Base Camp (2 page)

‘This is Agent –
SHHHH
–
calling Headquarters!' said a man, sounding scared.‘We are under attack by –
SHHHH
–
enemy agent! We tried –
–
but he was too powerful! Situation critical!'

A loud crash echoed in Zac's EAR. ‘No!
SHHHH
–' The recording cut out.

‘There are six GIB agents stationed at that base camp,' said Agent Big Boss. ‘Right now, they're being held captive by BIG's mystery agent. He's the one who's going to activate their Tech Blaster on Sunday.'

‘How could one guy be strong enough to capture
six
GIB agents?' Zac asked.

‘That's what we need you to find out,' said Agent Big Boss. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little silver disk. ‘Here's phase one of your mission.'

Zac pulled out his SpyPad, the spy communication gadget carried by every GIB agent. He slipped the disk inside.

CLASSIFIED
CURRENT TIME 1:04PM
WEDNESDAY

PHASE ONE:
An unknown BIG agent has
discovered GIB's top-secret
base camp in the Black Jungle and
is holding six agents captive.

YOUR MISSION:

Fly to the Black Jungle, and locate
and rescue the captured GIB agents.
You must discover the identity of the
mystery BIG agent and complete this
mission as soon as possible.

TOTAL MISSION TIME REMAINING:
4 days, 10 hours, 56 minutes.

The limo pulled to a stop outside Zac's house. Agent Big Boss pressed a button and Zac's door popped open.

‘Agent Tech Head is waiting inside to brief you,' said Big Boss. Agent Tech Head was the code name of Zac's brother, Leon.

‘OK,' said Zac, moving to get out of the car.

‘Agent Rock Star,' Agent Big Boss said quietly, ‘this is the biggest threat that GIB has ever faced. We're all counting on you. If you can't track down this agent and keep him from setting off BIG's Tech Blaster…'

Big Boss didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to. The point was clear.

If Zac failed, it would be the end of GIB.

CHAPTER
THREE

The limo sped away and Zac jogged up the path to his house.

‘There you are,' said Leon as soon as Zac walked in the door. ‘Quick, come with me.'

Leon was older than Zac, and really geeky. He was a GIB agent too, but he didn't go out on missions. He worked on the gadgets and technical stuff.

‘Where are we going?' said Zac, but Leon was already halfway up the stairs.

Zac followed his brother upstairs and into his bedroom.

As usual, Leon's room was spotless. It looked like something out of one of their mum's
Home and Garden
magazines.

‘You know,' said Zac, ‘it's really not normal to keep your room this tidy.'

But he knew there was no point saying it. Leon was the kind of guy who kept all his socks organised by colour.

‘Get into my wardrobe,' said Leon, reaching under his bed and pressing a button.

‘What?' said Zac.

‘Come on,' Leon said. He grabbed Zac by the arm and pulled him in between two school shirts.

‘Leon,' Zac said, rolling his eyes, ‘what are you – arrrgh!'

WHOOSH!

The floor beneath Zac's feet slid away, and suddenly he was falling down a long dark tunnel. He reached out frantically for something to grab on to, but his fingers scraped on cold metal walls.

Leon was falling next to Zac, but he looked completely calm.

‘Leon!' Zac shouted. ‘What
is
this?'

Suddenly, a jet of compressed air shot up from underneath them, slowing their fall. Zac and Leon floated down the last few metres to the ground.

Leon landed lightly and walked out through the doorway at the bottom of the tunnel. Zac, caught by surprise, landed awkwardly. He staggered out after Leon.

Rubbing his eyes, Zac stepped into a giant underground laboratory. It was filled with computers and half-built gadgets and mountains of spare parts.

There was even a vehicle in the corner of the room that looked like some kind of spacecraft.

‘You built a lab under our house?' said Zac, amazed. ‘How did I not know about this?'

‘What, you think you're the only one with secrets?' Leon grinned. ‘Come on, let's get you prepped for the mission.'

‘Right,' said Zac. ‘So, who are these people I'm rescuing anyway? What are they doing out in the middle of the jungle?'

‘Agent Big Boss wouldn't tell me,' Leon replied. ‘He said it's all really top-secret.'

He reached over and picked up what looked like a steel football.

‘That's why they're all the way out in the jungle,' Leon continued. ‘They've hidden their base camp to make sure their work stays secret. Not even Big Boss knows the exact location.'

‘You're telling me that
no-one
in GIB knows where these people are?' Zac asked.

‘Yup,' said Leon, tossing the steel football to Zac. ‘That's where you come in. This is an emergency beacon. It sends out a sonic pulse that can be picked up by our search-and-rescue helicopters.'

GIB 'HOWLERBALL' Multiwave Homing Beacon

Zac turned the beacon over in his hands. ‘So I just need to take this to the base camp?'

‘Pretty much,' said Leon. ‘You need to fly out to the Black Jungle, find the GIB agents, and activate the beacon. A GIB rescue crew will be standing by to lock on to the signal and come and pick you up.'

‘No worries,' said Zac confidently.

‘And I'm supposed to give you this,' said Leon, handing Zac a little black box. ‘New GIB gear that we're rolling out to every field agent.'

Zac flipped open the box to reveal a new watch. ‘Sweet,' he said, strapping it on.

GIB HB1 Mission Watch (Helium Balloon Model)

Then Leon handed Zac a GIB clip. ‘Hang on to this for now, too,' said Leon. ‘We're working on a whole bunch of cool attachments. It's going to be excellent, trust me.'

‘OK, whatever,' said Zac, stashing the beacon into his backpack. ‘Do you have anything else for me?'

‘That's everything for now,' said Leon. ‘Time to go.'

They walked back through the doorway and into the tunnel. Another wave of compressed air shot up from the ground, blasting them back up into Leon's wardrobe.

‘You want to know something weird?' said Leon suddenly as they stepped back out into the bedroom.

‘What?' said Zac.

They left Leon's room and started heading downstairs.

‘Well,' said Leon thoughtfully, ‘I was talking to Agent Big Boss before. Don't take this the wrong way, but…' He trailed off.

‘What?' said Zac, raising an eyebrow.

‘I don't know,' said Leon with a shrug. ‘It just seemed like he
really
didn't want to give you this mission.'

Zac stared at Leon. ‘Why not?'

Zac was the best agent GIB had! Why shouldn't they give this mission to him?

Leon shrugged. ‘I just got the feeling he wasn't all that happy to be sending you to the Black Jungle. Like maybe there was something he didn't want you to see.'

They reached the front door and stepped outside.

A car was waiting in the driveway to take Zac to the GIB air strip.

‘Anyway, forget about it,' said Leon. ‘You've got a plane to catch.'

CHAPTER
FOUR

‘Ready to launch, Agent Rock Star?'

Zac nodded to the agent on the ground and strapped on his helmet. He had arrived at the GIB air strip and was sitting in the cockpit of a brand new jet.

It was called the Sunraker, and according to the ground crew it was completely solar-powered.

Zac thought it was the ugliest-looking jet he'd ever seen.

GIB vehicles usually had really awesome paint jobs, but this one was just covered in rows of dull grey tiles.

Oh well,
Zac reminded himself,
just so long as it flies.

Someone on the ground gave him the thumbs up, and the crew backed away from the Sunraker.

Zac hit the launch controls.

CLICK-SHOONK-CLACK

The row of grey tiles at the very front of the Sunraker suddenly popped up and flipped over, revealing gleaming black solar panels.

CLICK-SHOONK-CLACK

The next row of tiles flipped over, then the next, and then the next.

In seconds, the Sunraker transformed from a dull grey jet into a shiny black dream machine.
Now that's more like it,
thought Zac with a grin.

The engine suddenly hummed to life under Zac's feet.

He leant on the steering controls and the Sunraker began zooming down the runway, gathering speed. Zac pulled back on the controls and the jet lifted into the air, soaring off towards the jungle.

Six hours later, Zac was zooming high above the trees of the Black Jungle.

The flight had given him plenty of thinking time, and the same questions kept swirling around in his head:

Who is this mystery BIG agent?

How could he possibly be strong enough to hold six GIB agents captive?

And why – WHY – didn't Agent Big Boss want to give me this mission in the first place?

It was this last question that bothered Zac the most. GIB had never doubted Zac before. What was so different about this mission?

After a while, there was a beep from Zac's control panel. He was getting close. According to the Sunraker's on-board computer, the GIB base camp was some-where in this area.

The trees were growing so close together that Zac couldn't see anything below him but a blur of green leaves. He used the jet's navigation system to scan for the base camp.

Nothing.

I should have known they'd hide it better than that,
thought Zac.