The Caper of the Crown Jewels (10 page)

As he moved from room to room, Jack was aware of two things: 1) There was no sign of Ivan and Jazz anywhere; and 2) Tommy and Charles were missing, too. None of the other Beefeaters seemed to be around either.

When he reached the last room, Jack was relieved. Sitting on top of their red and gold pillows were the “missing” crown, scepter and orb. The Crown Jewels hadn't been stolen after all. They were tucked away in their protective cases. The
illusion that Ivan and Jazz had created had stopped working.

Then, out of nowhere, Jack heard something strange. It sounded like someone or something groaning. He pulled his Ear Amp out of his pocket and hooked it into the inside of his ear. Although it resembled a tiny kidney bean, the Ear Amp could make even the faintest of sounds seem much louder.

As he listened, Jack could hear the noise more clearly. It was human and it was coming from the floor above. Unfortunately for Jack, there was no obvious way up to the upper level. The only way he could get to the next floor was to slice through the ceiling. He looked a bit closer—it was made of stone.

Figuring the Queen wouldn't mind a little inconvenience like a hole in the ceiling, Jack clambered on top of the orb's case and pulled out his Rock Corer.
The Rock Corer worked a bit like an apple corer, but it could slice a tunnel through hard rock.

Jack set the width to the size of his own body. Strapping on some goggles to protect his eyes, he pulled the cord. Sounding like an electric saw, the Rock Corer began to eat away the stone. Within minutes, Jack had created a hole big enough to crawl through. He put the gadget away and heaved himself up to the next level. In the corner, he could see Tommy and four other Beefeaters. He raced over to them and crouched down.

“Are you all right?” Jack asked.

“Uhhhh,” groaned Tommy. He tried to focus his eyes and look at Jack. “It was the vicar,” he explained. “He came back after you left. He said something to us,” he added. “I don't remember anything after that.”

“He hypnotized you,” explained Jack. “And put you in a trance.”

“Huh?” said Tommy.

“He's not a vicar,” said Jack. “He's a magician. And he's in the building right now! He's come to steal the Crown Jewels.”

“What?” said Tommy, sounding confused. “What do you mean? They've already been stolen.”

“Not quite,” said Jack. “I'll explain later. Are there any secret passages in the barracks?” He wasn't sure how they would have known about them, but he was
guessing that Ivan and Jazz had used them to leave the building.

“Yeah,” said Tommy. “In the first room as you enter the Jewel House there are several wooden panels. Behind the panel with ‘Elizabeth the Second' on it is a door that leads you downstairs to the Jewel Master's Quarters.”

“Perfect,” said Jack. “I need to run. Are you going to be OK?” he asked Tommy.

“Of course,” said Tommy. “Now go and catch those thieves.”

Jack left Tommy and carefully lowered himself down on top of the glass case. He sat for a moment, thinking about the jewels in their cases. The only way Ivan and Jazz were going to be able to get to them was from the Jewel Master's Quarters underneath. Jack could use the Rock Corer to get to the lower level, or he could try to head them off at the front door.

WOOMPH!

Jack was startled by a noise. In fact, it wasn't just the sound. The case he was sitting on was starting to shake.

WOOMPH!

It happened again.

Quickly, Jack climbed off the case and onto the ground. Before his eyes, the scepter and the orb were being lowered down until they had vanished from sight.

WOOMPH!

The sound was coming from the other end of the room now. It was the case with the Imperial State Crown. It was being lowered down, too.

“Arrgh!” growled Jack in frustration. Ivan and Jazz were stealing the jewels! There was no time to try to use the secret passage. Jack's only option was to stop them as they left by the front door.

He dashed through the final chamber and towards the first room. Almost as soon as he entered the room with the panels, Ivan and Jazz burst out of the secret passage, crashing into him and sending him backwards onto the floor.

“Better luck next time, kid!” screamed Ivan as he and Jazz raced outside through the arched doorway. Both men were carrying bags on their backs. Sticking out of one of them was the top of the Scepter with Cross.

Jack had only seconds to recover. His back was hurting, but he didn't have time to think. Ivan and Jazz were getting away and Jack needed to stop them before they committed a serious crime against the Queen.

Jack pulled himself together and ran after the thieves. Ivan and Jazz were sprinting across the courtyard to the left of the White Tower and under an archway. On the other side of the archway was the River Thames. Jack figured that Ivan and Jazz had a speedboat waiting so that they could make their escape.

Even though he was running as fast as he could, Jack was struggling to catch up with the crooks. Ivan and Jazz were bigger and their legs were twice as long. They'd already made it past the archway and were kneeling down next to the wall of the Thames. The only thing that could stop them was the GPF's Tornado. Smiling to himself, Jack pulled it out of his Book Bag and prepared to strike.