10 The Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie

10 The Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie They emerged into an empty rectangular room with high, vaulted ceilings that, to Peanut's eye, resembled bat wings. The pale walls were featureless, except for a small door on the left towards the far end and several high windows on the right. 'So, are we in Milan?' asked Leo. 'No idea,' said Rockwell. 'But we are in a church of some sort. It could be Catholic, I guess, which might suggest we're in Italy.' 'Yeah. And I can hear motorbikes zooming past outside.

Italian people love riding around on scooters, don't they?' said Little-Bit. 'Oh, we're definitely in Milan,' said Peanut, who was facing in the opposite direction to the others, staring up at the wall directly behind them. 'Look.' Rockwell, Little-Bit and Leoturned around. The door they had just walked through was in the centre of another much wider wooden door. Immediately above that, and stretching across the full width of the room, was a painting.

It featured a long table covered in a white cloth strewn with several items of food. Behind the table was a crowd of people, all men, who looked like they were arguing. One figure, right in the centre of the picture, sat slightly apart from the others and was looking down serenely at his open left hand. 'We must be inside the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, said Peanut. ' That painting is The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.'

'Whoa!' said Rockwell. 'Even I've heard of that one.' 'Incredible mastery of perspective,' said Little-Bit thoughtfully as she gazed up at the fresco. 'Look how he matches the lines in the background of the painting to those of the church itself. It makes this whole room seem bigger. 'I don't understand. What do you mean?' said Leo, which prompted his youngest sister to embark on a long and detailed explanation of something called trompe l'oeil, or 'trick of the eye'. While Leo and Little-Bit discussed quadrature and matte painting, Rockwell walked over to Peanut, who had headed back to the illustrated door they'd come through. She grabbed the handle and held it until the drawing began to crumble away, leaving a fine, silvery-grey powder on the floor. 'Why did you do that?' asked Rockwell. 'I don't want to give White the opportunity to get back to Chroma until we're ready to take

him there ourselves. The fewer chances he has to escape, the better,' she replied. 'Ah, I see,' he said. Then he paused, bit his bottom lip and took a deep breath. 'Peanut, can I ask you a question?' he said, quietly. 'Sure,' she replied, wiping the dusty pencil remnants from her hands. 'What do you think of 67?' 'What do I think of 67?' She frowned. ' Erm, well, I'm really grateful to them for helping my dad to escape from the Spire. That's about it really. Why? What do you think of them?' 'Well, er, obviously it's great that they helped set your dad free and everything, but I can't help but think that there's something a bit funny about them.' 'Funny?' said Peanut. 'What do you mean?' 'Well, they just seem kind of... untrustworthy,' he replied. 'Untrustworthy?' Peanut's frown deepened. 'Rockwell, is this because they called you out that one time? I understand how that would annoy you, but

'NO!' He cut her off. ' Well, yes. But it's not just that. A few times I've noticed... well, let's just say that something feels slightly off with 67.' 'Rockwell, I'm going to stop you right there,' said Peanut abruptly, holding her hand out like a stop sign. 'This robot saved my dad. End of story. They put everything at risk by betraying Mr White and the other RAZERs. In fact, I'd say that if anything feels slightly off, it's the fact that you can't cope with someone— or something being smarter than you are. I think you need to get over this right now.' 'Hang on a second, I—' He didn't get to finish his sentence because at that very moment the door at the far end of the room opened with a loud bang. All four children turned to face it just as the first of three very familiar figures walked confidently into the church.