Against All Odds by Natale Ghent Read Free Book Online Page A

the
StarSweeper.
    “Go faster!” Itchy yelled.
    Squeak hit the throttle. But no matter how fast the
StarSweeper
went, it could not shake the spy’s plane. Squeak tried dodging and looping and outmanoeuvring,but the spy was stuck to him like glue. He glanced over his shoulder again and was sure he could hear laughter as the spy stood, finger hovering over the controls of his plane. There was a moment’s pause, then the spy pressed a button. A small hatch retracted at the top of his jet and a mechanical arm appeared from the opening, a mini-gun attached to the end.
    “Noooooo!” Squeak howled as the gun hammered, tearing the
StarSweeper
into a thousand pieces that rained down from the sky in a shower of flames. Squeak gaped in disbelief, the control box slipping from his hands onto the gravel as the spy’s jet looped around the halfway pole and returned to the cliff, lapping the other planes and landing with awe-inspiring precision.
    “We have a winner!” the announcer shouted.
    Boney’s jaw dropped. “Who
is
this guy?!”
    The spy raised his fists in victory. The crowd cheered and clapped. Squeak hid his face in his hands.
    “It can’t be legal to blow someone’s plane out of the sky,” Itchy protested.
    “Well, it was certainly creative,” Boney said. “I guess that makes it fair.”
    Squeak shook his head, muttering vacantly to himself. “Annihilation … total, complete, absolute annihilation …”
    Edward Wormer poked Squeak on the arm, his own plane resting safely on the ground once again. “Looks like it’s back to the drawing board for you.”
    “What are you talking about, Wormer?” Itchy jumped to Squeak’s defence. “You didn’t win either!”
    Wormer’s braces flashed. “Yeah, but at least my plane didn’t get blown out of the sky in front of everybody. How embarrassing.”
    “Almost as embarrassing as getting caught stealing someone’s pie,” Biddle added, his head thrown back in laughter as he walked away.
    “Not as embarrassing as that stupid wooden sphere at the bottom of the cliff!” Itchy yelled after them.
    But Biddle and Wormer just laughed all the louder.
    The loudspeaker crackled as the announcer took the stage. “Ladies and gentlemen … please join me in the winner’s circle to present the award. What a show of fiendish creativity by the winning competitor!”
    “Come on, guys,” Itchy grumbled. “We don’t need to stand here and watch this.”
    Squeak sighed in defeat. “No … it’s okay. I’d like to meet the person who kicked our butts. Maybe I’ll learn something.” He shuffled toward the stage, shoulders hunched, Boney and Itchy trailing behind him.
    The crowd thundered as the announcer placed a gold medal around the spy’s neck. Another man handedthe spy a big gold trophy and the giant-sized winner’s cheque for one thousand dollars.
    “Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer drawled. “Please put your hands together for Sam Moss, the winner of this year’s Flying Fiends Amateur Aircraft Competition!”
    The crowd exploded.
    Itchy made a face. “Sam Moss? What kind of name is that? I bet he’s all weird and warty and covered in green fuzz.”
    “That’s probably why he hides behind that visor,” Boney grumbled. “To cover his fuzzy green face.”
    Just as Boney said this, the spy removed his helmet. The entire crowd gasped, but none louder than the Odds.
    “It’s a girl!”

C HAPTER S EVEN
T HINGS G ET O DDER
    “I told you he was weird!” Itchy said.
    Boney and Squeak stared, thunderstruck, at the girl on the stage. She shook her shining brown mane of hair and flashed a brilliant smile.
    Edward Wormer pointed at the Odds. “Ha ha! How does it feel to be obliterated by a girl?”
    “Shut up, Wormer!” Itchy snapped. “She beat you, too.”
    “Boo hoo,” Simon Biddle taunted. “Maybe you can get your kittens to fly your plane next time.”
    The announcer’s voice boomed over the sound system. “Tell us, Sam, what’s your winning