Polly Pippin and The Tunnel of Death (11 page)

'I'll be back, Polly. Give me a tick. Steve
is very temperamental, but he's the best. Steve, Steve, wait for
me.' And the Rebel kissed Polly on the cheek. Nice touch, he
thought, the sort of thing her brother Hamish would do. And he ran
out after the filmmaker.

Great Uncle Vee

Polly was looking for the Liddles while
Alison and Barbara were in the kitchen making lunch.

'Have you ever met this long-lost uncle from
Australia?' Barbara asked.

'No, and neither has Polly. Apparently, he
is our great-uncle and is filthy rich. Apparently he owns half of
Australia. He's also a famous actor, which could help Polly.'

'Why isn't he staying here?' Barbara
asked.

'He said because of the time difference; he
would disturb us. It will take him ages to get used to being awake
when he should be sleeping.'

'Fair enough. Who else is coming?'

'Well, Hamish and Ape, Piers and Miles, Lily
and Lucy and Brad and Steve have been invited. However, I think
Brad is only coming to try and squeeze some money out of our uncle
for the movie.'

'Will Piers come? Isn't he still upset with
Polly?'

'I don't know. Miles is coming. Funnily
enough, we haven't heard from Hamish for a while. He's either very
busy at work or has a new girlfriend.'

'Well, if he doesn't come, more for us. I'm
starving,' Barbara, who was always starving, declared.

Polly overheard what Alison and Barbara were
saying, and tears filled her eyes. She was missing Piers more than
she would admit. 'Sod him,' she said, a little more loudly than she
meant.

'Sod who?' a chorus of voices came from the
kitchen.

'Mind your own business,' Polly said,
joining into the volley of laughter. 'Mmm… It smells good in here.
How's it going? Great-Uncle Vee will be here soon.'

'What does the "V" stand for?' Barbara
asked. 'Not that it matters. Ever since I learned he was your
great-uncle, I stopped wondering if he could be my husband.'

'Victor? Vernon? I don't know. I didn't know
we had a great-uncle until recently.' She glanced up at the clock.
'Oh God, it's nearly twelve. Come on, girls. Let's get ready to
welcome Australia.'

And they had just enough time to take a
final look in the mirror as someone pulled the doorbell.

~

'G'day,' said a tall, tanned man in a broad
Australian accent, and in walked Xavier, posing as Great-Uncle Vee.
He had a wide-brimmed hat on his head, with corks hanging from the
brim, and a brightly coloured scarf tied round his neck.

'Look at you. I would never have known you.
My, you have grown into beautiful young ladies.'

'Come in, come in,' they said. 'Welcome.'
Even Barbara joined in as they ushered him into the kitchen.

'Would you like something to drink? Tea?
Coffee? Or, as it's a special occasion, a glass of Champagne?'

'You know what girls a nice cuppa tea, milk
and two lumps, would go down very nicely. And where is that
erstwhile brother of yours? I expect he's grown into a big
lad.'

'He should be here soon. And I hope you
don't mind great uncle, we've invited some friends to a celebration
lunch,' Polly said. 'In fact, why don't we adjourn to the dining
room now? They should be here any minute.'

~

Lunch was a great success. Brad and Steve
arrived first with the biggest bunch of flowers and a bottle of the
best Champagne. And, as predicted by Alison, they swapped notes on
filmmaking with Great-Uncle Vee. Lily and Lucy arrived, and
Great-Uncle Vee said he remembered them from when they were little
girls. He was looking forward to having a coffee and a cake in
their café. Miles arrived with the sweetest little posies, one for
each of the girls. He followed Polly into the lounge, and
Great-Uncle Vee immediately recognised him as Selim's son. He
grabbed Miles hand and pulled him into a bear hug. 'I know your
family, young man,' he said.

'Really?' Alison said. 'I can't believe it.
That's wonderful.'

Once all the excitement died down, Polly
quietly asked Miles, 'Is Piers coming?'

They all looked first at Polly, and then
expectantly at Miles.

Miles looked very embarrassed as he
apologised for Piers. He couldn't make it he was busy, Miles said.
Cutting his nose off to spite his face he thought, he knew Piers
was dying to see Polly. Polly was pretending she didn't care, but
everyone knew she really did.

Lily immediately changed the subject. 'Where
are Hamish and Ape? It's not like them to miss a family get
together.'

'They'll be here soon,' Polly said, pleased
to get everyone's minds off Piers. 'So let's start lunch anyway,
and they can catch up when they get here. He's usually late,' she
added. But she was concerned, when it came to food Hamish was
usually first in line.

The lunch was a great success and went on
long into the afternoon.

After all the guests and Great-Uncle Vee
left, Polly asked, 'what do you think of him?'

'I think he's really great, and I can't wait
to see him again.'

'Me too. He wants us to go to Australia on
holiday.'

The girls were looking forward to seeing
Great-Uncle Vee again. But Xavier was very concerned. Where was
Hamish?

Changes and misunderstandings

Xavier woke and was no longer with Polly and
Alison posing as Great-Uncle Vee. He was lying flat on his back on
a very comfortable bed in a darkened room. The relaxing music
wafting through the room made him feel good, and he seemed to have
lost the will to get up. As he lay drowsy and humming along with
the music, the room started to slowly lighten. The curtains swept
open, revealing a magnificent room. It overlooked mountains half
hidden in a mist. It looks like China, the hazy thought crossed his
mind.

'Good morning Commander Xavier. I see you
are finally awake.' He looked in the direction of the voice and
felt something like a warm breeze crossing over him. He knew he had
been captured but did not know how, by whom, or where he was. He
lay back. He could only assume he was in the hands of the Rebels.
He closed his eyes tightly and desperately tried to think what had
happened.

I left the main hall immediately after Rhett
told me to go to Middle Universe to protect Byzantine Crescent and
all the Freeflyers. After gathering together all the necessary gear
and weapons, I got into the transference beam and hit Earth's
atmosphere within five scannuls. Posing as Great-Uncle Vee, I had
lunch with the girls. Miles was there, I remember. But where was
Hamish? It was unlike him to miss a family get together. After a
great afternoon, I got into a taxi. Then what happened?

He could not think, and the more he
concentrated, the more indistinct his thoughts became. The
persuasive voice spoke again. 'Come Xavier. Open your eyes. I can
assure you, you will not be disappointed.'

He could not recall anything, and now he was
finding it hard to even remember his name. He lay still, trying to
decide what to do next.

'Come Commander Xavier.' A hand touched his
forehead, gently pushing back his long curls, and soft lips brushed
over his own. Xavier's eyes opened slowly, and just as he started
to enjoy the attention from this girl, his memory came flooding in.
Xavier the Freeflyer Warrior was back in business.

He smiled, which encouraged the owner of the
hand to move closer. Suddenly, he shot up, grabbing a handful of
hair belonging to one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen
in his life.

'Xavier, please, you are hurting me.' Xavier
immediately let go.

'Who are you? But, more importantly, where
am I?' he said.

'All in good time, my love, all in good
time.'

'You know who I am, and that puts me at a
distinct disadvantage,' Xavier said, smiling as he smoothed down
her hair and touched her cheek with his.

'Who would you like me to be? I have several
visual codicil-memories you can choose from.'

'Visual codicil-memories?' Xavier
questioned.

'I'm not sure I should tell you, but I
rather like you. I'd rather go for a walk in the mountains with
you.' She pointed out of the window.

'I too would love to roam in those mountains
with you. But you must admit there's no point taking this romance
further if I don't know your name.'

'Yes, you're right. Come with me, and I will
tell you all.' She stood, pulled him to his feet and put her arms
round his neck. But he was at the end of his 'being nice'
persona.

He kissed her lightly on the head. 'Fun and
games over, my sweet.' He towered over her as he picked her up,
threw her over his shoulder, and headed to the door.

'Now let's find out where I am.'

He strode out of the door of the sumptuous
room into a dark, dank, drafty corridor.

'It would be better for you if you go back
into the room Xavier. It's not safe out here.'

'Really,' he said and opened a door directly
opposite. As he did, the woman over his shoulder disappeared, and
he felt himself falling at great speed. He hit the bottom with such
speed, that if he hadn't landed on something soft, he would have
broken all his bones. He sat up to see two eyes staring down at
him, and they looked very frightened.

'Who are you?' the voice belonging to the
eyes said, as the person or thing that owned them backed away.

This perplexed Xavier. It can't be a Rebel,
otherwise he would know who I am. 'I'm Xavier, a Freeflyer from the
First Universe.'

Hamish remembered what Ape had said about
him being a Freeflyer, and it made him think this man could be a
friend. 'My name is Hamish Pippin.' Hamish said, trying to sound
brave. 'My sister is Polly Pippin and my best friend is Algernon
Ponsenby Eagles.'

'So this is where you are, we were worried
about you,' Xavier declared as he walked over to Hamish and took
his hand. 'Do you have any idea how you got here?'

Hamish smiled. 'No, and you arrived here a
tad late.'

'A tad late?' Xavier said.

'Yesterday, I was in extreme luxury with a
woman too beautiful to describe.'

'Oh, I've been there Hamish. I was waiting
for her to turn into a snake and bite me or squeeze me to
death.'

Although the situation they were in was
obviously dire, they both started to laugh.

'Okay, you tell me your story, and we'll see
if it matches mine. And then…' Xavier said.

'And then?' said Hamish.

'Then we will try and find a way out of
here.’

Double trouble

Polly was busy learning her lines, and
Alison and Barbara were still getting ready to go out to dinner at
the best hotel in London.

'Where's my lipstick?'

'Have you got my red shoes?'

'Polly, you had my mascara last.'

But no one was listening. They rushed round
various parts of the house, trying to find things that had been
'borrowed' not lost. The Liddles, in true tradition, took advantage
of what was happening and miniaturised before jumping into Polly
and Alison's bags. They had no intention of missing what was going
to happen that day. The limousine called round at exactly six
thirty, and the girls, dressed to the nines, clambered in. But not
everyone was as excited about the dinner as the girls were.

~

'Come on Piers. Come to the dinner. Stop
being stubborn. You know Polly wasn't to blame, and she's missing
you.'

'It's not just Polly Miles,' Piers
interjected. 'It's the way the film is progressing… or mostly not
progressing. It's the most unprofessional job we have ever worked
on. Day to day no one knows what's happening, and no deadlines are
being kept.'

'Piers, shut up.' It was Miles turn to butt
in. 'They have paid in full and up front. And the unprofessional
behaviour is not exactly Polly's fault.'

'Yes it is. Where's her mind?' Piers started
to shout. 'Who gets a part starring opposite Brad Bloody C. in an
industry where she is totally unknown?'

'Steve wanted to film in the house,' Miles
retaliated.

'Really. And we couldn't construct a set to
suit in the studio? Of course we could, but it would be without the
ghosts or any of the voodoo Byzantine Crescent can offer. Well
haha! It's over Miles. I want out.'

'From the movie, the film studio, Polly or
me?'

'All of them!' Piers shouted, and he stormed
out.

'That went well,' Miles said. He put on his
coat and left for the dinner. 'Yes, that went really well.'

~

Great-Uncle Vee was waiting in the foyer as
all the guests arrived. From the welcoming cocktail to the dessert,
he made sure everything would be more than perfect.

'This food tastes exactly like the food we
had at the party in the cottage,' Barbara said. 'Must be the same
chefs.'

'Yeah, I agree. It tastes like it comes from
another world,' Alison added.

'And do you think Great-Uncle Vee is
different tonight? He looks the same but seems different this
time.' Polly was looking at Hamish as she spoke. 'And Hamish hasn't
left his side since he arrived. And where is Ape?'

'And Piers,' Barbara said. 'Oops sorry.' She
put her hand over her mouth, after getting a don't-go-there look
from Alison.

'It's okay. I'm over him,' Polly said
without conviction, whilst thinking, I'm about to go home and cry
my eyes out.

'Polly, what are you doing over there, my
dove? Come here and warm my hands.' The oily voice belonging to
Brad ran down the table.

'Yes Polly, come up this end. Your big bro
is missing you,' Hamish cut in.

'Get over it Hamish. And what's wrong with
you? You're the last person I want to sit next to,' Polly bit back.
'What's got into him? He's acting like a nong,' she said as she
turned back to Alison and Barbara. 'I'm going to the bathroom.'