The old, white house in Merlin Street was something most people tried to avoid. It was at least fifty years old, and was in need of a good paint job. A mother and her child lived there, but only the boy was ever seen. He went to the local school, and was popular among the boys and girls. He was a handsome boy, and had just turned fifteen. He had perfect blue eyes, dark hair, and was in good shape. He also had a girlfriend. His name was Matthew Rider.
His mother on the other hand, was never seen outside the house. No-one knows why, she just never showed up for work one day, and a week later she was given the sack. She looked so much like her son, that people could have mistaken them for brother and sister. No-one could work out how she could pay for Matts schooling. It was rumoured though, that her father left her with a large sum of money. Her name was Katrina Rider.
Matt had just come home from school, and said goodbye to his friend as he walked through the door. As soon as the door closed, he called out, 'Hi mum, I'm home.' That was strange, no answer. Matt just figured that she was having one of her bad days. He dumped his bag in the living room, and walked into the kitchen to grab a snack. It was eerily quiet in the house. Matt decided that he should check on Katrina. After all, she was his mother.
As soon as he walked into his mother's room, he was taken from behind and dragged through a door in the wall which he had never noticed before. Matt was a black belt in; kung-fu, tai-kwon-do and karate and immediately tested the moves on his attacker. He lashed out with a left foot kick. His attacker crumpled and Matt took a look at him before he ran through the door. Scar down the left side of his face and definitely American. Matt ran forward through the door and came out into a passage with oil lamps lighting the way. He slowed down to a jog then a walk. He stopped once or twice to rest. Matt stopped again and tried to make-out his surroundings. Once his eyes got used to the dim light, he was able to see that there were symbols carved into the walls. And these weren't Egyptian hieroglyphics he was learning about in school. These were very strange symbols indeed. All of a sudden, Matt began to feel drowsy. He fell back against the wall, and went into a deep sleep.
He woke with a start as he heard voices coming down the passageway. He glanced at his watch. Damn, he'd left on the table. He looked around, and saw a large crack just big enough for him to get through. Matt squeezed through the gap and saw his mother, his attacker, and a man who Matt had never seen before. "Just tell us if the rumour is true, and where the money is kept, and we shall never bother you or your family again.' The man spoke in a heavy English accent.
"I will never tell you where my father left the money!" Katrina screamed. She struggled for a moment then hung limp, seeing that she was defeated. She then muttered something that earned her a slap on her face.
"Do you know who I am Miss Rider?" one of the men asked.
"No and it's Ms Rider by the way" Katrina replied.
"I am Klaus Scaturro, Assistant Head of the criminal organisation Scorpia." He spat out angrily.
"Well Klaus, you can forget about the money because you'll never find it." Katrina replied calmly.
Klaus lunged at her but the man holding Katrina stepped in front of him.
"If we hurt her in some way, then we will never find the cash." He said.
This man was more American and had a scar all the way across the left side of his face. Matt tried looking on the other side of him but all he saw was darkness.
"Your right, Tom" said Klaus
Tom walked back to his place and tried to restrain a struggling Katrina. They then moved off with Matt watching from his hiding place. As Katrina walked past, she lifted her head and looked into her son's gaze until she was pushed roughly forward to keep going. Matt waited until he could hear no more footsteps on the tiled floor. He crept out and saw a strange glowing red light. Matt immediately headed towards it. His main priority was to find Katrina and get out of this weird place. The light became brighter as he got nearer. A doorway suddenly appeared in front of Matt and he grasped the handle and opened it. Here, the light was so bright that he had to shield his eyes to stop him from becoming blinded!
When his eyes adjusted to the light, Matt risked a glance at where the light was coming from. When he saw the source of the light, he edged closer until he could almost touch it with the tips of his fingers. The light was coming from the largest ruby Matt had ever seen! He looked over his shoulder to check that no-one was there. Then he looked back at the jewel and tried to gently remove it from the stand where it lay. It was only when he was so focused on trying to remove the ruby that he was able to see its true beauty. The ruby was magnificent and sleek with its beautiful red light illuminating the dim room.
As Matt was trying to pull the ruby free, he didn't notice anyone in the room with him.
"Ahem" someone coughed from behind him
Matt was so surprised that he let go of the ruby and fell backwards.
"What did you do that for?" Matt asked "You made me let go. I could have hurt myself!"
"I highly doubt it" the person replied.
Matt looked at the person standing in front of him now. It was a young woman and she looked sleek, fast and really pretty! Still, none of that mattered as Matt had a girlfriend, so he wasn't persuaded. The young woman was wearing a black, slim-fitting body suit with a zip down the front.
"Come here" she whispered "My name is Suzy Carson and I was sent here to find you and your mother and get you to a safe location. I can see that Scorpia beat me to it."
Matt's head was swirling with questions as Suzy pressed one of the tiles in the wall and waited while the secret passageway unfolded itself. As soon as the passage was large enough, Suzy pushed Matt through and climbed in after him. She turned and pulled a lever that said CLOSE and the wall suddenly closed and left them standing in the passage.
"Who sent you?" Matt asked
"You'll see for yourself when we get there" Suzy replied.
Suzy squeezed past him and motioned for him to follow her. Matt hesitated for a moment and then quickly caught up to her.
No-one talked as they crawled deeper and deeper into the never-ending tunnel. Suddenly, the ground started to give way.
"Stay calm" Suzy shouted to Matt above the noise "this always happens. It's the fastest way to get where we need to go!"
Next thing Matt knew, everything stopped and he was falling through space, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Shut Up!" Suzy whispered urgently to Matt once they had reached the end of the tilting tunnel. Matt controlled himself and stood up and found himself in a very boring room. Slowly turning around, he found himself face to face with a very stern, important looking man. The man was probably in his mid-forties but his green eyes, grey hair and wrinkles made him look much older.
"Welcome Matthew." the man said. His voice was deep and his manner abrupt. "My name is Charles Steel and I run the rescue Spy agency, ESRA."
"What the heck does that stand for?" Matt asked
"It stands for English Spying Rescue Agency" Steel replied "We're the people you call when someone you love has vanished or you're stuck on Mt Everest. We don't mess around. Believe me, it's not the place to have a child but unfortunately, we must take you on board. Do you have any idea who took your mother and where they might be holding her?"
"I don't know where she is but I do know who took her" Matt answered "He was from Scorpia and his name is Klaus Scaturro."
"I should have guessed as much" Steel muttered
"Huh?!"
Now Matt was really confused. How could his mother keep all of this strange information from him. Why didn't she just tell him for goodness sake! And why did these people all seem to know him and his mother?
"Send in Blade will you Miss Carson. Thank you." Steel asked. He then turned his attention back to Matt. "You're going undercover for ESRA. Don't fear you're to have the best non-killing gadgets."
"Listen Steel," Matt said "I don't want to be a spy."
"That's odd. Most kids would love to have the position" Steel said with a surprised face.
"That's just it - I'm not like most kids. My mother is always acting weird. I'm a black belt in everything but karate. I've always just wanted to train other kids to know what I know. I never wanted to be a spy!" Matt replied with a sigh.
"I'm sorry Matthew but we need your help and it's too late to back out now. Ah, hello Blade. Blade meet Matthew. Matthew this is Blade – our gadget man. I'm sure you will find him very entertaining."
"Hi, just call me Matt"
"Yes," said Blade "I've heard a lot about you. Enough introductions, let get down to business." Blade opened the briefcase he was holding and pulled out an ordinary looking baseball cap and laid it on the table in front of them.
"Now, this cap has very strong tranquiliser darts. One too many of these can make sure you get horribly sick!"
Next he pulled out a skateboard that looked like any other you might buy at the shops – black with orange flames. Very cool, thought Matt.
"Which would you prefer – a skateboard, scooter or bike?" Blade asked
"Skateboard. Thanks!" said Matt
"See that button on the back? That can transform the skateboard to the fastest thing a fifteen year old can ride!"
Then Blade pulled out a medium-sized eraser and showed it to Matt.
"Press this button here and the eraser will shoot out a harpoon that clings and lifts you wherever you point it."
"Cool" replied Matt checking out all the gadgets in front of him.
"Oh and before I forget, here's some stying gel" said Blade with a smirk
"What would I need that for?" Matt laughed
A smile spread across Blade's face "Because old chum, it not only styles your hair, it can burn any kind of wood or metal but is safe to use on your hair or skin!" Blade replied "Oh and good luck too!"
"Thanks" was all that Matt could say.
"Right. You all set? Good. Miss Carson will show you to the bathroom and your bedroom for tonight." Steel said.
Matt stood and stretched and followed Suzy through the doors. They walked in total silence until Suzy showed Matt to his room.
"The bathroom is through that door next to your bed. Goodnight."
With that, she closed the door loudly.
Matt looked at the room and his mouth fell open in shock! It was almost an exact replica of his own room! He opened the door to the bathroom and saw the same thing. The only thing missing was the windows. Seeing that they were apparently underground and there was no view, so no point in having them. It looked as it Matt had some exploring to do.
When he woke the next day, he lay in bed thinking about everything that had happened the day before. He got up and listened for anyone. He could hear nothing outside his room. Putting on his slippers, he crept to the door. As soon as he opened the door, he heard yelling.
"MATT" someone called.
Matt hurried down the passage and went into the office he had been in the night before.
As Matt entered the room, he saw Steel looking hot and flustered and Klaus Scaturro.
Matt was speechless. His worst enemy was in the same room as him, yet Matt did not feel the tiniest bit scared.
"Now, sit down next to your mother like a good boy, would you?" Klaus asked, not unkindly.
Matt did as he was told but kept his hands in his lap.
"Now, Matthew, do you know where the money is?" Klaus asked.
"Yes but I won't tell you unless you stop treating me like a five year old and more like a fifteen year old" Matt responded
Next to him he felt Katrina stir. Matt reached into his pocket and opened the styling gel he had been given.
"Fine! Just tell me where the damn money is!" Klaus shouted.
"In the bank, where all the other money is." Matt responded calmly.
Now Klaus was almost at his wits end. Matt got a handful of gel and lathered it on the ropes that were binding Katrina. The reaction was immediate. The gel had eaten through the ropes in a matter of seconds. Matt jumped up and lashed out at any guards that came his way. Soon a heap of crumpled bodies lay on the ground, moaning and muttering.
Now, nothing was standing between him and Klaus.
"Matt," Katrina yelled "let me handle him!"
"As long as you know what you're doing" Matt responded
He walked across to Steel, whose hands and feel were also tied. Matt got the gel out of his pocket again and lathered it onto the ropes. Then he raced back to the replica room and grabbed the baseball cap that was on his dresser.
He then raced back into the office and stopped just in the doorway.
"Mum, DUCK!" Matt yelled.
In a split second the dart was sailing through the air towards Klaus.
It hit him in the leg and he fell over backwards.
"Very nicely done, Matt" commented Steel
"Like mother, like son" smiled his mother "Come on Matt. We'd better be going!"
"Hang on mum. I need to get my stuff." Matt said quickly. He raced back to the replica room once more and grabbed his gadgets and clothes and raced back to his mother.
"All ready mum."
A bell sounded and suddenly doors opened in the tiled wall once again. Matt and his mother stepped into the lift and she pushed a button.
"This may take some time." Explained Katrina
"Nevermind Mum. I want you to tell me everything." Matt said
"From start to finish?" Katrina asked
"All of it!" said Matt with a smile
So Katrina told him every detail about her life and by the time the lift stopped, Matt knew all about his mother's amazing life.
They stepped out of the lift and were once again in their own house. Katrina called her office and explained that she had been unwell and when could she start work again. They were delighted to hear from her and said she could come back when she felt better.
She smiled at Matt and said "Oh I feel much better now."
THE END
The Secrets of the Old HousePage 7