Code Red (2 page)

Zac handed Leon the little computer chip that the BIG agent had dropped.

‘I'd better go see Big Boss,' Zac said. ‘See you at home.'

‘Bye,' said Leon, examining the chip.

Zac took the lift down to Agent Big Boss's floor.

As soon as the lift doors opened, a swarm of security agents surrounded Zac, pressing him back against a cold steel wall. For two full minutes, he was poked, prodded and scanned from every angle.

‘Sorry about that,' said Agent Big Boss as the guards finally let him pass. ‘We needed to be absolutely sure that you were the real Agent Rock Star, and
not
the BIG look-alike.'

‘It's OK,' said Zac.

‘And congratulations on rescuing our captured agents,' Big Boss added.

‘Thanks,' said Zac, ‘but I was only able to rescue five of them. Their team leader was kidnapped. We're going to send out a search team, right?'

‘I'm afraid we've got no time to chase after missing agents right now,' said Agent Big Boss, suddenly sounding grumpy.

Zac was surprised.
But wasn't that what
my mission was for?
he thought to himself.

‘Let's move on,' Agent Big Boss grumbled. ‘There's a meeting in my office this afternoon to discuss the next phase of your mission. I want you there at 3:30pm sharp.'

‘I'll be there,' said Zac.
At least I get to
miss out on two days of school,
he thought.

There was an awkward silence. Agent Big Boss stared down at him.

‘Is there something else, Agent Rock Star?'

‘Yes,' said Zac, pulling the holo-projector from his pocket. ‘I found this inside the BIG agent's jet.'

For a second, Agent Big Boss's eyes went wide, but he quickly recovered.

‘I'd like you to give that to me, Power.'

‘But sir,' Zac began, ‘this is –'

‘I know exactly what it is,' Agent Big Boss interrupted. ‘Please hand it to me.'

‘Sir, I was hoping Leon could have a look at it.'

‘No,' said Agent Big Boss.

‘But –'

‘No, Rock Star. You've got more than enough to worry about. Please give it to me.'

Zac dropped the holo-projector into Agent Big Boss's outstretched hand.

‘But someone's going to look at it, right?' Zac said.

Agent Big Boss held up a hand to silence Zac. ‘Agent Rock Star,' he said very slowly, ‘I am ordering you to forget that you ever saw this holo-projector. As far as you are concerned, it never existed. Is that clear?'

‘Sir!' Zac said, a little too loudly. ‘You can't – '

‘I am the head of this spy agency, Rock Star!' Agent Big Boss boomed. ‘Do not tell me what I can't do! One more outburst like that and I'll pull you off this mission altogether! Is that what you want?'

Zac glared up at Agent Big Boss. ‘No, sir.'

‘Good,' said Big Boss. ‘Now, go home and get some rest. I'll see you back here this afternoon. I hope by then you will have remembered how to behave like a GIB agent.'

CHAPTER
THREE

Zac Power stormed up the path to his house.
How dare Agent Big Boss treat me like
that? I'm his best agent!

Leon flung open the door.‘The computer chip!' he shouted at Zac. ‘I know what it's for! Quick, where's the holo-projector?'

‘Big Boss took it,' said Zac bitterly.

‘Well, let's get it back!' said Leon.

‘We can't.'

Zac walked inside and slammed the door behind him. He stomped into the lounge room and threw himself down onto the couch. He was furious.

‘But Zac,' said Leon, ‘the chip you gave me unlocks that holo-projector!'

‘Great,' said Zac sarcastically. ‘Too bad that Big Boss told me to forget about it.'

Leon stared at him. ‘Why?'

‘He wouldn't say,' Zac grumbled. ‘And he got really angry when I started asking questions.'

Leon gaped. ‘But Grandpa was GIB's best agent! Surely Big Boss wants to find him almost as much as we do.' Then his eyes went wide. ‘Unless…no, that's impossible. There's no way…' ‘Leon!' Zac said, annoyed.

Leon took a deep breath. ‘Unless the reason GIB aren't investigating the holo-projector is because they already
know
where Grandpa is.'

‘But Grandpa's been missing for years!' Zac protested.

‘What if he
hasn't
been missing?' said Leon. ‘What if GIB knew where Grandpa was all along, but they just didn't want
us
to know?'

‘That's crazy,' said Zac, shaking his head.

‘Why else wouldn't Big Boss want you to have the holo-projector?' Leon argued.

Zac fell silent. Leon had a point.

Then suddenly, Zac had a brainwave. ‘The agent who was kidnapped from the Black Jungle!' he shouted, jumping up from the couch.

‘Huh?' said Leon.

‘I didn't rescue all the GIB agents from the jungle,' Zac explained. ‘One of them was kidnapped. I told Agent Big Boss, but he didn't seem to care.'

‘You think that agent was
Grandpa
?' said Leon, raising an eyebrow.‘Now who's crazy?'

‘Think about it,' said Zac. ‘Maybe that's why Big Boss was nervous about sending me to the jungle – because he was afraid I'd run into Grandpa and blow his cover.'

‘Well,' said Leon slowly, ‘if the BIG agent
was
there to kidnap Grandpa, I guess that would explain why he had the holo-projector in his jet in the first place.'

‘But if Grandpa's been in the jungle all this time,' said Zac, ‘why hasn't he ever got in touch with us?'

Leon thought for a moment. ‘What if he couldn't?' he said. ‘What if the Black Jungle project was so top-secret that Grandpa had to fake his own disappearance or something?'

Zac's brain was about to explode. ‘We need to get that holo-projector back,' he said. ‘It's the only way to find out what's really going on here.'

‘But you said Big Boss wouldn't give it to you,' said Leon. ‘Plus you've got your mission to deal with. You need to keep that other Zac from setting off the Tech Blaster.'

‘This is
his
holo-projector!' said Zac. ‘Whatever he's planning, I bet Grandpa has something to do with it. And we need to find out what.'

‘What are you saying?' Leon asked. ‘That we should break into HQ and steal the holo-projector back from GIB?'

‘Yes,' Zac said firmly. ‘That's exactly what I'm saying.'

‘This is nuts,' said Leon for about the hundredth time. ‘You do know that, right?'

It was two hours later and Leon was pacing up and down his lab, looking very nervous.

‘If we get caught and they find out what we're doing…'

‘Don't think about that now,' said Zac. ‘Just tell me the plan.'

‘OK,' Leon sighed. ‘According to GIB's security logs, the holo-projector is currently being held in the TSZ.'

‘The
what
?'

‘The Top-Secret Zone,' Leon explained. ‘That's the floor at HQ where all of GIB's most important work takes place. Only agents with special TSZ passes are allowed inside.'

‘But you can get me in, right?'

‘I think so,' said Leon. ‘Our best chance is during your meeting with Big Boss this afternoon. You'll show up there as planned, but you'll be wearing this over your nose.'

Leon held up what looked like an ordinary band-aid.

‘What's that?' Zac asked.

‘Your excuse to slip out of the meeting,' said Leon. ‘Once they get started, just give the side of your nose a little tap with your finger and be ready to run.'

‘Why? What's going to happen?'

'BLEED-AID' False Minor Injury Device

‘Just a minor injury,' Leon answered. ‘Fake, of course. It'll get you out of the meeting room. Once you're outside, take the lift to Level 53. Head for the bathroom.'

‘Do I really have time on this mission for a toilet stop?' Zac asked.

Leon rolled his eyes. ‘Head into the third toilet along,' he continued. ‘You'll find a disguise and some ID tags in there. You'll be disguised as Agent Checkmate.'

‘Checkmate?' said Zac. ‘I thought he was a field agent.'

‘He got transferred to the TSZ a few weeks ago,' Leon explained. ‘Right now he's on holiday, so he's the perfect disguise. Use his ID to get inside the TSZ and find the holo-projector.'

‘Right,' said Zac. ‘Then what?'

‘There are garbage chutes on every level of the TSZ,' said Leon. ‘They lead down to the bin in the basement. When you find the holo-projector, buzz me on my SpyPad. Then wait exactly two minutes and drop the holo-projector down a chute.'

‘Why two minutes?'

‘Because that's when I'll be casually walking past, ready to grab it on the way down and sneak it out of HQ.'

‘Excellent,' said Zac.

‘Meanwhile,' Leon went on, ‘you'll take your disguise off and go back to Big Boss. You say sorry for running out of the meeting, and then you pick up your next mission disk like nothing ever happened.'

Leon stopped pacing around and looked at Zac. ‘What do you think?'

Zac grinned. ‘I think that's just crazy enough to work.'

CHAPTER
FOUR

It was 3:30pm and Zac was outside Agent Big Boss's office.

He was just about to knock on the door when he saw Big Boss approaching from the opposite direction.

‘Good afternoon, sir,' said Zac brightly. Leon had warned Zac to be on his best behaviour in the meeting.

‘Hello, Agent Rock Star,' said Agent Big Boss as he reached the door. ‘Ready to behave yourself?'

‘Yes, sir!' said Zac.
Just as soon as I get that
holo-projector back,
he thought to himself.

Agent Big Boss glanced down at the band-aid on Zac's nose. ‘Get into a fight on the way here?' he asked.

‘No sir,' said Zac. ‘I, uh, got hit by a football.'

Agent Big Boss raised an eyebrow. Then he pulled a pen from his pocket and handed it to Zac.

Zac stared at the pen. It had a little ring that attached to his GIB clip.

‘What does it do?' Zac asked, expecting some kind of hidden gadget function.

Big Boss gave him a strange look. ‘It
writes
, Rock Star. It's a pen.'

‘Oh,' said Zac, putting the pen on his clip. ‘Right.'

Agent Big Boss shook his head. He opened the office door and the two of them walked inside.

There were some GIB agents already waiting in the office, but Zac didn't recognise any of them. He sat down in an empty chair.

‘All right,' said Agent Big Boss. ‘Here's what we know so far: we've got a powerful BIG agent on the loose. He appears to be an exact double of Agent Rock Star here.'

Everyone looked at Zac. He avoided making eye contact with any of them. Instead, he unclipped his new pen and pretended to take notes.

‘Our info from BIG's Central Command is limited,' Agent Big Boss went on. ‘However, we do know that the new BIG agent plans to set off a weapon inside GIB HQ this Sunday at midnight.'

Old news,
thought Zac, glancing down at his watch.