Toby shook his head. ‘What are you going to do when you get there?’
‘I’m going to make him stop destroying what isn’t his.’
‘How?’
‘I don’t know. I haven’t worked that out yet,’ Max said. ‘Toby, I’ve been thinking about this a lot. When Linden and I met him at the café, he told me he thought I was clever, then just before we left he said it takes a clever person to see behind the fuss to what is really there.’
‘To see behind the ruins to the castle?’
‘I think that’s exactly what he meant,’ Max said.
‘Why don’t we tell Spyforce and they can go and get him?’
‘Because they don’t believe he’s there,’ Max sighed. ‘Toby, Blue’s warnings were to me. I’m worried if they go, he’ll use it as an excuse to cause more damage.’
Toby smiled. ‘Well he’s going to get me too.’
‘You’re not coming, I –’
‘Max, for once in your life stop telling people what to do and accept a little help! You’d let Linden go with you. Why not me?’ He poked himself in the chest. ‘You can trust me just as much as you trust him.’
A slight smile crept into Max’s lips.
‘What?’ Toby threw his hands out.
‘We better get going then.’
‘Oh, right.’ Toby calmed down. ‘Okay. And another thing, I’m into being the hero as much as the next spy, but I’m calling in help the minute we need it.’
Max nodded. ‘Deal.’
‘So how are we going to get there?’
Max pulled the Time and Space Machine from her pack. ‘With this. I snuck it out of Ben’s bag.’
‘We’re going to need equipment.’
‘I know.’ Max entered coordinates into the machine. ‘That’s why we’re making a detour first.’
‘Where?’
She grabbed Toby’s hand. ‘You’ll see.’
Within seconds of leaving the calm and orderly world of the hospital, Toby and Max were standing beneath the dusty ruins of Spyforce. Sinking in a flash of light to the buckled floor of the lab, Max felt her heart sink.
The walls and floor bulged and folded in sections. Wires and light fittings hung in streams from the cracked and gaping roof. Computers and laptops lay broken on the floor, and cabinets and workbenches were sprawled on their sides, spilling crushed and mangled lab equipment from busted doors.
‘Quimby was so proud of her new lab.’
‘She’s lucky it’s so far underground or there’d be nothing left,’ Toby said. ‘What should we take?’
‘We’ll need protective gear, as well as immobilising gadgets.’
They scrambled through the mess. Toby wrenched open a cupboard that had fallen on its side. ‘Look who’s found your favourite fashion item.’
He got on his hands and knees and lifted out one of Quimby’s Forest Super Suits and a pair of Counter-Gravity Boots.
‘They’ll be too obvious for the castle. What else does she have?’
Toby climbed back into the cupboard and came out with two black body suits. ‘These should do it.’
Max grabbed the smaller suit and started to unbutton her shirt. ‘This is the part where you look away.’
‘Oh, yeah. Sorry.’ Toby turned and began to get into his suit. Max stepped behind a fallen bench, crouched down low and got into hers. It was a slim-fitting black shirt, pants and cap. Perfect for a night mission. ‘Finally, a suit that fits.’ She threaded the Time and Space Machine belt around her waist, making sure it was well-concealed beneath her shirt.
Once dressed, they resumed their search, picking through boxes and struggling to open damaged drawers and cupboards. While Max was trying to reach the upper levels of a series of shelves, the ground shifted and the shelves’ hinges pulled loose from the wall.
‘Max!’ With his Counter-Gravity Boots hardly making a dint, Toby climbed over crumbling piles of lab debris. In one swift movement, he leapt into the air, caught her in his arms and swept her out of the way of the falling shelves.
He found his balance and grinned. ‘I’ve always wanted to do that.’
Max’s relief at not knocking herself out was replaced by her awkwardness at being in Toby’s arms. ‘You can let me go now.’
‘The way I always pictured it, the damsel in distress is so thankful at having her life saved that she kisses me.’
Max’s face hardened. ‘Not this damsel.’
‘Of course, it doesn’t have to happen that way.’ Toby lowered her to the ground. ‘Do you think we have enough gadgets?’
Max went through the salvaged items. ‘Super Suits and Counter-Gravity Boots. I also found these silent pen bombs, Swiss army knives and these miniature communication pieces.’ Max handed Toby a transparent curved device. They slipped them behind their ears. ‘Can you hear me?’
‘Loud and clear.’
‘Me too,’ Max said. ‘What do you have?’
‘Custard.’ Toby held up two boxes.
‘That’s it? You didn’t find anything else?’
‘I found the suits … and I was busy saving your life, remember?’ Toby looked offended. ‘Plus they do this.’
He poured some custard onto an overturned cupboard and quickly stuck a spanner in it. ‘And when I let go. Voila!’
The spanner stayed upright.
‘Try and get it out.’
Max pulled at the tool. ‘Quick-drying Glue Custard.’ She nodded. ‘Quimby told me she’d been working on that.’
Max continued her gadget count.
‘We also have palm computers; watches with laser, torch and camera; and Personal Flying Devices.’ She looked momentarily unsure. ‘I wonder if Quimby would approve of our gadget collection?’
‘If she was sending us on a mission to fight a megalomaniac, I’m sure this is exactly what she’d pick.’
A whale-sized creak of metal whined above them. Toby stumbled briefly and regained his balance. ‘I think that’s our cue to go. Let’s say the pact.’
‘There isn’t time.’
Toby narrowed his eyes. ‘You would never be allowed to leave for a mission without saying the pact if Linden was here.’
Max’s face pinched.
‘Sorry,’ Toby said, ‘I just know how important it is to him.’
Max nodded and took his hands. ‘If Toby Jennings should come to harm or get lost or be in danger …’ The roof above whined and groaned. Max sped up. ‘… in any way, I, Max Remy, will do everything I can to help him and bring him to safety. Your turn.’
Toby repeated the pact and squeezed Max’s hand when he’d done. ‘Lots of girls would kill to have me looking after them.’
‘Don’t you ever get tired of your own ego?’
Toby pursed his lips and shook his head. ‘Nope.’
Max did a search on the Time and Space Machine for the location of the castle from their previous visit. The coordinates immediately appeared on the screen. She took one quick look at the ruins of Spyforce around her.
Toby held her hand a little tighter. ‘Let’s go stop this guy before he causes any more trouble.’
His hair was sprinkled with powder from a crack opening in the roof. ‘Um, anytime now would be good to go.’
Max said, ‘Transport’, and the two disappeared from the lab.
A bolt of lightning cracked into the thundery air that ravaged Cape Wrath, as if heralding the arrival of Toby and Max. Suspended above the ground, they were clobbered by icy winds hurled from the night-black Atlantic Ocean below. It heaved into them like a bully, before dropping them heavily on the cliff top. Max’s left wrist met the full force of the landing. ‘Ouch!’
‘Are you okay?’
‘I’ll be fine.’ Max used her good hand to slip the machine into her belt.
‘Picked a nice day for it,’ Toby cried over the wind.
‘Stop making jokes.’
‘Sorry. It happens when I’m nervous.’
Max winced through the pain in he
r wrist. ‘When I’m nervous, I get bossy.’
‘You must be nervous a lot.’ Toby hid a crooked smile. He picked up a rock with a chunk of ice frozen around it and held it against her wrist.
Max stared at his hands that turned bright red in the cold. ‘Blue’s hurt too many people I love, Toby. I can’t leave here until I stop him.’
‘I know,’ he said. ‘Leave this ice here for a bit before you move. It’ll help take down any swelling.’
‘You know a lot about medicine.’
‘Since I moved to Austria to be with Mum and Dad, we talk a lot about what they do.’ He smiled. ‘I think I’d like to be a doctor, too, when I’m older.’
‘It must be nice living with them again.’
‘When they first moved there and I went to live with Aunt Mable in Sydney, I loved the freedom of not having any parents. Then I just missed them. Dad and I play chess for hours, which annoys Mum, but we also have this game where they’ll tell me a group of patient symptoms and I have to guess what might be the trouble. It’s like a puzzle, only when you solve it you could save someone’s life.’
The wind circled like a pack of howling wolves, biting into them with each chilled blast.
Max looked up at the gloomy fog-laden horizon and lifted the collar of her Super Suit. ‘We better get going,’ she said.
They made their way up the slippery, mud-soaked hill, clambering over sharp rocks and past thorny bushes to the top.
‘Where’s the castle?’ Toby asked.
A murky fog swirled across the land like a floating blanket of grime.
‘It was here,’ Max said.
A gust of wind shoved her sideways into a boulder. ‘Why would anyone want to live in such a miserable, wretched, wasteland piece of –’
‘Max?’ Toby pointed.
The wind smudged the clouds across the sky, thinning in parts to reveal the pointed turrets of a castle.
‘You were right.’ He grinned.
Flanked by eight round towers joined by stone-curtained walls, the castle keep rose in the centre of the fortress, dominating not only the castle but also the windswept hill it rested on.
‘It is impressive.’ Toby took a picture of it with his watch.
The air echoed with the snap of floodlights being switched on one by one from the top of the castle walls. They flooded the grounds, swallowing the surrounding landscape in bands of blinding light.
‘I guess sneaking in is out of the question?’ Toby said.
‘Get behind the boulder,’ Max ordered. ‘And turn your force-field on.’
‘I promise, no more jokes.’
‘Just do it.’
‘Feeling nervous again, are you?’ Toby sprang behind the boulder. He twisted the top button on his Super Suit shirt. A slight shimmer flickered around his body before disappearing.
‘Remember,’ Max spoke over her shoulder, ‘you can’t move as well with the force-field on, but they won’t be able to detect you either.’
Another lightning-bright beam smothered Max. She held her hand up against it and saw movement at the castle entrance.
‘What’s happening?’ Toby asked.
‘Someone’s coming.’
The castle drawbridge descended on crunching chains. An all-terrain vehicle lurched out of the entrance. Its thick tyres clambered over the wooden drawbridge, launching into the air before it had time to settle. The car bounded over the muddy ground, skidding and correcting itself as it headed directly towards Max.
‘What’s your plan?’ Toby asked.
‘I’m going in. You stay here and cover me using the virtual search engine on your palm computer.’
Toby took the computer from his pocket. Within seconds, a clear video image of the castle appeared. ‘Got it.’
‘Once I’m inside, I’ll turn on the video in my watch. Use the communication ear thingy if you see anything I need to know about.’
‘Roger that.’
The heavy vehicle plodded to a stop just metres from Max. The engine rumbled in sync with the thunder. It sat before her, windows tinted black. No one got out. Max stood up, legs astride, arms crossed, waiting to see who would move first. One of the back doors flew open, and she walked towards it.
‘With all the money Blue has, he can’t find a cheerier place to live?’
Kronch sat at the wheel and said nothing. He flicked his head, motioning for her to get in.
‘What, no “please”?’
Kronch revved the engine.
‘I guess not.’ Max climbed in.
Kronch switched on a floodlight positioned on the top of the truck. It circled the horizon.
‘Are you expecting someone else?’ Max asked.
The truck lurched into gear and Kronch threw the wheel in a hard turn aimed towards the castle. The force hurled Max into the back of the seat and shoved her into the door.
‘I see your driving hasn’t improved.’
She held her head as Kronch’s smile filled the rearview mirror.
‘Max,’ Toby spoke into her earpiece, ‘I can see everything. I’ll keep watch but the second you need me, I’m in there, okay?’
‘Tell me, Kronch,’ Max said. ‘What makes someone want to work for a raving lunatic in the bog-end of the world?’
Kronch sent Max a cold look.
Max stared back. Unflinching. ‘Because it can’t be the view.’
She looked away to the desolate and barren landscape that scraped past them. Kronch pulled across the drawbridge’s mauled and splintered boards that strained to span the shadowy moat. Max’s throat tightened. The truck entered the yard of the castle interior, the chain drew the drawbridge up and Max flinched as it slammed closed, locking into place behind her.
Blue sat in a throne-like chair, entombed by the stone walls of his castle sitting room. The wind thrashed against the lofty stained-glassed windows, rattling them like it was trying to find a way in. A pile of logs crackled and flamed in a fireplace the size of a small room, but did little to drive away the cold.
‘You made better time than I expected.’ Blue’s legs were cradled by a thick blanket, and his neck was cozied by a furry, woollen scarf.
‘Thought I wouldn’t show up?’ Max asked.
‘Oh no. Not even for a second. You are very predictable in your loyalty, Maxine. It was something I learnt about you from the very first time we met.’ He held his hand out to a lounge. ‘Please, sit down.’
Max didn’t move.
Kronch pushed her in the back with his thick hands, and she stumbled like a falling scarecrow onto the lounge.
‘Isn’t that more comfortable?’ Blue asked.
She didn’t answer.
The room was sparsely furnished. Apart from a few lounge chairs and small tables, there was nothing in the high-ceilinged shell of a room.
‘There was more furniture when I was here last time,’ Max said. ‘Are you moving?’
Blue pointed to a tray of cheese, biscuits and sweet pastries on the table before them. ‘Snack? I wouldn’t like it said that I wasn’t a gracious host.’
Max ignored his offer and pulled her legs to her chest. She folded her hands over one another, her watch on the outside, and pressed record on the camera.
‘Great work, Max,’ Toby whispered in her ear. ‘I can see him.’
‘I hope you weren’t out there too long,’ Blue said. ‘It’s quite chilly up here at this time of year.’
‘I haven’t come all this way to talk about the weather.’
Blue laughed. ‘That’s exactly what your incompetent fool of a boss said when he was here last.’ He eyed her off. Like he was testing her. ‘But you are right, we have business to discuss.’
‘Why would I do business with a snivelling, two-faced, lying –’
‘Easy, Max,’ Toby said. ‘We don’t want to upset the madman now.’
Max reconsidered. ‘You really expect me to do business with you after all that “desire to make good” rubbish you told me in the café?’
‘I admit I did embellish a little, but not everything was a lie.’ His face softened. ‘I do think you are an outstanding spy.’
Max’s eyes narrowed.
‘One of the most exceptional I’ve met.’
His smile was almost genuine. Almost believable.
‘Look at how quickly you worked out my little plan to crumble London. You moved so quickly to have those places evacuated, and now you have found me when Spyforce and the other agencies couldn’t. Mind you, it was never my intention to hurt anyone.’
‘Just to have everyone “sit up and take notice”.’
‘You really did listen to my little speech. What did you think of it, eh? Award-winning performance? Do I have an Oscar with my name written all over it?’
‘What you have is blackness written all over your soul.’
‘Oh Maxine, it is far too late to worry about my soul.’
‘What was your aim in doing all this?’
‘Oh, it’s really very simple. To show the authorities they are no match for me, to have a bit of fun – all the while showing up Spyforce as being the ineffective and incompetent agency that it is, led by a complete buffoon who can’t even manage his words properly.’
‘Creep,’ Toby whispered. ‘Only don’t tell him that,’ he added quickly.
Blue smoothed the blanket over his legs. ‘Between you and me, it really was a rush to see my plans in action.’
‘You do realise that to call you a creep would be far too high a flattery.’
Blue simply smiled, filling Max with unease. He took a painted tin from the antique table beside him, peeled the blanket from his knees and stepped over to her. ‘Toffee?’
‘You can walk.’ Max’s voice betrayed her fear.
‘I never saw that coming,’ Toby said.
‘Yes, a miracle, isn’t it?’ He popped a toffee in his pocket and replaced the tin. ‘For later.’
Kronch snivelled behind her.
‘Is there anything you say that isn’t a lie?’
The Final Curtain Page 11