62 The Conduit

62 The Conduit 'Oh, yes! Stanley!' squawked Rockwell. 'The bloke we saw at the gallery earlier? The one with the little white beard that Mrs M told us all ab—' 'Go on, Leo,' interrupted Peanut. 'He's an amazing man,' continued her brother. As brave as a lion, and so supportive. He really helped me when I had no one else to turn to.' 'So, when you first went to the gallery and found him, what happened?' asked Peanut. ' Well, first, he asked me a few questions, just to check that I was who I said I was. As soon as I mentioned Dad's name and the word "Chroma", he trusted me.' 'So did he know where Dad was?'

'Kind of,' said Leo. 'He knew he'd been captured. He had a contact who had seen some intel that said Dad had been taken prisoner by, weirdly, the Mayor of Chroma!' 'Mr White,' said Peanut. 'He's the man who has taken Mum hostage.' 'Hang on, hasn't she gone to Italy with Mr Stone?' said Leo, confused. 'Yes,' said Peanut. 'Oh, it's very complicated, but basically we think Mr Stone and Mr White are the same person.' 'The same person?' said Leo. 'So you're telling me that Mum's boss, that short fella with the oily hair, is also the mayor of a city which only exists in a different dimension? And that he's been keeping Dad prisoner?' 'Yes.' 'Right. Fair enough.' Listen, I'll explain everything later, I promise. Finish telling us what happened with Stanley first. 'I am having the weirdest day,' said Leo. ' OK. Where was I? Ah yes, so when Stanley told me that Dad was in prison, that's when we put the emergency plan into operation.' 'The emergency plan?' 'Yes, Apparently, Dad and Stanley were members of some sort of freedom-fighting group in Chroma. 'The Resistance,' said Rockwell. 'That's the one. And Dad and Stanley had this thing

where if one of them was captured, they'd set up a secret line of communication so that news of their whereabouts or their well-being could be passed on to their loved ones. You just need to establish a conduit. 'What do you mean a conduit?' said Rockwell. 'Something, or someone, that passes information from one place or person to another. Secretly, in this case.' 'So Stanley became the conduit?' said Peanut. 'Exactly,' said Leo. 'He was the link between what was happening in Chroma and what was happening here.' 'What did he tell you?' 'Nothing. Not for a long time, anyway. I had to go to the gallery once a week, check in with him and see if there was any news. This went on for a whole year, and he didn't once have anything to tell me. As far as we knew, Dad was just sitting in a cell somewhere. And then, about three months ago, it changed. 'Three months ago. That was just after our first trip to Chroma,' said Rockwell to Peanut. This threw Leo slightly. ' Wait, you've been to Chroma?' he said, shocked. 'Hang on. Is that what that weird door thing was all about?' 'Yes. But again, I'll fill you in later,' said Peanut. 'Carry on.' 'Er, as I was saying,' said Leo, 'about three months ago it changed. Stanley had something for me.' 'What was it?'

A Post-it note. With a strange drawing on it. A thick, black L-shape. It also had a little handwritten message saying "Love you forever", followed by a kiss. And it was in Dad's handwriting! I couldn't believe it!' Rockwell walked over to Peanut's wardrobe, found the note, peeled it from the door and held it up to show Leo. 'You mean this?'