Mike and Ellie were hiding near the component store. First Kenneth and then Alice approached and entered the store room, each furtively looking around making sure that they weren't being observed.

"Got them!" said Ellie. Mike dragged a desk in front of the store room door, barricading Kenneth and Alice inside. "Now let's go and tell Eliza that we've unmasked and captured the conspirators!"

---

As Mike and Ellie approached, they overheard Eliza talking to herself. "Funding! The bane of my life!" she said. "My plan appears to be working though. Kenneth and Alice have being playing their roles to perfection, and nobody can suspect what we're doing."

Mike and Ellie stopped dead in their tracks on hearing this. "Mike," whispered Ellie. "I think we've made a terrible mistake. Eliza is part of the conspiracy too! Kenneth and Alice are working for her, not against her!"

Eliza looked up, aware that she was no longer alone. "Ahhh! You two! Ellie, why didn't you have the good sense to stay away once you realised you weren't wanted here?" she shouted at them.

"Quick, let's run!" said Mike, as both he and Ellie left the lab, dashing through the warren of surrounding corridors.

Once they were sure that Eliza wasn't following them they paused to catch their breaths. "We need to let Barquith know what's going on!" said Ellie. "I still haven't got my phone back. Have you got yours?"

"I forgot it," said Mike. "You see that office opposite? I'll bet there's a computer in there. We can use that to send an email to Barquith!"

"We'll have to encipher it somehow," said Ellie, as they entered the office. "We don't want Eliza or anybody at EKA-labs being able to read it."

As Ellie was typing away on the keyboard, all the lights in the office and in the corridor outside dimmed. "This is an emergency!" Eliza's voice boomed out over the public address system. "EKA-labs is now in lock-down. The doors are locked and nobody will be permitted to enter or leave the building. If anyone sees two meddlesome children around then you must detain them immediately!"

"They're bound to find us!" cried out Mike. "We need to find somewhere to hide!"

"I think I know the perfect place!" said Ellie. "And I think I know what's really been going on here! Come on, follow me!"

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Alan Turing Cryptography Competition 2016 is organised by the The Department of Mathematics at The University of Manchester.
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