Olivia and the Great Escape by Lyn Gardner

Author:Lyn Gardner [Lyn Gardner]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780857631527
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Published: 2013-03-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

It was just before eight o’clock at night. The river danced and sparkled under the lights from the bridge and the towpath. The odd flake of snow was falling, and Eel and Emmy were skipping around trying to catch them. The wind had dropped and it was a lovely London night.

Olivia hugged herself and grinned at Aeysha. She could see Georgia and Tom heading towards them, Georgia craning her neck around as if she were looking for someone.

It was a perfect night for fireworks. Word had got round that something really special was going to happen and the crowd was building. Jack had been busy since it had turned dark, setting up the display, nimbly working his way up and down the wire. Pulling it off was going to be something of a technical feat. It would have been easier to pull off during daylight hours, but that would have drawn attention to what he was planning. He wanted an element of surprise for the crowd’s sake, but he also wanted to keep what he was doing under wraps from the Viktor camp.

Needless to say, the word that a secret stunt was happening at Tower Bridge at nine o’clock had reached the Waterloo team and they had announced that they would be doing something special at eight. Jack and Pablo hadn’t minded in the slightest, in fact they had rubbed their hands in glee. Whatever Viktor did earlier in the evening wouldn’t be nearly as spectacular as their event, and they hoped that as soon as the fireworks started, any crowds at Waterloo would drift their way too.

“I wonder what Viktor is going to do,” said Tom, as the time edged towards eight o’clock.

“Well, whatever it is, it’s not going to be a patch on Jack’s stunt,” said Olivia, happily.

“No chance,” said Georgia, with a smile.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” said Pablo, who had come up behind them. His face was grim.

“What’s the matter?” asked Olivia.

“There’s been a real flurry of activity down at Waterloo over the last hour or so. Viktor has been setting something up on the wire but it’s impossible to see what it is. I just wish I knew…” He broke off as they heard a huge whoosh, a violent bang and saw the sky downriver blazing red and white and blue. Rockets streaked across the sky, turning it into a dark backdrop for flowers of silver, scarlet and gold. The crowd went crazy, and some of them began running off the bridge and down the towpath to get closer to the source of this marvellous display.

There was bang after bang. An arc of stars rose into the sky and then started to fall to earth like a fiery waterfall. Fountains of fire rose up into the air and then exploded into shimmering silver and crimson sparks, like celestial confetti. The display went on and on, with each marvellous explosion topped by one even more spectacular. Great clouds of smoke drifted across the sky as if London had been invaded by fire-breathing dragons.

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