re made of resin.’
‘They look very real.’
‘Luckily he doesn’t suffer from plaque like we do.’
‘What’s plaque?’
‘It’s fur-like stuff that clings to your teeth. You can feel it in the morning by running your tongue over the top ones.’
‘Eww gross!’ She rubbed a finger over her gums. ‘My toothbrush is in my case. I hope Archie has carried my stuff to my bedroom.’
‘Ha! What did your last slave die of?’ Troy asked.
Lucy had been in such a hurry to see the invention she’d left Archie with her Uncle at the house and run down the cliff path to the boathouse.
Her older brother Troy 18, tall, dark, had been with Jacob for several months since finishing his training at Technical College. He loved working with Jacob and together they were faced with solving problems of how to get the robotic Great White Shark realistic in every detail.
‘We’re so lucky,’ Lucy said.
‘Lucky?’ Troy squinted at her.
‘We’re lucky to have the sea so near.’
They were lucky – very lucky. They were inside the boathouse which sat alone on a small private beach, only a few metres from the sea. Above them, high on the top of the cliffs was Uncle Jacob’s old house named “Gull Cottage.” Over the years the constant spray from the sea had badly eaten away at the cliffs’ foundations. Experts had told Jacob that in a few years’ time Gull Cottage would fall apart; slide over the cliff edge and smash to pieces on the beach below.
‘I don’t like the shark when you’ve got his mouth wide open,’ Lucy observed, ‘he looks very scary.’
‘He looks very REAL,’ Troy replied, releasing two clips at each corner of the shark’s mouth. There was a hiss as the mouth framework closed with a scissor action leaving Troy enough space to pull it clear. Silently and smoothly the shark’s jaws closed shut.
‘Wow hardcore!’ The shout came from the boathouse door.
Lucy’s twin brother stood like a statue, his dark brown eyes bulging. He was wearing camouflage style shorts and was holding Oscar their tiny Jack Russell dog who was desperate to get a sniff at the shark.
‘Kristo is larger than I thought,’ Archie said, excited. ‘Uncle Jacob said he was a bit smaller than a real Great White… but hellfire he’s still very big.’
‘Kristo?’ Troy queried. ‘Don’t tell me Jacob has finally decided on a name.’
‘That’s a cool name,’ Lucy put in. ‘I shall call him Kris for short.’
Uncle Jacob had been considering various names for about a year and was regularly changing his mind. When Troy arrived at Gull Cottage three months ago at the start of his gap-year he had simply named the electronic shark “Great White.”
‘Where did Uncle get the name Kristo?’ Archie asked.
‘That was the name of the ship that brought him from India to England,’ Troy explained. ‘He was a very young man at the time and looking for a better life.’
‘So he settled in Milford-on-Sea?’
‘It seemed the perfect place… quiet, clean and very few visitors… unlike most of Cornwall which can be crammed with tourists.’
‘And very handy having the UK Space Agency only a few miles away,’ Troy added, and then he sighed. ‘Of course, now Uncle’s retired he misses working there. In his younger days he couldn’t wait to get an apprenticeship.’
‘What exactly is an apprenticeship?’ Lucy queried.
‘It’s the starting point for the job you want,’ Troy explained.
Troy had learned a lot about his Uncle’s history since arriving several months ago at Gull Cottage. He knew that Jacob insisted that all his inventions were kept totally secret. Some had been stolen in the past and he’d lost out badly through loose talk.
‘I wish Archie and I could stay with Uncle for a year… just like you,’ Lucy said looking at Troy. ‘We only get a stingy few weeks holiday.’
‘Boo-Hoo!’ Troy laughed teasingly and began collecting up the empty tubes of toothpaste. ‘Give me a violin and I’ll play a tune.’
‘How come you get a gap-year anyway?’ Archie was still struggling to hold Oscar. ‘It seems unfair to me.’
‘Wait till you and Lucy reach eighteen,’ Troy said. ‘Then you can take a one-year break between school and university.’
‘It seems a long wait. We’re only just fourteen.’
‘I’m eight minutes older,’ Lucy stated.
‘That’s why you’re ugly,’ Troy held back a grin. He was always poking fun at his younger sister a
nd Lucy knew his jokey words weren’t meant to be hurtful.
‘The oldest twin has more brains… I read it somewhere,’ Lucy said, ignoring Troy’s attempt to be funny.
Troy, who was dressed in denim shorts, T-shirt and deck-shoes took a step backwards and eyed his sister up and down.
‘What the heck are you wearing, Lucy?’
‘It’s retro stuff,’ Archie told him. ‘You know she’s always buying bits and pieces from charity and vintage shops.’
Lucy had arrived at Gull Cottage wearing steam-punk sunglasses, ripped jeans, boots and a biker jacket peppered with hundreds of shiny studs.
Her hair had been cropped, dyed blonde and dashed with various colours. Although short in height her clothes made her look older than her fourteen years.
‘My guess is punk,’ Troy said, rubbing his chin. ‘I know we had the Emo and Goth stages a few months ago.’
Oscar gave a bark of agreement.
Archie chuckled. ‘You guessed right.’
Troy fixed Lucy with a steely stare. ‘Well you won’t be wearing any punk gear after today.’
‘Why won’t I?’ Lucy lifted her chin and produced her stubborn look. ‘I’m not in London anymore. I’m supposed to be on a summer holiday – remember?’
‘It’s a working holiday… So I want you in a suit.’
There was a brief silence as Lucy looked at Archie, who simply shrugged.
‘A SUIT!’ Lucy struggled to get the word out. ‘That’s what old people wear!’
Lucy looked very cute when she was angry; her high cheek-bones exaggerated now because she was clamping down on her teeth.
‘Sorry, Sis,’ Troy chuckled, enjoying Lucy’s confusion. ‘I forgot to mention that the suit is a wetsuit. You’ll need protection when you’re riding the waves on Kristo’s back.’
‘That’s awesome!’ Lucy’s face brightened immediately. ‘I’ll be on a Great White Shark… Swimming with him and doing lots of cool stuff.’
Archie moved towards Kristo. The shark was lying on a metal cradle with only his head visible. His body and fins were covered with a huge black plastic sheet.
‘I thought Lucy would be inside Kristo’s cockpit with me,’ Archie said.
‘She will be. She’ll be spending more time sitting behind you helping whenever we need him to go underwater,’ Troy explained.
Lucy and Archie had spent many weeks learning every detail about Kristo. Uncle Jacob had sent plans, diagrams and written information to their computer. The twins had treated it like homework. They would go to bed questioning each other about the complicated workings of Kristo. As they were both short for their age they would fit snugly into the shark’s cockpit. Archie would be the pilot with Lucy sitting behind him as the co-pilot. Troy was the technical leader under the guidance of his Uncle and knew everything about the high-tech design.
He also knew that the shark had been designed for a very special mission which had to be kept secret. Only tonight, when Jacob had the twins’ full attention would they be told about the map he had found and the exact spot where a treasure-ship, bursting with gold could be found.
Troy had all the details and hoped that the salvage of the gold would be more than enough to help his Uncle renew, strengthen and rebuild Gull Cottage. Jacob, through careful research, knew that three hundred years ago many men had drowned during a freak storm ripping into a Spanish merchant ship that had been carrying a metal chest of gold. By law the gold would be classed as “treasure trove” and 50 percent of its value would belong to the Government.
‘Can we have a look at the seats?’ Archie asked, jiggling up and down.
‘Calm down little brother,’ Troy said. ‘What’s with all the excitement…? Do you want a pee?’
‘No, of course not. I’ve seen the photos Uncle sent… but now I’m here… with the real thing… I can’t wait.’
‘You can take Kristo for a test run tomorrow,’ Troy told him. ‘I’ve still got some final computer tweaks to complete.’
‘Will you be with us tomorrow?’
‘When the shark is in the sea I will remain on the beach and be in contact by transceiver.’
‘And can I ride on his back?’ Lucy asked, beaming her pleasure. ‘I can’t wait to wear the wetsuit.’
Troy walked to the rear of the boathouse and unhooked a carrier bag from the wall. He tossed it to Lucy.
‘Your wetsuit,’ he told her. ‘Cover the inside with plenty of talcum powder so you can easily slide into it. If everything goes to plan you can try Kristo on the surface in a couple of days.’
Lucy pouted, ‘But Archie’s going out tomorrow…’
‘And you’ll be in the rear seat behind him,’ Troy explained. ‘I want you both to be experts with the controls when Kristo dives.’
Lucy and Archie had been chosen by Uncle Jacob because both were short in height and had individual talents. Archie was an IT expert who had performed extremely well through his exams. Jacob had also written to Lucy’s swimming coach about her abilities and received a reply which confirmed she “was born to swim.”
This had strengthened Jacob’s hopes and lessened the fears that Lucy might not be able to cope with the danger of the sea. The coach had added that Lucy was an extremely strong swimmer for her small size.
‘Time for food,’ Troy looked at his watch and headed for the door. ‘Let’s get back to Gull Cottage and help Uncle with the cooking.’
Oscar yanked on his lead and reached the door first. He began playing with a small round object that he’d found on the ground. He nudged it with his nose so it bounced around.
Archie bent to pick it up. ‘Looks like a miniature transmitter.’ He examined it then handed it to Troy. ‘Does this belong inside Kristo?’
Troy shook his head and looked at it suspiciously. ‘Someone has planted a bug in here. Whoever it is has been listening to our conversations.’
‘Spying on us?’ Lucy gulped.
Troy could see a loop of thread attached to the transmitter. ‘This was put on the hook by the door,’ he said. ‘It was covered by the bag containing Lucy’s wetsuit. I must have yanked it off.’
‘I bet someone is trying to get information about Kristo,’ Archie said, bending to pat Oscar.
Troy knew that the boathouse hadn’t been renovated for many years and that it was lacking proper security. The door was only held shut by a simple padlock. Jacob had recently designed an electronic protection system but it had yet to be installed.
‘The new lock has photo recognition,’ Troy told the twins. ‘Only Jacob and the three of us can get into the boathouse. The system has to recognise who wants to enter before the door will open.’
‘Whoever it is could be planning to steal Uncle’s invention,’ Archie added with feeling.
‘They won’t be able to hear our tactics anymore.’ Troy dropped the tiny transmitter to the floor and crushed it beneath his foot. ‘I’ll fit the electronic photo-lock as soon as we’ve eaten,’ he said.
Archie pushed open the boathouse door. He turned to look at Troy who had lifted the shark’s cover from part of the cockpit. He watched Troy’s finger tap on the glass screen which contained dozens of commands linked to the central processing unit that could make Kristo behave in various ways.
‘You’ve activated his artificial intelligence circuit,’ Archie said, frowning hard at Troy. ‘What…?’
Troy looked surprised at Archie’s touch-screen knowledge. ‘I’m glad you’ve been following Jacob’s instructions.’
‘There was a lot to remember,’ Archie told him. ‘Lucy and I lost a chunk of sleep.’
‘Well you can both have an early night tonight. It’s a busy day for you both tomorrow.’
‘B-but you still haven’t told us why you’ve left our shark in artificial intelligence mode?’ Archie was persistent.
‘
Just a precaution, little brother, until I get the door lock fixed. Let’s call it a safety measure.’
‘But Kristo can’t do much out of the sea,’ Lucy put in.
Troy had a secretive look on his face as they made their way to the cliff path. ‘I’m so pleased I cleaned his teeth,’ he said with a chuckle.
*
Len Riddle had been stroking his ear. He held a little plastic receiver which looked like a deaf-aid in his hand and cursed Troy with dozens of swearwords. ‘It was like an explosion in my ear when that kid crushed the transmitter.’
‘Don’t be such a wimp,’ his brother Joe said, unscrewing the cap on a vacuum flask. ‘Wanna cup of coffee?’
‘Yeah, plenty of sugar.’
The Riddle brothers were high on the cliff top directly overlooking the boathouse. They were both in their 50’s, skinny for their height and looked as though they could do with a good wash. Deep creases in their faces were ingrained with dirt. They were lying on their stomachs, propped on their elbows, each holding a pair of binoculars.
It was a perfect spot to watch Gull Cottage and the people who came and went along the cliff path. Joe was watching Troy, Lucy, Archie and Oscar as they made their way upwards.
‘Go on kiddiewinks.’ Len grunted. ‘Get back to Uncle and get outa our way.’
‘The tall boy isn’t a kid,’ Joe said.
‘Nope… He looks about nineteen – maybe twenty.’
‘His name’s Troy.’
‘I know that. I heard it on the transmitter when they were chatting.’ He paused searching his memory. ‘The other boy’s called Archie and the blonde girl who looks like a boy is called Lucy. Stupid little bitch, dressing like that. Old man Scott must have built the shark to fit around the two younger kids. I guess he wanted small bodies for the design.’
‘And the dog is named Oscar,’ Joe added, remembering.
‘Damn dogs… I hate people with dogs.’
‘You hate all animals.’
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