The Final Curtain (11 page)

Within seconds of leaving the calm and orderly world of the hospital, Toby and Max were standing beneath the dusty ruins of Spyforce. Sinking in a flash of light to the buckled floor of the lab, Max felt her heart sink.

The walls and floor bulged and folded in sections. Wires and light fittings hung in streams from the cracked and gaping roof. Computers and laptops lay broken on the floor, and cabinets and workbenches were sprawled on their sides, spilling crushed and mangled lab equipment from busted doors.

‘Quimby was so proud of her new lab.'

‘She's lucky it's so far underground or there'd be nothing left,' Toby said. ‘What should we take?'

‘We'll need protective gear, as well as immobilising gadgets.'

They scrambled through the mess. Toby wrenched open a cupboard that had fallen on its side. ‘Look who's found your favourite fashion item.'

He got on his hands and knees and lifted out one of Quimby's Forest Super Suits and a pair of Counter-Gravity Boots.

‘They'll be too obvious for the castle. What else does she have?'

Toby climbed back into the cupboard and came out with two black body suits. ‘These should do it.'

Max grabbed the smaller suit and started to unbutton her shirt. ‘This is the part where you look away.'

‘Oh, yeah. Sorry.' Toby turned and began to get into his suit. Max stepped behind a fallen bench, crouched down low and got into hers. It was a slim-fitting black shirt, pants and cap. Perfect for a night mission. ‘Finally, a suit that fits.' She threaded the Time and Space Machine belt around her waist, making sure it was well-concealed beneath her shirt.

Once dressed, they resumed their search, picking through boxes and struggling to open damaged drawers and cupboards. While Max was trying to reach the upper levels of a series of shelves, the ground shifted and the shelves' hinges pulled loose from the wall.

‘Max!' With his Counter-Gravity Boots hardly making a dint, Toby climbed over crumbling piles of lab debris. In one swift movement, he leapt into the air, caught her in his arms and swept her out of the way of the falling shelves.

He found his balance and grinned. ‘I've always wanted to do that.'

Max's relief at not knocking herself out was
replaced by her awkwardness at being in Toby's arms. ‘You can let me go now.'

‘The way I always pictured it, the damsel in distress is so thankful at having her life saved that she kisses me.'

Max's face hardened. ‘Not this damsel.'

‘Of course, it doesn't have to happen that way.' Toby lowered her to the ground. ‘Do you think we have enough gadgets?'

Max went through the salvaged items. ‘Super Suits and Counter-Gravity Boots. I also found these silent pen bombs, Swiss army knives and these miniature communication pieces.' Max handed Toby a transparent curved device. They slipped them behind their ears. ‘Can you hear me?'

‘Loud and clear.'

‘Me too,' Max said. ‘What do you have?'

‘Custard.' Toby held up two boxes.

‘That's it? You didn't find anything else?'

‘I found the suits …
and
I was busy saving your life, remember?' Toby looked offended. ‘Plus they do this.'

He poured some custard onto an overturned cupboard and quickly stuck a spanner in it. ‘And when I let go. Voila!'

The spanner stayed upright.

‘Try and get it out.'

Max pulled at the tool. ‘Quick-drying Glue Custard.' She nodded. ‘Quimby told me she'd been working on that.'

Max continued her gadget count.

‘We also have palm computers; watches with laser, torch and camera; and Personal Flying Devices.' She looked momentarily unsure. ‘I wonder if Quimby would approve of our gadget collection?'

‘If she was sending us on a mission to fight a megalomaniac, I'm sure this is exactly what she'd pick.'

A whale-sized creak of metal whined above them. Toby stumbled briefly and regained his balance. ‘I think that's our cue to go. Let's say the pact.'

‘There isn't time.'

Toby narrowed his eyes. ‘You would never be allowed to leave for a mission without saying the pact if Linden was here.'

Max's face pinched.

‘Sorry,' Toby said, ‘I just know how important it is to him.'

Max nodded and took his hands. ‘If Toby Jennings should come to harm or get lost or be in danger …' The roof above whined and groaned.
Max sped up. ‘… in any way, I, Max Remy, will do everything I can to help him and bring him to safety. Your turn.'

Toby repeated the pact and squeezed Max's hand when he'd done. ‘Lots of girls would kill to have me looking after them.'

‘Don't you ever get tired of your own ego?'

Toby pursed his lips and shook his head. ‘Nope.'

Max did a search on the Time and Space Machine for the location of the castle from their previous visit. The coordinates immediately appeared on the screen. She took one quick look at the ruins of Spyforce around her.

Toby held her hand a little tighter. ‘Let's go stop this guy before he causes any more trouble.'

His hair was sprinkled with powder from a crack opening in the roof. ‘Um, anytime now would be good to go.'

Max said, ‘Transport', and the two disappeared from the lab.

 

A bolt of lightning cracked into the thundery air that ravaged Cape Wrath, as if heralding the arrival of Toby and Max. Suspended above the ground, they were clobbered by icy winds hurled from the
night-black Atlantic Ocean below. It heaved into them like a bully, before dropping them heavily on the cliff top. Max's left wrist met the full force of the landing. ‘Ouch!'

‘Are you okay?'

‘I'll be fine.' Max used her good hand to slip the machine into her belt.

‘Picked a nice day for it,' Toby cried over the wind.

‘Stop making jokes.'

‘Sorry. It happens when I'm nervous.'

Max winced through the pain in her wrist. ‘When I'm nervous, I get bossy.'

‘You must be nervous a lot.' Toby hid a crooked smile. He picked up a rock with a chunk of ice frozen around it and held it against her wrist.

Max stared at his hands that turned bright red in the cold. ‘Blue's hurt too many people I love, Toby. I can't leave here until I stop him.'

‘I know,' he said. ‘Leave this ice here for a bit before you move. It'll help take down any swelling.'

‘You know a lot about medicine.'

‘Since I moved to Austria to be with Mum and Dad, we talk a lot about what they do.' He smiled. ‘I think I'd like to be a doctor, too, when I'm older.'

‘It must be nice living with them again.'

‘When they first moved there and I went to live with Aunt Mable in Sydney, I loved the freedom of not having any parents. Then I just missed them. Dad and I play chess for hours, which annoys Mum, but we also have this game where they'll tell me a group of patient symptoms and I have to guess what might be the trouble. It's like a puzzle, only when you solve it you could save someone's life.'

The wind circled like a pack of howling wolves, biting into them with each chilled blast.

Max looked up at the gloomy fog-laden horizon and lifted the collar of her Super Suit. ‘We better get going,' she said.

They made their way up the slippery, mud-soaked hill, clambering over sharp rocks and past thorny bushes to the top.

‘Where's the castle?' Toby asked.

A murky fog swirled across the land like a floating blanket of grime.

‘It was here,' Max said.

A gust of wind shoved her sideways into a boulder. ‘Why would anyone want to live in such a miserable, wretched, wasteland piece of –'

‘Max?' Toby pointed.

The wind smudged the clouds across the sky,
thinning in parts to reveal the pointed turrets of a castle.

‘You were right.' He grinned.

Flanked by eight round towers joined by stone-curtained walls, the castle keep rose in the centre of the fortress, dominating not only the castle but also the windswept hill it rested on.

‘It is impressive.' Toby took a picture of it with his watch.

The air echoed with the snap of floodlights being switched on one by one from the top of the castle walls. They flooded the grounds, swallowing the surrounding landscape in bands of blinding light.

‘I guess sneaking in is out of the question?' Toby said.

‘Get behind the boulder,' Max ordered. ‘And turn your force-field on.'

‘I promise, no more jokes.'

‘Just do it.'

‘Feeling nervous again, are you?' Toby sprang behind the boulder. He twisted the top button on his Super Suit shirt. A slight shimmer flickered around his body before disappearing.

‘Remember,' Max spoke over her shoulder, ‘you can't move as well with the force-field on, but they won't be able to detect you either.'

Another lightning-bright beam smothered Max. She held her hand up against it and saw movement at the castle entrance.

‘What's happening?' Toby asked.

‘Someone's coming.'

The castle drawbridge descended on crunching chains. An all-terrain vehicle lurched out of the entrance. Its thick tyres clambered over the wooden drawbridge, launching into the air before it had time to settle. The car bounded over the muddy ground, skidding and correcting itself as it headed directly towards Max.

‘What's your plan?' Toby asked.

‘I'm going in. You stay here and cover me using the virtual search engine on your palm computer.'

Toby took the computer from his pocket. Within seconds, a clear video image of the castle appeared. ‘Got it.'

‘Once I'm inside, I'll turn on the video in my watch. Use the communication ear thingy if you see anything I need to know about.'

‘Roger that.'

The heavy vehicle plodded to a stop just metres from Max. The engine rumbled in sync with the thunder. It sat before her, windows tinted black. No one got out. Max stood up, legs astride, arms crossed,
waiting to see who would move first. One of the back doors flew open, and she walked towards it.

‘With all the money Blue has, he can't find a cheerier place to live?'

Kronch sat at the wheel and said nothing. He flicked his head, motioning for her to get in.

‘What, no “please”?'

Kronch revved the engine.

‘I guess not.' Max climbed in.

Kronch switched on a floodlight positioned on the top of the truck. It circled the horizon.

‘Are you expecting someone else?' Max asked.

The truck lurched into gear and Kronch threw the wheel in a hard turn aimed towards the castle. The force hurled Max into the back of the seat and shoved her into the door.

‘I see your driving hasn't improved.'

She held her head as Kronch's smile filled the rearview mirror.

‘Max,' Toby spoke into her earpiece, ‘I can see everything. I'll keep watch but the second you need me, I'm in there, okay?'

‘Tell me, Kronch,' Max said. ‘What makes someone want to work for a raving lunatic in the bog-end of the world?'

Kronch sent Max a cold look.

Max stared back. Unflinching. ‘Because it can't be the view.'

She looked away to the desolate and barren landscape that scraped past them. Kronch pulled across the drawbridge's mauled and splintered boards that strained to span the shadowy moat. Max's throat tightened. The truck entered the yard of the castle interior, the chain drew the drawbridge up and Max flinched as it slammed closed, locking into place behind her.

Blue sat in a throne-like chair, entombed by the stone walls of his castle sitting room. The wind thrashed against the lofty stained-glassed windows, rattling them like it was trying to find a way in. A pile of logs crackled and flamed in a fireplace the size of a small room, but did little to drive away the cold.

‘You made better time than I expected.' Blue's legs were cradled by a thick blanket, and his neck was cozied by a furry, woollen scarf.

‘Thought I wouldn't show up?' Max asked.

‘Oh no. Not even for a second. You are very predictable in your loyalty, Maxine. It was something I learnt about you from the very first time we met.' He held his hand out to a lounge. ‘Please, sit down.'

Max didn't move.

Kronch pushed her in the back with his thick hands, and she stumbled like a falling scarecrow onto the lounge.

‘Isn't that more comfortable?' Blue asked.

She didn't answer.

The room was sparsely furnished. Apart from a few lounge chairs and small tables, there was nothing in the high-ceilinged shell of a room.

‘There was more furniture when I was here last time,' Max said. ‘Are you moving?'

Blue pointed to a tray of cheese, biscuits and sweet pastries on the table before them. ‘Snack? I wouldn't like it said that I wasn't a gracious host.'

Max ignored his offer and pulled her legs to her chest. She folded her hands over one another, her watch on the outside, and pressed
record
on the camera.

‘Great work, Max,' Toby whispered in her ear. ‘I can see him.'

‘I hope you weren't out there too long,' Blue said. ‘It's quite chilly up here at this time of year.'

‘I haven't come all this way to talk about the weather.'

Blue laughed. ‘That's exactly what your incompetent fool of a boss said when he was here last.' He eyed her off. Like he was testing her. ‘But you are right, we have business to discuss.'

‘Why would I do business with a snivelling, two-faced, lying –'

‘Easy, Max,' Toby said. ‘We don't want to upset the madman now.'

Max reconsidered. ‘You really expect me to do business with you after all that “desire to make good” rubbish you told me in the café?'

‘I admit I did embellish a little, but not
everything was a lie.' His face softened. ‘I do think you are an outstanding spy.'

Max's eyes narrowed.

‘One of the most exceptional I've met.'

His smile was almost genuine. Almost believable.

‘Look at how quickly you worked out my little plan to crumble London. You moved so quickly to have those places evacuated, and now you have found me when Spyforce and the other agencies couldn't. Mind you, it was never my intention to hurt anyone.'

‘Just to have everyone “sit up and take notice”.'

‘You really
did
listen to my little speech. What did you think of it, eh? Award-winning performance? Do I have an Oscar with my name written all over it?'

‘What you have is blackness written all over your soul.'

‘Oh Maxine, it is far too late to worry about my soul.'

‘What was your aim in doing all this?'

‘Oh, it's really very simple. To show the authorities they are no match for me, to have a bit of fun – all the while showing up Spyforce as being the ineffective and incompetent agency that it is,
led by a complete buffoon who can't even manage his words properly.'

‘Creep,' Toby whispered. ‘
Only don't tell him that
,' he added quickly.

Blue smoothed the blanket over his legs. ‘Between you and me, it really was a rush to see my plans in action.'

‘You do realise that to call you a creep would be far too high a flattery.'

Blue simply smiled, filling Max with unease. He took a painted tin from the antique table beside him, peeled the blanket from his knees and stepped over to her. ‘Toffee?'

‘You can walk.' Max's voice betrayed her fear.

‘I never saw that coming,' Toby said.

‘Yes, a miracle, isn't it?' He popped a toffee in his pocket and replaced the tin. ‘For later.'

Kronch snivelled behind her.

‘Is there anything you say that isn't a lie?'

‘Let's see.' He tapped his finger against his chin. ‘I told you I was here.' He held out his hands. ‘And I am.'

‘And the eye patch?'

‘Oh, that is real. Damage from Harrison's brutal attack.'

‘Attack?'

‘Don't bite, Max,' Toby said.

‘Here are the facts: after Harrison's merciless attempt on my life and my subsequent fall into the blowhole, I
was
hurt badly – that was true – but thanks to the discretion of my friends at the Hotel Burj Al Arab in Dubai, I was able to
disappear
while the best of the world's doctors patched me up rather nicely. Apart from my eye, but we've already discussed that.' He rubbed his hands in front of the fire, turning his back briefly to Max. ‘They did such a fine job, I was able to carry out my plans against London and Spyforce.'

‘Careful, Max,' Toby whispered. ‘
I'm
an expert in baiting people, and
this
guy is good.'

‘But I couldn't have done it without your help.' Blue had the ability, when he smiled, to fill it with a quiet malice.

‘My help?' Max scratched her ankle.

‘Itchy?'

‘I was bitten.'

‘You really believe that?'

‘I was in a forest at the time.' Max scratched. ‘So there's a good chance that's what happened.'

‘You don't think it could be an activator for the transmitter we buried in Spyforce, the one that brought the place down around your little friend's ears?'

Max stopped scratching.

Toby said nothing.

‘Oh,' Blue realised, ‘you hadn't worked that part out yet? Sorry, I've spoilt the surprise, haven't I? I had two of my men
meet
you in the forest during your recent training, and they left you with a little memento of your time together.'

‘It's not an insect bite?'

‘No, and it's very undetectable, even from your brilliant Spyforce doctor. Clever, aren't I?'

Max felt sick. ‘And the activator …'

‘Sets off the transmitter to release high-frequency vibrations that weaken an object's atomic structure.'

‘Like the structure is being torn apart from the inside out,' Max whispered Quimby's analysis.

‘I couldn't have said it better myself.'

Max felt as if she had swallowed lead. ‘So Linden and the others were hurt because …'

‘Of you. Yes.' Blue savoured his answer, rolled it around in his mouth like a melting chocolate. ‘Your beloved friend and spy agency are now wallowing in a pile of their own ruin, and it's all because of you. All those years of hard work to build it, all the tireless hours of research and invention, your cute little anniversary party. Gone. I should have
thought of recruiting you years ago to carry out my deeds.'

The fireplace spat and crackled.

‘How did you plant the transmitter in Spyforce?'

‘Oh, that is one of my favourite parts. One of the workers who was part of the recent upgrade installed it beneath a tile in the VART. For a very fine fee, of course. Then all I needed was to wait for a chance to have the activator installed in your ankle and for you to go to Spyforce to trigger the collapse.'

‘But I'd been at the Force for at least an hour before it started to crumble.'

‘Yes, that was interesting to me, too. Until I remembered that the walls of Spyforce are reinforced with titanium. My little device is very effective, and with stone it's almost immediate, but it does take a little longer to react with strong metals. It is a shame about your little friend getting hurt, though, I –'

Max lunged at him, grabbing him by the throat.

‘Max!' Toby cried in her ear. ‘Stop!'

She wrenched at Blue's collar, squeezing it in her fists. Small gagging noises escaped from his reddening face until she was dragged off by Kronch.
She threw her fists, trying to make contact with Blue, who clutched his throat.

‘You still have a temper that causes you to forget to be reasonable and think logically, and there you make mistakes. That is how Linden came to grief in Hollywood.
¹⁴
And, once again, he's in danger of losing his life and it's all … your … fault.'

‘Shut up! Shut up!' Max clutched her injured wrist.

Blue straightened his collar and took in a scratchy breath. ‘It's nothing less than they deserve. They had it coming after what they did to me, and now I have won.'

‘Max, I know it's hard,' Toby whispered, ‘but you'll have a better chance if you stay clear and focused.'

A strange calm came over Max. ‘Can I be put down now?'

Blue nodded to Kronch, who opened his arms. She dropped to the floor with the Counter-Gravity Boots absorbing most of the impact.

‘You don't get it do you?' She stood firm. ‘After all these years, this is all you think that matters.
Winning and being the best and loading your life with castles and palaces and money.' She frowned. ‘Eleanor said you could have been a great man.'

‘Eleanor always was a very smart woman.'

‘But how can you be a great man when you don't even know the first thing about being a human being?'

Kronch moved forward but Blue held up a hand.

‘Apart from the lecture, Maxine, why are you here? Why put yourself in such danger?'

‘I'm here to make this war between you and Spyforce end.'

‘Then we have more in common than you'd care to admit.' Blue's face twisted into a sharp-edged grin. ‘Because that is my aim precisely. Except, there is one final task I'd like to complete before I say goodbye.'

‘Goodbye?'

‘Yes.' Blue sat in his chair. ‘With most of the world's “good guys” after me, I don't intend to stick around any place where they will find me.'

‘They'll find you.'

‘Let them try,' Blue challenged. ‘Because where I'm going, they never will, but one thing I will
promise: I won't be resurfacing to cause any more trouble. You have my word on that.'

‘What's this task?' Max asked.

‘Come with me.'

Blue walked briskly and effortlessly across the cold stone floor. Kronch bowed, holding out his hand like a waiter at the door of an expensive restaurant.

Max turned her back on him and followed. She was led through grand empty passages; up darkened, twisting stairwells and across a blustery balcony where Miss Peckham was waiting for them.

‘I was wondering where you were,' Max said. ‘You always do seem to travel in threes.'

Peckham had a small hand-held device. Kronch stood behind her and did nothing more than offer a creeping smile.

Blue nodded to Peckham, who threw a switch that filled the courtyard area immediately below in a blanket of light. ‘Look.'

Max's fear of heights swirled in her head like a nightmare. She tried to steady her heart and keep her eyes focused. She lifted her watch hand to her throat, as if trying to keep warm.

‘He wants to play games now?' Toby asked.

A series of enormous manicured hedges wound and twisted into a complicated pattern below.

‘Welcome to my maze. It is one of the grandest and most difficult in the world, with only one entrance and one exit.'

‘And what's your little game got to do with me?'

‘It's going to prove to me how good a spy you really are.'

‘And why would I want to prove anything to you?'

‘Because if you make it through, Linden doesn't die.'

‘Max,' Toby began, ‘stay calm until he –'

Max threw herself at Blue, fists first. Kronch easily caught her from behind and hoisted her into the air under one arm.

‘You leave Linden alone.'

‘Oh
I
will, but I can't be held responsible for what others may do to him.'

Max's stomach vice-gripped inside her. ‘You don't even know where he is.'

‘He's in a small private hospital in Highgrove Rd, Spittlefield. From the outside it looks like a regular Georgian mansion, but beyond its creamy-white exterior and manicured front garden are
some of the finest doctors, nurses and medical equipment laid out especially for the highest dignitaries in the world: the PM, the head of the UN and agents from such organisations as MI6 and your very own Spyforce.'

Max felt as if her body had been drenched in ice water. ‘Small side streets of hidden treasures, so good for one's health,' she whispered.

‘Bingo! The little girl wins the fluffy toy for guessing the final clue of my speech.' Blue narrowed his eyes. ‘Maybe you
are
as clever as I thought. The hospital employee, whom I have paid an extraordinary sum of money, will, on my say-so, enter the hospital and plant one slim but very deadly activator.'

A sudden updraft swept across the balcony.

‘To test your natural spy talents, you'll complete the maze without your backpack.'

‘Hey!'

Kronch had slipped a knife beneath the straps of her pack and cut it from her.

‘And your watch,' Blue said as Kronch held out his hand. ‘I can't have you blabbing to Spyforce about my plan for the hospital – that wouldn't be part of the deal.'

Max slowly undid her watch strap, taking her
time and staring at the camera in the red metallic face.

‘I'll be here for you, Max,' Toby said.

Kronch tore it out of her hand before dropping both it and the backpack to the balcony floor and stamping them to oblivion.

Max stood firm, her voice composed. ‘If I complete the maze, you will leave the hospital alone and end your battle with Spyforce and the world?'