Gatwick Bear and the Secret Plans (15 page)

“No, Mama: he was bad, very bad!”

“There you are then. Now as punishment, you won't watch TV this evening and you will go to bed without dinner”.

“Yes, Mama”.

So Little Sister looked for something interesting to do. Suddenly, she jumped to her feet, dashed to the dark wardrobe, went inside and looked up. There she saw a heavy metal box whose door was open. She couldn't reach it to see what was inside. She went into the bathroom and dragged the stool into the wardrobe. Standing on the stool, she gripped the edge of the lower part of the safe and heaved herself up. It was dark in there. Very dark, but she could see there was something in the far left-hand corner. She looked again. Yes, there was definitely something there. What could it be? She heaved herself up some more until she managed to raise her leg up enough for it to enter the safe. Wobbling and wriggling around a bit, and pulling her other leg up behind her, she caught her diamond necklace on the lock on the inside of the safe door. And, as she entered the safe with her whole body, the door clamped shut behind her.

There she sat in total darkness and hadn't got the slightest idea what to do – she started crying. “Well, it's no good crying”, she said to herself. Putting her paw down, she felt a hard cold object. It was what she had been trying to look at. But she couldn't see it now! It felt like a stone. Yes it must be a stone. Somebody must have brought it up from the garden and placed it there. With the stone, she started hammering on the safe door in the hope that Mama would hear the noise. Nobody came. Little Sister cried some more. The necklace was cutting into the back of her neck. She felt around for the clasp, and unfastened the necklace for relief. Then, she kept hitting the door harder with the stone, her heart was thumping and she was still sobbing a little.

Mama was having a bath. She was fully immersed in all that scented bubble bath froth. She was happy whistling then began singing:

“Don't worry, be happy

Oooooh, ooooooooh, oooooooh

Somebody came and took your bed

Don't worry, be happy

Oooooh, ooooooooh, oooooooh”

“That's enough soaking for the afternoon – time to be dressing for dinner.

Oooooh, ooooooooh, oooooooh,

Don't worry, be happy”.

She dried herself all over with the hairdryer. “I once wrote a catchy poem about happiness and washing yourself”, she said to herself. “How did it start?  Oh, yes:

There's nothing like a piece of soap

To chase the blues and stop you mope

From when I was just six and a half

Every night I've had a bath

When I am soaped all over

I think of foamy waves in Dover

After I've sat amongst the bubbles

I forget my cares and muddles

I am happy as can be

When all those suds wash over me”.

She thought that was a really good poem. One day she'd write a book of poems.

“Oooooh, ooooooooh, oooooooh,

Don't worry, be happy...” Mama started singing again, as she swayed to and fro dancing.

Then Mama Bear sat down on the... where was the stool? She was sure there had been one there. She'd have to go and look for it. But, first she wanted to fill the kettle and have a nice cup of tea. She briefly thought of the happy days she'd had with Bertie. There was a long pause in her thoughts, then she set off hunting around for the stool.
‘
How could it have got inside the wardrobe? Silly place to...' Thump, thump, she heard, from the safe. There it was again, thump, thump. She gave it a tug, the door flew open and Little Sister rolled out still grasping the stone in her paw. Mama slammed the safe shut, turned the dial, then looked at Little Sister. “I'm afraid I don't quite understand why you were in there!”

“Please don't shout so loudly, Mama. I noticed that the safe was open and wanted to look inside, I got tangled up in my necklace and I locked myself in”.

“Do you think that was a sensible thing to do?” asked Mama.

“No, Mama, I'm sorry. I knocked and pushed and kicked the door for a long time. I was so frightened...”

“Well, you're out now, don't think of it any more, my pet”.

“Yes, Mama. You know, my necklace is still in the safe”. She thought that having a dickie bow around her neck was really quite enough decoration. That heavy shiny thing only weighed her down. “It didn't look nice with my dickie bow, Mama. Let's just leave it in the safe”, Little Sister said. “I'd rather have the stone. The necklace got me locked in, and the stone got me out”.

“Whatever makes you happy, my little one”, Mama said affectionately.

In the meantime, in the other suite, Gatwick was waking up after his afternoon nap. He got up to look for Jet. Where was he? Because he was in a five-star hotel, Gatwick thought he had better smarten himself up a little

brush his fur properly

something he hadn't done much lately. So, he carefully groomed his head, tummy, legs and paws. The fur on the top of his head had started growing again, he noticed. At the back his fur was still ruffled. He couldn't reach there, so left it. Have you ever seen a bear who is neat and tidy at the front and scruffy at the back?

In the enormous, well-lit reception hall, Gatwick and Dazbog's paths crossed near the fountain.

“Excuse me”, began Dazbog holding his wing up signalling Gatwick to stop. “Can you tell me way to swimming pool?”

“Oh, yes, you have to go down two floors, the pool is on the right at the bottom of the stairs”.

“Thank you so mich. Eh... Are you in suite next to mine?”

“Yes, I believe I am”, replied Gatwick.

“Yes, you were here before few days ago. Have you beened here on business?”

“I'm not sure that's any business of yours”, Gatwick answered, a little irritated at his direct question.

“I so sorry, not very civilised of me to ask”.

“That's true, it's not civilised”, said Gatwick. Then he thought that he hadn't always been civilised either. He ought to forgive Dazbog:

“No, problem. Don't worry about it. Let's go and have a drink together”, Gatwick said.

So off they went to the hotel bar for fizzy drinks.

“I speaked to your friend, Jet, in garden this morning”, started Dazbog.

“Jet's my very best friend, you know. He's helped me to escape twice. Once when I was hiding in a plastic bag at Gatwick Airport, and the other time from prison”.

“So, you beened in prison?”

“I have, but I don't want to talk about it, if you don't mind”.

“So, you travel lot?”

“Well, I do my fair share”, answered Gatwick, trying not to show off too much.

“I  beened in prison, too, you know”, admitted Dazbog.

“Really?”

“Yes, when I did something for big white polar bear. Have you ever meeted big white polar bear?”

“Yes, I have. At Gatwick Airport”.

“Have you ever meeted big white polar bear with big white tie?”

“Yes, I have. He gave me some money. I know all about his activities”.

“Can you remember what company he work for?”

“North Pole Iced Solutions”.

“That's right!”

“Yes, his name is Arnold White, but I know he also calls himself
‘
Anton Weiss'”.

“Arnold White? You say he has two different names?”

“I don't see anything wrong with that. For example, my father had two identities, he was a vicious killer to some, and was loveable to others. He was known as Gilbert Brown to some, as the Brown Bear to others, and simply as Bertie to his family”.

It suddenly dawned on Dazbog that Gatwick's situation was much more complex than had seemed. Not only was he a great spy, but his father had been one too. Gatwick had been in prison, for shady reasons, while his father had been a killer. Dangerous, a very dangerous family. Not only. Anton Weiss was a double agent working for the Eagles under another name: he was double dealing, selling arms and ammunition to both the Eagles and the Vultures. Now, how could anyone know which side he was really on? Would he blow up the Kremlin? Probably, because he just wanted to sell as many bombs as he could.

Dazbog flew up to his room, phoned the General at their Headquarters, on their hotline, and told him about his findings. “You never going to believe this...”, he began, “but I just founded out most incredible information. Anton Weiss double-dealing us...” and so Dazbog told the General the whole story.

Then, Dazbog said: “Gatwick was only one who knowed this. He knowed very mich. And, we niever knowed this terrible truth till now. Gatwick on our side or he wouldn't tell me information”.

After the General had listened, with a lot of interest, he decided that the only way out of this mess was to give Gatwick a big reward in money, for two reasons. The first, for telling them this vital secret information and, the second, to keep him quiet. Of course, someone as clever as Gatwick would understand. “Give him back his big box on wheels, tieded with red rope, and fill with mich money. If you not enough money there, I send you mich money”.

The next day, early in the morning, the courier arrived with packets and packets of money. Dazbog packed the imitation big box on wheels and tied it up with red rope. As soon as he'd finished, he went to Gatwick's suite and rang the bell. Jet was already out looking for worms. Gatwick was still dreaming about chocolate. He thought he heard the bell, but didn't know if it was in his dreams or for real. That happened to him every now and then. Sometimes, when he was thirsty at night, he dreamt that he was drinking water, and it really quenched his thirst. Strange!

Anyway, after he'd tried opening the door in his dreams, the bell still kept ringing. So, he had to get up to answer it. Well, of course, Gatwick was especially mega-ruffled first thing in the morning. He stumbled to the door, and found Dazbog standing behind it.

“Hello, there. How come you're up and about, at this time of day?” asked Gatwick.

“It 10.30, you know”.

“Exactly, how come you're already up?”

“I bringed you your big box on wheels, tieded with red rope. You know, I finded it”.

“Thanks, so much, Dazbog. Just put it down there, please. I'm still a bit dazed, I think I'm seeing double. Are there two boxes right there?”

“Yes, two box there. Well, I go now. Comrade want to see me. Bye, and good flight home”.

Dazbog left and Gatwick went straight back to bed. And, dreamt some more about chocolate. He slept until he had slept out all the sleep in him.

Mama and Little Sister had already packed. And were ready to leave. Where was Gatwick? They went to his suite and rang the bell again and again:
‘
ding, dong, ding dong, ding, ding'.

“Come on, Gatwick, let's go”, Little Sister shouted behind the door.

Gatwick opened the door and let them in. He showed them the two identical big boxes on wheels, both tied up with red rope. He asked them if he was seeing double. “No”, they assured him, “there are two”. That's what Dazbog had said, too. So, without any idea why this was so, they set off for the airport, each trundling a piece of luggage. Before they checked their luggage in, they sat on a bench in departures and took the two remaining boxes of chocolates out. They ate one box between them and put the other box back saving it for their flight home.

Handing luggage over to airlines can be risky. Suitcases do not always end up where they should. Gatwick hadn't realised that all the suitcases he'd climbed up at North Terminal had been lost by someone

some passengers never saw their suitcases again. Especially those whose suitcases had finished at the bottom of the pile or in the middle.

When they arrived at Gatwick Airport, they waited and waited for their luggage, but... it didn't appear on the conveyor belt. Maybe the bears had gone to the wrong baggage reclaim! No, they couldn't see their luggage anywhere. So all three of them went to the Lost Luggage Desk.

The lady behind the counter looked at her computer. “We're very sorry”, the lady apologised, “we don't know where your luggage is. Let me just make a phone call. Excuse me, please...”

She spoke on the phone for quite a while.

“Look, we're so sorry, your cases seem to have gone to Lisbon. The baggage handlers thought the cases were going to Lisbon and not London, they misread the destination. I'm sure they'll arrive tomorrow”, she assured them.

“Don't worry about it, we can come back tomorrow, we live here”, Gatwick replied.

They were glad to be home. Gatwick was so proud of his home. He led Mama and Little Sister to his broom cupboard. And that's where they slept that night

under the mops.
 

In the morning, Gatwick showed Mama and Little Sister around Gatwick Airport. First, they went to look for leftover muffins and half finished cups of coffee. Gatwick had looked everywhere for his muffin map, but he couldn't find it:
‘
someone must have thrown it away', he thought. Then, he took them to the pizza hut. But, it was empty; it had closed down. Where would they go for food? They were going to find it hard to get enough to eat in future.

Then, Gatwick wanted to show his family the airport entrance, and the area outside, where the buses stopped. Gatwick told them which buses went where. He also showed them the bus shelter where he had slept, and got his fur drenched, that night when Miss Acid had thrown him out. And, all of a sudden Jet came flying by.

“Hi Jet; when did you get back?” Gatwick asked.

“Late last night”, he answered. “Did you know that Miss Acid has left? She's now head of security at  JFK Airport in New York”.

“Yippee!” That was one change that Gatwick welcomed very much indeed. No longer would he have to spend sleepless nights on a cold and wet bench. Gatwick told Jet about the closure of the pizza hut. Jet was shocked, he used to get a good crust or two from there. What now?