An old adversary and ally is called in to help the team. Breaking into KORPS.
"Zoe is not the Mastermind's daughter. She's his clone. They want to transfer his consciousness into her body so that he can live on and make KORPS great again," said Dan bitterly. "They've tried it once already. We only just managed to get to Zoe in time," he said. His voice broke very slightly when he spoke. "If they take her again, we might not be so lucky."
"I see," said the Mastermind.
Nothing more was said until they reached their destination. "Where are we ?" asked Zoe, standing in a dark deserted street.
"Cowgate," said the Mastermind. "It is a valley behind the Royal Mile. Over here," he instructed, picking up his backpack and disappearing into the shadows.
Dan looked up at the darkened buildings towering on either side of them. Traffic roared over a bridge, high above their heads, further down the street. Lights shone through the tiny stained glass windows of a small chapel at ground level and they could hear voices singing. Few cars were travelling down the street and there were no other pedestrians in view. "This is going to be a total nightmare," muttered Dan, grabbing his bag and following the others.
They ran down a narrow alley way which soon became a tunnel. They switched on their head torches which showed a metal gate barring their way. Zoe pulled a small plasticine-like lump from her backpack, and wrapped it around the lock mechanism. She pressed a wire into the lump and they stepped back as she unwound the wire. She pressed a switch on a small electronic device. The plastic explosive evaporated with a muffled whoomf, leaving the gate hanging open. Zoe rewound the wire and stowed it back in her bag. The Shadow Master led them through the gate and they continued into some underground chambers.
A few posters had been stuck to the walls, but they were peeling with the damp. One advertised 'Ghost Tours of Underground Edinburgh'. "Who are they expecting to see those ?" asked Dan. "Ghosts ?" He didn't see the small smile which briefly flashed across the Shadow Master's face.
"Guys, can you still hear me ?" asked Tom's crackly voice over their headsets. "You look like you're pretty deep under the Royal Mile now," he said.
Zoe touched her headset. "Only just Tom. I think we're going to need a boost Aneisha," she said.
"I'm on it," came Aneisha's voice. "I'm going into a pub. I'll set up the transmitter in there." They waited and then Aneisha spoke again. "How's that ?" she said.
"Loud and clear," came Tom's voice, now crystal clear over their headsets.
"Same here," said Zoe with a smile. "Let's go," she said.
They arrived at another metal grille built into the wall. They shone their torches through and found that it protected the entrance to a deep shaft which dropped down into darkness and rose up above their heads, also into darkness. Dan started getting climbing ropes and pitons out of his back. Zoe attached more plastic explosive to the grille. The charges loosened the grille and the Shadow Master pulled it open. Dan was now wearing gloves and was attached to the end of a rope, which he passed to Zoe and the Shadow Master. "We'll go first," said Dan to the Shadow Master. The man nodded.
Dan stepped into the shaft, found hand and foot holds and started climbing up the sandstone blocks forming the walls, paying out the rope behind him. The blocks had crumbled in places and several times his feet slipped off the disintegrating surface. Every so often he tapped a piton into the stones and attached the rope through a loop. Zoe was following him without difficulty. She watched where Dan placed his hands and feet and copied.
The Shadow Master's voice muttered into Dan's ear. "We should be getting close now. It would be best if you stopped hammering," he said.
"OK," said Dan, putting the pitons away. Although the shaft was very cold and damp, he was sweating with the effort of climbing. At last he came to a slanting shaft which connected to their vertical one. "We've reached it," he said, clambering into the other tunnel. It was still hard work to climb through it and it was much more slippery. He made it to a pierced metal panel covering the entrance to the tunnel. A slightly warmer breeze blew through the panel's holes. Large metal bars were set into the side of the tunnel wall. Dan tied the end of his rope through one of the bars, securing it firmly.
When they were all gathered in front of the panel, Zoe asked, "What were these tunnels made for anyway ?"
"They were for the disposal of waste," said the Shadow Master. Dan sniffed his gloves suspiciously. "Not that kind of waste," said the Shadow Master. "Household waste."
"You mean rubbish ?" asked Zoe.
"Yes, rubbish," said the Shadow Master. He placed a listening device against the metal panel. "I can't hear anyone. We can enter," he said. He and Dan unscrewed the panel from the wall and pulled it away. There was an empty passage behind the panel and they climbed out as quietly as they could before placing the metal panel back in place.
"We're inside," whispered Dan into his headset. "Not sure what we're inside yet," he added, frowning.
"This way," said the Shadow Master, setting off up the tunnel. After a quick glance at one another, the two agents followed.
After a minute they heard voices up ahead. They carefully approached and came up to the door of a brightly lit room. They glanced around the corner of the door and saw groups of KORPS agents setting up equipment and organising supplies in a large underground room, lit by strip lights. "It's KORPS all right," Dan whispered into his headset.
One at a time they all dashed across the doorway and continued up the passageway. They came to a stone staircase. The Shadow Master gestured upwards and they nodded. Dan had to marvel at how silently the man could run. Dan's practised feet made hardly any noise. He was used to Zoe's dainty frame making little noise, but he was surprised that the large man in front could move so quietly. At the top of the stairs they came out on to a landing with a door. The Shadow Master listened at the door. "We must be nearly at ground level again," he said quietly. "Nothing," he said before opening the door silently.
They came out into a corridor, this time with painted walls. It felt much warmer here. They jogged up the corridor and again heard voices ahead. This time they arrived outside a smaller room. They could hear voices talking. The Shadow Master held up his hand and they crept up to the door.
"This time we will use poison," said a voice. "We have infiltrated the catering staff with several of our agents. It has been a time-consuming process, but we will be undetected amongst the usual staff. The head of Israeli intelligence will be served kosher food, which will be laced with poison. He will show no symptoms for at least an hour, and then he should suffer a heart attack," the voice continued. The Shadow Master looked back at the agents.
"We got that," whispered Tom's voice in their earpieces.
"Wait, I thought they were after the Head of MI9," whispered Dan, staring at the Shadow Master. The Shadow Master shrugged.
"I think you should get out of there. We have our conspiracy," whispered Frank's voice.
"Hey !" shouted a voice. "Who are you ?" A KORPS agent ran down the corridor towards them.
"Run !" hissed the Shadow Master. Zoe set off, followed by Dan and the Shadow Master. Before they had gone more than a few metres, a loud alarm started to blare out. "Faster !" hissed the Shadow Master. Zoe accelerated ahead and as she neared the door to the stairwell a large metal door slammed down behind her, cutting her off from Dan and the Shadow Master. Dan ran full tilt into the door, unable to stop in time.
"Aargh !" he called out, as his head slammed into the door. He slid to the floor, temporarily stunned. "No ! Zoe !" he muttered, staring dizzily up at the Shadow Master.
Hands grabbed Dan and lifted him up. His rucksack and headset were torn off and he was roughly searched. The Shadow Master stood watching, saying nothing. To Dan's horror he heard a familiar voice.
"Well, well. Shadow Master, you haven't lost any of your famed abilities. And you have brought us the MI9 agents too. You have kept to your word. Where is V95 ?" demanded the Crime Minister, stalking down the corridor towards them.