EJ felt cold metal against her cheek and heard the roar of an engine. Where was she? Still a little groggy from the sleeping dart, she felt a pain in her hands and realised they were tied behind her back with the rope burning into her wrists. She lifted her head and looked around and saw she was lying on the floor of a small cargo plane stacked with rows of empty crates, all marked SWR. On top of one of the crates was a pile of parachutes. Above the noise of the engine, EJ could hear Adriana. She wriggled around and saw her at the controls of the plane, head-set on, talking loudly and quickly.

‘Yes, I have the gorilla,’ shouted Adriana into the microphone. ‘Yes, well worth the detour, thank you, or should I say merci, Madame! But now I am back on the path. Tell SHADOW to get more crates ready, or should that be trunks? Get it? Elephants? Trunks! I’m hilarious; I could be in show business. Oh, but I guess I’m more into monkey business! I crack myself up!’

She’s mad, thought EJ, completely mad. But also dangerous.

‘I have to drop something off,’ continued Adriana. ‘It has been irritating me for quite some time but now I think it will just drop away. Ha, ha, ha!’

EJ had the uncomfortable feeling that she was the thing Adriana was going to drop off. She needed a plan. Quickly.

‘Yes, yes, I know, you told me, spots and stripes are the new black. Don’t worry, you’ll get your skins,’ continued Adriana. ‘It’s all on the list. You just let me know where to meet for the pick up.’

Spots and stripes, thought EJ. She’s going to hunt more animals, for their skins. She is going to kill them! I can’t let her do that. Think, EJ, think!

She wriggled her hands behind her and managed to press the red diamond on her wristband. As she did, EJ felt something brush against her arm. Something hairy. She turned to see the little gorilla stroking her hand. She looked into its dark, dark eyes. It was almost as if it were crying.

‘You need to get out of here too, don’t you little one?’ EJ whispered. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t let them take you away from your family to a zoo.’

EJ wriggled her hands again to try to loosen the knots of the ropes tying her hands together. Then she rubbed the rope hard against the bars of the cage, hoping the friction would fray the rope. But it didn’t. Just as EJ was running out of ideas she felt the rope come away from her wrists. She looked around to see the little gorilla holding it.

‘Good job,’ she whispered, ‘and in just a minute, I’ll return the favour.’

Quietly, and checking that Adriana was still preoccupied, EJ moved slowly across to the other side of the plane on her tummy. She reached up to the top crate and pulled down one of the parachutes. After making a quick safety check, she put it on and clicked her camouflage button. The parachute pack changed colour to match her shirt and unless you looked really carefully, you wouldn’t see it. EJ was just about to open the cage to take the baby gorilla when she accidently kicked over one of the cans on the plane floor. She froze as Adriana looked around.

‘Oh, good, you’re awake EJ12. Just in time for me to drop you off.’

‘Are we landing?’ asked EJ, keeping her hands behind her back.

‘I’m not but you will, eventually!’ Adriana pulled a lever on the control panel. ‘I’m sure my sister will miss you but I won’t, you pesky spylet.’

EJ felt a shudder underneath her as the floor began to open. She took a deep breath and with only seconds to spare, EJ opened the cage and grabbed the gorilla. The baby seemed to know what to do and wrapped her arms around EJ, holding on to her tightly.

‘Ha! I can always get another one of those,’ cried Adriana. ‘I always knew you were a dropout. Goodbye EJ nothing. For ever.’

Now the flap beneath EJ opened completely and she dropped out of the plane. EJ held the baby gorilla tight, as she began to plummet.

EJ was in free-fall. ‘Hold on, little one,’ she said to the gorilla. ‘Not long to go now.’

EJ waited thirty more seconds and then pulled the cord of her parachute. As the chute billowed out, she pressed her camo-button again and, this time, her clothes and the chute turned a streaky sky-blue. If Adriana did happen to look back to check, it would still look as if EJ were falling to the ground.

‘But you’re the one who has fallen, Adriana,’ said EJ, chuckling as she slowly floated to the ground below. ‘Fallen for my trick.’

Hasi was waiting for EJ when she landed. As soon as EJ had activated her wristband, Hasi had set out from the refuge, tracking her in the SWR jeep. She smiled when she saw the baby gorilla in EJ’s arms, its little finger twisted around EJ’s.

‘Good job, EJ12!’

‘Yes, but Adriana is still out there and what we suspected is true. She is hunting animals so she can sell them, dead or alive. SWR stands for SHADOW Wildlife Retail.’

‘That’s bad,’ Hasi said.

‘But there is something good,’ said EJ, smiling.

‘There is?’

‘Adriana now thinks she has got rid of me for good and that gives me an opportunity. It’s my turn to upset a few plans!’

It was a long drive and the three arrived back at the refuge late at night. SJ was up waiting for them and took both EJ and the gorilla into their tent.

‘Poor little thing,’ she said. ‘She must be so scared away from her family but she knows you now, EJ. She feels safe with you so she’d better sleep with you. She’ll be comforted by your smell and your heartbeat.’

EJ wasn’t going to argue and she and the baby wrapped in her arms were both asleep within minutes.