Training School

by Andrew Cope

  ANDREW COPE

  Illustrated by James de la Rue

  PUFFIN

  Contents

  1 The Mask with Two Faces

  2 Riders on the Storm

  3 A Very Close Shave

  4 Welcome to New York

  5 Going Underground

  6 Testing Times

  7 Safe House

  8 Stake-out

  9 The Great Escape

  10 Canine Criminals

  11 Flying Fish

  12 We’re All Going to the Zoo

  13 Show Time!

  14 Chilled Out

  15 Museum Madness

  16 The Gold Trail

  17 The Bear Necessities

  18 New York, New York!

  PUFFIN BOOKS

  Andrew Cope lives in the middle of England. He is a footy fan and an avid reader. He hardly ever watches the telly. His favourite colour is orange and his favourite word is ‘avid’. A few years ago Andrew’s family adopted a dog from the RSPCA. To be honest, on the intelligence scale, she’s pretty much at the bottom. And when looks were dished out she was at the back of the queue. She’s got ridiculous ears and the most horrific dog breath. All in all, Lara hasn’t got much going for her.

  So why is it that Lara gets all the fuss and attention? At Spy Dog events, why do five hundred kids swarm around the dog, patting and stroking and rubbing her tummy, while Andrew twiddles his thumbs? Why do children squeal with excitement when Lara enters the room, but merely say, ‘Oh, it’s you,’ when Andrew does?

  I guess it’s because Lara is the world’s first ever Spy Dog. She goes on undercover missions and saves the world. And Andrew Cope is just an author.

  If you want Lara or her puppy to visit your school, please email her at lara@artofbrilliance.co.uk. They’ll probably have to bring Andrew Cope along too, but don’t let that put you off. Or you can find out more about the Spy Dog and Spy Pups books online at www.spydog451.co.uk, where there are pictures, videos and competitions too!

  Books by Andrew Cope

  Spy Dog

  Spy Dog Captured!

  Spy Dog Unleashed!

  Spy Dog Superbrain

  Spy Dog Rocket Rider

  Spy Dog Teacher’s Pet

  Spy Dog Rollercoaster!

  Spy Pups Treasure Quest

  Spy Pups Prison Break

  Spy Pups Circus Act

  Spy Pups Danger Island

  Spy Pups Survival Camp

  Spy Pups Training School

  Spy Dog Joke Book

  1. The Mask with Two Faces

  ‘Follow me, folks!’ the museum guide called. ‘You’re about to see one of the most important pieces of art in the whole world – and we’re proud to have it on display in our very own Metropolitan Museum of Art, right here in New York!’

  A crowd of tourists and a teacher with a party of schoolchildren followed the guide through a narrow tunnel into a round, windowless room. A circle in the middle of the room was roped off, leaving a strip of open floor around the edge. As the crowd shuffled in and lined up behind the rope barrier, two men in dark suits slipped into the room and stood behind the crowd, one on either side of the tunnel.

  If anyone had looked at the pair, they would have had a shock. The two men were identical in every detail, except that one had a mole on his right cheek and the other had exactly the same mole on his left cheek. Nobody did look, though; they were all too busy peering at the shadowy object roped off in the middle of the room.

  ‘Here we go,’ said the guide. ‘Feast your eyes on the Janus mask!’ He flicked a switch and a powerful spotlight snapped on.

  The crowd gasped. The mask in the centre of the room was made of pure beaten gold; it gleamed softly as it turned on its pedestal. It had two identical faces, one at the front and one at the back.

  ‘Can I try it on?’ asked a small girl.

  ‘Sorry, sweetie,’ said the guide. ‘This isn’t a fancy dress mask. It’s priceless! It dates back to early Roman times and it’s the only one of its kind.’

  A boy raised his hand. ‘Why does it have two faces?’

  ‘Good question, son,’ said the guide. ‘Janus was a Roman god who could see both forward into the future and backward into the past, so the mask-maker gave him two faces. You could say Janus had eyes in the back of his head, just like your teacher here!’

  The schoolchildren giggled.

  ‘Yes, I do,’ agreed the teacher. ‘That’s how I know some of you are eating candy right now, even though I told you no food in the museum!’

  The children stopped giggling and there was a rustling as sweets were reluctantly pushed back into pockets. The adults in the crowd chuckled and then everyone turned back to studying the golden mask.

  Everyone except the two dark-suited men. They were busy checking out the museum security instead. Their cold blue eyes took in the lasers, the security cameras and the pressure pad under the mask. Finally, they both focused on a thin steel ring set into the floor around the pedestal. They frowned. The steel ring was something new. What was it for? What did it do? Their eyes met and they both gave the slightest of shrugs.

  Just then a boy in front of the men eased a bag of jelly babies back out of his pocket. The pair shared a smile and then bent down, one on each side of the boy.

  ‘Teacher said no candy, kid!’ hissed one of the men.

  The boy jumped and, at the same time, the other man nudged his arm. A jelly baby flew from the bag, sailed over the rope barrier and bounced on to the floor beside the steel ring. The two men watched with interest to see what would happen next.

  The jelly baby was instantly sliced in half as a cylinder shot up out of the steel ring. The cylinder zoomed upwards with a metallic hiss and locked into a groove in the roof, sealing the Janus mask behind a pillar of steel.

  In the moment of stunned silence that followed, one of the dark-suited men plucked the remaining jelly babies from the boy’s hand. The boy began to cry.

  ‘Simon!’ roared the teacher. ‘Was that your jelly baby?’

  ‘It wasn’t my fault! It was those nasty men!’

  Simon turned and pointed behind him, but there was nobody there. The men had slipped away.

  ‘Jelly baby, Brad?’

  ‘Thanks, Chad. Don’t mind if I do.’

  Brad and Chad Onkers strolled away from the museum into Central Park, chewing on Simon’s jelly babies. They found a quiet bench and sat down side by side.

  ‘We must,’ began Brad.

  ‘Have that mask,’ finished Chad.

  ‘It’s us!’ began Brad.

  ‘In gold!’ finished Chad.

  The Onkers twins turned on the bench so that they were back to back, and posed as the Janus mask. It was a spooky sight. Their spiky blond hair was exactly the same length and thickness, their noses had identical bumps across the bridge, and their chins both had a cleft down the middle which made them look like tiny bums. The only way to tell them apart was their moles.

  ‘So. It’s agreed. We steal,’ began Chad.

  ‘The Janus mask,’ finished Brad.

  ‘In time for,’ began Chad.

  ‘Our birthday next week,’ finished Brad.

  ‘Better than any cake!’ they said together.

  ‘But how,’ asked Brad.

  ‘Do we do it?’ finished Chad.

  ‘It’ll be our toughest job yet,’ said Brad.

  ‘Let’s think on it,’ said Chad.

  They sat on the bench until they had finished Simon’s jelly babies, then they both shook their heads and stood up.

  ‘Nothing yet,’ said Chad.

  ‘Me neither,’ admitted Brad. ‘We’ll figure it out. We always do. Meanwhile, I gotta get to work.’ He pulled an FBI badge from his pocket and hung i
t round his neck. The badge had his photograph on one side, and the words special agent b. onkers on the other.

  ‘I gotta get to work too,’ said Chad, pulling a set of skeleton keys from his pocket and running them through his fingers.

  ‘What’s the heist this time?’ asked Brad.

  ‘Those two Picasso paintings in the mansion you were protecting a few months back.’

  Brad’s blue eyes gleamed greedily. ‘They’ll look lovely hanging on our wall. You got the codes for the burglar alarm?’

  Chad nodded and tapped the side of his head. ‘It’s all in here. The layout of the mansion – everything. That night I spent there posing as you was very useful. You know, Brad, every art thief should have a twin working in the FBI!’

  ‘And every FBI agent should have a twin working as an art thief!

  ‘Two heads are better than one,’ said Chad.

  ‘Or two faces,’ said Brad.

  The Onkers twins leant their identical faces together and gave an identical evil laugh.

  2. Riders on the Storm

  The plane had nearly reached New York when the pilot sat forward with a frown. Flying conditions had been good all the way across the Atlantic, but now a bank of black cloud was boiling up on the horizon. The pilot checked the flight path. The plane was heading straight for the black clouds.

  Hmm. They weren’t in the forecast, she thought. Maybe they’re harmless. Just then lightning began to flicker inside the clouds. Or maybe not! It’s a freak storm! Time to climb.

  The pilot checked the radar screens. There was no air traffic above her, so she put the plane into a steep climb, taking it high above the storm.

  That’s better. At least we’ll be flying over it now. But we’re still in for a bumpy ride. Time to wake my co-pilot.

  She leant across and prodded the man snoring beside her.

  ‘Sooo many baa-lambs …’ mumbled Professor Cortex, opening his eyes. He blinked at the black and white dog sitting next to him in the cockpit. ‘Oh hello, GM451.’

  Lara couldn’t help a doggy grin. Her old friend was one of the world’s top scientists and the head of the British government’s animal spying programme. He had a brain as big as a planet, yet here he was, baby-talking in his sleep. She raised an eyebrow at him. Baa-lambs …?

  Professor Cortex blushed and straightened his bow tie. ‘Ahem. I was dreaming about sheep. Must be all those fluffy white clouds out there.’

  They’re not white any more, Prof. Lara pointed a paw at the storm clouds. And they’re definitely not fluffy!

  ‘Have we reached New York?’ Professor Cortex peered through the cockpit window and gave a high-pitched yelp when he saw the stormy sky. ‘Good grief! Why didn’t you wake me?’

  Lara sighed. I just did!

  ‘Looks like we’re in for a rough ride, GM451,’ said Professor Cortex. ‘Do you think you can fly us through it?’

  Lara looked at the specially adapted canine cockpit. She gave a determined nod, her sticky-up ear springing to attention. Course I can, Prof! After all, I am the only black and white mutt ever to have gained her pilot’s licence.

  Lara’s chest swelled with pride as she remembered the day her instructor told her she had qualified as a pilot. He told me I’d passed with ‘flying colours’, she smiled. Nice line! Back then, she had still been in active service as the world’s first ever Spy Dog, trained by Professor Cortex. ‘Lara’ stood for Licenced Assault and Rescue Animal, and her code name had been GM451. Then, one dark day, Lara had nearly died on a mission.

  She shuddered and touched a paw to her sticky-up ear, which had a bullet hole clean through it as a souvenir of her encounter with the arch-criminal Mr Big. After that, Professor Cortex had decided to retire her from active duty. Now Lara lived with the Cooks, her adopted family. Her pups, Star and Spud, were the professor’s newest Spy Dogs, but she still liked to keep her skills up to scratch and she had been glad of the chance to fly again.

  ‘That’s the spirit, Lara!’ said Professor Cortex, adjusting his headphones. ‘You fly the plane and I’ll talk to air traffic control; between us, we’ll bring this plane in to land. But first I’d better warn our passengers.’

  As Professor Cortex pressed the intercom button, Lara tightened her seat belt. Everyone she loved most in the world was on this plane. As well as her old friend Professor Cortex and his personal bodyguards Agents K and T, her pups Spud and Star were on-board, along with Mr and Mrs Cook and their children Ben, Sophie and Ollie. I’m landing this plane safely, she vowed. And nothing, not even a freak storm, is going to stop me!

  No one in the passenger cabin had any idea of the drama unfolding in the cockpit. The British government plane had sixteen comfortable seats, arranged round four tables. Spud, Star, Ben and Sophie were sitting together at one table. Spud was munching his way through his third packet of crisps, Star was on her laptop checking out the FBI’s ‘most wanted’ gallery, and Ben and Sophie were looking through a New York guidebook.

  ‘I can’t wait to ride in a yellow cab,’ said Sophie.

  ‘And I can’t wait to climb up the Statue of Liberty,’ said Ben.

  ‘Like King Kong?’ asked Ollie, from the table across the aisle.

  Ben laughed. ‘No, Ollie. I think I’ll use the steps inside the building. Much safer.’

  ‘Oh.’ Ollie lost interest and went back to tormenting Agents K and T, who were sharing his table.

  ‘Look at them, Spud, they’re so excited!’ yapped Star, nodding at Ben and Sophie. ‘It was really nice of the prof to bring them along with us to New York.’

  ‘S’pose so,’ Spud muttered.

  Star giggled. ‘You’re not still angry with the prof about those injections, are you? You know he had to vaccinate us so we could get our pet passports.’

  Spud squirmed in his seat. ‘Yes, but he didn’t have to treat my bum like a dartboard! And how come we had to have rabies jabs, but the humans didn’t? I mean, we all live in the same house in the same little English village. Rabies is when you go insane and start foaming at the mouth. The closest we get to that is when Ollie puts too much toothpaste on his brush.’

  ‘That’s what’s so exciting,’ yapped Star.

  ‘What? Rabies?’

  ‘No! It’s exciting to be leaving our little village to work with the FBI in New York! It’s what’s been missing from our training so far, bro. After this, we’ll be ready for Big City spying anywhere in the world! Admit it, Spud, you must be excited about getting out on the streets of one of the most exciting cities in the world. They call it the Big Apple!’

  ‘Yeah, I am! And “big apple” reminds me. Isn’t New York famous for its food? Huge portions too! Bagel stalls, burger stalls, donut stands, pancakes. I can’t wait!’ slurped Spud.

  ‘Forget the food,’ said Star, turning the screen of her laptop towards her brother. ‘Look at these FBI “most wanted” mugshots. We’ll be training with real heroes, Spud. FBI agents deal with armed baddies like this lot every day.’

  ‘Well, we’re no strangers to armed baddies either,’ yawned Spud. ‘Me and Ma have both been shot by one.’ He tapped his bullet-holed left ear and discovered a drinking straw that he had stuck there for safe-keeping. ‘Oh, that’s where it went.’ Spud yanked the straw out of the bullet hole, dropped it into his glass and slurped up some lemonade.

  Star shook her head fondly at her brother. In many ways they were very different. Spud loved his food and had a plump belly to show for it; she loved to exercise and had lost all her puppy fat. Spud had black fur and floppy ears while she was black and white with one sticky-up ear, just like their mum. But she and Spud had two big things in common: they both loved adventure and they were both proud to be Spy Dogs! ‘You’re not fooling me, Spud. You can act as cool as you like; I know you’re as excited as I am about this training.’

  Spud gave a doggy grin. ‘You got me, sis! I admit it. I’m so excited I might even forgive the prof for sticking needles in my bum.’

  Across the ai
sle, Ollie had made a paper plane out of his passenger sick bag. ‘Nneeooowww!’ he yelled, zooming it past Agent K’s head.

  Agent K jumped. He was sweating and staring through the window at the plane wing as though it might drop off at any second.

  ‘I don’t get it,’ Ollie declared. ‘You’re meant to be a big, tough personal bodyguard! Your job is really dangerous, with guns and walkie-talkies and fighting baddies and stuff. So how come you’re scared of flying?’

  Agent K didn’t answer, so Ollie crashed his paper plane into the table with an ear-splitting ‘Kaboom!’. His hands leapt into the air in a mock explosion. ‘Everyone dies!’ Agent K gave a strangled squeak.

  ‘Ollie! Leave Agent K alone!’ ordered Mr Cook from the next table. ‘Can’t you see he’s feeling a bit unwell?’

  ‘Really, Agent K, there’s no need to worry,’ soothed Mrs Cook. ‘Air travel is very safe – and it’s been a smooth flight so far.’

  ‘Very smooth,’ beamed Mr Cook, waving an empty sick bag triumphantly. ‘I haven’t thrown up once, and you know what I’m like!’

  Just then the plane lurched violently. Spud’s glass bounced across the table, spraying him with lemonade from nose to tail. Star avoided the lemonade, but only because she had been bounced from her seat into the aisle. Agent K screamed when an oxygen mask fell on to his head.

  ‘What’s happening?’ yapped Star as she scrambled back into her seat.

  The cabin speakers clicked on. ‘Ahem, sorry about that little surprise,’ said Professor Cortex, the speakers making it sound like he was holding his nose. ‘I was just about to warn you, but the storm beat me to it.’

  ‘Storm!’ squeaked Agent K.

  ‘We’re flying into a big one,’ continued Professor Cortex. ‘So you’d better put your seat belts on. Turbulence ahead.’

  The speakers clicked off and everyone reached for their seat belts, except for Agent K, who had never taken his off. He reached for Ollie’s seat belt instead and began to fasten it for him with shaking hands.