13 Frida DaDa

Chapter 13 Frida Dada Mr M stood up and started to walk slowly around the giant map. 'We knew that White himself was not from Chroma and must be using a portal to travel between the two worlds. So Gary and several other brave Resistance operatives were given top-secret spying missions. They were charged with keeping an eye on White's movements and working out where he was going. That's when they discovered the portal. Once we knew he was travelling between Chroma and London, we thought that if we could discover his identity in your world, maybe we could put a stop to the damage that he was inflicting upon ours. Peanut and Rockwell shot each other a knowing look.

And then, about six years ago, just before your first visit to Chroma, something odd started to happen,' said Mrs M. 'Six years ago?' said Rockwell. Remember, Rocky,' said Little-Bit, 'time moves at a different speed in Chroma. About twenty-four times faster, to be exact. 'Go on,' said Peanut, looking wide-eyed at Mrs M. 'You were saying something odd started to happen?' 'That's right. Resistance members secretly tracking White reported that he was making regular journeys, accompanied by a platoon of RAZERs and Alan, his big oaf of a sidekick, from the Spire to the city limits.' She stood up and walked left around the table. 'To this place, right at the very edge of Warholia. They made the exact same return trip more than thirty times over a six-month period.' Mr M went and stood next to his wife. We began to suspect that they had discovered another portal. 'The thing is,' continued Mrs M, 'White himself always returned from these trips alongside the RAZERs and Alan. We assumed that if he had found a portal, he would use it. But he didn't seem to, so we could never be a hundred percent sure that he'd discovered anything.' Mr M nodded in agreement. 'Meanwhile, other members of the Resistance began to notice that the water levels in the Rainbow Lake were dropping. Very slowly only a

few millimetres each month—but dropping nevertheless. In fact, it is now fifty centimetres shallower than it was ten years ago. And considering the size of the lake, that means a heck of a lot of our very special water has vanished.' All of these strange happenings meant that we were very keen to know what White was up to at all times. Now, as you know, dear Gary had been missing for some time by then, so we put our next best surveillance operative on the case.' Mrs M paused and looked at her husband. 'Frida DaDa.' 'Frida DaDa?' exclaimed Rockwell. 'The very same.' Mrs M looked over to the wall at a picture of a square-jawed woman with dark, intense eyes set beneath a heavy brow. 'Oh,' said Peanut, eyes shining with hope. 'Where is she? If she works on the same mission that my dad did, maybe she knows something that could lead us to him? We'd love to talk to her. 'I wish you could,' said Mrs M. 'Unfortunately, she disappeared just after you left Chroma.'