Chapter 19

--Ok, I admit it. Turning into a wasp may be disgusting, but flying as one is brilliant!--

I had completed the changes to wasp at last, with a lot of yelling on my behalf, and a lot of encouragement from Sam. And a lot of impatience on behalf of Philip.

--Yes, alright, Flawless. Stop messing around, we don't have all day,-- he retorted.

--You ok there, you three?-- I heard Sam say --How you coping as beetle again, Mags?--

--Yeah, fine, a lot better than it was the first time at least!--

--Cool,-- I replied. --This thing flies even better than my falcon.--

--Yes, but not very fast,-- said Sam. --Come on, climb aboard, or you've never get to the place.--

The plan was that the three of us insects hitch a ride on Sam's crow body to the port's Central Office. Sam, being crow, would be fairly inconspicuous - a lot more than she would be as a goose or falcon. She did briefly think about looking for a seagull morph to acquire, but decided against it as it would waste too much time. We would then slip in through an open window. Philip would then find somewhere to demorph, set off the fire alarm, and use the office's computers to find a ship on its way to the US. Morph back to wasp. Buzz out the window, and back onto Sam's neck to get out of the place. I know. Ridiculous plan. Don't even try to count all the things that could go wrong. Since the port was a long way from our hiding spot on the Millennium Stadium, it would be almost impossible for us wasps to get to the office - and we had to find it first!

The three of us climbed aboard Sam's crow neck. It was a strange experience. Like Maggie had described, the vision of the wasp was very odd. Like watching hundreds of tiny TV screens. The sense of smell was very strong, but, since there were no other wasp or any flowers about, my wasp brain was quickly bored. Hearing was another problem. I could feel the vibrations of different sounds resonating through my body, but it was difficult to make out any particular words. Luckily, we had no problem understanding each other's thought-speak, and Sam would be around to do much of our hearing and seeing for us. She had decided to stay outside, partly because Philip and I were needed to hack into the database, partly because Maggie didn't have a crow morph, and partly because I had thought she was too valuable to lose in such a potentially suicidal mission. Also my way of saying 'fanciable'.

--Here we go! Hold on!-- said Sam.

A sudden movement, a whoosh of air, and we were off! I couldn't see more than a few feet in front of me, so I hoped Sam knew where she was going.

--Ok,-- she said, after maybe twenty minute's flying. --I'm pretty sure I've spotted the office. The port's a huge place, with loads of buildings around, but I think this is the only one with offices. All the rest are warehouses and cargo storage and all that.-- She paused, and I felt her crow body descend through the air, downwards.

--I'm gonna land on the window ledge, a few floors up, in a sec,-- she said. --My vision is pretty good, and I can see an open window. Inside, there is a medium sized office with a few computer terminals. There's two people inside, drinking coffee. There's a door to a hallway, and a toilet just outside the door. I'll leave you three to find that toilet, so Philip can demorph. I also think I can see the fire alarm by that door. You'll have to hit that to get the workers out of there. Philip, you do what you need to do as quickly as possible. Maggie and Ferdie, stay as insects if you can and keep a look out. Warn Philip if anyone comes near.--

She flapped down to the window sill and lowered her neck to let the three of us crawl off.

--I'll be just here, if you need me,-- she said. --Good luck!--