The Mission to Find Max: Egypt (11 page)

‘Ladies and gentleman,' he said. ‘Today is a historic day for Egypt. After years of searching, I have finally found King Tut's missing diadem!'

The crowd roared with delight.

‘Stolen, more like it,' Kate whispered to the boys.

The President of Egypt stood proudly next to Massri. Chai handed Massri the box with the diadem in it. When they saw the box, the children gasped in dismay.

‘We have to stop him before he puts it on!' said Max.

As Massri opened the box, Jack, Max and Kate dashed towards the podium. The man placed the diadem on his head and the golden halo appeared. He lifted his hands to the crowd.

‘This is the power of the diadem,' he said. ‘An impenetrable shield that protects whoever wears it!'

The President of Egypt looked confused.

‘For years I have been searching for this diadem,' Massri explained, ‘to avenge my father's reputation. And now it has come back to the Massri family. With this crown,' he added, ‘I will rule the world!'

The President didn't like what he was hearing. He turned nervously to Massri. ‘I think that we should call off this press conference,' he said. ‘Perhaps we can discuss how you feel about your father with the help of a – a doctor . . .'

But Massri was having none of it. He ignored the President. ‘Unleash the army!' he yelled.

The heavens parted, and an ancient voice boomed across the sky. Jack, Kate and Max stopped in their tracks in front of the podium. They looked to the east. The sand was starting to move. It was making a clicking sound.

‘What's going on?' asked Jack.

A piercing scream came from the crowd.

‘Scorpions!'

Sure enough, hundreds of huge scorpions were scurrying up out of the sand and coming their way, tails lifted, ready to strike.

The secret service men grabbed the President and threw him into his limo.

The journalists were part reporting, part scrambling for cover. Men and women were sprinting for their cars. Everyone was screaming.

‘You can run,' yelled Massri, ‘but you can't hide! My army will find every last one of you, and force you to bow to me, your new leader!'

Within moments the scorpions had swarmed all over the place. Their tails darted forward, trying to poison whoever they could. Several people fled for the Pyramid of Khufu. Others hid behind the paws of the Sphinx. The President's limo tried to leave, but the scorpions had surrounded it, their tails tapping at the windows.

Jack, Max and Kate's plan to capture Massri had failed. They hadn't reckoned they'd be facing a scorpion army.

‘How can we stop them?' yelled Jack over the screaming crowd.

‘Let's squash them!' said Max, pointing to a large heap of boulders near the pyramid.

Jack turned and saw in the distance a thirty-feet-high pile of rocks left over from previous digs. They were tied together by sturdy rope netting. Jack knew that the only way to kill a scorpion was to step on it. The three agents sprinted for the rocks.

As they did so, a scorpion's tail darted at Jack's ankle. He dodged aside before it had a chance to sting him, and looked over at Kate. A huge scorpion was closing in on her too.

‘Watch out!' he yelled.

Kate reached into her Book Bag and pulled out her Flyboard. She whacked the scorpion with it.

BLAM!

It stepped back and shook its head, then focused its eyes angrily on Kate.

CRUNCH!

She smashed one of its pincers. ‘Take that!' she said as she hopped onto the Flyboard and took off.

Jack and Max got on their Flyboards too, and the three of them zoomed towards the boulders. Unfortunately for them, Massri had spotted them.

HISS!

A blast of light shot out the diadem and hit the back of Jack's Flyboard. The engine caught fire, and it spun out of control. Jack flew off and tumbled to the ground. He groaned in pain, but quickly got his feet.

‘Oh no you don't!' screamed Massri.

Max and Kate were now hovering at the base of the rocks.

HISS!

Massri sent a bolt of light towards Max. It missed, instead burning through one of the ropes holding the boulders. The rocks shifted and crunched together.

Massri was furious. He ordered the scorpions to attack the children. Hundreds of the creatures gathered together and swept towards them.

‘I'll distract them!' yelled Jack to Kate and Max. ‘Release the rocks when I say!'

Kate and Max nodded, then rose to the top of the boulders. The pulled their Laser Bursts out of their bags and waited. Jack grabbed a tissue out of his pocket and waved it to attract the scorpions' attention.

‘Over here!' he shouted.

A wall of scorpions headed for Jack. Massri turned to his assistant, pleased with the turn of events.

‘They'll never survive,' he said as he headed towards the limo. ‘A perfect moment,' he added, ‘to tell the President it's time to hand the country over to me.'

As soon as the scorpions were close enough, Jack called up to Kate and Max. ‘Cut the ropes!' he cried.

Kate and Max shone their Laser Bursts, and easily sliced through the thick rope. The boulders began to rumble, then tumbled to the ground. Like a giant wave, they rolled over the scorpions, sending them flying and crushing every last one. Jack dived out of the way and narrowly missed being flattened.

When Massri saw what had happened, his face grew purple with rage. ‘How dare you!' he hissed, heading after Jack, blasts of light shooting from the top of the diadem.

ZAP!

Jack zigzagged through the sand.

BLAM!

A blast of light narrowly missed him, but Jack knew there was no way he could keep running for ever. Then he had an idea.

BLAM!

Another blast of light missed his foot by inches.

‘Jack!' screamed Kate. ‘Wait for us!' But Jack couldn't stop. There was no going back. He reached into his Book Bag and pulled out the Mini Bomb. He stopped and turned round to confront Massri.

‘You'll never rule the world!' he yelled.

He threw the Mini Bomb in Massri's path. It exploded, creating a small crater. Massri tripped and fell to the ground. The diadem popped off his head and rolled about ten feet away.

This was exactly what Jack had been hoping for. He dashed towards it, but Massri got there first.

‘This will be the end of you,' he sneered at Jack, lifting the crown towards his head again.

Just then, a loud screech came from above. Jack looked up. It was a bird of prey, just like the one he'd seen in London and at the Egyptian Museum. It was soaring high in the sky.

All of a sudden the bird dived with its talons outstretched.
Not again
, Jack thought to himself as he dropped to the ground. He put his hands over his head.

SWOOSH!

Jack felt the air whoosh past his ears, but nothing touched him. The falcon hadn't struck. He risked a peek. Massri was standing before him with a frightened look on his face. He was no longer holding the diadem.

‘The King's falcon has spoken . . .' he muttered.

SCREECH!

Jack looked up and saw the bird clutching the diadem in its claws.

SCREECH!

The falcon flew down towards Jack and dropped the diadem into his hands.