Mummy Madness by Andrew Cope Page A

children into the museum. But it was equally
     dangerous to lock them out and let them wander the streets of London with Mr Big on
     the prowl.
    ‘Mum won’t find out,’
     said Ben. ‘We know the plan. We’re better spies than you think! All we
     want is to stay hidden in the CCTV room while you and the dogs catch the evil Mr
     Big.’
    ‘He’s our family’s
     worst enemy,’ reminded Sophie. ‘He even shot our dog. So it’s only
     right that we should watch him being recaptured.’
    Lara was listening intently, her
     sticky-up ear standing tall. She watched shadowy figures walk past the museum.
The streets of London are
surprisingly busy at night
, she thought.
No
     place for children. Maybe the high-security CCTV room is the best place for the
     kids to be. And there’s no time to waste
, she thought.
Mr Big
     might already be here!
Lara decided to take a calculated risk. She tugged
     Ben by the coat and ushered him through the door.
    ‘See,’ smiled the boy,
     ‘Lara thinks it’s all right.’
    The professor chuntered under his breath
     as Sophie and Ollie came in too. ‘I hope you know what you’re doing,
     GM451,’ he huffed as the door shut and the small gang was locked in the
     museum. The professor fumbled for his tablet computer. He switched it on and the low
     glow lit up the hallway. He clicked to the diagram of the museum. ‘We’re
     here,’ he said, tapping the blue dot. ‘And the security room is here. So
     it’s this way,’ he said, his finger pointing up some stairs.
     ‘First floor, next to Neolithic man.’
    The professor, children and dogs tiptoed
     up the stairs, the tablet providing the only light. At the top of the stairs the
     blue dot showed they needed to turn left. Ben fumbled in his backpack for a torch.
     He clicked it on. He shone the light on an exhibit and Sophie stifled a squeal.
    Yikes
, thought Lara.
That
     caveman exhibit is very realistic!
     

     
    ‘Looks a
     bit like Dad,’ suggested Ollie. ‘And that one looks like Grandma
     Edith,’ he said, pointing at a Neolithic woman with sunken eyes and a
     beard.
    The posse made its way to the security
     room. ‘Let’s see if we can get in,’ said the professor, handing
     the computer to Ollie. He rummaged in his pocket and held up the security card in
     one hand and the glass eye in the other. ‘Wish me luck!’ He swiped the
     card against the lock. The light went green. ‘Retina scan required,’
     purred an electronic voice. A small screen lit up, at the professor’s eye
     level. ‘Here goes,’ he said, holding Terror Thomas’s eye up to the
     screen.
    ‘Scanning,’ announced the
     electronic voice. ‘Thomas approved.’ The door clicked open and Lara
     nosed her way into the security room.
    Ben punched the air in delight.
     ‘Great plan, Lara,’ he said. ‘We’re in!’
    ‘There are no windows so we can
     switch the light on,’ said the professor. ‘Only Terror Thomas ever comes
     in here so we’re safe.’ Ben and the professor switched on every CCTV
     monitor and black and white images lit up the screens.
    ‘There’s one of the
     guards,’ said Sophie,
pointing to a
     screen. The professor tapped a button and the camera zoomed in to get a closer look
     at a man asleep on a sofa.
    ‘Sleeping on the job,’
     mumbled the professor disapprovingly. He started to make a note in his book.
     ‘You just can’t get the staff nowadays.’
    ‘He’s not sleeping,’
     said Ben. ‘He’s unconscious. Look at his hands. He’s handcuffed to
     the sofa!’
    Oh deary me
, thought Lara as
     she spotted the other guard. She tapped a screen to her right and everyone looked.
     It was quite a dark image, but they could make out another unconscious man lying on
     the floor.
    ‘He’s asleep as well,’
     gasped Sophie. ‘And he’s stripped down to his vest and
     boxers!’
    ‘I don’t think he’s
     asleep,’ shrugged the professor. ‘Mr Big’s coshed him and stolen
     his uniform. Which suggests