Lost World Circus by Justin D'Ath

Author:Justin D'Ath
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781742535937
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia
Published: 2014-05-22T04:00:00+00:00

Forty-five minutes later, a sleek blue BMW Solar pulled in next to James’s station wagon. Colt and Birdy crouched down between the seats. They heard a car door open. Footsteps approached, click, click, click. It sounded like a woman in high-heeled shoes. Then a row of bright pink fingernails tapped lightly on the windscreen.

‘Colt Lawless?’

They cautiously raised their heads. It was Verity Dingle herself, wearing a surgical mask and a frown. Colt cranked open the antiquated, wind-down car window.

‘Hi, Ms Dingle. Thanks for coming.’

The famous HV journalist just nodded. She returned to the BMW and pulled open one of the rear doors. ‘Get in,’ she said. ‘And keep your heads down.’

Colt and Birdy did as they were told, ducking quickly from one car to the other like spies in a movie. A couple of surgical masks, still in their cellophane wrappers, lay on the back seat. Verity told them to put them on. She was very businesslike, not friendly at all. Colt wondered if he’d made a mistake calling her. Wondered if he’d told her too much.

But as soon as everyone was masked and buckled in and the doors were closed, the journalist seemed to relax a little. ‘Sorry for taking so long, kids. I brought my own car rather than using one of the station’s helicopters. We don’t want to attract attention.’

‘Isn’t that why I’m going on holovision?’ Colt asked. ‘Isn’t the whole point of it to attract attention?’

‘Indeed,’ said Verity Dingle, back to being businesslike. ‘But we need to do this properly.’

She reversed out into the street and performed a U-turn. Colt had never been in a solar-powered car before – it was totally silent.

‘What are we going to do?’ he asked.

‘I’ve set up a press conference back at the station,’ Verity said. ‘You’ll be able to tell the whole world what you told me over the phone.’

‘I thought we were going to rescue my father first.’ (It still felt strange saying my father.)

‘Don’t worry about your father,’ she said. ‘As soon as the truth comes out, Superintendent Katt will have to release him.’

She didn’t know the DoRFE boss as well as Colt did.

‘I want to rescue him first,’ he said.

‘That isn’t possible,’ said Verity. ‘They’re holding him at DoRFE Headquarters. It’s a secure facility.’

‘How do you know he’s there?’ Colt asked.

‘I made a few calls after you phoned me,’ said the journalist.

‘Is it far from here?’

‘It’s over on the other side of town.’

‘Take me there.’

They were stopped at a red traffic light. Verity kept her eyes straight ahead. ‘I’ll take you there after the press conference, Colt.’

‘No,’ he said firmly. ‘We go and find my father first. Or I’m not saying anything to anybody.’

The lights had turned green, but the car didn’t move. Verity tapped the steering wheel. ‘You’re hardly in a position to make ultimatums, young man.’

‘I’m the biggest news story there is.’

‘RF2 is bigger.’

They were in the middle of the capital city, yet there were very few cars in the streets. No one tooted at the blue BMW stopped at a green light.

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