Tiger: The Secret Intelligence Group Looking For a Brilliant Mind

By Oscar Lawson

Archie is used to being top of his class, with his quiet genius and superhuman focus, but when a top-secret opportunity comes his way, he is tested to his limits. Is the 13-year-old up to the challenge?
Live the story with Archie every step of the way, through adventure, challenges and mystery, and even have a go at solving some puzzles included in the book.
A portion of the proceeds from this book will go to the Honeypot Children’s Charity which supports amazing young carers in the UK aged 5–12 in their work caring for ill family members.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Nov 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781398456136

Oscar Lawson

Oscar Lawson has enjoyed writing short stories for his friends and family since he was young, and is now publishing his first book, TIGER, which he wrote, aged 15. He lives in the UK and loves creative writing and journalism, as well as science and coding which inspired many aspects of TIGER. Outside of writing he has supported the Honeypot Children’s Charity since he was 10, raising money and awareness for them. Oscar is dedicating TIGER to Honeypot, and donating some of the proceeds to the charity.

Book preview

About the Author

Oscar Lawson has enjoyed writing short stories for his friends and family since he was young, and is now publishing his first book, TIGER, which he wrote, aged 15. He lives in the UK and loves creative writing and journalism, as well as science and coding which inspired many aspects of TIGER. Outside of writing he has supported the Honeypot Children’s Charity since he was 10, raising money and awareness for them. Oscar is dedicating TIGER to Honeypot, and donating some of the proceeds to the charity.

Dedication

Dedicated to the amazing young carers supported by Honeypot, for their strength and resilience, showing tireless devotion to their families every single day.

Copyright Information ©

Oscar Lawson 2022

The right of Oscar Lawson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781398456129 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398456136 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2022

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Acknowledgement

I am very grateful to my Mum, Shelley, for giving sound advice, support, and lending her proofreading skills. My granny, Carolyn, has helped me enormously too, with all areas of the book, not least contributing to printing costs, for which I am very grateful. My sister, Emily, and Dad, Jerry, have also been wonderfully supportive and helped shape TIGER into the book it is now. Uncle Eddie and my Godmother, Weezie, have lent their expertise as well which has been very valuable.

Thanks also go to the tremendous team at Austin Macauley Publishers for transforming my rough manuscript into a published book. I am very excited to be able to share Archie’s adventure with you.

Chapter 1

Archie had been waiting for too long. Something wasn’t right.

Perched in a big leather armchair, his palms sweating as he fidgeted anxiously, Archie looked around at the peculiar room again. Canvasses with flecks of paint hung at odd angles on the walls and the coloured lights flickered randomly. He was waiting for someone known only as the boss. Over half an hour ago, Archie had been taken down a narrow set of steps beneath the centre of town, and had just been told to wait. As time had passed, any feeling that this was normal slowly drained from his body.

Archie stood up to stretch his legs, wandering slowly around the spacious room. With each step, the lights seemed to flicker ominously, as pulses of light momentarily broke through the darkness. Perhaps he had been forgotten, or maybe something worse lay in wait for him. Either way, he needed to know. Archie made his way over to the door he had come through earlier. Tentatively, his hand stretched out and grasped the cold metal of the handle. He turned it. Nothing happened. He turned it the other way. Still nothing. Pushing, pulling, and then finally shaking the door handle, Archie realised the horror of his situation.

He was locked in.

With panic rising in his chest, Archie tried to calm himself and think back to why he was here. He never imagined that solving a crossword could ever put him in danger.

* * *

Two days earlier

Good morning, Archie! Rise and shine.

Archie rolled over to look at his alarm clock. It was 7:00. He crawled out of bed, half asleep, and threw on his school uniform. His once white shirt was now a milky grey and hung around his shoulders sadly. Archie’s legs looked like they couldn’t decide whether to wear trousers or shorts. The only scarcely acceptable bit about his clothes were his signature green shoes, which he wore all the time, making him instantly recognisable from a mile off. His school never allowed anything other than the standard black shoes, but Archie had insisted on his favourite green pair, so they made an exception.

Now a bit more awake, Archie came downstairs to find his mum, dressed in her gym kit and chatting on the phone. A few minutes passed as Archie yawned down some cornflakes, before his mum finished her call and came over. She looked at his clothes and sighed.

Oh, Archie, for a boy with such a brilliant mind, you can still sometimes be silly. Archie frowned, a little hurt and confused. He knew his clothes were old and it had been a few days