Chapter 1 :

Hello Agent

You have now completed your training and are ready for your first assignment 

It may be the most important and most dangerous mission of all time 

Are you prepared to accept this mission, despite the risk to your own life ?

Very well 

Your code number will be 606    You need to remember this number 

Tell me - what is your number ?

Very good

I have to say I am very impressed by your disguise 

I don’t think even your best friend would recognise you 

Top work Agent

Now let me see you stand on your right leg and touch your right toe with your left hand 

Excellent work -  I can see that you have taken your training seriously 

Now take a deep breath in 

and breathe out 

Breathe in 

And breathe out 

Now Feel your pulse and make sure you are calm and relaxed 

Very good

Now tell me your code number 

Excellent

Right, Agent - as you know the Raven has tricked his way out of prison by brainwashing one of our agents into taking his place. 

That agent is now safe and recovering at home, thank goodness

Which is more than can be said for Percy Cluck who has been captured and is being transformed into a bird as we speak 

So there is no time to be lost 

Agent Babbington needs your help to find the Raven and free Percy and all of the children who have been turned into birds 

Do you think you can help ?

I was hoping you would say that 

Now …tell me - what is your undercover name ?

I didn’t hear you – what is your undercover name ?

And your occupation

How old are you ?

Very good  

Be sure that you never answer to your real name 

Do you have your passport with you  ?

Then we must begin the mission straight away 

The most important thing you must do is to beware of the Ravens –they are hiding everywhere. Every day there are more and more of them.  They are slaves and spies and will report everything you do and say back to their master. If they think you are a secret agent they will peck you to death. Without hesitation. 

Take this ring

Now put it on the little finger of your right hand

Very good

Now If you press the ring and hold it down for three seconds- not now !

 it will let out a noxious gas that birds cannot stand. 

It will only stop them for a short time but that may be enough to save your life.   

There is only enough gas to do this once. 

Now take this watch and put it on 

Very good

If you find the Ravens secret hideout then you will need to turn the face of the watch once to the left and once to the right and it will send out a secret signal. 

We will then know where you are and we will send in the secret forces to capture him and his terrible friends

And lastly – and I hope you never need to use this – if you take the ring and you place it onto the watch it will create an electromagnetic pulse that will make everyone within a mile of you fall unconscious    

This may also kill you    

So you should only use it if there is no other way out.

There is nothing more I can do for you than to wish you luck

The future of our country and the world depends on you

Oh ! and Catch !

That’s your wallet 

There’s money-  and the bank cards are all in your undercover name 

Don’t spend it all at once (laughs)

When you leave this office you must keep walking and not look back

Keep an eye out for instructions – if you miss any clues it may jeopardise the whole mission 

Give me a salute

I salute you agent 

Good luck    

I have never meant that more in my whole life

As you turn to leave you have butterflies in your stomach 

You stop and take a deep breath 

Then you smile and walk quickly through the door and out onto the street

You look up at the sky which is full of clouds - but can see no birds

So far so good 

You cross the road and continue straight ahead without looking back 

You push your hands deep into your pockets and walk fast, digging your heels into the pavement as you walk – the excitement rising again in your stomach and you start to sing to yourself 

Your favourite song 

A woman passes you with a baby who is screaming at the top of its lungs 

You see an old man looking longingly at a cake in the baker’s window

A young girl is laughing at something on her phone and not looking where she is going 

A teenager hurtles between them on a skateboard 

You keep walking    

Watching all the time for the birds

You look at your watch. 

Its midday.

You’ve only been going for 5 minutes but you have already travelled a long way – 

you have left the shops behind you and are walking past the big houses 

You are about to head into the park 

You stop 

Maybe not a good idea 

You look up at the trees

There are lots of birds in the park 

You can see a flock of green parakeets swooping into a tree, making a lot of noise

You put your hands in your pockets 

Something is there that wasn’t there before 

Something small and round

You take it in your hand and hold it out in front of you 

It is a stone about the size of a ten pence piece

How on earth did that get there

There is writing on it 

It says 

12.22 to Bristol

A train !?

You look at your watch again

You have less than twenty minutes to get to the station 

Will you make it ?

It’s going to be close

The quickest way is through the park 

If you go round you’re going to miss it

You’ll just have to take a chance

The second you step into the park you see a large bird in the distance 

You try not to stare

You begin to jog – like you are exercising

You must not draw attention to yourself by running too fast 

As you pass the bird you see its milky eye 

A jackdaw !

You breathe a sigh of relief 

You jog past the pond and the ducks scatter – you shoo them out of the way 

And then you take the stone out of your pocket and throw it as hard and as far as you can 

It plops into the water sending ripples across the surface 

and disappears 

12.22 to Bristol

You can see the station in the distance

You start to jog faster

As you reach the middle of the park you can see the giant iron archway which marks the way out 

On the arch sit two large birds 

Their curved beaks open wide -  Kraa   Kraa

…. The Ravens 

You look at your watch 

12.12 

You look around 

There is no other way out

You jog on

As you get nearer to the exit you begin to slow down

You walk alongside two women who have 6 dogs between them   

All shapes and sizes

The dogs are weaving around, having fun, barking and wagging

You pick up a stick and throw it 

The dogs chase after it 

More birds begin to assemble on the ironwork

There must be a dozen now 

As you pass underneath they all fly up into the air

Kraa  Kraa

The women put their dogs on their leads and you stay with them 

You can see the station up ahead 

A train pulling into the platform

The birds are starting to circle overhead 

Maybe twenty now 

And the dogs look up    

You smile   Just keep smiling   Keep calm   Breathe 

The women with the dogs are also walking in the direction of the station

You look at your watch   

12.17

There is still time 

While you are looking down at your watch the first raven starts to dive and you feel the rush of air

You duck 

Kraa

The dogs see the bird and start to bark 

Then another bird swoops down 

The women scream and wave their arms around 

But you just keep walking - fast

More and more birds are circling 

There must be 50 or 60 now 

The women run with you. 

Their dogs are barking and jumping up and the women are struggling to hold onto their leads 

Now all the ravens start to dive  

screetching as they drop through the air

Cars stop   

Drivers look out of their windows with their mouths open    

Filming on their phones 

People on the street are ducking down, flailing their arms around, shouting rude words at the birds

You put your hands over your head and run as fast as you can   Your arms are bleeding 

Your hair pecked and pulled 

Then you are in the station

A woman in a guard’s uniform grabs you - puts a ticket in your hand - and pushes you through the turn-style and then onto the train 

She blows a whistle and slams the door behind you 

‘Good luck’ she mouths through the glass and holds up her tightly crossed fingers

The train jumps and pulls away from the station 

You wave to her  

Thankyou 

She looks over her shoulder 

Through the window you can see the birds swarming over the roof of the ticket office

Like a river of oil through the air 

The guard runs inside and disappears from sight

The train gains speed and the birds follow 

People look up from their gardens beside the tracks – pointing at the sky

For a long time the birds keep up with the train 

But as the you go faster and faster they slowly recede into the distance

You steady yourself   

and then slump down onto the floor of the corridor 

You breathe a huge sigh of relief 

You have made it 

A young man walks past you and stops 

Are you OK ? he says 

That looks quite nasty on your arms

Let me have a look   

I’m a nurse 

You hold out your arms 

(he makes an intake of breath)

I don’t like the look of that 

Come with me 

I’ve got something in my bag to clean you up 

You walk behind him through the train 

You are rocked from side to side as you make your way along the speeding carriage

Here – take a seat   he says

And you sit down across the aisle form him 

He opens his bag and takes out some cotton wool and some ointment 

He puts the ointment on the cotton wool and begins dabbing at your arms 

You look up at the window 

In the reflection you see an old woman   

She is looking straight at you 

She moves her hands in a way that catches your attention 

She is finger spelling 

D. A. N. G. E. R.

Yes. Danger 

H. 

E.  

….He  …

….Wants 

….You

…Dead.