"How does it feel, my dear?" asked Mr Cuckoo solicitously as he clipped the collar around Nics' neck.
"A bit tight," she said, her voice rough. "But I don't feel any different."
"Not yet, my dear..." he said.
Jeremy stared at Nics, at the flesh of her neck that was encased in the gold collar. He shuffled over to Mr Cuckoo, and whispered something in his ear.
Mr Cuckoo smiled at him indulgently.
"Of course," he said. "You are welcome to her. Once I've finished my experiments."
Jeremy smiled, and shuffled away again.
Mr Cuckoo slowly undid Nics’ restraints, and stood back.
"You may go and do whatever you wish now, my dear," he said. "None of us will stop you. Will we?"
All at once the hundred and one gold dragons nodded, as did Barbra and Jeremy, and Barbra's clockwork pets.
Nics didn't stop to question, she was off the bed and straight to Chas' side, fumbling at the thick straps to release him.
"Thanks, babes," he said, helping her with the straps on his legs. "Don't know what they're playing at, but let's get the hell out of here."
He swung his legs off the bed, and they both were off, running to the exit.
"Thanks for calling!" called Mr Cuckoo cheerfully. "Please come back again soon!"
Nics had just touched the door handle when the red stone on her necklace flashed.
"Nicola, stop," ordered Mr Cuckoo.
She stopped as abruptly as if she had been flash frozen, and no amount of Chas pulling at her would make her move again.
Her eyes pleaded with him:
"Help me," she mouthed, but no sound came from her terrified throat.
"Bring the boy to me," ordered Mr Cuckoo, as the ruby flashed again.
Nics reached out and grabbed Chas firmly with both hands. With surprising strength she dragged him across the floor, back to the beds.
Mr Cuckoo was rubbing his hands in glee.
"Drop him on the floor."
Nics did so, wincing as Chas hit the ground with a thud. He sat up immediately, got into a crouch as if preparing to sprint away.
"You can still speak, can't you?" Mr Cuckoo asked her.
"Yes," she said, tears in her eyes. "You bastard."
"Now, now," Barbra scolded, "don't address Mr Cuckoo like that, he doesn't like it."
"I think, Barbra," Mr Cuckoo said grandly, "that from now I should like very much to be called Master."
She bowed. "As you wish, Master."
"Now, Nicola," he said. "If I were to tell you that the big red button on my machine over there is the button to press to set off the whole nefarious chain of events that I have planned to exterminate all life on Earth, would you push it?"
"No way!" she cried. "Never!"
Jeremy's brow furrowed in puzzlement.
"Even if I were to kill your boyfriend in front of your eyes?" Mr Cuckoo asked, in an inquiring tone of voice, like someone discussing the possibility of later rain.
Chas stood up, and took a step towards her. She looked at him, and he gazed back at her, steel in his expression.
"I'm not worth the world, Nics," he told her. "You wouldn't do it."
Biting her lip, she turned back to Mr Cuckoo.
"No," she told him, firmly.
"E-e-excuse me," interjected Jeremy. "All life on Earth?"
"Except yours, of course, my dear boy," back-pedalled Mr Cuckoo smoothly.
Sam barked. Mr Cuckoo turned to him.
"Yes, I am well aware of our arrangement," Mr Cuckoo told him in an exasperated tone of voice. "But you're not exactly alive at the moment anyway."
Sam whined, and slunk dejectedly off to hide behind some machinery.
"So," said Mr Cuckoo, turning back to Nics. "We've established that you would not press that button of your own free will - correct?"
"Yes," she said, looking straight at him.
"The button is set to give a three hour countdown. Nicola, go press the button."
The jewel flashed. Nics swore at him, fighting the movement of her own body as it walked towards the machine. Chas grabbed her arm, trying to hold it back, but he could no more stop her from going than he could have stopped a steam train.
Nics reached out and pressed the big red button. A male voice came from the machine.
"Thank you for pressing the big red button. The end of the world will happen in three hours from the tone."
The machine beeped, and the red LED display started counting the seconds down.
"Oh God, what have I done?" cried Nics.
"Only part of what has to be done," Mr Cuckoo told her. "Now take the second disk from your boyfriend, using force."
Nics pulled her right arm back, ready to deliver a blow to Chas' face.
"I'm sorry!" she cried, and swung at him.
Chas ducked and rolled, and she missed completely. There followed a few seconds of frantic running around the laboratory, Nics chasing Chas, while all the while a manically laughing Mr Cuckoo looked on.
Nics finally caught Chas, just by the exit. But just as she was about to slug him in the jaw, a mouse ran up the front of his shirt, put its little face up to her nose, opened its mouth wide, stuck its tongue out at her and made a loud squeaking sound.
Nics jumped back, dropping Chas. The mouse did a flying leap across to her shirt and bit her sharply on the end of her nose.
She went into total hysterics as the mouse jumped back onto Chas. Chas didn’t waste any time in taking the opportunity to make a break for the door.
The door swung shut, just as he heard Mr Cuckoo say:
“Oh, let the boy go. He'll be back to save his girlfriend. And what can he do in two hours and fifty six minutes anyway?"
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