Sabotage

too.

Chapter 1

Jude, Dom, Cara, Mignonne and I were reminiscing about our adventure during the summer holidays. We had become the talk of the town ever since, we had helped the Superintendent of Police, catch a murderer. We were given preferential treatment everywhere we went. Not that any of us complained about it. At the moment, we were up to our ears in school work. In addition to our regular assignments, every student in school had been given a group assignment titled - ‘Help save the environment’. The teachers of all classes had been asked to set aside 2 hours from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays for project work. We were given the freedom to choose our own groups. This was a great opportunity for the ‘Aces Club’ to work as a team, once again.

Jude, our leader, had a plan in place for all of us. Cara, his able assistant, was excellent with research and had documented all the information necessary to carry out the plan. Mignonne could think out of the box and we relied on her to come up with brilliant ideas. Dom was skilled at constructing working models. He was a natural when it came to engineering. I was good at Public Relations. Together, the five of us made a formidable team. Every day we met for fifteen minutes to discuss the next day’s plan. The project was due in two weeks. We were under a lot of pressure, as everyone in our school and town expected ‘The Aces Club’ members to do something spectacular. Jude was confident we would succeed and we trusted his judgement.

Our project was very simple. We had come to the consensus that the best way we could ‘help save the environment’ was by conserving and recycling things. The school had mapped out an exclusive area, for each group, from where the students could gather the material they required for the project. We had been assigned a small stretch of beach, offshore. We had to take the ferry to the place. When we reached there, we were amazed at the amount of garbage the tide had brought in. Equipped with gloves, metal detectors and large back-packs, we gathered various things which we were sure, could be recycled. We collected tetra packs, bottles, drift wood and several other things. By the end of this exercise, we had left the beach sparkling clean. We realized that this was an ingenious way; our school had ensured that we kept our surroundings clean.

Dom, the whiz kid, had suggested that we construct an energy plant by incinerating tetra packs and using the energy thus recovered to generate heat and electricity. He had nearly completed building a model of the mini power plant to demonstrate the process. Besides the main project, we were also highlighting the uses of recycled tetra packs to make toilet rolls, tissues, notebooks, roof tiles and plastic pots.

Cara, Mignonne and I were in charge of recycling the bottles, drift wood and other such things into useful and decorative articles. We thought we could also put these up for sale and donate the proceeds to the PWD. Jude had suggested holding workshops to spread awareness and selling a do-it-yourself handbook to differ the cost of the mini power plant. I had told them on the days we held the workshop; I would contribute by selling homemade sandwiches and juice.

We had gathered most of the material required for our project. All we had to do was convert our plans. We took the ferry back and went to Dom’s house which was always open for our exploits. His parents were very hospitable and it was no wonder that his well stocked basement was our favourite hangout. We left our back packs there. Then, we went home to freshen up, as we lived near-by and decided to get back in an hour. Usually, we met for fifteen minutes after the trip to the beach. Today, however, we were particularly grubby so we decided to go home and meet later.

We were back in half an hour. We had our chores cut out for us. Jude would examine each piece and then, pass it to each of us in turn. The final decision was Dom’s, as he was the man in charge. We had separate cartons for each of the materials in hand. We were almost through with examining all that we had gathered. Just a couple of bottles were left to be inspected. Jude passed a green bottle to Cara. She peered into it and passed it to Mignonne who had to pass it to me. I was a little distracted so I let the bottle slip from my fingers. It fell down. Strangely, because of the carpet or the manner in which it fell, the bottle did not break. I quickly retrieved it looking very sheepishly at the others. They laughed. I was known for my clumsiness. I noticed that there was something lodged in the bottle. How Jude, Cara and Mignonne had missed seeing it was surprising? They were very sharp and never missed a thing. Jude gently managed to pull out the object from the bottle. It was a piece of wood wrapped in green cloth. That is how they had missed seeing it! The green cloth had camouflaged the object against the green colour of the bottle. Jude placed the piece of wood on the table as the lighting was better there. Engraved on the wood were the words: HELP STRANDED. The initials D J were also carved out.

What on earth was the meaning of this? We would have certainly missed the message in the bottle, had I not dropped it. It was baffling. Who was D J and where had this bottle come from? The location of the stretch of beach was such, that this bottle could have been washed ashore from anywhere. My heart started beating really fast and I looked up at my friends. They, too, looked stunned.

Jude was the first to speak. He said, Are you thinking what I am thinking? Does this mean we get to solve another mystery?

This seems like a distress call. We need to work really fast. This warrants some super planning, Jude. We cannot ignore this cry for help, but, we also have our pending work, as we are time bound to complete the project. said Cara.

Let us contact the Police Commissioner right away. said Mignonne.

Yes, our friend, the Superintendent of Police, Jensen, had been promoted to the position of Police Commissioner after solving the case of ‘Spectra’. He had taken us along on his investigations and we had given him our inputs that had helped solve the case. CP Jensen had also got married and was soon going to be a Dad. His efforts at maintaining law and order, in a gentle but firm manner, had put our town on the map as one of the most peaceful and ideal towns in the county. He was our friendly neighbourhood superhero. Everyone loved and respected him.

Jude made the call to the CP. He told us to go back home and that we would meet after an hour at Dom’s place.

Chapter 2

The Commissioner met us at Dom’s place and we told him about the message in the bottle. He asked us where exactly we had found it and Jude drew him a map and gave him precise directions. As was her practice, our dear Mignonne, had recorded everything on her video camera. CP Jensen, told us to carry on and work on our school project and that he would take it from there. He assured us that he would keep us informed about the developments and also take us along once he had some leads. In the meantime, we decided to put in extra hours. In doing so, we would be able to complete our project on time, as well as be part of the investigation. The prospect was very exciting and all of us had broad grins on our faces.

Yes! yelled Mignonne. We are back in business.

We could not help laughing at the enthusiasm of Mignonne who was the youngest of the group. She was only 11 but had a very high IQ. We always took her suggestions seriously. Cara, her older sister, was also brilliant. Mignonne adored her older sister and always looked for her approval.

Calm down dear. said Cara. Let us hope that all will end well.

Of course it will, sis. the ever optimistic Mignonne replied.

We can cross our fingers and hope for the best. I replied.

Yes Veronica, I am sure something positive, will come off it all. It is providence that made you find that message. said Dom.

Oh! You are awake. we said in unison. Dom was always spaced out so it was a wonder he had reacted in this manner.

Hey guys! What do you take me for? said Dom feigning anger.

Of the five of us, Dom was the coolest one and was a great sport. He was an only child and we were like the siblings he did not have. He was very generous as were his parents. He had the latest and most sophisticated technology at his disposal which he gladly shared with us. He kept honing his skills and also had ‘the state of the art’ tools that were required, to build the mini power plant.

Besides being an outstanding student, Dom was also the captain of the sports team. It was amazing how he could master and play most sports. His present interest was water-sports. He had made it to the water-sports triathlon finals – Jet Skiing, Kayaking and Kite-surfing. Every day he would wake up early and practice for an hour or two and for four hours on weekends.

We lived in a small, peaceful town, where our great-grandparents had settled in years ago. We had two sister towns adjoining ours and were separated from each other by the indent of land and sea. Though the town we lived in had a population of just over 300 people, it was a happening place and we always had some activity or the other besides the regular school projects and curriculum. The sister towns too, joined us in these extra-curricular activities, as it upped the competition and we had an opportunity to meet as well.

The water sports finals were in three weeks. Dom was a sure contender for the championship and we supported him by waking him up and accompanying him for his practice sessions. If not for the forthcoming events, Dom would be more than happy to laze around and do nothing. We were amazed at how he got all focussed and alert when it came to projects and