Operation Quarry
It was morning just over a week after the incident in the cave, and the Pack had been gotten a proper nights sleep since then. They were absolutely exhausted: Cedric Berrob wanted them to the work themselves, as he didn't like paying for others to do the work. So Isabella and Magenta were rushing around every minute of the day, stopping for less than five minutes at a time. Max and Monty were always waiting to move dirt, but they were needed in about three places at once. The golf course was completed except for some minor environmental details. The swimming pool was half done, the last parts of the mini roller coaster were arriving soon, and the hotel itself was well underway. A giant crane had been brought in to take over Kelly's work, but it was slower and only one floor was being done a day. The hotel was beginning to look complete, but Miss Jenny was worried that they wouldn't meet the deadline, as they head only two weeks to complete the task.
All the Pack were hoping to sleep in, but Miss Jenny had a habit of getting them up right at seven' o'clock.
"Come on everyone, chop chop!" She yelled, and ran a cow bell to assist her. The machines all groaned, opening their eyes slowly and blinking to adjust to the light. Max honked his horn angrily as Miss Jenny passed, and she whacked him on the nose. She stood in front of them all, and they could see he crumpled clothing, with a stain on her shirt, and her hair wasn't in a ponytail, and looked like it hadn't been washed in days.
"Miss Jenny, you look horrible!" Jack gasped. Some of the others smirked, but they were too tired.
"Thank you Jack. I haven't had as much time lately to tend to my looks." Miss Jenny replied, and sniffed her clothing and gagged. "But anyway, there is a lot to do today. Of course, our rental crane will be doing the hotel. The Arlesdale Engines are brining us some supplies and I want you to help unload. The pool needs to be finished, the lane near the cave still has to be paved and the arcade area needs to be taken care of." The machines all nodded and went to leave, but Miss Jenny raised a hand. "Jack, Alfie, Max and Monty please wait, the rest may leave." The four moved over, while most of the others left, with Nelson staying to take Buster.
"Is this about me honking?" Max said.
"No no, I have a special job for you four." Miss Jenny explained. "We need some rock to be collected from Anopha Quarry. Mr Berrob would like the rocks to help improve the garden areas and maybe make a special mural if there is space."
"Wouldn't it be better if we helped with the actual hotel?" Alfie said.
"I thought you'd like a change of scenery." Miss Jenny said, slightly surprised.
"Of course, I am sick of that forest!" Jack said, and Miss Jenny smirked.
"Mavis will show you the spot you are allowed to dig from. I have to go and get changed before I meet Mr Berrob. See you later!" She said, and rushed off.
"Let's go then guys!" Jack said, and the four rushed out of the yard and headed for the quarry.
The sun was shining bright over the Pack, and by the time they reached the hotel, they were already hot. The Foreman was waiting for them, and quickly pointed them off in the right directions: Buster and Patrick to finish the lower lane, Ned and Oliver to work on the swimming pool, Byron and Fredrick to make sure the ground was smooth near the arcade before it had cement placed. Isabella and Magenta already knew to wait until they were told where to go, and listened impatiently to an apprentice explaining which yard to go to, before speeding off in a cloud of dust.
By eleven' o'clock, Cedric had arrived, his Chrysler limo being parked in a spot at the car park, where men were busy painting the white lines.
"Hello Miss Packard." Cedric said as he stepped out, putting on some white gloves. Miss Jenny had changed clothes and had a shower, though Cedric still sniffed the air and frowned, highly unimpressed.
"Hello Mr Berrob." Miss Jenny said, noticing this put carrying on. "What would you like to visit first today? The swimming pool is nearly-"
"That is a different crane." Cedric said, staring upwards. Kelly's replacement was a six storey crane, a bit higher than the hotel's proposed height. It had no paint or face, and was creaking a lot.
"There was an incident with our usual crane." Miss Jenny said. "We would have needed a different crane anyway for the top of the hotel."
"I suppose so." Cedric said, and he began to walk towards the pool section. Miss Jenny followed him, and was surprised when Jacob appeared, having not noticed him getting out of the limo. They walked over some newly laid paving stones that would soon be put in place properly, and spent a few minutes examine the pool. It was nearly complete, with lots of blue tiles scattered everywhere and the shallow and deep ends becoming more distinguishable. Cedric merely nodded, only occasionally asking questions. Miss Jenny could tell something was on his mind, but choose not to ask what was wrong. The three were heading towards the lane when a worker rushed up, looking extremely worried.
"Miss Jenny, th-th-the crane, something is seriously wrong!" He cried. Miss Jenny ran after him, Cedric and Jacob following behind. One of the support beams on the crane had snapped, and the whole thing was close to tumbling down.
"Everyone clear out of the way!" The Foreman was yelling into a megaphone. People were rushing everywhere.
"My car…" Cedric said.
"There's no time, run!" Miss Jenny said, and pushed him out of the way as the cranes winch snapped, causing its loads to crash down a metre away from them.
"We need to move sir, now!" Jacob yelled, and dragged Cedric away. Miss Jenny ran behind, looking back to make sure they were safe. She watched in horror as another beam of the crane snapped, and the whole thing began to topple down. Cedric turned around as well, and his eyes followed the crane until it went out of sight. Than there was a loud crash, a scream and the sound of snapping wood. Miss Jenny ran back towards the car park, and saw that a large crack had appeared in the tarmac. Isabella and Magenta were frozen several feet away, staring down at the crane's arm which had narrowly avoided them. But the main part of the crane had landed right on the Chrysler limo. All of the glass had shattered, and the roof had caved in.
"Oh Cedric, I am so sorry!" Miss Jenny gasped, walking over some bits of wood to examine things closer. She looked back at Cedric, who was staring at the car, a more blank expression on his face.
"It is only a car." He said at last. "A very expensive car, but only a car. I have lots of money; I can just buy a new one." Miss Jenny nodded at this logic, but Jacob was looking a bit uncertain. He whispered something into his bosses ear, but was only ignored.
"I would like to borrow one of your machines or cars to get me home."
"Of course." Miss Jenny said. "You can borrow Nelson, our transporter, if you like."
"Perfect." Cedric replied. "Now, you were going to show me the arcade area?" Miss Jenny nodded, and they headed off towards the clearing as if nothing had happened. Isabella and Magenta exchanged looks, and they quickly rushed away, as Byron and Fredrick came to tidy up the mess.
As usual, the sun was frying the machines as they struggled to carry on with their work. And as usual, Patrick was bored silly.
"Are you nearly done?" The cement mixer sighed, watching as Buster smoothed a small section of the path. Patrick had to wait for each section to be completed, and then the men would set up the next bit and he would come in, fill it with the cement, and move back under a tree and wait for Buster. The steamroller had had to put up with similar attitudes since the work had begun, and he was not happy another day of it.
"Would you just keep your bad attitude to yourself?" Buster snapped. The workers had all left to investigate the crash, and the machines were along and could talk freely. However, Patrick made sure the coast was clear before replying.
"Why don't we bunk off and head towards the cave?" He said. "I could do with a bit of action." Buster stopped moving and turned towards his friend, half smirking, half scowling.
"You don't need a bit of action, you need a new brain!" He laughed. "Aren't you forgetting the simple fact that the tunnel caved in?"
"Not by much!" Patrick huffed. "We both know that the safe is near the entrance, so if we got Thumper to move some of the rocks, we could just sneak on in and-"
"You don't want action!" Buster cried, rolling backwards in shock. "You don't trust the safe being there!" Patrick looked annoyed about being found out, but regained his cool.
"On my way back the other day, I saw Caroline. She isn't always the best car to chat to, but she said she had heard some cricketers talking about another body being found. What if they found ours?"
"They can't have found it, no one else knew about it!" Buster snapped. "Besides, Miss Jenny would have told us if another body was found, and where."
"Maybe she knows and doesn't want to stress us out. Or, or, or…. Maybe she doesn't know. She could have heard, but was too tired and forgot." Buster was take aback but these points, and while he pondered them, Patrick continued. "All I am saying, if a body we hid up in the middle of nowhere got found, what if the safe gets found as well? I say we get Fredrick, dig it up and move it again, or we move it further into the mine." Buster thought for a second, and remembered that Fredrick had been in the cave when it had caved in. What if he also thought to move it, but didn't get enough time? After a few minutes thinking, Buster nodded, and Patrick tooted his horn happily and raced away to find those they needed.
It took Jack, Alfie, Max and Monty nearly an hour to get to Anopha Quarry. It was the busy time of the morning, and they got caught behind lines of traffic at level crossings, watching as Thomas, Toby and Daisy took their passengers to and from Knapford.
"This is taking forever!" Monty groaned, as they halted once more to let Flora pass along the tramway with some empty trucks.
"We are only about two minutes away!" Alfie said, rolling his eyes. But Max and Monty raced forwards as soon as the breakvan was cleared, and Jack and Alfie followed after. The tarmac road soon turned into dirt, and they all coughed as dust stung their eyes. They were instantly struck by the noise of the quarry: giggling trucks, the sound of rocks being broken, the honk of Mavis' horn, and general chatter from the workers.
"I have been waiting for you guys!" Mavis cried, honking her horn as she spotted them over the trucks. Max and Monty were forced to slow down in order to navigate through all the lines of trucks in the sidings.
"I'll take the ones nearest the entrance." Flora called.
"Thanks a lot, I follow you down shortly." Mavis smiled, and turned towards the machines. "Ok, I have a lot to do today, so can we make this quick?"
"Of course, you look just as busy as us!" Alfie smiled, turning his cab around and staring at the dozens of trucks. Mavis smirked, and then she trundled forwards. Jack and Alfie followed alongside, and smiled to Mavis' driver, who waved to them. Half a minute later, Mavis brought them to a small spot near her shed.
"You can take the stone from here." The diesel said. "And don't muck around, we can't have you smashing into trucks or causing a landslide."
"Don't worry about us." Jack said, but just then, Max and Monty began arguing, accusing the other of bumping the other. "Well… you can worry about those two." Mavis laughed and wished them good luck, before reversing to help Flora with the trucks.
"Stop fighting you two and get over here!" Alfie snapped. Max and Monty huffed and rolled over, positioning themselves as Jack made his first attempt to break the rock.
Secluded at the entrance, George, Mac and Grudge watched the Pack set to work. Grudge was behind his two colleagues, listening in as they planned.
"I want to go and destroy them now!" Mac growled, reeving his engine.
"No, not while those two skirts are still here." George growled, indicating towards Mavis and Flora, who were chatting while the couplings were secured on Flora's train. Mac huffed and reversed, but George turned around and smiled.
"Don't worry my fine oily friend," The steamroller said. "Once they are gone, we can easily start getting rid of the Pack once and for all!"
Nelson wasn't under as much stress as the rest of the Pack, but he was still out and about with them all everyday. His main job was to take the slower Pack members to the site, as usual, but he now also helped collect loads and moved Thumper around. The transporter felt sorry for the others, until they went onto his trailer, making Nelson struggle with their massive weights.
Nelson had just moved Thumper down towards the lane, as Miss Jenny wanted him to do some digging, and was hoping for a nice rest. However, he found the Foreman waiting for him, along with Cedric and Jacob.
"Ah Nelson, glad you're finally here." The Foreman said cheerily. Nelson looked behind him and saw Fredrick scooping up some wood, but the Foreman gave a slight cough.
"What can I do for you?" Nelson said, sneaking glances back towards the wreckage.
"As you can see, our crane has unfortunately collapsed." The Foreman said. "The Chrysler limo was unfortunately crushed, so Mr Berrob and Jacob will be riding back with you."
"We have important stuff to do, so let's move this along." Jacob said, and he walked over and opened up Nelson's driver door.
"I can drive myself." Nelson snapped.
"We know Nelson, but it may be better if you let Jacob take the wheel." The Foreman said. Nelson stared at the bodyguard and smiled. Jacob and Cedric climbed inside the cab and slammed the doors shut. Nelson began to roll forwards, and tried to listen in on whatever conversation the two began. But they remained silent, having seemingly planned out this beforehand. They drove in silence for five kilometres, twice turning around and heading back in the opposite direction. After half an hour, Nelson was considering driving them off the road when there was the sound of a ringing cell phone, and Nelson screeched to a halt.
"Hello?" Jacob said. "Yes…. I see….. Are you absolute-…. Alright then, I'll pass it on." Jacob hung up.
"Was it the excavation team?" Cedric said.
"Yes, they went to the spot on the mountain." Jacob said, sounding irritated.
"And?"
"There was only a hole there." There was a slight silence, and Nelson could hear Cedric breathing deeply.
"Do they have any idea where the thieves headed?"
"There are tyre tracks, and they are following them. I think I know who it is though."
"Canton." Cedric whispered.
"Most likely. I'd imagine Alpha will try and hide it, so I'll get them to look up some satellite images." Jacob said, and Nelson heard the beep as numbers were tapped into the phone.
"Good, now let's head back into town. I want to be ready to head towards them at any moment." Nelson suddenly spun around, and Jacob stamped onto his accelerator. Nelson didn't even know he could go this fast, but it was helpful. If he was going to get rid of his two unwanted passengers, speed would be a helpful factor.
It took Jack and Alfie an hour in order for them to break the rock. As their scoops were designed for this, it was a real hassle. The big problem was that they usually only got small bits, not suitable enough for decoration. In that time, Flora and Mavis had both returned, and had left with a train each in that time. The sounds of the laughing trucks and the many jobs amongst the quarry were oblivious to Jack and Alfie, as they put all their concentration into the task at hand. Max and Monty were growing restless, and were staring off into space towards the trees on the quarry outskirts.
"Monty?" Max said.
"What?" Monty grunted.
"I think someone is watching us."
"Some of the men probably are, idiot!"
"I am not idiot!" Max growled. "And I was looking at the trees over there; I thought I saw something move." Monty looked over as well, but was distracted as Alfie scooped up one large rock and several smaller ones.
"It is probably just a bird or something." Monty concluded, and looked over towards the rocky ledges above them. Max stared at the trees, but saw nothing move again, and followed his brother's line of sight. Jack and Alfie worked for several more minutes, filling up the two dump trucks, before admitting defeat.
"These rocks are too strong for us!" Jack sighed.
"Let's head back and report to Miss Jenny." Alfie said, and he began rolling forwards. But suddenly, there was a bang, and the four turned. Some of the trucks had rolled forwards somehow, breaking the buffers.
"Mavis and Flora aren't here." Max whispered.
"Maybe its Toby, or the wind pushed them." Jack suggested, sounding uneasy.
"Do I like a tram or wind?" A familiar voice said, and George appeared from behind the trucks. He seemed to think it was a dramatic entrance, and looked over towards the Pack. Max and Monty growled, but Jack and Alfie rolled their eyes and moved forwards.
"Hey hey hey, what's with the cold bumper?" George snapped, causing Jack and Alfie to stop.
"What, do you want us to act friendly to you?" Jack snapped, as Grudge and Mac rolled out from behind the trucks.
"Of course not, but I would like you to be struck with fear!" George said dramatically.
"Sorry to tell you this, but all of your failed attempts to destroy us don't really show you three as powerful enemies." Alfie said, and Jack, Max and Monty laughed.
"Don't laugh at us, scum!" Mac hissed.
"Try and stop us!" Jack said, and he raised his scoop and forced it into a truck nearby. Alfie did the same, and George and Mac looked a bit worried.
"Grudge, go and stop them!" George ordered.
"Why me?" Grudge huffed.
"You have a scoop, you can fight them. Now go!" Mac ordered.
"If you insist." Grudge sighed, and he sped forwards. Max charged and slammed into the digger, forcing him to smash into the trucks. Mac used the opportunity to try and hit Max, but Monty had guessed this and slammed into his cousin. While this occurred, Jack and Alfie began throwing rocks towards George. Some workers tried to stop them, but fled as George flattened two trucks while dodging the flying rocks.
On the other side of the quarry, in a secluded area between two large rocks, a 2008 black Nissan Titan was parked, staring towards its owner. The owner had just finished digging a hole, and know picked up the tarp wrapped around the rotting corpse and threw it in.
"Thank goodness, that thing smelt horrible!" Canton huffed. Alpha turned to his car and frowned.
"It is a corpse, what do you expect?" He looked down at his suit, and saw that there was some dirt on his pants. Alpha sighed, before beginning to cover up the body. They could hear the distant sounds of crashes and the sounds of honking horns.
"Sounds like something is up." Canton said.
"I'll finish burying this, and then we'll investigate." Alpha replied. Canton nodded, and watched as Alpha clumsily spread the dirt. It looked poorly done, and it was obvious something had been reburied. But Alpha was in a rush to see what the commotion was, and as the bangs got louder, Alpha rushed over to his car, opened the door and jumped in, tossing the spade onto the passenger seat. Canton reversed, turned and sped towards the noise.
Nelson was desperate to know what Cedric and Jacob were planning, what had been dug up, and who Alpha and Canton were. The transporter had figured something dodgy had been happening since the first body was found, but things had been increasing. Fredrick, Patrick and Buster had been acting odd for weeks, and now Jack and Alfie had been having whispered conversations a lot lately. But it now seemed that Cedric and Jacob had something happening, and whatever had been dug up was a part of it. Nelson wanted to try and coax some information out of them, but as they drove along Ffarqhuar Road, the cell phone rang again.
"Hello?" Jacob said. "Uh huh… uh huh… alright…. Excellent." And he hung up. "They have tracked them down, they are at Anopha Quarry."
"Excellent." Cedric said, sounding very pleased. "Take me there at once."
"Obviously." Jacob smirked, and Nelson began to race forwards once again. Nelson was worried: he had heard Miss Jenny telling Jack, Alfie and the twins to go Anopha Quarry. He had to make sure they were alright, and allowed Jacob to make him speed.
The battle at the quarry was in full swing: Max and Monty were ramming repeatedly into Mac, who was fighting to smash them, and Grudge, who would be willing to get tipped onto his side. George, meanwhile, was smashing into all the trucks, covering himself with dust to hide from Jack and Alfie. This didn't stop them throwing their rocks, but they had to be a bit more precise, as there were still lots of men around, and they didn't want to injure them.
"Give it up, you lot can't defeat us!" Mac snarled, as he rammed into Monty's side.
"We are just better than you all!" George said, and he pushed some trucks forwards. They crashed into Max and burst open, stopping him from tackling Grudge.
"They're right, this is too hard." Alfie muttered to Jack. "Should we just give up?"
"No, we can't let them win!" Jack hissed. "Someone will come to help us, like Mavis, or Flora, or… or…."
"Canton?" Alfie said, his eyes wide with shock. Jack spun around as the black ute raced towards them, ramming directly into Mac.
"What's going on?" Grudge said, sounding worried.
"Nothing to worry about." Canton replied, smashing into Mac again and denting his right door. "I'm just here to teach you all a lesson."
"I don't want to learn anything." Grudge said. George growled and charged, but Canton moved swiftly, hitting George with such force that he rolled backwards as far as the workers, who all ran to avoid being squashed. Mac and Grudge rolled backwards a bit as well, and Jack and Alfie sped forwards.
"Canton, what brings you here?" Alfie said. Canton was stunned to see the two, and began to back away.
"Oh, secretive business, as you can guess." He replied. "Nothing that concerns you two. I just heard a noise and decide to come and-" But Canton was interrupted by Mac, who was speeding forwards, a look of upmost fury upon his face.
"I'm going to kill you!" The dump truck roared. Max and Monty were to slow to react, and Mac raced past them. Canton stared at Mac, as if he was willing to be struck. But at the last second, he reversed out of the way. Mac saw this and tried to stop, but at his speed, all he did was make his tyres screech. He spun around, and, to the horror of them all, Mac's back wheels tipped over the edge of a hill.
"Crap." He snarled, and then he tipped over.
"Mac!" George yelled, and he and Grudge raced over, along with the pack members. They went on either side of Canton, staring down the hill where a fire was clearly visible. But there was no sign of Mac. Grudge let out a sob and raced away, while George stared towards his flaming friend until he exploded, sending metal flying. A bit of rubber and a tiny piece of metal landed nearby, and even Jack and Alfie looked horror struck.
"George, this is really sad, we are so sorry." Alfie said, but George ignored him. Jack and Alfie exchanged looks and looked at Max and Monty. The two dump trucks were rather stone-faced, and stared down at the remains of their cousin.
Suddenly, there were screams from behind them. They all turned and saw Nelson, speeding out of control.
Jacob was turning the steering wheel madly, making all the workers run and jump. He laughed with great joy each time one of them yelled, and Cedric even smirked at this.
"I can see the car." Jacob said, staring towards Canton. "Shall I ram him over the edge?"
"No, I'd prefer if you stopped." Cedric said, pulling a Glock semi automatic handgun out of his jacket. "I'd would be much more entertaining to blow Alpha up." Jacob nodded, and he took his foot off the accelerator and went for the brake, but Nelson kept speeding.
"What's wrong?" Cedric asked.
"Weren't you taught not to trust something that can think for itself?" Nelson yelled. Jacob cried out and tried to brake again, but Nelson began to spin around. His whole body and trailer moved in a wide, sweeping circle. His flatbed smashed through a breakvan in a siding. Jacob tried to open his door, but Nelson had locked them.
"You aren't getting out until I say so!" Nelson said, and he raced forwards. Cedric raised his gun and fired bullets through the windows. Nelson winced, but he couldn't stop now.
"Nelson, what's going on?" Jack yelled. The transporter didn't reply, and instead drove straight into the side of Mavis' wooden shed. The force of the impact caused the airbags to burst, smothering Cedric and Jacob, and the supports of the shed gave way. The structure collapsed, burying Nelson and his passengers in wood. While this occurred, George and Grudge slipped out of the quarry, while a honk and a bell sounded, and Mavis and Flora rolled in, buffer to buffer.
"What the hell has happened here?" Mavis gasped, staring around at the dozens of broken trucks, loose rocks and her destroyed shed. Jack and Alfie stammered, unsure what to say.
"I'm not getting in trouble!" Max yelled, and he turned and sped off.
"Me neither!" Monty bellowed, and raced after his brother.
"Is Nelson under the roof?" Flora asked. The two engines moved forwards to investigate, and the quarry workmen seemed to think it would be safe to move now. A car door slammed, and Alpha raced forwards, a dirty spade in one hand and a gun in the other.
"Don't go anywhere near here!" The agent yelled.
"Alpha, what is going on?" Jack asked.
"There isn't time for questions!" Canton cried.
"Would someone please explain what is happening?" Flora said desperately. The workmen were all crowding around, watching Alpha as he threw away bits of wood and opening the driver's door on Nelson. He stared inside before wheeling around.
"No one is in there." He said.
"But how did they es-" Alfie said, but he was interrupted by a loud thud. Every eye turned and looked towards the lines of trucks. They had all stopped giggling and were also looking at the large fuel barrel nestling inside one of them. A long rope had been coiled around, and a flame was making it's way towards the top.
"This is going to hurt." The truck said, and shut his eyes as the last bit of the rope was consumed by flames.
The explosion was extravagant: a cloud of dark orange and grey, which looked almost solid, rising up from the truck and obliterating everything in its path. The trucks all yelled as they were destroyed, men either ran away or were tossed aside like leaves in the wind. Rocks were flying everywhere, Jack and Alfie raced for cover, Flora and Mavis were hit, causing them to derail. Alpha ran towards Canton, leaving Nelson behind to become trapped, the wood from the shed erupting into flames. The secret agent rushed into his car, slammed the door, and Canton rushed him away. Alfie turned to watch them and was hit by a rock, smashing his right side and knocking him over.
While this all occurred, Cedric and Jacob ran into the quarry, past worried workers investigating the explosion. The only injuries the two villains sported were cuts and bruises, and Jacob couldn't help laugh as he listened to the yells and screams echoing behind them.
Buster and Patrick watched as Thumper smashed through the rocks blocking the cave entrance. They had been at it for half an hour, but it was taking longer than expected. Fredrick was keeping lookout, as work for the day had come to an early close, due to some major accident at Anopha Quarry. Only these four remained.
"This rock is too tough!" Thumper moaned. "My pistons are hurting!"
"Take a quick rest." Buster smiled.
"We don't have time for quick rests!" Patrick snapped. "We are running behind as it is."
"Calm down!" Buster snapped back. "Just let the poor machine have a quick break." Buster was about to retaliate, but Fredrick had just honked his horn. They all looked around as the Foreman began to walk down the hill, looking very cross.
"What are you doing down here, you're meant to be back at the yard!" He yelled. Buster and Patrick exchanged curious looks, but Thumper moved himself so that he was facing a different area.
"These two saw a tree hanging up above, and thought I could break the rock and bring it down under controlled circumstances." Patrick and Buster were stunned but didn't show it. The Foreman looked up and there was indeed an ancient tree poking through the rocks.
"I see…." He said, nodding and looking flustered. "Sort it out tomorrow, we need to head back now!" Patrick and Buster nodded, and went as quickly as possible up the hill.
"Did he buy your excuse?" Fredrick muttered.
"Thankfully." Buster said, smiling.
"But tomorrow, we have to try and get through that rock." Patrick said. "Who knows what could happen if we don't, the world could end!" Fredrick and Buster rolled their eyes at his over exaggeration, but all three of them knew that something dodgy was happening, and that safe could solve everything.
A ten metre wide crater was now in the middle of the quarry yard. Thousands of bits of wood lay everywhere, and any that were still flaming where quickly quashed by firemen. Jack watched this all occurring, as he tried to take in what had happened.
As soon as the explosion had cleared, Jack had instantly begun scooping up dust and rocks, scattering them over the shed remains. There was a risk of a full inferno destroying Nelson, but the front loader managed to quickly stop it. The quarry offices were still intact except for broken windows, and the manager called the Fat Controller and the Ffarqhuar Station Master. The Fat Controller called the Chief of Police, who allowed the cowcatcher and side plates law to bent, allowing Harvey and Rosie to rush up to the quarry with supplies. Jack watched as Harvey helped Flora and Mavis get on track, and Rosie brought a long line of trucks for rubble to be piled into. Butch had followed shortly after, towing Nelson out from under the wood, and then getting Alfie upright.
"I'll be back from the works soon." Alfie had said. "Make sure that hotel is finished!" Jack had smiled, but then moved aside and watched as things unfolded.
For the last hour, Jack had been seriously thinking about things: his friends, the hotel, Mac, Alpha and Canton, the explosion, and, most of all, Cedric. Had it been him hiding inside Nelson? Had they caused the explosion? Why had Nelson acted so crazy? And why were Alpha and Canton there? Nothing was making any sense, and Jack was in desperate need for a sleep.
"Jack?" The front loader looked up. Miss Jenny was there, smiling warmly. "Hello Jack, I am here to take you home."
"How is everyone?" Jack asked.
"Nelson is very badly damaged: his roof caved in, his is dented all over, all of his windows had shattered, his trailer has a giant crack." Miss Jenny sighed. "But Alfie just has to have some stuff replaced, he'll be back soon." She began to walk, and Jack followed slowly after, looking around at the remains of several trucks as they went.
"Miss Jenny, who was Nelson carrying?" Jack asked.
"Oh, Cedric and Jacob. I didn't hear anything about them; did you see what happened to them?" Miss Jenny asked. Jack couldn't mention Alpha and Canton, and didn't want Nelson to get in trouble.
"I was just wondering." He replied. Miss Jenny was satisfied with this, and she moved faster towards her car. Jack quickly rushed in front, wanting to get as far away from there as possible. So it had been Cedric and Jacob inside Nelson, and they had somehow survived the impact through the shed and fled before the explosion.
As soon as Nelson was fit enough, Jack had quite a lot of questions to ask him.
It was midnight. Cedric was reading a crime novel, as always, but was in a different arm chair. The small cottage he was staying in was the same one that Jack, Alfie, Alpha and Canton had followed him to the week before. The cottage had belonged to a Montgomery Norman, aged 90, until last week. Montgomery had not co-operated, and was now buried in the back yard, alongside a cat that had died some years previously.
As Cedric turned over a page, Jacob entered the room.
"Yes?" Cedric sighed.
"Robert Rutherford." Jacob said. "The autopsy is back, and no piece of the map was found." Cedric looked up from his book, his eye twitching slightly.
"I see." He said.
"Don't worry, I think Alpha may have it." Jacob said quickly.
"Well of course he has it." Cedric snapped. "He buried the body." It had taken Cedric, Jacob, and three two metre tall, exceedingly fit henchmen to find the body inside the quarry, and escape inside a silver 2006 Santa Fe car that had been stolen. Jacob had only just got the phone call with the news. Cedric put his book down and stood up, walking briskly over towards a desk covered with the maps and journals. He began to cross Robert Rutherford off his lists, joining Clarence Richards, Vernon Green, Albert Freeman and William Baker. As he worked, Jacob walked cautiously forwards.
"Sir, is there anything you want me to do?" Cedric stopped working and turned around.
"No Jacob, there isn't anything you can do." He snapped, clutching the ruler in his hand like a knife. "You have not been overly helpful lately. You convinced me to wait a few days before finding the fifth body, you convinced me to trust those stupid machines, you convinced me to continue wasting my money on the hotel, even thought we both know what is happening to it."
"I-I-I-I just thought…." Jacob began, but got slapped with the ruler.
"You never think, and it is about time I stop listening to your dribble!" Cedric roared. He pulled the Glock out of his coat and pulled the trigger. The bang was deafening in the confined space. Jacob collapsed to the ground, rapidly losing strength and blood, all seeping through a hole in his stomach. Cedric stared down at his bodyguard, the gun still pointed to where Jacob had just been.
"Jacob, your fired." And with that, Cedric dropped the gun and the ruler, and walked back towards his chair and picked up his book. Jacob stared at the back of the chair, feeling his life ending.
"Rot in hell." He croaked, and then let out a loud moan and shut his eyes, never to open them again. Cedric smirked and looked down to make sure Jacob was dead. He smiled with pride, until he noticed the blood.
"Bugger, that's going to leave a stain."