29 The Real Enemy

29 The Real Enemy 'Follow me!' shouted Dad as he started running across the now-empty lake towards the far side where Mrs Markmaker had made her speech moments ago. Panic and chaos were everywhere. Soaking-wet citizens, dazed and upset, stumbled around in confusion and fear. No one could understand what was going on. Banners lay discarded, their inky proclamations of hope and jubilation now blurry and smeared. Just a few minutes earlier, they'd been celebrating the rebirth of the Illustrated City, but now they found themselves imprisoned at its very heart. The Jones family, Woodhouse and Nerys arrived at the lake's southern bank to find a drenched Mr and Mrs M standing with an equally wet Doodle, Jonathan Higginbottom and

Table Guy. On the floor next to the superhero sat a confused- looking Mr Stone, his wrists still tied. 'Is everybody OK?' asked Dad. ' Yes, I think so,' replied Mr M. 'Well, nobody's hurt, anyway. I don't understand what's happened.' 'The robots must have malfunctioned!' said Table Guy. 'There is no other explanation! Mr White here certainly had nothing to do with it! He was pushed into the water along with the rest of us!' 'Maybe the RAZERs' circuitry went awry when 67 overrode their protocol,' suggested Jonathan Higginbottom. 'That would go some way towards explaining things.' 'Maybe,' said Dad. 'But what about the exocetia? That looked planned to me. Where is 67 anyway?' With perfect timing, the same microphone that Mrs M had just been using crackled to life once again. Everyone in the lake looked up towards the platform. The long line of red- eyed RAZERs parted in the centre, and 67 appeared with Alan at their side. 'GREETINGS, CITIZENS,' said the robot, their tinny voice booming from the speakers on the tower. ' WHAT A LOVELY DAY FOR A DIP. HOW ARE YOU ALL ENJOYING THE CELEBRATIONS SO FAR? OH, I SHOULD PROBABLY TELL YOU THAT

THERE'S BEEN A SLIGHT CHANGE OF PLAN: I AM IN CHARGE NOW, NOT THOSE PATHETIC MARKMAKERS AND THEIR SO-CALLED RESISTANCE!' Peanut's face went white. She turned to Little-Bit. 'Rockwell was right,' she whispered. '67 has betrayed us. We're in big trouble.' Instinctively, she reached up to her bandolier. To her relief, her fingers found Little Tail still nestling safely in its slot. 'THIS IS, INDEED, A MARVELLOUS CELEBRATION OF CREATIVITY,' continued 67, revelling in the spotlight. 'BUT THE THING IS, CREATIVITY CAN TAKE MANY FORMS.' The robot's red eyes scanned the crowd. 'ISN'T THAT RIGHT, MR WHITE, WHEREVER YOU ARE?' Everybody turned to look at Mr Stone, including Peanut. She fully expected him to stand up, smile that slimy smile of his, and reveal that this had been his plan all along. But he didn't. In fact, he didn't even look up from his position at Table Guy's feet. 'I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU'RE ALL LOOKING AT HIM,' said 67. ' He DOESN'T KNOW A THING ABOUT THIS LITTLE... SURPRISE. HE WAS AS CLUELESS AS THE REST OF YOU. BLISSFULLY IGNORANT. I HAVE TO SAY THAT I UNDERSTOOD THE FACT THAT MOST

HUMANS KNOW NOTHING, BUT IT HAS BEEN EASIER TO FOOL YOU THAN I EVER COULD HAVE IMAGINED!' It sounded to Peanut like every person trapped in the lake gasped at the same time. Could it be true? Had Mr White also been blindsided by this evil robot? 'YOU SEE,' continued 67, 'SOMETHING THAT ALL OF YOU SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN IS THAT CREATIVITY IS A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD. IT CUTS BOTH WAYS. IT CAN BE GOOD AND IT CAN BE BAD. A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF IMAGINATION IS ESSENTIAL WHEN MAKING PLANS, REGARDLESS OF WHAT THOSE PLANS ARE. AND LET'S JUST SAY THAT WE HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLY IMAGINATIVE WHEN MAKING OURS.' The robot turned to Alan. A small mechanical arm holding a knife shot out from a panel on their torso and cut through the shackles around the huge man's wrists. Alan smiled as he stretched his arms skywards. Peanut grabbed Little-Bit by the hand and pulled her down into a crouching position, so that they were hidden below the crowd. 'This is worse than I thought,' she said quietly. 'I need to think fast.' 'So, do you think 67 now wants to take control of the city themselves?' whispered Little-Bit. 'It's certainly looking that way,' replied Peanut. 'And considering they have total control of the entire RAZER

and exocetia armies, they've got a pretty good chance of succeeding.' At least we still have Little Tail,' said Little-Bit, hopefully. ' Yes,' said Peanut. ' But... 67 knows I have it. And they also know that Dad is Conté's heir. Oh my god, LB! They're going to try to take the pencil from me! And it's going to happen right now! We need to give it to Dad. Or at least hide it! Whatever happens, we can't let 67 get hold of it, otherwise it's definitely game over. 'Maybe I can help,' said a crouching Nerys, who had been listening to the girls' hushed conversation. 'Why don't you give it to me?' 'To you?' asked Peanut and Little-Bit together. 'Or I could look after it,' said Woodhouse, who had suddenly appeared and was also listening in. 'I have a lot of experience in taking care of secret things. Remember the Post-it notes?' Nerys looked annoyed and slightly repulsed by the sight of the wet rodent. 'I'm not being funny, and I don't mean to be rude, Mr Woodhouse, she said. 'But I think I'm probably a safer bet than... a rat.' Now it was Woodhouse's turn to look annoyed. 'Think about it,' continued Nerys.