Polly Pippin and The Tunnel of Death (6 page)

The Dark Universe

The exuberance that had filled the hall
earlier in Egregious, the biggest orb in the Dark Universe and home
to the Rebels, had turned sour. Commander Rekrap angrily paced up
and down, stamping his feet and waving his arms around wildly.

'For some unknown reason, or so you say,
coloured rain fell, and although we outnumbered the Freeflyers five
to one, we lost the fight. I wanted to take over King Arthur's
castle, and what did we do? We ran away, didn't we? Well, I stayed
to the very last, of course.' He looked round, daring a denial.
Commander Rekrap loved being the hero, even though he wasn't,
actually he was the first one to run away. He continued, and we did
not capture any Freeflyers from the orb Zenithal, which included
Commander Rhettnor and his two henchmen, Sreip and Selim.'

'Sir, please,' Zack interrupted.

'Don't "please sir" me.' Commander Rekrap
was red in the face. 'Don't "please sir" me,' he repeated. 'I want
Byzantine Crescent. Now!' He hit the desk with his open hand so
hard that half the Rebels in the hall jumped out of their
skins.

'You were in there! You had Polly and Alison
in the palm of your hand. Then what did you do? Thanks to Harry the
Hand, the bloody fool, you Zack, ended up with Lily, who owns the
Brown Sugar Café. And what was the outcome of that? You had an
earth feeling - they call it love - and she had twins. Well, thank
the devil's tail we erased her memory of you and the rest of it.
And the babies are in a time hold so will never get any older. And
Louise will never see those babies, do you want to know why she
will never see them, Zack? Well, when the time is right, I will
destroy them.'

'It's Lily, sir.'

'I know that, boy. As I was saying, Laura
will be heartbroken.'

'Her name is Lily sir. And where are the
babies sir?' Zack said.

Commander Rekrap was so angry that he felt
like stabbing Zack in the eye with his paper knife. 'Get out,' he
said between clenched teeth. 'Get out and get me Byzantine
Crescent, Polly, Alison, Laura, Liza, Louise… oh whatever her name
is. Oh and that twin of hers, Lucy. In that order!'

'Yes Sir, I will, sir, and I'm sorry.'

'You're sorry. Well, that makes everything
alright, doesn't it? NOT!' he ended up screaming.

Zack looked so devastated Commander Rekrap
relented but only slightly. Well, all is not lost, he thought. We
found out Zack and Knox are twins. What a turn up for the books.
Rhettnor will be heartbroken… ha ha.' He rubbed his hands together
and went into convulsive laughter. He then started coughing till he
nearly choked. He finally caught his breath, lashing out at the
Rebels to stop slapping him so hard cause it had knocked him to his
knees.

'Get off me!' he shouted. As he got up and
saw the two famous Rebels were still there. 'You still here? Get
out, get out!'

'Yes sir.' Zack and Knox saluted, and as
they were leaving the hall, Commander Rekrap called. 'And make it
quick! My Egron oath. I have no intention of giving up till I have
control of Byzantine Crescent.' He scowled. 'And until we find out
what the invisible secret is.'

Brad shows his hand

When Polly entered the little cottage in the
garden, the last thing she expected to see was the two Liddles
curled up on the sofa.

'Ali, come and see what's in here.' As
Alison followed her in, Polly dropped to her knees and picked up
Minx. Manx ran to Alison and wound round her legs.

'Can you believe it? How did you get in
here, you little devils?' Polly said to the little creatures. 'Ali,
I think we should move into the cottage. It's so cute. I love it
here.'

'I have no intention of sleeping in the
cottage, Polly,' Alison said defiantly.

'Why not?' replied Polly.

'I don't have to give a reason. I just don't
want to. I like my bedroom in the house.'

'But the animals obviously love it here,'
Polly countered. She was about to continue, but Ali's face said it
all: "Do not say another word".

'Okay, just think about. Let's take the
animals with us to Lily's and come home late. It'll frighten Hamish
out of his mind.'

'What about Piers and Miles?' Alison was
looking forward to the night out with the boys.

'Oh, we can make it up to them. Besides
which, it will make them all the keener. Come on, grab Manx, and
let's go. We can get a pizza on the way.'

~

The girls walked out into the night, looking
forward to a bit of fun with Lily. And with the pizzas, their pets
and a big smile, they stood on Lily's doorstep and rang the
bell.

As she answered the door, Lily turned back
and spoke to someone sitting in the lounge. 'How did you know?' She
turned back. 'I can't believe it. Come in.' Polly handed her the
pizzas, and they walked in. Polly could not believe her eyes. Brad
Capriole was sitting in the lounge, sipping a glass of wine.

'He said you'd be coming over,' Lily said.
'I told him nothing was arranged, but he insisted, so I let him
in.'

'But we didn't know we were coming over till
half an hour ago, so he couldn't possibly have known.'

Brad cut Polly short. 'Who can question
love, Polly? We obviously have some telepathic connection.' As if,
he thought, I could fall in love with a nobody. If it weren't for
those ugly little animals communicating with the Rebels and then
me, how the hell would I know you were coming here, stupid? But he
smiled, Polly would now be in the palm of his hand.

Lily was thrilled to bits, Brad Capriole was
in her house. 'Help me cut up the pizzas Polly. Alison, you grab
some drinks, oh and recharge Brad's glass please.' When they were
in the kitchen, Lily said. 'I'm so excited! Brad Capriole in my
house! I can't believe it.'

Polly wasn't quite sure why he was there,
but sod it, she was determined to impress him. She sat as close to
him as she dared and helped him to a slice of pizza. But Brad was
very smart and did not mention the movie. He talked about his life,
and how he was ready to marry and settle down. All the time he was
talking, he was looking at Polly, knowing he was sucking her right
in. They finished the pizza and drank a glass of wine each. Then
Polly, feeling very brave, brought up the question of the movie.
'So Brad.' She felt very daring when she called him Brad. 'How are
you going with the movie?'

'Oh okay. We've signed up with Piers and
Miles to make it in their studio. They have the best film studio in
London, you know. It's outrageously expensive, but if you want the
best, you have to pay for the best.'

Although her heart jumped into her mouth,
Polly did not miss a beat. 'Really, and has it been cast?'

'Not yet. I'm playing the hero, of course,'
Brad said modestly.

'And the heroine?' Polly had everything
crossed. Would he offer it to her?

'Well…' Brad was enjoying himself. He was
basically cruel and loved watching Polly squirm. 'It's not up to
me. Steve has the last say.' And before Polly sank into a pit of
the deepest despair, he said. 'However, I can suggest who I think
would do the best job. We are looking for the best, you know.'

~

Alison couldn't stand it a moment longer,
and Polly wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole when
Alison asked. 'Well, are you going to put Polly out of her misery,
Brad? Are you going to ask her to audition for a part?' she
asked.

Before Polly could retaliate with feigned
horror, Lily said, 'yes, you should, she is the best actress
Brad.'

'I'm sure she is, but sorry girls, I don't
want Polly to audition.' He stopped and waited. He looked from one
girl to the next, loving the disappointment on their faces. Then he
said. 'As I said, we only want the best, which of course is all
Hollywood can offer. Steve is negotiating as we speak. But I can
only work with one star.' He stopped and asked for another cup of
coffee. Polly's heart was in her boots, she was so disappointed she
could have cried. Eventually, Brad finished his coffee. 'Thank you
Lily, that was really nice. Now what were we talking about? Oh yes,
the movie. If she has the time and wants the part, I am going to
suggest. He hesitated again, 'Polly, and hope she says yes.'

'What?' was all Polly could say, as all the
girls jumped up screaming and laughing with delight.

'Polly, you're going to be a star. Hamish
has to let Brad do the movie in our house now,' Alison said.

'If not, we'll kidnap him and leave him on a
desert island,' Lily said.

Now that's a good idea, Brad thought. I
might just run that past Zack and Knox. Things were getting better
and better.

The night ambled on, and it was nearly
eleven before Brad left. The girls decided to stay the night with
Lily, so they could gossip about Brad's offer.

'Also if we stay, it will make Hamish
suffer,' Polly said. She was still very unhappy with him.

'No,' objected Alison. 'That's not nice. I'm
going to ring and tell him we are staying here.'

'Yeah, you're right. We'll both ring him,'
Polly said.

At first, Hamish was very cross the girls
had just disappeared, but he forgave them and told them to come
home first thing in the morning. Excited as they were, the three
girls went to their beds and were fast asleep within moments.

Things heat up

'Brad Capriole Missing
-
Presumed
Kidnapped.

Where is the most recognised face in the
world?' the headlines screamed. Brad's manager, Paul Devlin, and
Director Steve Smith were constantly in the news, giving interviews
for TV and papers. A worldwide search revealed nothing. The last
place Brad was traced to was a house belonging to a Lily Holtz.
Present was Polly Pippin and Alison Winter. It was not known why he
was there, but it was later revealed he might have offered Polly a
part to star in his latest movie. He left alone.

'Well, that eliminates you from kidnapping
him Polly unless you have imprisoned him to have him all to
yourself,' Lily said.

'Yeah, he's probably drugged, tied up and
locked up in our garden cottage,' Alison added.

'That's not funny,' Polly snapped. 'You know
how excited I was about starring in his movie.'

'I don't believe it, Polly. Is that all you
care about?' Alison said. 'Don't you care where Brad is?'

"No, because I don't believe he's missing. I
think it's a publicity stunt,' she added.

'You know you could be right. What a joke he
is. I hate him now… the idiot.' Alison got up and added, 'coffee
anyone?'

There was a harsh, loud knocking on the
front door. Alison looked at Polly and Lily. ''Oh my God! That's
how the police knock.'

'You hide in the attic, and I'll tell them
you're not here.'

Another visit

Cracking up, Lily called the girls down from
the attic. It was the Jehovah's Witnesses who had pounded on the
door she said.

'I think we should go home.' Alison walked
to the window. 'I want to talk to Hamish. Will you come Lily? I
think you should. If you stay here, reporters will hound you.'

'This is becoming ridiculous. First Polly is
arrested for poisoning Brad, and now he's gone missing. Do you
think the real police will come and get you this time Polly?'

'Well, according to Ape, the police who
arrested me were not real police. That definitely was a publicity
stunt. Anyway, I think we should sell our story to the press,'
Polly said defiantly.

'What story?' Alison said. 'We don't have a
story.'

'Yes we do - the movie Piers and Miles are
going to make. Let's ring them.'

'No Polly, we can't use the boys like that.
It's not fair,' Alison objected. 'They like us, and I like Miles.
You are always making stupid plans, and they never work.'

'Ali, how can you be so mean? You know how
much I want to star in that movie.'

'Yeah, and I want to win the lottery,'
Alison said. 'Come on Polly, get real. How do you know Brad wasn't
just saying you were going to star in the movie? He was bound to
want something in return. Apart from the house.'

'It's true Pol, why would he want a virtual
unknown to star in his movie when he could get anyone he wants?
And, before you say a word, he has no idea how good or bad an
actress you are,' Lily added.

Polly seriously considered throwing them
both off Tower Bridge. 'Because I love you, I have decided not to
strangle you.' She looked at the girls and laughed. 'After all,
even if Brad didn't want me, he did want my house.'

'True,' said Alison. 'Anyway, Lily, get some
things together and come and stay with us for a few days. It will
be great fun, and you like Hamish.'

'I do not,' Lily retaliated before she got
up to pack a few things. She loved being with Polly and Alison, and
as the girls said, it would be fun.

~

After the scare at Lily's place, the girls
decided to have a welcome home party at Byzantine Crescent.

'Welcome home?' Hamish said incredulously.
'You were only gone overnight.'

'Okay, well it's an excuse to invite Piers
and Miles over, 'cause we let them down,' Polly admitted.

"And I spoke to Miles,' Alison added.
'Apparently, their twins are coming home from Australia. So it's
welcome home for them as well Hamish, stupid.'

'And we are going all out to impress,' Polly
said. 'So darling bro, back off.'

No one noticed Minx and Manx slowly
miniaturise, creep out, and disappear down into the crypt. The
little traitorous spies that they were had something interesting to
tell the Rebels.

The meeting of the twins

'Piers and Miles have swallowed the story
their twins and are coming back from Australia for a holiday. What
idiots,' Zack said to Knox.

'I'm not sure it's such a good idea, Zack.
Commander Pope told not to meet them right now. Apparently
Commander Rekrap found out Piers and Miles had been given a false
memory. They had twins in Australia, so he decided when the time
was right he would give them real ones - us - so we could capture
them.'