Olivia and the Great Escape by Lyn Gardner

mind.”
    “But if you’re checking out his camp,” said Tom slowly, “then it probably means that people are checking out ours.”
    Pablo nodded. “What do they say? All’s fair in love and war. Well, this is a kind of war. There can only be one Viktor. That’s why you need to be careful what you say. Only talk about how Jack’s getting along and his state of health to the people you
really
trust.”

Chapter Seventeen
    Olivia, Tom and the others stared in shock at the double-page spread in the
Comet
, a tabloid newspaper, that lay open on the table in front of them. In the centre were two large pictures of Jack. In one, he looked happy and smiling and boyish, and in the other he looked haggard, ill and ancient. Olivia could tell from the angle that it had been snatched by the unknown photographer as Jack had stumbled off the wire when she and Tom had been down at the bridge.
    Across the top of the pages was a big headline in bold black letters that read:
High-Wire Walker Hits Rock Bottom.
The story went on to say that the world-renowned Jack Marvell was feeling the pressure in his head-to-head with ace stuntman Viktor and that the stress was makinghim ill. It looked likely that he would concede defeat to the Russian within the next few days.
    Tom read out the rest of the story: “‘Sources close to the Marvell camp say that the Great Marvello has been suffering from bronchitis and, combined with the appalling weather conditions on the wire over the last few days, this has brought the daredevil to his knees. ‘He’s a finished man,’ said the source. ‘It’s only a matter of time.’ Pablo Catalano, a spokesman for Marvell, was tight-lipped but confirmed that the high-wire walker had been suffering from a bad cold, but he insisted that there were no plans to cut short the world-record attempt. ‘Jack Marvell is in it for the duration.’”
    Tom took a deep breath and continued: “‘He would say that,’ said Viktor, during one of his ten-minute comfort breaks. ‘We’ve heard that the marvellous Marvell is close to breaking point. I’ve never felt better in my life. I could probably manage sixty days on the high wire.’”
    There was a short silence when Tom finished. Eel took a great gulp of air and looked as if she was struggling not to cry, while Tom looked anxiously at Olivia as she gnawed the knuckle on her right hand.
    “But it’s all rubbish!” said Aeysha. “Everyone will know that it is, and even if they don’t, as long as Jack doesn’t see the newspaper report, it doesn’t really matter. The only damage it can do is psychological, if he’s feeling a bit down and ill. But if he doesn’t see it, it doesn’t really matter what the newspapers are saying, does it? And Pablo is smart enough to make sure he doesn’t know anything about it.”
    “Aeysha’s right,” said Georgia brightly. “He need never know.”
    But when they all trooped down to the river a little later, there were masses of TV crews down on the banks and a crowd had gathered. Some were shouting their support but there was a gaggle on the bridge yelling, “Give up! Give up! It’s all over, Marvell!” Olivia wondered if they had been paid to be there.
    The Swans stood on the bank, looking horrified. Just when it didn’t seem as if things could get worse, they did. A light aircraft with Viktor’s sponsor’s name on it started circling above where Jack was perched in the drizzle. Behind it flowed a banner on which was written:
“Jack Marvell staring defeat in the face!”
Olivia saw her dad stare up at the sky for a long time, thendrop his head.
    Pablo had come to join them. “This,” he said, through gritted teeth, “is all-out psychological warfare.”
    “I could kill the rat who’s been leaking stuff to the papers,” said Olivia fiercely, “they deserve a long, slow, lingering death.” Eel burst into tears.
    Olivia looked at her little sister in surprise. She wasn’t normally so sensitive. “It’s all