by H. I. Larry
The door slid open and they stepped outside. The desert heat hit Zac like a slap in the face. A little way off, he could see a small village.
‘Ah, excellent,’ said Grandpa. ‘I’ve got an old contact in that village who’ll be able to help us out.’
They set off towards the village at a run. By the time they got there, Zac was a little bit out of breath, but Grandpa looked like he could keep running forever.
There was a noisy marketplace in the middle of the village. It was filled with tents and stalls selling everything from vegetables to expensive rugs.
Grandpa led Zac through the crowd. People rode past on camels. Two men argued loudly over the price of an ostrich. Children chased each other through the dusty alleyways.
Finally Zac and Grandpa reached the end of the street.There was a big blue tent to one side, but all the doors and windows were zipped shut.
Then Grandpa put two fingers to his mouth and whistled. In response, a screeching sound rang out from inside the tent, and a tiny brown monkey scampered out. The monkey stopped at Grandpa’s feet and stared up at him, then ran back inside the tent.
Zac shot Grandpa a confused look. ‘What’s with the monkey?’ he whispered. But then he heard more screeching coming from inside the tent, followed by the voice of a man who sounded like he’d just woken up.
‘What is it, monkey?’ muttered the man. ‘I was just dozing off! All right, all right, I’m getting up.’
ZZZIIIPPP!
The tent door unzipped and a very large man walked out, rubbing his eyes. The monkey climbed up and sat on his shoulder, chattering happily.
‘Hello, Ako,’ Grandpa smiled. ‘It’s been a long time.’
‘Agent High Pants!’ the man boomed, grinning at Grandpa. ‘Good to see you!’
Grandpa clapped Zac on the back. ‘This is my grandson, Agent Rock Star,’ he said.
Ako grinned at Zac. ‘And what brings you all the way out here?’
‘We need a way to get across the desert,’ said Zac.
‘Well, you’ve come to the right place!’ said Ako proudly. ‘Come with me – I’ve got just the thing.’
Zac and Grandpa followed Ako as he walked around the back of the big tent.
They came to a strange collection of vehicles, all lined up in a row. Zac spotted motorbikes, a beat-up old car, and even a couple of camels in a pen.
Ako stopped next to a shiny green two-seater vehicle. It looked like a very advanced snow-mobile, even though they were in the middle of a desert!
SAND SKI High-speed Desert Transport
‘This Sand Ski should get you where you want to go,’ said Ako.
Grandpa looked at the Sand Ski for a minute. ‘How much?’
He and Ako haggled over the price. Then Grandpa pulled a moneybag out of his backpack and dropped some large gold coins into Ako’s hand.
‘Good thing you two got here when you did,’ said Ako, pocketing the money. ‘The Sand Skis have been a hot seller today. A woman and a girl came through just before and picked up my other one.’
‘A woman and a girl?’ asked Grandpa urgently.
Despite the heat, Zac felt a chill shoot up his spine. He spun around and scanned the village. ‘There they are!’ Zac shouted, pointing up the street at a cluster of tents.
It was Blackwood and Caz, talking to a mean-looking man in black robes.
CHAPTER
FIVE
Zac leapt onto their new Sand Ski and hit the ignition.
‘Quick,’ said Grandpa, jumping on behind him. ‘If we hurry, we can stop Blackwood right now.’
VRRROOOOOOM!
Zac tore up the street towards Caz and Blackwood, shooting past stalls and sending shoppers leaping out of the way. The Sand Ski skimmed across the sand, bouncing smoothly over the bumps.
Blackwood was still talking to the man in black robes. Zac heard a shout, and realised that Caz was staring straight at him.
Caz grabbed Blackwood, who turned and locked eyes on Zac. Then the two BIG agents broke into a run, disappearing behind a nearby tent.
Zac gunned the engine, trying to close the gap between him and the BIG agents.
VRRROOOOOOM!
Moments later, Caz and Blackwood pulled out in front of Zac on an identical Sand Ski. Blackwood was steering, with Caz holding on tight behind her.
Zac revved his Sand Ski, chasing after them. He dodged back and forth, weaving between children and camels and people carrying baskets. In seconds, the two Sand Skis had left the village behind and were rocketing out over the sand dunes.
Zac glanced down at the PSU on his wrist. At least we’re heading in the right direction, he thought.
Caz and Blackwood raced up the side of a massive hill, and Zac spun the Sand Ski around to follow them.
‘Try to get next to them,’ Grandpa shouted. ‘I’ll jump across and make them pull over.’
Zac nodded, blasting over the hill right behind the other Sand Ski. They soared through the air, then crashed back down onto the sand and kept driving.
Zac tried to push closer, but Blackwood kept swerving away. He saw Caz digging through a bag on Blackwood’s back.
What’s she up to? Zac thought, leaning forward for a closer look.
Caz turned back to face Zac with a gadget that looked like a big blue hairdryer. Holding onto the speeding Sand Ski with one hand, Caz aimed the gadget down at the sand between her and Zac and pulled the trigger.
SHOOMF!
A gust of wind shot out of the gadget, blasting a tidal wave of sand back at Zac and Grandpa.
Zac closed his eyes as the sand rushed down into his face, stinging his eyes and sending him swerving off course.
He zig-zagged wildly, trying to shake off the sand. He could barely see where he was going!
By the time Zac managed to steer his Sand Ski back on course, Caz was already taking aim again.
SHOOMF!
But this time, Zac was ready for her. He pulled the Sand Ski hard to the right, dodging the worst of the spray.
‘Get as close as you can,’ said Grandpa in Zac’s ear. ‘If we get near enough, that gadget will be useless – she needs to aim it at the sand to make it work.’
Zac nodded. He hammered the accelerator even harder, pushing the Sand Ski as fast as it could go.
SHOOMF!
Zac swerved left, dodging another blast. He closed in on Caz and Blackwood until the two Sand Skis were almost touching.
Caz shot Zac a furious look. She tried to aim her weapon down at the sand again, but the skis were too close together. Zac reached out a hand and made a grab at the weapon.
WHOOOOOSH!
But just then, Zac was hit with a blast of wind that was 100 times stronger than anything Caz’s gadget could have made. Sand swirled up all around him, rocking the Sand Ski from side to side.
‘Zac!’ Grandpa shouted over the howling wind. ‘Pull over!’
But Zac was still reaching for the gadget in Caz’s hand. ‘Hang on!’ he yelled back, stretching out again. ‘I’ve almost got her –’ Zac felt Grandpa grab his shoulder. ‘Zac, stop. It’s another sand storm. And this time it’s a huge one!’
CHAPTER
SIX
Zac sighed as he put the brakes on, his Sand Ski skidding to a stop. He braced himself against the rushing wind. This storm was already raging, and it was getting stronger by the second.
Zac saw Caz and Blackwood heading into the swirling storm on their Sand Ski. He couldn’t believe how close he’d been to catching them. But Zac could see their Sand Ski rocking back and forth in the wind. It was about to tip over! Any second now, they would have to stop, too.
Zac took Leon’s Shield Dome out of his backpack. Sand and wind whipped around him as he shoved the black tripod into the ground.
We’re in trouble if this doesn’t work, Zac thought as he pressed the button, just as another gust of wind almost blew him into Grandpa.
SHOOOOOONK!
A long metal rod shot up from the tripod,
stretching high above their heads.
PLINK-PLINK-WHUMF!
Long, bendy metal poles blasted out of the top of the rod. They shot through the air, landing in a circle around Zac and Grandpa.
ZZZZZZ-CLICK!
In seconds, Zac and Grandpa were surrounded by a clear plastic dome.
G.I.B. SHIELD DOME
Emergency Weather Shelter
Zac pressed his face up against the dome. Outside, the sandstorm was still blowing at full force. But inside the dome, everything was calm.
‘Safe and sound,’ said Grandpa, patting the wall of the Shield Dome.
Zac squinted at the storm outside. He knew Caz and Blackwood were stranded just like they were. But he still hated sitting around when there was work to do.
‘Don’t worry, kiddo,’ said Grandpa, as though he knew what Zac was thinking. ‘We’ll get moving again soon.’
With the chase over, for now anyway, Zac’s mind went back to wondering why Grandpa was so secretive about this mission. And since they were both stuck in the dome, Zac decided that now was a good time to get some answers.
‘How do you know so much about IRIS?’ he asked, turning back to Grandpa. ‘I mean how did you find out about it in the first place?’
Grandpa didn’t answer straight away. He took a deep breath, like he was trying to figure out the best way to explain.
‘Years ago,’ he began slowly, ‘before GIB or BIG existed, I was part of an old spy agency called GADGET. We were an elite group of secret agents from all around the world. For a while, GADGET was the greatest spy agency on the planet.’
‘So what happened to it?’ Zac asked.
‘After a couple of years, GADGET started to fall apart,’ Grandpa went on. ‘A pair of agents began working on an incredible new device – something more powerful than anything GADGET had ever built before.’
‘IRIS,’ Zac guessed.
‘Exactly,’ said Grandpa. ‘But, as I told you before, IRIS was far too dangerous for even GADGET to handle. One of the agents who built it went crazy with the power. She wanted to use IRIS for evil.’
‘And that’s when you destroyed it,’ said Zac. ‘But I still don’t understand why you won’t just tell me what IRIS does.’
Grandpa frowned, looking hard at Zac. Then he glanced up, distracted by something. ‘Look,’ he said, pointing. ‘The storm is clearing!’
Zac looked outside. The storm was dying down, but he had a feeling that wasn’t why Grandpa had suddenly changed the subject.
‘What do you think?’ said Grandpa. ‘Time to head back out there and kick some BIG butt?’
‘Definitely,’ Zac nodded. He hadn’t finished asking Grandpa questions, but they had to get back to the mission. He crouched down and pressed the button on the tripod again.
PLINK-PLINK-SHOOONK!
The Shield Dome collapsed back down into the tripod, leaving Zac and Grandpa out in the open again. The storm had died down to a breeze.
Then Zac checked the PSU.
Zac took a step toward the Sand Ski.
‘Not so fast,’ said a nasty voice from behind them.
Zac and Grandpa whirled around.
A mean-looking man was staring down at them from on top of a camel. It was the man in black robes that Blackwood had been talking to in the village. And he’d brought company.
Zac counted four men altogether, all looking as dangerous as each other. They got down from their camels and made a circle around Zac and Grandpa.
‘Bounty hunters,’ muttered Grandpa.
The main man sneered at Zac and pulled something long and green from his belt.
SHLOOOOP!
Zac stared at the green thing. The man was holding a giant sticky hand! It looked a bit like a kid’s toy, but it was obviously super-strong. One by one, the other bounty hunters pulled out their own Goo Lassos.
SHLOOOOP! SHLOOOP!
‘What do you want?’ Grandpa asked.
‘Blackwood hired us to put a stop to your trouble-making,’ said the man in black. He grinned evilly at them. ‘And that’s exactly what we’re going to do.’
CHAPTER
SEVEN
Zac looked sideways at Grandpa, who winked and whispered, ‘Get ready to run.’
Then Zac heard the sound of his backpack being quietly unzipped.
The men took aim with their Goo Lassos, ready to strike. But Grandpa was faster. With lightning speed, he whipped the X-Beam out of Zac’s backpack and pointed it at the man in black. The other men froze, suddenly looking worried.
‘Everybody, please put down your weapons,’ said Grandpa calmly. ‘I’d hate for anyone to get hurt.’
Zac fought down a smile. Even though it looked scary, the X-Beam was completely harmless. But the bounty hunters didn’t know that.They dropped their Goo Lassos on the sand.
Zac made a dash for the Sand Ski. Grandpa followed behind, still pointing the X-Beam at the mean men.
‘That’s right,’ said Grandpa firmly. ‘Stay right where you are.’
Zac jumped on the Sand Ski and revved the engine. Grandpa leapt on behind him.
VRRROOOOOOM!
‘Good one, Grandpa!’ Zac laughed as they sped away.
But then he glanced over his shoulder and saw that the men had picked up their Goo Lassos. They jumped on their camels and raced after Zac and Grandpa.
Zac was amazed at how fast the camels were. They galloped across the desert at top speed, closing in on the Sand Ski. Zac swerved from side to side, trying to shake them off.
The nearest camel-rider pulled out his Goo Lasso.
SNAP!
A big, gooey hand whizzed past Zac’s head, cracking in the air beside him. Flecks of sand sprayed across Zac’s face.
Looking back, Zac saw the rider line up his Goo Lasso for another shot.
SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!
An idea suddenly dropped into Zac’s mind. ‘The Shield Dome!’ he shouted. ‘Grandpa, quick! It’s in my backpack!’
‘Sorry?’ said Grandpa, taking a second to catch on. Then his eyes brightened and he grinned at Zac.
Grandpa grabbed the little tripod, pressed the button, and threw it out behind the Sand Ski.
SHOOOOOONK!
As it flew through the air, the Shield Dome began to open up.
PLINK-PLINK-PLINK!
The Shield Dome scooped up two riders as its spikes dug into the ground. The two men were trapped inside as the walls clicked into place.
Grandpa laughed. ‘Good thinking! That should slow them down.’
But there were still two bounty hunters coming up fast behind them.
Zac shot up another sand hill.
SNAP!
Another Goo Lasso flew through the air towards them. Out of the corner of his eye, Zac saw Grandpa snatch the sticky hand out of the air, lightning-fast.
Grandpa grabbed the end of the Goo Lasso with both hands and pulled hard.
‘Aaaaaahhh!’ screamed the rider at the other end of the Goo Lasso. Zac looked back and saw that Grandpa had pulled him right off his camel!
The rider flew through the air and bounced on the sand. He rolled down the hill in a cloud of dust.
Grandpa carefully unstuck the Goo Lasso from his hands, and then wound it up and stuck it in his pocket.
There was only one rider left. The man in the black robes.
Zac zoomed forwards, steeling himself against the desert wind.
SNAP!
The man in black scored a direct hit with his Goo Lasso. The sticky hand wrapped around the back of the Sand Ski and wouldn’t let go.
The man in black held on tight to his lasso. Zac kept gunning the Sand Ski’s engine, straining against the lasso’s grip.
VRROOOOOOM!
Suddenly, the Sand Ski surged forward.
‘Aaaaahhh!’ yelled the man in black, flying off his camel.
Finally, Zac thought, relieved. But then he looked over his shoulder again. No way!
The man in black was still back there, hold
ing on tight to his Goo Lasso. He was bouncing on the ground, getting dragged along by the Sand Ski!
The man started clawing his way up the long, tough cord of the lasso, pulling himself closer and closer.
They were almost at the top of the sand hill now. There was only one thing left to do.
‘Get ready to jump,’ Zac told Grandpa.
He rocketed up the last few metres of the sand hill, squinting against the blaring desert sun.
‘3 – 2 – 1… NOW!’ he shouted.
Zac and Grandpa dived off the Sand Ski. A split second later, it reached the top of the hill and blasted up into the air.
The man in black flew along behind it. ‘Aaaahhhh!’ he yelled again. He let go of his Goo Lasso and dropped to the ground, tumbling away down the sand hill.
Zac and Grandpa stood up and brushed themselves off. Zac watched the Sand Ski disappearing into the distance.
‘Well,’ Grandpa smiled, ‘that was fun.’
Zac grinned back, but deep down, he was worried. They had just lost their only form of transport.
They were stranded in the middle of the desert!
CHAPTER
EIGHT
‘Now what?’ said Zac, staring out across the desert.
‘Hmm,’ said Grandpa thoughtfully. ‘We may have a slight problem here.’
Zac brushed the sand off his PSU and checked how close they were to the first IRIS piece.
They were only three kilometres away! But they would never catch up to Caz and Blackwood on foot.
THUMPETY -THUMP!
Zac spun around, just in time to see a camel come trotting over the top of the hill. It must have belonged to one of the bounty hunters, he thought.
He turned to Grandpa. ‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’
Grandpa smiled back at him. ‘I sure am. I think we’ve just found a new form of transport.’
Minutes later, Zac was sitting behind Grandpa on the camel’s back, thundering towards the first piece of IRIS.
The camel smelt terrible. Its hair was all rough and scratchy. And every time its feet thumped down on the sand, Zac felt like he was going to be thrown off.
