H.I. Larry - Shock Music

CONTENTS

There must be a million CDs in this shop! thought Zac Power. So how do I find theright one?

Zac was in his local Tunes Super Store. And super was the right word. It was so big you could get lost among the rows of CDs!

Normally, Zac just downloaded his favourite music straight to his SpyPad. But today he wasnt shopping for himself. It was his mums birthday tomorrow, and she liked music on old-fashioned CDs.

Zac knew what kind of music he liked. The loud, rocking kind from his favourite band, Axe Grinder! But what about his mum? Zac had no idea.

Zac wished his brother Leon had made him a spy gadget that picked out birthday presents. Leon was always making gadgets because he worked for the Tech Division of the Government Investigation Bureau (or GIB for short). Zac also worked for GIB, but he went out on missions.

Zac loved being a spy, but it didnt help with buying presents.

Zac turned a corner and saw a huge stack of boxes. It was a display of red D-Pods, a new music player that hed seen a few kids using at school.

The D-Pod didnt look that bad, but Zac had seen it up close and he could tell it was a cheap rip-off of the iPod.

Zac knew it would break a week after you bought it. SO uncool, he thought, looking closer. Why would anyone want one?

But as he looked around, he saw heaps of people wearing red earphones while they browsed. The D-Pod was catching on.

Excuse me, sir, said a voice from behind him. It was a Tunes staff member. Perhaps your mum would like this CD?

The man held out a CD. On the cover it said Twenty Trumpet Classics.

Zac shrugged. Hed never heard his mum say she liked trumpets before.

Hang on, he thought. How does this guyknow Im shopping for my mum? Zac looked closer at the mans name tag. It said:

What a weird name, thought Zac. Hangon, that spells G-I-B!

The man winked and said, You really should hear this CD, sir. Why dont you listen to it on those headphones over there? He pointed to a corner of the shop.

Zac took the CD over and popped it in the player. Then he put the headphones on. Immediately, he felt an itchy tickling in his ears, like something was crawling in.

Ew, thought Zac. This must be a GIB WaxScanner! He tried to keep still as the scanner checked his unique earwax pattern.

Finally he heard a little beep in the headphones. A message came up on the CD player:

The CD player opened. Instead of the CD Zac had put in, there was now a shiny little GIB mission disk. Cool!

Zac knew the disk would slot into his SpyPad, the all-in-one super-gadget that every GIB agent carried. But he couldnt use it in public. He needed to go some- where private.

Mums present will have to wait, Zac thought, nodding at the GIB agent and heading for the exit.

But when he crossed into the next aisle, he could barely get through. The aisle was filled with people wearing red D-Pod earphones.

Excuse me, Zac said, tapping one of them on the shoulder. It was a teenage girl. Can you let me through, please?

The girl turned around. Her eyes looked a little glazed. This D-Pod is so cool, she said in a robot-like voice. You should totally buy one.

Yeah, droned another guy. The D-Pod is amazing.

I dont have time for this, Zac groaned to himself, trying to dodge around the crowds. But people kept shuffling into his path.

Then Zacs spy senses started tingling. Somethings wrong, he thought. Everyonewhos wearing the D-Pod earphones is actinglike a zombie!

The crowd was now surrounding Zac. They were all shuffling sleepily and mumbling things like, D-Pods are awesome.

Some of them were trying to put the earphones in Zacs ears!

Zac backed up against a huge stack of boxes. Ive got to get out of here! he thought. But how?

Zac felt the boxes digging into his back as the crowd stumbled closer.

There was only one way to go, and that was up!

Luckily Zac had done a lot of karate training in spy school, so he knew how to get out of tight spaces. He took a deep breath, bent his legs and then kicked off the ground with all his might. He leapt into the air and back-flipped over the stack of boxes, landing on the other side. Then he pushed the boxes over, scattering them on the floor.

That should hold the crowd back for a fewmoments, Zac thought, sprinting for the door as the zombies tried to shuffle over the boxes.

On the street, Zac saw more people wearing D-Pods. They were dragging their feet as they walked, mumbling about how great D-Pods were.

It was kind of creepy, like the old zombie movies Zac had seen on TV.

What is WRONG with them? thought Zac. Maybe its something to do with my mission.

But before Zac could even reach for his SpyPad, he heard screeching wheels.

A moment later, a stretch limo spun around the corner and pulled up next to him. The sun roof rolled open and Leon stuck his head out.

Zac, what do you think of the D-Pod? he yelled. Tell me, quick!

Er I think its ugly and creepy, called Zac. Leon, what are you doing here?

Leon sighed with relief. Good, youre not a zombie. Get in!

Zac pulled open the door and slid into the limo. Inside, there were panels covered in blinking lights, levers and computer displays.

Leon was sitting up one end, surrounded by screws and bits of D-Pods that had been taken apart.

This is our new CamoSine, explained Leon, as the limo took off automatically down the street. From the outside it looks like a limo, but its way more useful than that. Its on autopilot at the moment. Have you read your mission yet?

Zac shook his head. But what kind of mission needs a limo?

Leon gave him a quick grin. Youll see in a minute.

Zac slid the disk into his SpyPad.

Zac looked up at Leon. The D-Pod is turning people into zombies? But how?

Leon looked tense. The D-Pod comes with one free song already loaded onto it, he explained, holding up half a D-Pod. The song has a built-in mind-controlling sound pattern called a Zeta wave. When you listen to the song, the Zeta wave sort of fries your brain.

And it makes you go around telling other people to buy the D-Pod, Zac finished.

Thats right, said Leon. The D-Pods are cheap, so everyones buying one. By this time tomorrow, Drastic could have thousands of people under his control! But thats not even the worst bit.