The Curiosity Machine by Richard Newsome Page B

to the darkened interior of the yacht and Gerald followed after him. If anyone was watching they would see a figure dressed in body-hugging lycra and a cape stalking another figure in pink hotpants and sequins. Despite everything, Gerald giggled. Sam whipped his head around and glared.
    â€˜Sorry,’ Gerald whispered. ‘But you look so ridiculous.’
    Sam frowned at him. ‘Don’t risk the wrath of Fluoroboy,’ he said. He knocked three times on a cabin door. There was a soft click from inside and the door cracked ajar. Sam and Gerald squeezed through andlocked the door behind them.
    Gerald was set upon in a blur of flailing arms. Felicity and Ruby wrapped him up in a double-barrelled bear hug. ‘We thought you’d been shot,’ Felicity said, squeezing his ribs tight. ‘I was so scared.’
    They were inside a dark cabin, much smaller than Gerald’s palatial suite. The only light came through a bare porthole that looked out to the moon-rippled ocean beyond.
    â€˜The speedboat that brought the gunmen is circling us,’ Ruby said.
    â€˜Like a shark,’ Felicity added. ‘It just went past so it shouldn’t be back for a few minutes.’
    â€˜Should we close the curtain?’ Gerald asked.
    â€˜We can’t risk it,’ Ruby said. ‘They might notice that one porthole is suddenly covered when it wasn’t before.’
    Felicity dropped onto the bed. ‘This is so sick-making. Surely there isn’t enough money on board for a bunch of bandits to come all this way to steal it.’
    Gerald looked grim-faced at his friends. ‘They’re here for me,’ he said.
    â€˜How do you know?’ Ruby asked.
    â€˜I heard them, or at least their leader. They shot out a window. That was the gunshot you heard. The boss man asked for me by name. And here’s the thing: someone already on the yacht is working with them. They were supposed to be keeping an eye on me until the pirates turned up.’
    â€˜Is it Mason Green?’ Ruby asked.
    â€˜Not unless he has suddenly changed into a woman,’ Gerald replied.
    â€˜Not the person helping out on board, you dolt,’ Ruby said. ‘The person behind the attack.’
    Gerald bit the inside of his bottom lip and chewed. ‘There’s something I probably should tell you.’ For the next few minutes he gave them the details of his conversation with Sir Mason Green. Ruby, Felicity and Sam looked at him as if he had gone insane.
    â€˜Why didn’t you tell us this before?’ Ruby asked. ‘It’s hardly a minor matter.’
    Gerald shrugged. ‘I didn’t want to ruin the party,’ he said.
    Felicity was barely able to contain her excitement. ‘A trillion dollars, Gerald! You could cure diseases. Put an end to hunger. You could save thousands, millions of lives.’ She was jiggling about like a toddler with a full bladder.
    â€˜Steady on, Felicity,’ Gerald said. ‘I haven’t agreed to do anything with the plans yet.’
    Felicity stopped bouncing. ‘Obviously, you’re going to give them to Sir Mason in return for the trillion dollars.’ She stared at him. ‘Aren’t you?’
    Gerald crossed to the cabin door and put an eye to the peephole. ‘The fact that Mason Green has sent a band of pirates to kidnap me suggests holding onto the plans is the best idea for now.’
    Ruby whispered a sudden shush . She pointed to the porthole and pulled Sam back into the shadows. They watched through the glass as the jet boat slid past. No one breathed until it was gone.
    â€˜What do we do now?’ Sam asked. ‘There’s no use hiding. They’ll just search room by room until they find us.’
    Gerald turned to the peephole again. The corridor outside was deserted. ‘Did anyone see where those shotguns for the clay pigeons were stored?’ he asked.
    â€˜You’re not seriously thinking about