2-Power: the Korski Code Read online

  Pete Johnson has been a film extra, a film critic for Radio 1, an English teacher and a journalist. However, his dream was always to be a writer. At the age of ten he wrote a fan letter to Dodie Smith, author of The Hundred and One Dalmatians, and they wrote to each other for many years. Dodie Smith was the first person to encourage him to be a writer.

  He has written many books for children, as well as plays for the theatre and BBC Radio 4, and is a popular visitor to schools and libraries.

  Books by Pete Johnson

  THE COOL BOFFIN

  THE EX-FILES

  FAKING IT

  THE HERO GAME

  For younger readers

  PIRATE BROTHER

  2 POWER

  THE KORSKI CODE

  PETE JOHNSON

  Illustrations by Rowan Clifford

  PUFFIN

  PUFFIN BOOKS

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3

  (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

  Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd)

  Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia

  (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)

  Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India

  Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, Auckland 1310, New Zealand

  (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)

  Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

  Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  penguin.com

  Published 2007

  1

  Text copyright © Pete Johnson, 2007

  Illustrations copyright © Rowan Clifford, 2007

  All rights reserved

  The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted

  EISBN: 978–0–141–90059–9

  Contents

  1. A Disappearing Sister

  2. Secret Messages

  3. Sam’s Amazing Discovery

  4. The Phantom Fork Bender

  5. Digging for Treasure

  6. We’re Going to Be Rich

  7. Saving Patch

  8. Disturbing a Burglar

  9. A Shock for Sam

  10. ‘Help!’

  11. Ella in Danger

  12. Who Is in the Loft?

  13. Escape

  14. The Most Valuable Glasses in the World

  15. Professor Forbes’s Incredible Surprise

  1

  A Disappearing Sister

  In the middle of the night, Sam woke with a jump. What on earth was that loud buzzing noise? It sounded like a bad-tempered wasp. Well, how dare it start rampaging around his room now? Talk about cheek!

  He slid his head out from under the covers. At once the buzzing stopped. But then, to his complete amazement, he heard the voice of his twin sister, Ella, in his head. ‘Sam, I’m trapped on the cliffs! Help me!’

  He jumped up in bed and reached for his bedside light. Instantly, his room fell completely silent.

  He must have been dreaming. Dreams can fool you sometimes. Hanging around when you think you’re completely awake.

  He was about to switch off the light again when he remembered how scared Ella had sounded. Most of the time Sam didn’t like his sister at all, but he supposed he’d better just check she was all right. He’d creep into her room, see her sleeping peacefully and forget the whole thing.

  He opened his bedroom door very carefully. He really didn’t want to disturb Uncle Mike, who was even grumpier at night. Then he tiptoed into Ella’s room.

  She wasn’t there!

  ‘Ella,’ he hissed, just in case she was hiding under the bed or had fallen asleep in the wardrobe. He was starting to get scared. What was going on? Had Ella really just sent him a message?

  Ages ago, when Ella and Sam had liked each other, they used to pretend they could hear each other’s thoughts. It was just a silly game of make-believe at first. But they played it so often, it actually started to work.

  Once Sam had been ill in bed and couldn’t go to a party. But Ella had gone and kept sending him little ‘messages’ so he wouldn’t feel left out. He’d suddenly hear her voice in his right ear telling him what was happening. And if he thought hard he could send messages back to her as well. It was so incredible!

  But they hadn’t practised anything like that for ages and ages.

  Tonight, though, had Ella desperately tried to send him one more message?

  But why would she be out on the cliffs now? It didn’t make any sense. Unless… well, she had been sleepwalking a lot lately. Had she been sleepwalking tonight? A shiver ran right through him. Suddenly he knew he had to get to her as quickly as possible.

  He hurriedly got dressed and then tiptoed down the first flight of stairs. His uncle and aunt ran a hotel called the Jolly Roger and he was now on the guests’ floor. He was struck by the eerie stillness. Not a sound to be heard from any of the rooms.

  Then Sam reached the hallway. He hated its musty smell, which swirled round you as soon as you stepped into this miserable little hotel. He was amazed anyone ever stayed here.

  He unlatched the front door, slipped out and then closed it again with what he hoped was a soft click. A sudden breeze blew in with the strong scent of the sea. Some nights in the winter he used to open his window and listen to the waves furiously throwing themselves against the cliffs. But now it was April and the sea was much calmer, rising and falling on to the beach with a heavy sigh. Tonight, it seemed to be whispering something too: ‘Hurry up, hurry up.’

  ‘All right, I’m hurrying,’ Sam whispered back. One of the few good things about living here was that the sea was straight across the road.

  And soon he was scrambling on to the steep, chalky cliffs. He wasn’t as surefooted as he liked to pretend. But luckily it was a clear night, with a bright moon.

  A seagull suddenly dived above his head with a loud scream. It made him jump. Then he looked down. His stomach twisted in horror. Just ahead of him he could make out a shape. And it was lying very still.

  2

  Secret Messages

  Sam crouched down. Yes, it was his sister. She was on the cliffs just as her message had said. And she didn’t seem to be moving. ‘Ella,’ he whispered, his heart pounding furiously.

  Her eyes shot open. Sam sprang back in surprise. ‘You took your time,’ she said. ‘I’ve been sending you messages for hours.’

  ‘I’m so very sorry,’ replied Sam sarcastically, his concern for his sister melting right away. ‘Just what are you doing out here anyway?’

  ‘I would have thought that was obvious,’ she replied, in that prim little voice he so hated. Then for the first time he noticed the two bags beside her.

  ‘Oh, you’re running away!’ he exclaimed. ‘Well, thanks for telling me.’

  ‘Would you have cared?’ she muttered.

  ‘Not in the slightest,’ he snapped back. ‘But I’d still have liked to know.’

  ‘Well, you know now.’ Then she added, ‘I was just taking a last look at the only thing I shall miss from here –’ she nodded at the sea, ‘– when I slipped and fell… and as I didn’t especially want to lie here all night I tried sending you a message, just like we used to – remember?’

  ‘Oh, I remember all right.’ Then he murm
ured, ‘That was before you got all stuck up.’ He was shaking a little, but he really hated the way she looked down on him; she never used to – but she’d changed so much lately. Now she’d turned into a total show-off. And no brother wants a sister like that.

  A red flush began to creep over Ella’s face. ‘I wish you’d stop saying I’m stuck up,’ she hissed, ‘because I’m not.’

  ‘You so are.’

  They’d stopped liking each other months and months ago, and it seemed nothing could make them be friends again, not even the shocking news, last October, that their parents had been killed in a terrible train accident. Then they’d had to leave their home in London and be handed over to Mum’s sister, Aunt Joy, and her new husband, Uncle Mike. Going to live in a hotel in a small seaside town called Little Brampton sounded as if it might be fun. But it really wasn’t, especially when they were given a huge list of chores to do every single day.

  Sam knew his sister hated living at the Jolly Roger as much as he did. But he never tried to cheer her up – he wasn’t exactly sure why. Perhaps he was just too busy being miserable himself. So most of the time he and his sister totally ignored each other.

  He could even remember the last time he’d spoken to her. It was four whole days ago, on the beach. The police were chasing a suspected jewel robber out on the cliffs. He and Ella had joined the large crowd watching the police capture him. Then Sam had turned and said to Ella, ‘Now, that was exciting.’

  ‘Yes, it really was,’ she replied and looked as if she wanted to say something else. Actually, Sam did too. But neither of them could think of a single thing to say and finally they just walked off in different directions.

  Ella looked at Sam. ‘Are you going to help me up then?’ she asked.

  ‘Got nothing better to do,’ he replied.

  Once on her feet, Ella winced with pain. She gulped hard. ‘Right, I’ll carry on running away now. Goodbye.’ She began to hobble off in the opposite direction.

  ‘Where are you going?’ Sam demanded.

  ‘Not exactly sure. I’ve saved up money from my tips – I’ve got nearly twenty pounds now – so I’ll just see what turns up.’ She took a few more slow, painful steps.

  A slug could move faster than her, thought Sam. He really couldn’t let her go blundering off like that. He yelled, ‘Ella, you can’t leave now!’

  She quickly turned round. ‘Why not?’

  He struggled to explain. In the end he just said, ‘Because if you go, Uncle Mike will make me do all your work as well.’

  Ella didn’t answer, she just shook her head in a disappointed sort of way and staggered off again.

  Sam knew he should say something else. But what? It was so long since he’d chatted to his sister. In the end he cried, ‘Before you go, I want to see if I can send you a message – like we used to!’

  She turned round again and shrugged. ‘All right.’

  Sam struggled to remember how they used to do this.

  ‘First you’ve got to clear your mind,’ called Ella.

  ‘I know,’ he snapped, though actually he’d forgotten.

  ‘Then start thinking about me,’ went on Ella.

  ‘Yes, teacher.’ She was eight minutes older than him, but she always acted as if it was eight years. She’d boss him around all day if she could. Maybe he should just let her go. But in the end he closed his eyes, concentrating fiercely now, and tried again. He began picturing Ella in his head. She didn’t look anything like him, with her straight brown hair, small green eyes and millions of freckles, which he knew she hated…

  His nose started to itch: this was often a sign that things were about to happen. All at once that buzzing noise started up again. How could he have forgotten that was their little signal which meant you were making contact?

  He sent her his first message: ‘Ella, are you receiving me?’

  ‘Loud and clear,’ flashed the voice in his right ear.

  A tingle of excitement shot through him. He sent her a second message – somehow it was easier talking to her like this: ‘I think you should wait until your ankle heals before you run away.’

  To his surprise, she replied, ‘I agree. I shall run away tomorrow instead.’

  And a few minutes later, with Sam walking beside her and carrying both her bags, she stumbled back to the hotel.

  Sam put the bags down as quietly as he could outside her bedroom door. ‘You can give me my tip later,’ he whispered.

  Without another word he went back to his bedroom. His right ear felt very hot. He remembered that had happened before when he and Ella had been passing messages to each other.

  He’d just got into bed when he heard the buzzing sound again. And then Ella said, ‘Thanks for rescuing me. I really didn’t think you’d bother, so it was a good surprise. Bye.’

  3

  Sam’s Amazing Discovery

  Ella didn’t run away the following night. Her ankle was still painful and she decided to wait until it had healed. Three days later, though, her ankle was fine again and she thought it really was time to go.

  She planned it all out on the way back from school. As usual she was on her own. She and Sam never walked back together.

  Aunt Joy was waiting for her in the hallway of the Jolly Roger. She was a very thin woman with a long, pinched face, and lips which hardly moved when she spoke. This made her voice sound really dull and flat.

  ‘Hello, Aunt Joy,’ said Ella.

  ‘You’re very late,’ she replied. ‘Come into the kitchen at once.’ There, she hurled a mop and bucket at Ella. ‘Your first job tonight is to clean the floor.’

  ‘Can’t I just change out of my school uniform first?’ asked Ella.

  ‘No time,’ boomed a voice right behind her. ‘You can put this apron on.’ Uncle Mike was a very large man who could somehow move extremely quietly. Often he’d just pop up out of nowhere.

  When Ella and Sam first came to stay at the Jolly Roger he’d smile at them – well, he’d bare his teeth. Uncle Mike thought they were wealthy orphans. When he found out they weren’t, his whole attitude changed instantly.

  Ella would hear him whispering, ‘Those brats are eating us out of house and home.’ Then he decided to save money by getting rid of the staff and letting the ‘brats’ take over their duties. Now she and Sam actually had rotas up in their bedrooms, listing all the jobs they had to do each day.

  No, Ella wouldn’t miss anything about living here, except the sea and maybe Sam, a teeny bit. Since that night on the cliffs they at least smiled at each other.

  She decided to send Sam a message while she was cleaning the kitchen floor. According to the rota, he was working away already in another part of the hotel.

  She thought of nothing for a moment, and then began imagining Sam: his very blue eyes, the shiny dark hair that flopped over his forehead, his cheeky grin. She’d just reached his long skinny legs when that buzzing noise exploded in her right ear.

  ‘Hi, Sam, what are you doing?’ she asked.

  He replied, ‘I’m doing my top hobby in the entire world, hoovering the stairs. You’d never think I could hear you over all this noise but I can, loud and clear.’

  Ella gave a little shiver of delight. This was like their own, totally private, totally free phone line. And they could chat away for as long as they wanted. How cool was that? She said, ‘I’m running away tonight – and I thought you’d like to know. I’ll tell you where I’m going.’

  He sounded stunned by this news. ‘Tonight? As soon as that?’ Then he groaned. ‘You won’t believe this – some guests have arrived already and I’ve got to carry all their bags up as the lift’s broken again. Don’t go, though, Ella, stay online…’

  And then Sam started giving her a little commentary on what he was doing. ‘I’ve got to carry Mr and Mrs Evans’s suitcases upstairs, and they’re huge. The cases, that is, not Mr and Mrs Evans. And kind Uncle Mike hasn’t even offered to carry one. No, he’s just marched into his office and slammed the
door. Well, here goes.’

  A few moments later Sam was back online. But his voice sounded strange and muffled as he asked, ‘Ella, do you want to see something truly incredible?’

  ‘Yes,’ she replied at once.

  ‘Well, go into reception right now and you really will, but,’ he added quickly, ‘you must stay online.’

  Ella dashed out of the kitchen and into reception. Two people were staring up at the stairs, pop-eyed with amazement. Then Ella gave a little squeal of shock too.

  For there was Sam, an enormous suitcase in each hand, jumping up those stairs two at a time. And when he got to the top he actually lifted the suitcases right above his head and started twirling them!

  Poor Mrs Evans collapsed into a chair and was now breathing very hard. ‘I couldn’t even lift those cases they were so heavy, and yet that young boy…’ She began to breathe even harder.

  Sam waved a suitcase at Ella.

  Ella stammered, ‘B-But how? How?’

  ‘How yourself?’ grinned Sam. Then he added, ‘Isn’t it fantastic?’

  4

  The Phantom Fork Bender

  ‘It was as if I’d turned into the strongest boy in the world,’ cried Sam.

  Three hours had passed since Sam had lifted up two extremely heavy suitcases as if they were feathers – and, not surprisingly, he was still talking about it.

  He and Ella had managed to slip out of the hotel for a few minutes. They were walking along the beach together. She said, ‘I thought poor Mrs Evans was going to pass out with shock.’

  ‘I know,’ chuckled Sam. ‘She kept worrying that I’d strain myself. But those cases were as light as anything. Well, they were while I stayed online with you. But the second we stopped talking together, they were agonizingly heavy again.’

  Then Sam tried picking up a giant rock. He couldn’t budge it at all. But as soon as he and Ella went online, he could lift it right up into the air.

  ‘Look at that,’ he cried triumphantly. ‘The moment I’m online with you I become mega strong, if not mega, mega strong.’