Page 6 - Billy the Cat and Katie

wreckage. ‘William, William where are you?’ his mother called out, desperate to find her boy.
‘I'm up here!’ came a voice from above. As they both looked they could see a figure in black,
wearing a helmet, perched high up in the huge oak tree at the end of the garden. It was William
alright, but he was about 20 feet up in the tree which didn't really have any way to climb up so
high without using a ladder. ‘I jumped and this is where I ended up. Hold on, I’m coming down.’
Astounded they both watched as William leaped from the branch up high and landed with the
grace of a cat onto the soft grass below. ‘It's what I was trying to explain, I feel different in the
suit. I feel like I've got so much more strength and agility, like a gymnast or an acrobat, or…’ ‘A
cat?’ said his father. It was extraordinary, with the suit on William could jump higher, run faster,
climb easier and even punch and kick stronger and harder than he ever could without it. The
suit seemed give William super abilities that soldiers and athletes could only dream of and that
wasn't all. Over the next few days William’s father tested the suit to the limit and not without
some spectacular and sometimes dangerous stunts involved. He would get William to walk over
broken glass, nails and through a carefully made bonfire to test the suit against damage from
sharp objects and heat. He carefully pressed sharp knives into the material whilst William was
wearing it, then much more forcefully and even as hard as he could with a sharp soldiers
bayonet, and yet the suit withstood it all. However, his mother drew the line at the final tests
which were the most dangerous. Even his father wasn't prepared to take a chance with his own
sons life as he poured concentrated acid onto the suit, repeatedly shot at it with a high
powered pistol and also a light machine gun, borrowed from the local army base with the
permission of his old commanding officer; Major Brent.

The suit was a success. Many extras were added including gloves with climbing claws, a high
tensile climbing rope with a grappling hook, police and army radio bands included in the helmet
receiver and bright lights set into the top of the helmet that looked like cat’s eyes. The ‘cat’ suit;
as William’s mother called it was ready to be demonstrated to the military top brass and an
appointment was made for the following week. They would present the suit to the Colonel in
Chief at Military Intelligence in Whitehall, London and demonstrate the amazing capabilities
which would definitely be of use to the army.

It wasn't far from Burnham in Surrey to London and they were to drive up on the Thursday,
when William could come with them to help demonstrate the suit and everything it could do.
His father spent the few days in between duplicating the suit and everything that went with it,
‘just in case’ he said and William’s mother Janet had typed up all of the plans and lists of
materials and chemicals required to make the suits. When the day came and everything was
packed they set off for London, with a briefcase full of papers and a trunk containing the suits
and a hamper of food, as William had asked if they could visit the zoo at Regents Park and have
a special tea afterwards. It was going to be a very exciting day for everyone. William pointed
out all of the sights as they drove along and was very excited to see Trafalgar Square with the
fountains and Nelsons Column with the huge lions at its base.

As they rounded the corner into Whitehall they could hear the sound of bells; it was a police car
and it was in a hurry. Williams father slowed down to let it pass but as soon as he did so there
was an almighty crash and the car was sent upwards into the air, twisting and turning as it