by Felice Arena
PUFFIN BOOKS
ANDY ROID
AND
THE TRACKS OF DEATH
Andy and Judd are undercover in Switzerland – their mission, to find the headquarters of the evil Blaireau Corporation. But nothing is as it seems. And why is Judd so freaked out? One thing’s for sure, Andy’s upgraded powers and hardware are going to get a workout!
CONTENTS
PREVIOUSLY
1 MIGHTY BIRD
2 NEXT STOP!
3 UNDERCOVER
4 SPEECH
5 HANGING OUT
6 INFORMATION
7 SHADOW
8 TRACKS OF DEATH
FROM THE AUTHOR
Books in the series
1: ANDY ROID and
the Superhuman Secret
2: ANDY ROID and
the Field Trip Terror
3: ANDY ROID and
the Camp Howl Crusaders
4: ANDY ROID and
the Heroes of the Night
5: ANDY ROID and
the Turbine Runaways
6: ANDY ROID and
the Sinister Showdown
7: ANDY ROID and
the Unexpected Mission
8: ANDY ROID and
the Tracks of Death
9: ANDY ROID and
the Missing Agent
10: ANDY ROID and
the Avalanche of Evil
. . .WHEN YOU’RE HALF BOY, HALF MACHINE,
IT’S HARD NOT TO BE A HERO. . .
PREVIOUSLY . . .
Andy’s definitely not a regular kid – his parents are government scientists, specialising in robotics, and after a terrible accident, they’ve rebuilt him using their latest, untested research. They nicknamed him Andy Roid, but it’s more than just a nickname: it’s his government code name.
Andy’s rebuild has given him superhuman powers, and he’s already had to face a dangerous enemy – an evil organisation called the Triple S and its leader Dr Baffi. Now Andy has been recruited by the government as a secret agent, with his friend Judd as his partner and Reggie as his data analyst and tech support.
His parents have upgraded his powers and hardware, and the General has sent him and Judd to track down the headquarters of the Blaireau Corporation, a team of wealthy individuals who deal in everything from drugs to weapons.
But there’s one rule – no butt-kicking, and Judd is acting really weird about being sent to Switzerland. Will their first mission together turn out to be much more complicated than expected?
‘There they are. . .the Swiss Alps!’
Andy looked down at the gigantic peaks and breathtaking valleys.
‘Whoa!’ he gasped, marvelling at one of the greatest mountain ranges in the world. ‘Amazing!’
Andy still couldn’t believe that he was a secret agent, travelling to Switzerland in the cockpit of a fighter jet. They were flying so high that they had to wear oxygen masks.
‘Buckle up there, boys,’ the pilot said, his voice booming through the speakers in Andy’s helmet. ‘We’ll be landing shortly.’
‘Epic,’ Judd said, through his oxygen mask. ‘How cool is it to travel by fighter jet? Andy? Andy? Are you checking your screen again?’
‘Sorry,’ Andy replied, looking up. ‘I’m re-reading the mission brief.’ He went back to staring at the images on the screen embedded in his left palm. He slid his finger across the touch screen, flipping through pictures and the mission details the General had provided before they left the aircraft carrier.
‘Dude, if you don’t know it by now you’ll never know it! We’re shadowing Professor Christophe Farrient and his teenage daughter, Sara. He could be linked to the evil Blaireau Corporation and we need to find out where their headquarters are. It’s that simple. Got it? Seriously, dude, this isn’t time for homework.’
Judd was probably right, thought Andy. How many teenagers got the chance to soar at 800 km/h at 6000 metres over awesome scenery in an F-18 Hornet? But it was Andy’s first proper mission and he wanted to get it right.
‘Come in, Mighty Bird. . .’ The voice of the air-traffic controller crackled through the headsets. ‘We’ve clocked a bogey in your vicinity. . .Closing in at six o’clock.’
‘Copy that,’ the pilot snapped back, obviously concerned.
‘What’s going on?’ Andy asked Judd. ‘What’s a bogey?’
‘It’s the term for an unidentified aircraft,’ said Judd.
The controller continued. ‘Bogey not responding. Refusing to identify. Red Code alert. Status now switched to bandit!’
‘Red code alert?’ Andy said.
‘This is bad,’ Judd said, turning around to scan the skies. ‘Bandit means it’s an enemy aircraft. There it is! I can see it on the horizon.’
Andy gulped. ‘What enemy? This isn’t a war zone. And Switzerland is a neutral country, even its airspace, right?’
‘I don’t think this loser got that memo.’ Judd shushed Andy so he could listen to the controller’s response.
‘We’re deploying back-up immediately.’
‘Might be a little late for back-up,’ said the pilot. ‘Bandit is closing in fast.’
‘Oh, I get it!’ Andy smiled nervously. ‘Nice try, Judd. This is just another test to see how I react to the unexpected, right? Or to see how I deal with extreme situations? You almost had me. . .’
‘Dude!’ Judd said. ‘This is no test. This is the real deal.’
‘Hold on, boys,’ the pilot ordered. ‘We have to shake this guy off. It’s time for some ACM.’
‘ACM?’ Andy asked, his heart racing.
‘Air Combat Maneuvering,’ said Judd, just as the pilot hit the throttle and the jet shot upwards.
‘ARRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!’
Andy and Judd screamed as the jet accelerated and roared towards outer space. Andy felt as if his face had just been stretched over his entire body and his stomach had been shoved up his nose.
He was terrified and exhilarated at the same time and wasn’t sure whether his heart was still pumping.
‘He’s still on us,’ cried the pilot, flattening out the F-18 as they hit 14 000 metres. ‘Well, if that’s how you want to play it. . .take this!’
‘ARRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!’
The boys cried out again as the pilot took a sharp right, then a sharp left, a hair-raising twist, and then executed another mind-numbing thrust into supersonic territory. But still the hostile aircraft was hot on their tail.
‘Mighty Bird. . .Bandit is two hundred and seventy metres and closing. There’s a missile locked on you. GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!’
The pilot pushed forward on the throttle and went into a deep dive.
FWOOOSSSSHH!
A rocket shot past them, missing them by the narrowest distance. As the jet flattened out, Andy saw the missile explode into the side of a mountain.
KAABOOOMM!!!!!
‘Mighty Bird, Bandit is still in pursuit. Back-up will reach you in ninety-two seconds.’
‘Roger that!’
Andy and Judd both screamed their hearts out. Of all the life-threatening situations they had been in, this had to be the craziest. And there was not a single thing Andy could do about it.
‘I think I’m gonna barf,’ Judd groaned.
The pilot pulled up hard, flattened out again and did a complete rotation. The jet was now flying upside down.
‘Oh. . .yeah. . .chunky bits in my mouth!’ Judd coughed.
Andy didn’t answer. He wanted to throw up too. This was turning out to be a carnival ride from hell.
‘Mighty Bird, Bandit has you locked in. Come in, Mighty Bird.’
‘I’ve lost my horizon!’ their pilot crie
d out in distress. ‘BAIL OUT!’ he yelled at the boys. ‘BAIL OUT!’
‘EJECT, DUDE!’ Judd yelled at Andy. ‘PULL THE LEVER BESIDE YOUR SEAT! NOW!’
‘Missile fired.’ The controller’s voice echoed in their helmets.
A gush of air roared through the cockpit as Andy furiously yanked the lever towards him.
FWOOOSSSSHH!
The cockpit roof shot off and their chairs blasted away from the jet.
Andy felt as if he was being sucked up by a giant vacuum.
Suddenly they were in free fall, before their parachutes flapped open.
KAAAAAA-BOOOOOMM!!!
Above them, Mighty Bird exploded in flames.
‘Woo-hooo!’ cried Judd, as he directed his parachute towards the valley below.
Andy’s heart was still beating furiously. Suddenly the jet that had been sent as back-up shot through the clouds in a roar of sound.
It chased the Bandit across the sky. And then. . .
WHOMP!
A streak of light hit the Bandit in the wing, and it began to fall. Back-up had shot the enemy jet down. It had all happened so quickly.
Judd glided closer to Andy. Together the boys hovered like two eagles looking for their prey.
Andy pulled off his helmet and felt the rush of wind against his face. He spotted their pilot’s parachute behind a ridge in the distance.
‘I thought we were goners for sure,’ Judd shouted. ‘Someone obviously knew there were government agents on that jet. It must be the Blaireau Corporation – they’re even more powerful than we thought. Okay. . .get ready for landing. That field over there looks good.’
Andy followed Judd’s lead. As they fast approached the ground, Andy heard the sound of bells ringing out over the valley.
‘We have a welcoming committee,’ Judd yelled, as he swooped over startled cows with bells around their necks.
Andy pulled back on his parachute cords to slow down.
‘YESSSS!’ he sighed, totally relieved to feel his feet gently touch the ground.
But Judd didn’t sound so happy.
‘AWWWWW!’ he yelled, as he hit the grass.
Andy turned to see that his friend had landed right in the middle of a fresh cow pat.
‘Welcome to Switzerland!’ Andy said, between fits of laughter.
● ● ●
Prochain arrêt, Lausanne. Nächster Halt, Lausanne. Prossima fermata, Lausanne. Next stop, Lausanne.
Andy and Judd were on a high-speed train, going to meet their agency contact in Geneva.
‘I like the way they announce each stop in French, German, Italian and English,’ said Andy, reclining his chair in the first-class carriage.
Judd rolled his eyes. ‘Yeah, you would,’ he said. ‘Switzerland is the land of languages. Your lingo app should get a good workout while we’re here. I think it’s a bit stupid, but then I couldn’t care less about this place.’
‘Why?’ asked Andy. ‘Have you been here before?’
‘Forget it.’ Judd shrugged and looked back down at his phone.
Huh? thought Andy. He remembered how Judd had stormed out of the room when the General had told them where they were going. Judd hadn’t wanted to talk about it. What’s he got against Switzerland? Andy wondered.
Andy glanced across the aisle. The man in the window seat was reading a French newspaper and the woman next to him was reading a German one. Both newspapers had the same lead story on their front pages:
TRAINING EXERCISE DISASTER! FIGHTER JETS EXPLODE OVER ALPS – PILOTS DEAD.
Hopefully the Blaireau Corporation will believe we’ve been killed, thought Andy. Then we can get on with the mission.
‘I’m off to the dining car to get a drink,’ said Judd. ‘You want something?’
Andy shook his head.
‘Oh. . .’ Judd turned back. ‘And don’t call your mum or dad. Remember, I’m the only one who’s meant to have direct contact with the team. You can call your personal data analyst if you need anything. Got it?’
‘I wasn’t thinking of calling my mum,’ Andy said. ‘Just so you know.’
He sighed. That hadn’t sounded convincing, even to him. The truth was that the first person he had wanted to call when they bailed from the jet was his mum. He just wanted to hear her voice. Being a kid in an adult’s job was already tougher than he’d thought it would be.
‘Get your bag. We’re getting off at the next stop,’ said Judd, rushing back.
‘What’s going on?’ asked Andy. ‘I thought we were going all the way to Geneva?’
‘We have to take a detour. We have company,’ said Judd. ‘A dude was eyeing me off. He totally knew me. He’s at the other end of the carriage.’
Andy stuck his foot out into the aisle and bent down to tie his Bionic-Sonics – the super-durable custom-made sneakers his parents had developed for him. Then he glanced up.
‘Oh, yeah. . .I see him,’ he said, just as the announcement for the next stop came over the speakers.
Prochain arrêt, Nyon. Nächster Halt, Nyon. Prossima fermata, Nyon. Next stop, Nyon.
When the train pulled into the station, Andy grabbed his luggage, and walked with Judd towards the doors.
The boys stepped on to the platform and made their way down a steep ramp towards the town centre.
Andy looked back. The man was following them. He was built like a wrestler and looked like he crushed heads for a living. He was wearing a Swiss mountaineer’s hat that looked two sizes too small for his big shaved head.
‘He’s right behind us. Do you think he’s connected to the Blaireau?’
‘Could be,’ said Judd. ‘Let’s find out who this joker is, then lose him. Do you think you can get a picture? Then we can run it through your IRS app and hopefully get a name.’
‘Sure,’ said Andy. ‘But you’re a black belt in karate and I have bionic powers. . .Don’t you think we could handle him?’
‘I know we could. But you heard the General – no butt-kicking allowed,’ Judd said. ‘Plus, we’re under cover. We can’t draw attention to ourselves. And you can’t go round jumping tall buildings in a single bound and running as fast as a speeding bullet without someone noticing.’
‘Um, I’m not Superman remember?’
‘Whatevs, dude! You get the picture!’
Walking quickly, through the narrow, winding streets of the old town, they were able to get a good distance ahead of their mystery tracker.
‘You go left and I’ll go right,’ said Judd. ‘And put this on.’ He took off his red baseball cap and slapped it down on Andy’s head. ‘I think the guy’s trailing me – this way he’ll follow you. I’ll take your bag.’
Judd walked off down an alley and Andy waited until he knew the man had caught sight of him again.
‘Right, here goes. . .’ he said under his breath.
Andy weaved his way through the alleyways. How will I get close enough to take his pic? Andy wondered, as he made another left turn.
Got it! Andy ducked in to a crowded chocolate shop before the man reached the corner. He took off Judd’s red cap and did his best to blend in with the customers.
Pretending to check out the displays of Swiss chocolate, Andy kept an eye on the store window.
The man had stopped directly in front of the store and was turning his head from side to side. He obviously wasn’t sure where Andy had gone. Andy ducked behind a very large German woman just as the man turned and looked in his direction.
Andy activated his IRS app and extended his arm out from behind the woman. He pointed his right palm towards the window.
‘Was machen Sie?’ asked the German woman.
‘Entschuldigung. Sorry!’
He had managed to take a few snapshots. Within seconds the photographs appeared on Andy’s left palm-screen.
Andy hid at the back of the store and took a quick look at the images. They were a little blurred and he had only caught the man’s profile. A message popped up on Andy’s screen: Image
s poor. Try again.
‘Would you like to try a free sample?’ It was one of the shop assistants. She was holding out a tray covered in cubed chocolate coated in cocoa powder.
‘This is our finest Pavés de Genève – the best chocolate in the world,’ she said in French.
‘Well, if they’re the best,’ Andy replied in perfect French, ‘then sure!’
Andy popped one of the cubes into his mouth. He had never tasted chocolate like that in his entire life. It was so good, he almost forgot what he was up to.
‘Merci beaucoup!’ he said. ‘Thank you so much!’
Andy looked back towards the window. The man was gone. ‘Shoot!’ he snapped, rushing out of the store.
‘So much for getting a better picture.’ Andy sighed. ‘Channel Buddy,’ he said, calling Judd on his voice-activated chat program. Judd’s voice came through loud and clear, inside Andy’s head – as if he was wearing invisible headphones.
‘So did you take his pic?’
‘Um, sort of,’ said Andy.
‘Good. Then meet me by the jetty down at the lake. GPS it. See you soon.’
● ● ●
Judd waved at Andy. He was standing in a wooden speedboat docked at the water’s edge.
Andy looked up at the town – a white castle rose above the buildings on the lakeshore. It was like something out of an old-fashioned storybook.
‘How beautiful is this place?’ Andy said, stepping into the boat.
But Judd just shrugged. ‘Andy, this is George. He’s the owner of the boat. He’s one of our guys.’
‘It’s good to see you,’ Andy said, relieved to be meeting up with someone else from the agency.
George simply nodded. He had a black bushy moustache and was wearing a long raincoat, a woollen grey beanie and a pair of dark mirrored glasses.
Judd leaned closer to Andy. ‘He doesn’t say much,’ he whispered. ‘He just grunts and nods. Anyway, he’ll be taking us to Geneva. I thought it was best to avoid the train so I called it in. So did you find out who that guy was?’
As the boat motored out onto Lake Geneva, Andy confessed that he hadn’t been able to get a clear image.
