The Venice Job (5 page)

‘Aaaaah!'

Toby sprang forward from the Wall of Goodness into the Spyforce lab, narrowly avoiding a shining maze of shelves, cupboards and benches packed with scientific gadgets and equipment. When he'd found his feet, he turned back to see the Wall gurgling and moving behind him.

‘I love that wall,' Toby cried. ‘I've got to get one for my room.'

Linden, as usual, had passed through the Wall with little fuss. ‘Looks like you're okay,' Linden smiled.

‘Looks like I am,' Toby said with a confident grin. ‘Where's Max?'

‘She and the Wall have this special relationship which means they spend more time together than most people,' Steinberger answered carefully. He'd come out of the Wall first with no trouble at all.

Max was soon spat out and, after some stumbling and arm waving, she came to a stop beside them.

‘Welcome to the lab!' Steinberger beamed at her like a circus master, hoping to soften her possible post-Wall bad mood.

‘Thanks,' she mumbled. ‘How'd you go?' she asked Toby.

‘It was like walking through a cloud,' he answered smugly.

‘Thought so.' Max tugged at her clothes to try and de-Wall them. ‘Am I ever going to make it through there without being mauled?'

‘Never mind, Max,' Steinberger cried. ‘It means it likes you.'

‘If it likes me any more it's going to kill me.'

Toby and Linden grinned.

‘How about we get started?' Steinberger thought it would be better to change the subject and led the way into the heart of the lab.

‘Ah, you're here.'

Professor Quimby was the head inventor at Spyforce. She stood at her workbench in her long white coat, baggy pants and bright red trainers, with long wisps of hair tucked unevenly into a colourful scarf. All around her were walls and shelves of scientific bits and pieces. Beyond these, small clusters of other scientists worked quietly.

‘Welcome back, Max. Sorry we couldn't come to your party but we had your Venice mission to prepare for.'

Steinberger, meanwhile, had begun to lose colour from his face, and his body shook like it was experiencing its own mini human earthquake. The
reason was Frond, the head of the Plantorium at Spyforce and the one thing that could push Steinberger so far off the cool meter it was a wonder he ever made it back.

‘And I'm pleased we're sending three of Spyforce's best agents for the job. Don't you agree, Steinberger?' Frond stared at him through her rose-coloured glasses. She was the only one at the Force who didn't know about Steinberger's crush.

‘I … ah … we …' He stopped, realising he would get no further.

‘We've been preparing for this mission all morning,' Quimby took over. ‘And we think we have all you need to make it a success. Why don't you begin, Plomb?'

A small white-coated man slipped out from behind a large shelf. Plomb was the Spyforce bomb expert who was frightened of loud noises and wore large fluffy earmuffs and felt-bottomed shoes. The spies had to lean in close to hear his quiet voice.

‘This,' he whispered as he held out a small red box with a digital screen, ‘is a bomb detector. It will detect and locate a bomb or a detonator and record any relevant data which can be relayed back to Spyforce for analysis. We're not sure who the person behind the note is or how they intend to harm
Venice, but from the explosion on Murano, we believe they may be planning further explosions. If you locate a bomb, contact me immediately. I will then need to identify what type it is and work out the best way to dismantle it.' He took out three small round chalky balls. ‘I have also given you these.'

‘Bath bombs?' Toby asked warily.

‘That's what they look like,' Plomb said proudly. ‘Except that they are super-powerful silent bombs.'

‘Can I be in charge of those if we need them?' Toby's James Bond idea of spying was coming together just nicely.

‘Not sure if we can trust you with a bomb.'

‘What's not to trust?' Toby flashed Max a broad smile.

‘How long have we got?'

Linden laughed. ‘That's good.'

‘I can do better.' Max shrugged.

‘Both the bombs and the detector are completely waterproof.' Plomb seemed relieved to have finished. He turned, looked around furtively and slipped silently out of the lab.

Aware that time was running short, Quimby was keen to keep moving. ‘Frond?'

Steinberger giggled at the mention of her name before wincing and regaining control. Frond stepped
forward with a small jar and a bag of green powder.

‘I have sneeze powder and Stun Perfume # 5. Great for getting bad guys off your case or knocking someone out for half an hour. It smells good too.'

‘Excellent, Doctor.' Steinberger applauded. ‘Just marvellous.'

The others stared until he realised he was on his own and stopped clapping.

Quimby turned to her workbench and picked up a small cloth pouch no bigger than her palm. ‘These are your scuba diving suits.'

‘Scuba diving?' It was Max's turn to go white. ‘We're going scuba diving?'

‘As Venice is built on water, we think they'll come in handy. They are made from a thermal micro-fibre that acts as a heat-regulating system. So even though it will be cold you'll feel very cosy. I've included a waterproof belt for carrying essential gadgets.' She picked up a pair of goggles. ‘These are hyper-sensitive and will let you see clearly in darkness or poor light. They also have a magnification function that will enable you to see objects at great distances.'

She reached behind her and took three watches from her bench. ‘And no diving suit is complete without a waterproof infrared video/radio watch.'

‘I'm already dangerously good-looking and this is only going to add to it.' Toby accepted his watch.

‘It takes video and photos in any conditions and at any water level, and has an emergency light and button that instantly transmits to all the other watches involved in your mission. I have included Abseiler Ropes for sneaky entry into or escapes from buildings, the Shush Zone for top-secret conversations, and of course all of these will be kept in your bottomless, weightless backpacks. There are also regular cameras, tourist maps and money to help add to your tourist disguise.'

She turned to Toby. ‘And this is your palm computer. Max and Linden already have theirs. It is sensitive to your fingerprints alone so will operate only in your hands.' She looked at her watch. ‘As time is moving on, Linden and Max will explain any gadgets that are new to you.'

Quimby handed them their packs.

‘Good luck, and may the Force be with you.'

Max took her pack and lifted it onto her shoulders. It felt good to have it on and now, more than ever, she was ready to begin her next mission.

Except for one thing.

‘Steinberger?' Max noticed he wasn't moving and his face had become tinged with blue.

‘Steinberger?'

‘Yes?' He gasped as if he'd just remembered to breathe.

‘Should we go?'

‘Yes. Of course. Go. Definitely.' He looked lost, as if he didn't know what to do next.

‘How about I lead the way?' Max suggested. ‘Thanks, Quimby. Thanks, Frond.'

There was another Steinberger giggle at the mention of Frond's name. Max rolled her eyes.

Equipped for their mission, the small group walked out of the room with a determined step. All except Steinberger, who knocked over a series of glass tubes filled with bubbling red liquid and set fire to the cuff of his suit on a Bunsen burner. Quimby quickly damped it down with a fire blanket and refused his offer to clean up.

‘It'll be better if I sort it out,' she answered.

And without any more mishaps, they managed to leave the room, ready to begin their mission to Venice.

Far away, buried deep in a series of watery canals, a small air bubble squeezed its way along the cold
metal tube of a small bomb, through a recently carved hole, and escaped. It rose to the surface in a trembling quiver and exploded harmlessly into an icy Venice night, unseen and unheard.

In another part of the city, a perfectly manicured hand reached for a long-stemmed champagne glass and made a toast.

‘To …' There was a momentary pause. ‘Me, and the wonderful city of Venice. May she and I have a long and prosperous life together.'

‘To you and Venice,' a gravelly voice grumbled back.

Two fine crystal glasses clinked in celebration of a plan almost complete.

The water of the canals shivered under the cold light of a pale moon. Far away, the sound of a ship's horn echoed across the lagoon like a lonely sea monster, and in the Piazza San Marco a pigeon came to rest under one of the many arches of St Mark's Cathedral.

But Max Remy saw none of it.

She'd been on assignment in Venice, searching for a criminal mastermind who would soon bring about the ruin of this ancient city. Now she'd found him: Signore Sagbottom, owner of Venice's finest glass factories.

‘You may think you've outsmarted the world but your criminal days are over, Sagbottom.'

‘I may not have outsmarted the world, Signora Remy, but I have outsmarted you. Looks like you've finally met your match.' He laughed a snivelling, wheezing laugh.

As Max Remy dangled from a cargo crane in Sagbottom's shipyard on the outskirts of Venice, she had to admit, he may have been right. He planned to lower her into a container and send her on a slow journey to the bottom of the ocean, where no-one would find her.

But she wasn't giving up yet. ‘I haven't met my match. I've met one of the most vile cowards the world ever spat out.'

‘You can't rile me, signora. I am not usually known for my good spirits but today I feel happy.'

‘Happy knowing you will be responsible for the deaths of thousands of people and the destruction of some of the most beautiful buildings in the world?'

‘They can be rebuilt while I'm sunning myself in the Bahamas.'

Max's palm computer was in her pocket, relaying her position and her conversation to Linden who was at this moment on his way to find her. If Max was going to die, she was at least going to make sure Spyforce knew Sagbottom's plan so they could stop him.

‘As a last request, tell me, how were you going to do it?'

Sagbottom paused. ‘Why should I?'

He reached over and threw the switch on the crane's controls. Max jerked downwards in a swift plunge.

‘Ouch!' Max landed with a squelchy thud onto a cold bed of mud. ‘Very classy. Have you given up exporting glass for mud now?'

Signore Sagbottom sniggered into the cool night air. ‘As a matter of fact, I have.'

Max stared at his moonlit face and his plan
became clear. ‘You're going to dig up the bottom of the lagoon and ship it out to sea in containers until the city of Venice slowly sinks into its own harbour!' She gulped. ‘And I am going to be part of your new cargo.'

‘You've worked it out. Now I couldn't possibly let you live.'

Max had to think fast. She had to figure out a way to escape from the container and save Venice. The world couldn't be without such a beautiful city: without its history, its art, its

‘Are you going to sit here all night or are you going to help us save Venice?'

Max looked up. There was no Sagbottom, no container full of mud, just the smug face of Toby as Max realised she was the last passenger on the plane.

She closed her spy notebook and tucked it into her backpack. ‘I'm not leaving Venice in your hands. The city needs a professional to save her.' Max stood up in a huff but her foot became tangled in the straps of her bag and she fell into Toby's arms.

‘Yeah, but are you coming or not?' He grinned.

Max awkwardly untangled herself. ‘How about
we get to work and save Venice from your bad jokes?'

‘One day you'll appreciate my good humour and the fact that I'm the best-looking boy you've ever met.'

‘Okay, now I really need to get off the plane. It's starting to feel very crowded in here with you and your ego.'

After clearing customs, Max, Linden and Toby left the airport to be met by the chauffeur of a luxury limousine. Inside, the car looked like a small lounge room. There was a low table on a rug between wide leather seats, a tray of food, a fridge filled with drinks and their own personal entertainment system complete with wide-screen plasma TV and surround sound.

Toby grabbed a juice from the fridge and sank back into his seat as the limousine drove towards the city. ‘I'm still annoyed, Max, that you didn't ask me to be a spy earlier.'

Max took a sip of her bitter orange drink. ‘I never asked you to be a spy. You pushed your way in.'

‘Only because I knew how badly you wanted to work with me. I was doing it for you.'

Linden smiled. He enjoyed the sparring between the two.

‘If you want to survive this mission, I think it'd be better if you closed your mouth and enjoyed the view. I'm your supervisor, remember?'

Toby opened his mouth to say something else, but before he could, Max shoved in a crumbled rice ball filled with cheese.

‘That should do it.'

Toby's tastebuds went into action and he forgot about annoying Max. ‘This is good.'

‘I told you food fixes most things.' Linden bit into a mini salami pizza.

Contented munching sounds filled the car until they pulled up at the edge of a wharf.

‘Now we go by boat.'

The driver directed Max, Linden and Toby to a large, plush, covered gondola. This time Toby had nothing to say as they sank into the warm interior of the boat. The gondolier sailed them along a wide canal that wound beneath a myriad of bridges lit by the glow of coloured lamps, while on either side of them, people huddled in cafes or restaurants or nestled in coats as they walked small dogs or held hands in moonlit strolls.

The whole of Venice took on a magical feel as it lit up the night. ‘It's like we're in a film,' Max said quietly.

They arrived in front of a grand mansion, with tall arched windows, carved stone balconies and strings of fairy lights strung in shimmering rows. Two men in suits stepped out of the mansion and leant down to help them out of the boat.

Max stepped onto the stone pavement. ‘Thank you.'

She looked up at the house to see the good-looking boy from Steinberger's brief staring down at her.

‘Luca Cavello,' she whispered.

The fairy lights flickered across Luca's face. ‘Maxine Remy,' he greeted her.

Linden reeled back. Apart from her mother and their old archenemy, Mr Blue, no-one called Max ‘Maxine'. But instead of the explosion he expected, Max just smiled.

‘It is so very nice to finally meet you,' Luca continued with smiling eyes. ‘It really is an honour.'

Max knew it was silly, but there was something about the eyes and the fact that Luca had said all that with an accent that made her want to hear it again, but she knew she couldn't ask, so she just stared instead.

‘It's probably polite if you say “thank you” about now,' Toby smirked.

‘Thank you.' Max winced, realising it'd only taken her ten seconds to made a fool of herself.

‘And you must be Linden, the clever one.' Luca shook Linden's hand. ‘And you are Toby, the good-looking one, yes?'

‘Only if you ask his mother,' Linden scoffed.

‘It's true,' Toby corrected him. ‘And the sooner you come to terms with it the less painful it'll be.'

Luca laughed. ‘I think we will have fun on this visit. Please enter.' He held out his arm and asked the two assistants to take the bags into the house.

As Max walked inside, she made a promise to herself that for the rest of the mission she would not mess up. She wouldn't trip or fumble or stare or …

‘Aaaah!'

Her foot got caught under the welcome mat and sent her sliding across the polished marble floor like a blubbery seal on a joy-ride across ice.

Luca ran forward and knelt beside Max who had head-butted the boots of a very large statue. He examined her head and then the statue. ‘Lucky you didn't damage the marble.'

Toby and Linden gave each other a worried look. If either of them had made a joke like that, they could have kissed their lives goodbye.

‘Let me help you up.'

The way Luca smiled at Max made her feel okay, both her head and her ego.

‘I am here as your friend and guide,' Luca offered. ‘So please do not hesitate to ask me anything.'

‘Where do I trade in my life for this one?' Toby asked. ‘Because I think this is where I am supposed to live.'

Luca laughed. ‘For now, let me show you to your rooms.'

At the top of a sweeping marble staircase and along a richly carpeted hall, he showed Toby and Linden to their rooms before moving on to Max's. ‘We have saved the best for you,
signorina
.'

He opened the door, and even though Max tried not to, she stared again, this time with the added attractive bonus of her mouth hanging wide open.

Her room had an antique red velvet lounge suite, a small gold-rimmed table and chairs, and a giant four-poster bed draped with crimson lace and covered with shiny plum-coloured pillows.

‘Is it okay?'

But no matter how hard Max tried, she couldn't answer.

‘There's a fridge with food and drinks as well, but you can call down to the kitchen at any time to
have food brought up. Oh, and there's one more thing to show you.' Luca led her over to the window, threw aside the curtains and opened the doors onto a stone balcony.

From this height Venice looked even better. The city and her canals were laid out in front of Max like a fairytale city. Its lights shimmered off the water like a million low-flying fireflies hovering protectively over small squares, while music and the smell of the sea brushed past her in a cool touch.

‘It's not unusual for Venice to steal away one's words. It has been doing so for hundreds of years, but you do like it, no?'

Linden and Toby appeared behind her.

‘It'll do,' Linden said. ‘Sometimes you have to rough it a little when you're on a mission.'

Luca smiled before closing Max's curtain and doors.

‘We better get to it,' Max forced her mouth to work. ‘Linden, could you activate the Shush Zone?'

Linden rifled through his pack while Max took out her palm computer.

‘What's a Shush Zone?' Toby asked.

‘It's a restrictive sound field that stops anything we say leaving this room.' Linden sat beside Luca on the lounge. ‘But we need to move in close.'

He lifted a small metal dome into the air and moved it in a sweeping arc. It created a snug, green, glowing curve around them as Max opened the connection on her computer to Spyforce.

‘Ah, you're there.' Steinberger's face appeared on the screen before them.

‘Yes, sir,' Max answered. ‘We're at Luca's and ready to begin our mission.'

‘Excellent. As you know, the city of Venice is under great threat and it is up to you to find out how and by whom. You will be …'

Steinberger was interrupted by another incoming message.

‘Yes, Mr Harrison. I'm talking to them now. They're in Venice and I'm about to brief them further. Yes, sir. Absolutely, sir. Goodbye, sir.'

Steinberger ended the connection. ‘Mr Harrison sends his love and wants to know if you have clean … hankies.'

‘Hankies?' Luca frowned.

‘Handkerchiefs,' Linden whispered. ‘They've got a thing about them.'

‘Oh.' Luca looked confused.

Steinberger continued. ‘We are closely monitoring satellite information and we have the mayor's house and all major buildings and tourist
sites under twenty-four-hour surveillance. So when the extortionist makes their next move, we will know about it. You will meet with your contact, Agent 31, in the Accademia art gallery tomorrow at ten a.m. He will have further information about the threatening note Luca's father received.'

‘Shouldn't Luca's father be here?' Linden asked.

‘We need this mission to be as low-key as possible, and for that, Spyforce and the Italian government thought it better if Luca's father went about his regular business. He has been given a private and direct line to me and I will update you on any information he has that you need to know.'

‘This will lead the criminal to believe nothing is being done,' Luca continued, ‘therefore increasing the surprise they will get when we catch them. Isn't that right, Maxine?'

‘Sorry?' Max had been listening to Luca's accent but not what he was saying.

‘It will make our … victory sweeter?'

Toby and Linden smirked.

What will? Max thought. Then, knowing she had to say something, she said, ‘Absolutely,' and tried to look confident.

‘That's the spirit!' Steinberger leant into the camera as if to look at Max more closely. ‘Are you
okay, Max? You look different somehow.'

Max didn't like the attention focused on her.

‘No. I'm fine.'

‘You seem a little pale. Must be the reception.' Steinberger leant back. ‘If you have any further questions, call me at any time. My lines will be open twenty-four hours a day. I have complete faith that we have sent the best team for this mission. Good luck.'