But this post is for Chapter 24 and I can safely say I was not expecting this. I assumed that because there were only two chapters left we would see Alex back in London being debriefed by Blunt and Jones, see him with Jack and see her being worried about the damage done to him by his latest mission and then there would be some kind of concluding thing that leads up to the next, and final, book.
Was I wrong or was I wrong???
I never imagined that things would still be bursting out at me like the water from the exploded dam, but oh yeah, they are. I can imagine Anthony Horowitz sitting back in his chair right now, cackling evilly at my state of innocence. Yes, right now, because of course he knows exactly when I am reading his book. Sort of. Anyway, yeah, pretty much terrified and worked up by this chapter.
Again we start almost exactly where we left off, Alex is in the plane with Rahim having just climbed up the rope, using the very last scraps of strength left. I'll say it again, but I really admire him for his strength and determination and the fact that he never gives up and forces himself to go on (yes, I know he's a fictional character, just go with it). Horowitz tells us how much pain Alex is in and you just want to wrap him up in bubblewrap and feed him hot chocolate :((
Rahim begins to land the plane in an ordinary airstrip which is occupied by a few tourists etc, and at this point my main concern was their reaction to these two people who must look like they've been beaten up - but how very wrong I was. Rahim begins to shout at Alex for the damage he's done, by being stupid and not thinking through his actions (btw I swear all adults seem to blame Alex when things go wrong... links back to what I was saying yesterday about the relationship between child and adult: they just don't seem to be able to accept that maybe he was right all along.) Admittedly Alex has done a lot of damage which will likely have huge ramifications on the Kenyan and British governments, but I can't see this affecting the final book. Anyway, just as Rahim is shouting at Alex there's this huge bamg and he is shot. Looking past the spattering of blood, Alex spots Desmond McCain.
Know what? In the chaos of the last couple of chapters I had forgotten about him completely. I knew he wasn't dead, but I just forgot that he would be a tad peeved at Alex for messing up his *super evil plan*... Well done Horowitz, well played. Erm so McCain is obviously crazy, and he demands that Alex come down from the plane, KNEEL infront of him and let him shoot him.
There's something about the fact that he wants him to kneel down that is so awful. Obviously there's the whole power thing: Alex, this young boy has beated Desmond McCain, one of the most powerful men in Britian (and the world?), and to be able to look down, to physically stand above him would be satisfying. But also, I thought that this act of being above him kind of puts him in the position of God. We know that McCain is a converted Christian so religious imagery is very important to him, and I imagine he'd relish the chance to play God. Of course, this idea combined with the act of killing a child is some kind of perverse twist and just highlights the madness within him. Finally, Alex's kneeling position mirrors that of when a person prays, and this is probably seen by McCain as a prayer for mercy, begging McCain not to kill him, which only makes the whole set-up more humiliating because we know that Alex would never grovel to a man like this.
Can you tell I'm an English student..?
Onward! Alex manages to distract McCain by spraying something in his face, then jumps out of the plane, landing badly and twisting his ankle. PLEASE ALEX COULD YOU JUST BE A BIT MORE CAREFUL I AM ALMOST CRYING IN SUSPENSE HERE!!! He hobbles off to hide behind some fuel tanks, but McCain is following. Alex knocks one over and slowly rolls it toward McCain who stops it with his foot. At this point I knew that Alex was unable to run away and knew that he was weak, but couldn't understand why he just stood there and watched McCain. And then the explosion went off.
Horowitx points out that Alex's stuck his last remaining gadget from Smithers, the pen, WHICH I HAD COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN ABOUT - BRAVO - to the side of the fuel tank. Petrol is highly flammable, obvs, so when the pen exploded the petrol did too, taking McCain with it.
The description of him catching fire is particularly haunting and fitting:
"One moment McCain was taking aim, the next he had disappeared in a pillar of flame that roared into the sky. It really was like a judgement from Heaven."Need I say more about the religious imagery there?
Alex runs from the explosion, though catches fire as he's still too close. That was something I've always hated (people being burned alive) and I'm very glad that Horowitz didn't let it go further than that, or I would have had nightmares for a week. Alex is passing out from exhaustion but registers being picked up and put on a stretcher, so he's FINALLY being taken care of, and the chapter ends.
Final chapter tomorrow guys!!
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