by H. I. Larry
FROZEN FEAR
BY H. I. LARRY
ILLUSTRATIONS BY ASH OSWALD
Frozen Fear
published in 2006 by
Hardie Grant Egmont
85 High Street
Prahran, Victoria 3181, Australia
www.hardiegrantegmont.com.au
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means without the prior permission of the publishers and copyright owner.
A CiP record for this title is available from the National Library of Australia
Text copyright © 2006 H. I. Larry
Illustration and design copyright © 2006 Hardie Grant Egmont
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
Illustration and design by Ash Oswald
With special thanks to the spies of years 2 and 3 (2005) of the St Michael’s unit of GIB for their top-secret mission support.
Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group
13 15 17 19 20 18 16 14 12
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER
ONE
First rule of surfing? Never, ever drop in. If you’re about to ride an awesome wave but someone gets in the way and takes the wave instead, it’s called dropping in.
Zac Power had read all about it in his favourite surf magazine, Pipelines.
Things had been dropping in on Zac way too much recently. Zac wanted to surf along all day as though life were one big wave. But school, his parents, his brother Leon and most of all, his job as a top-secret spy for the Government Investigation Bureau (or GIB for short), kept dropping in and getting in his way.
Not this time, thought Zac. It was the summer holidays and the Power family was driving down to their beach house at Point Relaxation. The whole family might work for GIB, but even spies need holidays.
Zac’s surfboard was strapped to the roof rack. His electric guitar was in the boot. He was going to play all night. Loudly.
Zac switched his SpyPad to games mode. Should he play Grudge Match 3 or Total Chaos first? It didn’t matter. He had heaps of time to play both. He wouldn’t be needing his SpyPad for missions!
On missions, Zac used his SpyPad as a computer, mobile satellite telephone, laser and code-breaker – you name it!
Beside him, Leon was playing games on his SpyPad, too. Not the cool ones though. He was playing Rockin’ Calculus.
Leon worked for GIB as well, but as a home-based Technical Support Officer and Official Gadget Expert.
In the driver’s seat, Zac’s dad made a left turn. ‘Low on petrol,’ he said. ‘Better stop off here.’
They pulled into a petrol station. It was full of cars towing boats and caravans. Everyone seemed to be going down to the beach.
Zac’s dad whistled when he saw the price of petrol.
‘It’s those petrol tankers mysteriously sinking,’ Zac’s dad said to his mum. ‘It’s created a shortage, which has driven the price of petrol sky high.’
Zac’s mum nodded in agreement. She pulled her purse out of her official GIB handbag – which came with a laser-guided penknife disguised as a lipstick and Total Knock-out Tissues. These special tissues are injected with a chemical that makes you fall asleep on the spot when you blow your nose with them.
Zac shrugged. He knew it was bad petrol was so expensive. But really, what could he do about it?
Zac hopped out of the car to stretch his legs.
Suddenly, there was a sound of thunder overhead. Air swirled around the petrol station, picking up dust and lolly wrappers. It was strange, because the sky was a perfect blue. But the thunder was getting louder.
Zac shivered. It felt like the sun had gone in. Zac didn’t know it, but a huge black shadow was creeping over him.
Leon, watching from the car, dropped his SpyPad.
‘Zac!’ he yelled. ‘Get out of the way!’
But with the car windows rolled up, Zac couldn’t hear him.
THUNK…
Suddenly something thumped Zac hard on the back.
In the next second, Zac was lifting off the ground! Something was pulling him upwards!
The wind got stronger. The thunder got louder. Zac’s hair blew all over the place. Underneath him, people scattered, screaming. He was 20 metres off the ground and still rising fast.
Zac looked up. He was hooked by the back of his T-shirt onto a cable. And the cable was dangling out of a helicopter!
A man appeared at the door of the helicopter. He shouted into a megaphone.
‘Zac Power!’
Zac squirmed in mid-air. If this person knew his name, it must be an enemy agent trying to kidnap him. Zac had to get free!
‘This is Special Secret Agent Fox, Air-borne Division.’
Zac was level with the helicopter door now. Special Secret Agent Fox took hold of Zac and dragged him into the helicopter.
Zac puffed and panted on the helicopter floor. Fox read from a memo.
‘This is an official message from GIB.’
GIB! Well, in that case, thought Zac, enemy agents aren’t kidnapping me. Things might be OK.
Foxed coughed importantly and read on.
‘We wish to inform you that your summer holidays have been cancelled, starting from now.’
In that case, things are definitely not OK! Zac had been looking forward to summer holidays for ages.
‘Got a jumper, Zac?’ Fox was saying. ‘It’ll be cold on this mission.’
‘Why? Where is it?’ asked Zac, crossly.
‘The Great Icy Pole. Know anything about it?’
‘No, said Zac, feeling very grumpy.
And he didn’t want to, either.
CHAPTER
TWO
In a matter of minutes, the petrol station and Zac’s family were just a speck in the distance. And so were his summer holidays.
‘Here,’ Fox said, handing him a disc.
‘Your mission.’
With a deep sigh, Zac loaded the disc into his SpyPad.
…loading…
CLASSIFIED
MISSION RECEIVED 2.54PM
Suspicious activity has been
recorded in the Great Icy Pole.
Our surveillance tells us that
lots of extra planes and boats
have been coming and going,
seemingly with no good reason.
YOUR MISSION
• Go to the Great Icy Pole.
• Investigate suspicious activity.
• Report back to GIB Mission Control within 24 hours.
END
Zac’s shoulders slumped. ‘Lots of planes? So what! You could be talking about any airport in the world,’ he said.
Fox stared at Zac.
‘Have you got absolutely no idea what the Great Icy Pole’s like?’ Fox blurted out.
Zac shrugged.
‘It’s the remotest, least explored place on earth,’ Fox said. ‘It gets down to minus 40 degrees there in winter. If you so much as go outside without the proper gear on, your eyes will freeze solid in their sockets and your fingers will snap off!’
Now Fox had Zac’s attention. Maybe this Great Icy Pole place would be kind of cool after all.
‘Two, maybe three, boats per summer go to the Pole,’ said Fox. ‘They deliver food to the scientists who live at the research station there. But in the last few weeks there’s been a couple of planes a day, as well as lots of boats.’
Zac had
to admit it did sound suspicious.
‘So why’s GIB sending me?’ asked Zac. ‘Can’t they check out what’s going on using WorldEye?’
WorldEye is GIB’s whizz-bang satellite. It’s so powerful it can read a newspaper headline from 500 kilometres up. Normally, WorldEye is invaluable for surveillance work.
‘The Great Icy Pole is so remote, it’s out of satellite range. There’s no coverage down there,’ Fox explained.
‘Does that mean – ’ Zac began.
‘Yes, I’m afraid so.
Your SpyPad won’t work down there.
You’ll be completely uncontactable.’
No relying on his satellite GPS navigation software for directions!
No ringing Leon for help with technical questions! No clues from Mission Control during the mission!
This was going to be tough.
‘Since you’ll be out of contact, we need to arrange a pick-up time once your fact-finding mission’s complete. A GIB transport team will be back to get you exactly 24 hours from the time I picked you up. That’s 2.05pm tomorrow.’
‘What if we miss each other?’ asked Zac.
‘That can’t happen,’ said Fox sternly. ‘For safety reasons, air traffic is only allowed around the Great Icy Pole during summer. It’s almost winter down there now. The cut-off date for air traffic is tomorrow.’
‘So, if I don’t catch the helicopter tomorrow – ’
‘You’ll be frozen in down there for months,’ Fox said, butting in. ‘You’ll have no food and no way to let us know where you are.’
‘Right,’ said Zac. ‘I’d better be ready then, I guess.’
Zac stared out the window, thinking about the mission ahead. Then he noticed a cruise ship sailing in the sea below. And closing in fast behind it was another, much smaller, ship.
Fox looked over Zac’s shoulder at the two ships below.
‘The big one’s a luxury cruise ship,’ Fox explained. ‘Rich Americans seal-spotting and looking at the icebergs.’
‘And the smaller ship?’
‘Pirates, probably,’ said Fox.
‘Pirates!’ said Zac, disbelieving.
Pirates wore eye patches and flew the skull and crossbones. Pirates belonged in children’s storybooks, not in real life.
‘I know it’s hard to believe, but there are modern-day pirates in this area. They storm aboard tourist ships and steal watches, jewellery and cash. Sometimes tourists get even get killed,’ said Fox.
‘There must be something we can do!’ said Zac.
‘This area’s so remote, it’s pretty much impossible to enforce the law,’ Fox said.
Zac stood up.
‘What are you doing?’ asked Fox, looking alarmed.
‘I’ve just had an idea,’ said Zac.
CHAPTER
THREE
Before Fox could stop him, Zac had pulled on a jumpsuit and strapped on his parachute gear. Lastly, Zac strapped a wakeboard to his feet and tied the tow rope firmly to the helicopter’s door handle.
‘Zac! What about the mission?’ said Fox, getting angry.
Zac checked his watch.
It was still only 6.43pm.
What was Fox talking about? He had plenty of time to complete the mission before the team came to pick him up!
‘It’s not safe!’ said Fox, sounding a lot like Zac’s mum.
But Zac wasn’t listening. Whether it was good or bad for the mission, Zac couldn’t just watch pirates terrorise innocent people.
Zac opened the helicopter door. A gust of cold sea air blew in. Zac took a deep breath.
And then he jumped.
Freefall! No matter how many times Zac jumped from planes and helicopters, his heart always ended up in his mouth.
A few seconds later, Zac pulled his ripcord and his chute opened.
Relief!
But Zac knew sky-diving was the easy bit. Tackling the gang of pirates would be much tougher!
With a big splash, Zac’s wakeboard hit the water. The helicopter hovered high overhead, dragging him along behind it.
Zac signalled to the helicopter to move closer to the pirate ship. Fox understood him and flew the helicopter closer and closer to the ship.
One of Zac’s rules for living was
So, even though he was in the middle of the sea, speeding towards a pirate ship, Zac had packed his iPod.
He held onto the tow rope with one hand. With the other, he pulled his iPod out from his pocket. He scrolled through his music collection.
Yes…there it was! Maria Vendetta Sings Italian Opera Classics.
Zac kept a couple of really embarrassing tracks on his iPod in case they ever came in handy on missions. Like today!
In his other pocket, Zac had Leon’s latest and coolest invention – Assault Speakers. Loud enough to pierce the eardrums of anyone they’re aimed at, according to Leon.
Even at a normal volume, Maria Vendetta has a piercing voice. Zac thought she sounded like a cat whose tail had been stood on, a million times in a row.
The Assault Speakers come with a pair of soft earplugs to protect the ears of the operator. Zac squashed them into his ears. Then he hit play on his iPod.
Zac turned up the volume on the Assault Speakers. He aimed them at the pirate ship.
‘Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!’ sang Maria.
Zac’s eyes watered. The Assault Speakers vibrated.
And then Zac turned the volume up one more notch!
‘OH, MAMMA
MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIA!’ Maria screeched.
The sound was unbearable!
Zac grabbed his SpyPad and popped up the in-built telescope. On the deck of the pirate ship, a collection of rough-looking men were fighting over who would be lucky enough to escape below deck first. Every single one of the pirates had his fingers jammed in his ears.
Obviously the pirates felt the same way about Maria Vendetta as Zac did.
Up ahead, the tourist boat was gunning its engines. It sped away from the pirate ship as fast as it could. The decks were lined with wrinkly men and white-haired women dripping with diamonds. Zac waved up at them. They clapped and cheered. They were saved!
Zac knew he’d done the right thing, jumping from the helicopter and stopping the pirates. But as Fox hauled him up by the tow rope, Zac couldn’t help having a good, long think about the mission ahead.
Zac’s spying missions had taken him to some far-off places. And he’d certainly con-quered some tough enemies. But somehow, the Great Icy Pole felt different.
It was lonely.
It was lawless.
It was dangerous and bitterly cold.
It felt like anything could happen to you out here. And if it did, no-one would ever find you.
Zac was now an experienced solo spy. But for the first time in his spying career, he was going to be alone on this mission.
Really and truly alone.
CHAPTER
FOUR
Zac’s pirate-frightening side mission had eaten up a lot of time. It was 9.12pm already!
They were almost at the Great Icy Pole. Fox had to cram Zac’s cold weather survival instructions into half the time he’d planned.
‘Here’s your snowsuit and thermal underwear. Also your hat, goggles and gloves,’ said Fox.
Zac nodded. Pretty standard stuff.
‘And this is…well. It’s a little bit special,’ said Fox, holding up what looked like an oversized doggy pooper-scooper.
‘The Great Icy Pole is one of the world’s last true wilderness regions,’ Fox continued. ‘Naturally, there’s no plumbing down there. And the ground is frozen solid. So when you do your business, you just…’
Fox snapped the pooper-scooper open and closed.
‘…take it with you!’ he finished, blushing a violent red.
‘I think I’m going to be sick,’ said Zac.
This was a long, long way from being cool.
‘Look! Here’s where we’re going to land,’ said Fox, glad to
have finished the toilet conversation.
The helicopter touched down behind a towering wall of ice. Even in the gathering gloom of night, the glacier shimmered like sugar. Beyond the glacier, a plain of solid ice stretched right out to the horizon.
Wind howled across the ice. A gang of penguins huddled together for warmth, beaks tucked into their chests.
‘This is a covert operation, Zac. There’s a group of scientists based at the seal research station over there…’
Fox pointed. Zac could just make out an igloo-shaped building way across the ice.
‘We believe they are harmless enough. Still, you mustn’t let them know you’re here. The idea is to watch for suspicious activity without anyone knowing they’re being observed.’
Zac nodded. He jumped from the helicopter.
‘And remember. Meet the pick-up team back here tomorrow or you’re a goner,’ called Fox, waving a cheerful goodbye.
Then, in a flurry of snow and icy wind, the helicopter was gone.
Zac switched on his torch and looked
around. It was the same blank whiteness in every direction. Even an experienced spy like Zac could easily lose himself in a place like this. He took out his compass.
Zac wasn’t used to using such old-fashioned equipment. But he had no SpyPad with GPS to rely on here.
Zac paced slowly forward. Icy wind blasted him backwards. It was hard going.
For hours, Zac searched for something – anything! – out of the ordinary. But apart from the seal research station, the entire Great Icy Pole seemed deserted.
Zac started feeling annoyed. Was it possible GIB was wrong about the so-called suspicious activity going on down here?
There was absolutely nothing to see except a lone seal flapping slowly along the ice.
A seal! How cute, as his mum would say. Zac bent down for a closer look. There was something funny about the seal. Something about its left flipper didn’t look quite right.
The seal flopped onto its side. It must be injured! Zac wondered if there was anything he could do. He didn’t know much about seals. But he couldn’t just leave behind an animal sick and in pain.