The new MI High team try to solve the mystery of Zoe's origins. Was she really a product of KORPS and why was she held by SKUL ? Why did the Grand Master call her his secret weapon ?

"Dan, if we're on a boat, how do we get off ?" she asked.

Dan shrugged. "Smaller boat ?" he suggested, eyebrows raised.

"OK," said Zoe. "Let's go !"

Zoe opened the door slowly, looking up and down a passageway lined with similar doors. It was empty so she opened the door and nodded to Dan. They stepped out into the corridor and as quietly as they could ran to the end and peered round the corner. They quickly swapped to the other side so they wouldn't be seen by a man in uniform walking past. Luckily he didn't see them. When he was out of sight, they turned the way he had come from and arrived at a metal staircase going up and down. They chose the stairs which took them up.

It was harder not to make a noise on the metal stairs. Zoe moved almost silently but Dan felt like he had become a three-legged elephant judging by the noise he made. They opened the door at the top of the stairs and heard voices, so they closed it again and stepped behind the hinges, crouching down near the floor. The door opened and two men walked through and bounded down the stairs. Again they were lucky and the men didn't look back to see the two agents dashing through the closing door. They could hear the sound of muffled voices through closed doors. Looking around them all the time they came to an open area with tables and windows looking out on to a deck. It was dark outside and all they could see were moonlit waves glistening outside. The swell was quite large, so they had to be quite far out to sea.

"Where would they keep the smaller launches ?" Zoe whispered to Dan.

"I don't know. Maybe at the back," Dan whispered back. "We need to keep moving. Come on !"

He grabbed her hand. He didn't really need to pull her along, but he wanted the comfort of her touch. Dan never liked to admit defeat, but their situation was looking more hopeless by the minute. He didn't want to let Zoe down so he had to keep trying.

A loud bell started ringing through the ship. Voices became louder and they could hear the sound of running feet. "That way !" shouted Zoe, pulling Dan towards a door behind them. Without checking they dashed through the door and shut it behind them, in time to hear footsteps thundering through the room they had just left. Their luck had just run out. Zoe and Dan turned to find themselves facing a group of men and women sitting around a long conference table covered in computers and documents. A tall, dark man stood at the head of the table.

"Well, what have we here ?" he said. He walked to a speaker on the wall, pressed a button and shouted, "Conference Room, NOW !" Almost immediately men ran into the room behind Dan and Zoe and their arms were pinned behind their backs. Dan tried to struggle, but it was useless. The guards just put more pressure on his arms until he had to let up before they broke his arm.

The tall man walked up to them both and stopped in front of Zoe. "So, we have our precious cargo," he announced. He stood back so that the others could see Zoe. "The Mastermind has been waiting for the arrival of Daughter. He will be pleased," he said.

"Daughter ? What do you want with her ?" demanded Dan. Zoe glanced over at him, looking fearful.

"That is none of your concern," said the man, speaking with a deep, silky voice. "She is to be transported safely to the Mastermind without damage. You however are a different matter," he said smiling into Dan's face. He walked over to Zoe and stroked her chin. She tried to pull back, but was held fast by the guards behind her.

"Your good friend here is our insurance policy. He will ensure that you do not try to escape, cause damage to this vessel or otherwise make a nuisance of yourself. If you fail to obey our orders we will deal with him. Do you understand ?" he asked. Zoe nodded. "No I don't think that you do," said the man. He waved his hand to the men holding Dan. One man punched Dan hard in the stomach. The air was knocked out of his lungs in a groan. There followed a rain of blows to his head, chest and stomach until he sank to the floor looking dazed and gasping for breath.

"Stop it ! Please stop it ! We won't do it again !" Zoe screamed. "I'll do whatever you say. Honestly I will," she pleaded, tears rolling down her cheeks.

The man held up his hand and the beating stopped. "Return them to their room. Leave some medical supplies," he instructed. "I do not expect to see you again until we arrive at our destination. Do you understand ?" he asked, leaning into Zoe's face. She nodded, still crying. "Take them back !" he ordered. Zoe and Dan were marched back to the bedroom they had escaped from. The guards dumped Dan on the end of his bed and left Zoe with a small box of antiseptic dressings and wipes.

She tried to wipe the tears from her eyes as she sat Dan upright and unzipped his jacket and slipped it off his shoulders as carefully as she could. He groaned as she moved his arms. Lifting his shirt she could see bruises starting to form on his ribs and stomach. She opened up the packets of wipes and started trying to clean up his bleeding face as gently as she could, cursing her shaking hands. "Dan, I'm so sorry," she whispered. "They've done this to you because of me."

Dan shook his head and winced. "No. They've done this because of what they want. It's nothing to do with you," he said. "I need to go to the bathroom," he added. Zoe helped him into the tiny room where he was sick into the toilet. He sat back down on his bed, visibly shaking.

"Why don't you get into bed ?" suggested Zoe. Dan nodded, but made no move. She reached down and took off his shoes for him, then she undid his belt and pulled down his jeans. He staggered into her slightly as he lost balance.

"Sorry," he muttered. Zoe hugged him as much as she dared, trying not to press any of the bruises. "I'm fine," he muttered.

"Lie down," she instructed, pulling the bed covers back behind him. He half sat and half fell on to the bed. Zoe lifted his legs in and pulled the covers over him. He lay shivering for a while and then fell asleep. Zoe sat looking at him sleeping for a while and then she got into her bed. Unable to sleep, she lay staring at Dan.

The next day was Saturday. Tom and Aneisha received a call from Frank first thing. "I need you both to come in. There's been a development," he said. They were there within half an hour. "Stella said she was going to call in a few favours and she wasn't kidding," said Frank. "The Navy used one of their military satellites to track down that ship which the coastguard saw leaving British waters last night. It's heading towards Iceland. There's nowhere else it could be going."

"Do the Icelandic government know anything about it ?" asked Aneisha.

"No they don't. That's not so surprising though," explained Frank. "They don't have a large population and effectively people have to take turns running the country. It's almost a part-time job there. They haven't seen a boat of that description docking on the main island so they suspect it may be headed for one of the smaller, outlying, uninhabited islands probably in the Vestmannaeyjar Islands. They've promised to try to locate it for us," explained Frank.

"The Vest .. what Islands ?" asked Aneisha. "I can't even pronounce it. How are we going to find it ?"

"Apparently it means the 'Westman Islands'," explained Frank. Meanwhile, the military are tracking the ship intermittently for us," said Frank.

"That's quite a favour Frank," said Tom. "Satellite time costs thousands of pounds doesn't it ?"

"Yes it does," said Frank. "We owe Stella."

"What can we do ?" asked Aneisha.

"Well, since we're pretty certain that they're heading for this Icelandic archipelago we want you two to fly out there," said Frank. "I'm going with you."

"My Mum's not always that observant, but I think she'd notice me going to Iceland for the weekend," said Aneisha.

"Ah, that's why we've organised a sleepover," said Frank smiling. Aneisha grinned back.

"Bring it on !" said Aneisha.

Tom looked slightly nervous. "OK. That's good," he said uncertainly.

"It's for the team Tom," said Aneisha.

"I know. I want them back too," said Tom defensively. "It'll be fine," he said. He seemed to be trying to convince himself, rather than Frank and Aneisha.