A Che ning Ad nture
VE
Reflections of Hope and Courage
VE
Chapter 7
“Not bad. Not bad at all,” rasped a disembodied voice. The children looked up to find the source of the sound and saw a speaker and small camera. They guiltily placed what they had found carefully on the desk.
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The door groaned open. One of the soldiers from the helicopter escorted James and Sarah’s teacher into the room.
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“Colonel! We are so pleased you are safe,” said James.
Their teacher flushed bright red.
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The disembodied voice interceded. “That old nickname still with you eh? Ha, ha - well it suits you old boy. Right you two youngsters – you have caused us quite a lot of trouble. You put The Fort on high alert! And not the sort the PM is going on about at the moment,” he snorted. “But, I suppose at least we now have Stanhope’s missing books. I’ll let the Colonel explain,” he laughed.
The twins’ teacher leant on the desk, thought better of it, and pulled out one of the chairs.
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“You two have somehow managed to dodge a whole heap of trouble,” he smiled.
“I was really struggling to convince them that you actually were my pupils and not spies! You had managed to get hold of a classified number, and had Top Secret notes in your possession. That’s enough to get you locked up in the Tower! And then when Sarah reached for the Jane Austen novels… Well - that’s a whole other story.
Here you were in ‘The Fort’. It is home to all sorts of classified R&D: from the department that designed the bombs which breached the Rhur dams back in WW2, and made Earthquake Bombs, to FACE computer modelling and missile control! Everything here is classified. Who knows, perhaps in 25 years we can read a report about you two?
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Fortunately, the same curiosity and courage that got you into this mess also gave me hope that it could get out of it too. You see, when I noticed what you were investigating instead of sitting politely in the chairs, I placed a wager that if you could decode part of the magazine or open the cabinet instead of trying to escape or look for weapons; then they should believe me that you really were nosy school children with a particular aptitude for cryptography! And that you were harmless – well mostly!
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The fact that you managed both in less than a minute convinced them that I was telling the truth!
Well – the adventure’s over. It’s time to go home and the Sentinel is waiting. Ever been in a bombproof Jag XJ before?"
Just as they turned to leave, a soldier escort picked up the magazine from the desk. “Take it,” she offered Sarah. “I have a feeling we’ll meet again.”
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The soldier allowed herself a wry smile as she led the group back down the gloomy corridor - and out of lockdown.
The End
Thank you...
for being part of Chevening's Lockdown Team Adventurers.
It's been great to have you along! Over this time of crisis we have had the opportunity to look back at other monumental events from the past - such as anniversaries from WW2. They have been entwined with those of the present - battling Covid 19, the Race Equality protests; as well as reflection on who we should be inspired by as leaders. We have had the opportunity to think again about what is important and how we treat each other, as well as the world that we share. Perhaps it's a time to look again at our compass and check our heading? Can we tread lightly and love one another? Here is our chance for change.
Well - lecture over!
One final challenge will unlock the last of the rewards and points. Don't worry - you have everything you need already. Just decipher this telegram tucked inside Sarah's magazine to solve the final challenge.
Are you up to the final challenge? Click on the solution page link and enter the code word. Thank you and good luck!
