H.I. Larry - Zac Climbs High

ZAC CLIMBS HIGHBY H. I. LARRYILLUSTRATIONS BY CAL BENNETT &
RON MONNIERZac Climbs High
published in 2010 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, illustration and design copyright 2010 Hardie Grant Egmont
Designed and typeset by Ron Monnier
Illustrations by Cal Bennett and Ron Monnier
Logo design by Stephanie Spartels Printed in Australia by McPhersons Printing Group 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Zac Power was at the supermarket with his mum. It was a bit boring, but Zac liked pushing the trolley.

Zac was 12 years old. He was a spy for a group called GIB. His code name was Agent Rock Star. Zac went on top-secret missions. Sometimes he had to stop BIG. They were a spy group that did bad things.

Other times Zac went to Spy Camp. He learnt cool skills like how to go undercover. Zacs SpyPad beeped. Every GIB spy had a SpyPad. It was a mini-computer. It had heaps of cool functions.

Zac used his to play music. Zac looked at his SpyPad. He had a message from GIB. Spy Camp exit in lane four. Bye, Mum, said Zac. GIB needs me.

Zacs mum was a spy for GIB too. He ran to lane four. The shelves were stacked high with baked beans. There was an empty shopping trolley there. It had a GIB symbol on it. Zac checked to see no-one was watching.

Then he jumped in the trolley. The shelves slid apart. There was a secret tunnel behind them! The trolley took off down the tunnel. Zac raced along in the trolley. It turned a sharp corner. Then the tunnel opened up.

Zac saw Spy Camp ahead. The trolley stopped. Zac hopped out and ran inside. Spy Camp was awesome. It was a big silver dome. It had a TV room and a canteen.

But Zac didnt have time for TV or snacks. Zac ran to the front desk to collect his Info-Disk. The Info-Disk had his training information on it. Zac put it into his SpyPad. A message came up on the screen. TOP SECRET
FOR AGENT ROCK STARS EYES ONLY Spy Camp Skill
Heights Training Partner
Agent Ace Training Place
Blue Top Circus
END Training with AgentAce! Thats so not ace, thought Zac.

Agent Ace was a new spy. Her real name was Celia. Zac thought she was rude and bossy. There were doors all around the edge of the Spy Camp dome. Zac found the door to the Heights room. This was where the gear for Heights training was stored.

Celia was there already. Hurry up, said Celia. They scanned their SpyPads over the lock. The door opened. Inside, Zac saw two pairs of colourful shoes. They were HUGE.

He read out the label. Jelly Joggers
Click your heels together
and jelly cushions come out.
Helps you land safely! Celia rolled her eyes. Theyre so uncool! she said. Zac thought they were a bit uncool too. But he knew GIB had given them the shoes for a reason. There was a colourful clown car nearby.

This looks worse than the shoes, groaned Celia. Ill drive, then, said Zac. No way, said Celia. Zac couldnt be bothered arguing. He climbed into the back seat. Awesome, thought Zac. Awesome, thought Zac.

Zac touched a screen. A menu came up. All his favourite games were there. Even Savage Speeds 5! SAVAGE SPEEDS 5 Celia opened the roller door at the back of the Heights room. It led to the outside. This ride will be so boring, said Celia, starting the engine.

Zac smiled, but he didnt say anything. He wouldnt be bored! He loaded a game. Celia drove out the roller door. Im going to beat you on the Spy Ladder, said Celia. Whatever, thought Zac. He pretended he hadnt heard her.

Every week GIB spies got points for the Spy Ladder. Spies who did well on missions and Spy Camp tests got points. The spy with the most points went to the top of the Spy Ladder. Zac was at number one this week. After a while, Celia drove up to a large circus tent. Zac and Celia got out of the clown car.

A clown with big red shoes was waiting for them inside the tent. It was Agent Buttons, one of GIBs top spies. Step right up! said Agent Buttons. Today youll learn how to balance in high places. Then youll be tested up there! Zac looked up. There were two tall platforms.

They had tight-ropes stretched between them. One tight-rope was red and the other was blue. But first, lets practise, said Agent Buttons. Suddenly, a trap-door opened. They climbed down into a massive secret room. There was a huge course set up in the secret room.

Well start with the Sky Scraper Sprint, said Agent Buttons. The Sky Scraper Sprint was on top of two pretend buildings. A plank of wood was balanced between them. Dont look down, said Agent Buttons. And walk carefully and slowly. OK, said Zac.

He stepped out onto the plank. His knees wobbled. But then he found his balance.