Operation Code-Cracker
Page 6
‘You told me British Intelligence didn’t make mistakes,’ Max grinned. ‘I’ve never been given the sack before. If you weren’t ex-directory I’d have phoned you to sort it out.’
Delta’s eyebrow twitched slightly, betraying his annoyance. ‘No one ever gets my spelling correct. I’m the only Netols in the book. N-E-T-O-L-S. I’m of Huguenot ancestry.’
Max was close to joking about Huguenots and ‘huge nose’ when the MI6 man butted in. ‘Both Mr Netols and I regret the communication problem, but you coped admirably. If only more youngsters were like you, Max. You have a clear sense of right and wrong, which I find most impressive. You have also enabled us to make many arrests. The Silver Scorpion will never be the same again. Nero told us everything – surprisingly, he wasn’t too badly hurt after his crash. Injecting himself with his own truth drug seemed to loosen his tongue beautifully. He responded most favourably to our questioning procedures. I believe the expression is ‘hoist by his own petard’. He will now serve a considerable custodial sentence.’
‘Prison!’ Max grinned. ‘Brilliant. Nero behind bars at last. Potato-head has had his chips!’
Delta sat in an armchair, carefully aligning the toes of his highly-polished shoes. ‘I’m afraid I can’t join your garden party, Max. Business to attend to. Thank you for inviting me and I wish you many happy returns. You’d better get back to your guests. Don’t be too noisy and annoy the neighbour, eh?’
‘I’ll try not to. Otherwise he might nick my football again or send spies round in the middle of the night.’
Delta smiled awkwardly, seeming rather distracted as he left the room.
The MI6 man glanced out of the window towards the waiting Mercedes. ‘Look, Max, if ever you’d consider doing more work for us, I’d be most interested to hear from you. Here’s my card. Youngsters like you are hard to come by. Thanks to you, we should be closer to uncovering the brains behind Silver Scorpion, the one known as Telson. You’ve helped upset his plans but he’s bound to strike again. You could be the one to flush him out from wherever his headquarters might be. We’ll let you know if there’s any way you can help us again – if ever there’s a case to crack that’s just up your street.’
Once more the man shook Max by the hand, before leaving. After watching the Mercedes glide away, Max turned to give Gran an exuberant high-five. ‘I’ve got a job as a spy-catcher!’ Then, in a slightly shaky New York accent, he croaked, ‘The name’s Hunter. Max Hunter. I’m the new Telsonbuster.’
Gran could only smile, being more concerned with arranging the garnish on a rice salad.
Max returned to the smoking burgers on the patio before running across the lawn and kicking one of the footballs to Dad. ‘Come on, Dad, see if you can score for Villa!’
Dad headed it back and Max leapt spectacularly to deflect it from slamming into the top corner of the goal. The ball flew up, bounced on the top of the fence and dropped over the other side. ‘Oops!’ Groans from the spectators.
When everyone resumed their conversations, Max slipped quietly indoors, through the kitchen to the front door, as Gran called after him.
‘Where are you going, dear?’
‘Just popping next door to see if I can get my ball back.’
She laughed. ‘Don’t start all that again!’
***
Leaning against Gran’s shiny pink car on the front drive, Max looked up at the rambling house next door. His gaze wandered from one window to another. It didn’t seem quite so scary now that he knew the sinister goings-on inside were only in his dream. Maybe Child-Catcher was human after all, for there, still poking up by the front door, was that little wooden cross with the letters R.I.P. carved lovingly across it. By the single word LOVE engraved in its marble base lay the solitary white rose. Despite his coldness, the man living there must have a warm heart for someone he’d lost. Max stood for a long time just staring, imagining how things could have turned out very differently.
The light began to fade and a cool breeze stirred the rhododendrons. Miya appeared on the doorstep and waved before sidling up to him. ‘You’re looking thoughtful,’ she murmured.
‘It must be terrible to lose someone special,’ he said. ‘Poor old Mr Netols.’
Her eyes followed his gaze to the cross on its engraved marble plinth.
‘Weird place for a grave. For a loyal pet, I guess.’ Her mood brightened as she squeezed his hand. ‘Hey, mister birthday boy. One last puzzle.’ She showed him the letters: 10 ISSUES on her phone screen.
Max smiled. ‘Would it have something to do with Potato-head, by any chance?’
‘Possibly,’ she chuckled.
‘Then I reckon it could be his grubby footwear. Ten Issues or “tennis shoes”.’
‘Correct again! Who’s a clever boy, then?’
Max tapped the keypad. ‘See if you agree with this one.’
1 2 3 4 5
ME
Before she had time to work it out, Max beamed. ‘You can always count on me, honey.’
Miya giggled. ‘You bet, my hero.’
She rested her head on his shoulder, slid her arm round his waist and cheerily led him back indoors.
EPILOGUE
TONELESS TONSIL
The danger was far from over.
Icy fear returned with the darkness in Max’s bedroom at midnight. Fragments of recent conversations suddenly fused together in his latest dream. Whispers drifted through his brain and familiar voices gabbled louder and louder. A cry echoed through his nightmare and he woke with a start.
The Child-Catcher had returned.
Heavy with sleep, Max struggled to sit up. He held his breath, trying to hear above the thumping in his chest and the rushing of blood in his ears. Was the sound of Bach out there in the night or just in his head? His throat tightened, as he remembered the words spoken just a few hours before by the man from MI6. ‘We’ll let you know if there’s any way you can help us again – if ever there’s a case to crack that’s just up your street.’
Max suddenly realised the awful truth and, as he sat shaking in the solid darkness, he was aware that he was the only one who knew...until his phone bleeped beside him. He snatched it and squinted at the text from Miya.
OMG – just worked it out. Can’t talk – phone prob bugged. Mega teethed theme won.
His brain was still reeling. It was a struggle to concentrate on Miya’s weird anagram. After minutes of scribbling on a notepad, he turned MEGA TEETHED THEME WON into MEET ME AT THE HEDGE NOW.
He knew which hedge she meant – the high one outside Jay’s house, with the hiding place inside. He got dressed, grabbed his torch, crept downstairs and slipped out into the night. After wheeling his bike silently from the shed, he cycled off to his meeting, along deserted roads in the misty darkness. As he pedalled frantically, the words from his dream echoed through his head again and again to the rhythm of his breathing. Both voices at once: Gran and Mr Netols.
‘I told you he wasn’t what he seemed. There’s more to him than we thought.’
‘Codes and anagrams are my business. I’m the only Netols in the book. N-E-T-O-L-S.’
A dingbat flashed like a beacon in his brain: BCDFHIJKLMOPQRSUVWXYZ x 2
***
Miya was waiting by the hedge. ‘Quick, inside.’ They scuttled into its dark interior where prying eyes, microphones and the orange glow from the streetlamp could not reach.
‘I was a fool not to get it quicker,’ she whispered. ‘It’s the white rose that did it. Then I worked out the anagram of R.I.P. CROSS IN LOVE. That grave thing by Delta’s front door.’
‘I think I know what you’re going to say,’ Max interrupted. ‘It’s only just clicked with me, too.’
‘At the lab they were cultivating unusual silvery white roses. They handled them with such thick protective gloves, I wondered if the thorns had some sort of poison. The point is, I’d never seen roses quite like them before – apart from on that grave thing by Delta’s front door. Do you realis
e R.I.P. CROSS IN LOVE is an anagram of SILVER SCORPION? The house next to your dad’s is their headquarters. Delta is a double agent. He’s the boss. He’s Telson – an anagram of Netols.’
Her chilling whisper was followed by a more chilling silence. They couldn’t see each other’s faces, but they still sensed each other’s mounting fear. Child-Catcher had been the evil mastermind all the time. He’d been with them only hours before. They held hands tightly, sitting in the darkness, thinking of the frightening truth that only they knew.
Max murmured almost inaudibly, ‘Miya, you’re a genius. Mind you, I must be, too – as some of that clicked with me! That’s why I brought the MI6 man’s card with me. I think I should phone him right now. I’m so glad I’ve got you with me.’
Miya squeezed his hand. ‘Yesterday you were 10 but now you’re 11. No more zero – no more Nero – you’re my hero! Come on, we’ll do this together.’
For the second time she rested her head on his shoulder, slid her arm round his waist and slowly led him indoors.
Did you crack the anagram for the last chapter? TONELESS TONSIL = ?
NETOLS IS TELSON
Or
TELSON IS NETOLS
(But don’t tell anyone - it’s top secret!)
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Published 2015 by A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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ISBN 978-1-4729-0681-6
eISBN 978-1-4729-0682-3
This electronic edition published 2015 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Text copyright © 2015 John Townsend
Illustration copyright © 2015 Sean Longcroft
Copyright © 2015 A & C Black
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