Memory Lane (part 2)

"What did you say?" Asked Robin.
"That the lady was dead with cyanide once the lights came back on." I answered.
"Wow."
"Do you mind if I get on with the story now?"
"Please continue."
"Thank you. Now when the lights turned on a man sitting on the other side of the room hurried straight over. He was an ex police officer who had retired but still helped out if he was in the area. He locked the room and had all the food and drink put into a spare room to preserve it after calling the police. Next he took the table at which the lady had been sat and rested that in the cold room. As the police arrived he explained to the customers and staff- which I was one of- what was going on. The police came and started to interview everyone. The journalist- who worked with the Pavilion Post and was called Amelia McCardle- that had come along to cover the story interviewed me. She explained that she had a weekly article called 'McCardle investigates' and that they would solve interesting crimes and bring it to the publics attention. I told her what had happened: 'She had sat down at a table, eaten a meal that I had helped to prepare and, during the power cut, had died as their was flare by her table.' She listened to my explanation of events, made some notes and then cursed about not having an assistant. The police finished their interviewing about three hours later and asked for all the staff to be taken into custody including me. We would be held until they had eliminated from the process."
"Did you have to wear a prison uniform?"
"That's hardly important."
"Did you?"
"No."
"Ah well. Carry on then."
"My deepest thank you, your highness."
"Carry on."
"Well from an early age I hated being locked in things and the thought of prison gave me a shock attack. I walked around the room nearly all of my first night and spent the second day sleeping. On the third day I was told that I hada visitor. The second my cell door was opened I nearly collapsed. Straight out of the door I ran and was instantly pulled back by the officer. When I was taken into the room I was shocked to see Amelia McCardle sitting down. 'Hello Gabriel.' She said
'Erm, hi.' I replied.
'I was thinking about what you told me the other day.'
'Yes.'
'And I was wondering whether you could help me?"
    

Memory Lane

One British summer afternoon, whilst our great country celebrated the announcement of a royal baby, I, investigative journalist Gabriel Rathbone, and Robin Greenhouse, my assistant, sat in our office over looking the busy streets of our home city.
"I'm bored." She announced.
"I've taken you down to the café and bought you an ice cream and you still complain of being bored! Really can't get the staff these days." I retorted sarcasticly.
"Stop being so patronizing!"
"Do you want me to go over why we aren't reporting?"
"Yes."
"Britain is a country that just loves good news and when you get good news such as a royal baby, nobody wants to hear about grisly murders. Last year I was working on a particularly grisly triple murder set in an ancient castle which I really needed to write up. However the case occured as the olympics were in progress and so I was forced not to report. Another time during the jubilee I worked on a case in which-"
"Ok I get it. No investigation because of the royal baby.  Surely you must have something to do though?"
"In the third drawer down at the cupboard over there you will find a drawer entitled 'when the British
get patriotic'. Open it and get something fun out."
She walked over to the drawer and opened it. Firstly she pulled out a Scrabble board.
"Yes." Cried I. "Lets play that!"
"No way." She replied.
"Why not?"
"Because Jazzier isn't a word!"
I pulled out my Scrabble dictionary and read from page three hundred and thirty six, " Jazzier adjective meaning jazzy."
"Only you would have one of those in your drawer."
"What else is in there?"
"We can play cards! Defintley. Oh how I love cards!"
"No way."
"Why not?"
"Because on the way back to here after our first case together you won twenty four games of Blackjack in a row."
"So?"
"You must have been cheating."
"Ok."
"How about you try to solve a Rubiks Cube quicker than I can?"
"Alright." She passed me the cube and I mixed it up for her. Five and a half minutes later she passed it back to me finished. "Beat that!"
I took the cube, after she had mixed it up, and one minute twenty four later I gave it back to her finished.
"Well that took up all of six minuets and fifty four seconds."
Half an hour of silence later I spoke, "Have I ever told you how I became the Great Gabriel Rathbone, Detective Extrodinare?"
"No."
"Allow me to tell you."
"Here we go!"

"Ten years ago, I was a waiter in the Lime Sweet restaurant in the Westend. The restaurant was well known for having alot of polaticians coming to it for lunch and stuff. I once met Boris Johnson!"
"Boring."
"Let me continue."
"Ok."
"Well one day Lisa Wlliams, a local MP, came for her dinner and to have a chat with another MP from another party. Many people didn't like her because she'd brought in a tax on cheese but she had worst plans to come. Her idea was that Tabloid reporters could be arrested for printing untrue stories."
"But doesn't that destroy the whole of the space time continum. Tabloid reporters being made to tell the truth?"
"Exactly. Can I continue now?"
"Sure."
"Thank you. Now then, the Tabloid reporters were so angry about this that they were doing all sorts of deoggatary things to her. So they booked a table next to hers and and payed one of the younger waiters about fifty quid to put a romantic candle, that they provided, on the table. The boy did so and spent his money on something or another. That night, the other politician didn't show and Lisa ate on her own. All of a sudden there was a blackout and a flare near the table where Lisa was eating."
"Where this going?"
"And when the lights turned back on her, she was dead by cyanide!"

Gravity Chasers 3: Unto the Abyss! (part 4)

Diary Of Ark Chimneair documenting a descent to the bottom of the sea.
Day 7
Returning to the vessel today. No more Beans! Yeah!

The top of the submarine started to emerge out of the water and Ark made his way up to the top. He climbed to the second floor and opened the hatch that led to the roof. He opened it up and looked out. "Sunlight." He muttered as the bright light of the sun filtered through the glass and rubber eye wear that protected his eyes. All of a sudden he flashed back to the summer he and his father had spent in England- this memory was provoked by the sudden blast of water that had submerged him in the choppy sea. Hopefully they would be able to go away together soon.
He was snapped back to reality with the sight of the vessel bobbing up and down on the waves. Ark climbed out of the submarine and was instantly cooled by the freezing cold liquid. He swam over to the vessel and climbed up to the porthole from where he pulled a rope. He chucked this to Liz who had also gone up to the hatch at the top of the submarine and started to pull. Along with the help of the submarines engine, Liz pulled the submerged vessel towards the vessel. Ark and Liz climbed into the vessel, after mooring the submarine to it, and were swiftly followed by Will.
They were welcomed in by Quintus who served them hot choclates and, much to Arks irritation, beans on toast. After he had downed his food, Will set course towards the Chimneair Observatory. When they had arrived, they moored the submarine and then started their course towards the planet Arks father was imprisoned on. Several hours later, the vessel made touch down on the planet and burnt up the wings on impact. The team donned their equipment and Will tied Quintus to his suit so that he could drag him to the prison cell. They ran- and floated- along the surface of the planet until they could start to descend down through the rocky chutes down into the cells. They finally came out in the prison cell to a sight they weren't expecting.
Charles Chimneair was stood, clapping his hands, outside his cell!
"Well done my little Gravity Chasers." He said with a hint of bitterness in his voice.
"Father? What are you doing outside your cell?" Asked Ark.
"For such a promising child, Ark, you are very disappointing."
"I don't understand father!"
"Of course you don't! That's the point. I see you've brought Quintus."
The vinyl being cut sounded aloud and then Quintus replied, "I would have called you master but that job has gone to Ark, Will and the mistress Liz."
"You shouldn't have said that Quintus," replied Charles, "Sentus, come and deal with your young brother automaton." Out walked a gigantic metal suit of armour with glowing red eyes and a vinel disc in his mouth.
"Yes master!" It said in the same tone and voice as Quintus.
It grabbed Quintus and was preparing to rip the Automaton apart when it shut down.
"What?" Cried Charles Chimneair.
"For such a promising scientist, Father, you are really disappointing." Said Ark.
"What?"
"Well, Professor Chimneair, when Ark and Liz were retrieving your mysterious file they found some plans. These plans explained your whole idea." Answered Will.
"Plans that explained how you would fake a gigantic storm, that would whip a whole city into the clouds and then how to build a series of air machines. Then explained how you forced the nine iron lords of the tanklor district to transport you here. Then how you planned to stop create a new planet and observe the evolution of the planet here."
"You found out."
"I'm disgusted by you father."
"Well this has been fun. But what are you three going to do? The only people who can stop me and the equipment I possess are the iron lords and they are dead thanks to me."
"That  was one step to far father."
"What?"
"Well, the iron lords aren't dead and they thought we had attempted to kill them, which is why they attacked us, and now they know that you assassinated them via a microphone that Quintus wears they will try to kill you. Unless of course you destroy your equipment and stay here."
"What's it going to be?" Asked Will.

The team- who had named themselves 'The Gravity Chasers'- landed quite bumpily on the sea outside the Chimneair observatory with the knowledge that Charles Chimneair wouldn't be messing with them ever again. They landed the vessel in a cave that was hidden under the rocky covering to the right of the Chimneair Observatory. They climbed up the stone stair case towards the observatory. Standing outside the old wooden door was an elderly man with an umbrella, a young man with a suitcase and a girl- about Arks age- with a large collection of bags.
"Hello." Said the elderly man.
"Erm hello." Replied Ark. "Who are you?"
"I'm Professor Jacob Worminhulk and this is my son Balthazar and my young assistance Lyra."
"And what are you doing here?"
"We are physicists."
"Why are you here?"
"Did I mention we were time travel extrodinares?"