H.I. Larry - Ultimate Mission

BYH.I. LARRY
ILLUSTRATIONS BYCAL BENNETT
ANDDAYMON GREULICH

Zac Power Ultimate Mission
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

With special thanks to Max Dary, aged 9, in his role as Agent Lightning Bolt.

Cover design by Cal Bennett and Stephanie Spartels
Illustrations by Cal Bennett and Daymon Greulich
Typeset by Ektavo

Printed in Australia by McPhersons Printing Group

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

CONTENTS

Zac Power was at the GIB Superstore with his brother Leon.

He took off the virtual reality headgear hed been testing and handed it back to the agent in charge. That was so cool, he thought. I really need to get one for home.

Come on, Zac, said Leon, who was standing nearby. Lets go find the telescopes!

Zac sighed. His brother was such a geek! How could Leon be more excited about telescopes than virtual reality mission-training gear?

He trailed behind Leon to the science section. The shelves were stacked full of microscopes, chemistry sets and voltmeters.

Zac Power was a spy. Everyone in Zacs family even the nerdy Leon worked for an elite spy agency called the Government Investigation Bureau, or GIB for short.

Leon was poring over the telescopes, examining each one closely.

Hurry up, Leon, said Zac. Just grab any telescope and lets get out of here!

Leon, whose GIB code name was Agent Tech Head, squinted through the eyepiece of a shiny silver telescope. You dont understand. I need to inspect every last detail. If the Halo 9 comets coming as close to Earth as they say it is, I want to view it with the best possible equipment.

Zac rolled his eyes. Im sick of hearing about this stupid comet! he thought.

The whole world had gone crazy over it. The biggest, brightest comet in history was going to fly past Earth at 3pm the next day.

Big deal, thought Zac.

Leon moved on to another telescope. Sometimes you have to wait until you find just the right instrument, he explained. Its likeI dont know, meeting the perfect girl and falling in love.

Gross, said Zac. He was amazed Leon even knew what a girl was.

Zac spotted a sign saying High-speed vehicles over in a far corner of the GIB superstore. He started walking over to check them out. Even if he couldnt drive them anywhere, they had to be more interesting than telescopes.

But just at that moment, Leon yelled, This is it! Ive found it!

Suddenly Leon was rushing to the front of the shop with a cardboard box under his arm.

Zac followed Leon to the counter. Finally! he thought.

I cant wait to get this thing home and set up, said Leon.

Can we stop off at Paninis for a mega-meaty cheese supreme pizza on the way home? said Zac. Im starving.

Leon frowned. I guess so, he said. But I really would rather

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Zacs SpyPad was beeping in his pocket. He took it out and read the message.

Agent Rock Star:
Report immediately to Agent
Prime's Mobile Command Unit in
the GIB Superstore car park.

Zac stared at his SpyPad, a thrill running through his body.

Is that THE Agent Prime? he thought.The head of GIB International? Something massive must have happened.

Agent Prime was in charge of GIBs agencies all over the world. Up until now, Zac had only ever met Agent Big Boss at GIB HQ in Bladesville. If Agent Prime wanted to meet Zac, this was major. Only a handful of people had ever seen Agent Prime in person.

Gotta go, Leon! Zac said, looking up.

Leon was looking at his own SpyPad, his mouth hanging open. It says I have to report to Agent Prime in the car park, he said, looking scared.

Zac tried not to look shocked. Agent Prime wants Leon, too? he thought. His brother was great at inventing gadgets, but he was pretty hopeless in the field.

There was no time for questions now, though.

Lets go, then! said Zac, pulling his brother by the arm. They raced outside.

There was a sleek black semi-trailer parked in a far corner of the car park. Zac and Leon ran up the steps and went inside the Mobile Command Unit.

Zac had been inside his share of impressive mobile labs, but Agent Primes Command Unit was something else.

One wall was covered in TV screens with news channels in fifty languages. Another wall was filled with clocks showing every time zone around the world. Primes support staff were rushing around, jabbing at their personal touch-screens and speaking rapidly into headsets.

Agent Prime was easy to pick. He was talking to one of his staff. When he saw Zac and Leon he waved the assistant away and strode over to meet them.

Agent Prime was tall and broad-shouldered. You could tell he was in charge just by looking at him.

Zac gulped. He glanced at Leon, who looked like he might hyperventilate.

Welcome, Agent Rock Star, Agent Tech Head, said Prime in a deep voice, shaking hands with both of them.

Up close, Zac could tell Prime hadnt slept in days. There were dark rings under his eyes and deep lines in his face.

Thank you, sir, said Zac. How can we help you?

Agents, we have a situation unlike anything GIB has ever seen, said Agent Prime gravely. The entire world is at risk.

Zac was about to respond when a voice boomed over the Command Units loudspeaker.

Attention, GIB agents.We have a Code Black. I repeat, we have a Code Black. This is not a drill.

Whats a Code Black? wondered Zac. He looked at Leon, but Leon looked just as confused.

Then Zac saw Agent Primes face. Prime had gone white, and there was real fear in his eyes.

Whatever a Code Black was, it was something huge. Something earth-shattering.

VROOOOOOOOMM!

Zac felt the floor vibrate under his feet as the truck started moving. He looked at Agent Prime again. All traces of fear had gone from his face.

Allow me to explain, said Agent Prime. A Code Black occurs when there is a worldwide threat that needs every GIB agent on the case.