“Check your DS,” he ordered, punching a couple of keys. Schematics of the outside of the plane appeared, with the rockets highlighted. “Raytheon HARM High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile, AGM-99,” he announced, thrilled at his own conviction. “This is an Electronic Countermeasures plane, not an attack plane. Our missiles can take out anti-radar artillery systems and surface-to-air missiles on land or on ships over 100 kilometres away. But we’ve got no way of attacking another plane.”
The plane rocked again and the noise in the cockpit escalated. “We’re losing control!” the pilot screamed above the rattle of the metal struts that were barely holding the cabin together.
CRASH!
It felt as if the plane had been hit by a sledgehammer. A direct hit. Jimmy was thrown to the side, slamming his helmet against the wall of the cockpit again.
Then the plane went into tailspin.
About the author
Joe Craig studied Philosophy at Cambridge University, then became a songwriter. Within a year, however, his love of stories had taken over and he was writing the first novel in the Jimmy Coates series. It was published in 2005. He is now a full time author and likes to keep in touch with his readers through his website www.joecraig.co.uk.
When he’s not writing he’s visiting schools, playing the piano, inventing snacks, playing football, coaching cricket, reading or watching a movie.
He lives in London.
Also by Joe Craig
Jimmy Coates: Killer
Jimmy Coates: Target
Thank you to:
Everyone at HarperCollins, particularly Stella Paskins, Geraldine Stroud, Emma Bradshaw, Gillie Russell and Sally Gritten.
Sarah Manson, Ann Tobias, Nicola Solomon, Sophie, Miriam and Oli. To Mary-Ann Ochota, sine qua non.
First published in Great Britain by
HarperCollins Children’s Books 2007
Harper Collins Children’s Books is a
division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
77-85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London, W6 8JB
www.harpercollinschildrensbooks.co.uk www.jimmycoates.co. uk
1
Copyright © Joseph Craig 2007
Joseph Craig asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of the work.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins eBooks.
ePub edition September 2008 ISBN-9780007278985
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