Alistair Raven and the Stormtrooper in Stilettos (Book 1)

Part 1 - Chatter 10

The derelict ribs of the satellite dish cradled a sour Alistair; he sat with his arms hugging his shins, his chin resting on his knees whilst a slushy rain spattered. Meanwhile, Balderick kept a respectful distance on the ledge, bobbing along and allowing his eye to roll about in constant surveillance.

With Archie and Delilah out, Alistair had borrowed his grandfather's tin box. He'd estimated too many permutations; he was odds on with no chance of cracking the lock, so his mind wandered. He tried to make sense of things: the old lady down in the park, the three lions and the tin box, the snippet of conversation he had overheard; the cold and wet mushed his thoughts.

He shivered, breath leaving his cracked, blue tinged lips, whilst droplets hung off the tip of his nose and ran off strands of his hair. Alistair daren't move; his body ached and his tummy was swollen from David Cooper's ritualistic pummelling, though the icy cold numbed some of the pain. Closing his eyelids, he focused on the drone of an airship; by the sound of the thrusters, Alistair could tell the Captain was a novice and finding it difficult to stabilise against the buffeting wind.

Tired, he hid his face knowing he wanted to avoid Delilah and Archie once they returned home; he didn't need their prying eyes and uncomfortable questions or their lectures and concern. Alistair figured it was best to lie down like a coward then fight and die a hero – against anyone.

Yet Alistair scowled. He wanted to trounce David Cooper and he recalled the time last summer he devised a trio of ping-pong ball sized explosive he called 'sparklers'. Testing the prototype 'sparkler', the first one had disintegrated a dump of cooling-units into a cloud of synth confetti. Pleased with the result, Alistair completed a second test and thought he'd stuff the 'sparkler' down David Cooper's pants. Except he had made enough noise to disturb Archie and Alistair remembered the resultant dressing down. Without Archie's knowledge the third 'sparkler' remained hidden in a small box under his bed; perhaps, Alistair thought, it was time to keep it on his person, just in case he summoned the courage to use the deterrent on his nemesis.

Rubbing damp from the tin box with his sleeves, Delilah's voice was shrill as she sounded their return; a light in his goggles bleeped as she hailed him down for supper. Surreptitiously, he slipped the tin box into his coat pocket, wondering how he was going to sneak it back in to the Archie's bedroom now that they were home. He eased up off the lip of the satellite dish and balanced on the slippery rim before jumping down in to a puddle and sloshing across the rooftop. Balderick joined the boy at the stairwell, and retreating from the rain, the bird loyally trailed behind.

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A few days later, Alistair took refuge in Robert's office and held an ice bag to his swollen eye, whilst Robert rummaged through his cloak closet. Alistair had to explain that David Cooper had unleashed his fists of fury and then, to set an example, had extracted a hammer from his schoolbag.