H. I. Larry - Shipwreck

SHIPWRECK
BYH. I. LARRY

ILLUSTRATIONS BYJAMES HART

Shipwreck
published in 2009 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 2009 H.I. Larry
Illustration and design copyright 2009 Hardie Grant Egmont

Cover design by Andy Hook
Illustrations by James Hart
Chameleon Suit illustration adapted from original illustration by Ash Oswald,
Glass Eye illustration by Ash Oswald
Typeset by Ektavo

Printed in Australia by McPhersons Printing Group
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

CONTENTS

Ow! Zac groaned, rubbing his head. His skateboard had just fallen right on top of him. Hard!

Zac Power was down at the skate ramp. He was practising a super tough skate trick, the vert ollie with kickflip indy grab. First, Zac had to get air off the ramp, then spin the board 360 degrees and catch it with both hands. As a super spy, Zac was good at all sports. No-one at Zacs school could even do a kickflip indy yet.

I want to be the first kid to get it, thought Zac, determined. Ill need practise!

Zac climbed to the top of the ramp to have another go. From this high up, he could see the entire park. No-one was around. He looked at his watch it was 10am on a Sunday! Most other kids were home watching cartoons.

Awesome, Zac thought. No-one to see mepractising!

Zac took a deep breath and launched himself off the ramp and into the air.

He popped a perfect ollie. The wind whipped through his hair. His baggy shorts flapped around his legs.

He kicked his board so it spun all the way around.

Now, if I just nail this grab, he thought.

He reached for the nose of his skateboard. It was centimetres away. Then

KER-RUNCH!

The board spun out of Zacs grasp. He landed on his bum at the bottom of the ramp. Again!

Disappointed, Zac shook his head. Bits of shaggy hair fell into his eyes, but Zac didnt care. He liked his hair messy.

Zacs mum didnt. She was always nagging Zac to do things, like get a haircut and go to the dentist. He had a dentist appointment the next morning at 10am. Zacs mum would be super angry if he missed it.

No top spy wants to be bossed around, Zac thought.

Zac worked for the Government Investigation Bureau, or GIB for short.

Aged 12, he was one of GIBs youngest spies. But hed already completed heaps of dangerous international missions.

Zacs mum and dad were GIB spies, too. Even his geeky older brother Leon worked for GIB, in the Tech Support division. He spent heaps of time designing spy gadgets and fiddling with computers.

Im not going home yet, thought Zac. Ivestill got to nail this trick!

So, for what seemed like the millionth time that morning, Zac launched himself off the skate ramp.

His take-off was perfect. Im definitelygoing to make it this time! Zac told himself.

Zac was concentrating so hard, he didnt notice a massive shadow move across the skate ramp. Or the eerie wind that blew leaves and chip packets all over the park.

Steady, Zac, he coached himself. Keepyour balance and

HEY! Zac yelled.

Zac wasnt falling down to earth with his board in his hands like he planned. Instead, he was hanging motionless in the air!

What was going on? He looked up.

There, hovering just above his head, was a glossy black jet plane. It had the sleek body of a stealth fighter jet, except in miniature. Sticking out at the front was a grabbing claw. The claw gripped the neck of Zacs T-shirt.

Its like one of those skill tester games, Zac thought. And Im the prize teddy bear.

Then Zac heard a rumble, and the Grabber Jet shot straight up into the air. Zac was dangling from the claw! He kicked his legs and wriggled, but it was pointless. The grabbing claw held him tight. He wasnt going anywhere.

MINI GRABBER JET
High-speed Retrieual Uehicle

There was a soft whirring sound. A trapdoor swung open at the nose of the Grabber Jet. The claw retracted inside the jet, taking Zac with it.

Am I even going to fit through that pointynose? thought Zac, rolling himself into a ball just in time.

With the sound of a champagne cork popping, he squished through the jets nose and hurtled out the other side. He found himself in a gleaming cockpit.

Well, someone wanted to wreck my skateboardpractise, thought Zac. But who?

Hello, Agent Rock Star, said a woman in a black jumpsuit. She was sitting in the Grabber Jets pilot seat.

Im Agent Earhart, GIB Air Transport Division. Youre needed on an urgent mission.

Whats happened? Zac wondered. GIBhasnt been busy recently.

There was a rumour that things were quiet at GIB because Dr Drastic had retired from evil-doing. Dr Drastic was one of GIBs biggest enemies.

Dr Drastic was definitely old enough toretire, Zac thought. Zac had never forgotten the creepy white-haired man with the glass eye hed met on earlier missions. But wouldhe ever give up being evil? After all, as Zacs granny always said:

A loud dinging sound interrupted Zacs thoughts.

Attention Agent Rock Star! said a voice over the PA system. Your mission will drop from a compartment above your head.

Ouch! yelped Zac.

For the second time that day, a heavy object hit him on the head. This time it was a removable hard drive, not a skateboard.

Couldnt you just hand me the mission? Zac asked crossly.

Just following orders, shrugged Agent Earhart.

Zac plugged the hard drive into his SpyPad, the cutting-edge mini-computer all spies carried. His next mission popped up on the SpyPads plasma screen. Reading it, Zac fell into a horrified silence.

CLASSIFIED
FOR THE EYES OF
ZAC POWER ONLY

MESSAGE SENT : 11.09AM

Agent Coconuts works for GIB's Tropical Division.

Approximately an hour ago, Agent
Coconuts' unmarked sub disappeared
from GIB's radar. The sub was last
seen 30 degrees north of the equator.
This area is known as the Black Triangle.