Deep Waters
DEEP WATERS
BY
H. I. LARRY
ILLUSTRATIONS BY
ASH OSWALD
Deep Waters
published in 2006 by
Hardie Grant Egmont
85 High Street
Prahran, Victoria 3181, Australia
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means without
the prior permission of the publishers and copyright owner.
A CiP record for this title is available from the National Library of Australia
Text copyright © 2006 H. I. Larry
Illustration and design copyright © 2006 Hardie Grant Egmont
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
Illustration and design by Ash Oswald
With special thanks to the spys of
years 2 and 3 (2005) of the St Michael's unit of GIB
for their top-secret mission support.
Printed in Australia by McPherson's Printing Group
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Zac couldn't help it. He was trying to look interested in what the tour guide at the West Sea Aquarium was saying but could he help it if his eyes kept closing all by themselves?
âZac Power!' hissed his teacher, Mrs Tran. âI suggest you pay attention.There'll be a test after the excursion, you know.'
Zac's eyes snapped open.
âCoral might not look excitingâ¦' the tour guide was saying.
He's right there
, thought Zac, checking his watch yet again. How could it still only be 9.03am?
â...but did you know coral takes over a million years to form?'
A million years!
Surely he wouldn't be stuck at the aquarium that long!
Zac stared out the window. The aquarium was on the edge of the West Sea. Zac saw perfect surfing waves breaking. If only he was out there instead of being stuck in here...
âI'll pass around some coral,' said the tour guide. âCan you feel how rough it is?'
Zac stood with his arms crossed. He'd had more fun sorting his sock drawer!
âLet's move on to our next exhibit, kids,' the tour guide went on. âThe shark tank!'
Zac woke right up.
Sharks! Maybe there'll
be giant white pointers with huge, bloody teeth!
âOnto the moving walkway,' called the tour guide.
The moving walkway was a flat escalator snaking all around the aquarium. The whole class stepped on and moved slowly towards the shark tank.
âIt's feeding time,' said the tour guide, sounding excited.
Zac craned his neck to see. Inside the tank were two divers with hunks of meat in their hands. Four sharks were swimming straight for them.The sharks were massive!
âDon't worry, everybody,' said the tour guide. âThe sharks really want that meat. It only
looks
like they're attacking the divers!'
The sharks circled around the divers. The water churned.
âWait â they really
are
attacking the divers!' shrieked the tour guide.
A shark had one of the divers by the leg.
âShark attack!' Mrs Tran yelled.
Suddenly, everyone in the aquarium was screaming. People were running right and left. The tour guide hid under a chair.
In all the confusion, Zac felt a tap on his shoulder.
âZac Power?' a voice said.
Zac turned around. Beside him stood a giant turtle. Or, to be exact, a woman dressed in a turtle costume.
âCome and look at the baby turtle exhibit,' said the giant turtle woman.
Baby turtles? What was this woman talking
about? There was a shark attack on!
Zac wanted to help.
Or, at the very least, watch.
âAh, no thanks. I'll stay here,' Zac said firmly.
âNo, come with me. Now!'
Suddenly, the walkway started moving under Zac's feet. But this time it wasn't going slowly. It was speeding Zac and the giant turtle woman towards the baby turtle exhibit. Next door, Zac could still hear screaming.
âIt's not a real shark attack,' explained the giant turtle. âGIB hired stunt divers to create a diversion while we sent you on your next mission.'
GIB, or Government Investigation Bureau, was the spying agency Zac worked for. The woman pushed up the bright green sleeves of her turtle costume. Zac saw a miniature walkie-talkie strapped to her wrist. She tapped it once and then spoke into it.
âAttention all GIB ground staff. This is Big Turtle. Do you read me?'
The walkie-talkie crackled.
âLoud and clear, Big Turtle,' came the reply. âThe amphibious submersible is good to go.'
The water in the turtle exhibit started bubbling. Then, the coolest thing Zac had ever seen rose up from behind a clump of seaweed. The top was glass. There were wings on the side and rockets on the back. Underneath were two fat tyres.
âWhat is it?' said Zac, who couldn't help being impressed.
âAn amphibious submersible. It goes under water like a submarine and across land too.'
Big Turtle handed Zac a set of keys.
âEver piloted one before?' she asked.
Zac shook his head.
He didn't know what his next mission was, but he didn't care. Wherever he was going, he was going there in the amphibious submersible.
It sure beat learning about coral!
Right, thought Zac to himself, as he settled back in the amphibious submersible's
cockpit,
how hard can it really be to pilot this
thing?
Zac's brother Leon would have known exactly how to get the amphibious submersible started. The entire Power family were spies, but Leon was the techno-geek of the family. But after Zac almost single-handedly completed their Poison Island mission and saved Leon's life, GIB had decided Zac was ready for his first solo mission.
Leon was transferred from Field Agent to Technical Officer. It seemed like the perfect arrangement to both of them.
Zac looked at the panel of dials and flashing lights in front of him.There was no simple âon' button, or anywhere obvious to put the ignition key.
The briefest doubt flickered through his mind. If he couldn't even figure out how to pilot an amphibious submersible, was he really ready for a solo mission? But when it came to his talents, Zac never wasted much time doubting himself.
Of
course
he was ready to be a solo spy â even if he was still only 12 years old.
Zac fished around in the seat pocket for the instruction manual.There it was â and it was about as thick as his maths textbook!
There was no way Zac was reading all that boring stuff. He flicked straight to the last page and quickly scanned it. Then he chucked the whole thing over his shoulder and into the bin.