‘Understood. I’ve got this.’ He unzips his pouch and pulls out a mini can of hairspray, and grabs Trent’s cushion. ‘Ready when you are.’

‘OK, me and Kat will grab the rug and cover Mak while he opens the hatch. We won’t have long. On three. One, two, three…’

Karim leaps out from behind the coffee table, using the cushion as a shield, and holds up the can of hairspray, pointing it towards Chets. ‘You know what 233 this is?’ he says, side-stepping across the Lookout, past Ade’s chair, moving towards the Tail.

As Chets turns to look at him, Kat and I jump the table and skid to the rug. She takes the nearest corner on the left, while I grab the right, and we lift it so that it forms a barricade between us and Chets. Mak slides over to the small trapdoor that was hidden underneath and pulls open an access panel next to it.

I watch Chets and Karim over the top of the rug. Karim has sidestepped back in our direction so that he’s between us and Chets, but Chets is scuttling forward in short jerky bursts. He makes that hideous gurgling sound, and Karim squirts a short burst of hairspray at him. Chets jumps back slightly, and shoots a blob of goo at Karim, who blocks it with his cushion. Chets presses forward again. He’s quick, and his movements are unpredictable.‘Nearly there, Mak?’ I say.

‘Two minutes.’ He punches a code into a keypad. A green light flashes, then he enters another code.

‘Ade!’ I shout, ‘You need to get over here.’

Ade launches towards us from behind the chair. 234

‘Watch out!’ Kat shouts, leaping at Ade and shoving her to the ground as a yellow ball narrowly misses hitting her right in the chest.

‘He has double balls!’ Karim shouts. ‘He can shoot in two different directions.’

Kat and Ade are exposed, trying to pick themselves off the floor. Karim is taking a barrage of toxic spit. I have to draw some of the fire. ‘Take the rug,’ I shout to Mak, and I dart out into the middle of the room. As plans go, this one is failing horribly. A spit ball flies towards me, and I dodge it. I’m no ninja, but gaming has made my reflexes pretty sharp. I just have to stay alert. I dive for the tray that had our snacks on and snatch it up, sending glasses smashing and cheese puffs rolling. I lift it just in time to hear a gob of slime thunk onto it. Chets is holding the area between the two exits, but he’s clearly suspicious of what’s going on behind the rug, because he’s pelting out spit balls and edging forwards. While Chets is looking at me, Karim darts forward with the hairspray and blasts some into Chets’ face. Chets screeches and backs up a couple of metres.