by Sophie Deen
Hedy interrupted her. “We do not want you to hack Shelly remotely. A hack will alert Shelly that her systems have been compromised. We require you to infiltrate her headquarters in person and gain access to the high-security ShellyServer console. The console is located in Shelly’s office. You will retrieve the file from the server, exit the building without attracting attention and upload the data to the CSA’s network, as quickly as possible. Another agent will then pick up the mission.”
“But why me?” Asha asked, wondering how she was meant to get inside Shelly Inc. “Why not use that agent?”
“We admire your bravery, Asha Joshi, and your ability to talk yourself out of a tight situation. We have chosen you because Mission Shark Bytes will be similar to the time when you climbed up the drainpipe to your headteacher’s third-floor office and hacked her computer.”
“Oh, erm, yeah … I needed to make sure that me and Demola were in the same group for the school trip,” said Asha.
“And the time you broke into a locker and hid inside, so that you missed assembly.”
“You know about that too?” Asha’s eyes widened. “I have so many questions!”
“There is no time for—”
Drone was flashing a red light on her display, and flying frantically in a circle.
“Hey, Drone, you OK?” Asha went over to her.
“I have scanned 234 news sites from across the globe and 233 of them are confirming reports of sharks causing severe Internet disruption,” said Drone. “The only website that didn’t was droneracing.com, but they only talk about drone racing. Usually, I would check another 945 news sites, but … my Internet connection is too slow right now.”
Drone was trying to keep her voice calm, but Asha could tell that she was worried. Half of Drone’s functions relied on Internet access. Asha reached up and pulled the little machine close, hugging her tight.
“OMG!” Tumble narrowed his eyes, suddenly intrigued. “Drone won’t be able to do anything without the Internet. She’ll be like a phone without a signal, a bee without stripes, a bogey without…” He caught sight of Drone’s display and cleared his throat. “Don’t worry. Me and Asha will save the Internet. You can thank us later, Smellycopter.”
Drone didn’t reply, but her red flashing light was replaced by a bright yellow distress emoji.
“Tumble’s right,” Asha said, sounding more confident than she felt. “We can do this. We can sneak into Shelly Inc and get that file. Well, probably.” Her voice trailed off at the end.
“It will be dangerous, Asha,” warned Drone. “Shelly Inc has successfully prosecuted 100 per cent of intruders and—”
“Just to be clear,” said Asha, turning away from Drone to Hedy. “You want me, Asha Joshi, to join the Children’s Spy Agency and help save the whole Internet?”
“Affirmative. We have specially selected you for a combination of your hacking skills, intelligence, ingenuity, inquisitiveness, agility and determination,” replied Hedy. Asha still didn’t know what agility meant, but didn’t want to interrupt. “You must obey CSA protocols at all times. These can be viewed in your CSA app.”
Asha felt her tablet vibrate in her backpack. She took it out and found a confirmation message bobbing on her home screen:
“If you follow CSA protocol, we anticipate you will be completely successful.” The tangled wires of Hedy’s lips twisted into a smile.
“Thanks, Hedy,” said Asha, scrolling through the app. “I can honestly say I’ve never felt so comforted by a giant hologram.”
“There is no time for comfort,” said Hedy. “We have a free Internet at the moment, but it will not be long until Shelly takes it over. No government disaster plan has covered this eventuality. We are depending on you to break into Shelly Inc and get that file. Do you accept Mission Shark Bytes, Asha Joshi?”
Asha saw Drone still frantically trying to scan the Internet. Drone needed her. The CSA needed her. Did the whole world need her? Maybe, maybe not. But the Internet was definitely important, and Asha remembered how bad she’d felt when Anushka had read her diary. Privacy was important too.
She took a deep breath and nodded.
Chapter 7
11:12
“To break into Shelly Inc, you will need help, Asha Joshi. That’s where the CSA’s Department of Gadgets and Stink Bombs comes in. Our agents have invented some of the most advanced equipment in the world,” said Hedy. “And the stink bombs really do stink.”
“I require confirmation that none of the gadgets are weapons,” Drone said.
“Affirmative. Weapons are strictly forbidden,” Hedy replied.
“Noted.” Drone vibrated in relief.
“Place your ear here to indicate your official consent to Mission Shark Bytes.” Hedy turned into a scanner. Asha took a deep breath and pressed the side of her head against the hologram. A light travelled up and down the length of her ear before making an extremely strange beep. “Earprint confirmed. Agent Asha now live,” Hedy said.
A compartment rose out of the floor. Asha rushed over and watched as it opened and revealed … three dusty books.
She’d been expecting grappling hooks or hoverboots or at least something with lasers.
“So am I supposed to … hit Shelly with a book?”
“Negative,” said Hedy. “Weapons are forbidden, remember.”
“Right, right.” Asha nodded. “Knowledge is power! So I’ll read the books … like a bedtime story … and send Shelly to sleep?”
Hedy flickered. “Have you ever been told the human idiom: never judge a book by its cover?” The voice paused for thirteen long seconds before continuing. “Hold your hologram card over one of them.”
Asha did, and for a moment nothing happened. But then the cover slid up, revealing a large phone, twice the size of Asha’s tablet. It looked like the ancient brick phones they used in really old movies.
“A satellite phone,” said Drone approvingly. “It will work even if all the undersea and land Internet cables are destroyed.”
Impatiently, Asha used her card to open the next book. It contained a water bottle. Her heart sinking a little, she opened the bottle’s cap and found a hidden multitool. It might come in useful, she supposed. But it was still a bit boring.
Asha opened the third and final book, hoping for an invisibility device. Instead there was a very ordinary looking selfie stick.
“Now read the user manuals on the CSA app, Agent Asha,” Hedy said.
Tumble immediately grabbed the selfie stick. “It is encrypted with Asha’s fingerprints,” Hedy warned Tumble. “It will only work for her.”
Asha swiped the stick from Tumble before he could press anything.
“What?” he grumbled. “Good thing I’ve got all the gadgets I need right here.” He waved his phone.
Hedy ignored him. “Please step into Area X, for your official outfitting.”
The floor under Asha’s feet lit up in fluorescent green. She followed the path to an X-shaped alcove in the wall. As she stepped inside, a green light filled the space. Asha saw robotic arms extending from either side of the wall, but then it became too bright to see anything at all.
Milliseconds later, the lights turned off and Asha found herself dressed in a dark bodysuit, with green lines on either side and padding on her elbows, knees and bum. She touched the material. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before.
“The bodysuit is sun, sweat and fart regulating,” Hedy said. “Now there are 37 final words of warning, Agent Asha: Your mission is to get into Shelly Inc, download the file and upload it to our network. Nothing more. You have the makings of a top agent, but our character evaluation shows that you may be reckless.”
Asha opened her mouth to say something, but then she closed it again. There was no point arguing. The best way to prove herself to Hedy would be to ace the mission. “Got it.”
“Good,” said Hedy. “A vehicle will transport you to and from Shelly Inc. Please do not put your feet on the seat
s.”
“Why? Are they ejector seats?” asked Asha.
“No,” said Hedy. “We just had them cleaned. And remember, Shelly Belly is trying to bring down every Internet connection in the world. Sea first, then land, then satellites. Move fast or—” The hologram flickered, buzzed and then vanished entirely.
Asha gasped. “Hedy?” There was no reply.
“Another attack,” whispered Drone.
Chapter 8
11:20
Asha’s heart was thumping. She had just joined a secret intelligence agency. Now she had to break into a massive office. With lots of security. Then steal a top-secret file. To save the Internet. From fish.
It made no sense, but there was no time to waste. “Drone? Tumble? Grab the gadgets.” She stuffed them in her backpack and motioned towards the tunnel entrance. “Let’s go save the world’s Internet.”
“Or at least, the half of the world that had an Internet connection to begin with,” Drone added.
The door slid open with a tap of Asha’s holographic card and the three of them crawled through the tunnel. Another tap of the card and the shelf swung open back into the main library.
They raced outside. Asha was blinded by the sunlight and had to blink things back into focus. A woman with staring eyes bolted out of her front door. She was wearing her sweater the wrong way round. “Is your Internet working?” she asked Asha, jabbing frantically at her phone screen. “I’m missing the latest episode of Shelly by the Sea.”
Before Asha could reply, a man ran past with his hands on his head. “My MapApp just stopped working. I can’t remember where I live!”
“Why is everyone freaking out because of a few connection issues?” asked Tumble, as he snapped a selfie. “Let me upload this and … ARGH! CONNECTION ISSUES!”
“Never mind your selfies!” Drone was whirring with anxiety. “I won’t be able to use search engines, send updates to Asha’s parents or watch live drone racing!”
Asha caught sight of the news playing on a nearby billboard.
“It’s official!” said the newsreader. “The government has just confirmed reports that our Internet cables are under attack from sharks. Hospitals are in chaos as patient data cannot be accessed. Air traffic control is offline, leaving all planes grounded. Dramatic scenes are being reported as the country comes to a standstill.”
People were gathering around the billboard, their phones hanging uselessly by their sides. The reporter paused and held his hand up to his earpiece. “Wait! News just in!” His voice started shaking with excitement. “Teenage tech entrepreneur Shelly Belly is launching a new Internet service called ShellyNet. Let’s go live to her announcement.”
As Asha watched, the camera cut to Shelly Inc. Shelly was stepping out of a large helicopter, onto a bright green lawn. Her white hair gleamed in the sun. Amanda, her monkey-panda hybrid, was wrapped around her shoulders.
Shelly stopped, straightened her sleeves and started speaking to the crowd of reporters. “As you know, our Internet cables are breaking. And so is my heart. At Shelly Inc, we know that the Internet is a basic human right, and I shudder at the thought of a world without it.” She shook her head and the crowd beside Asha murmured in agreement. “In moments of global crisis, we come together as a family. And as part of that family, Shelly Inc is here to help.”
Shelly paused and looked straight at the camera. It felt as though she was looking right into Asha’s eyes. “It seems that cables that carry 99 per cent of the global Internet have been attacked by sharks, and suffered catastrophic damage. Shelly Inc has developed shark-proof cables, and since this morning, I have been helping our engineers by laying these new cables around the country with my own two hands.” She gestured towards the helicopter, flashing her perfectly white teeth as she smiled.
“Our new service is called ShellyNet and I’m humbled to announce that it has just gone live. It will cost £20 a week to access three websites, and an additional £5 for three priority websites, including FriendTrend and FaceSpace. To sign up, all you will need is an official ID document and a credit or debit card. This is incredible value to use the Internet: a service that none of us deserves to live without! It’s the least Shelly Inc can do to help our brothers and sisters around the world to stay online.”
The camera returned to the studio in time to catch the newsreader high-fiving the weatherman, before he cleared his throat and picked up his tablet. “And in other news…”
Asha looked up and down the street. Hedy was right. Shelly was up to something. There’s no way she could’ve invented shark-proof cables in less than 24 hours.
“I bet she wasn’t laying cables this morning. Maybe she used that helicopter to transport the sharks and…” Asha suddenly remembered what they were waiting for. “Where’s the CSA vehicle?” she said to Drone and Tumble, trying to drown out the sound of the crowd chanting Shelly Belly’s name. “And how will we know what it looks like?”
“I bet it’s something cool,” said Tumble. “Like a hoverbike. Or a hoverlimo. Or a hot-air balloon!”
Asha wasn’t sure what to expect, given that she’d just been briefed by a plate of eggs. “Maybe it’s not coming,” she said after a moment.
Almost immediately, a colourful van pulled up in front of them. Its sides were covered with pictures of ice cream, glistening with chocolate sprinkles. But it was playing the strangest ice-cream van music that Asha had ever heard. Instead of a catchy jingle, it was short, sharp, stop-start notes, like a woodpecker playing the keyboard.
“What on earth is that?” Asha put her hands over her ears.
“That’s not music,” said Drone. “It’s Morse code.”
“Morse code?” Asha shouted over the noise. “Ace! Drone, display the Morse code key, so we can work it out.” She pushed her lip up to touch her nose while she translated the sounds. “It says … ASHA GET IN!”
At that moment, the side of the van slid open, revealing a shiny chrome interior. “Welcome, Agent Asha,” said an electronic voice.
The inside of the ice-cream van was just as incredible as the secret library base. The van was self-driving so Asha was free to look around at all the displays and flashing lights. There was camera footage of every angle of the street outside the van. Other screens showed live streams of CSA agents from all over the world – Ghana, Estonia and Brazil – all talking to one another via a blinking array of satellite connections.
Tumble was posing in front of his phone, when Asha’s tablet started buzzing in her backpack. An alert flashed on Drone’s screen. It was an invitation to join a secure satellite connection. Drone accepted first, and as soon as she did, she started pinging with notifications. “We’ve been away for 62 minutes. Your parents have a 92 per cent likelihood of wondering where you are as it is approaching lunchtime. Suspicion levels were already raised when you said that you were going to the library.”
Asha had almost forgotten. “Ugh, good point. Run Program 719.”
Drone hesitated. “My nannybot programming says that the correct course of action is to call your parents and tell them where you are.”
“Run your Special Circumstances Emergency Override,” said Asha. “I programmed that for you months ago, remember?”
She had reprogrammed Drone’s decision-making algorithms to allow for unexpected situations. “This is a special circumstance. Mum and Dad would approve if they knew I was saving the Internet!”
Drone let out a long robot-sigh. “Fine. I will run Program 719. But only this once.”
She rang Mum’s mobile. Asha’s dad picked up.
“Hi, Nikhil,” said Drone, in a human voice. “It’s me, Temi. How are you? I’m just checking in to let you know Asha wants to have lunch here and stay for a sleepover.”
Drone’s voice sounded exactly like Demola’s mum, Temitayo. The last time she’d stayed over, Asha had secretly recorded her.
“Ah, Auntie Temi. Lovely to hear from you. Sure, Asha can stay, but only if she promises to finish he
r circus project,” said her dad. So predictable.
“Of course. I’ll make sure our terrible two both do their homework!” said the recording of Temitayo. “And go to bed on time.”
“Fantastic!” said Asha’s dad. “Wonderful! We’ll see her tomorrow then.” Easy.
Chapter 9
12:25
Asha looked through the van’s one-way windows, and watched the greys and browns of London turn into green fields. Asha knew that Shelly Inc was based somewhere just outside the city, but she didn’t know exactly where. The van began to weave its way up a hill, and when it turned around a corner, Asha spotted something glittering in the distance. They’d arrived.
The Shelly Inc building was all shiny steel and mirror glass – it was dazzling. This was where all of Shelly’s apps and products were designed, built, prototyped and tested. If the rumours were true, there were also highly confidential research bunkers and a digital zoo on site. The building was famous for its fun workspaces, which looked more like playgrounds than offices. Asha had always wanted to try out the ShellySlide which connected the top and bottom floors.
Asha stepped out of the van, grabbing her backpack. She began walking towards the sparkling building, with Drone hovering and Tumble trotting at her side. They had to shield their eyes against the glare from the windows.
“Right then, how are we going to get inside?” Asha asked them.
“We could pretend to work there?” Tumble suggested, looking up at the huge, blank panels of the front gate. Security guards dressed in grey were stationed in little booths on either side.
“Unwise,” replied Drone. “From the data analysis I carried out on the journey here, Shelly Inc has 98,771 employees, but there weren’t any hamsters on the team. Besides, they’ll probably use eyeball scanning.”
