The Amazon Experiment (10 page)

Blue selected a chocolate from the bowl beside him and took his time with every savoured chew. ‘They taste so much better when they are made from fresh cocoa beans.'

Suave was losing patience with Blue's speech. ‘What does any of this have to do with us?'

Blue licked his lips. ‘You're just about to find out. You see, I also know that Harrison's father had an assistant in his experiment.'

Blue pressed a button on his armchair and the curtain slid aside. Below them a vast laboratory was operating behind the thick shield of glass. Steinberger, Max, Linden and Suave stood up to get a better look. There were lab-coated technicians moving amongst boiling glass cylinders, inspecting rows of test tubes filled with multicoloured substances and stirring giant vats and barrels bubbling with steaming concoctions.

‘This is my distillery. You see, the people of the Amazon have been creating natural cures for their ills for hundreds of years and we plan to take that knowledge to the world. Essentially we take plant
and animal matter from the jungle and extract powerful cures and potions. From plants, bark, fish eggs … even bugs.'

Max and Linden gave each other a quick look.

‘And you thought you'd just waltz in and take the knowledge of centuries for yourself.' Max was indignant. It was obvious Blue's tour was to prove to them that he was the one who had placed the sleeping sickness in Spyforce.

‘Maxine,' Blue smiled sweetly as he moved beside them. ‘I'm not going to rise to your chiding. I've been on quite a successful anger management course and even you will not be able to rile me. And I must admit that being among the simple purity and serenity of nature has made me a different man. More harmonious, more in tune with life, more …'

‘Full of it?' Max scoffed.

Linden smirked but immediately remembered where they were. He wasn't sure he wanted to test the limits of Blue's newfound serenity.

‘Ah, there she is. The most important item I wanted to show you.'

The agents looked down into the lab. Kronch and his bulbous partner giggled at the alarm pasted to their faces.

It was Frond.

Dressed in her bright red coat, with her distinctive beehive hairdo.

‘Frond!' But it was no good. Max couldn't be heard behind the thick glass. Frond busily moved about Blue's lab as easily as if she was at home in her Plantorium.

Steinberger pressed his hand onto the glass and stared down at the Spyforce agent seemingly working for the enemy.

‘With her knowledge of plants, she is my perfect companion in the Amazon. So many rare and as yet unknown species to work with. It's been said that the people of the forest know cures for diseases we never thought possible. I knew with such a vast and unlimited array of plants to work with, Frond would only be too happy to come and work with me.' At this he stood directly beside Steinberger. ‘And we did get along famously when I was at Spyforce.'

Max saw Steinberger's cheeks tense as he clenched his teeth.

‘She's a loyal little thing …' Blue paused for effect. ‘When it comes to her work.' He threw it out as a challenge, daring Steinberger to contradict him.

‘Frond would never agree to work with you!' Max shouted.

Blue eyed her with pure enjoyment. ‘Thing is, Maxine, she already has.'

Something about this last sentence sent tremors through all four agents. Max knew what she was seeing, but she also knew Frond would never choose to work with Blue.

‘Can you see anything else of interest?' Blue said casually.

The agents scanned the area, until Linden saw something that made his heart jolt.

‘The Spyforce manual,' he breathed. Frond was carefully turning its well-thumbed pages under a small lamp with a pink light bulb — the device needed for reading its secret experiments written in invisible ink.

‘Yes!' Blue pronounced excitedly.

‘But how …' Linden stared at the book that was the key to Spyforce.

Steinberger's fingers slowly flexed before curling into two rigid fists.

Max knew Blue was toying with them like a bully about to pull the wings off a fly.

‘Oh, that part is such fun — and it was only possible with the help of a few of the
wonderful agents of Spyforce itself.'

Max shot Suave a hard look. Maybe it was now that she would discover he was the crooked agent.

‘You see, many years ago I accidentally walked in on Frond, Harrison and his father recording something in the back of the Spyforce manual, and I knew by the way they guarded it so secretively that it was something very important and that, therefore, I had to have it. But before I could investigate further, I was rudely expelled from the Force.' He turned to Steinberger. ‘I won't go into those details now, as Steinberger knows that story only too well, seeing as he was a central part of the whole dirty business.'

Steinberger eyed Blue carefully. He wasn't going to bite at his flawed retelling of history.

‘For years I've been trying to infiltrate Spyforce, but with CRISP doing such a fine job keeping it impenetrable, I thought if I can't get in, I'll get someone inside to do my work for me.'

‘So the stolen manual was an inside job, just like Dretch said,' Linden deduced.

‘Ah, Dretch,' Blue smiled. ‘He was simply excellent. He slipped in that poisoned food sample and didn't flinch once when he retrieved the manual. He really is one top notch but neglected agent.'

‘Dretch is one of Spyforce's most loyal agents and would never do what you're suggesting.' Steinberger was standing firm.

‘Loyalty is no match when it comes to my new invention.' Blue sniggered quietly.

Max and Linden shifted nervously.

‘My Mind Control Frequency Satellite.'

The declaration hung in the air like just delivered bad news.

‘And Frond is …' Steinberger looked forlornly at his beloved Frond, a stab of jealousy eating into him, as he now realised she too was under Blue's control.

‘Yes.' Blue's eyes flared. ‘Her too.'

‘How is it possible?' Suave asked, not sure what to believe.

‘It emits a high frequency signal that invades a person's thinking and alters it to do exactly as I dictate and all I needed to achieve this brain breakin was a DNA sample from my lucky chosen few. With Dretch, I still had a postcard he'd sent me from a holiday he once took in Sweden. His DNA was perfectly preserved on the stamp.'

‘And Frond?' Linden asked warily.

‘Well, you see, I had a very special fondness for Frond when I was at the Force, even though the feeling never seemed to have been reciprocated.'

‘It's because she has something called taste,' Max spelt out.

Blue ignored Max's comments and went on. ‘One day I came across her handbag and inside was a comb with one of her beautiful strands of hair. I took the hair and have kept it in my wallet ever since. Clever, if you really think about it.'

‘Creepy is what I'd call it.' Max shivered at the new level of weird Blue had just reached.

‘So I had Dretch steal the manual and leave it in the Plantorium. Once I'd begun the mind control on Frond, she took the precious book, wrote her farewell note and brought it directly to me. No fuss, no bother and no messy kidnap scenes. They can be such a bore. And now I really have been talking too long. I must get back to my new recruit and see how her work is coming along.'

Blue could hardly contain his joy at having Spyforce's Administration Manager in his hands. If this was his way of getting revenge, by the hurt look on Steinberger's face, it seemed he'd succeeded.

‘Take them away.'

Blue's two thugs latched themselves onto the agents, like guard dogs waiting for the command from their master.

‘And relieve them of their packs. They won't be needing those where they're going.'

‘Whatever you have in mind, Blue, nothing will stand in the way of us accomplishing our mission.' Suave struggled in the thick arms of his captor.

‘Go get 'em, cowboy,' Max mumbled to herself, but it was exactly what she'd wanted to say as they were pinioned by the goons and led away from Frond and into the clutches of Blue's latest loathsome plan.

‘You know you'll never beat us,' Suave declared as they were led away from Blue. ‘We're Spyforce agents and we always complete our mission.'

‘Now he's sounding like a Canadian mountie,' Max sighed.

The four agents were led down a series of hidden passageways, through dusty and forgotten rooms and moist and clammy cellars. Max flung herself about wildly to be as annoying as she could but, catching Linden's eye, was reminded to keep her temper and not make the goons upset.

Kronch had removed their packs and thrown them into a garbage compactor just outside the kitchen. He then stayed at the rear, his stun blaster jamming into Steinberger's back every chance he got.

The other thug remained at the front. His hulking body swayed from side to side as he thumped his way through the passages to a set of muddy steps. He stopped before a splintered and roughly hewn door and, placing a large key into a rusting iron lock, led the agents to their final destination.

‘Don't worry, agents, I have a plan,' Suave announced confidently.

The room was dark and moist. The ground was
spongy and slippery and smelt of damp earth and mouldy food.

‘One of your best guest rooms, is it?' Max couldn't help it. She knew it was better to stay quiet but she couldn't let these goons get away without any attitude. Kronch and his partner didn't answer as they tied the agents to a wooden pole in the centre of the room.

‘Are you going to leave us here until we sprout mushrooms?'

Kronch let loose a snort-ridden laugh.

Max was confused. Until she looked up.

Above them was a giant metal chute with a transparent cover, behind which were imprisoned thousands of heaving worms.

‘Worms?' Max thought Blue could do better than that.

‘Did someone say worms?' Suave didn't look up.

‘Thousands of them,' Linden sighed as he too saw the mass of slippery creatures wriggle and slime above them. ‘I never thought I'd end my life as compost.'

‘Worms? Thousands of them? What are they doing here? And what do we have to do with them?' Suave was sounding increasingly agitated. His voice lost its controlled edge and his pitch got higher and higher.

Max ignored him. ‘Compost. That's it, Linden. We're about to become part of the world's biggest worm farm,' she deduced.

‘Small … slimy … thousands.' Suave was really starting to lose it.

Kronch and his friend left the room and closed the door with a hammering thud. They took turns to keep watch through a small observation window.

‘Why worms?' It was Suave again. ‘Do you really think they'll release them?'

‘Yep. Things tend to get like this when I'm on a mission.' Max squelched in the spongy ground.

‘We don't have much time,' Steinberger announced. ‘We must work out —'

But Steinberger was interrupted by something strange.

‘We've got to get out of here!' Suave yelled. He thrashed about in his roped position, trying to break free. ‘We'll die! Smothered by thousands of moist, slimy, miniature feeders of death. Crawling over the dead and rotting, eating their way through the earth, ruling the very soil we walk on, making our last moments on earth a simple food fest!' He thrashed about some more, and finally, after all they'd been through, his hair became ruffled from its perfect, sculptured coiffure.

Max stared, sure she couldn't really be seeing what she was seeing.

‘I don't want to die! I don't want to become worm food. Please … I don't want to die! Mummy! Mummy!'

And with that, Suave fainted.

‘Suave?' Steinberger nudged the limp body of Suave next to him.

‘At least that'll keep him quiet for a while,' Max murmured.

Just then the transparent cover of the worm chute started to slide open.

‘This is going to be really messy.' Linden braced himself as the first worms fell on his head and quickly disappeared into his propeller-shaped hair. ‘Uh-oh. They could be in there for days.'

‘Oh dear,' Steinberger's fear of bugs found new life. ‘Do you think any of our bug repellent survived the waterfall?'

‘Doubt it.' Max blinked as a worm fell on her face and quickly slid off. When she opened her eyes she saw Steinberger once again trying to be brave. ‘Are you going to be okay with them?'

‘Yes,' Steinberger shuddered. ‘Quite.'

‘You know, Steinberger,' Max smiled. ‘I think you've been great on this mission.'

A few worms slimed down Steinberger's blushing face. ‘I guess you don't know what you can do until something you love is taken from you.'

‘Something you love?' Linden spat a worm from his lips.

‘Yep, you don't easily forget someone who has given your life meaning, who has lifted you from what you are to what you could become and shown you how wonderful the world really can be.'

Linden gave Max a wink. He was finally going to do it. After years of not admitting it to anybody, Steinberger was finally going to admit his feelings for Frond. ‘That must feel pretty amazing.'

‘Yes, well,' Steinberger blushed. ‘Spyforce is an amazing place.'

‘Spyforce?' Linden and Max spluttered.

‘Spyforce is the only family I have. I was six, and an only child, when my parents and I were driving up a beautiful mountain path in New Zealand. About halfway up, a huge storm hit and swept the car off the road and into a ravine. I can still remember the green and white snow-covered trees flashing past as our car bumped and turned to the bottom. Then it stopped. I called to my parents but they didn't answer. I was there for three days
before the storm passed and a driver found and rescued me.'

Max blew a worm from her nose and stretched a rope-bound finger towards Steinberger. ‘We'll save Spyforce, Steinberger. I know we will.' A bunch of worms slopped onto his shoulder.

As Suave continued to slump beside them, passed out in worm fear, Max desperately tried to work out what was going on. Again and again she saw the image of Frond working in Blue's lab like she belonged there. Like she was happy to be part of his team. It wasn't right.

‘I guess you can't always believe what you see.'

‘Yep.' Linden agreed as a swamp of sucking, writhing worms was starting to build around their feet. ‘Frond working for Blue, Dretch's fingerprints on the cabinet,' and here he looked at Max. ‘Suave being perfect.'

Max looked away. ‘I guess even perfect people have a weak spot.' She felt bad about suspecting Suave was bad and for being angry with him when all he was trying to be was a good agent.

‘What should we do now?' she asked, closing her lips just in time to avoid a mouthful of worms.

‘Find and destroy the mind control satellite,
rescue Frond and the manual and meet the Goliath to take us back to Spyforce.'

‘Great,' sighed Max. ‘Simple, but where would Blue keep the device?'

Steinberger's ponderous look brightened. ‘There's a cannon-like device on the roof of this mansion that is pointed directly into the sky. I didn't know what it was earlier, but after all we've learnt, I'd say it's feeding directly off a satellite and using the installed DNA samples to track down a person's location before invading their minds and controlling their thoughts.'

‘I think you might be onto something, Steinberger,' Linden said proudly as the pool of worms rose up his legs.

‘But if Frond is under Blue's control, how could she have sent us details of where she was?'

‘My guess is this.' Steinberger squinted, concentrating hard. ‘Blue used the device to make Frond take the book and leave Spyforce. She was brought here and then Blue turned off the machine hoping Frond would want to work for him, that she would finally fall for his charms. He would be vain enough to think she would. That's when she sent us the messages. When she wouldn't cooperate Blue knew he had no choice but to use the device again.'

‘But how did she get through the Spyforce lock-down?' Max shrugged a worm out of her ear.

‘Frond was in charge of the lock-down for the Plantorium. With the mind control, she would simply have walked through.'

‘How are we going to get out of here?' Some worms had crawled inside Linden's shirt and were starting to tickle.

‘Like this.' Steinberger wriggled his hand into his pocket and slowly took out his Hypnotron. ‘I'm not good with packs — I have a tendency to lose them. So I put a few of Quimby's smaller gadgets in my pockets.'

He programmed a time limit. ‘An hour should do it. It's time to complete Mission Triatoma.'

Kronch and the other goon had their backs to the observation window. ‘We need to get their attention.'

‘Max? I think this calls for your expertise,' Linden smiled mischievously. ‘Brace yourself, Steinberger.'

Max took a deep breath and let out a huge scream. One of those girly screams that should come with a health warning for your ears. She did her best act of flinging herself about and being
petrified of worms as the goons looked in and smiled, enjoying every minute.

‘You won't think this is so funny.' Steinberger pointed the Hypnotron at the goons and an intense golden beam was directed into their eyes. After thirty seconds it stopped. ‘That should do it. Come in,' he called.

The goons obediently opened the door and waded through the squelching waist-high worm goo towards them.

‘Cut the ropes.'

They both pulled out their knives and did as they were told.

‘Where is Blue?' Steinberger asked.

‘In the observation deck looking at the lab,' Kronch intoned.

‘And the FZ-511 chopper? Where'd you land that?'

‘On a helipad at the end of a small track behind the mansion,' the other goon answered.

‘Keys?'

Kronch handed them over.

‘Now.' Steinberger looked towards Suave. ‘We have to wake him up.'

‘I know how.' Max smiled broadly then looked at Kronch. ‘Take off your sock.'

Kronch bent into the wriggling worm bath and after a few seconds held up a worn and muddied sock.

‘That's a hard life for a sock,' Linden cringed.

‘Hold it here.' Max pointed beneath Suave's nose.

‘I know Suave has annoyed you,' Linden conceded, ‘but does he really deserve this?'

After a few seconds, the agent spluttered to life. ‘Wha … what is that … errr.'

‘Suave,' Steinberger said in his calmest voice, ‘we're in a room full of worms, but don't worry, we're about to escape and I need you to stay calm.'

Suave opened his eyes and had the same about-to-panic look as before. ‘Did someone say worms? What's been happening?'

‘We'll explain on the way.'

Max smirked. ‘But for now it's probably best if you don't look down.'

Steinberger looked at the goons. ‘Stay here,' he ordered, motioning to the others as he led the way out of the squirming bog.

Max was the last of the agents to squelch her way to worm freedom, but before she left she couldn't resist one last command. ‘Why don't you two give yourselves a good slap?'

The goons slapped themselves across their cheeks.

Max giggled. This was fun. ‘And … again?' They did as they were told.

‘And now …'

‘Max?' Linden's voice called.

‘Coming.' She left the thugs in their rising worm compost, where she thought they looked right at home.