The Great Escape Read Online Free

the walls, some of the sea. He shuddered again. The walls were covered with lots of shelves filled with books. On
her desk were a computer and printer, and some other devices he couldn’t quite name. Maybe a scanner, he wondered, although he wasn’t entirely sure what that was. Perhaps Sofie and Stef
weren’t very technologically minded, he thought, jumping up onto the desk and looking more closely at Millie’s computer, which appeared to be both smaller and newer than the ones in the
lab.
    In many ways, the room matched its owner, Max decided. His rescuer had a very sensible face, but she definitely wasn’t pretty. Although he would probably have tried to come up with a more
flattering description, if pushed. Well, maybe not – cats have an obligation to tell the truth, even if they’ve just been assisted in a daring bid for freedom. Millie had dark brown
hair, cut into what might generously be described as a mess. She wasn’t very tall for her age, either, and she appeared to dress as though she were hoping to pass as a boy. He thought about
how different she looked from the girls Stef knew. But the more he thought, the more he realised that it didn’t matter – Millie could obviously think quickly in an emergency, and that
was what he had needed most today, and would continue to need, if he was going to keep his promise to Monty.
    Max blinked quickly. Some of the cats in the lab had been pretty boring, he thought. And one or two had been quite unpleasant, especially a big ginger tom who’d tried to bully Max when he
first arrived. And then there was the cat who had stood up for Max, and refused to let anyone pick on him – Monty. He was the oldest cat in the lab, in his mid-teens. And his was the only
family to have been kidnapped – Monty’s daughter, Celeste, had been in the cage below Max, and they were the only cats that hadn’t laughed at Max when he explained his plan to
escape.
    Max had promised them both that he would come back and rescue them, as soon as he got the chance. The ginger tom had snorted with derision at the very idea that Max would make it to the outside
world, let alone come back for his friends. Even Monty had only nodded sadly at Max, as though he couldn’t quite believe that he would be able to do it. But, as Max had made his escape,
Celeste had whispered, ‘Come back for us, Max. We’ll be waiting.’ Max blinked at the memory and took a deep breath. He looked around approvingly at Millie’s desk, with its
supply of electronics, and began to plan.
    Max had no idea how long he had been sitting, thinking, when he heard the telltale creak of a foot on the stairs. In less than a second he was under the bed. The door opened,
and shut again quickly.
    ‘Max?’
    He wriggled out from under the bed, and sneezed twice, looking at Millie with an unmistakable air of reproach.
    ‘Sorry,’ she said guiltily. ‘I always mean to hoover under there, but I usually forget. That’s why I thought you might prefer hiding under the desk.’
    ‘Yes,’ he agreed ruefully.
    ‘I brought you some cheese.’
    ‘Thank you.’
    ‘Now, tell me about the Haverham lab.’
    ‘Is that what it’s called?’
    ‘No. Well, I don’t know. It’s just where it is. I don’t know who owns it – I guess we could find out.’ Millie jerked her head at the computer.
    ‘Later, we will do that. First, I should tell you what they do there.’
    ‘They’re making cats that can talk.’ Millie knew she was stating the obvious, but she was still having problems making her brain accept what her eyes and ears were telling
her.
    ‘Do you know why?’ asked Max.
    ‘Is it a government lab?’ Millie’s eyebrows shot up in alarm. ‘Are you a secret weapon? Like a spy?’
    ‘Yes, of course. Your government has decided it will send adorable kittens to dubious world leaders, media moguls and international terrorists. They will keep us on their laps at all
times, because we are so furry and cute. We