Hundreds of other people were in the bigger party room, dancing, talking, drinking and moving about. There were six-metre-high screens all around the room, playing scenes from the movie, and in the middle of it stood an enormous replica of the Death Car. Loads of guests were walking up a huge staircase that led to the driver’s door. Others were standing in groups on the seats. Some were climbing up and down on the spokes of the massive steering wheel.
The music that Barry could hear was pumping out from the giant stereo on the mammoth dashboard (as Barry looked over the whole scene, he realised his mind was running out of ways of saying ‘big’).
All round the colossal (phew – he’d thought of one more) car, there were enormous (and another!) guns, in the shape of Dirk Large’s gun. But they weren’t ordinary guns. As Barry watched, he saw Jamie Gherkiner going over to each one and heaving back the trigger; then out shot a huge (he’d given up – from now on, he was just going to use one word for big, and huge was it) chocolate arc into the air, around the car, creating above it a huge liquid net of chocolate.
“What do you think, Barry?” said Vlad, joining him on the balcony.
“It’s amazing…”
“It’s going to get more amazing…” said Morrissina, wafting through from the VIP room. Barry felt a breeze start up through his hair, which was strange as they were definitely indoors. Then he heard Jonty shout:
“OK, sir and madam V and, of course, Barry. Would you care to step this way.” Barry looked over. Jonty had reappeared, but not on the indoor balcony – hovering beyond the edge of the balcony – in the pilot’s seat of a helicopter! The door of the chopper was open and a small platform came out from it. Slowly, it connected to a gate in the balcony. A gate which Vlad and Morrissina were already walking through and on to the helicopter!
Barry rushed over and walked on to the platform. Morrissina held out her hand to steady him as he got into the helicopter.
“Where are we going? We only just got here…” said Barry.
“We’re not going anywhere, Barry,” said Jonty as he buckled a seat belt across him.
“No,” said Vlad. “We’re just making an entrance!”
Then, following a signal from Jonty, the music changed to the theme music from the movie (which was more DA! DA! DA! than Dah Da-Da-Da/Dadada/Dah!da-da-da/Da-Da-Da/DAH-DAH!/Dadada) and the blades of the helicopter started whirring much faster.
Up they went, to the ceiling of the huge room, high above the crowd, who looked up as one. Morrissina and Vlad waved to them from inside the cockpit. Barry, not knowing what else to do, waved too. The crowd roared and clapped.
Jonty brought the helicopter down, expertly guiding it through the gaps in the chocolate net, weaving first one way then another. He hovered for a second over the roof of the Death Car, before bringing them down on top of a huge X painted in the middle of it. He turned a key and the blades stopped rotating.
“Right, Barry!” said Vlad. “Come and greet your public…”