H.I. Larry - Sky High

CONTENTS

CRACK!

The eight ball zoomed across the table and dropped neatly into the corner pocket.

Thats the game, Agent Rock Star!

Zac Power sighed. His older brother, Leon, had just beaten him at pool. Again.

You got lucky, said Zac grumpily, tossing his pool cue down onto the table.

Six times in a row? said Leon. I dont think so.

But you never miss! Zac snapped. How is that even possible?

Its all simple geometry, Zac, said Leon smugly, reaching down to pick up a ball. Oh, and a bit of physics, of course.

Of course, said Zac sarcastically. He thought privately that being the worlds biggest nerd gave his brother an unfair advantage at this game.

Zac was a top spy at an elite agency known as the Government Investigation Bureau. Leon also worked for GIB, but he was a technical officer in charge of creating gadgets and organising missions.

Which means Im still much cooler than he is, Zac reminded himself.

Another game? Leon asked, racking up the balls. Best seven out of thirteen? Tell you what, you beat me this time and Ill do all that vacuuming Mum asked you to do.

Fine, said Zac. With a normal vacuum cleaner, though. No taking the easy way out with that thing.

Zac pointed across the room to where a shiny purple gadget was sitting. The VacuuTron 5000. Leon had created it to cut down on cleaning time, and even Zac had to admit that it was a pretty cool invention.

If Leons doing my chores, thought Zac, hes going to do them the hard way.

OK, said Leon. Deal. Ill even let you

But at that moment something started beeping. Leon reached into his pocket and pulled out a small electronic gadget.

The device looked a bit like a video game console, but Zac knew it was so much more than that. It was a SpyPad, every GIB agents most useful tool. A video phone, a magnet generator, a laser, and a hundred other gadgets all in one.

Right now, a womans face was staring impatiently back at Zac and Leon from the screen.

Agent Shadow, said Leon, straightening up. Whats the word?

Ive just got the green light from Headquarters, said Agent Shadow. Weve finally got enough intel to launch Operation Bug Eye.

Leon, Zac began, whats

About time! said Leon, cutting Zac off. Ive had the gear ready for almost a week!

Of course you have, said the other agent, rolling her eyes. But we needed to wait for confirmation from WorldEye. Is Agent Rock Star up to the challenge?

Yup, said Leon, glancing across at Zac. As long as theres no pool-playing involved.

Sorry? said Agent Shadow, confused.

Noth ouch! said Leon, as Zac kicked him in the shin. Nothing.

Very well, said Agent Shadow. Ill leave you to brief him.

Great, said Leon. See you.

The image of Shadow flickered out.

What was all that about? Zac asked.

Just finalising the preparations for your next mission, said Leon happily.

Preparations?

Leon sighed. Your missions dont just organise themselves, you know. Were hard at work for weeks before you even get one of these, he said, dropping a little silver mission disk onto Zacs palm. Youre just not usually around to see it.

Oh, said Zac. Hed never really thought about what went on behind the scenes at GIB. So whats this mission youve all been working so hard on?

How does firing a high-powered rocket into an invisible target sound? said Leon.

Piece of cake, said Zac.

Great! said Leon. Did I mention youre the rocket?

Ten minutes later, Zac was speeding down the highway in Leons Mobile Technology Lab. The MTL was a secret laboratory on wheels that was currently disguised as a furniture removal van.

Zac pulled out his SpyPad and slipped the silver mission disk inside.

Zac turned to Leon, who was standing at a workbench, tinkering with something that looked like a big metal backpack.

Who is this Professor Voler guy? he asked. Ive never heard of him before.

Yeah, hes really secretive, said Leon, without looking up. To be honest, we dont really know much about him. We dont even have a photo of him on

Something exploded in front of Leon.

What was that? Zac shouted, ducking.

Nothing! said Leon quickly. Um, just running a final equipment check. Dont worry, Im sure it wont do that when youre wearing it.

When Im wearing it?

What we do know about Professor Voler, Leon went on, quickly changing the subject, is that hes the most cunning thief GIB has ever come across. He travels the world, stealing rare objects and classified technology for his private collection. Hes snatched stuff from BIG, from Dr Drastic, from a bunch of museums

And now hes stolen something from us, Zac finished.

Right, said Leon, pulling a little jar from his pocket, emptying it into his hand, and turning to Zac. Nine days ago, Voler got hold of a top-secret GIB prototype as it was being transferred to Headquarters from our research facility in Silicone Valley.

A prototype for what? asked Zac.

This! said Leon dramatically, thrusting out his hand.

Zac stared down at Leons hand. There was nothing in it. He raised an eyebrow. Professor Voler is stealing our air?

Leon shot Zac a dont-be-stupid look and said, Scan it.

Zac set his SpyPad to Magnify and pointed it at his brothers hand. The SpyPad locked onto a tiny spot on Leons palm and zoomed in. There was something there after all.

Hovering just above Leons magnified hand, tiny wings fluttering, was what looked like a one-eyed insect, except that it was made out of metal.

Oh, said Zac. What is it?

This, said Leon proudly, is a NanoCam, the latest in GIB surveillance technology. Tiny, remote-controlled spy cameras, invisible to the naked eye. Theyre amazingly fast, and because theyre so small, we can send them

Pretty much anywhere, said Zac.

Exactly, said Leon. The down side is that theyre incredibly expensive to produce. Right now, this is one of only two in the world. Professor Voler has the other one, and we need you to get it back.

And where does the exploding backpack come into all of this? Zac asked, looking sideways at Leons workbench.

Well, said Leon, Voler likes to move around a lot, so he lives in the sky. His hide-out is an enormous jet plane, a bit like GIBs Hercules Transport.

So Im going to fly up to him using the jetpack, said Zac. Sounds simple enough.

Not quite, said Leon. See, Voler has just outfitted his jet with some cloaking technology that he stole from BIG.

Wonderful, said Zac. So that would be the invisible target you were talking about before?

Bingo, said Leon. The good news is that the cloak was never meant to be used on anything as big as Volers jet, so its started to malfunction. Weve caught a few glimpses of him making his way to Bladesville. Its not much, but its enough to plot a course and get you aboard.