Base Camp (4 page)

Zac stared at the strained look in Cougar's eyes. No need to ask who
he
was.

CHAPTER
SEVEN

A couple of hours later, Zac and Agent Cougar were still making their way through the jungle.

Cougar still hadn't let Zac turn his torch back on. The man's eyes darted around nervously and he kept jumping at small noises. But he clearly knew this jungle like the back of his hand. He led Zac through the darkness without any trouble.

‘What are you doing out here anyway?' Zac asked. ‘I thought a whole lot of you were trapped at the base camp.'

‘The rest of my team are,' said Cougar. ‘But I was out picking up the drop when the attack happened.'

‘What drop?'

‘The supply drop,' Cougar explained. ‘Every month, GIB flies over and drops a big crate of food and supplies for us.'

‘I didn't think GIB knew where you were,' said Zac.

‘They don't,' said Agent Cougar. ‘Not exactly, anyway. They just drop it somewhere out in the jungle and we go and pick it up. This month was my turn to go out and bring back the crate – hey, watch out!'

Agent Cougar grabbed Zac's shoulder and pulled him out of the way of a giant snake hanging from a tree.The snake hissed and flickered its tongue at Zac.

‘Anyway,' Cougar continued, ‘I was on my way back to base when my boss called to say that there was a BIG agent lurking around outside.'

‘Then what happened?' Zac asked.

‘That was the last I heard from the boss,' said Agent Cougar. ‘I've been out here in the jungle ever since.'

‘So who is this agent?' Zac asked. ‘Why is he here? What does he want from you?'

‘No idea,' said Cougar. ‘I've been too busy running away from him.'

‘You haven't been back to the base camp to help your friends?' Zac asked.

‘No,' said Agent Cougar. He looked a little ashamed to say it. ‘The boss's last order was to lay low and guard the drop, so that's what I've been doing.'

Not exactly the heroic type,
thought Zac. He looked down at his watch.

It was midnight on Wednesday. Exactly four days until the BIG agent set off the Tech Blaster.

‘Agent Cougar, how much further is–' Zac stopped short. ‘Hey, what's this?'

They had just reached the edge of another little clearing. Parked in the middle of the clearing was a black jet with BIG's logo stamped onto the tail.

It was about twice the size of a standard BIG fighter jet, and there was a huge metal thing mounted on the top that looked a bit like a cannon. Right now, the cannon was pointed up at the sky.

That must be what blasted the Sunraker,
thought Zac.

‘Seen this jet before?' he asked.

Agent Cougar shook his head.

‘Let's have a look inside,' said Zac.

‘No way,' said Cougar.‘Let's keep moving.'

‘But this jet obviously belongs to the BIG agent!' Zac protested.

‘Which is exactly why we need to leave right now,' Cougar argued, ‘before he gets back.'

‘Come on,' said Zac, becoming frus-trated. ‘You call yourself a GIB agent?'

‘Hey, I'm just a techie, kid,' said Cougar grumpily. ‘I'm no field agent. I just want to get out of the jungle as soon as possible.'

Zac rolled his eyes. ‘I'm just going to check it out.' He started climbing the little stepladder up to the jet's cockpit.

When he reached the entrance, he was surprised to find that the jet was unlocked. With a soft click, the door hissed open.

So much for BIG security,
thought Zac.

He stepped into the cockpit and began looking around. He need to find out who the mysterious BIG agent was, and what he was doing here.

Suddenly, Zac's eyes fell on a small black object, barely visible in the glow of the jet's control panel. It was shaped like a snow globe, with a blue button on the front.

Zac reached out and pressed the button.

A tiny holographic figure of a man appeared out of the top of the black device. The figure turned on the spot, smiling and waving cheerfully.

Zac gasped. It was his
grandpa
!

Zac's grandpa, Agent High Pants, was the first person in Zac's family to become a GIB spy. A long time ago, Agent High Pants had been the best of the best. But then he had disappeared without a trace many years ago, during a mission to the jungle.

Zac's mouth fell open. Why hadn't he thought of this before?

Could
this
be the jungle where Grandpa had disappeared? Did BIG have something to do with his disappearance?

Zac pressed the button on the holo-projector again.

As the figure of Grandpa continued to spin, a recording of a female voice began to play.

‘
Agent High Pants was the first in the Power family to join the Government Investigation Bureau. He was one of the greatest threats to BIG's survival until he disappeared seven years ago. GIB sources continue to classify Agent High Pants as Missing In Action.

‘However, BIG's own intelligence reveals that the agent's current location – agent's current location – agent's current location –'

The voice skipped and then cut out. The image of Zac's grandpa disappeared.

‘No!' cried Zac. He pressed the button again, but it was no good. The device would not turn back on.

Zac picked up the holo-projector and slipped it into his pocket. Whatever had happened to Zac's grandpa, BIG knew something about it.

And Zac was going to find out what they knew.

CHAPTER
EIGHT

Zac climbed out of the cockpit and dropped back down to the ground.

Agent Cougar was standing at the edge of the clearing, looking nervous.

‘All right,' said Zac. ‘Let's go.'

‘Finally,' said Cougar. ‘This way.'

Zac and Agent Cougar kept walking towards the base camp.

Zac was breathing hard. The heat of the jungle was starting to get to him. It was like being in a sauna.

He glanced down at his SpyPad. They were nearing the edge of the blurry grey area on the GPS map.

‘OK,' said Agent Cougar under his breath. ‘Almost there.'

Zac looked up. Something was glinting in the moonlight up ahead of them.

It was a tall metal pole, as high as a street sign. At the top of the pole was a silver sphere as big as a beach ball.

‘What's that?' Zac asked.

‘It's a Sensor Scrambler,' Agent Cougar explained. ‘There are 24 of them in a circle all around our base camp. They send out microwave pulses that block this whole area from being seen by satellites and passing planes.'

‘So that's why the GPS couldn't create a map of this part of the jungle,' said Zac.

‘Right,' said Cougar. ‘Come on, not far now.' He sounded very relieved to be getting close to the base camp.

They kept moving, and a few minutes later they finally reached the GIB building. It was small and square, and had been camouflaged to blend in with the surrounding jungle.

Ignoring Agent Cougar's protests, Zac flicked the SpyPad's torch back on and quickly circled the building.

‘All clear,' Zac whispered when he'd finished. ‘Let's head inside.'

He walked up to the front of the building with Agent Cougar a few steps behind.

Zac tried the door. It was unlocked. He pushed the door open and crept inside.

The room was pitch black except for the light from a few computer screens at the far end of the room.

Zac cautiously shone his torch around in the darkness. More computers. Filing cabinets. Desks scattered with files and coffee cups.

Looks like a typical science lab,
Zac thought. There was no-one there, and no sign of a struggle.

‘All clear,' he whispered to Cougar, and then he stepped into the next room.

There were a few couches, a little TV and a couple of laptops on a wooden table. But still there was nothing broken, nothing out of place. No sign that anything had gone wrong.

‘All clear,' Zac said again. ‘I think we're OK. Can you turn on the lights?'

Agent Cougar flicked a switch and light flooded the room. No-one in this room either.

‘Where are they?' Zac wondered out loud. ‘Where is everyone?'

‘Maybe they got away,' Cougar said hopefully. ‘Maybe they –'

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

‘What was that?' Cougar asked.

The noise had come from behind a door on the other side of the room.

Zac walked over to the door.

‘What's that noise?' said Cougar, looking scared.

But Zac ignored him and swung the door open. He reached over and flicked on the light.

Tied up on the floor of a little laundry room were four more GIB agents, all dressed in the same white uniform. Their eyes lit up at the sight of Zac.

‘Hi,' Zac said with a grin. ‘Need a hand?'

He leant back and stuck his head into the other room. He could see Cougar crouched down behind one of the couches.

Zac rolled his eyes. ‘Come on, you big baby! Untie your friends while I set up the beacon.'

Cougar got up sheepishly and walked into the laundry.

Zac dropped his backpack down on the wooden table and pulled out the emergency beacon.

He crouched down and pressed a button underneath the device. Three legs shot down to the ground so that the beacon stood up like a tripod. Zac hit another button and the beacon hummed into life.

Mission completed,
he thought, pleased.

When he stood back up, Zac could hear whispering coming from the laundry.

‘It's Agent
Rock Star
,' hissed Cougar.

‘Rock Star?' another man whispered back. ‘Why would they send
him
here? He could mess up the whole operation!'

Zac walked back across to the laundry.

‘Shhh!' said Cougar. ‘He's coming!'

The whispering stopped.

What was that about?
Zac wondered. He decided to let it go for now.