The Great Escape Read Online Free Page A

will overhear everything they plan, just like our role model, the fluffy white cat in your James Bond films. This has, in fact, been happening for many
years, but with one flaw: we could not communicate what we knew. Many intelligence missions, many top-secret investigations, even many wars could have been avoided, if only we could tell what we
had heard. And then, one day,
voilà
, someone has the bright idea. Kidnap cats from overseas, with a range of languages at their disposal. I, for example, speak French, Dutch and
English, as you can hear. Give them voice-boxes, like humans have. Then, each time we go for our injections, or worm tablets, or minor operations, we can tell the vet everything we know, very, very
quietly. The vet is not only a vet, but an operative from MI5. It is simple, but brilliant.’
    Millie looked at Max for a long minute.
    ‘You’re pretty sarcastic for a cat.’
    ‘No more than average. It’s just you can hear me.’
    ‘OK, it was a stupid suggestion. But who
does
have an interest in making animals talk?’
    ‘I don’t know. That is something we have to find out.’
    ‘And do you know
why
they want to make cats talk? It might help us find out who’s behind it.’
    ‘No, they hardly let me see any memos while I was sitting in a cage.’
    ‘You could just say no, you know.’
    ‘Of course, but then how would you learn?’ Max gazed at her innocently.
    ‘Speaking of which, how have you learned so many languages so fast?’
    ‘I have not learned them fast. Sofie, with whom I live in Brussels, is an English teacher. She helps her son, Stef, with his homework – he is around your age, I should think. They
speak French and also Dutch at home – there are two national languages in Belgium, you know. Well, three, really, because everyone also learns to speak English. I have been able to understand
all three languages for many years. Once I could speak at all, I could speak all the languages I knew. Pretty good, huh? You must be very jealous. Everyone knows that English people are hopeless at
languages.’
    Millie grinned, but they must have been talking too loudly to hear the stair creak, because an unexpected knock at the door made her leap suddenly to her feet.

Chapter Six
    Max had dived back under the bed before Millie’s dad’s knuckles hit the door a second time. Millie was beginning to understand how the cat had escaped – he
was astonishingly fast.
    ‘Millie,’ called her dad. ‘Are you all right in there? Can I come in?’ He had already begun to open the door. It banged immediately onto the open wardrobe door behind it.
‘Oops, sorry.’
    ‘I don’t know why you bother asking, if you’re just going to open the door anyway.’ Millie sighed, trying to sound vaguely annoyed, while her heart pumped crazily. She
jumped up to shut the wardrobe so that her dad could open the door properly.
    ‘Sorry – I wasn’t sure if you’d heard me over the TV.’ He looked at the television, which was steadfastly switched off. ‘That’s funny, I could have
sworn I heard—’
    ‘What’s up, Dad?’ she asked brightly.
    ‘Nothing, really, I just came to see if you were all right. You were so quiet at dinner, and you’ve been up here ever since we got home. You’re upset because we were out at the
lab today, aren’t you?’
    ‘Not exactly upset.’ Millie didn’t like fibbing to her father, and she was trying hard not to lie outright, but she could see it was going to be tricky.
    ‘I know it bothers you, sweetheart. And I’m sorry I have to keep going there, but
you
don’t, you know.’
    ‘I know. I might not come out tomorrow, Dad, if you don’t mind.’
    ‘Well, we’re not going back to Haverham lab till next week now anyway, so why don’t you have a think about it?’
    ‘I will. Do you, er . . .’ Millie tried hard to be as unconcerned as possible. ‘Do you happen to know who owns the laboratory?’
    ‘No, I don’t, love. A pharmaceutical company, I