Choc Shock (3 page)

Piinngg! There was another message on EJ's phone.

EJ wondered why she needed to press two buttons for one floor. Then the lift stopped. As the lift doors opened, EJ saw a small sign with just two letters on the two metal doors across the corridor from the lift: HQ.

Now I get it, a simple letter-number match, 8=H and 17=Q,
thought EJ, as the two doors slid open.
Gee whizz, lemonfizz,
SHINE
likes codes.

‘Yes we do, EJ12, and welcome back to
SHINE,'
said an older woman standing in front of EJ as the doors opened to the
SHINE
operations room.

EJ smiled. It was A1, head of
SHINE.
A1 was, as always, wearing a smart black suit, crisp white shirt and a long chain around her neck with a beautiful, large yellow pendant that almost glowed hanging from it. EJ wondered what sort of stone it was.

‘It is a rare sapphire,' said A1, who had a slightly unnerving habit of seeming to know what you were thinking. ‘Most people think sapphires are only blue, but they can be all sorts of colours. Now, we have work to do, EJ. Let's take a look at the message.' A1 turned, and as she did so said, ‘Light Screen lower'.

She and EJ watched as an enormous plasma screen came down from the high ceiling of the operations room. It was the
SHINE
Light Screen and with it you could find out almost anything you wanted or needed to know. Through the Light Screen
you could access the Internet and, if you had the right security clearance, the entire
SHINE
network of files. The Light Screen was voice-activated and touch sensitive, and you could move screens around and call up new ones by command.

‘Show message,' instructed A1. Almost immediately, the message EJ had written in the Code Room flashed up on the screen.

‘Well done on finding the message, EJ,' said A1. ‘Finding
and
decoding the message in just over half
an hour, that is impressive.'

EJ blushed. ‘Thanks A1, but I don't know what the message means.'

‘We can help with that, or at least some of it.' A1 turned back to face the Light Screen. ‘Show files on
SHADOW
S6.'

Images flooded the screen, images of codes and of tiny gadgets.

‘What are they?' asked EJ.

‘We are not completely sure,' replied A1, ‘but we think they may be early prototypes of something called S6.'

‘Oh,' said EJ beginning to blush again, ‘so it isn't 6S.'

‘No, I don't think so, but that doesn't matter. In fact, it's six of one and half a dozen of the other,' said A1, laughing at her own little joke. ‘Either way it means the same thing. It's just that we have seen other messages about S6.' A1 looked at the screen again. ‘Light Screen change 6S to S6,' she said. ‘We know, EJ, that S6 stands for
SHADOW
Secret Scramble Send and Spy System. It is a new
code-making machine, a machine that makes codes that are nearly impossible to crack. Our top code professor has been working on S6 and she is the best person to brief you.' A1 turned again to the screen. ‘Light Screen, teleconference Agent CO45.'

There were a few beeps and then an image of a young woman in a white scientist's coat and with slightly crazy, long curly red hair came onto the Light Screen.

‘Good morning A1. Good morning EJ12, nice to meet you.'

‘Hello CO45,' said EJ smiling. She wondered if it was just a coincidence that if you used a simple alphabet-number match, starting with A being 1, 4 and 5 would make the scientist's code name CODE. She thought not.

‘What can you tell us about S6?' said A1.

‘It's clever,' said CO45. ‘I wish we had invented it, but actually
SHADOW
didn't invent it either. They have really only created a smaller, digital version of a powerful code-making machine used more than fifty years ago. It was called the Enigma machine
and it produced codes that seemed completely random, making them almost impossible to crack. We think
SHADOW
has created a modern version to communicate with their agents. We also believe they have developed it in such a way that they can send it out in small parts their agents can assemble. Ingenious really.'

‘But if they do that,' said EJ, ‘we won't be able to crack their messages. And if we can't crack their messages, we won't be able to stop their plans.'

‘Exactly, EJ12,' said CO45, nodding. ‘But, luckily, they haven't quite finished it. At least, that's what we thought until you found their latest message on the cupcakes. And,' CO45 added, ‘were you aware that
“Ombre”
is French for “shadow”? I think that and the fact she is sending out this message confirm she is working for
SHADOW.'

‘Indeed. Good work, CO45. Thank you for your time.'

‘My pleasure, A1. CO45 out.'

‘So what do we know?' said A1 to EJ as the decoded message appeared again on the screen.

‘S6 has to be the
SHADOW
code machine but I'm not sure what S6 cakes are,' said EJ. ‘And Jnr Choc Chef has to be the Junior Choc Chef finals that are on today,' she added, remembering the TV ad she and Isi had seen earlier. ‘They are being held in Madame Ombre's bakery.'

‘Well done, EJ,' said A1. ‘So, there are some cakes that have something to do with S6 and they will be ready after the competition. We can assume Madame Ombre has baked them and now, it seems, she wants
SHADOW
to send flakes.'

‘But what are flakes?' asked EJ. ‘Decorations?'

‘Maybe, but we don't know,' said A1. ‘We have, however, had our suspicions about Madame Ombre and her chocolate cake bakery for some time. In fact, we have had an agent from the surveillance division in the bakery for the last couple of weeks.'

‘I didn't know we had a surveillance division,' said EJ.

‘All
SHINE
information is on a strictly NTK—need-to-know—basis EJ, and up until now you have not needed to know about it, but now you do. The agents in the surveillance division are highly trained not only in watching but also in hiding. They have to spend long amounts of time in some very strange and often very small places while they keep an eye on targets.'

‘I bet they are good at hide-and-seek,' said EJ.

A1 laughed. ‘Actually, that is one of the ways we choose these agents, EJ. Anyway, back to business. Each day we have sent an agent, CC12, into the bakery. She has then found herself a hiding place and watched. She comes out a few hours later with the rubbish truck—after all, we can't let our agents fall behind in their schoolwork. Agent CC12 has confirmed that there has been much more baking than usual, a lot even by Madame Ombre's standards.'

‘Baking of what?' asked EJ.

‘That's what we need to find out, EJ, and quickly,' replied A1. ‘It is time to get you into that bakery.'

‘But how?' said EJ.

‘Congratulations!' said A1 suddenly.

‘I beg your pardon, A1,' said EJ.

‘Congratulations, EJ,' repeated A1, ‘or should that be Emma Sekac, which is your undercover name for this mission?'

‘I get it,' said EJ after a moment, ‘s-e-k-a-c is c-ak-e-s backwards, but why undercover?'

‘Because,' said A1, ‘you, Emma Sekac, are the surprise late entrant in the Junior Choc Chef finals!'

Uh-oh, I really don't think I am the right agent for this mission,
thought EJ.
I'll have to tell A1 about Isi and my Chocolate Surprise Cakes!

‘Now EJ, I know you haven't had a lot of cooking experience,' said A1, ‘but it is all about a lightness of touch. Don't let a few lumpy cakes get you down.'

How does she do that?
wondered EJ.
And ‘don't let lumpy cakes get you down'—that's easy for you to say!
EJ didn't think A1 would stress about anything.

‘We have some charms that I think should help as well,' continued A1.

EJ smiled at that. Charm was actually CHARM, Clever Hidden Accessories with Release Mechanism.

The
SHINE
inventors would invent all kinds of useful gadgets and tools for agents to use on missions and then shrink them to the size of small charms, spy charms. The
SHINE
agents wore the charms on a special bracelet. When they needed to, they twisted the charm to release it to its normal size so it could work. There were four charms laid out on the table: a whisk, a heart, a cupcake and a chocolate bar. EJ was particularly interested in the last two.

‘This one is hard to beat,' said A1, holding the whisk charm. ‘The
SHINE
whisk-o-matic guarantees beautiful, light and fluffy cakes every time and also tests and adjusts for perfect flavour, thanks to its hidden computer chip. That should help you stand out in the Junior Choc Chef finals. But this one,' A1 continued, holding up another little charm, ‘this is really the icing on the cake. It is a triumph, it is a...'

‘Cupcake?' said EJ.

‘Yes, EJ, a cupcake,' said A1 smiling. ‘But this is not a real cupcake. It is cupcake-cam, the world's first flip-top cake and possibly the most ingenious
creation yet from our
SHINE
inventor-in-chief, IQ400.'

‘How does it work?' asked EJ.

‘You simply twist, as usual,' explained A1, ‘and then wait for the cupcake to enlarge.' She demonstrated. ‘There we are. Now, you see this cherry on top? It is no ordinary cherry, it is a tiny camera. You simply leave the cherry in a position where you want to film and press the little button on the side to start filming. To watch, you simply flip back the top of the cupcake. Underneath is a little screen. The film will be transmitted back to you on the cupcake-cam.'

‘Sweet!' said EJ.

‘Indeed. EJ, as we are short of time, you will be briefed on the choc-charm on the way to the bakery.'

EJ looked forward to that one. She was really hoping the choc-charm was going to involve eating chocolate.

‘But what about Agent CC12?' asked EJ. ‘How will I contact her?'

‘She will contact you,' replied A1. ‘That is the best way to protect whatever hiding spot she has chosen. You will, however, need a special password sequence so you both know you are who you say you are. I will show you that now,' said A1 as she turned to the Light Screen. ‘Light Screen, show password sequence.'

EJ looked at the screen and read a rather odd exchange that appeared there.

‘I am going to say that?' asked EJ.

‘I know it's a little silly,' said A1 ‘but that helps make sure no one else would say it by accident. Now EJ, memorise the exchange.'

EJ re-read the password sequence.

‘Have you done that?'

EJ nodded.

‘Excellent,' said A1, turning towards the screen. ‘Light Screen, delete exchange,' she said, turning back to face EJ. ‘Remember: the exchange must be exactly those words.' She held out the charms to EJ. ‘Now, EJ, here are your charms,' said A1. ‘You will need to add them to your bracelet and get changed. Your outfit is in the change rooms. Please put the clothes you are wearing in the bag provided and bring it with you when you are ready.'

EJ went to the change rooms and smiled when she saw a chef's outfit hanging up—blue-checked pants and a white jacket with white buttons on each side. As a finishing touch there was a chef's hat and a red-and-white checked scarf. They were just like the ones the contestants wore on ‘Choc Chef'.

How does
SHINE
get all these things?
wondered EJ.

EJ quickly got changed. The outfit, as always, fitted her perfectly. She attached her new charms to her bracelet and came out of the changing room with her normal clothes in the bag.

‘Perfect!' declared A1. ‘You look ready EJ, or should I say Emma Sekac. Now, let's get you to that chocolate bakery.'

‘What should I do with this, A1?' asked EJ, holding up the bag of clothes.

‘Oh, you can give them to your mum,' replied A1.

Mum?
thought EJ.

‘Yes, your mum. She is waiting outside to take you to the Choc Chef competition.'

‘Oh,' said EJ, both a little surprised and disappointed. EJ loved her mum but, really, what sort of secret agent was taken to a mission by her mother?