In Search of the Time and Space Mach (10 page)

Max woke with a start and felt sore and tired and confused.

‘Where am I?' she said out loud.

She was in a large comfortable bed with her jacket and clothes folded neatly on the end. She looked down and frowned when she saw she was in a pair of pink flannelette, cloud-covered pyjamas. The room was like a cartoon-coloured adventure world. There were beanbags, toys, slides that twirled from the ceilings, whole shelves of lollies and fruit and three drinking fountains sticking out from the wall with Raspberry, Lemonade and Orange Juice written on top of them.

‘What is this place?' she whispered to herself. ‘And where's my backpack?'

Frantically, Max looked around her and saw the pack sitting on a table next to her. She picked it up, and after going through it, was relieved to see everything was still there, including her notebook.

Then she remembered.

She'd been kidnapped!

Not only that, there was someone asleep in a bed across the room! She put her backpack on, stood up, took a large, round, rainbow-coloured lollipop from a shelf nearby and tiptoed over to the other bed. She wasn't going to be kidnapped
without letting them know how much trouble she could be.

She stood by the bed and held the lollipop high.

‘Okay you kidnapper, take this!' she cried.

Max brought the lollipop down just as the person in the bed rolled over and only narrowly avoided being hit.

‘Hey, what are you doing? Can't a person get a little sleep?' someone said from under the blankets.

Max knew that voice.

‘Linden? Is that you?' she asked.

‘Who else do you think it is?' he mumbled.

‘I thought you were a kidnapper.' Max shrugged, holding the lollipop against her chest and feeling a little guilty.

Linden threw the covers off his face.

‘A little relaxed for a kidnapper, don't you think?'

‘Sorry,' Max apologised.

Linden sat up.

‘I could have been killed by a giant lollipop. I was hoping for a more glamorous ending to my life,' he said.

Max put the lollipop down and rubbed her forehead as she sat on the bed next to him.

‘I feel like someone's been using my head for a football.'

‘Yeah, me too,' said Linden. ‘Whoever grabbed us must have given us something to knock us out.'

Max suddenly looked worried.

‘Who do you think they are? What do you think they want with us?'

‘I'm not sure,' said Linden. ‘But from what Francis and Valerie said about Mr Blue, I'm sure he's involved somehow and that it's no accident it happened just as we found the Time and Space Retractor Meter.'

Max took out her notebook and tried to think calmly.

‘Ok, here's how it stands. We're trapped in a house, location unknown. We've been kidnapped by strangers, separated from the only people we know in this country and,' Max looked at her watch, ‘we've got about three hours left before we need to be back in Australia.'

‘Not only that,' said Linden, looking down at his clothes in horror, ‘I'm wearing bright blue pyjamas with toy trains on them.'

Max glared at Linden.

‘I hardly think what you're wearing is …'

Max was interrupted by the door opening. A woman dressed in a smart suit walked in.

‘I'm Ms Peckham,' she said gently with a friendly smile. ‘I hope you both had a good sleep. Mr Blue would like to see you now.'

Max was furious. She leapt off the bed.

‘He would, would he? Well, I'd like to see him too. I've got a few things to tell him.'

Linden tried to reach for Max's sleeve to tell her to calm down, but she stepped away from him and stalked out of the room. Seconds later she reappeared, remembering she had no idea where she was, and glowered at Ms Peckham.

‘I guess you'll have to lead the way,' she said.

‘Certainly, but I suggest you put your slippers on first. It can get cold on the marble floors,' said Ms Peckham as she picked up two pairs of slippers.

One pair were shaped as fluffy yellow ducks while the other pair were two baby bears.

Linden sighed. ‘This is going to do nothing for my reputation as a man of fashion.'

It was hard to know who Max was more angry at, Mr Blue or Linden. Unfazed, Linden put on his slippers and backpack and did everything he could not to catch Max's eye.

Outside the room there was a small humming
machine that looked like a mini hovercraft waiting for them.

Max and Linden stared.

‘This is our Mobile People Mover. Or MPM. It's really quite safe,' smiled Ms Peckham. ‘And it is a bit of a way.'

Max and Linden looked at each other. They weren't sure whether to trust her but knew they had little choice. Max shrugged her shoulders and stepped into the MPM. Linden followed and they held onto the sides not knowing what to expect. Ms Peckham got in after them and with a gentle whirring sound, the MPM took off and sailed across the floor and up to the high ceilings like a small glider.

‘This is awesome!' said Linden.

The MPM sailed through brightly lit corridors filled with sensors that opened and closed doors as they approached. Television screens as flat as paper were hung every few metres along the walls and robotic arms moved out from the walls to do everything from water plants to open and close curtains. There were also vending machines snuggly nestled into walls containing everything from lollies to hot snacks, drinks and even games. At the end of one corridor, they glided into a large,
glass-roofed area that resembled an overgrown greenhouse with trees, birds and, amazingly, a waterfall.

‘This is Mr Blue's nature reserve. If you look closely enough you'll see a giant panda and her baby,' said Ms Peckham proudly. ‘Mr Blue is a great lover of animals and is one of the few people to successfully breed them in captivity. He is on the verge of completing a series of experiments that will hopefully bring pandas back from the brink of extinction.'

Animal conservation! This didn't sound like the evil Mr Blue Max and Linden had been told about.

The MPM then turned and headed for the lip of the waterfall.

Linden yelled, ‘Watch out! We're going to crash!'

Ms Peckham smiled at them and said, ‘Hold on.'

Max and Linden grabbed onto each other and closed their eyes.

Max shouted, ‘I know it's a bad time, Linden, but there's something I want to tell you.'

‘What did you say?' Linden yelled back.

‘There's something I want to tell you,' Max
shouted again, as the thundering wash of the water came closer and closer.

‘I can't hear you,' Linden cried.

But it was too late. Just then Max and Linden screamed as the MPM headed straight into the waterfall.

When they came to a standstill, Max and Linden opened their eyes and saw Ms Peckham standing on a shiny metal platform next to their hovering MPM.

‘I told you it was perfectly safe, and here we are,' she beamed.

Max and Linden realised they hadn't died in the waterfall and tried to take in their new surroundings. They were high above the ground in a giant metallic room that looked like a darkened aircraft hangar. Behind Ms Peckham was a large, silver door that seemed to be vibrating with a pulsing light. There were no walls, just the door with a camera fixed above it, a platform and a seemingly endless abyss on either side. Nothing else could be seen except a window of light above them, which they assumed was the back of the waterfall they had just navigated.

‘But how …?' began Linden.

‘With this,' said Ms Peckham, holding out a small electronic device. ‘Just before we passed through the waterfall, I activated the hydrogen atoms in the water so that they stood aside. That's why we aren't wet, to answer your question.'

Linden's mouth fell open. ‘Come in,' said Ms Peckham, gesturing towards the door.

As Max and Linden stepped out of the MPM onto the platform, the camera followed their every move. Ms Peckham put her palm against the door. The light coming from it pulsated strongly before it opened, like it had read her palm print as some kind of identity pass.

Max was impressed but tried as hard as she could not to show it.

‘This Mr Blue has got a lot of explaining to do,' said Max, as she waited for Ms Peckham to lead the way.

Linden moved close behind her.

‘Max, can you do me a favour?' he asked. ‘We are talking about an evil mastermind here. Can you not say anything that's going to upset him?'

Max kept walking.

‘As if I'd do that,' she said, raising her eyebrows.

‘Follow me,' said Ms Peckham, still beaming.

Max wondered how anyone could smile so much.

As they followed Ms Peckham through the door and down a dimly-lit, metal passageway, Max leant next to Linden.

‘Do you still have that recording device Ella gave you?' she whispered.

‘It's a CTR.'

‘Whatever. Have you got it?'

‘Yeah. It's in my pack,' Linden replied.

‘Switch it on,' said Max. ‘We might need it later.'

Linden felt around in his pack and turned on the CTR.

They reached another door that again opened when Ms Peckham placed her hand on it. Inside was what looked like a brightly-coloured amusement park. There were TV monitors and video walls everywhere, and all the latest consoles and games, including some neither Max nor Linden had seen before. Lining the walls were shelves containing the largest selection of videos they'd ever seen, including all Linden's favourites.

‘There's
Batman
,
Indiana Jones
,
Mission Impossible
, old and new versions.' Linden walked over to them. ‘I could stay here forever.'

‘Well, we don't have forever,' said Max, grabbing his wrist.

A bright red chair swung around and a smiling man sat behind a large wooden desk staring at them. Two familiar-looking men stood at his side.

‘Sorry about the unusual invitation to my home,' the seated man said in a smooth TV advertisement voice. ‘It may have seemed a little abrupt but it was necessary for everyone's safety.'

He picked up a plate from the table beside him and held it out to them.

‘Raspberry donut?' he asked.

Linden's stomach rumbled at the sight of the donut and Max put her hands on her hips.

‘What I'd like is an explanation,' she said. ‘Starting with who you are.'

‘Of course, first things first. Please, have a seat,' he offered.

Linden's face fell as the man put the plate back on the table.

Before Max could protest, he pressed the button of a remote control device on the arm of his seat and two very comfortable chairs rolled across the room from behind them, gently forcing them to sit down.

Max and Linden looked at each other, puzzled.

‘Did those chairs just move across the room?' asked Linden.

‘I think we have enough to think about without asking that,' said Max.

The man took a chocolate bar from his pocket and unwrapped it.

‘I am Mr Blue,' he announced, taking a bite of the bar.

Max's and Linden's eyes widened. He was much younger than they expected and looked like a
regular guy, not someone who broke up families and wanted to control the world.

Linden looked longingly at the raspberry donuts and the chocolate bar.

Mr Blue smiled.

‘Sorry for my rudeness. Maybe you'd like something a little more substantial?'

Mr Blue clapped his hands. Two chefs in tall white hats walked through the door carrying steaming plates of food, which they placed on the desk between Max, Linden and Mr Blue.

Linden nearly fainted from the smell of it.

‘Roast lamb and vegetables,' he whispered. ‘My favourite.'

Max looked down at her plate and saw her favourite dish, Thai vegetable curry.

How did he know what they liked?

Linden tried to resist, but he hadn't eaten properly in ages. He grabbed his fork and was about to swallow his first mouthful when Max stopped him.

‘It might be poisoned!' she warned.

Mr Blue laughed softly.

‘I see you need a little convincing. Let me reassure you.'

Mr Blue took a gold fork from his pocket and tasted both dishes.

‘A little too much salt on the lamb, but otherwise they are both perfect.'

Linden and Max couldn't wait any longer. They dug in.

Max pointed her fork at Mr Blue.

‘So are you going to tell us why you kidnapped us?' she demanded.

Mr Blue smiled.

‘I think the word
kidnap
is a little harsh. I just wanted to show you my wonderful home.' He paused. ‘And ask you a few questions.'

Max put down her fork while Linden kept eating.

‘Well I have a few questions of my own, like what were your plans for Francis, Ben and the Time and Space Machine?'

‘My plans were very honourable, I assure you. With the Time and Space Machine we'd be famous all over the world as saviours of humankind. We'd be able to go back in history and stop wars before they happened, go into the future and find cures for diseases and make the world a better place.'

Mr Blue paused and smiled at Ms Peckham and his bodyguards.

‘Or at least that's what I told Francis and Ben,' he laughed.

Max disliked Mr Blue more and more with each word he said.

‘What are your real plans?' she asked.

‘To become the richest man in the world by selling the machine to whoever wants to use it.'

‘Even if they buy it for bad reasons?' asked Max.

‘What they do with it after it is theirs is none of my business, my dear,' said Mr Blue with another smile.

‘And what do you want with us?' asked Max.

‘Oh Max, I think you're clever enough to know that.'

Max froze.

‘How did you know my name?' she asked, her brave front slipping a little.

‘There are a lot of things I know about you, Maxine Anne Remy. I know your dad lives in America and couldn't be with you these holidays and that your mum works long hours fussing over famous TV personalities all day instead of you.'

Max and Linden looked at each other.

‘And Linden, you live in Mindawarra on a farm with your dad, you love Ben and Eleanor like your second parents and you lost your mother to cancer two years ago.'

Suddenly Max and Linden lost their appetites.

Mr Blue examined a fingernail on his right hand as he continued.

‘And do you want to know the best part? I know you're going to help me find the Time and Space Retractor Meter because you don't want anything to happen to the families you love so much, do you?'

He looked up sharply at Max.

She was shaken but didn't want to let Mr Blue know.

‘So you really are the slime bag we were told you were,' she snarled.

Mr Blue looked offended.

‘Now that's not very nice. It's just business, Maxine.'

‘It's Max and I'm not doing business with you!' she shouted.

Linden looked worried.

‘Max, be careful,' he whispered.

Mr Blue's smile dropped. He looked carefully at Max so that she felt uneasy and shifted in her seat.

‘You and I have a lot in common, Max. We're not the kind of people who give up easily,' he said in a quiet voice that had a scary edge to it.

‘For years I have been trailing Francis to get the
Time and Space Retractor Meter, but it seemed nothing I had would tempt him to help me. Until now.'

Mr Blue stared at Max and Linden like they were two freshly cooked chickens and he was savouring the moment he would devour them. He clicked his fingers and the men in suits moved closer.

‘Take them to the Jelly Room and see if that won't convince them to cooperate. And make sure Francis Williams knows where they are.'

Max was furious. She hated being pushed around by anyone and even though she was facing one of the meanest, most powerful men in the world, she wasn't about to let him have it all his way.

‘I'm not going anywhere until I've changed,' she declared, crossing her arms against her chest.

‘Max, be careful,' Linden cautioned out of the corner of his mouth.

‘I'm sorry?' Mr Blue asked quizzically.

‘I'm not going anywhere until I've changed back into my own clothes. You can do the tough-guy act all you like but your brain's completely turned to mush if you think I'm going anywhere dressed like this.'

Linden saw Mr Blue's eyes light up with anger,
like someone had lit two little warning flares in them.

‘Maybe we could just go as we are,' suggested Linden, thinking that if Max didn't stop, they were going to end up somewhere a lot worse than the Jelly Room.

Max stared at Mr Blue as he stood before her with his eyebrows raised. No one had ever spoken to him like this and here was an eleven-year-old girl doing just that. As much as she annoyed him there was something about Max Mr Blue had to admire.

‘Fine, Maxine. You may change, but it won't make a scrap of difference to where you're going. Take them away.'

Max and Linden struggled as they were carried outside and back to their rooms. Then they were led down a long corridor and into an elevator that seemed to take forever to stop. When the doors opened, they were herded into a round room with a huge vat of green jelly in the centre.

‘The MPM was a much smoother way to travel,' said Linden as he was jostled forward by the guard.

In the Jelly Room, the guards made them sit on a small metal plank so that their backpacks leant against each other. They tied their hands behind them with thick rope that they then circled around
both their waists. The plank was hoisted up so that they were suspended high above the vat of jelly.

Mr Blue walked in, his hands clasped behind his back.

‘Have you ever eaten green jelly?' he asked calmly.

‘I never was a big fan,' said Linden.

‘This jelly has been found to absorb a formula of ours more readily than other foodstuffs, which enables us to control the thoughts of the young children who eat it,' explained Mr Blue. ‘Could have lots of advantages in the future. Children are such unpredictable creatures. But back to the jelly. It has a soothing feel at first but after a while it's like you're being eaten by the blob and you just sink.'

Max stared Mr Blue in the eye.

‘Let me tell you what is going to happen,' he continued.

‘Do you have to?' said Linden, not sure he wanted to hear the gory details of his imminent demise.

Mr Blue smiled.

‘Oh, but it's my favourite bit. In ten minutes, you will be lowered slowly towards the jelly. In half an hour the jelly will begin to sink into your shoes,
then rise to your trousers then up to your jumpers and to your necks, soaking into your clothes and leaving a pleasant yet strangely sticky feeling all over you. Then, a short while after that, you will be swimming. And if Francis doesn't respond to my call, a short while after that you will be a permanent fixture of green.'

Mr Blue and his guards laughed and turned to leave.

‘I'll let you think about that,' Mr Blue called over his shoulder as the door closed behind him.

Max looked down at the jelly and started to breathe quickly.

‘Linden,' she gasped.

‘What?' he asked.

‘I'm afraid of heights,' she whispered.

‘The best way to stay calm is don't look down. And to think about something else,' said Linden. ‘Like whether the recording device worked. If we got all that Mr Blue said to us, we can use it to finally convince the Government he is evil. You just have to try and get it out of my bag. It's in the side pocket.'

He wriggled around so that Max could get a better angle to reach for it. She twisted her hands in the rope, moving closer and closer to the side pocket.
After a bit more manoeuvring, she had it. She held it carefully so as not to drop it in the jelly.

‘Is it working?' she asked, holding it out so Linden could get to it.

Linden strained his neck hard so he could see the CTR in Max's hands. He wriggled his fingers to the buttons and after rewinding the tape, pressed
play.

‘My plans were very honourable, I assure you. With the Time and Space Machine, we'd be famous all over the world as saviours of humankind. We'd be able to go back in history and stop wars before they happened, go into the future and find cures for diseases and make the world a better place. Or at least that's what I told Francis and Ben.'

‘It worked!' Linden said excitedly.

‘That's great,' said Max, who accidentally glanced at the jelly again.