Momentum caused his body to flip, Alan Crystal performing an almost perfect somersault. Almost perfect because he failed to land it, hitting the floor with his face instead of his feet.
Stepping out to stand over him, Rosie held the muffin tin aloft in both hands, her injured fingers sticking out at an awkward angle where they were taped together.
Satisfied that he was down for the count, she tucked the muffin tin under her right arm and gratefully accepted Teddy from a man holding the baby and looking very confused about it.
On the stage still, Mr Oliver was looking about in every direction, his panic-stricken eyes darting all over. Seeing that he no longer needed to pursue Alan, Gary dealt with Mr Oliver instead, arresting him in front of the television cameras and event audience.
Dogs Cannot Climb Ladders
Rex ran at the canvas of the marquee, smashing it open with his head seconds after his target went through it. There wasn’t time to consult his nose for a direction, this was going to have to be done with his eyes.
To find the man, he had to slow down which allowed Lee Oliver to get farther away. Not far enough, of course, not for a creature who could run five times faster than the target he pursued. Spotting him once more, he set off, barking his threats madly and reminding himself to enjoy the pursuit. It would be over soon and who knows when he might next get the chance to chase a truly bad human.
Lee Oliver was in full flight mode, terrified of what might happen if the police caught him. The old man seemed to know everything, how he could didn’t matter now, all he could focus on was getting away. The dog was going to catch him for sure this time; there was no ladder to descend to safety, but as that thought flashed across his mind, so he saw the escape route he needed. He didn’t dare look back; he knew the dog wasn’t far behind because the barking was so loud. He didn’t need much of a lead though, jinking to change his direction.
The firefighters were due to be packing up soon. The Yorkshire pudding was baked, the giant monstrosity cooling swiftly now that the fires were out. They’d been on hand as a PR stunt more than for safety, and now they were entertaining some kids and putting on a show; some of the guys showing off because there were pretty girls around.
Station Officer Hamilton didn’t see Rex or Lee Oliver approaching. He was at the front of the fire truck explaining to his small audience what the fire truck could do with his firefighters hamming it up to act the parts he described.
Lee Oliver leapt onto the back of the fire truck, swinging a wild punch to knock the first firefighter out of the way. The bemused looks turn to shouts of alarm as the crack of his punch rocked the firefighter’s head back and threw him from the rig.
Another firefighter, who was on top of the fire truck, heard the onlookers’ gasp and went to see what might have caused it. The ladder was up, the firefighters demonstrating what their truck could do and how far the ladder would reach. It was pointing over toward the museum, extending over the top of the marquee and stretching to reach the museum’s roof.
Rex couldn’t follow the human up the side of the fire truck, his paws didn’t work like that. Angry at being defeated again, he barked and snapped at the human’s heels before going around to the far side to see if there was any way to follow. There he discovered the small stage used for the world record photographs where it had been moved out of the way and was tucked close to the fire truck. Leaping first to that, and then scrambling up the side of the truck itself, he came to the ladder bay.
The firefighter had squared off to the human Rex was chasing, but when the human produced a wicked looking knife, the firefighter backed away.
Rex came alongside the retreating human: he wasn’t backing away; he wasn’t going anywhere.
Full to the brim with fight or flight adrenalin, Lee Oliver could see only one way out and that was up. The ladder would take him up onto the museum roof and from there he could run to adjoining buildings, scaling the rooftops until he could descend and escape. It wasn’t just the dog after him though, the police were after him too. The redhead, who until now he thought was cute, and her partner, Wilshaw were arriving at a sprint and would also be on the fire truck soon.
They stopped on the ground as he started to climb, calling for him to give himself up. He preferred his chances of escape, but he would have to be quick before they coordinated more units and officers to the area.
The dog advanced some more, a deep and vicious growl emanating from his chest as he came closer.
‘Oh, yeah, doggy? You want some of this?’ He pointed the knife in Rex’s direction. ‘I beat you with a ladder yesterday, you daft mutt,’ Lee sneered. ‘I guess I’ll just do the same again.’
The ladder had to be over a hundred-foot-long at full extent and was inclined upward at a forty-five-degree angle. For Lee, scaling it presented no obstacle at all. Sure in the knowledge that he was going to make it to the museum’s roof, he all but ran up it.
Station Officer Hamilton has been caught napping by the sudden change of events. In the pace of five seconds, his crew had gone from entertaining a crowd to having
