The Mystery of the Missing Device (A Secret SPY Agent adventure Book 1)

by Gabrielle Michael

  “I say we ask for money! We can get the device another time,” proposed Jack. “Plus it will be easier for us to divide up the cash.”

  “All in favour?” asked Don.

  The sound of evil laughter filled the prison cell as the other bad guys agreed to the plan.

  Chapter 7

  It was a beautiful, warm Tuesday afternoon. The sun was shining brightly without a cloud in the sky. The sound of birds singing filled the air.

  The two sisters were sitting on the patio outside a Parisian cafe enjoying the coffee and croissants Isabelle had promised Kathryn. They were taking a break after a busy day of sightseeing.

  They had no idea that the bad guys had escaped from jail the night before.

  “The Eiffel Tower was absolutely gorgeous!” gushed Kathryn as she flicked through her travel guide book. “Did you know that over 7 million people visit it every year? I’m so glad we got the chance to see it. The book says that it’s actually over 324 metres tall and weighs 10,100 tonnes in total.”

  Kathryn paused to take a breath before continuing excitedly, “Can you believe that there are 20,000 bulbs, with 5,000 on each side that glitter for 5 minutes every hour on the hour, from nightfall until 1 a.m. We must go and see it tonight!”

  Isabelle laughed. It was nice to see her sister so happy. She had been listening to Kathryn dream about visiting the Eiffel Tower ever since she was six years old.

  “Let’s find a good spot where we can take a nice photograph of the Eiffel Tower with the sun setting in the background,” suggested Kathryn enthusiastically.

  Isabelle smiled, “Okay, little sister. Slow down. Let me pay the bill first.”

  She got up and went inside the cafe to pay the bill, leaving Kathryn sitting alone at the table, happily scrolling through all the photographs she had taken of the Eiffel Tower.

  Just as the cashier was giving Isabelle her change, she heard a loud panicked scream, “Issy! Help!”

  She spun around and saw Kathryn struggling with the bad guys who were trying to pull her into a black van. It was Jack and Don. They had managed to catch Kathryn by surprise while she was busy looking through her photographs.

  Jack punched Kathryn in the face, making her dazed. Then Don grabbed her and threw her into the van. They jumped in and slammed the door.

  Isabelle ran outside and tried to catch up but it was too late.

  The van sped away, its tires screeching as the driver stepped hard on the gas.

  Isabelle couldn’t even see the licence plate of the van. How was she going to find her sister?

  Kathryn was gone.

  Kidnapped.

  Isabelle vowed that she would find a way to get her sister back.

  Safe.

  Unharmed.

  The bad guys would pay for taking her sister.

  Chapter 8

  Isabelle called S.P.Y. headquarters.

  “Kathryn has been taken,” she reported in as calm a voice as she could, although inside she was trying very hard not to panic. “It’s the same guys from the Dr. Sinister case who were supposed to be in prison.”

  She listened carefully as her boss, John Crabbe informed her that the bad guys had escaped the night before. She tried very hard not to get angry but she failed miserably.

  “Why didn’t anyone tell me?” shouted Isabelle, “then we would have been on our guard.”

  “I know you’re angry but we didn’t know about it. The local police only informed us a few moments ago,” John told her.

  Isabelle was furious. This whole kidnapping could have been avoided!

  “Stay out of it, Isabelle,” John ordered. “You’re emotionally involved in this and can’t function properly as an agent. If you hear from the kidnappers, let us know and the agency will handle it. We will let you know once we have found her.”

  Isabelle didn’t believe him. She knew if anyone could save her sister, it would be her. She would never give up on Kathryn. She was determined to find her sister and get her back.

  “Goodbye, John,” Isabelle said in a deadly quiet voice. “I’ll be in touch.”

  “Don’t do anything stupid, Isabelle,” John reminded her. “Stay off the case!”

  Isabelle hung up. She wasn’t planning to listen to John.

  It had been almost thirty minutes since Kathryn was taken. She had not heard anything yet from the kidnappers.

  Think, Isabelle, think. She scolded herself. You’re of no use to Kathryn if you don’t figure out a plan.

  She knew the bad guys would contact her soon to let her know their demands. The question was how? They would either call her or leave a message at the hotel. There was no other way to reach her.

  I had better go back to the hotel and check, Isabelle told herself.

  She quickly hailed a cab and got in.

  The ride back to the hotel felt like it was taking forever although it was actually less than ten minutes.

  “Any messages for me?” Isabelle asked breathlessly as soon as she reached the hotel front desk.

  “Yes, Mademoiselle Jones. There is one,” replied the man at the front desk politely as he handed her a plain, white envelope.

  Inside it was a message printed on a white sheet of paper:

  YOUR SISTER BACK IN EXCHANGE FOR 10 MILLION EURO.

  REAL (NOT FAKE) MONEY.

  YOU HAVE UNTIL NOON TOMORROW.

  WAIT IN THE HOTEL LOBBY.

  TELL ANYONE AND SHE DIES.

  WE WILL KNOW IF YOU CALL S.P.Y.

  It was already 5 pm. The deadline was less than 24 hours away. It was going to be hard for Isabelle to get that much money in such a short time. She couldn’t take the risk of calling S.P.Y. and letting them know. If the bad guys found out, Kathryn would be … dead.

  She needed to have a plan and the right team of people.

  It was time to call for backup.

  Chapter 9

  Twenty hours later, it was one o’clock on a Wednesday afternoon, one hour past the deadline.

  The money was ready. Isabelle had gotten her dad to send her the money without telling him the reason why she needed it. No point in making him worried too.

  She had been sitting in the hotel lobby waiting anxiously.

  She had not heard anything from the bad guys yet. No phone call. No note. Nothing.

  Why aren’t they calling yet?

  Her phone buzzed. It was a message from Kathryn’s iPhone:

  BRING THE MONEY TO THE FACTORY. YOU HAVE 20 MINUTES.

  DON’T BRING ANYONE.

  DON’T BE LATE.

  Isabelle tried to track Kathryn’s location earlier by using her iPhone but the bad guys had switched it off. Now, they probably switched it on for a few minutes to message her.

  She could only hope that her team had managed to track the phone while it was switched on. She couldn’t risk calling anyone or forwarding the message in case the bad guys were watching her.

  She ran to get her rented car.

  It took her exactly twenty minutes to drive there.

  The factory looked empty when she got there. No one else was around.

  Carrying the bag of money, she walked inside slowly, past the police tapes warning people to keep out.

  The printing machines were still there, gleaming in the late afternoon sun.

  Don stepped out in his ugly orange sweater together with the other bad guys.

  “Do you have the money?” he asked.

  “Where’s Kathryn?” Isabelle demanded. It was going to be a stand-off.

  “She’s safe,” Don snickered. “Show me the money first and then maybe, I’ll let you see your sister.”

  Isabelle opened the bag. “It’s all there,” she said. “You can count it if you want but hand over my sister first!”

  Don gave an evil grin. He made a signal with his right hand.

  “Bring her out,” he ordered.

  Isabelle looked around and saw Jack dragging Kathryn out onto the factory floor. She was alive, although very bruised
. It was obvious Kathryn had continued to fight Jack and Don after they pulled her into the van.

  “You’re not going to get away with this!” Isabelle threatened the bad guys.

  Don gave an evil laugh. “Of course we will. Nobody is going to stop us.”

  “S.P.Y. will!” promised Isabelle.

  “Nobody from S.P.Y. is going to come and save you,” said Jack with a wicked knowing grin. “They don’t even know she has been kidnapped.”

  “That’s not true,” Isabelle snapped.

  From the dark shadows in the corner, a figure stepped out into the light and said, “It’s true, Isabelle. No one knows she’s gone.”

  It was John Crabbe.

  “You!” Isabelle shouted, “How could you?”

  John smiled and said, “You can never trust anybody. Now be a good girl and hand over the money.”

  Isabelle still did not give them the money. Instead she tried to buy more time by talking, “So you’re Dr. Sinister? You’re the one who has been behind all of this?”

  John chuckled and gave a mocking bow, “Isn’t it amazing how nobody even suspected me? The best part is that even after the both of you are gone, I can go back to working at S.P.Y. as if nothing had happened.”

  “I knew there was a traitor,” said Isabelle angrily. “There was no way the secret device could have been stolen from headquarters so easily. Plus the note gave it away yesterday, “WE WILL KNOW IF YOU CALL S.P.Y.” I just never expected it to be you. Why, John, why?”

  “The money, of course,” said John. “I’m not going to get rich by working for S.P.Y. Not everyone has a rich daddy like you two girls, but I can get rich by being Dr. Sinister. Now, hand over the money before I get my men here to prise it from your cold, dead fingers.”

  “You can still turn yourself in,” Isabelle tried to persuade him. “It doesn’t have to be this way.”

  “Quit stalling,” said John. “I’m not going to get caught. No one from the agency knows you are here. I made sure of that. Now if you’ll excuse me, ladies. I have to be at the airport. I have a plane to catch.”

  He turned away as he instructed his men. “Retrieve the bag and get rid of them.”

  Jack grabbed Kathryn while Don and the rest of the bad guys started advancing on Isabelle.

  There was nowhere to run.

  Chapter 10

  “Light!” Isabelle screamed.

  Suddenly, a big ball of light burst near the ceiling. She had given the signal — the code word “light”. It blinded every bad guy and made each one fall to the ground. Only Isabelle was okay because she had covered her eyes.

  She quickly ran to her sister and dragged her away from the bad guys, who were still dazed. “How badly are you hurt?” she asked worriedly.

  “I’m okay, Issy,” said Kathryn as she hugged her sister. “Thank you for coming to rescue me.”

  The villains got up, ready for a fight.

  “You’re not going to escape,” threatened John, “no matter what tricks you pull.”

  “You’re wrong, John.” Isabelle corrected him. “You’re the one who’s not going to escape!”

  Suddenly, all the agents from S.P.Y. surrounded the bad guys.

  Jack, Don and John tried to fight but they were clearly outnumbered. Isabelle had been right — there was no escape for them.

  “How?” John demanded. He was confused, “How did you manage to get all these agents here?”

  “It wasn’t hard, John,” said Isabelle. “My sister was in trouble. I needed help. I called all the other agents and asked them even though you told me to stay out of it. They all understood and came immediately because you forgot one very important thing, John. S.P.Y. stands for “Sisters Protecting You” and all S.P.Y. agents are made up of teams of sisters. We know what it is like when our sister is in trouble and we all know what we would do to save our sisters. Everyone came to help.”

  John shook his head in defeat. He was no match for the sisters, for all the S.P.Y. sisters.

  Isabelle and Kathryn watched as all the bad guys, including John were caught and handcuffed. They would be sent to a little island where there was a prison with better security. It would be impossible to escape from there. They would live there until they died.

  “I’m so glad you’re safe,” Isabelle hugged Kathryn. “Are you sure you’re not injured?”

  “Just a few scrapes and bruises,” Kathryn reassured her sister. She seemed fine but not her usual perky self. “It’s not serious. Nothing a few days of rest wouldn’t help.”

  “As well as coffee and croissants under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, right?” said Isabelle teasingly as she tried to coax a smile out of her sister.

  A reluctant grin appeared on Kathryn’s face. “You know me so well, Issy. I’m sure we’ll have time before our next mission, right?”

  “Definitely! But first, we have to stop by the bank and send Papa back his money or else he’s going to think we spent it all shopping for clothes in Paris! Then, we’ll really be in trouble!” said Isabelle as she walked out the door, carrying the bag of money with her. “So, hurry up!”

  Kathryn’s laughter filled the air.

  Epilogue

  Seven months later.

  Another villain nicknamed “The Claw” was causing trouble in the world. He was worse than Dr. Sinister and his gang of bad guys. The Claw had kidnapped Oprah and was asking for a ransom of US$100 million.

  The Claw, who’s real name was Ivan, was also looking for Jack and Don because a long time ago, they stole something very important from him. They took it, broke it and threw it into the sea never to be found again. Nobody except for The Claw, Jack and Don ever knew what it was. The Claw wanted revenge on them for taking it and destroying it forever.

  The bad guys were so scared when they heard The Claw was looking for them. So, they asked to speak with Isabelle and Kathryn.

  Hours later, the prison warden arranged for a video call so the bad guys could speak with the girls.

  “What do you want?” Isabelle asked.

  “The Claw is after us. We’ll help you catch him if you protect us from him,” offered Jack.

  Isabelle and Kathryn looked at each other as they thought about it. They had also received information that The Claw was planning to attack S.P.Y. and steal the secret F-143 device. They could use any help they could get to catch him.

  Finally Kathryn said, “Only if you go back to jail after we’ve caught him.”

  The bad guys said, “It’s a deal.”

  “Ok, then where do we start?” the girls asked.

  Will the girls succeed or will the Claw destroy the world?

  Find out in the next Secret S.P.Y. Agent Adventure.

  Gabrielle Michael has always been interested in spies, their gadgets and the missions they would go on. She has always wondered what it was like to be a spy. By writing this book, it has allowed this ten-year-old author to live her dream of being a super awesome spy.

  She lives in Canada together with her family and is happily skating her free time away when she's not busy with homework or writing.