During an assembly that week, the headmaster called them all to the front of the hall and got the whole school to applaud them. No one clapped harder than Miss Broom, who was very impressed indeed.

Eric's big plaster bandage was the centre of attention and everybody wanted to sign or doodle on it. Eric, however, made sure Charlie and Anna got to sign it first, followed by Des and the rest of his rescuers.

That Friday Mr Lucas from the St John's Ambulance returned to the school with some certificates of commendation. These, he explained, were given out to young people who put their knowledge of first aid to good use.

The five of them went up to collect their certificates proudly.

"These five children," Mr Lucas said as he shook each of their hands and gave them their certificate, "show what is possible when people work together and use their initiative. Well done, you five!"

Then they were cheered again.

Becoming heroes overnight meant that everything changed. All of a sudden, everyone wanted to be Charlie and Anna's friend. But most surprisingly, people started being nice to Des, and he started being nice back!

When all six of them met in the cloakroom before going home for the weekend, however, they all shared the same concern.

"What do we do now?"

It was Des who said it, but they all agreed.

"Well," said Eric. "We can't have a war anymore."

They all agreed with that as well.

"You could come and see Fort Freak," Anna suggested quietly.

"Fort Freak?!" the four of them said together.

Charlie and Anna looked at each other and grinned.

Last Saturday it would have been an invasion, but this week Des and his friends were very welcome at Fort Freak. Charlie and Anna got to the hideout early on Saturday to clear up after a heavy rain. The other four all arrived shortly thereafter.

Des had been given directions by Anna and was leading the way through the bushes. Charlie was first aware of their imminent arrival when he heard their gasps. Standing up, he saw them all staring wide-eyed at the tree as they approached.

"Wow!" Roger exclaimed, so taken aback he almost tripped over.

Sam stepped around him and pushed past Des. As the others all stood around and muttered their approval, he started climbing the tree. Roger joined him and they perched themselves on branches above the heads of the others and swung their legs back and forth.

"This is great!" said Des, looking honestly impressed.

"Thanks," said Anna blushing.

Both she and Charlie beamed proudly.

Eric looked around and sighed. "I wish we had something like this."

The other three mumbled in agreement.

"Well," Charlie shrugged. "Why don't we share it, then?"

They all turned to toward him and gave him funny looks.

"Makes sense," he added quickly.

Des's face lit up. "You mean... the same gang?"

"It's just an idea," Charlie said, shrugging again.

But it was an idea the other boys seemed to like. They were all nodding.

"Yeah," said Des slowly. "But we need a roof... and a carpet... and a..."

He trailed off. They were all giving him funny looks now.

"It's just an idea," he added, winking at Charlie.

The six of them spent the entire morning at Fort Freak. They all took turns climbing the tree, except for Eric, who had had quite enough of trees recently. Charlie also passed around his binoculars and they played a long-distance version of I Spy.

"I spy with my little eye something beginning with J," said Des.

They each had ten seconds to look through the binoculars and find something that began with J inside the park. Roger, Sam, Eric and Anna couldn't find anything, but Charlie spotted a jogger on the far side of the park. Des groaned. He had boasted that he always won the game.

When they all grew bored of that game, they set to work on Des's plans for Fort Freak. The carpet would take some arranging, but they could start work on the roof now. They snapped leafy branches from the tree and began tying them together with string.

That was Eric's job. He couldn't do any of the hard work with his broken arm, but he was capable of tying a few knots. As the other boys wrestled with a particularly thick branch, he sidled over to Anna, who was standing back and directing.

"Hey, Witc-..." he began. "I mean, Anna, do you know any spells?"

Charlie overhead this and had a suggestion.

"Why don't you show them that hole in the hand trick?"

So she did. They all took a breather and sat down at the base of the tree whilst Anna taught them how to do it. Charlie found an old, crumpled newspaper caught in the bushes, so they tore pages from that for their tubes.

They were all amazed.

"Wow!" Roger gasped as he stared through his palm.

"That is so cool!" said Des. "Do you know any more?"

Anna sighed. She had to admit she didn't, so it was back to work.

Sam had to leave first. He had a dentist's appointment before lunch. Roger and Eric lived the furthest away, so they left next. Des stayed with Charlie and Anna. He had brought some sandwiches with him but when he took them out of his coat pocket they were all squashed. He had been sitting on them for the last hour.

"Eww!" he squealed as he took them out and threw them into the bushes.

"You'll have to come to mine now," Charlie said.

Des accepted the invitation with thanks.

They walked with Anna until she had to take a different turning, then they waited and waved until she was out of sight. The strolled on toward the car park, which Charlie was intending to cut across to shorten their journey. It looked to be empty except for a large blue van. However, as Charlie and Des came up close, the blue van started up and pulled out of the car park.

Behind it was a big black car...

Charlie gasped in shock and threw himself to the verge.

There he stayed until Des stopped and noticed.

"What are you doing?!" he cried.

Charlie tugged at Des's trouser leg.

"The black car!" he hissed. "Get down!"

Des looked toward the car and frowned.

"It's empty," he said flatly.

Those words rang in Charlie's ears. He lay there a few moments more, then raised himself up on his elbows and stretched his neck to get a better look. The car was indeed empty. Charlie frowned.

"Oh," he said sheepishly. "So it is."

He felt a little silly as he picked himself up and started brushing himself down. Grass seeds were clinging to his clothes. He looked up at Des, who was standing there with his hands on his hips, looking between Charlie and the car.

"What exactly is going on?" he demanded.

"Come on," urged Charlie. "I'll tell you on the way."

He looked right, then left. The coast was clear.

"He'll be around somewhere..." he added, and changed direction.

Des was standing firm. "Who?" he demanded.

"I'll tell you on the way," Charlie insisted once more.

Des grunted and caught up.

As they hurried across the park, Charlie told Des all about it. He kept a keen eye out for the strange man and avoided all the open and exposed paths. Des listened quietly, nodding from time to time.

When Charlie had finished, he noticed Des had a peculiar look upon his face. It was a look that Charlie had seen several times before. It was the look Des wore when he was dreaming up a devious plan. As they turned into Charlie's road, Des proved him right.

"I think," he said, "that we might be able to catch him ourselves."

Charlie sighed and shook his head. "Not even the police could do that."

"No," Des agreed. "No, they could not. But I think we can."

Charlie shrugged. "Okay, then," he said. "How?"

"Well," said Des. "I have a plan."

Charlie's mum whipped up another sandwich for Des, which he wolfed down as fast as Charlie ate his. Then they rushed back to Fort Freak where they found Anna finishing off the last of a buttery scone. She was licking her fingers with a cheeky grin as they came running up.

"What's the password?" she demanded.

"Er," Charlie began. "Do we have one?"

Anna shrugged. "Not yet. I just thought it up."

Des clapped his hands. "Listen," he said. "Tell her what we saw, Charlie."

Charlie told her. They had to wait nearly an hour before the others returned, during which time Charlie reported their sighting and Des explained the basics of his plan. By the time Roger and Sam arrived, followed shortly by Eric, Anna had changed it already.

Des was left to explain it the newcomers.

"Right," he said. "The target is male, about six feet tall, with pale skin. He usually wears a long, black coat and often carries a walking stick with a silver handle. He has also been spotted driving a big, black car. We believe him to be extremely dangerous."

Sam and Eric gulped loudly. Des glared at them, then continued.

"We also believe," he announced triumphantly, "that we can capture him."

As they sat around him listening, Des went on to explain the plan. It relied on whether or not the strange man had seen their photo in the paper and recognised them all. Charlie hoped he had. Roger would run out and attract his attention, and then they would all lure him into a trap.

"W-what do we do when we trap him?" Sam stuttered.

"Tie him up with the rope," said Des.

Charlie took the rope from his bag. They had found it at Charlie's after lunch.

"That's it," Des told them. "That's the plan."

It sounded simple. Charlie could imagine them pulling it off with ease and being heroes once again. However, he had other concerns that he did not share with the others. He wanted to know why the strange man was after him.

Eric shuddered. "It sounds dangerous," he grumbled.

Nobody disagreed, but nobody went home when Des invited them to either.

"Right, then," said Des boldly. "Here's our battle plan..."

He was referring to the map of the park that Anna and Charlie had rustled up after lunch. They had positioned rocks, leaves and weeds in a large circle in the dirt. These would represent the playground, the duck pond and the wooded areas. The circle itself would represent the whole park.

Des found a stick and began pointing things out.

"Roger... you'll go here... Sam will be here..."

It all became clear to Charlie now. Only Roger would actually be approaching the strange man. He would lead him toward the others, who would attract his attention from a distance whilst Roger hid. However, Des had left something out of the plan.

"Any questions?" asked Des.

"Yes," said Charlie immediately. "What about me and Eric?"

Des looked up. "You'll stay here with the rope," he told them.

There were no arguments. Eric sighed and began picking at his plaster. Charlie would have liked to stand up to Des, but he knew he and Anna had no chance of capturing the strange man alone, and capturing him was far more important.

"Any more questions?" asked Des quickly. "No? Good!"

Even if there had been any, Des hadn't given them time to ask.

"Alright," he said, rising to his feet. "Let's go to our positions."

After checking the coast to be clear, he strode out through the bushes and started running. Roger, Sam and Anna stood up slowly. Roger and Sam ducked away nervously and only Anna paused to look back, smile and wave.

"Good luck," Charlie called, but soon she too was out of sight.

Charlie slumped back against the tree and Eric moped around him. They waited in silence for what seemed like ages and before long Charlie began dreaming about the adventures they were having without him. He wished he could see what they were up to.

As he bowed his head, the binocular strap caught round his neck. It came to him in an instant. He had forgotten they were even there! He spun round on the spot and began tackling the tree.

Before he had even reached the top, Eric began calling out.

"Can you see them?" he yelled.

Charlie ignored him and pinned himself safely between two branches, thus leaving both hands free to steady and focus the binoculars. He was looking for Roger, but Roger was not where Des had put him. In fact, he was nowhere in sight.

Charlie zoomed out slowly, so that he could see more and more of the park at once. He kept on looking, but he did not find Roger. Instead he found the strange man. He was creeping through the shadows, swinging his cane. Charlie's heart began to thump.

A little boy ran past the strange man. Charlie feared for his safety. He was half the size of their enemy and wouldn't have a chance. It was not until the boy stopped and turned to look back that Charlie saw it was Roger.

"Run, Roger, run!" Charlie whispered, hoping he could hear.

As if he could, he started running again and did not stop this time. Charlie returned to the strange man. At first it looked as if he hadn't noticed. But then, as Charlie watched, the strange man glanced around cautiously and then sped up.

"It's working!" Charlie cried. "He's chasing!"

Eric whooped victoriously down below.

Charlie smiled as he located Roger once more and followed his progress with the binoculars. He watched excitedly as Roger span round a corner and out of sight, just as they had planned. He would hide in the bushes there until the strange man passed, and Sam would take over the running.

Charlie panned across the duck pond, looking for Sam. He found him standing on the other side, hands in pockets and kicking the dirt. Sam wasn't as fast a runner as Roger, but he had a crucial head start. Charlie doubted the strange man could catch up before Sam passed over to Anna.

"Come on," Charlie urged to himself.

Suddenly the strange man came into view once more. He had just changed direction. Now he was heading for Sam. Sam, however, had not yet noticed. He was shuffling about and not looking out for the danger approaching.

Charlie felt a pain in the pit of his stomach.

"Look up, Sam!" he hissed. "Watch out!"

Eric began whining for an update but Charlie ignored him.

Finally Sam noticed, but by then the strange man was coming round the duck pond. Sam didn't have the head start they had planned for, but he was out of the clutches of the stranger at least.

Charlie watched, holding his breath, as Sam sped along the far edge of the duck pond, ran across the playground and then bounded over the fence and into the grove of trees. All the while, the strange man pursued. Sam scurried up a tree and hid there out of Charlie's view. Eric continued to pine.

"It's down to Anna and Des now," Charlie shouted down.

With Charlie following his every move, the strange man slipped into the playground and headed straight for the gate in the fence. He continued to speed up and Charlie saw that he wasn't using that walking cane at all.

Charlie shifted position so that he could spy Anna on the other side of the grove. She was peering across the park to the car park where Des was supposed to be hiding. She hadn't spotted the strange man either.

"Look, Anna! Look behind you!"

Charlie zoomed in on her. Though he felt he was standing beside her, she could not hear his cries. The strange man was now standing beneath the very tree in which Sam was hiding. A few moments later and he had seen her.

This time Anna saw him and Charlie sighed with relief.

"He's going for Anna," he reported.

It was this part of the plan that made Charlie nervous. Anna had to run across open ground and if she needed to stop for any reason there was nowhere for her to hide. Charlie just didn't trust Des enough to hope he'd go and rescue her.

Anna was running now, and she was running faster than she'd ever run before.

There was a rustling in the bushes down below. Charlie was distracted by the noise and looking down he saw Roger stumbling through. He stopped before Eric, bending over and putting his hands on his knees as he gasped for air.

Sam arrived shortly thereafter, not so exhausted.

"How's it going?" he called up to Charlie.

Charlie murmured something, but he was paying more attention to Anna. She had made it across the open ground, but the strange man hadn't even emerged from the grove yet. Charlie wondered if their plan had been rumbled.

He watched Anna reach the end of her length, on the far side of the car park. Des should have been on the near side, ready to lead the strange man to them. However, Charlie could not see him.

"Something's wrong..." he muttered.

Anna had not gone into hiding. Instead she was scouting around for Des. Charlie zoomed in far enough to see the worried expression on her face. She had one last look around and then started running back to them. Charlie put the binoculars back around his neck and began the downward climb.

Anna burst through the bushes as he reached the bottom.

"Where's Des?!" she cried.

"The strange man's gone too," Charlie said quietly.

They all froze on hearing this and looked up at Charlie.

"You don't think..." Sam gulped. "Captured?"

Charlie wouldn't answer that one. He'd rather not think about it.

"A search party," he decided. "Everybody return to their original positions."

There were no arguments and no delays. Roger and Sam were running before Charlie had even stopped speaking. Anna had to prop herself against the tree as she caught her breath, but Charlie didn't stay that long himself. He was returning to the car park to look for Des. Breathing heavily through fear as well as running, he crept round the edge of the car park to the spot where Des should have been but was not. As he hovered around the fence, searching for Des, he became more and more concerned. He began to feel sick in his stomach. But then, out of nowhere, Des appeared.

He was standing in between the cars on the far side of the car park and he had not been there a moment before. He hadn't spotted Charlie yet, so he leapt up to shout and wave. But then he stopped himself short.

Charlie saw the car Des stood beside and it was unmistakable. It was a big, black car. It was the strange man's car. Des was standing beside it, and the door was open, and Des was talking to someone inside.

The strange man.

Charlie froze and stared but he did not wait to be seen. He spun round and broke into a run. It did not take him long to round up the others. He ordered them to abandon the search, telling them that he had found Des, though he wouldn't explain further until they were out of the park and running back to his house.

"Des was with the man," he told them. "Des has betrayed us!"