21. A Cat’s Life

‘You were amazing,’ said Sophie, stroking Shakespeare’s ginger fur and trying to avoid the bald patches. ‘I mean, you didn’t know there was a lion behind you when you had him trapped.’

I did think I’d done a rather large roar, smiled the family cat. I guess it proves you don’t have to be a big cat to have a big cat roar! I have to say, it’s the most amazing mission I’ve ever been involved in and it was most certainly a team effort.

Mum just tutted. She’d been in the police helicopter and had seen the final showdown. The doctor had given her some pills that had helped calm her nerves afterwards, and now she sat in the chair, rocking gently, not really with it.

Lara was also a bit groggy, her eyelids at half mast. ‘And for once, the pups and I were just minor players. This, Agent Cat, was very much your mission. We put you in charge of Mission Control and you ended up taking control!’

‘A team effort,’ he reminded them. ‘And Gloria helped,’ admitted the puss, purring with delight as Sophie tickled the top of his head.

‘What’s happened to the hunters?’ asked Sophie.

Professor Cortex was looking pleased – not only to be out of the gorilla suit but also at the capture of the villains. He eyed Mum nervously, dreading what would happen when she came off the pills. ‘All’s well that ends well,’ he said, daring to sound perky. ‘That horrible American man is behind bars. Well, he will be as soon as he gets out of the hospital. That croc sure took some chunks out of his ankles. He and the sheik and the banker are all charged with “hunting endangered species”. I mean, you can’t just go around shooting pandas and suchlike.’

‘And Gloria?’ asked Ben. ‘If I understand it right, she was a goodie?’

‘Posing as a baddie,’ nodded Professor Cortex. ‘As we now know, Gloria is an undercover reporter for the New York Post. She posed as a wealthy heiress to gain an invite to Big’s evil safari. She was a great help. Gloria was working on the inside, gathering evidence. She’s got herself quite a story!’

‘And she rescued me,’ Ben reminded the prof. ‘She was going for help. Picked me up from the side of the road in that terrible storm.’ He sneezed to demonstrate the point.

‘Gloria’s into animal rights,’ smiled Sophie. ‘I mean, aren’t we all?’ she said, squeezing her beloved ginger cat so hard that his green eyes bulged.

Yes, and this animal’s got the right to be squeezed slightly less tightly, he thought.

‘She’s a very clever lady,’ noted the professor. ‘And extremely brave. She noticed the thefts, tracked them to Huntingdon Hall and then took a huge risk posing as one of the hunters. If it wasn’t for Gloria switching Mr Big’s darts, GM451 would be more than a little sleepy.’

‘She made sure those black darts were actually only sleeping darts. Otherwise Lara would never have woken up,’ shuddered Ben, patting his pet.

The professor’s chest was swelling with pride. ‘Gus and Archie are locked up, awaiting trial on all sorts of charges. The list of offences is as long as your arm. And, let me tell you, Archie has very long arms. All the animals have been safely returned to their homes – and some of them showed some genuine spy potential, I must say!’

The children chuckled, wondering how an undercover elephant might fit in.

‘And the mastermind himself?’ asked Ben. ‘Lara’s arch-enemy? Lord Large, or rather, Mr Big?’

‘Well, it seems he’s going to be all right. Third-degree burns to his back and legs so he’s pretty well bandaged from head to foot.’

‘That leccy fence must have been a bit of a shock,’ beamed Ollie, not realizing how perfect his words were. ‘I bet he’s in lots of pain,’ he added, a little too enthusiastically.

‘Oh, plenty of pain,’ smiled the professor, also a little too enthusiastically.

Lara and the pups couldn’t resist wagging.

Good job Mr Big’s behind bars, purred Shakespeare. The cat cast his gleaming green eyes around the lounge. Mum wasn’t in the best of shape but, rule number one, the children are safe and well. My beloved Lara is sleepy but alive. The pups are wagging. And best of all, I’m being stroked by the most wonderful girl in the world. He purred loudly as his mind ran through the adventure. I started with a coordinating role and ended in a life-saving role. I jumped from a pram dangling from a plane. I wore a special superhero suit. I shot Gus and I helped capture Big. He hoped he’d done enough to be included in the next mission.

The puss sank deeper into Sophie’s lap. Once my bald bits have grown back, that is. Shakespeare lolloped on to his side and raised his paws just enough so Sophie could access his white underbelly. He closed his eyes in sheer bliss. It’s great being a spy cat. But even better being a family pet.

‘Mr Big is of course denying everything,’ smiled the professor. ‘But you can never deny the truth.’