Max was miffed that Linden was awake and she was half asleep with dreams of not quite saving the world.
‘How long have you been there?’
‘About five minutes.’
‘What if I wasn’t decent?’
‘I figured you would be since you said “come in” when I knocked. It’s alright.’ Linden looked around. ‘It’ll be our little secret that you’re not always perfectly dressed.’
‘That’s not the point.’ Max began, trying to focus her sleepy eyes that were refusing to open. But it was exactly the point only, of course, she couldn’t tell him that.
‘Steinberger’s waiting.’ Linden pointed to the palm computer.
‘Already?’ Max looked at her creased pyjamas and pushed her ruffled hair out of her eyes. ‘Lucky those things see only one way.’
‘Oh no, I can see you quite well.’ Steinberger smiled. Max drooped. ‘Ready for your first dose of spy training?’
Linden’s eyes widened. ‘Sure am!’
‘Most of being a good spy is instinct but there’s also fitness and agility and that’s what we’ll concentrate on this weekend. Ah, I remember my first spy training when …’
Steinberger rambled on about his early days at Spyforce, while Max sat in quiet horror knowing fitness and agility were things her uncoordinated limbs knew nothing about.
Eventually, Steinberger wrapped up his story and wished them luck. ‘And may the Force be with you.’
Max switched off the computer without hearing Steinberger’s farewell. Putting her body through fitness and agility training was going to be like signing up for a trip to a medieval torture chamber.
Linden wondered where the look of terror on Max’s face had come from. ‘Max?’
‘Yeah?’
‘You better get dressed. Ben and Francis’ll be here soon.’
‘I know.’ She tried to look normal again. ‘I was just hoping getting dressed alone wasn’t too much to ask.’
‘Oh,’ Linden said, a little embarrassed. ‘I’ll be outside.’
Downstairs, both Max’s mum and the house looked immaculate. Aidan, however, looked terrible.
‘Morning, Aidan.’ Max crunched her toast loudly in his ear. ‘Great party.’
‘Yeah,’ Aidan whispered, grabbing his head and covering his ears at the sound of the doorbell.
‘That’ll be Ben and Francis. Bye, Mum.’ She grabbed her bag and tried to escape before she fell victim to another of her mum’s kisses, but it was too late. The kiss slobbered all over her.
Once they were outside Max wiped her face against her sleeve. ‘She’ll wear my face out if this goes on any longer.’
‘I’m sure she’ll buy you a new one,’ Linden joked as they walked down the stairs. ‘Even though I like the old one.’
Max fixed her eyes on Linden’s face as her ears buzzed with what he’d just said, but with all that Linden concentrating, she forgot to look where she was walking and tumbled down the rest of the stairs.
‘Aaaaaahhhh!’
When she landed at the bottom, Ben lifted her up and plonked her upright again.
‘Didn’t know you’d be so excited to see us, Max. Okay, everybody in the car.’
While Linden sat watching the sights of Sydney, Max heard his words over and over again. She examined her face in the rear-view mirror. She had a plain face. Her mother even said so. So how could Linden like it?
The car soon pulled up in front of a very regular-looking glass building in a very regular-looking street. It was four storeys tall with double doors and not a sign anywhere saying what it was.
‘You kids have a great time and remember, don’t expect to be experts on your first day. Training can be tough.’ Ben ruffled Linden’s hair and winked at Max. ‘We’ll pick you up at five.’
Inside the building, a small woman with a pink fairy floss hairdo sat behind a desk.
‘I’m Marion. Such a privilege to meet you. You’re very famous you know … in that quiet, spyworld kind of way. But I won’t hold you up. Place your palms here and you’ll be away.’
Max and Linden pressed their hands onto a square plastic plate that lit up like a flattened Christmas tree. After a few seconds a musical voice chimed, ‘Verification complete.’
Marion’s lips slooshed into a ear-creasing smile. ‘I knew you’d pass. It’s through those doors. Good luck.’
‘Thanks,’ Linden said, amazed by the amount of smile Marion could fit onto her face. When they turned and entered the doors, they found themselves in a gymnasium with the usual ropes and trapezes hanging from the ceiling, running machines and rock-climbing walls, but also all sorts of bleeping, revolving devices and chambers they’d never seen before. Nestled among all the equipment was someone standing with their back to them.
‘Excuse me. We’re here for training,’ Max croaked nervously.
‘You’re three minutes late,’ the trainer said without turning around.
Linden looked at Max. Oops, he mouthed, but Max recognised the voice.
‘Alex?’
The trainer turned around, her eyes fixed on her palm computer. It was Alex.
‘I want fifty star jumps, twenty minutes on the running machine and fifty sit-ups.’
Max’s heart went into warp speed at seeing her hero. ‘Steinberger told us our trainer would be someone else.’
‘Well you’ve got me. There’s a bad case of flu going around and there was no one else to do it.’ Alex said, looking up for the first time since they’d arrived. ‘Well, what are you waiting for?’
Max and Linden dropped their bags and began jumping.
Max whispered to Linden, ‘It’s Alex!’
‘She doesn’t seem too happy to see us.’
‘She’s just being professional.’
Max’s fears of being uncoordinated came crashingly true as she fell from monkey bars, bounced off gym balls, collapsed into foam pits from swinging trapezes and winded herself trying to clear jumping horses. Hard balls knocked her off her feet and rope nets strung across giant rubber mattresses got her hopelessly tangled.
‘Oooooph!’ After several hours of Alex’s rigorous training routine, Max fell from the rock-climbing wall and thudded onto a gym mat right at Alex’s feet. Alex’s head was buried in her computer as Linden landed expertly beside her.
‘What’s next?’ he asked excitedly. Linden, of course, was good at all this stuff.
‘The virtual cascades,’ Alex said, stepping over a flattened Max.
The two moved off as Max picked herself up.
‘Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine,’ she mumbled as she followed them into a darkened room and up onto a wooden platform.
‘This is the virtual reality chamber,’ Alex began. ‘The next task must be completed wearing these specially designed headsets.’
Max and Linden took this as their cue to put the headsets on and when they did, what they saw was eye-popping. They weren’t standing on a wooden platform anymore but on one side of a towering cliff top with a raging flood of water flowing beneath them.
Max was afraid of heights and even though she knew the waterfall wasn’t real, she had to warn her legs to stop shaking.
‘The headsets allow you to experience dangerous situations within the safety of the training centre,’ Alex began. ‘Beside you is an Abseiler — a pocket-sized device that allows you to descend heights or cross seemingly impassable distances. The Abseiler is fitted with a rope made of Venus Flytrap fibres which makes it extremely adhesive. Simply take hold of the rope, attach it to the wall behind us, and hurl the Abseiler towards the opposite cliff face, where it will adhere with an unbreakable strength. Climb along the rope to your destination, press the release button to disengage the fibres and the Abseiler will retract. Any questions?’
Linden shook his head while Max concentrated on not passing out.
‘Good. Before you is a chasm where the bridge has been blown out. You must use your Abseiler and in two minutes, get to the other side
.’ Alex held out the stopwatch hanging around her neck. ‘Who’s first?’
Linden stepped up to the edge of the cliff. ‘Me!’
Alex started her stopwatch. ‘Go!’
Linden attached the rope behind him, threw his Abseiler across the plunging ravine and watched as it sucked onto the opposite cliff-face. With a determined expression, he grabbed onto the rope and climbed above the boiling rapids with the ease of someone crossing a street. When he reached the other side, he pressed the release button and stood proudly on the opposite cliff.
Alex pressed her stopwatch.
‘One minute twenty. Well done. Max?’
Max stepped up to the cliff-edge. The swirling waters below made her feel dizzy. Her head felt like it was melting and her breath came in short, sharp jabs.
‘Go!’
Max tried to make her feet move but with every second that passed they seemed to become heavier, like they were made of cement. No matter how hard she tried, her fear of heights wouldn’t let her budge.
‘Max?’
‘I … I …’ she began, but felt like she’d forgotten how to speak. She wanted so badly to do it, but couldn’t. Her eyes blurred so that the cliff and the abyss merged into one giant fog. Why couldn’t she move?
‘Time’s up,’ said Alex and left the room in a stinging silence.
When Max and Linden met her in the main training area, she was making notes on her computer. It seemed like ages until she spoke.
‘Linden. You did well. You have a natural ability.’ Silence again, before, ‘And Max?’
Her heart perked up. ‘Yes?’
‘Sometimes you have to look fear in the face to realise it’s not so terrifying.’
Max’s shoulders nosedived along with her ego. She knew she wasn’t perfect, but she was a good spy and she’d get it soon. She realised it was probably the wrong moment, but she asked anyway. ‘Alex? When will we be sent on our next mission?’
Alex started packing her bag. ‘I’ve no idea but it won’t be until you’ve learnt a lot more. I’ll see you both tomorrow. On time.’
As Max watched her go, she was determined to prove to her she was a good spy.
Her body ached and her pride sagged but that wasn’t the worst of it. She had a science exam tomorrow and faced hours of study when all she felt like was falling into a deep, training-free sleep.
Brrrt! Brrrt! Brrrt! Brrrt!
Max’s head shot up. Her clock shouted the digital numbers: 7.00. She’d slept the whole night slumped over her science books. Great! She couldn’t even remember if she’d taken anything in before she fell asleep.
When Max’s mother drove them to school, Max tried to make a quick getaway before her mother did anything to embarrass her. But it was like she couldn’t help herself as she called out, ‘Sweetie, do you have your lunch?’
Max could see the other kids mimicking her mother and calling her ‘sweetie’. She nodded and moved away fast.
‘This school’s huge,’ Linden gawped. ‘I’d like to meet some of the other kids.’
‘There aren’t any worth meeting.’ Max was still being called ‘sweetie’ from somewhere behind her. ‘And make sure you don’t do anything to draw attention to yourself.’
But just as she said it, Max slammed into Mrs Flagbottom, the sports teacher, and her bulging crate of balls. Max fell to the ground, a frenzied whirl of rubber bouncing around her. The usual laughter followed from everyone within a five kilometre radius, but the laughter that hurt most was from Linden.
Max’s look soon told him to stop. ‘Oh come on, Max, it is funny,’ he tried but she wouldn’t hear it.
‘I hate being such a klutz, especially in front of Toby.’
Linden looked at where Max’s eyes had landed.
‘Why do you care what he thinks?’
‘I don’t,’ Max snapped. ‘I care that I scuffed my knee when I fell and no one seems worried about that.’
Linden looked at Toby. He couldn’t see why Max would worry about what he thought, but then there were lots of things about Max that Linden couldn’t work out.
‘Okay, settle down class.’ Mrs Grimshore knew the extra talking was due to exam nerves. ‘Before we start, I’d like to introduce you to Linden. He’s our guest at Hollingdale this week and is a friend of Max’s from the country.’
Max shrunk as someone nearby clucked like a chicken.
‘I know you’ll do your best to make him feel welcome.’ Mrs Grimshore frowned. ‘Linden will go on with his own work while the rest of us have the pleasure of this exam.’
The class groaned as she handed out the test paper.
Toby leant into Linden and pointed to the side of the classroom. ‘That’s a computer. We’ve got a lot of those in the city.’
‘Mrs Grimshore?’ It was Linden. Toby shot him a threatening glare. ‘Can I do the exam too?’
‘I don’t see why not, especially as I’ve never had anyone volunteer for an exam before.’
Linden let out one of his super smiles. Toby thought maybe he wasn’t a pushover after all.
Max yawned and slumped across her desk.
‘You may begin.’
When Max turned hers over, terror rose inside her like an electric charge and her stomach lurched, threatening to bring up her breakfast. She’d studied all the wrong things. She looked around. All the other kids seemed to be flying through. Especially Toby.
The next thirty minutes were the longest of her life and when the recess bell rang she didn’t know if she should be relieved or run away and join the circus.
She sat under a tree with Linden eating a giant salad roll.
‘Oh no,’ Max moaned. ‘Here comes Toby.’
‘Who’s your new friend, Max?’
She didn’t answer. Hadn’t the morning been bad enough?
Linden stood up. ‘Linden Franklin.’ He munched into his roll.
Toby was shocked. Usually kids were more scared of him.
‘Not too hard for you, our city exam? Guess none of it made sense coming from the country.’
‘It was easy. We did plant structures and food chains last year. I guess we must be ahead of you.’
Toby knew Max was enjoying every minute of this, but he wasn’t finished yet.
‘So you have spy adventures with Max?’
Max freaked. She hadn’t told Linden about Toby stealing her spybook. ‘They’re just stories, lamebrain. As if we’d really be spies.’
‘Yeah.’ Linden beamed at Max. ‘We couldn’t be spies, we’re just kids.’ They collapsed into a squall of laughter as the school bell rang and Toby was left wondering what was so funny.
On the way to class, Max’s palm computer vibrated in her bag with a message. She and Linden ducked behind a tree.
‘Ben? How are you calling us?’ she asked.
‘We’ve got palm computers too.’
‘Since when?’
‘Years now. Sorry to call you at school, but we’ll pick you up after training. We’ve got great news to tell you.’
‘Is it about the Time and Space Machine?’ Linden asked.
‘We’ll tell you everything tonight.’
Ben zapped off the screen as Max suddenly forgot all about her exam. ‘I bet it’s finished!’
Max looked up and saw the last of the kids pile into class and knew they couldn’t afford to look suspicious. ‘We better go.’
She put the palm computer in her pocket as they stepped out from behind the tree. Toby watched them from across the yard. He knew they were up to something but he hadn’t seen clearly enough to know what.
‘You’re up to something, Remy. I know it and I’m going to watch you real closely to find out what.’
Despite being determined to prove she was a good spy, Max’s next training session only confirmed she had the most clumsy, malfunctioning body that was ever built and from Alex’s silence, she thought the same thing too. After spending the night falling, tripping and tumbling, Max fell to the floor from the
vibrating horizontal ladder for what felt like the hundredth time. ‘Why couldn’t I have been given a body that actually works?’ she moaned into the foam mat.
Alex looked at her like she was a pet that couldn’t be trained. ‘That’s all for this evening.’
Max stood up, her arm sore from banging against the wall of the Simulated Earthquake Chamber. ‘Bye, Alex.’
She kept her eyes on her computer and muttered, ‘Bye.’
Max turned, dragging her bag behind her like it was made of lead.
‘Well how was that then?’ Ben asked when they got in the car.
‘Good,’ said Linden, trying not to be too enthusiastic. He was still being brilliant at everything Alex asked him to do.
Ben read Max’s silence. ‘Tough, eh? Don’t worry. It gets easier.’
It better, thought Max. Or someone’s going to have to scoop me up with a shovel after the next session. Then she remembered. ‘What’s your great news?’
‘We’ll tell you when we get to the lab.’ Francis grinned cheekily.
After the usual shower cap, white suit, cleansing and temperature check procedures at the lab, Max, Linden, Ben and Francis stood in front of the new and improved Time and Space Machine.
‘Australian scientists have been studying the technology needed to create a Time and Space Machine for years. With everything that Einstein said, we knew it was possible except for a few barriers we had to break through and now, thanks to a precious stone from a small Scottish town, we’ve done it. I’d like to introduce you to the Transporter Mark II.’
Max’s heart flipped in her chest and she took a deep breath to get it back into rhythm.
‘It’s similar to Ben’s Matter Transporter, but with a little more style. Much like designing the first Model T Ford and ending up in a Ferrari.’ Francis smiled at Ben.
‘So fashion was never a talent of mine.’ Ben shrugged.
Linden brushed down his marshmallow suit. ‘We can’t all be that lucky. Is this shower cap mucking up my hair?’
Ben scowled and pulled Linden’s cap down over his face.
The Nightmare Vortex Page 3