Hot & Cold

by Susannah McFarlane

  ‘But how do you know she’s at the South Pole?’ said EJ.

  ‘Penguins’

  ‘Pardon?’

  ‘Penguins.’ A1 smiled. ‘Emperor Penguin Point. Emperor penguins are only found at the South Pole. So she has to be there.’

  EJ knew her geography pretty well—well enough to know that the South Pole was huge. Searching for someone there would be like trying to find a snowflake in a blizzard.

  ‘I know what you’re thinking, EJ. How will we ever find Caterina in all that white wilderness?’

  EJ’s eyes widened. How does A1 always do that? She seemed to be able to read EJ’s mind.

  ‘But look closely at the message, there’s another clue,’ A1 explained.

  ‘Emperor Penguin Point?’

  ‘Exactly,’ nodded A1. ‘Emperor penguins are only found in a few areas on Antarctica and one of their largest breeding grounds is on a small island off the ice shelf and off the mainland of Antarctica. Our satellite photos show there is also an abandoned research hut there. That means there’s a pretty good chance it’s the drop off point for the payment. However, if you do your job, EJ, it will be Caterina who is caught out in the cold when you, and not a SHADOW agent, make the payment and turn up as the special guest.’

  Great, thought EJ. Now I have two invitations to parties I really don’t want to go to.

  EJ thought hard. There was so much information to absorb. ‘But A1,’ she said. ‘Surely we’re not going to give Dr Hill twenty million dollars?’

  ‘Only temporarily EJ, don’t worry,’ explained A1. ‘We will freeze the account once you have located Caterina and shut down her operation.’

  ‘And what do I do if I run into Dr Hill?’ asked EJ.

  ‘We’re hoping you do run into her, EJ12. We need to put a stop to all her evil plotting. You will know what to do,’ said A1 mysteriously. ‘Our agents always do. And don’t forget one of our favourite mottoes: “We stand up when others let you down.” And you, EJ12, you can stand up to anyone.’ A1 smiled.

  If only you knew, thought EJ sadly. She had already let down Elle this week. What if she let down A1 and SHINE as well?

  ‘No time for day-dreaming, EJ. We need to get you on your way.’

  A1 was right of course. The clock was already ticking.

  ‘You are going to the coldest and windiest region on Earth, so your gear is very important,’ continued A1.

  EJ looked towards the briefing table where all her mission gear was laid out waiting for her: thick waterproof ski pants, a padded jacket with a furry hood (fake fur of course), ski goggles, gloves and boots.

  ‘Take special note of your boots, EJ. They might look like ordinary mission boots, but the soles can change to allow you to travel on any surface. Simply click the heels together to activate them. There are several different options, so click through until you find the one you need.’

  That was smart—and very spy-like. But EJ had also seen something else very cool at the end of the table. It was a bracelet with charms attached: a little silver penguin, an ice pick, a heart, a boat and a little key. She was hoping the bracelet was part of her kit, but could not see how it was going to be.

  A1 must have been reading her mind, again!

  ‘Yes, it’s yours EJ, but this is no ordinary bracelet. We have been trying to develop a way for our agents to carry their tools without attracting attention, and we think we may have succeeded with this little item. Each charm is actually a piece of equipment—you twist it to activate its special properties. The key is a standard SHINE skeleton key. Twist it and it will extend to fit any lock. There’s no time now to go through them all, but they may prove useful.’

  Suddenly EJ spied a metallic aqua touch-screen phone on the bench next to her clothes. ‘Um, is that for this mission as well?’ she asked hopefully, pointing at the phone.

  ‘Well spotted, EJ. I nearly forgot,’ replied A1. ‘Your phone needs an upgrade. You need a model that has satellite reception—there’s no mobile phone reception where you’re heading. This one also works as a games console in case you need to disguise the phone. There are lots of other applications, or apps, that may come in handy, and I think we got the colour right as well, didn’t we?’

  ‘Yes, thanks A1,’ smiled EJ, handing over her old phone and pocketing the new one.

  ‘Okay then,’ finished A1. ‘Now we need to make that payment deadline. Agent X1 is waiting for you at SHINE docks with Microlight. She will take you out to the icebreaker where you will receive your full mission briefing. Good luck EJ12, and smooth sailing—or should that be smooth speeding.’

  Speeding was definitely the better word. Microlight was one of SHINE’ s supersonic speedboats. While it was small—just big enough for two people—its special engine made it super fast, which was just as well because they were speeding towards the polar ice cap, a journey that would normally take days. It also made it super fun—EJ had to admit there were definite advantages to being a SHINE agent.

  As the little boat jumped wave after wave, the wind raced through EJ’s hair and salt spray sprinkled her face. After a while, EJ noticed that little chunks of ice were starting to appear in the water.

  ‘Not long now,’ shouted X1 as she jumped the boat into another wave. ‘In fact, look over there to your left!’

  As EJ turned, she saw an enormous shape appear on the horizon. As Microlight sped closer, she could see huge letters on the side—SHINING LIGHT. It was SHINE’ s polar research ship, an icebreaker that could cut through the polar ice and travel deep into Antarctica. It was also a floating laboratory with SHINE scientists living on board and conducting important environmental research. Shining Light was the perfect front for SHINE’ s Antarctic surveillance work—agents could monitor activity in the area without drawing attention to themselves and SHINE was helping to protect the environment. It was the SHINE scientists on board Shining Light who had detected the disturbing changes in polar temperatures and intercepted the message EJ had decoded.

  As Microlight came up alongside the icebreaker, like a little fish swimming next to a giant whale, a rope ladder was thrown over the side. A woman’s voice boomed out through a loudspeaker on the ship’s bridge.

  ‘Welcome Microlight and EJ12! We can take things from here. Hold on tight EJ12, and climb on up.’

  ‘Thanks for the ride,’ EJ told X1 as she grabbed the rope ladder. Agent X1 smiled and spun Microlight around—in next to no time, she would be back at SHINE docks and sipping on a hot chocolate.

  ‘Welcome aboard Shining Light, EJ12,’ said the captain, a strong looking woman with steely blue eyes. ‘I’m Captain C2C. We’ll be able to get you pretty deep into the polar cap on this icebreaker, but once we hit heavy pack ice, we won’t be able to go on. Luckily it’s early summer here in Antarctica—the ice has been breaking up, allowing us to go further in. It’s a beautiful time of year, but these seas are rough all year round. I hope you have your sea legs, EJ12! Your mission briefing will commence in your cabin in five minutes.’

  EJ went down to her cabin to prepare for the on-board briefing. It was a small room with only a bed attached to the wall, a porthole looking out to sea and a flat screen on the wall with a small socket to one side. EJ knew what to do. She attached her phone to the socket, keyed in her pin and watched as the screen switched on.

  ‘Welcome aboard, Agent EJ12. Briefing is delayed while new data is being processed. Briefing transmission will commence in ten minutes. You are advised to activate the BEST system in your phone.’

  While some secret agents worked alone, SHINE believed their agents worked better with back-up and so they had developed the BEST agent assistance system.

  B.E.S.T.=Brains, Expertise, Support, Tips.

  Every agent had a network of people who could help her. The BESTies, as they were known, were screened by SHINE HQ and cleared to help the agent on missions. Sometimes they helped with tricky codes, sometimes they were useful to get background information and sometimes they were just a f
riendly voice at the end of the phone when things got tough on a mission. There were two conditions though: the BESTies could ask no questions and an agent could never discuss her work with them when a mission was over. That was okay with the BESTies—who wouldn’t want to be part of a top-secret mission, even if they couldn’t tell anyone about it?

  EJ opened the BEST app on her phone, flicked through her contacts and thought hard. A BESTie had to be someone you could trust completely, someone who would never let you down. Elle’s profile came up. Elle was reliable. She was always the same, in a good way. Elle didn’t change—and neither did her friend, Hannah. Both her friends’ names were the same backwards as they were forwards—H-A-N-N-A-H and E-L-L-E—just like her family. No wonder they were so reliable!

  Elle had also done a project on Antarctica for geography class last term and she could have useful information. In fact, Elle had useful information about lots of things but particularly the environment. She had just been voted leader of the school Eco Club for that term and was always putting up posters about what people could do to help. Elle was definitely a good choice for a BESTie. But, thought EJ, would Elle still want to help after she had been so hopeless about the party?

  It was her phone—and it was Elle! That was weird. ‘Hi Elle, I can’t talk now,’ EJ said.

  ‘Oh right.’ Elle sounded disappointed, again.

  ‘No, no,’ said EJ quickly. ‘I mean, I’m OM.’ That was spy-speak for ‘on mission’, just in case anyone else was listening.

  ‘Oh right,’ said Elle, sounding a bit more cheery. ‘Anyway, I was just calling quickly to say how dumb of me it was to say that you shouldn’t go to Nema’s party. I’m really sorry.’

  EJ took a deep breath. ‘No, it’s me that should be sorry and you’re right, I don’t even like make-up and hairstyles and all that stuff.’

  Suddenly EJ’s phone beeped again.

  ‘Sorry Elle, but I’ve got to go, she said. ‘I’ve chosen you as my BESTie, I hope that’s okay?’

  ‘Of course it is Em, always. See ya!’

  EJ smiled. She was lucky to have such a good friend and she wished she could be a better friend back. She would still have to...

  ‘Stand by, SHINE mission briefing transmission about to commence.’

  EJ quickly clicked on Elle’s profile to upload her as the BESTie, and turned to face the screen. There was A1.

  ‘Welcome aboard Shining Light, EJ12. As you know, you are heading towards Antarctica, the world’s coldest, windiest and most uninhabited region. Uninhabited by people, that is—the area is simply teeming with animals.’ And as A1 spoke, images burst onto the screen—whales, fish, birds, leopard seals and, of course, Emperor penguins.

  ‘Look closely at this group of penguins EJ12, because these are the birds that will let you know when you are approaching Emperor Penguin Point. You may come across other penguins but you need to make sure you find the Emperor penguins. Once you see them, you will know that you’re close to the target.

  ‘As you know, Shining Light will take you as far it can but, once the pack ice becomes too thick, you will have to travel alone on Shinemobile 3. Be careful EJ, the ice may look like a smooth sheet but that’s not always the case. The ice sheets are constantly moving and cracking, creating huge crevasses—make sure you don’t fall in one! But if you do, remember your boots. They are there to help.

  ‘You now have just a few hours to get to Emperor Penguin Point and make the payment to Dr Hill. You will make the payment via your phone,’ A1 finished.

  ‘But then won’t she know it’s me?’

  ‘Not with Invisi-Pay, she won’t,’ A1 explained. ‘All Dr Hill will see is the deposit and once that hits her account, you should be given an invitation to the party.

  ‘EJ12, you also need to know that since you left SHINE HQ, we have detected unexpected shipping movements in the outlying areas of the region. You may have some company out there—and I don’t mean the penguins. For now, the radar shows that Shining Light is way ahead but you must work quickly, EJ12. SHADOW will not want any SHINE agents gate-crashing their party.’

  Gate-crashing—what a modern word for A1! But then again, nothing that woman said or did surprised EJ anymore.

  ‘Oh yes EJ, I know what you’re thinking. Well, this old woman’s gate-crashed a few parties in her time, too.’

  How does she do that? thought EJ with a grin.

  ‘I just do!’ laughed A1. ‘Good luck, EJ12. SHINE out.’

  All that talk about parties and invitations took EJ’s thoughts back to school—and Nema. She would just have to tell Nema that she couldn’t go to her party. She would do something else with her real friends—friends that weren’t mean to her or to other people. She could stand up to Nema. Couldn’t she?

  As EJ thought about Nema again, she began to feel sick in her stomach. But now, unlike this morning before school, it was for real. Then EJ realised that it wasn’t just the thought of Nema that was tying her stomach in knots. It was the way the ship was rocking as it knocked against the waves. The waves were getting bigger and bigger, the sea was getting rougher and rougher, and EJ12 was feeling worse and worse. Oh no, I must be sea-sick!

  EJ was right. Each time the ship lurched from one side to another, her stomach went with it. For such a huge boat, it felt like it was being tossed around like a tiny little ball in the ocean. EJ’s face started turning green and she wondered how much longer it would be before she and her breakfast parted company.

  Just when she thought she had better look for a toilet or a bucket or anything, Captain C2C knocked on her cabin door and entered. She took one look at EJ and laughed, but in a kindly sort of way.

  ‘Still looking for those sea legs I see, EJ12! You better come up on deck, you’ll feel better up there. Oh, and you have activated your boat charm, haven’t you? That will help too. I have mine on all the time when we’re at sea.’

  EJ looked at Captain C2C’s wrist and saw that she had a bracelet similar to hers and a boat charm. Did all agents carry the charms?

  ‘We all carry the charms, EJ, and we all need a little help sometimes,’ said Captain C2C, smiling. ‘Activate your boat charm and come up on deck with me.’

  Gee whizz, lemonfizz! thought EJ. Am I the only one around here who can’t read minds?

  EJ found the little boat charm on her bracelet. It was locked into the wristband so the charm was almost pushing against the inside of her wrist. As she twisted it, the charm began to slowly pulsate. EJ looked up at Captain C2C.

  ‘It works like acupuncture,’ the captain said. ‘The charm sends a current through your pulse—that’s why it needs to be so close to your wrist. It’s an old Chinese method and works a treat with sea-sickness. It might take a little while, but soon you’ll be feeling better. Which is just as well, because we’re rapidly approaching your drop point.’

  Out on deck in the fresh air, EJ did indeed feel better. It was, however, the coldest fresh air that EJ had ever experienced—and she had been to some pretty cold places. It was as if the wind was biting her face and she could feel tiny icicles settling on her ears.

  ‘Fresh, isn’t it?’ chuckled Captain C2C. ‘We are now in the coldest place on Earth and it’s summer time—imagine what it’s like in winter!’

  The ocean swell continued to heave and EJ watched as the black waves rose up and then dropped down again, time after time. At least now she was able to see them coming and that, along with her charm, seemed to be helping with the seasickness.

  As she stared out at the black waves, EJ wondered if she might be starting to see things, imagining things that weren’t really there. The waves seemed to turn into leaping whales—black-backed whales with white bellies, rising and diving into the swell. Hold on a minute! EJ looked harder, her eyes squinting at the water. They really were whales. Unreal! Well, real, but awesome!

  The whales were dodging the thin ice chunks floating in the sea, rising high up into the air before diving down again, creating enormous spl
ashes as they landed back on the water. There were two whales, a mother and her baby, and it was as if they were having a morning play together.

  EJ wanted to watch them soar and dive forever but Shining Light continued to push further and further south. The floating ice chunks gave way to hard icy sheets that the ship had to break through as it moved forward. The front of the ship rose up and then crashed down again, crushing the ice below. But the further the ship went, the thicker and harder the ice became, eventually making it impossible to break through.

  ‘This is pretty much as far as we can take you, EJ12. You will need to make your own way across the ice shelf to the island,’ said Captain C2C. ‘Proceed to the lower deck and prepare to launch Shinemobile 3.’

  Shinemobile 3 was part jet-ski and part skimobile. It allowed agents to travel on water, land and ice, moving easily from one surface to another. EJ thought it was like riding a motorbike on skis, and probably the most fun you could have outside of the Mission Tube. It was solar-powered, ultra-light and moved almost completely without noise.

  EJ12 jumped on, turned the key and slowly revved the engine. A large set of doors opened from the lower deck and a ramp was lowered down from the ship. Straight ahead, for as far as the eye could see, there was ice—gleaming blue-ish ice. EJ locked her phone into a socket and the satellite navigation screen turned on. EJ keyed in the co-ordinates of where they thought Emperor Penguin Point was and then slowly eased off the brake, pulled back on the accelerator and slid out onto the ice. She checked the time—EJ needed to get her skates on—she had less than an hour to make the payment to Dr Hill.