Chapter Forty Two

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Forty Two

"What's this about?" said Brigitte. "You know we got another lesson to go to?"

Adam, Brigitte, Malcolm, George and the Bug were standing outside Lung's great chamber. The other students were hailing buggies and making their way to their respective lessons. Adam was smiling.

"I got an idea," he said.

"Oh crap," said Brigitte. "I got a feeling this idea is an extremely dumb one, but go on."

Adam put a finger to his lips and then tapped the ground with the toe of his shoe.

"I need a buggy," he said. "Will someone get me a buggy?"

Adam shook his head at his assembled friends. He tapped the ground again, harder this time.

"Won't someone get me a buggy, please?"

Again Adam shook his head and then he waited. He gave a sigh of relief.

Brigitte turned to Malcolm. "I think he's finally flipped. Missing Jake has got to him, poor kid."

Adam scowled. "Look, you people know just about everything in the Nexus is a smart material. I wanted to make sure the ground could not hear me and pass on what I'm about to tell you to Captain Trinity. So I asked for a buggy because if the ground was listening it would get one for me, or at least tell me how to get one."

"But you already know how to get one," said Malcolm. "You just..."

"Yes I know. I just wanted to make sure there were no smart materials earwigging. Now I know the ground is not a smart material."

"What is this idea?" said George.

Adam beamed. "In the chamber back there I successfully teleported. What if we all went back into the chamber and I concentrated on Jake at the same time as I teleported. I would be taken to wherever he is being held."

They all thought about this.

"In theory it's possible," said the Bug. "My inbuilt computer even calculates the odds of it being successful. They're not good."

"We need to go into the chamber and give it a go," said Adam.

"Well what are we waiting for?" said Malcolm. "Let's do this thing! After all, it's maths next. I can't stand geometry especially with that German nut cracking stupid jokes all the time. I don't get them at all. No, let's do this." He grinned.

Brigitte held up a finger. "One, it won't work. You just teleported across the chamber." She held up another finger. "Two, if it does work whoever kidnapped Jake will also be there waiting for us."

"No," said Adam. "We got the element of surprise. When I was dragged under Jake's bed the kidnapper was waiting for me. It was a trap. This time he won't know we're coming. We can nip in, take a look around, see if Jake is there and if he is we go back to the Nexus and return with help from the champions. It's fool proof!"

"You're going to teleport us all there?" Brigitte held up another finger. "Which brings me to my third problem, how do we get back if it does work? There will be no dragon's chamber at the other end."

"I say that's not a problem," said Malcolm. "Let's go."

"You're out of your mind," said Brigitte.

"In David Copperfield, Mr Macawber said, 'Something's bound to turn up'," said George. He looked at Brigitte. "Are you surprised I've read Charles Dickens?"

"Oh shut up!" said Brigitte.

"See, George gets it," said Adam. "Look, you people can come or you can stay. I'm going in."

"Are you sure you can teleport all of us?"

"We won't know until we give it a go."

They looked at one another.

"We're all in," said the Bug.

"Including me," Brigitte sighed. "What if Lung is in there?"

"He only comes into the chamber if we come in," answered Adam. "And we have to call him into the chamber. We don't call him."

"We are all going to regret this," said Brigitte.

"As you pointed out, it probably won't work," said Adam.

"We can but hope," she said.

He made his way to the chamber doors and they opened before him. He entered the chamber and his friends followed. The doors closed behind them. They formed a line and held hands. Adam thought as hard as he could about Jake and then ordered himself to teleport.

"We're still here," said Brigitte, relieved. "It didn't work."

Then they all vanished, except George who was left behind.

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