The Nightmare Vortex (6 page)

Max and Linden were packed and ready when Ben and Francis picked them up the next day. Ben was acting a little strange, double-checking everything and saying things twice. ‘I don't mind telling you I'm a little jealous. Using the Time and Space Machine
and
being invited to the Spy Awards Night. It's a very special invitation. It's an honour. A real honour.'

‘We've been invited to be waiters,' Max reminded him as they drove ever closer to the lab.

‘We know. We know. It's a very important job. Very important. Serving some of the greatest, unsung heroes of our day. Saving the world while most of us have no idea we're even in danger.'

When it was put that way, Max felt better about what they were about to do. Maybe it wasn't going to be such a bad job after all.

Max watched as the lab appeared before them and after being waved through by the security guards, Max, Ben, Francis and Linden went through the necessary procedures for getting ready for the lab.

When they finally stood in front of the Transporter Mark II, a tremor shot through Max's body. ‘Do you remember the first time we used
the old Time and Space Machine?' she asked Linden.

‘Yeah.' He looked down at his bulging white suit. ‘I was dressed a little better, but this should be fun too.'

Max smiled. Apart from his corny jokes, Linden would always be first choice as her spy partner.

‘Do you remember how the Transporter works?' Francis asked.

‘Yep,' Linden and Max said together, eager to get on with it. After the last week of training and studying, they felt ready for anything.

‘Be careful out there, very careful,' Ben said somberly. ‘It can be a dangerous business.'

‘Handing out soup?' Linden asked.

‘Well, not the soup bit … all the other stuff.'

‘We'll be fine.' Max was worried Ben was going to get all emotional as he leant down and wrapped her in one of his hugs.

‘You're very special to us. Both of you. Very special. You know that?'

‘Yeah, I know,' Max wheezed.

After Linden had his dose of Ben's hugging, they were ready to go, when Max's pocket vibrated. She opened her palm computer.

‘Eleanor?' Max was surprised to see her aunt.

‘Max. Thank goodness I caught you.'

‘How did you reach us? Do you have a palm computer too?'

‘Yep. We've had them for years. The first ones were really huge but they're much more streamlined now.'

‘Why didn't you tell me you all had one?'

‘You know we can't tell you things before Spyforce lets us,' Eleanor said gently.

‘What else don't I know? Next you'll be telling me you have a deep underground cavern in the farm that doubles as a secret high-tech laboratory.'

Max thought she saw Ben and Francis exchange a quick glance.

‘Eleanor?'

‘Ah … I should let you go. The Spy Awards Nights are very special events. I'm sure you'll be great.'

Just as she spoke, they heard an enormous crash in the background.

‘What was that?'

‘It's Larry,' Eleanor explained. ‘He's climbed onto the roof again.'

‘There's going to be hail.' Linden and Ben nodded.

Eleanor and Ben were the only people Max
knew who had a weather-predicting pig. Despite knowing she was going to regret asking, there was a part of her that had to know.

‘Why does Larry climb on the roof when it's going to hail?'

‘He likes to pretend he's a giant piece of ice plummeting to earth. Anyway, dear, better let you get on with it. Best of luck and may the Force be with you.'

‘Larry's on the roof.' Linden was disappointed.

‘Yeah.' Ben sounded the same. ‘He makes this big pile out of hay and old rags and then he dives into it. Doesn't hail much so we don't see it often, but it's great when it happens.'

‘Do you remember the time when a gust of wind blew up and he got stuck on the clothesline?' Linden sniggered.

‘It took all three of us an hour to get him down, but then he went straight back up on the roof again.'

‘He's a brave one, that pig.' Linden smiled affectionately.

Max watched Ben and Linden as they mused about Larry's pig-flying abilities.

‘Is it too much to ask to actually get on with our mission?'

‘Oh, yeah.' Ben shook his head. ‘Francis?'

‘Let's all hold hands.'

Hold hands? Max thought, it's a spy mission, not a hippie convention.

‘Today is a very big day in the history of the scientific world and the advancement of mankind … I mean, humankind. Max and Linden, we wish you luck as you embark on a great journey. It's not by sitting still that people become great. It's by taking risks and moving ahead.'

‘And washing dishes,' Linden added with fake seriousness.

‘And washing dishes.' Francis smirked. ‘May the Force be with you.'

Ben struggled with a tear tickling the corner of his eye as Max released her hand. ‘We better go.'

‘Call us on your palm computers when you get there,' Ben's voice cracked as Max tried to get out of there before she had to witness an adult cry.

‘Okay.' She wrote
Spyforce
on the LED screen of the Transporter Mark II and it immediately displayed the coordinates.

‘This is much quicker than before,' Linden exclaimed.

‘And take care,' Ben added in a voice slightly higher than normal. ‘Lots of care.'

‘Sure.'

‘And don't forget to …'

But it was too late. Max grabbed Linden's hand, said ‘Transport' and just as Francis had told them, there was no loud noise, only a green flash of light, a quiet
fffftttt
and they were gone.

A flash of fluorescent light billowed from the air and tiny sparks of colour fell like a shower from a fireworks display. Max and Linden appeared from the centre of the light and hung suspended in the air for a few seconds before floating gently to the ground.

Watching from nearby, Steinberger pressed down on his stopwatch.

‘Fifteen seconds! Brilliant!' he whispered to himself. ‘Not quite the speed we'd like yet but they've done it. Ben and Francis have to be two of the most ingenious people to ever get up in the morning.'

Dressed in their white lab suits, Max and Linden arrived at Spyforce in the Vehicular All-Response Tower, or the VART for short. Linden landed on his feet looking pretty similar to how he left. Max, however, looked like a giant upside-down pavlova as her suit had filled with air during transportation and she'd landed on a pile of kitty litter and some freshly laid poo.

‘What is it with animals relieving themselves right where I'm about to land? The world's not that small,' Max said as she stretched her head over her expanded body to see the Transporter Mark II safely nestled in her hand.

‘
And
cats have to have the smelliest poo in the world.'

Dretch's cat, Delilah, chose that moment to saunter in front of Max looking like a proud goose that laid a golden egg. ‘You may think you've won this one, but just you wait,' Max warned.

Linden stared at his upturned friend. ‘Max, she's a cat. She doesn't speak English.'

‘She knows what I'm saying,' Max sneered as the cat innocently licked its fur.

‘Ah Max! Linden!' Steinberger walked towards them with a sprightly step, then suddenly stopped. ‘What is that smell?'

‘It's Delilah's welcome home present for Max,' Linden explained. ‘I'm trying not to take it personally that I didn't get anything.'

‘And who's become a little chubby since I last saw her?' Steinberger poked Max's over-inflated suit and giggled.

At that exact moment Linden thought Steinberger was just about the bravest person he knew.

Max didn't smile and Steinberger's expression collapsed into a frown.

‘Maybe you should just help me up?'

Steinberger pulled a small sewing kit from his
pocket. ‘Another thing Nanna said never to be without, along with a hanky.' He produced a shiny needle and plunged it into Max's suit so that she flew through the air like an escaped party balloon.

‘Waaaaaaa!' she yelled as she fizzled in front of Linden and Steinberger.

‘This is better than a fair,' said Linden, knowing there was no way Max would hear him.

‘Maybe she should be part of the finale for tonight's celebrations?' Steinberger was buoyed by his own humour until Max, who was no longer airborne, came crashing to the floor with a loud, ‘Oooooph!'

Linden and Steinberger leapt into action.

‘Max, are you alright?' Steinberger asked anxiously.

Max groaned as she tried to sit up. ‘Now I know how the scarecrow in the
Wizard of Oz
felt.'

Linden and Steinberger looked at each other. Max realised she'd told a joke, which felt very unMaxlike. Linden opened his mouth to speak.

‘Don't say anything. I'm just as confused as you are. Let's go.'

Max put the Transporter Mark II in her pack while Linden called Ben and Francis to tell them they'd arrived safely. She looked around the VART
at the Sleek Machine, the Space Explorer and the area where the Invisible Jet would be if she could see it. As much as she was angry about her landing, she was happy to be back at Spyforce.

Stepping onto the Vibratron 5000 for identification, they felt the familiar tingling sensation throughout their bodies. ‘I love this part,' Linden said when it was his turn.

‘Are we going to Harrison's office now?' Max secretly hoped Harrison may have a mission for them and besides, she was sure he'd want to say hello to his top spies.

‘I'm afraid not. Harrison is busy with the heads of all the other agencies, going over final security details for this evening. Meanwhile, let's get you fitted out.'

Steinberger led the way down a series of long, dimly lit corridors until they reached the kitchen and the bright blue-and-red-striped hairdo of Irene.

‘Thank goodness you're here. Quick, try this.'

She held out a tray of hot pink muffins smothered in an orange-coloured sauce.

Linden didn't need to be asked twice. ‘Mmmmm.'

‘Is that a good
mmm
or a bad one?' Irene looked nervous.

‘Can you come and live at my place?'

Irene's face stretched into a wide grin. ‘They're going on the menu.'

Linden liked Irene, especially the way she reminded him of his mother. They both had rounded figures, wore bright colours and always had a positive word for even the bleakest situation.

‘I'm in charge of the kitchen tonight and you and I will be working together.'

‘All right!' Suddenly Linden didn't care if he wasn't on a mission. He was going to spend the night surrounded by slightly weird but delicious food.

Steinberger held out two coathangers with long, dark plastic covers.

‘These are your outfits for tonight and your security passes, which you must keep on you at all times.'

Max grabbed her uniform knowing the chances of it looking any good were close to zero, but at least she could get rid of her kitty-littered marshmallow suit.

After Steinberger showed them to some change rooms, Max stomped out wearing black trousers, a white shirt and a black vest. All way too big. Linden's uniform was the same except, of course, it was a perfect fit.

‘Is it too much to ask that I wear something that fits while trying to save the world?' Max asked.

‘Sorry about that,' Steinberger apologised. ‘The other waiters were bigger than you and there was no time to get new ones.'

Beep, beep, beep, beep
. Steinberger's pager beeped.

‘I have to go,' he said in an urgent tone. ‘I'll leave you in Irene's capable hands.'

‘What's wrong?' Max needed to know in case there was a terrible disaster she could help out with or a calamitous incident only she could fix.

‘It's my dry cleaning. My suit's ready for tonight.'

Steinberger disappeared as Max stood in a pool of disappointment.

‘Right.' Irene slapped her floured hands together. ‘Let's get to work. There's a lot to do before the awards can begin.'

Linden followed Irene eagerly as Max trudged behind.

‘Watch out everyone. This is where my life gets really fascinating,' she mumbled as she pulled her baggy pants higher.

‘We'll start with finger food,' Irene continued. ‘Agents are an introverted lot. Cagey and quiet.
Never give anything away. Part of the job. It's our task to limber them up, make them come out of themselves, and this is how we'll do it. We'll start with French toast with blue honey mash and red fish eggs all the way from Tasmania, Russian squid stuffed with bright yellow zucchini flowers and black truffles from the Black Forest in Germany, and finally, organic farm-raised frogs' legs lightly fried and dipped in wasabi and soy sauce — a little favourite of Harrison's.'

‘And that's going to limber them up?' Apart from the time Toby Jennings pulled out his tooth and showed it to her, blood and all, Max had never heard anything so gross in her life.

‘I'd pretty much guarantee it.'

Max watched as Irene and Linden bustled around shelves with piles of ingredients, sure that she could be doing something more important than playing waitress.
And
on a night where she should be taking her place among all the other top spies of the world. Had everyone forgotten she'd helped save the world? Twice? Was it too much to ask that —

A loud clanging sound thundered behind her, followed by a screeching meow.

‘Come here, my little one.'

Max felt as though ice water had been poured over her and knew it could only mean one thing.

Dretch.

His small, bent body was wrapped in his wrinkled maroon coat and his sneaky eyes spun around in his eye sockets like two lost ferrets. His hair was the same shaggy mop of grey spaghetti that dribbled in front of his face and across the scar that ran down the length of his cheek and past his grey stubbled chin.

‘Come to be the hired help, have you? 'Bout time they figured out where your real talents lie.'

‘I said I'd help.' Max tried not to look as scared as she was. ‘As a favour to Harrison.'

‘Even great leaders sometimes make bad choices,' Dretch snivelled.

Max folded her arms and looked towards Linden and Irene who were oblivious of Dretch's sudden appearance.

‘I haven't forgotten that you tried to blacken my name last time you were here. And if I so much as hear you put one foot wrong I will make sure you're thrown out of the Force quicker than your miraculous Time and Space Machine can get you home.'

Max knew she'd earned Dretch's anger when
she accused him of being a double agent but she couldn't help feeling there was something that wasn't quite right about him. She flinched as Delilah appeared with a thump on Dretch's hunched shoulders and after a dismissive groan that reached right into Max's bones, they left.