The friend had manufactured spray-cans of realistic skin containing silicone and collagen. Jacob had provided the colour tint and once sprayed on it stuck to Kristo’s metal framework without problems.
‘It looks very real,’ Len admitted. ‘Swimmers are gonna be scared witless if they see it.’
‘It’ll have to stay underwater and out of sight,’ Joe said. ‘Besides… this is Cornwall. There ain’t no sharks in this part of the sea.’
‘Whotya mean?’
‘Great White sharks prefer warmer water. They’re almost always found in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean, as well as the Mediterranean Sea.’
‘Well, maybe this one strayed.’
Joe looked at his brother as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
‘It’s fake, Len,’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘How can it stray? It’s an electronic machine driven by two kids inside… remember?’
‘Oh yeah,’ Len banged his head with his palm. ‘I knew that. I got confused, that’s all.’
‘You’re always confused.’
‘Have they got the size right? He looks damn big?’
‘A Great White shark can be four meters long,’ Joe told his brother as he fiddled with the zoom control on his binoculars. ‘I’d say the old Uncle has made it a bit smaller so that it’s easier for the kids to control.’
The two men watched as Kristo slid off the cradle and dived under the waves. It was a perfect entry, with very little splashing and just a gentle flick of the shark’s tail. They watched the dorsal fin get lower and lower until it disappeared under the water.
‘Clever using those rails to get it to and from the boathouse,’ Len grunted.
‘Don’t forget that Jacob Scott used to be an inventor so he’s loaded with brains,’ Joe replied.
‘The older boy’s pretty clever too.’
‘Troy?’
‘Yeah, Troy… he’s fixed a photo recognition lock to the boathouse. I can’t get in there without breaking the door.’
‘Geez!’ The word suddenly hissed trough Joe’s teeth as his eyes bulged and he nearly dropped his binoculars. ’Look…look…look… that shark must have travelled over half a kilometre. I just caught a glimpse of its dorsal fin as it rose in the far distance.’
‘Don’t wind me up, Joe. That’s far too fast. You saw a buoy broken loose or somethin’ like that.’
‘I know what I saw and it was Kristo!’
‘How fast can a real Great White swim?’ Len stuffed more sandwiches in his mouth.
‘About 25mph – maximum.’
‘Well, if it was the kids’ shark that you saw we could be in big trouble. The Stinger can’t match a speed like that.’
Joe cursed loudly. He knew his brother was right.
*
‘Slow down, Archie!’ Troy held the transceiver close to his lips. ‘This is just a test run so I don’t want you going out of range.’
‘He’s trying to break the shark speed record,’ Lucy piped up with a giggle.
‘He’s being a stupid boy,’ Troy replied. ‘What is the speed generator showing?’
‘It’s creeping towards thirty,’ Archie said, looking sheepish as he reduced pressure on the “speed icon” until the gauge showed ten.
The twins both knew that Kristo had been designed without a steering wheel. Archie had found this strange at first but he soon got to grips with the rudder pedals at his feet. These were connected to the shark’s huge crescent-shaped tail and pressure on each would steer Kristo left or right. The brake was a grip handle on the dashboard which, when pulled, would halt Kristo. The pectoral fins each side of the shark would react like the “flaps” on an aircraft and by turning against the pressure of the sea bring Kristo to a stop.
Jacob tut-tutted. ‘We mustn’t push Kristo to his limits. All we want to do today is test his electronic equipment.’
‘All gear functioning,’ Archie told him, catching his words. ‘No problems so far.’
‘Any water leaks?’ Troy asked.
‘Negative, Troy. Dry as a bone.’
‘Any boats about?’
‘Nope, all clear.’
‘Okay let’s test Kristo’s ability to roll. You’ll probably hear a whoosh of air coming from his gill slits. He has a pair of five, just behind his head. You can press the icon marked “left gill” or “right gill” depending which way you want to roll. The force of air will rotate him – so be prepared to turn over and hang on when it happens.’
Archie twisted in his seat to look at Lucy. She nodded.
‘We’ll check both,’ he told Troy. ‘The left then the right.’
His finger jabbed at the “left gill” icon and Kristo responded immediately. It was a huge roll with the plasma screens showing the swirling sea and a mass of foam and bubbles.
‘Wow! That was wicked!’ Lucy breathed against the rear of Archie’s neck as Kristo settled back to his upright swimming position. ‘Far better than any Theme Park ride.’
Archie tapped the “right gill” icon and once again Kristo spun over. The twins were both excited and perhaps a little scared and both were very pleased that their safety harnesses had held them firmly in their seats.
‘Do you want a greasy fry-up, kids?’ Troy’s voice echoed from the loudspeaker. ‘I’ll cook it when you get back. Lots of fatty bacon.’
‘No thanks!’ Lucy pulled a face. ‘Troy’s trying to make us sick.’
‘Well, it’s working,’ Archie admitted. ‘That rolling over was sweet but it left my stomach in my socks.’
‘I’d like to test Kristo with a leap,’ Uncle Jacob said to Troy.
Troy nodded and spoke into the transceiver. ‘Standby to hit thrusters, Archie… We’d like to see Kristo jump.’
‘This will be cool, Sis,’ Archie said, grinning.
He knew through Jacob’s tuition that a real Great White shark could leap three meters with ease, but Lucy guessed by the twist in Archie’s lips that he would try to go higher.
‘Okay,’ Troy was saying, ‘drop Kristo lower in the water then get your speed up to 20mph. I want you to try a two meter leap.’
‘Yes Boss,’ Archie murmured.
‘Boss? Don’t be so cocky, little Bro… Just follow my instructions.’
What happened next was a blur of movement in the cockpit. Archie kept a finger on the speed generator icon until it reached thirty, then pressed down hard on both rudder pedals. As he tapped the “thrusters” icon compressed air gushed through a vent under Kristo’s chin and his head lifted skywards.
The shark cut through the surface water like a bullet leaving a gun and he soared to a height of six meters before Archie shut down the “thrusters” and released his foot pressure on the rudder pedals.
‘Awesome!’ Lucy gasped, watching the images on the plasma screens change from sky to sea.
Kristo was able to bend easily because Jacob had designed the shark’s body with overlapping titanium plates. It had curved like a bow during the jump and entered the water with a huge head-first dive.
‘So that was only a two meter leap, was it Archie?’ Troy’s irritated voice filled the cockpit. ‘I reckon you need some maths lessons.’
Uncle Jacob was clapping at the demonstration and was smiling hugely. ‘Don’t be too hard on the boy,’ he whispered to Troy. ‘It’s very good fortune that my invention has more power than I would ever have imagined.’
Troy swallowed his slight anger and smiled back at Jacob. He knew that in Indian folk law the Great White shark was one of the most respected sea creatures and this was the main reason for Jacob building it.
‘Any other testing,’ Archie’s voice echoed from the transceiver.
‘No more for today,’ Troy replied. ‘Tap the “shore” icon and then the “artificial intelligence” icon and we’ll see if Kristo can f
ind his way back.’
Archie didn’t argue. He did as Troy had asked then settled back in his seat.
Lucy twisted to get her hand over Archie’s shoulder. ‘Fist bump,’ she said, letting Archie turn a bit to hit her knuckles. ‘You did well Captain Scott!’
‘Don’t start him with the “Captain” stuff,’ Troy said loudly through the speakers. ‘His head is big enough as it is.’
Archie ignored the remark and concentrated on the screen connected to the dorsal fin. ‘I can see the rails,’ he announced. ‘Kristo’s brought us to the landing spot.’
Troy and Uncle Jacob backed away from the edge of the sea. They could see the full length of Kristo now as he locked onto the rails and slid smoothly into the cradle. They followed his short journey to the boathouse.
‘Switch everything off,’ Troy instructed, still using the small transceiver. ‘You should know this without me telling you.’
‘Artificial intelligence and Oxygen generator off,’ Archie said.
‘Turbine engines off,’ Lucy said.
‘Cameras off,’ Archie said
‘Safety harnesses off,’ Lucy said.
‘We know the check list inside out,’ Archie added. ‘Everything’s at shut-down.’
Lucy reached forward and there was a slight hiss as she pushed up and opened the entry hatches. Some tiny drips of remaining sea water dripped onto her wetsuit.
Troy held out his hands and helped each one steady themselves from the cradle to the boathouse floor.
‘I can’t wait to get out of this wetsuit,’ Lucy said. ‘I’m beginning to feel sweaty.’
Jacob had put on a pair of thick glasses and was inspecting every section of Kristo.
‘No damage,’ Jacob announced. ‘He looks as good now as when he was first built.’
‘Thanks for keeping us safe, Kris,’ Lucy said.
‘Time for food,’ Troy looked at his watch. ‘I’ll cover our shark up, make sure our new photo recognition door lock does its job, and see you all back at Gull Cottage.’
*
‘Oscar’s gone!’ Lucy’s voice was almost a scream.
Uncle Jacob was holding a bunch of keys. ‘Did anyone leave the front door open when we left?’ he asked.
‘I was with Troy when he locked it,’ Archie said.
‘Well, someone has unlocked it.’
Oscar had very good hearing and always sat behind the front door ready to greet them when either the twins or visitors arrived.
‘Nothing of value seems to be missing,’ Jacob scratched his head as he checked all the expensive items that were kept in polished cabinets.
Troy had been searching the office and appeared holding a piece of paper.
‘Listen up everyone,’ he instructed. ‘The intruders have left us a note.’
Lucy, Jacob and Archie exchanged glances.
Troy began reading from the paper: ‘We’ve captured Oscar. If you want him returned then destroy the robot shark, otherwise your little doggy will be chopped into pieces and fed to the fishes.’
‘Holy Moly!’ Archie exclaimed. ‘We’re dealing with dog-nappers. The fleabags have stolen Oscar!’
Jacob could see that a tear had settled in the corner of Lucy’s eye. He held her close, his curly beard touching the top of her head.
‘I know who we’re dealing with,’ Troy said, ‘It’s got to be the Riddle brothers. I ran into one of them when he broke into the boathouse… so they know all about us and our movements.’
‘The bug!’ Archie shouted the words. ‘It must have been them who planted it.’
‘Well they’re not keeping Oscar,’ Troy continued. ‘We know where they hang out at their scrap yard.’
‘But why do they want Kristo destroyed?’ Uncle Jacob posed the question.
‘It’s because they see our shark as a threat to them. They want to get to the treasure ship first.’ Troy pointed out. ‘They’ve probably been watching Kristo in the sea and reckon he’s a heck of a danger to their plans. Do you remember you had an old chart showing exactly where the treasure ship sank?’
‘Yes, I found the map in the basement,’ Jacob nodded, ‘and I made a copy. Probably it was the Riddle brothers who stole the original.’
‘Fleabags!’ Archie said again, with feeling.
‘I reckon they’ve got their own mini-sub,’ Troy told Jacob. ‘When I confronted one brother in the boathouse he said he would get his revenge with the Stinger.’
‘Is that the name of their machine?’
‘I reckon so, Uncle.’
‘Maybe it’s time you took a visit to their scrap yard.’
‘And rescue Oscar,’ Lucy cut in.
‘You’re reading my mind,’ Troy said.
Chapter Three
It was the following morning and Joe and Len Riddle were back at the scrap yard. They were sitting in their caravan at a table in the kitchen with two glasses and a bottle of whisky. An empty bottle lay at their feet.
‘C-c-cheers to you, brother!’ Joe clinked his glass against Len’s glass and grinned showing his large yellow-stained teeth.
‘Where’s that blasted dog gone?’ Len swivelled in his chair, his eyes roaming over the kitchen.
‘I-I thought he w-was under the t-table,’ Joe said, slurring his words as the alcohol had its effect.
‘Well he ain’t. You better look for him.’
Joe tried to stand up but landed back in his chair. ‘C-can’t do it, Len… I’m f-feeling too dizzy.’
‘Too much whisky, you’re drunk.’
Joe leaned forward and crossed his arms on the table. He rested his head on his hands, closed his eyes and puffed out his breath.
Len Riddle’s eyes drifted to an open window in the lounge section of the caravan. Beneath the window was an old couch with most of the stuffing hanging out where the cushions had split and burst.
‘So that’s how you got out, little doggy,’ he muttered to himself. ‘You used the couch to push yourself through the window.’
Len knew that on that side of the caravan were rows of junked cars piled three levels high. He cursed loudly as he realised it could take ages to find Oscar.
As he made his way down the caravan steps he was completely unaware that Jacob’s old van was parked inside the yard entrance.
It was a rusty van that had seen better days but its position among other scrap vehicles gave it a perfect disguise.
Troy had arrived at the scrap yard with Archie. Lucy had been desperate to join them but when Jacob saw her punk clothing he persuaded her to stay home in case the Riddle brothers recognised her.
Len was in the yard, bending and moaning as he looked underneath the scrap vehicles. Troy kept his hands on Archie’s shoulders and moved to a safer spot. They could hide behind a large metal tank filled with dirty oil that was next to the large metal crusher.
‘C’mon, Oscar,’ Len was saying. ‘Where the hell are you? Don’t mess me around, doggie. I’m a gentle person… a very gentle person who would love a tiny Jack Russell as a pet…’
‘Liar,’ Archie whispered to Troy. ‘He’s a dog-napping slimeball.’
‘Shhh,’ Troy murmured, ‘I want to see this Stinger machine, so we must keep undercover.’
‘But what about Oscar?’
‘He’s hiding somewhere. If Riddle can’t find him then the dog’s safe for the moment.’
Archie’s eyes went past the lines of junk cars, over the piles of vehicle doors, rusty engines, and a stack of ripped out motor bits and pieces. Behind all the scrap he could see a large tin shed which could have doubled for a workshop.
‘Maybe there,’ he said softly, giving Troy a nudge in the ribs.
Len Riddle was well away from them by now so Troy nodded and they both scooted across diseased grass and mud to the front of the tin shed.
There were no locks – just a length of wood slotted in its keepers and holding the double doors together.
Troy gripped the wood and slid it away as Archie peered through the gap.
‘It’s here, we’ve found it,’ Archie kept his voice low but it was full of excitement. ‘The Stinger… I can see it.’
Troy pulled open one of the double doors, cringing slightly as the hinges squealed.
‘Oh hell,’ Troy said, ‘the Riddles will have heard that noise.’
Archie was already inside the shed. He’d found the light switch and was looking closely at the Stinger.
‘It looks an old bit of kit,’ he told Troy, pulling a face. ‘It’s got Royal Navy logo and the date stamped on one of the fins… but that date is fifteen years ago.’
‘The Navy sell off old stuff in auctions from time to time,’ Troy replied. ‘That date was when the Stinger was made – not when it was sold. The Riddle brothers have also been making modifications, Archie. If you look at the names on the empty boxes around here you can see that they’ve added a lot of modern high-tech stuff.’
Troy pulled his mobile phone from his shorts. He would try to get a few photos of the Stinger before the Riddles arrived to check on the noisy door. He knew he had to act quickly so he walked around the bright yellow mini-sub and clicked off several flashes.
‘Someone’s in the w-w-workshop!’ Joe gave a drunken shout. He staggered out of the caravan and managed to keep his balance by gripping the roof of an old junk car.
‘I bet it’s those damn kids,’ Len’s voice floated from a corner of the yard.
Archie was out of the workshop and walking towards the direction of the voice. ‘Give us back our dog!’ he yelled, dodging Troy’s hand which was trying to stop him running forward.
‘It’s the older boy and the young kid,’ Len said as Troy was forced to break cover.
‘You’re tres-tres-trespassing,’ Joe called out with a drunken hiccup. ‘G-g-get off our property.’
‘Make us!’ Archie called back, trying hard to show his brave side.
Oscar had heard Archie’s voice and gave a couple of barks from inside the vehicle crusher.
Deep Wild Blue Page 3
