by Rob Stevens
‘But we can’t just leave the PM here,’ Gemma argued.
‘Well, we certainly can’t take him with us,’ Archie retorted. ‘Unless you’ve got a sieve handy to strain the whole ocean?’
Archie and Gemma glared angrily at each other.
‘OK, guys,’ Barney said calmly, poking his head between the two front seats. ‘We’re all upset but let’s try and chill out, yeah?’
‘Great.’ Gemma craned her neck and smiled sarcastically at Barney. ‘The Prime Minister’s been killed by a suicidal villain, who has replaced him with an evil lookalike intent on leading us into World War Three, but you think we should all chill out?’
Barney’s cheeks coloured and he smiled nervously.
Archie interjected. ‘He’s just saying we ought to try to keep calm and cool off.’
‘Cool off?!’ Gemma repeated. ‘The only way I could cool off right now is if I jumped head first into the freezing sea beneath us – and I am certainly not about to take the plunge! So, if you haven’t got anything useful to say don’t say anything at all!’
Barney nodded vigorously.
Gemma looked at Archie, who was staring at the horizon – instinctively controlling the plane’s hover. His mind was racing and, as the thoughts flashed through his head, a knowing grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.
‘What’s there to smile about?’ Gemma demanded.
‘Gemma – you’re an absolute genius,’ he said excitedly. ‘What you just said has given me a totally wicked idea.’
‘For the record,’ Barney piped up, ‘what Gemma just said was in direct response to my delicate provocation. I was deliberately goading her into saying . . . whatever it was that was so brilliant.’
‘OK!’ Archie laughed. ‘You’re both brilliant.’
‘Are you going to tell us why?’ Gemma enquired.
Archie nodded. ‘You just said you were not going to “take the plunge” – which is exactly the phrase the sham Adam Winchester used in his statement.’
‘So?’ Gemma shrugged. ‘It’s just a figure of speech?’
‘I know,’ Archie agreed, his eyes shining keenly behind his rectangular specs. ‘He also said he would be deep in discussions and that this was a highly pressurised situation.’
‘OK, you’ve got a good memory,’ Gemma conceded. ‘But why are you stressing random words?’
‘They’re not random. I think Tension was taunting us with her henchman’s statement. She was using the fake PM to tell us where she was taking the real one. Think about it,’ Archie urged. ‘They’ve taken the plunge and now they’re deep in a highly pressurised situation.’
Barney gasped and his eyes widened. ‘A submarine!’ he exclaimed.
‘Exactly,’ Archie confirmed.
‘O-M-G, you’re right,’ Gemma said. ‘And he said he was going to fathom a solution and something about emerging into calmer waters. It’s so obvious now, I can’t believe we didn’t spot it at the time. But why give us any clues at all?’
‘Criminal masterminds have to show off about how brilliant they are, and how thick everyone else is,’ Barney said. ‘It’s the law.’
‘X-ray check the satellite footage,’ Archie instructed. ‘They must have jumped overboard before detonating the bomb on their boat.’
Gemma’s keyboard was purring instantly. ‘OK, I’ve zoomed in on the powerboat and I’m rewinding it from the time of the explosion.’
Archie’s pulse was sky high. If he was wrong about Tension diving overboard then all was lost. There would be no way of stopping Adam Winchester’s impostor leading the world into nuclear war. He glanced at the Dragonfly’s clock. It was already eight fifteen in the evening. Only three hours and forty-five minutes remained until the fake PM would order the nuclear air strike.
‘Score!’ shouted Gemma.
The grainy image on her computer screen showed a dark silhouette of a speedboat. Gemma pointed to a tiny black speck behind the boat. ‘There’s our first man overboard.’ She tapped a key and the video began to play. Almost simultaneously two more dark spots appeared at the back of the boat. ‘And there’s the other two.’
‘Looks like they jumped ship just before we overtook them,’ Barney observed.
‘Which means Tension still doesn’t know how close we are,’ Archie mused. ‘What time did they hit the water?’
‘Exactly eight minutes ago,’ said Gemma.
‘I’ll RV with IC and send her the drop-zone coordinates,’ Barney suggested, tapping the screen on his spiPhone. ‘She’ll need to scramble the SBS pronto.’
‘There’s no time for that,’ Archie argued, flying the Dragonfly towards the position where the boat’s occupants had entered the sea. ‘By the time Special Forces get here, Tension’s submarine could be miles away and leagues under the sea. She might be impossible to track down again. The only way we have a chance of catching her and saving the PM is to board the sub ourselves, immediately.’
‘Wait,’ Gemma protested, leaning involuntarily forward as the plane lurched to a hover. ‘STINKBOMB’s orders were to locate and contain the speedboat. We promised IC that we would not go after Tension.’
‘Actually we only promised her we wouldn’t board Tension’s speedboat,’ Archie said, throwing the switch marked ATLAS and dropping the undercarriage lever. ‘Nobody said anything about sneaking on to her submarine and rescuing the PM.’
The plane jolted as its floats hit the sea with a slap and Archie killed the engines. It was suddenly eerily quiet as the Dragonfly bobbed gently on the water.
‘Agent Yankee makes an excellent point,’ Barney commented, opening the hatch behind him and reaching in.
‘OK, let’s go,’ said Archie, taking the Scuba gear Barney was passing to him.
‘Wait!’ Gemma barked. ‘I am the senior agent on this assignment so I decide our next move. And there’s no way we’re going to jump straight into the sea and dive underwater in search of some evil villain’s submarine.’
Archie paused, his wetsuit rucked up as far as his knees. Barney’s eyes were agog behind his mask.
After a beat the corners of Gemma’s mouth twitched. ‘First we’re going to weigh anchor so the Dragonfly doesn’t float away,’ she said sternly. ‘Then we’re going to jump in and get aboard that evil villain’s submarine. Looks like STINKBOMB’s going to have to save the world. Again!’
Archie pulled the full-face diving mask over his head. The rubber balaclava was fitted with a bulbous perspex visor that encompassed his face from forehead to chin. A tube fed oxygen from a tank on his back through a regulator valve attached to the outside of the mask, under his chin. Archie could breathe the air supply inside his mask without having to suck on a mouthpiece, so he was able to talk freely. The three agents had inserted earpieces fitted with tiny microphones to allow them to maintain two-way communications under water.
‘Good luck, STINKBOMB,’ Archie said with a brave smile.
‘Good luck,’ Barney and Gemma chorused back.
‘Wait!’ Barney piped up. ‘When we rescue the PM aren’t we going to need a wetsuit for him? There’s only three in the hatch.’
‘We’ll deal with that when the time comes,’ Archie suggested. ‘Right now our priority is finding Adam Winchester.’
He climbed on to the edge of the cockpit, placed one hand over his face mask and stepped into thin air. As well as the wetsuit, he was wearing neoprene gloves and boots but as he plunged into the sea the icy water rushed under the rubber and took his breath away. Kicking his feet, he punched back through the surface, gasping air.
‘Come on in!’ he called up to the others. ‘The water’s lovely.’
‘If you’re a polar bear, maybe,’ Gemma replied.
Archie heard two heavy splashes and a moment later Barney and Gemma were bobbing next to him, gasping and thrashing about.
He gave them a few moments to catch their breath, then said, ‘OK, let’s see if we can find that submarine. Stay close together – I’ll go first.
’
‘OK,’ Gemma replied.
‘Copy that,’ said Barney. ‘I hear you loud and clear. It’s feeding time for the penguin but the blue whale has eaten all the crabs.’
‘Let’s try and keep the comms to a minimum,’ Archie suggested. ‘Follow me.’ He ducked his head into the water, his feet appeared briefly, then he slipped down and out of sight. Gemma followed his lead, then Barney rolled his eyes in dismay before diving below the surface.
The masks they were wearing had strips of high power LED lights fitted in the seal, but soon even the specialised head-torches penetrated little more than a yard into the eternal blackness as the agents swam deeper.
The only sound Archie heard was the rhythmic rush of his own breathing. Air bubbles flashed briefly in the light before being swallowed by the ocean. He quickly felt disorientated – dangerously exposed to the immense power of the sea and vulnerable to whatever creatures lurked below.
Archie turned his head left and right, straining his eyes for a glimpse of any distant clue that Evelyn Tension might be in the vicinity. Sensing something skulking in the gloom ahead, he grabbed Gemma’s arm. As the agents drifted tentatively forward, transfixed by the shadowy form, it emerged into an enormous torpedo-shaped vessel.
‘Whoa!’ Gemma exclaimed, treading water furiously. ‘A submarine.’
‘A Russian Typhoon-class sub, to be precise,’ Barney whispered.
‘It’s got to be Tension’s lair,’ Archie stated, a squirt of adrenalin quickening his pulse. ‘Wait here – I’m going to check it out.’
With his hands by his sides and his belly close to the surface of the huge metal vessel, he followed the contours of its rounded nose. The body of the submarine swelled, before tapering along its considerable length to a narrow tail. Archie turned and swam back to his friends, this time scanning the hull’s belly.
‘It’s huge,’ he reported, bobbing opposite Barney and Gemma. ‘At least thirty metres long and it’s a really weird shape.’
‘In what way?’ Gemma enquired.
‘Well, it’s got a big dorsal fin on its back and flippers on each side,’ Archie explained, a trail of bubbles pouring out of his regulator. ‘And its rear end splays out like a fish tail. I think it’s been customised to look like some sort of whale.’
‘Boy is she evil,’ Barney said knowingly.
‘Care to explain?’ Gemma sighed.
‘Dolphins swim with whales!’ Barney exclaimed. ‘Obviously Tension lures the dolphins close to her sub, then grabs them with some sort of giant mechanical grabber-thingy that pops out from somewhere, and pulls them aboard to feed to her crew.’
‘Obviously,’ Archie said quietly. ‘Or maybe it’s shaped like this so it will just look like a whale on any passing ship’s sonar?’
Barney swallowed audibly. ‘That’s another theory, I suppose.’
‘I think the more pressing question is “How are we going to get inside?”’ Gemma said.
‘I think I know,’ Archie said with a grin. ‘This way.’
He led the others over the top of the steel whale’s nose to a position high on the centre of its head where a stubby cylinder stuck out from the sleek profile like a turret. The protrusion was two metres in diameter and one metre high, its flat surface adorned with a cross-shaped locking handle.
‘Let me guess,’ Gemma sneered. ‘We just turn the lock and jump in – simple as?’
‘Got any better ideas?’ Archie retorted.
Gripping two opposite ends of the handle, he heaved with all his strength, trying to twist it anticlockwise. It didn’t budge.
‘Yankee, you pull this end,’ Archie instructed. ‘I’ll push this one.’
Both boys strained against the mechanism but still it wouldn’t move.
‘Oh, for heaven’s sake, let me have a go,’ Gemma said impatiently. Gritting her teeth, she tried to lever the handle free. With a sudden clunk the lock rotated ninety degrees and Gemma turned to her fellow agents, smiling smugly.
‘We must have loosened it for you,’ said Archie.
Gemma spun the handle freely and four holes sprang open on the circular hatch. Seawater poured through the holes and hammered against the steel compartment inside.
A moment later the portal opened automatically, like a clamshell, revealing a metal capsule three metres deep that was now filled with seawater.
‘It’s a floodable airlock – like a safety-valve,’ Archie explained. ‘We have to climb inside and close the door again. When the outer door is locked, the water in the capsule will be pumped overboard – then we can open the inner door.’
The three agents manoeuvred themselves feet first into the cylindrical capsule and pulled the hatch shut above their heads. As the levers clunked into position the four holes in the door closed and an immense slurping noise echoed round the capsule.
‘I feel like I’m inside a washing machine,’ said Gemma as the water gushed around her.
That explains why you’re so shirty,’ Barney mumbled.
‘Come on, Agent Zulu.’ Archie smiled. ‘Stop being such a big girl’s blouse.’
Suddenly the water level in the capsule began to drop rapidly. Within seconds Archie, Barney and Gemma were lowered on to the floor of the compartment and after a minute they were surrounded by warm, dry air.
Archie tentatively removed his mask. Sensing the atmosphere contained plenty of oxygen he gave the others a thumbs-up signal and they removed their headgear too. They all placed their equipment inside a recess in the wall and surveyed their surroundings.
The metal cylinder had a single rectangular door locked with a familiar cross-shaped handle.
‘So we go through that door and we’re inside Tension’s sub?’ Archie surmised.
‘Does anyone else get the feeling this has all been a bit too easy?’ questioned Barney.
‘Easy? You can talk,’ said Gemma drily. ‘If I hadn’t been here you two would still be struggling to open the hatch.’
Archie grinned. ‘Good point.’
‘If this was a trap the intruder sirens would be going crazy by now,’ Barney advised. ‘There’d be flashing lights and guards all over us.’
Archie grabbed the door handle, heaving it anticlockwise. There was a satisfying metallic clunk as the door unlocked. He listened for a moment.
Silence.
‘So far so good,’ he whispered, easing the door open an inch.
That was when the almighty wail of an air-raid siren screamed through the cramped compartment.
‘So much for sneaking in under the radar!’ Archie yelled, trying to make himself heard above the racket.
‘They might not know where the alarm was raised!’ Barney shouted back. ‘If they knew we were here there’d be loads of guards waiting for us.’
Gemma nodded resolutely. ‘So it could be worse.’
Archie pushed the metal hatch open another inch and peered through the crack. Closing the door and locking it again, he turned to Barney and Gemma. ‘Actually,’ he said calmly, ‘It really couldn’t be any worse.’
‘There are six guards heading this way,’ Archie advised the others. ‘Anybody got any ideas?’
‘We could unlock the outer hatch,’ Gemma suggested. ‘The whole point of the two-stage entry system is that only one door can be opened at any time. If they override it the whole sub would be flooded.’
‘True.’ Archie nodded. ‘But then the PM would be trapped here indefinitely.’
‘I think you mean definitely, dude,’ Barney said. ‘I mean, there’s no doubt he’d be trapped.’
‘No, I meant . . .’ Archie sighed. ‘OK. Good point.’
Barney shrugged modestly. ‘I say we go out there and kick some butt.’
‘Kick butt?’ Gemma exclaimed with exaggerated surprise. ‘No Code Orpheus protocol or Level Unicorn alert?’
‘Zulu,’ Archie said, as though waking him from a dream. ‘We’re outnumbered two to one. And to be fair, you’re not exactly much use in a fight
– no offence – and X-ray’s more of a hacker than a whacker. There’s no way I can beat six of them.’
Suddenly there was hammering on the door and someone yelled, ‘Come out now. We know you’re in there.’
‘Just a minute,’ Archie called brightly as though he was taking his time in the bathroom.
‘It doesn’t matter that you’re outnumbered,’ Barney whispered. ‘Guards in an evil mastermind’s hideout only ever attack one at a time. Everyone knows that.’
Gemma and Archie exchanged sceptical glances.
‘If you’re not out here on three – we’re coming in to get you. One . . . two . . .’
In one swift movement Archie turned the handle and rammed the door open, feeling it jar as it struck something solid outside. As the hatch swung open he was faced with six guards, lined up single-file along a narrow walkway. The one at the front was writhing in agony, face in hands.
‘Ooops. Did I get you with the door?’ Archie winced apologetically. ‘Sorry, I thought you said three.’
As Archie spoke the injured guard staggered backwards and toppled over the waist-high railing. There was a moment’s silence, then the distant whump of a body hitting the deck below.
‘And then there were five,’ Archie muttered.
The remaining guards raised their fists, ready for combat. They were all wearing yellow satin jumpsuits and black lipstick, and sporting a straight fringe and a ponytail.
‘Evening, ladies,’ said Gemma, following Archie out of the hatch. ‘I can see how embarrassing this must be for you all. It’s bad enough when you turn up somewhere and find one other person wearing the same outfit . . .’
‘We do not concern ourselves with frivolities such as fashion,’ snarled one guard.
‘So I see,’ Gemma mumbled. ‘I mean, those jumpsuits aren’t doing anyone any favours.’
‘Silence!’ snapped the guard. ‘You are our prisoners now. We will take you to our leader who will decide your fate. Handcuff them!’
As a guard approached Archie he dropped into a wide-legged combat stance. ‘Stay behind me,’ he whispered to the others.
