The Amazon Experiment (8 page)

‘Let's go,' said Steinberger, once again in charge of his feelings. ‘We must find Frond and gather the triatoma bug fast. Agents' lives depend on us getting back to Spyforce as soon as we can.'

They prepared to leave, but as Suave swung his pack onto his shoulders, a half-eaten muffin flew into the air and fell with a clump on the ground nearby.

Steinberger, Max and Linden stared. First at the muffin, then at Suave.

‘That's one of Irene's. I'd know it anywhere.' Linden's mouth hung slightly open at the sight of the golden and fluffy mango treat. Even though he knew it was dangerous to eat, possibly even fatal, it took all his self-control not to reach out and devour it in one large, delicious gulp.

Max was immediately suspicious. ‘How did this get into your bag?'

‘I … I …' Suave tugged at the collar on his shirt. The humidity was sticking to his skin like a sheet of cling film.

‘Well, Suave?' Steinberger asked.

‘During my final tour of Spyforce, I was shown Irene's kitchen and offered one of these muffins. Normally I don't touch sweet things, but when I was told how delicious they were I took one for later.' He looked guiltily at the muffin as it lay at his feet.

‘Have you eaten some of this?' Steinberger knew they couldn't afford any of them becoming sick.

‘No! No. I haven't,' he answered all too quickly.

The story fell into place for Max. ‘But Sleek has. That's why he passed out.'

Suave just stared at them.

Max was about to let him have it, when Steinberger interrupted her. ‘Let's keep moving.'

‘But Steinberger …'

‘Max. It's time to move on,' he said decisively.

‘Max is right to be suspicious, Steinberger,' admitted Suave. ‘That's how it looks.'

He was playing innocent and Max could see right through it.

‘Everyone here is well and we have a mission to complete,' Steinberger said. ‘And there's nothing more to be said.'

‘Yes, there is,' insisted Max. ‘At the start, I caught him staring at me like he was up to something. And he did arrive at Spyforce at exactly the same time as the sleeping powder. Now we have a half-eaten muffin and a pilot in a coma!'

Max eyed Suave, a small triumphant smile tickling the corner of her lips, but that was wiped away by what Steinberger said next.

‘Show her, Suave.'

Suave undid the buttons of his shirt to reveal a rectangular metallic device stuck to his chest. From this, three thin cords networked across his skin and ended in small white sticking plasters.

Max stared at the set-up. ‘What's that?'

‘It's a portable lie detector,' Steinberger explained. ‘The moment Suave even slightly deviates from the truth, it sets off a high-pitched whistle. It is now standard procedure that all agents wear them for a specified period after beginning work at the Force. Suave was told about this and instantly agreed. And now, I suggest we get back to the mission.'

He waited to see if Max had any other
objections before turning on his heel and walking into the jungle.

Max flicked away a fly and clenched her lips, desperately wanting to argue. It was obvious Suave was up to something, even if the lie detector hadn't squealed yet, and before the mission was over she was going to find out what.

They moved through the jungle, following Suave's directions to Frond's location. Because they'd left Spyforce in a hurry, there had been no time for Steinberger to find appropriate clothes, and his regular business shoes were having a hard time negotiating the ragged floor of the Amazon. The path they were on was knotted with thick twisting roots slithering from the base of trees that stretched high overhead into the thick jungle roof. Steinberger's suit was continuously tugged at by branches and palms and thorny bushes. Max watched as he wiped his brow again. She knew how he felt. The heat was flooding all around them as if they were walking through a heated pool. Steinberger tripped again and fell forward into a spiky bush, then untangled himself without complaint. Even though she disagreed with him about Suave, Max liked Steinberger more at that moment than she ever had.

‘Oh, dear.' Steinberger stepped onto a large mossy rock and slid down the other side, only staying upright with the help of a thick vine strung between two trees. Almost immediately, the screeching of monkeys filtered down from the overlapping layers of leaves. Rustling branches swayed above them, as if the treetops had come to life.

The ground beneath their feet was damp and cluttered with jungle debris: leaves, twigs, rotten logs and a damp mulching cover that let loose the smell of rich black earth at each step.

Holding up the rear in order to keep an eye on Suave, Max stared at each sodden step of her now jungle-stained shoes, not noticing the others duck beneath an enormous lattice-like spiderweb.

‘Max! Watch out!' Suave was too late. Max became tangled in the sticky trap which instantly filled with a swarm of scuttling spiders heading straight towards her.

‘Aaaah!'

She spun into an arm-waving frenzy, brushing the spiders off her and trying to get out of their silken lair.

Steinberger stared on helplessly, gripped by an ironbound arachnaphobia, as Linden and Suave leapt forward to help de-spider Max. They picked
off the creatures as they spread over Max like a hairy coat that had come to life, crawling inside her shirt, onto her neck and into her hair.

Finally, after more screaming and an accidental slap in the head to Suave by a panicked Max, Linden plucked the last of the spiders from Max.

‘I think that's the last,' he sighed in relief. ‘Now you're back to normal.'

Max's hair stuck out at all angles in a mangled crush. She was embarrassed that she'd lost it so badly, and as Suave opened his mouth to say something, she quickly interrupted.

‘Better keep moving.'

She'd spent enough time making a fool of herself in front of Suave, so she moved behind Steinberger as they made their way further into the jungle.

The agents pushed aside giant palm leaves, tree branches and fern fronds like multiple layers of curtains. After what felt like hours, they pushed through another tangle of foliage and stared silently at what stood before them.

‘Any suggestions?' Linden asked.

The dense and cluttered jungle had fallen away into a deep ravine, as if an ancient earthquake had ripped the Amazon in two. A thin layer of ghostly
cloud hovered just out of reach, buffeted by a strong wind. The two jagged cliff edges had been joined by a long woven rope bridge, with misshapen and gnarled planks sewn in at uneven intervals. The problem was, the bridge had collapsed and was now clattering sadly against the cliff below them like a torn sail on a boat.

‘Give us a hand, Linden.' Suave knelt at the cliff edge and grasped at the piece of rope.

‘I can help too,' Max said indignantly.

‘Of course.'

But as she knelt, she kicked a rock over the edge, and once again felt her mind go into rapid meltdown at how high they were. Max clutched at a sturdy tree root and concentrated on breathing as Suave and Linden pulled the rope bridge up and laid it on the ground before them. Suave looked closely at the frayed ends and frowned.

‘This rope has been cut in the last twenty-four hours.'

Max moved slowly away from the edge. ‘Yeah, right. And how can you tell that?'

Suave missed the cynicism and began to explain.

‘The broken threads of the rope have been cleanly separated. If they'd been worn away the
edges would be much more random and frayed. Also, there is a big difference between the newly severed threads and the rest of the rope that's been at the mercy of the elements. It's a guess, but I'd say twenty-four hours tops.'

Linden was impressed. ‘Very clever.'

‘Remarkable,' Steinberger added.

‘Just your basic spy training,' Suave said modestly.

Max was keen to leave the chasm that was threatening every second to pull her in. ‘Looks like we have to find somewhere else to cross.'

Suave put down his bag. ‘Actually, Max, there's no time. My guess is, this broken bridge means someone knows we're here and is trying to stop us completing our mission. It's time for the Abseiler.'

Suave began casually taking out his gear, as if he was getting ready for soccer training.

‘Right you are.' Steinberger followed suit with uneasy but determined moves.

‘Please tell me I heard that conversation incorrectly,' Max pleaded with Linden.

‘I'll help you with your Abseiler if you like,' was all he could offer.

‘Why can't we just use the Heliocraft?'

Suave looked into the ravine as a sudden burst
of wind soared upwards. ‘I can't guarantee that wind won't overbalance the craft. The Abseiler's super-grip fibres, on the other hand, could withstand a wind twice as strong.'

Max sighed, knowing she had no choice.

Linden watched as Steinberger prepared his Abseiler and knew Steinberger's enthusiasm was a flimsy cover for an otherwise terrified man.

‘I'll go first and make sure the other cliff edge is secure. When I give the all-clear, you each follow using my Abseiler rope.' Suave finished tightening his harness around his chest and, using Quimby's new and improved jet-propulsion function, sent the super-grip device hurtling towards the other cliff face.

Attaching the harness strap to the rope and wearing his super-grip gloves, Suave swung his way across the ravine like an action figure that had come to life.

Linden prepared for his turn and whispered to a pale Max, ‘You'll be fine. Pretend it's just the monkey bars at school … and don't look down.' He manoeuvred his way along the super-grip rope and effortlessly followed Suave's example.

Max felt the same shiver of fear that had cemented her to the ledge of the virtual cascades in
Spy Training Class with Alex, making her unable to move.
⁷
This time, however, the plunging chasm below her was real and promised a definite and painful death if she failed. She took a deep breath and smiled at an equally nervous Steinberger before doing exactly as Linden had told her.

‘Don't look down. Concentrate on each move.' Her harness firmly fixed to the rope, Max raised one hand and took a firm grip. ‘Concentrate, Max.' Both gloved hands now held onto the rope. ‘Don't look down. Remain calm,' she coached. ‘Concentrate on your first …'

‘Come on, Max. You can do it.'

Suave's call from the other cliff top made her look up.

Then down.

‘Aaaahh!'

She overreached and began her high-wire climb with her breath stuck in her lungs and her heart threatening to leap out of her mouth.

‘Breathe … concen … don't look … calm,' she stammered.

‘Come on, Max,' Linden whispered. ‘Stay calm.'

As if Max had heard Linden's wish, she regained her calm and, grip by grip, slowly made her way to the other side.

Suave and Linden pulled her in when she reached the rocky edge.

‘Well done, Max,' Suave congratulated her.

‘Yeah,' grumbled Max. ‘Thanks for your help.'

It was Steinberger's turn. Steinberger was a brilliant Administration Manager but nothing back at his desk at Spyforce had prepared him for this. He'd watched the others and pepped himself up with encouraging slogans. ‘You can do it, Steinberger. There's nothing to it. What could possibly go wrong?'

As he stepped up to the edge of the cliff, his hands sweating inside his super-grip gloves, the dry dirt gave way beneath his shoes and he slipped forward. His eyes widened at the gaping pit beneath him as his feet desperately scrambled to cling to solid ground.

‘Steinberger!'

Max's call drew his eyes up. He saw her anxious face, willing him not to fall.

But it was too late. His hands reached for something to save him — the rope, a branch, a vine — but they were all out of reach.

His harnessed and gangly body, overdressed in his suit and tie, tipped over the edge. Max, Linden and Suave watched as if it were happening in slow motion, their collective minds refusing to believe what they were seeing. They all gasped as Steinberger's wildly waving hand, secure in its super-grip glove, caught hold of a tree root protruding in a half-circle from the cliff face. His body tugged to an abrupt halt.

‘Hold on, Steinberger,' Suave called, frantically trying to think how they could save him.

But Steinberger heard none of Suave's command as his eyes looked below him. His breath quickened as the reality of his situation spread like a slow stain into his mind. If he couldn't hold on, he was seconds away from a plunging drop that would deliver him into the gaping jaws of a devastating death.

Max pulled her super-grip gloves on more tightly. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves as she prepared to cross the ravine to save the dangling Steinberger.

‘No. I've got a better plan.' It was Suave.

‘But he needs our help,' Linden objected.

Suave never wanted Steinberger on this mission, Max thought suspiciously. Now he's going to let him die! ‘I'm not going to stand here and do nothing while …' she began, but Suave wasn't listening.

‘Steinberger!' he called across the ravine. ‘Breathe deeply and slowly. Your gloves will keep you attached, but it is up to you to pull yourself to the top.'

Steinberger did nothing as a gust of wind bullied him with a sharp shove into the cliff.

‘I believe you can do this,' Suave called again.

Still nothing.

‘You have come so far and faced other fears head-on. Now you need to do that again.'

Steinberger's breath squeezed out of his lungs in reluctant bursts.

‘We have to go and help him,' Max demanded.

‘Steinberger.' Suave tried another tack. ‘Frond needs you.'

Steinberger looked up.

‘She's counting on us,' Suave continued. ‘Breathe calmly.'

The mention of Frond filled Steinberger's arms with renewed strength. The thought of her needing their help steadied his panicked thoughts.

‘You have your harness on so all you need to do now is throw the attached Abseiler. Aim it at the boulder on the cliff above you. Retract the rope and use it to winch yourself to safety.'

It was a good plan, Max conceded, one she hoped Steinberger's nerves and arms were up to.

‘Come on, Steinberger,' Linden whispered.

With slow, steady movements, Steinberger did as he was told and, as he imagined Frond standing at the top of his cliff, just out of his sight, the Abseiler pulled him to safety.

When he reached the top, he somehow seemed taller, more composed than Max had seen him since they'd crashlanded. Within minutes he had his Abseiler in hand and threw it to the other side of the cliff, where it made a secure landing on the tree beside Max. ‘Go Steinberger.' Max was impressed and watched every move as the agent made his calm and agile way towards them.

Max and Linden grabbed his hands as he grabbed at the cliff in front of them.

‘Well done, Steinberger. I knew you could do it,' Suave beamed.

‘Yeah. Some of the finest work I've seen from you,' Linden nodded.

Steinberger shrugged his shoulders and looked directly at Suave. ‘Thank you.'

‘My pleasure.' Suave blushed. ‘Okay, everyone. Let's pack up and keep moving.'

Max watched as Suave and Steinberger consulted the map to make sure they were on course. Even after a plane crash and a daring climb across a ravine, Suave looked calm. Maybe he was good after all. He really had saved Steinberger's life when he could have let him fall, but she still couldn't ignore the stare he had given her at Spyforce or the guilty look he had worn after the muffin fell out of his bag.

Linden moved beside her as she finished packing away her Abseiler. ‘I thought we'd lose Steinberger for a minute there.'

‘Yeah, until action boy stepped in to play superhero.' Max leant against a bulge in a tree next to her.

It was obvious by Linden's frown what he was thinking.

‘I know I'm being unfair, but I'm just having an unreasonable moment, okay?'

‘Sure,' Linden smiled. ‘I'll be here when you're done.' He stared at her as if waiting for her to say more.

Max tried to stay quiet, knowing what she had to say would come out all wrong, but the way Linden was looking at her made her want to blurt it out.

‘It's just that he's so perfect all the time! How does he do it? He's always polite, calm, he never loses his temper and he's always in control. I mean, look at him. After all we've been through, there isn't a scratch or a scrap of dust on him.'

‘Yeah, it's a pain having someone so good on a mission with us.' Linden raised his eyebrows sarcastically.

Max sighed. ‘That's just it. I would have gone back for Steinberger but his plan was more clever and less risky.'

‘Max, you're a great spy. Suave being so good doesn't change that.'

Max's shoulders sank. ‘It'd help if he messed up. Even if it was only once.'

Linden laughed as a sharp screech of monkeys whooped above their heads, sending the upper branches of the trees above into a frenzied sway.

‘This place is creepy.' Max looked around. ‘I feel like I'm in the middle of
The Jungle Book
. And what's that smell?'

All around them were towering ancient trees strung with vines or bulging with lumpy outgrowths speckled with green algae.

‘This tree even feels a bit like fur.'

‘Ah, Max?' Linden eyed the brown mass she was leaning against. ‘I think it is fur.'

‘Fur? On a tree?'

Just then, two giant eyes opened next to Max's head. She stared as what she had thought was bark started up a slow, deep growl.

‘I think it's a sloth, and I'm not sure he was ready to be woken up.' Linden couldn't help but smile as Max sprang away from the huge beast. She tripped over a clump of swollen roots and landed face first on the forest floor.

Linden stared at the animal in fascination. ‘Isn't it beautiful?'

‘Are we talking about the same animal?' Max looked at the ground beneath her, which was a thick, mossy, mud-covered mess.

‘Sloths spend most of their lives hanging upside down.'

‘Sounds fascinating.' Max gingerly peeled
herself from her muddied resting place just as she heard Suave and Steinberger approach behind her.

‘According to what we've pieced together from Frond's second message and the detailed maps on our palm computers,' Suave announced importantly, ‘there should be a track north of here that will lead us to her.'

Great, Max thought as she wiped forest muck from her shirt, now Suave's going to think he's on a mission with the world's greatest ignoramus. She turned around slowly to face them, ready for their look of horror.

Max's pants were torn, her hair was matted with dirt and sweat and her shoes were scuffed and soaked with mud. Suave, on the other hand, hadn't even broken out in a sweat. It was obvious how ridiculous Max looked, but he didn't seem to notice.

‘So, let's get on with our mission.'

Suave turned and entered the jungle. Great branches crisscrossed before them, and each step on the damp rainforest floor was an exercise in ducking, weaving and climbing over fallen trees the size of small cars. Max desperately tried to keep up with Suave, who manoeuvred through the jungle like it was a stroll through a park.

Finally they came across the track they were
looking for. Suave double-checked the instructions and announced emphatically, ‘This is it.' He looked to his right. ‘And we're headed this way.'

Max and Linden reached for their water bottles. The heat had sucked the moisture from their throats and soaked them in their own pools of sweat.

‘There isn't a sunnier route?' Max looked down the track which was a cavernous enclosure. It was covered by thick, gnarled branches that twisted overhead, cutting a dark trail beneath the blockedout sun. The rich greens of the jungle disappeared as the darkness sucked the colour from everything, leaving a stained and blackened shadow. The ground was damp and the heat and fresh breeze was replaced by the smell of decay clogging the air. As they entered the enclosure the noise of the jungle died away and they were surrounded by an eerie quiet.

Max and Linden had a bad feeling about their new route.

‘Onwards we go!' Suave's enthusiasm was like a runaway train.

Before anyone could move, they heard a low menacing rumble behind them that seemed to be coming from deep within the sheltered path.

‘I know the wildlife here is unique, but that doesn't sound like any animal I know.' Linden
looked around him, trying to spot the source of the noise.

Then he saw it.

Through the thick tree trunks, they could see two beams of light winding their way towards them. The way they were approaching, it was obvious someone was in a hurry.

‘What makes me think they're not the welcoming committee?' Linden gulped.

Suave took a small rubber cube from his pocket and, giving his hand a shake, threw it into the air, where it unfolded before them into the Aqua Buggy.

‘Now might be a good time to pick up the pace. Hop in.'

Suave jumped into the driver's seat as the others sprang in quickly behind him. He turned on the lights and a flurry of bats swarmed towards them in a terrified shriek. Max, Linden and Steinberger's hands instinctively flew to their heads as Suave checked the buggy's controls, oblivious of the shrieking animals.

‘Buckle up, everyone!'

He then started the engine and took off at full speed.

Max gripped her armrest as she was flung
around in the back seat, feeling like she'd fallen into a washing machine. Great walls of solid bark were only narrowly avoided as Suave swept the steering wheel one way then the other, like he was a rally car driver desperate to take first place.

‘Hang on!' Suave yelled over his shoulder as he prepared to drive over a huge tree root snaking across the ground.

Until he realised the snaking tree root
was
actually a snake.

‘Anaconda!'

‘Oh dear.' Steinberger closed his eyes, clutched onto his door even harder and moved his lips as if he was praying.

The Aqua Buggy swerved along the kinked and buckled track towards the snake. Max held on and imagined the ill-placed reptile splattered in a sprawl of snake mush.

But Suave had other ideas.

He reached beside him and pressed a small red button marked
Airborne.
Within half a micro second, the Aqua Buggy was sailing over the snake, landing on the other side in a bumpy but expert manoeuvre. Max was pleased the snake was still alive, but her stomach was starting to have a few problems with the constant jolts, twists and turns.

She turned back to see the anaconda slide into the forest just as a vehicle behind them skidded into view, flinging a wall of mud into the air.

‘They're gaining on us!'

‘Oh, dear.' Steinberger swallowed hard, trying not to throw up.

In the rear view mirror, Max saw Suave's wide grin, before he pressed down even harder on the accelerator. She turned around, and it was then she noticed something. There were two men in the car, but the one behind the wheel reminded her of someone she knew. She couldn't place the heavy features or the look of pure malice on his face, but when his eyes locked onto hers, a cold shiver of fear formed in her veins.

Linden called out over the noise of the engine. ‘Something tells me this guy isn't happy to see us.'

‘I think I know him,' Max yelled back.

‘You know someone here in the Amazon?'

‘I know it sounds weird but it's true.'

Before her mind had a chance to figure out who he was, the Aqua Buggy came to an abrupt stop.

‘Why have we stopped?'

There was no need to answer as she saw that the road had ended at the edge of a fast-moving
river that was so wide Max couldn't see the other side.

‘The Amazon River,' Suave announced, like he'd just discovered El Dorado, the fabled city of gold.

Max turned again as the vehicle behind them skidded to a stop. The man with the malicious grin stepped out and eyed them off, like a lion approaching an injured gazelle. He was a tall hulk of a man, with thick features and limbs like miniature tree trunks.

He lumbered a few steps towards them before pulling out a phone, his face dripping with victory.

Suave stared at the river as a giant tree trunk swept by. The Aqua Buggy was strong, but so was the current.

Steinberger read his thoughts. ‘Will the Buggy cope?'

‘I'm sure of it,' he answered confidently, reaching for the keys in the ignition. ‘Hold on, everyone.'

The engine whined as it struggled to start.

‘This isn't a great time for engine trouble,' Linden said, shaking his head.

Max watched as the two men lifted stun blasters as they walked towards the buggy. That's
when Max remembered who he was. ‘It's Kronch!' she told Linden. Kronch was Blue's assistant from their second mission. The same sausage fingers, the same overstuffed arms, the same neanderthal plod and lack of neck. With his monkey-brained partner, Kronch slowly made his way towards them. A snivelling grin wiped across his face as he aimed his blaster straight at Max.

Suave tried again and again to start the vehicle, but it choked and spluttered and refused to start.

Max stared at the churning waters of the Amazon River as Kronch broke into a wheezing laugh behind them. They were cornered like caged rats and it seemed there was nothing they could do to avoid capture.