Code Red (4 page)

Then he laid the glass down carefully on the floor, and climbed in through the hole.

There was a light switch at the door, but Zac didn't want to risk attracting attention by turning it on. He peered around in the darkness.

The room was full of computers and filing cabinets, with a big meeting desk in the middle.

One wall was covered almost entirely by a map of the Black Jungle.

On the opposite wall was another map. This one looked only half-finished, and was filled with big empty spaces. It was labelled ‘Lunar Command Station'.

A little box on the meeting desk caught Zac's eye. The box was sealed with tape and had a little note scrawled on it:

To be analysed
and filed today.

Zac tore open the box.
Yes!
The holo-projector was sitting inside. Zac grabbed it and stuffed it into his pocket.

Checking that the corridor was still empty, he clambered back through the hole in the window.

Now to find the garbage chute. Leon had said there was one on every floor of the TSZ.

Zac glanced up and down the hallway.
There
. At the very end of the narrow corridor was a little metal door.

Zac dashed across and heaved it open.

Buzz Leon, wait two minutes, then drop the
holo-projector,
he reminded himself.

He sent Leon an alert on his SpyPad, and then set his watch to count down two minutes.

02:00.00

Zac glanced back over his shoulder. The corridor was still empty.

01:30.00

Thirty seconds gone. A minute and a half to go. Leon's plan was going to work! They would finally find out what was going on with the holo-projector!

01:00.00

Halfway there.

For a second, Zac thought he heard a voice behind him. He spun around, but there was no-one there.

00:30.00

Zac held the holo-projector out over the garbage chute, ready to drop it in. Ten seconds to go. Five seconds.

00:00.00

Zac let go of the holo-projector. It clattered down the metal garbage chute. He had done it.

Just then Zac felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the brown-haired woman from before, and she had two GIB security agents by her side.

The woman gave him a cold smile. ‘What are you doing here, Checkmate?'

CHAPTER
SEVEN

‘Right this way, Agent Checkmate.'

The GIB security agents had escorted Zac down to Level 52. They had led him into a tiny waiting room with an even tinier bench in the corner.

‘Have a seat,' said the brown-haired woman from the TSZ.

Zac sat down. How in the world was he going to get out of this one?

‘You'd better have a very good explanation for all of this,' said the woman.

‘I do!' said Zac, trying quickly to come up with something.

But at that moment Agent Big Boss burst into the room.

‘Sir,' the woman beamed. ‘We found Agent Checkmate sneaking around inside the Invisibles Department!'

‘That's not Agent Checkmate,' said Big Boss. He marched up to Zac and ripped off his mask.

‘Agent Rock Star?' the woman gaped.

‘How did you…?' Zac began.

‘We found
these
in the bathroom on Level 53,' said Big Boss.

He held up the clothes that Zac had changed out of earlier that day. They were still covered in fake blood.

Zac could have kicked himself. He'd been so distracted by the agent outside the bathroom door that he'd forgotten to hide his old clothes after he got changed!

‘You need to learn to cover your tracks, Rock Star,' Agent Big Boss said. ‘Now then, where is it?'

‘Where is what?' replied Zac, playing dumb.

‘Don't give me that!' said Agent Big Boss angrily. ‘I know you've taken the holo-projector! Now where is it?'

Zac stared down at his feet. This was like being hauled into the principal's office, only a hundred times worse.

‘Sir,' said the woman, ‘I caught him standing with his hand in the garbage chute!'

Agent Big Boss turned to one of the security agents. ‘I want a complete search of the garbage disposal system,' he ordered. ‘Find me that holo-projector!'

The security agent nodded and left the room.

Agent Big Boss turned to Zac. ‘Never in a million years,' he said furiously, ‘would I have imagined that our finest spy would turn against his own agency.'

‘What? No!' Zac protested, looking up at Big Boss. ‘I wasn't –'

‘You have disobeyed a direct order from GIB,' said Agent Big Boss angrily, ‘sneaked into the Top-Secret Zone, stolen GIB property…'

‘Sir, please!' said Zac desperately. ‘If you just let me explain –'

But Agent Big Boss didn't want to hear it. ‘Your parents have been informed of the situation,' he went on, ignoring Zac. ‘Wait here until we decide what to do with you.'

He walked to the door, getting ready to leave. ‘And Rock Star,' he added, ‘you could be suspended from spying for this. Don't try anything foolish.'

An hour later, Zac was still sitting alone in the little room, waiting for GIB to decide his fate. He glanced at his watch.

In just over three days, the BIG agent – the
other
Zac Power – was going to set off that Tech Blaster and destroy all of GIB's work.

And here was the
real
Zac stuck inside GIB Headquarters, with everyone acting like he was the bad guy.

His SpyPad buzzed. Zac hit the answer button.

‘Zac!' said Leon. ‘What happened?'

‘Leon, I am so busted!' said Zac. ‘I got caught in the TSZ. They're talking about suspending me from spy work!'

‘No way,' said Leon, sounding shocked. ‘They wouldn't!'

‘You didn't see the look on Agent Big Boss's face,' said Zac.

‘Well, we can worry about that later,' said Leon. ‘Right now, we need to get you out of there. I'll meet you at the vehicle hangar on Level 56.'

‘But Agent Big Boss said to stay –' ‘Zac, we've come this far,' Leon interrupted. ‘We can explain everything to GIB later. Besides, you're the one who said the holo-projector had something to do with whatever BIG is planning. Don't you want to find out what it says?'

Zac couldn't believe it. For once it was Leon making
him
do the dangerous thing.

‘OK,' Zac said. ‘Let's do it.'

‘I'm shutting down the power on your floor,' said Leon. ‘Get ready to run.'

CHAPTER
EIGHT

Zac jumped to his feet.

Seconds later, he heard the sound of a generator powering down. Everything went dark.

Zac switched his SpyPad's torch back on and moved across to the doorway.

Grabbing hold of the sliding door with both hands, he heaved it open and squeezed outside.

Zac could hear confused voices coming from along the corridor.Torch lights shone around in the darkness.

He walked quickly towards the lift, dodging the other agents and trying to keep away from the beams of their torches.

Zac rounded a corner and ran straight into an agent.

‘Hey, watch where you're going!' he said crankily. Then he pushed past Zac and kept walking.

Why hadn't he called out to security?
Of course,
thought Zac.
Most of them still
don't know I'm in trouble.

Zac reached the lift and hit the button. Nothing happened.

It took him a second to realise the problem.
No electricity,
he reminded him-self
.
It really had been a long day.

He darted down another corridor and raced down the stairwell to Level 56.

As he ran out into the enormous vehicle and aircraft hangar, Zac looked around for Leon.

‘There's Agent Rock Star!' said a gruff voice.

Zac's eyes flashed to the other side of the hangar. There were three GIB agents heading towards him, their feet clattering on the metal floor.

Zac bolted. He weaved in and out of a row of parked cars, trying to shake the agents off, but they kept on chasing.

Zac took a hard right, diving between the wheels of a jet's landing gear. He rolled to his feet and looked over his shoulder. They were still right behind him!

Zac vaulted over a motorbike and kept on running, down a long aisle between two rows of cars.

VROOOM!

Suddenly, an engine roared to life behind Zac. One of the cars began to move. The car drove up alongside Zac as he ran. The passenger door opened by rising up into the air.

Zac looked inside.

‘Leon!' he puffed.

‘Quick, hop in!'

Zac leapt into the moving car and pulled the door closed.

‘You'd better hold onto something,' Leon warned.

‘Why, what are you –'

VROOOOOOOOOM!

The car hurtled forward, impossibly fast, and Zac was slammed back into his seat.

The GIB security agents could only watch as Zac and Leon rocketed across the floor of the hangar and out through an exit tunnel.

Zac glanced across at Leon. He realised with a shock that their car didn't have a steering wheel.

‘Don't worry,' said Leon. ‘The Cheetah runs completely on autopilot. It's the only way we can travel safely at top speed.'

‘Right,' said Zac. But it didn't
feel
safe.

‘This vehicle is a prototype for AutoNav,' said Leon, launching into full geek mode. ‘It's our most advanced autopilot ever. Just type in your destination and the Cheetah does the rest. Top speed is 400 kilometres.'

400 kilometres and no steering wheel,
thought Zac with a sly grin.
What could
possibly go wrong?

He had to admit, it made a pretty good getaway car.

The Cheetah zoomed out of the hidden tunnel and onto the road. It was pouring with rain outside.

‘Where's the holo-projector?' Zac asked as they tore along the highway.

‘In the glove box,' said Leon. ‘Do you want to do the honours?'

Zac opened the glove box and picked up the holo-projector and the computer chip.

‘It slots into the base there, see?' Leon instructed.

‘Right,' said Zac.

‘Hey, did you see something?' Leon said suddenly, looking back over his shoulder. ‘I think someone might be following us.'

‘Leon,' said Zac, raising an eyebrow. ‘You just told me we're travelling at 400 kilometres! Who could possibly be following –'

BOOM!

Something huge and heavy crashed down on top of the Cheetah, making it jolt horribly.

A furious face stared down through the windscreen at Zac and Leon.

The other Zac Power had just dropped onto the hood of their speeding car.

CHAPTER
NINE

SMASH!

The BIG agent slammed a fist straight through the Cheetah's windscreen, shattering the glass.