6. Appendicitis – I Think Not!

On Monday at school Mr. Brey announced that Alex had appendicitis and a car would be passed around. Jamie knew this was a lie but for some reason the police wanted it hushed up so she didn't say anything or write anything on the card which would cast doubt on the appendicitis lie. She didn't even understand why they were lying. Her mother had tried to write an article on it. But she had been told by her higher ups not to include the teen's name or age. Tom Harris looked unconvinced – what did he know? Ten days later Jamie arrived home from school. The door was locked so Jamie let herself in and she saw a Post-it-Note beside the phone in the hallway.

Dear Jamie,

At press conference,

Love mum

When Eliza arrived home she informed Jamie that she had attended a conference in Queen Elizabeth Hall on Bombs and Terrorism. It had begun at two-fifteen and ended at three. Eliza said it was very interesting according to Max Webber there was a new and dangerous terrorist group called Force Three. They were a bunch of eco-terrorist who had placed themselves against anyone who harmed the environment. But they didn't care how many they killed to save the environment.

'If you ever see a man whose head is a tattooed replica of the earth get as far away from him as possible! Then phone the police.' Eliza instructed her daughter.

'Why?' asked Jamie wondering who in hell would chose to disfigure themselves in such a way. Jamie personally felt that tattoos were disgusting.

'He's the leader,' replied Eliza, 'a sadist, Frenchman who is only known as Kaspar.'

Jamie felt a shiver of disgust and fear at this. Then Eliza started talking about the strange bang she had heard on while having custard cream. Then turning on the TV they understood why: Max Webber had been blown up! Force Three had claimed responsibility saying Webber had declared war on them, and for that reason he had to die. And just to terrify everyone that the next target had been chosen and the whole world would bare witness to what they were planning. Jamie's mum pulled out her notebook and began writing hurriedly. Her report on Webber and Force Three was mainly factual, being scared of Force Three's retribution. But Jamie was banned from travelling on the train, sub, airplanes or being anywhere where bombs could be set off.

At dinner the next evening Joseph informed them that his boss' son, Paul, had almost been kidnapped while recovering in hospital from appendicitis. But another teenaged boy had been kidnapped in his stead. Mr. Drevin himself was helping to fund the money to bring the teenager whose condition was perilous and had put his own life at risk to save his teenaged son. A day later the news had broke that the teenager had been found on a burning wreckage tightrope walking across a banner away from the burning building. He passed out almost as soon as the fire brigade got him down and was now recovering in hospital. Doctor Roger Hayward said there were no complications to his condition. The heart shaped faced news reporter finished by wishing the teenager well. After seeing a picture of the teenager covered in soot walking across the banner Jamie decided that he must be a circus performer. Once again no name was published which was strange considering all the public behind him.

The next evening Alex Rider returned home. Jamie doubted he'd be coming back to school any time soon having been shot under two weeks ago. Eliza gave Jamie a very knowing look when she told her mum that Alex was back. But Jamie changed the subject to her mum's plans for tomorrow which turned out to be a press conference for Nikolei Drevin and his Ark Angel Space Station at the Waterfront Hotel. Eliza warned Jamie that she wouldn't be home the next day so Jamie would have to make her own lunch and let herself in.

When Jamie's parents arrived home the next evening just after Jamie was wiping up after dinner. Eliza informed them that the CIA was investigating Drevin. She seemed thrilled by this gossip and of course this caused a rare argument between her parents. Joshua did work for the properties business side of things and didn't like his boss to be disrespected. On the next Saturday Joshua was watching the football - supporting Stratford East of course. Jamie was reading her school book for an English essay, 1984. Eliza was cooking a lasagne for the trio's dinner in the kitchen. Jamie may not have been watching the football but she could tell it was a dirty game from her father's repeated shouts of 'FOUL!' Joshua groaned twice telling Jamie that either Chelsea had scored or Stratford East had missed. When Joshua left at half time for a cup of tea moaning about it being two-nil down Jamie closed her book getting an apple from the fruit basket. The smell of dinner was simply wonderful. Eliza might not cook often but when she did it was to die for! Jamie winced some time during the second half when Joshua cheered so loudly that the whole street could hear them. Jamie looked up to see that Stratford East had scored. Not long after Jamie thought her dad had lost it.

'Come on,' he begged, 'come on, come on, come on …'

He continued to mutter to himself. Jamie looked up in time to see the footballer kick the ball over the net. The game ended with cheers from the blue side and groans from the red. Jamie returned to her book as the striker who failed his penalty was interviewed still in his dark red stip. Her dad seemed to have lost the ability to speak and looked ready to murder the man who'd lost him the match. That evening a report came through announcing that Adam Wright the Stratford East striker had been killed by Force Three using a pendent made of caesium. Jamie knew from Chemistry lessons that this was an alkali metal that would set Wright on fire as soon as it came in contact with water which made sense as he died in a shower. Joshua said it was probably a good thing that Drevin was out of the country for his rocket launch for the next few days.

A week later it was Sunday when Joshua returned home having only gone for about an hour. It turned out that Drevin had got where he was today by doing deal with several criminal organisations and killed whoever got in his way. In the end when the CIA came to arrest him Drevin tried to escape. During his escape attempt Drevin crashed and shot his son, Paul. Paul Drevin was alive and recovering in a hospital in Barbados with his mother. But Nikolei was killed in the crash. Now Joshua was out of work and so were many others of those working for Drevin. The Ark Angel project was finished. Joshua was soon able to get back his old, lower paid job before he had been scouted by Drevin on a building site in London – Owain's London Propety Development. It wasn't as highly paying but with Eliza's articles they could pay the bills. The news also came that in an explosion gone wrong all five members of Force Three had been killed. The last anyone heard of Ark Angel was that the module with the chimp landed in the sea of the Australian Ocean.