I've got two weeks off school, so enjoy the extra updates!
Eight: Holding Your Breath and Mechanical Crabs
Monday. Double maths. Impatiently waiting secret nerdy super spies. Macy tapped her pen on the desk, every second dragged itself by so very slowly. Then, right in the middle of a lengthy explination about angles, she sneezed. A massive, explosive, perfectly co-ordinated sneeze. Agent Brand's voice entered her head.
"Report to the playground immediately."
They needed to get out of class. Ummmm...
"OH MY GOD, I CAN SEE A CIRCUS OUT THE WINDOW!"
Macy quickly yelled. As everyone flocked to the window like moths to a flame, the NERDS ran out the hall, into their lockers, and then to the playground.
"Mission Briefing."
Brand sounded tense.
"Miss Information has recruited some new henchmen. They've got some kind of master plan, and they've gone through a lot of trouble to protect it. We need to get that plan."
Ruby got up and started for the jet.
"Let's go."
"There's a bit more to it, Pufferfish."
Wheezer frowned.
"Like what?"
"They've hidden it underwater."
Duncan interrupted.
"Great, we'll get to try out the new scuba gear that wa-"
"They have a giant metal detector. It won't pick up on nanobytes, but it will pick up on Jackson's braces. And any scuba gear or submersible. Plus, they've hidden the data inside a mechanical crab. One that will malfunction if it touches water. Oh, and it's in a trench. Next to a whirlpool."
Flinch's eyes were wide.
"If anyone can hold their breath for three hours and swim really well, raise your hand!"
Megaphone put her hand up. The entire group turned to look at her.
"What?"
Brand looked at her suspiciously.
"Explain."
"Well, my upgrades easily allow me to hold my breath for prolonged periods of time, and as for the whole swimming thing? I grew up three minutes from the beach. I swam almost every day. I could make it out of a rip with one arm tied behind my back. I could dive long past the end of the reef. I could definitely do this."
The fact was, the team had one choice: trust her. There were no other options. So just over an hour later she stood at the edge of a space jet she was preparing to jump out of. The water would be very warm, so she was wearing a one piece, which she had called a cozzie, that was the same midnight black as the uninviting deep water. She pulled a pair of untinted googles over her eyes and plummeted towards the warm water. Then she was under the surface, her hair swirling every whichway. She had been careful to land on the side without a whirlpool, but it also appeared to be the side without a door. So she was off, swimming through warm ink, trying to find a way in. There! A side door! She swam eratically towards it, before entering the huge dome that was supposed to serve as a place to keep that damn crab. Oh, gerbils and Jellybeans. She had a problem. The room was filled with water, with the exception of an enormous tank, far too big to fit through the side door. She swam up, and jumped in the top. She had an idea, but it was not going to be pretty.
"Here, little crabby crab..."
About fifteen minutes and one rope ladder later, agent Megaphone stood on the edge of the space jet. She mumbled a message, which Gluestick translated:
"Does anybody have a matchbox?"
Wheezer handed over a nearly empty one. Megaphone shook out the matches, pulled the small crab from where it was clamped between her teeth, snapped the box shut, and handed it to agent Brand. First mission: complete.
There! If there are any phantoms reading this (you know who you are) return to the world of the living by pressing that button that says review! It's not that difficult, I promise!
~Madei