41 The Battle for The Spire

41 The Battle for The Spire What are munitions?' said Little-Bit an hour later, as the three children and Doodle climbed into the back of their designated bright blue transporter truck and took their place on the bench seats. 'It's the posh word for weapons,' said Rockwell, 'which, in this case, appear to consist almost entirely of art equipment. Peanut raised her hand to her bandolier, where Little Tail sat safely in its slot. She was determined that the two of them wouldn't be separated ever again. The children were sitting opposite the Resistance agents who had been charged with their protection. On the left was a very cute-looking koala called Tony, dressed in full

camouflage gear. He already seemed quite amped for the upcoming action, and was repeatedly slapping himself around the face and shouting things like 'COME ON!' and 'YOU CAN DO THIS!' Next to him was a colourful, if slightly abstract- looking woman called Dora, who was handing out pink and blue ink-bomb belts. She was also distributing pairs of small, bud-style earphones which she told the children they must wear at all times. Just as they were putting them into their ears, the truck started to move. Peanut looked out through the windows at the convoy of vehicles surrounding them. It was an impressive sight. There were a number of large, illustrated tanks not quite in the same league as the Big Xs, but intimidating nevertheless in addition to jeeps, lorries, trucks and a host of small armoured cars. Immediately in front of them were three open-topped hovercraft, being driven by Mrs M, Mr M and Josephine Engelberger. As the platoon of vehicles made their way out through the large hangar doors and into the crisp night air of the Green Valleys, Peanut turned to look back at

the Bunker. It appeared that the entire hillside had opened up to let them out. ' Oooh, it's just like the Batcave,' said Rockwell. The strange motorcade, now joined by several low-flying aircraft, made its way through the moonlit countryside of the Green Valleys, iridescent in indigos, purples and violets. In the distance, they could see the Spire rising, luminous, in the night sky like a beacon of hope or a harbinger of doom, depending on which way you looked at it. 'ALL UNITS, THIS IS ZERO BETA...' The three children jumped as Mr M's voice rang loudly in their ears. Dora, the abstract lady, smiled. 'ESTIMATED TIME ON OBJECTIVE SPIRE IS TWENTY-THREE HUNDRED HOURS. SIEGE TOWER ENGINEERS, PREPARE TO MOVE IN FORTY-FIVE. OUT.' 'Mr and Mrs M will direct the battle via our headsets,' explained Dora. 'It's how we'll coordinate the operation and

make sure everyone is doing what they should be doing at the right time. 'So I guess this is really happening,' said Rockwell in a resigned tone. 'Don't worry,' said Peanut. 'We'll be fine. Remember what the Markmakers said during the briefing: we won't be on the front line. Hopefully the Spire will be recaptured before Mr White and Alan return from New York and turn the RAZERs back on, so we won't have any opposition. The Resistance just have to cross the lake, get past the crayon fence, and then enter the tower as quickly as possible. That way, when White and Alan do get back, our operatives will be waiting to arrest them. And by then, you'll be back home with a nice cup of tea, reading Aerospace Engineering and the Principle of Flight.' Ah, that would be nice,' said Rockwell, 'but somehow, I don't think it's going to be that easy. Things in Chroma never are.'