#1 Ghost Diamond! (Agent Amelia)

by Michael Broad

I also had to keep an eye out for Mom and Trudy!

  After half an hour of searching, I still hadn’t found anything suspicious in the garden center. With only the greenhouse section left, I was beginning to think nothing weird was going on after all.

  I made my way slowly through the aisles of greenhouses. I felt bad about making Mom’s roses droopy for nothing. Then something suddenly shot across my path!

  I froze on the spot, tipped my sunglasses, and scanned the floor. I hadn’t seen exactly what it was because it moved too fast. But it was bigger than a mouse, and it moved like a small, dark octopus!

  Crouching down, I noticed a faint line of dirt on the white-tiled floor! Whatever it was, the creature had left a trail!

  I immediately turned my cart and set off after it. I was so busy watching the trail of dirt that I didn’t notice when a man leaped out in front of my cart! I dug my heels into the f loor, but it was too late.

  “Look where you’re going, you silly old fool!” the man growled. He picked himself up from the floor and patted the dust from his garden center uniform. He was tall and thin and very mean-looking.

  The man obviously mistook me for an old lady. I was hunched over and staring at the floor. So I went along with it and kept my face well hidden beneath the hat.

  “Oh! Dearie me!” I croaked. “I’m terribly sorry, young man.”

  “And you should be!” He snapped. “There are some very rare plants in this department!” The man shook his fist angrily. Then he stormed away mumbling under his breath.

  I decided it was very strange that the man had been so rude. People who work in shops are supposed to be nice to the customers, even if they mow you down with their carts. His comment about rare plants was even stranger. There didn’t seem to be any plants at all in this department, just aisles of empty greenhouses.

  Hmmm.

  I kept an eye out for the strange man and found the trail of dirt again.

  Before long the trail stopped outside one of the greenhouses. This greenhouse was right at the back of the showroom and was different from the rest. It was bigger and older, and it was also clouded over with condensation. Nothing could be seen through the hazy panes of glass.

  Leaving the cart in the aisle, I pushed the glass door open and peered inside. The greenhouse was hot and humid and full of plants. But they weren’t rare plants. All the plants in the misty greenhouse looked just like weeds!

  I stepped inside and glanced around.

  None of the plants were in pots or bedding trays. They were definitely weeds. And they were scattered all over the floor as if someone had just weeded out their garden and dumped them there.

  What was going on?

  Reaching inside my backpack, I pulled out my extendable grabber-hand gadget. (It’s basically a hand on a stick.) Whatever had scuttled across my path must be hiding under the weeds. I didn’t want to use my real hand just in case the mysterious creature had teeth!

  After a few minutes of careful poking, I found nothing among the weeds. I had to stop to catch my breath. The greenhouse was as hot as an oven, and I was baking under the dress, hat, and wig.

  Then I realized no one could see me through the misted glass of the greenhouse. I peeled off my damp disguise and packed it away.

  But when I crouched down to refasten my backpack, I suddenly heard a strange sound coming from the weeds.

  At first, it sounded like the kind of hissing that grass makes when it’s blown by the breeze. After listening carefully, it began to sound more and more like whispering.

  It sounded like the weeds were talking to one another!

  Then I realized something dreadful. The creature I’d been tracking wasn’t under the weeds. The creature was the weeds. And I was trapped in a greenhouse with a great big pile of them!

  Uh-oh!

  The weeds stopped whispering and slowly began to move. The roots and leaves gathered around my feet. Some of the more stringy ones tried to wrap their vines around my shoes!

  I jumped back with a gasp.

  The weeds immediately started whispering again. They spread out across the floor of the greenhouse like soldiers. Suddenly they leaped up on their roots like little white legs.

  They scuttled after me waving their leaves angrily in the air.

  “ARRRRRGGGGHHH!” I screamed. Screaming isn’t the sort of thing you’re supposed to do when you’re a secret agent, but they were really creepy, and they took me by surprise.

  I threw the door open and was about to escape when I saw a tall, thin figure blocking my path! It was the man I’d knocked over with my cart, and he was smiling at me.

  But it wasn’t a friendly smile. It was an I’m-going-to-rule-the-world smile. I’ve seen it loads of times before. Criminal masterminds and evil geniuses always have an I’m-going-to-rule-the-world smile. “So you found my rare plants?” he chuckled.

  I glanced back at the weeds. They were still standing on their roots, but they’d stopped scuttling. They seemed to be looking up at the man as if waiting for instructions.

  The best thing to do when confronted by criminal masterminds or evil geniuses is to keep cool and not let them know you’re scared. It was difficult, especially knowing the whispering weeds were right behind me, but I gave the man my best fearless glare.

  “You won’t get away with this!” I growled and waved my extendable grabber-hand at him.

  “Won’t get away with what?” asked the man, frowning at my gadget.

  “With … whatever it is you’re trying to get away with!” I said. I still wasn’t sure exactly what the man was up to with his creepy weedy army. But I was expecting a big, long rant about taking over the world. That’s what criminal masterminds and evil geniuses always do.

  “You’re too late, little girl!” the thin man said. “My troops are ready! Once dispatched, they will creep into every garden and spread into every field and farm in the world….”

  If evil geniuses and criminal masterminds didn’t spend so much time ranting about their plans to take over the world, they’d probably be a lot more successful. But they love bragging about how clever they are. So I used the time to look for a way to stop him.

  My eyes fell on my shopping cart sitting in the aisle behind him.

  “… My weed army will control every crop on the planet!” he continued. “Then I will hold the whole world for ransom!”

  With one careful flick of my grabber-hand, I extended it behind the man and into the cart. I flicked a big clay flowerpot up in the air and dropped it on his head.

  “OW!” The man growled, rubbing the top of his head angrily.

  It didn’t knock him out, but he was distracted long enough for me to run past.

  I grabbed the handle of the cart and ran as fast as I could.

  The cart had filled up quite a bit while I was pretending to be a shopper. It quickly picked up speed. Once it was going fast enough, I leaped into the basket and rode it through the aisles of greenhouses.

  Looking back, I saw the man stoop down to whisper to the weed army gathered at his feet. Then he nodded in my direction, and the weeds suddenly started chasing me!

  They shot across the floor hissing and waving their leaves.

  Rummaging inside the cart for stuff to throw at them, I found two green spray bottles.

  I lifted them out and was about to lob them at the weeds when I saw the labels on the bottles.

  I quickly flicked the caps off the bottles, curled my fingers around the triggers, and as the first of the weeds leaped into the air, I squirted them!

  They instantly fell away, landing with a splat, but the others kept on coming.

  Squirt! Squirt! Squirt!

  As the last angry weed splatted on the floor in a limp, mushy heap, I looked back at the thin man. Needless to say, he’d lost his I’m-going-to-rule-the-world smile. It was now replaced with the equally familiar my-life’s-work-is-ruined frown!

  He wouldn’t be causing any trouble now!

  I was about to fe
el pleased with myself for saving the world again. Then I suddenly realized I was still sitting in a cart moving quickly through the aisles of the garden center.

  I leaped off the cart and grabbed the handle. Digging my heels into the floor, I managed to steer to avoid one crash. Unfortunately, I sent the cart hurtling around the corner and into the main section of the garden center!

  Still holding on, I was dragged by the cart through the leafy aisles. Suddenly I heard a thud and a very startled “yelp!”

  I peered over the top of the handle and saw a very dazed Trudy sitting in the cart. Her arms and legs were hanging over the sides. Picking up an unexpected passenger definitely slowed the cart down, but peering through Trudy’s legs, I saw something ahead. We were heading straight for it.

  It was the checkout lane, and standing beside it were Mom and Trudy’s dad.

  They both looked up at the same time, and their mouths fell open.

  On the way home in the car, Mom was silent. She usually gives me the silent treatment when she’s really angry. It happens quite a lot because saving the world often gets me into trouble.

  In fact, Mom only spoke once during the whole trip home.

  “That girl Trudy is clearly a very bad influence on you. I don’t want to see you hanging around with her again,” Mom growled. She shook her head at the memory of Trudy and me crashing into the cash register and smashing the cart.

  “OK,” I said. This was a bit of a bonus.

  “And on second thought,” Mom added, glancing back at my bulging backpack, “perhaps you are better off playing with your dolls. They’re definitely a lot less dangerous!”