CHAPTER SEVEN

Fighters and Flyers

‘I’m nervous,’ Bertolt whispered.

‘It’s going to be fine,’ Darkus said under his breath. ‘Once we’ve had our boarding passes scanned and looked at the camera thing, we’ll be sifted into one of those queues.’ He pointed with his forehead. ‘They’re looking for bombs and weapons, not beetles.’

‘I know, but my heart is racing, and I feel sick.’

Bertolt did look a bit green. ‘Once we’re on the other side, you’ll feel better,’ Darkus said.

Bertolt nodded.

Uncle Max and Virginia came striding out of the airport newsagent’s, followed a by a chattering Calista Bloom – Bertolt’s mum – and a politely nodding Barbara Wallace – Virginia’s mum.

‘What’s the matter?’ Darkus asked, seeing his uncle’s furrowed brow and dark expression.

Virginia shoved the Daily Messenger in front of him and Bertolt. ‘The world governments are threatening to bomb Lucretia Cutter! Well, actually, it says your dad and Lucretia Cutter, but . . .’

‘What!’ Darkus leapt up.

Bertolt took the newspaper from Virginia. ‘Hang on a minute. It says here that international powers are discussing the possibility of a targeted strike. It doesn’t say that they are actually going to do it.’ He pushed his glasses up his nose and looked at Darkus. ‘It could be a bluff, to try and scare her.’

‘It could be.’ Uncle Max nodded. ‘We have to hope they don’t know where she is.’

‘Lucretia Cutter’s not stupid,’ Virginia said. ‘She will have expected this and prepared for it. I’m sure your dad’s safe, Darkus.’

‘What are you children talking about, that makes your faces so serious?’ Barbara Wallace asked, as she and Calista Bloom approached.

‘Nothing,’ Bertolt said, smiling sweetly as he folded up the newspaper and tucked it under his arm.

‘Are you all ready to go, Bertikins?’ Calista Bloom giggled apologetically as Bertolt blushed. ‘Oh! Sorry, yes, I forgot. I mustn’t call you that any more. Silly me.’

‘Yes, Mum, I’m ready.’ Bertolt stood up and let his mum hug him. ‘Be gentle,’ he hissed. ‘Remember? The fireflies!’

‘Of course, dear, how could I forget? I was up half the night helping you stitch the new lining into your blazer.’

‘Shhhh!’ Bertolt glared at his mother.

‘Oh, Berti . . . I mean, Bertolt.’ She pinched his chin affectionately. ‘No one is listening!’

Darkus grinned. Bertolt hated breaking rules, but they’d thought long and hard about how to bring the beetles to Prague, on to Ecuador and into the Amazon, and the best idea they’d had was to divide the Base Camp beetles between them. Bertolt had twenty-seven fireflies hidden in tiny pockets stitched into the lining of his blazer, although Newton remained in his favourite place, nestled deep in Bertolt’s thick white frizzy hair. Darkus had the fighters and the flyers, the titans, bombardiers, Hercules, Atlas, tiger and dung beetles, hidden in pouches on his canvas belt and in his trouser pockets. All three children were wearing khaki combat trousers, with pockets down each leg, in preparation for their trek into the jungle. Baxter and the biggest beetles were hiding in the compartments around his belt. The smaller beetles – the bombardiers, the tiger beetles and the dung beetles – were divided up amongst his trouser leg pockets, which were lined with oak mulch and damp moss.

In her trouser pockets, Virginia carried the frog-legged leaf beetles, the ladybirds, the giraffe-necked weevils and the jewel beetles. Marvin had disguised himself as a hair bobble, wrapping himself tightly around the end of one of her braids.

They each had a rucksack, containing the survival packs Barbara Wallace had given them for Christmas together with a portable pooter, pyjamas, underwear, washbag, cagoule and T-shirts. They had to travel light: only one giant suitcase was being checked in, and that contained all the equipment they needed to look after the beetles, plus their penknives, sleeping bags and camping gear.

‘Right, it’s time to go through to departures,’ Uncle Max said, looking at Darkus. ‘Are you ready?’

Darkus nodded.

‘Follow me,’ Uncle Max said, and Virginia and Bertolt kissed their mothers goodbye.

‘Good luck,’ Barbara Wallace said to her daughter. ‘I’m very proud of you, Virginia.’

Darkus saw tears welling up in her eyes, and turned to Uncle Max, not wanting to intrude.

‘Just hang back until I’ve set all the alarms off,’ Uncle Max said, as they scanned their boarding passes and stared at the cameras taking their picture. He strode ahead, lifting his hat to the lady who indicated which queue they were to join.

Darkus, Bertolt and Virginia each stepped up to the conveyor belt and put their coats and backpacks into a plastic tray. Uncle Max rolled his tray along towards the X-ray machine, walked up to the body scanner and stepped in. There was a wailing noise, and a flashing light went off. A man on the other side asked him to step backwards, but instead Uncle Max stepped towards him.

‘I say! What does that noise mean?’ he exclaimed loudly.

‘Please, sir!’ the security officer barked. ‘Step back through the machine.’

‘Do you think it was my watch?’ Uncle Max rolled up his sleeve to reveal a large chunky metal watch.

‘Please, sir! Step back!’

Darkus ran his thumbs along his belt, releasing the poppers. ‘Are you ready Baxter?’ he whispered, to the glistening eyes staring up at him from the open compartment.

Uncle Max stepped back in the wrong direction. The security man lost his patience and blew a whistle. The security woman who was standing on the children’s side of the body scanner moved to help her colleague. Darkus quickly lifted out the rhinoceros beetle, throwing him up into the air. Baxter cracked open his elytra and his amber wings shot out, propelling him up.

‘Go! Go! Go! Go!’ Darkus whispered as all the other beetles took off, following Baxter up into the high ceiling of the airport.

‘Aarghhhh!’ A woman screamed and pointed. ‘BATS!’

Bertolt stepped towards the female security officer. ‘Is it my turn to go through the machine now?’ he asked.

‘No, kid, this man has to return and go through again.’

‘Whose bag is this?’ asked a security officer from behind the X-ray machine.

‘Oh! That’s mine!’ Uncle Max exclaimed, walking towards him.

‘GET BACK HERE, SIR!’ the original security guard shouted. ‘Will you kindly remove your watch and your shoes, and pass back through the body scanner.’

‘Goodness!’ Uncle Max said. ‘Well, now I’m all confused. Where should I go first?’

The woman took Uncle Max’s arm and pulled him back through the machine, which was set off again by his watch. Everyone in the queue was staring at Uncle Max as he performed the part of a confused bumbling Englishman perfectly.

‘Excuse me. Is it my turn yet? Bertolt asked again.

‘Go, kid, go through.’ The female security officer waved him through without even looking at him. Bertolt skipped through the machine, which didn’t make a sound. The security staff were all watching Uncle Max as he very apologetically took off his hiking boots and unclipped his watch while delivering a monologue about ‘technology these days’.

Darkus walked through the body scanner next, followed by Virginia. They grinned at each other as they picked up their backpacks and slung them over their shoulders. Bertolt was waiting for them underneath the metal beam that all the big beetles were now perched on.

The three children turned their backs on the security checkpoint and opened their rucksacks wide. Darkus looked up and made a high chirruping sound by sucking his back teeth. Immediately, all twenty-one beetles dived down, opening their wings to steer their flight, landing in the bags. The children did up their bags, and looked round to see how Uncle Max was doing.

Uncle Max was stripped down to his boxer shorts and vest, proclaiming loudly that he had metal pins in his leg from a biking accident years ago, and that he couldn’t very well take his leg off to go back through the blasted machine. Darkus gave him the thumbs-up, and as soon as Uncle Max saw the sign, he stopped acting up.

‘Oh, you know what it could be?’ He lifted his safari hat off his head and handed it to the security officer. ‘It’s a pith helmet. It has brass rivets.’ He hopped through the machine without setting it off. ‘Ta-da!’ he cried triumphantly.

The security officer shook his head as he placed the hat in a tray on the conveyor belt and waved Uncle Max through. Uncle Max picked up his shoes and clothes from the trays and put them back on. ‘Now, old chap, what’s the issue with my hand luggage?’ he asked the officer emptying out his rucksack.

The man held up three bottles of water.

‘What were they doing in there?’ Uncle Max exclaimed. ‘Dearie me! I’m losing my faculties. A thousand apologies.’ He nodded as the officer held them over a bin. ‘Of course you can get rid of them. They’re only water. Are we all done? Marvellous stuff.’ He waved at all the security staff. ‘Thank you. You’re all doing a wonderful job.’

The children walked ahead of Uncle Max until they were out in the main departure lounge. ‘That was brilliant!’ Virginia chuckled.

‘Why, thank you, Virginia.’ Uncle Max beamed as he fastened the laces of his boots. ‘Are all the beetles accounted for?’

‘Yes,’ Darkus nodded, ‘but the big ones are still in our backpacks. We need to get them back into their pouches before someone gets crushed or loses a leg.’

Uncle Max pointed to the door of a disabled toilet. ‘Why don’t you three pop in there and sort out the beetles? I’ll keep my eyes peeled.’

Darkus nodded, and Virginia and Bertolt followed him into the room and shut the door. Five minutes later they all shuffled out. ‘Ready,’ Darkus said.

‘Great. Now, we are at gate X, because it’s a privately chartered flight.’ Uncle Max put his safari hat back on. ‘Follow me.’

Motty was waiting for them on the tarmac, dressed in her battered brown leather jacket and khaki cargo pants. She saluted the children as she saw them striding out of the airport doorway.

‘Are we ready to fly?’ she asked.

Baxter clambered out of the neck of Darkus’s oversized green jumper and waved his legs.

‘Yes.’ Darkus smiled at the rhinoceros beetle. ‘We are.’

As they filed on to Bernadette, Motticilla’s trusty black Beechcraft 90 aircraft, Darkus felt a surge of excitement. Finally, he was on his way to strike a blow against Lucretia Cutter.