16 Stanley

Chapter 16 Stanley I have a question.' Peanut was looking at Mrs M. 'Why is there nothing written next to the North Draw? Has he not found a portal there yet?' 'Well spotted! As I said earlier, he has worked his way around almost the entire city. If there is a twelfth portal in the North Draw, which we suspect there must be, he has yet to travel through it. He has, however, already carried out a recce there. Yesterday, in fact. We are expecting him to take another little trip to its outskirts any day now. Our agents are primed and ready to follow him. Also, what about the Green Valleys portal?' said Little-Bit, 'The one we just came through from the National Portrait Gallery? Why hasn't he closed that one yet?'

'Yeah. I assume he doesn't need to use it any more,' said Peanut. ' No, he doesn't. We suspect he's keeping it open as a kind of safety net, just in case anything happens to the pencil before his mission to destroy Chroma is complete.' 'But why keep that particular one open when he's got rid of all the others?' asked Rockwell. 'Do you remember Peanut's dad's top-secret spying mission that I mentioned earlier?' said Mrs M. 'Dad's mission?' said Peanut. ' The one where he had to find out Mr White's identity and where he was travelling to?' 'That's the one. If you recall, I said that he had been working with other Resistance operatives. The children nodded. ' Well, one of those operatives is still in place and has been working undercover at the National Portrait Gallery for many years now. ' Ooooh, really?' said Rockwell, cheering up a bit. 'Who is it? Are they in disguise?' Are they dressed as the bust of Queen Victoria?' said a gleeful Little-Bit. 'Is it just a person pretending to be a statue, like those people in Covent Garden?' 'Ha!' said Mrs M. 'I think even the best mime in the world might struggle to keep still for that long. No, our operative works in the gallery as a security guard. It's the perfect cover.

Something stirred in Peanut's memory. 'Hang on, his name's not Stanley, is it?' 'Why, yes,' said Mr M, his eyebrows raised. 'Have you met him then?' 'Kind of. I, er, had a feeling there might have been more to him than met the eye.' Peanut suddenly remembered seeing Stanley talking to her brother earlier that day. So what was that about? she thought. ' Well, Stanley has confirmed that White has not been through the Green Valleys portal at all since Pencil Number One came into his possession,' said Mrs M. 'Which is interesting, given where we think he might be travelling to in London. 'In London?' said Peanut, suddenly more upright. 'You mean, you know exactly where he goes when he leaves Chroma?' She looked over at Rockwell. ' Yes. Your dad and Stanley were doing such a brilliant job of tracking White. They were on the verge of a breakthrough when Gary was imprisoned. Terrible timing.

'What had they discovered?' asked Peanut. 'They'd tracked him to his workplace in London. They were almost certain that...' Mrs M paused. SNOW, Peanut, Little-Bit, I don't want to frighten you, but...' Peanut stood. 'Where did they track him to?' 'To Blood, Stone & Partners,' said Mrs M. 'Your mother's accountancy firm.'