The Amazon Experiment (13 page)

His voice strained and cracked.

Irene's eyes filled with tears. ‘You're one special munchkin, aren't you?' She pulled Linden into her full arms and colourful layers for a hug.

After a few moments, she wiped her eyes. ‘Now, off you all go. I've got plenty of recovering agents to feed thanks to you lot.'

Max and Linden stood up from their canteen chairs.

‘Thanks, Irene. For everything,' Max said before they both threw themselves into Irene for a final hug.

‘Oh, now that's got the old waterworks going.'

Max and Linden moved away smiling as Irene wiped her handkerchief across her eyes. ‘I'll have something even more special when I see you next time.' Tears welled up again, blurring everything around her. ‘Now go on, you've got a home to go to, haven't you?'

They gave her one more smile before turning to leave.

But there was one last person Max needed to say goodbye to.

‘Bye, Dretch. It's nice to know such a good agent.'

Dretch grumbled and Max took it as a thankyou before they ran from the canteen.

Dretch stared at his plate as Irene turned back to the kitchen, a small, almost imperceptible smile hanging on his lips.

‘Yeah. Thanks, kid.'

 

Linden followed Max and Steinberger as they walked down the long metal walkway of the VART. As they entered the giant vehicle hangar, they saw a figure slumped in a chair sitting before an empty space.

‘Sleek?' Steinberger asked softly.

There was no answer. The Invisible Jet had been very badly damaged and Sleek, who had left the infirmary against Finch's advice, was simply staring at her. Sleek's skills with people ranged from awkward to cold, but his affection for the vehicles in the VART was like the closest of friendships.

‘Will she be okay?' Max asked.

Sleek slowly lifted his hands, pointed randomly then lowered them again, lost for where to begin.

Linden walked over to him and offered his hand. ‘Thanks, Sleek. For everything.'

Sleek looked up, coughed and awkwardly held out his hand.

‘It was a pleasure working with you,' Linden said.

Sleek looked like he wanted to say something, but instead turned and kept staring at his broken jet.

Max, Linden and Steinberger walked to the centre of the VART.

‘He'll have it back to full operation in no time,' Steinberger assured them. ‘He's repaired vehicles that have been returned in more pieces than went into building them.'

‘Max. Linden.'

It was Suave. Not the confident Mr Do-No-Wrong of before, but a more subdued version.

‘I wanted to see you before you left, to thank you for all you did on the mission. It was a real privilege working with you.' He looked at Steinberger. ‘Even though I may not have seemed to have appreciated all your skills.'

‘You make a brilliant agent, Suave,' Steinberger assured him.

Suave looked awkward. ‘Except for an obvious fear of …' He couldn't bring himself to say it. ‘I'm sorry I let you all down.' He paused. ‘Can I talk to you, Max? In private?'

Steinberger and Linden moved away. ‘We'll be over here.'

Max was silent. Sure, Suave was a little out of action when the worms appeared, but other than that he was perfect. ‘Suave, Harrison told us you've resigned.' The agent nodded sadly. Max frowned. ‘But you can't. You're a great agent. You landed us in the Amazon when Sleek passed out, were able to drive every vehicle we came across and got us back to Spyforce. That's not what I call letting us down.'

Even though Max had thought Suave had been a major pain, she was surprised to realise she actually meant what she'd just said.

‘Thanks.' Suave looked like there was something else he needed to say. ‘You were right to be suspicious when we first met in the VART. I
was
staring at you, but it was because I'd heard so much about you. About how young you are, how you always solve all your missions, and how you have this wild and unique way of doing it.'

Max suddenly felt very self-conscious.

‘I guess I just envied you,' Suave continued.

‘Me?' Max looked around to see if he was talking to someone else.

‘And there's something else.' Suave took a deep breath. ‘I knew Sleek had eaten the muffin.'

Max's eyes opened wider.

‘When Steinberger and I found Sleek passed out in the jet, I saw the half-eaten muffin on the floor. I quickly picked it up and put it in my bag before Steinberger could see.'

‘But why —'

‘Because it was my first mission and I wanted to do everything perfectly. And because I wanted you to think I was a good agent.'

Max couldn't believe what she was hearing. Suave was a brilliant agent and here he was thinking he wasn't good enough!

‘You messed up once. We all do that. In fact
now that we've been on a mission together you'll know with me it's a few more times than once.'

Suave made a weak attempt to smile.

‘I can't wait until the next time we work together,' she said.

‘You mean it?'

‘Sure.' Max smiled. ‘Only maybe next time, somewhere with a few less plane crashes and worms.'

Suave shivered. ‘Definitely.'

Max looked up into his eyes. ‘Please don't resign.'

Suave looked towards the exit, then back at Max. ‘You mean that?'

‘I have this terrible habit of meaning what I say.'

Suave smiled. ‘I'll think about it.'

‘Good.'

Steinberger walked over and was pleased to see the two agents smiling. ‘Max, you and Linden had better go. I've spoken to Ben and Eleanor and they are very keen to have you back.'

Max stared at the Steinberger who had been transformed from talkative Administration Manager to a self-assured man of action. She'd never felt it before, but this time it was hard to say goodbye.

‘Max? Is something wrong?' Steinberger worried she may be getting sick.

Max knew if she answered she'd probably turn into a blubbering cry-baby. She threw her arms around his waist and hoped that would say it all.

When she let go, Steinberger's eyes were rimmed with tears. ‘Thank you, Max.'

Linden entered the details of their destination into the Time and Space Machine. Address: Mindawarra, Australia. He patted his full stomach. ‘Hope the machine is going to handle the extra weight.'

Then Linden thought. ‘Wonder if Ben's saved me some of that lasagne?' Max laughed.

‘What?' Linden feigned shock. ‘Bye, Steinberger. See you on the next mission, eh?'

‘I think that was enough on-field experience for one lifetime.' Steinberger had never pictured himself as an on-field agent, but now he'd done it, he felt quietly pleased.

Max and Linden watched as Steinberger and Suave moved away, noticing a spring-filled step and an overall togetherness in Steinberger that they'd never seen in him before.

‘He'll go on another mission,' Linden predicted. ‘I guarantee it!'

‘Yeah, but do you think he'll tell Frond he likes her?' Max asked.

‘Leading dangerous Spyforce missions is one thing,' Linden smirked. ‘Telling Frond he likes her might need a few more years to work up to.' He frowned. ‘Speaking of telling … what were you going to tell me at the waterfall?'

‘Sorry?' Max did a terrible job of trying to look confused.

‘You wanted to say something as we headed for the waterfall.'

Max tried to think of something to get her out of this. At the waterfall she had thought they were going to die. It had seemed like a good idea to tell Linden how she felt about him, but now that they were safe, it seemed like the worst idea she'd ever had.

‘We should go.' And before Linden could object, Max said ‘transport' and they were flung through space away from Spyforce towards a small farm in Mindawarra, Australia.

 

A cold night one month later …

The sound of metal clanging against metal tore into his head like a migraine. His hands flew to cover his ears as he delved down deeper into the prickly prison issue blanket. Grey filtered light seeped into his cell like a cold drizzling chill.
Outside, freedom sat like a piece of rich chocolate cake. Tantalising and out of reach.

Blue looked at the blackened, moon-smudged sky through his cell bars and groaned.

He pulled his knees closer to his chest for warmth, the thin prison-issue uniform doing nothing to drive away the cold.

His fury and discomfort would make it hours before he'd be able to sleep, and until then, he only muttered one thing.

‘Next time.'

Photograph by Todd Decker