The Mission to Find Max: Egypt (9 page)

Jack blushed for the second time. He changed the subject. ‘Where's the diadem?' he asked.

‘I buried it at Giza,' said Max, ‘between the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid. I had to hide it from Massri. He's been trying to find it since it turned up in Thebes. You know,' he added, leaning closer to Jack and Kate, ‘Salama is the son of Omar Massri, the guy who stole it from Howard Carter in the first place.'

Jack's eyes widened. That explained why Salama Massri was so desperate to find it.

‘The problem is,' said Max, ‘Massri knows where it is. He injected me with truth serum. I was forced to tell him its location. He may have already found it,' he added.

‘I don't think so,' said Jack, remembering what Massri had told Kate. ‘If we hurry, we might be able to beat him to it.'

He looked around the room. ‘Where's your Book Bag?' he asked Max.

‘I buried it near the diadem,' said Max. ‘I didn't want Massri to get his hands on that either.'

‘Clever,' said Jack.

Kate stood up. ‘You boys spend way too much time chit-chatting,' she said. ‘If we're going to stop Massri, we have to get going.'

Jack and Max looked at each other. Neither of them liked being told what to do by a girl. But Kate was right: they had to hurry. They dashed out of the tent and found themselves in the middle of the compound. Massri and Chai were nowhere to be seen.

‘Giza's more than three hundred miles to the north,' said Max. ‘Up river.'

‘We can take the Longtail Boat,' said Jack. After all, he'd just successfully navigated it from Cairo.

He led Max and Kate towards the dock, then dropped his toy boat into the water. It ballooned in size once again. The trio climbed in, and Jack started up the motor. He cranked up the speed, heading up the Nile as fast as he could.

Soon Jack's thoughts turned to Massri. Mr Hassan had said that whoever wore the diadem would have the power to ‘rule the world'. Jack didn't know exactly what that meant, but he knew it meant trouble. They had to stop Massri from getting his hands on it – whatever the cost.

Jack, Kate and Max arrived at the dock in Giza. Jack put the Longtail Boat away. They turned and saw a sign:

‘That's where we're headed,' said Max.

Kate opened her Book Bag and pulled out her Flyboard. After she'd snapped it together, they all stepped on.

Kate programmed the Flyboard to ‘NOTHING BUT AIR', and soon they were off. Travelling at twenty m.p.h., it didn't take them long to reach the Giza plateau. Jack got off, and found himself staring at the most amazing monuments he'd ever seen.

Towering above him was the Sphinx, the largest statue in the world. It was taller than ten men and nearly as long as forty. Behind the Sphinx was the Pyramid of Khafre – the second largest of the pyramids at Giza.

‘I buried the diadem in a small box,' explained Max, ‘near the Pyramid of Khafre. We can find it with the Transponder.'

He tapped on his Watch Phone, and soon a map of the desert floor came up. A tiny red dot started to blink on the screen.

‘This way,' he said, striding off.

Jack and Kate followed Max as he went past one of the paws of the Sphinx and headed towards the pyramids. Just then, Jack spied something in the distance. It was two men. One of them was digging in the sand.

‘Wait,' he said, pulling Max back. ‘That looks like Massri.'

Sure enough, it was Massri and his Asian assistant, Chai.

‘I can't believe it,' said Max. ‘How did he get here so soon? And how did he find the diadem without the Transponder?'

‘I don't know,' said Jack, pulling his Tornado out of his bag. ‘But we can nab him with this.'

The GPF Tornado was like a hand-held catapult. It could fling ropes out over a huge distance, ensnaring the bad guys. Jack set the dial to ‘2' and pulled the trigger.

ZIPPP!

Two ropes shot out. Unaware of the threat, Chai pulled a small box out of the ground. He handed it to his master, who opened it. Massri pulled the diadem out of the box, and put it on his head. A golden ring shone out around him and his assistant.