Plot Public Enemy Number Two

nick simple kept behind after school french teacher, mr palis, , visited chief inspector snape of scotland yard , assistant, boyle. ask nick if go strangeday hall, institution criminals aged under 18, , befriend inmate johnny powers, gang leader known public enemy number one. want nick find out true identity of fence , mystery gangster controls buying , selling of stolen goods in london. nick refuses , police leave.

soon afrtwards, nick visits woburn abbey on school trip, framed attempting steal woburn carbuncles, , despite attempts evade police, arrested , sentenced 18 months @ strangeday hall. has share cell johnny powers - snape , boyle wanted, , no doubt arranged, happen. after arrives, snape , boyle visit nick , reveal arranged have nick framed. nick manages gain johnny s trust after saves him being killed henchmen of gang leader, big ed, has yet caught.

nick , johnny escape prison of tim diamond, nick s brother (an unsuccessful private detective), , ma powers, johnny s mother. in car chase police escape. however, during chase, snape , boyle appear , car crashes , explodes, leaving nick convinced both dead , s person alive knows s innocent. nick , tim stay @ johnny s home while, until nick overhears johnny telling ma going see penelope. believing penelope fence, nick follows johnny wapping subway station loses him there. after making way out onto street, captured henchmen of big ed, later tie him train track, intending him run on train.

before nick can killed, man approaches nick , cuts him free tracks before train passes. nick knows had seen man before, doesn t know where. prove loyalty johnny, , take revenge on ed, nick burns railway carriage hide-out, emptying oil drum , starting fire. nick decides must go johnny , tim, surely wondering now. still determined find fence, in hope of using him barter freedom. nick realises palis, french teacher, have seen snape , boyle on afternoon serving detention. heads palis s flat in chelsea caught police there; had spotted him in nearby street. palis saves him, , nick explains mission him. stays night @ palis’s flat. palis drives nick wapping following morning , tells him in touch if needs anything. @ hideout, nick sees doorbell. not recalling one, sneaks house , rescues tim bomb rigged go off if newly installed bell had been rung.

tim explains johnny had come previous afternoon wherever had been find nick gone. hadn t liked answers, , during night johnny dragged tim out of bed , tied him before rigging bomb. nick , tim discover penelope boat, , decide keep watch on penelope nearby derelict house. after seeing men storing objects aboard penelope, nick remembers johnny went penelope through wapping tube station. nick , tim go there , discover secret entrance tunnel, johnny lost nick through. tunnel leads under river thames fence s hideout brothers see many valuable stolen articles.

they encounter nails nathan, , johnny appears on scene, aware nick working police. ties them , locks them in room, escape. nick has brought bomb him in backpack, , uses destroy door room locked in. on way out, johnny re-appears , ready shoot nick , tim, stopped snape , group of armed policemen, have been tracking nick through tracking device in prison shoes since escaped. snape, survived crash uninjured, intent on arresting powers , gang, roof of underground den collapses. ultimately, nick , tim survive, ma powers arrested, johnny , nails nathan escape, while fence still seen , there still no clue or true identity, although operation destroyed. nick subsequently cleared of charges.

after nick returns school, sitting in french lesson when palis instructs nick translate french paragraph. while doing so, nick realises message reads palis fence, , palis had told truth of him johnny. @ end of lesson, palis announces class leaving. dismisses whole class except nick, realises palis wants kill him. palis chases nick school s roof gun, wastes bullets trying kill him. palis attempts plough nick, jumps off building, , dies when impales himself on fence. palis dead, story ends nick s troubles over.