(Jenny's POV)
"OK, class. We're here," says Mr. Flatley when the coach pulls to a stop outside the Natural History Museum. The Year Elevens are here for a class trip as part of their upcoming GCSE exams. I decided to volunteer and come along with them to make sure they stay out of trouble.
Also it's being years since I went to a museum.
Everyone in the coach collects their bags and steps off the coach, waiting for further instructions from Mr. Flatley.
"Now, everyone, I want you all on your best behaviour," he says. "That means staying with your partner, no wandering off and most important of all, do not touch the displays." Mr. Flatley turns to Scoop and gives him a steady intent look. "Do you understand, Timothy?"
Scoop rolls his eyes. He sighs. "Yes, sir," he says.
"Miss Brownstone – make sure Timothy doesn't touch anything," says Mr. Flatley.
"You got it, Mr. F," I say with a salute.
We make our way into the museum and check in at the School Reception in the Picnic Area located on the lower ground floor. There we meet our tour guide/science educator, Madison. She takes us on a short, lively tour of the Central Hall and uses the Museum statues, displays and architecture to introduce some of the key characters of the historical debate – Charles Darwin, Richard Owen, Thomas Henry Huxley and Bishop Samuel Wilberforce. Next the class is split into groups and challenged to present the views of a given character (Darwin, Owen, Huxley or Wilberforce). The groups are set a structured task to explore certain exhibits, looking for evidence to support their character's argument, either for or against Darwin's theory. The class tours the exhibits to hear the groups' present evidence for their character's argument, providing a re-enactment of the debate, as the groups argue the viewpoints in character. After the workshop, Madison takes us on a journey through the Darwin Centre's stunning Cocoon – an interactive gallery that will inspire the students to learn more about the diversity of life.
By the time the tour is finished it's just after 1:15 P.M. Time for lunch. Mr. Flatley and I take the class back to the indoor Picnic Area next to the School Reception on the lower ground floor and dig into our lunches.
An hour later Madison takes us to a lecture theatre where the Museum staff and scientific associates is hosting a seminar and a visiting specialist will present their latest research. While the majority of the class chorus a groan, Rose appears to be over the moon. First, the curator of the Museum gives a talk about evolution on Earth – about the solar system and how life on Earth has evolved over millions of years. Finding out when humans first appeared on the planet and learning about the causes of mass extinctions.
"Man, this is more boring than lessons," Donovan whispers, with Davina and some of the class around him agreeing with him.
I lean forward. "Ssh," I utter to Donovan, my finger to my lips. "Pay attention. Or at least pretend to be interested." When I lean back I hear the sound of grunting. I turn to my right… and find Mr. Flatley fast asleep!
"Mmm, biscuits would be lovely, Mumsy," he murmurs.
I shake my head and I turn my attentions back to the lecture.
An hour has past and by the time the talk about ecosystems is finished, I'm just about ready to fall asleep myself. The applause in the theatre wakes me up and I clap along. Mr. Flatley wakes up with a jolt and joins in.
"OK, everyone," says Madison. "We've got one last speaker for you before you leave. He is a leading biologist and palaeontologist who will talk about genetic modification and cloning. Please give him a warm welcome – Doctor Clarence Rhodes!"
Dr. Rhodes enters the room. He's a tall man and of average build with white hair and a white moustache. He's wearing a white lab coat with a white shirt and red tie underneath, black trousers, brown loafers and black framed glasses.
"Hey, I've heard of him," whispers Rose. "He recently discovered several thirty million dinosaur bones out of pools of oil in Argentina."
"Good afternoon," says Dr. Rhodes. "Genetic modification transplants genes for a desired characteristic into a different organism. Cloning makes an identical genetic copy of a parent plant or animal. And today, you are about to find out whether I have accomplished a miracle or squandered my investors' money."
Everyone in the theatre looks confused as an assistant places two lamps on the table, followed by a glass box. Inside the box is an egg. We watch as the egg starts to hatch and then cracks open. The entity inside the egg is a small snake.
Dr. Rhodes who is standing behind the table picks up the reptile. "The cloning project is a success," he declares. "The result of gene splicing experiments using the DNA of the parent snake – it 'gave birth' to the clone after an embryo had been developed."
"Whoa!" Everyone in the theatre is in awe – including me! We get on our feet to applaud.
"This is incredible!" Rose raves. "Imagine what he could do with food – third world countries will never go hungry again!"
"Better yet – imagine if he can clone humans," I say. I can imagine it indeed – one to teach, the other to work for MI9 and a third to stay at home and goof off. How amazing will that be?
While we're clapping, the assistant approaches the doctor. "I would like to offer my congratulations, Dr. Rhodes – and on behalf of SKUL," he says.
"Huh?" I say.
"What was that?" says Rose.
"Did he just say what I think he said?" Oscar asks. His question is answered when the assistant takes off his lab coat and strips off his shirt and tie… revealing his SKUL uniform!
"Uh-oh!" says Carrie.
The agent grabs Dr. Rhodes and drops a smoke bomb that fills the room with a truly massive amount of a thick black fog.
That's when the fire alarm starts to screech.
"OK, everyone…" Mr. Flatley coughs. "Make… Make your way to the exit, calmly… and in a… in a single file…" The class bursts into the corridor, our throats clogged with smoke, stampedes towards the stairs. Other people spill out from neighbouring galleries and exhibit rooms and I am carried along in a sea of adults and children, elbowing their way to freedom.
When I get outside, I search for Rose, Carrie or Oscar so we can go after the SKUL agent but I soon abandon the plan when I spot the kidnapper with Dr. Rhodes zigzagging their way through the huge crowd. I barge my way through.
"Excuse me!" I bump into everybody.
"Hey, girl, you blind or something? Watch where you're going!" People hiss at me.
I step on someone's toe.
"Sorry!"
"Ouch! Watch it!"
I knock into somebody's elbow. I make him bump into someone else.
"I didn't mean it!"
I keep bumping and jostling until I'm out of the mass, craning my neck looking around to see where the kidnapper and the doctor went. I see them at the end of Exhibition Road. I chase after them, running as fast as I can but there's a van waiting for them. The SKUL agent bundles Dr. Rhodes into the van before getting in himself, then shutting the doors. The van flees away. I can't let them get away. I look to see a motorbike propped on the side of the road – the owner present. I rush over to him and flash my MI9 badge at him.
"Sir, MI9, I need your bike," I say.
"What?" the man says confused. But I take the guy's keys, promptly get on the bike, start it up with a roar and burst away from the curb.
"I'msorryI'llbringitbackthankyou!" I say hastily as I bomb after the van at the speed of light.
The van speeds down the road, past the Imperial College and the Royal Albert Hall and enters Kensington Gardens. I gun the motorcycle forward, still giving chase. People are ducking and jumping out of the way as I continue to pursue the van, getting closer and closer. Suddenly the vehicle goes off-road. I swerve left, shooting over the path and on to the grass, trying my best not to collide with the trees or anybody else.
A helicopter hovers above. It lands not far from Kensington Palace. The van comes to a stop and the driver, kidnapper and Dr. Rhodes climb out and head for the aircraft. SKUL are planning an aerial getaway! I skid the motorbike to a stop, climb off the seat and sprint after them. I reach into my pocket and take out a tracker. I dive under the helicopter and plant the bug on the underbelly of the aircraft. I hear the door sliding shut and a few seconds later, the helicopter rises back into the air and spins away.
I lie where I am, watching it, until it disappears in the dying light.
I gingerly climb onto my feet and after letting out a sigh of exhaustion I return to the motorbike, get back on it and head back to the Natural History Museum.
After returning the bike to the owner I jog back to the Museum where the police have turned up, along with the fire service – not that there was a fire. I spot the coach parked at the gates and head over to it. Mr. Flatley is there with the class doing a head count.
"Hey, Mr. F," I say, acting as casual as I can be.
"Oh, Miss Brownstone, there you are," he says. "Where were you?"
"Yeah, sorry about that. I got lost in the crowd trying to look for you. It's like Oxford Street on a Saturday."
"Well, you're here now – and so is the class. Let's get them back to St Hope's. All right, everyone – back on the coach."
The class climb onto the coach, followed by me and Mr. Flatley. I dump myself on a seat and let out a sigh.
"So where were you really?" Carrie asks from behind.
"Going after SKUL," I whisper. "I planted a tracking device on their helicopter before they got away. We can find out where they've taken Dr. Rhodes when we get back to school."
As soon as the last person is in their seat, the driver shuts the door, starts up the coach and pulls away from the curb, taking us back to St Hope's.
xxoOoxx
When we arrive back at St Hope's, Rose, Carrie, Oscar and I head into school and search for Frank. We find him in the assembly hall and we drag him down to HQ, explaining what had happened at the Museum – and I'm not talking about the exhibitions.
"…so after the kidnappers bundled Dr. Rhodes in the helicopter, I placed a tracking device so we can find out where they're going," I finish telling Frank.
"Good work, Jen. I'll get right on it," he says, and starts typing away.
"But what I don't get is why SKUL want Dr. Rhodes," says Carrie.
"Dr. Rhodes has just perfected cloning with that garden snake," says Oscar.
"But what do they intend to clone?"
Rose lets out a gasp after a short think. "The dinosaur bones! The kidnapper must have disguised himself as a worker and stole some of the bones from the excavation site."
"So what you're saying is that SKUL kidnapped a biologist to have him recreate the dinosaurs using cloning so they can take over the world," I say. When Rose nods, I let out a scoff. "That has to be the stupidest idea I have ever heard."
"You've got to remember that SKUL has an irritating habit of doing the impossible," Oscar tells me. "I mean the Grandmaster was Prime Minister for a brief time."
"Yeah, but dinosaurs? They will need at least thirty years to grow up and become dangerous, which is just in time for my retirement," I counter.
"Don't be too sure about that," says Rose, now sitting at the computers. "I've got the lowdown on Dr. Rhodes and as well as perfecting cloning, he has also developed a rapid growth serum."
"Meaning the dinosaurs ageing process can occur anytime from a matter of seconds to a matter of weeks," says Carrie.
"Whoa!" I'm impressed yet worried at the same time. "Instant monster."
"I've got it!" says Frank. "The helicopter was taken to a private airfield called Stapleford Aerodrome located in the Epping Forest district of Essex, near the village of Abridge."
"Why would SKUL go there?" I say. "Unless…"
"They're planning on doing the cloning experiment somewhere else," Frank concludes.
"The question is, where?" says Oscar.
The computer pings, letting us know that we've got e-mail. Rose opens up the message – and gasps.
"It's from the mole," she says. "It says that SKUL has taken Dr. Rhodes to an island somewhere in the South Pacific."
"Did they say where?" Carrie asks.
"Unfortunately the island is not on the map."
Frank starts to type on the keyboard and a map of the entire planet is displayed on the computer screen, with a circle outlining the South Pacific.
"So the island could be the neighbouring islands near or around New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea or the Pacific Islands," says Oscar.
"So the plan is to hire a mode of transport to take us to where the island is, stop SKUL and save Dr. Rhodes," says Carrie.
"Hmm. But not today," I say.
"Huh?" the young spies say.
"We need to be fully prepared for this mission. We can't just arrive on the island, all guns blazing – we need to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed," I explain.
"Jen's right," says Frank. "Besides, your parents are expecting you home right about now so you can't leave straight away. You'll have to wait until tomorrow."
"By that time, SKUL will have enough dinosaurs to open Jurassic Park!" says Carrie.
"Not if we go immediately and we're not fully equipped with gadgets and weapons to defend ourselves," says Oscar.
"Then it's settled. Tomorrow morning we'll fly out to search for the island," I say.
"What about school?" Rose asks.
"You leave that to me," says Frank. "Right now we've got homes to go to, so rest up – we've got an early start tomorrow."
The five of us exit HQ via lift. When we come out of the caretaker's cupboard, Rose, Carrie and Oscar say their goodnight's and leave together while I wait for Frank to finish up. A short while later he's done and after locking up the school, we clamber into Frank's car and he takes us home so we can get ready for tomorrow.
(Frank's POV)
I feel like death waking up at quarter to six the following morning but a shower wakes me up. I go down to the kitchen to fix myself up some breakfast – marmalade sandwich and a mug of tea as we've got a busy day ahead. Jenny comes down after her shower and has a slice of jam toast and a glass of orange juice. We get dressed into our spy outfits after breakfast. At quarter past six a car honks outside – our ride is here. Jenny and I head down the stairs and out the door, shivering in the cold morning air. We enter the black seven-seat car, the driver starts it up and we drive off to collect the team.
Before we went to bed last night, I made some calls to arrange transport for the team to travel to the hidden SKUL island, while Jenny called up Zeke for him to lay some gadgets for her, Rose, Carrie and Oscar.
We pick up rest of the team and head to an MI9 airfield in Bromley, Kent. I look to the trio who have fallen asleep during the journey. I can't blame them – they look wrecked when they entered the car. I just hope they won't be like this when the dinosaurs chase after them.
The team don't wake up until the car slows down at the gates of the airfield nearly an hour later where there is a security cabin and an electronic barrier. A guard in a black uniform waves us through. The barrier lifts automatically. And then we are following a long, straight road over a stretch of land. The airfield consists of three runways: two large parallel runways that run east to west and a smaller runway that runs northeast to southwest. Two hangars are lined side by side in the airfield. The first is only large enough to accommodate one plane. The other hangar is used to store vehicles. Additional structures include a helipad, and a small control tower.
The car pulls up at the control tower and I get out. The team and Jenny spring into action and follow me up the stairs into the small air control room where Zeke is waiting for us.
"Hey, guys. God, isn't it awful getting up this early," he mumbles.
"You're telling me," says Oscar.
"Here – get that down you." He nods to tray of disposable paper coffee cups with plastic lids. The five of us each take a cup.
"Mm. Thanks for the coffee, Zeke," says Rose after taking a sip. Oscar, Carrie and Jenny also thank him.
"And thanks again for meeting us here," I say.
"No problem. Let's get down to business," he says. He uses his swivel chair to glide over to a large table that has a tray full of equipment. "First up, we've got the Mini Bombs." Zeke nods to the small, round, metallic bombs. Then he hands up a black sleeveless Puffa jacket. "Next we have the Inflatable Protective Gilet, that when deployed encloses you inside a ball, allowing you to survive an extreme impact. And finally we have this" – Zeke hands up a belt – "the Grappling Belt. It contains a rappelling cord and a piton-shooting buckle. When fired, it shoots a grapple attached to high-tensile-strength wire that can attach to any surface to either reel you in or to swing from one area to another."
"Once again, Zeke, you continue to amaze us," says Jenny, putting on the belt and gilet, and putting the Mini Bombs in her utility belt. Rose, Carrie and Oscar also put on the belt and gilet.
"Sometimes I just love being a spy," says Carrie. "We get such amazing toys."
"Then you're gonna love this." On the side of the table there's a briefcase. Zeke takes it and places it on his lap, opening it up.
"Whoa," we murmur. Inside the briefcase are four high-tech sidearms.
"I give you the Van Buren Laser Pistol," says Zeke. "They emit a concentrated beam of coherent light, with sufficient wattage to do some considerable damage – especially if you're up against cloned dinosaurs."
"Excellent," says Jenny. She takes the gun and tucks it in her thigh holster. The others do the same. "Now that we've got gadgets, we can get a move on."
"And that's where I come in," I say. "Follow me."
Jenny, Zeke, the team and I leave the control tower and head for the hangar. When we arrive I reach into my pocket, take out a small remote control and press a button on it. The single panel door opens automatically, tilting up and backing across the hangar ceiling. We enter the garage and go over to the switch near the door and turn the lights on, revealing a unique jet-powered, hybrid-wing aircraft.
"This is the Aviancore," I say. "This technologically advanced jet is equipped with VTOL capability and turbojet engines. It is able to reach high speeds through two powerful jet engines located at the rear of the ship. It possesses two large, angle-adjustable rotors, one housed in each wing, which grants the aircraft its vertical take-off and landing capabilities. The Aviancore also has adjustable wing tips that can be angled down to intensify the lift of the wing rotors and modify the movement of the ship. This gives the jet unprecedented manoeuvrability as it can make full stops mid-air, hover in place, and make incredibly tight turns compared to the conventional aircraft."
"Amazing." Everyone looks mightily impressed by the jet – mostly Zeke, who is practically drooling over it.
"OK, guys," says Jenny, clapping her hands. "Less ogling, more focusing. We've got a mission, remember. Let's get this show on the road."
"I call shotgun!" Carrie exclaims, running to the Aviancore. Oscar and Rose follow after her. Jenny is about to go but I catch her hand.
"Hey. Be careful out there, OK?" I tell her. "Look after the team and, um… don't get killed, OK?"
"OK," Jenny says, squeezing my hand. Then she gives me a quick peck on the cheek and heads for the jet. She climbs up the boarding ladder and into the cockpit. Zeke moves the ladder out of the way, and he and I exit the hangar as the jet starts to wheel out of the garage and begins taxiing up to the start of the runway.
After a few minutes the Aviancore has completed its pre-flight tests. It's facing down the runway. Its rotors are at full speed.
The jet begins to move down the runway. Slowly at first, but rapidly picking up speed. A moment later the jet leaves the ground, the wheels lifting off, and takes off in the air. I watch as the Aviancore sails through the lighten sky, getting smaller and smaller, until I can no longer see it.
I'm still staring at the sky, watching as the sun come up, when I feel a pat on my shoulder. I turn to see Zeke with his hand still there.
"Don't worry, Frank, they'll be all right," says Zeke. "Jenny and the team can handle themselves and they'll look out for each other."
"Mmm," I nod. "We better get inside – it's freezing out here."
Nodding in agreement, Zeke and I head back to the control tower.
(Jenny's POV)
This has to be the coolest jet in the world! Sleek and beautifully shaped on aesthetic side, high-tech and agile on the technical side, the Aviancore owns everything else in the skies with ease. It's also supersonic – we've already reach the South Pacific in less than four hours, travelling at the top speed of more than three thousand miles per hour. How awesome is that?
"OK, guys, we're here," I tell Rose, Oscar and Carrie. "Keep your eyes peeled on anything that looks out of the ordinary."
"I think I may have found it," says Oscar. "The island looks very weird-looking – at least to me. I'll use my Spy-Pod to get the coordinates."
Oscar gives us the following coordinates: latitude: ten degrees, twenty-four minutes and fifty seconds North; longitude: ninety-four degrees, seven minutes and three seconds West. Carrie types in the coordinates and on the computer screen is a satellite imagery of, like Oscar described, a weird-looking island. The island is one hundred and twenty miles off the west coast of New Zealand. It is eight miles long and three miles wide at its widest point with a total of twenty-two square miles. The island appears like an inverted teardrop; bulging in the north, thinning in the south. A large lake stretches through the middle of the island, a jungle river runs for miles along the interior of the island and volcanic fumes from the south are present.
"Looks like we've found our mystery island," I say. "OK, I'm gonna land the Aviancore on the southern part of the island, by the beach. Then we'll have to walk through the jungle to find…"
"Incoming!" Rose yells.
I look up to see a dodge a set of missiles firing towards us!
"Shit!" I scream. I perform a swerve, narrowly avoiding the missiles in the nick of time causing them to hit each other and explode. "What the fuck, man! Where did they come from?!" I exclaim.
"SKUL must know that we're here," says Oscar.
"Here they come again!" Carrie cries.
Another swarm of projectiles is flying right at us.
"Everybody hold on!" I say. I dodge the missiles again. Another volley of missiles comes and through an extreme display of evasive manoeuvres I swerve from side to side, taking sharp turns, and put the Aviancore through aerial acrobatics that would logically cause massive G-forces. But somehow we manage to escape without the slightest scratch.
"Is everyone OK?" I ask.
The team groan in response. "I feel sick," says Rose.
"Sorry. But at least we're safe."
"I wouldn't say that Jen. Look!" Oscar points.
I feel the blood drain from my face when a massive salvo of missiles is heading towards us.
"Oh my God," Rose moans.
"There's no way I can dodge them all," I say.
"What are we going to do?" Oscar asks.
"It's time to put Plan E into action," says Carrie.
"Plan E?!" Rose, Oscar and I say at once.
"What the hell is Plan E?" I ask.
"This!" Carrie hits a red button and the entire canopy above us opens, and our seats – along with the four of us – are launched through the opening.
"EEYAANANAH!" we all scream as we shoot skywards. There's an explosion below us as the missiles hit the Aviancore, destroying it in a ball of flame. Once we're clear of the now-destroyed aircraft, the ejection seat deploys a parachute.
I'm surprised by my sense of calm. I'm sitting on a jet seat in the air underneath a comforting canopy of white silk. I feel as if I'm not moving at all. Now that the team and I have ejected from the jet, the islands seem even more distant and unreal. It's just us, the sky and the South Pacific. I'm almost enjoying myself.
But Rose snaps me out of it when she tells us to guide our parachutes to the island.
I pull at the parachute, guiding myself towards the island. How small it looks compared to the other islands, there is continual range of highlands along the western coast of the island. Velvet green cliffs and cascading waterfalls plummet into deep, narrow valleys. From these mountains, one or more rivers stream to the eastern part of the island. The northern part of the island is very mountainous – and also very volcanic. Also in the northern part of the island, in the middle of a rocky terrain, is a large seven-storey fortified tower – SKUL's hideout.
Somehow I manage to manoeuvre myself over the island, falling slowly to the ground. All is well: soon I'll be safe and sound on the ground.
…Until a pesky breeze pushes me over towards a cluster of trees. And instead of landing on my feet, my parachute snags in the branches and I become stuck, dangling helplessly in the air.
Luckily the fall isn't particularly high, so I unbuckle myself from my seat and jump, landing on the ground in a crouching position, feet wide apart and supporting my weight with one hand on the floor while the other hand is outstretched away from my body, pointed diagonally upwards.
The perfect landing.
I get onto my feet, activate the torch on my watch-communicator and look around for the team.
"Rose! Carrie! Oscar! Where are you?" I call. "Guys?"
Silence.
"Team? Can you hear me?" I call again.
Then I hear Carrie's faint cry. "We're over here!" she calls.
"Where?" I cry.
The rustling in the bushes startles me and emerging from it is the team.
"We're right here," says Carrie.
"Guys – you're OK," I say, relieved.
"Yeah, we're fine," says Oscar. "Which is more than I can say for the Aviancore."
"Mmm. We better call for back-up." I use my watch-communicator to make the call, but all I'm getting is static. "It seems that my communicator isn't giving outgoing calls."
The team try their pencil communicators and it seems the result is the same.
"I can't get in touch with Frank or Zeke," says Rose. "SKUL must have a jamming signal."
"So we can't get in touch them to call an airstrike and rescue party," I say. I sigh. "It looks like we'll have to attack SKUL's fortress by ourselves."
Before anyone can say or do anything, we hear something that sounds like a lawnmower.
"Hide!" I tell the team.
We immediately run for cover in some bushes, and I quickly turn off the torch as three SKUL agents on quad bikes arrive. We remain hidden and gaze on the enfolding scene as the henchmen check the surrounding area.
"It doesn't look like there's anyone here," one of the agents says. "And even if they are here, the dinosaurs will take care of them when they're released. Let's go."
We watch as the SKUL agents leave. The team and I come out of our hiding place. Rose goes over to where the quad bikes were and examine the tracks.
"We can find SKUL's base by following the tracks," she says.
"Then let's get this show on the road," I say. "And stay alert – other than cloned dinosaurs who knows what else is out here."
The team and I start our journey through the rainforest to find the hideout, using the torch and the quad bike tracks as our guides.
xxoOoxx
I feel like we've being walking through the rainforest forever, but I know it's only been half an hour. As we march deep into the island, I realize that this is no ordinary rainforest. It is a vast old-growth rainforest where the trees reach into the heavens. Their canopies cover the sky, leaving only shafts of moonlight steaming between the branches. Even the normally tiny mushrooms are huge and imposing – and probably not a good idea to eat, no matter what the size. As well as creepy, the island is teeming with possums, rats, snakes, leeches, and cicadas. It kinda makes me question how SKUL came across this place.
We continue to march through the rainforest for another hour when we finally find the SKUL base.
"And there it is," I say.
"The question is, how are we gonna get in?" says Oscar.
I'm about to suggest an answer when a loud growl interrupts me.
"Sorry. That was my stomach," Carrie says sheepishly.
"If it isn't the luck of the Irish," states Rose, causing Carrie's face to flush red.
Suddenly we hear an even louder growl. Rose, Oscar and I turn to Carrie.
"That wasn't me," she says.
"Well it certainly wasn't us," says Oscar. "So who was it?"
We hear the growls again. The noise, of course, is coming from the base. Dr. Rhodes has successfully created the dinosaurs.
"Let's just pretend it's the wind," I half-wish. "Let's go."
The team and I start to approach the base.
"I hope that Dr. Rhodes isn't the dinosaurs' first dinner," says Oscar.
"If anything the doctor would only be an appetizer," Rose points out.
"Oh, can you guys please stop talking about food?" Carrie pleads, grabbing her stomach.
The team and I continue to hike through the rainforest until we're out in the open. We hurry up to the big metal doors at the bottom of the SKUL base when they swing open…
And we jump out of our skins when a group of dinosaurs walk out!
"Holy sh…!" Oscar screams.
"Quick, team – let's use our Van Buren Laser Pistols on these overgrown lizards!" I command.
The four of us whip out our pistols and we take a shot at the dinosaurs, but our laser shots bounce off the creatures.
"It's not working!" Rose cries.
"Keep shooting!" I tell her. But soon I'm finding myself running for cover as a tree is smashed down by an angry Triceratops. "Wowsers!"
"I really don't think these laser pistols are doing anything other than making the dinosaurs even angrier," says Carrie.
"Yeah, I think you're right," I reply. "Besides, I thought dinosaurs were supposed to be stupid."
"I guess they just don't make them like they used to. Hey – look!" Carrie points up at the trees… and spots a camera. "The Grandmaster is watching us."
"Yeah? Well, he can watch this!" I pick the camera off with a shot from my pistol. I call to Oscar and Rose. "Time to retreat!"
The four of us run through the rainforest, with the dinosaurs chasing after us. I hear the sound of engines – SKUL must be pursuing us on their quad bikes. We continue to stumble through the jungle when I spot a cave.
"This way!" I tell the team. I lead them into the cave. The dinosaurs try to enter but the cave mouth is too small for them to fit their heads in.
"OK…" I pant. "OK, I think… I think we're safe now…"
At that moment a Velociraptor enters the cave and attacks Oscar.
"Oscar!" The girls and I scream. He's trying his best to defend himself from the creature, but it won't be long until the raptor rips his face off. The girls and I take out our laser pistols and shoot at the dinosaur, but it has no effect on the creature. So I do the next best thing and somersault over the raptor, grabbing its tail and swing its head into one side of the cave wall, then the other, and then toss the raptor at the dinosaurs at the opening. The dinosaur shakes its head and charges towards me, but I shoot it directly in the mouth with the laser pistol, effectively killing it.
"Whoa," Carrie murmurs. "That was awesome!"
"Thanks," I reply.
Rose kneels beside Oscar. "Oscar. Are you hurt?"
"No, I… I'm fine. I think," he responds. "Thanks, Jen."
"No problem. But we're not in the clear yet. We still need to find a where to get away from here – and the dinosaurs."
"If only we had something to distract them," says Rose. "I really did wish we brought food with us."
"Er, actually, guys…" Oscar looks sheepish as he digs into his trouser pockets and brings out packaged snack foods.
"You had food on you?" Carrie gasps. "Oscar! How could you?"
"I'm sorry. I've even forgotten that I had them on me."
"It kinda explains why the raptor attacked you," I say. "It was after the food."
"And now we have something to distract the dinosaurs," says Rose. She takes the snacks from Oscar, stands close to the opening of the cave and throws the food toward the SKUL agents.
The rest of us watch as one of the SKUL agents picks up the snack food with a confused look on his face. "That's strange. Where did this come from?" he comments.
It is then that he looks up and sees all of the dinosaurs bearing down on him.
"EYAAAAH!" the agents scream as the reptiles charge after them. The SKUL agents retreat through the rainforest as the dinosaurs pursue them, destroying the quad bikes and leaving behind a path of destruction.
The team and I leave the cave, being cautious in case we're jumped on by a dinosaur or a SKUL agent.
"I think we're safe – for now," I say. I see something that catches my eye. I rush over to the flattened quad bike and find some dynamite in the debris. "This should come in real handy," I say, picking up the explosives. I turn to the team. "I think it's time to prepare an MI9 welcome for SKUL. Who's ready?"
"We are!" they chorus.
"Let's do it!" says Carrie.
The four of us set off through the jungle, using the destructive path that the dinosaurs left for us to lead us back to the SKUL base. The team and I approach the doors once again. I take out the Mini Bombs and attach them along the bottom of the door. I take out the dynamite and place them on the corner of the doors. Then I light up the long wick of the explosives.
"OK, team, let's go rescue Dr. Rhodes," I say. We open up our buckles from our Grappling Belt and fire it at the top of the tower. After a couple of tugs to make sure the hooks are securely attached to the building, the team and I begin to scale the tower.
We climb up and up and up. The tower seems as tall as a church steeple, but I edge upwards. I can tell that the others are getting tired because I can hear them panting.
"Come on, guys. We're nearly there," I urge. "You can't give up now."
We keep on climbing… until we find ourselves under the ledge of a large window. The team and I take a peek and see that it's a command centre. And in the room is Dr. Rhodes being manhandled by SKUL agents. And along with them is the Grandmaster – holding his rabbit companion, General Flopsy. It looks like the Grandmaster is about to dispose Dr. Rhodes.
Not on MI9's watch.
"OK, guys, on my count, bounce off the wall and swing through the window," I tell the team. "Ready? One, two, three!"
The four of us bounce off the wall and burst into the command room by breaking through the window, with me and Oscar kicking the Grandmaster to the ground and knocking General Flopsy out of his hands.
"Surprise!" I say.
"MI9!" the Grandmaster gasps. He turns to his agents. "Don't just stand there, you fools! Get them!"
The SKUL agents charge towards us. The team and I spring into action and attack the horde of mooks. We shower them with kicks and punches, but there's just too many of them.
"Grab the Grandmaster's command disk!" Dr. Rhodes yells. "You can control the dinosaurs with it! It's in his dressing gown!"
"Oh, for the love of Pete, it's not a dressing gown, it's a…" But the Grandmaster gets interrupted when Oscar tackles him to the ground, wrestling him to get the command disk.
"Gimme!" Oscar yells, but the Grandmaster shows no sign of giving up the disk.
Suddenly, a SKUL agent grabs Oscar by the scruff of his neck, pulls him off the Grandmaster and punches him hard across the face.
"Oscar!" I call, and start to run over to him, but another SKUL agent points his gun at me. I look around and see that we're surrounded.
The Grandmaster scoops General Flopsy into his arms and marches over to Oscar. He takes a long, hard look at him. "You really are the spitting image of your mother, aren't you, Oscar?" says the Grandmaster.
"Don't you dare ever compare to her! I'm nothing like her!" Oscar shouts.
"Hm, I suppose not. You don't exactly have her brains, do you?" The Grandmaster reaches into his pocket inside his dressing gown and brings out a circular device. "What would you have told the dinosaurs if you had the control disk, hmm? Would you have told them to smash through the base? Because I have news for you, boy – the fortress is impregnable."
"That's because we don't plan on bringing the dinosaurs to the fortress. We planned on bringing the fortress to the dinosaurs," Oscar explains.
Suddenly, there's a loud explosion. The dynamite and the Mini Bombs have rocked the foundation of the base. The quake causes the Grandmaster to drop the control disk. I grab my captor's gun and knock him out by hitting him with the butt of the pistol. I run over to the disk and grab it.
"Listen up, dino-dudes, I order you to wreak havoc on the base!" I tell the reptiles over the disk.
Just then, a fist shoots out. I feel such a whack on my cheek that I'm lifted right off my feet. I end up flat on my back on the ground. I trip the SKUL agent with a leg scissor takedown, quickly get back on my feet and stomp on the agent's face, knocking him and his teeth out. But then another SKUL agent tackles me to the ground, knocking the disk out of my hand. I throw the agent over my head and scramble onto my feet to chase after the rolling disk, but Dr. Rhodes reaches it before me and picks up the disk.
"Dr. Rhodes, tell the dinosaurs that food is available in the base!" Rose instructs.
The doctor does what he's told. Suddenly the Grandmaster tackles Dr. Rhodes and the disk flies out of the window and out of the reach of everyone.
"NO-O-O-O-O-O!" the Grandmaster screams.
"Oh, no! Without the control disk, no-one can control the dinosaurs!" Dr. Rhodes cries.
Everyone in the control room stands horrified. We're in really big trouble.
The room starts to shake. The dinosaurs have entered the base, and they're going to destroy everything in sight. Suddenly, the doors to the command room are smashed down by an angry T. rex. As more of the reptiles enter the room, I see the Grandmaster strapping a jetpack on his back.
"Farewell, MI9! It's been fun – not!" the Grandmaster taunts, and he and General Flopsy take off out the window and fly away.
The Grandmaster might have got away, but unfortunately the SKUL agents are not so lucky. Some of them are getting attacked and killed by the dinosaurs, while the remaining agents run for their lives and jump out the window to their deaths to escape the reptiles storming the command room.
"What are we going to do?" says Dr. Rhodes. "If we stay, we'll get devoured! If we go out the window, we'll fall to our deaths!"
Rose, Carrie, Oscar and I glance at each other and nod. "We'll take option two!" I say.
"What?! But…!" Before Dr. Rhodes can argue, I grab his wrist, and me, him and the rest of the team jump out of the window, escaping the sharp jaws of the T. rex.
"GAAAAH!" Dr. Rhodes screams as we fall. I wrap my legs around the doctor's waist and activate my Inflatable Protective Gilet by pulling the cord on the jacket. A giant ball surrounds me and Dr. Rhodes, and we both feel the impact of the ball hitting ground once… twice… three times. The ball rolls for a bit and then stops completely.
For a moment the doctor and I are too stunned to say anything. I tug the cord on the jacket and the ball deflates and turns back into a normal gilet.
"Well, that was… fun," I say, climbing to my feet.
"You can say that again!" I hear Carrie say. I turn and see her, Rose and Oscar coming up to me and the doctor.
"So everyone's OK?" I ask.
The team nod. "No broken bones," says Oscar.
The sound of roaring startles us. We all look to the SKUL base and see the dinosaurs destroying the tower – with the T. rex roaring triumphantly.
"I wonder what will happen with the dinosaurs," says Rose.
"Maybe my investors would probably like to open a museum. Or maybe a theme park…" Dr. Rhodes suggests.
"Oh, no, they won't," I interrupt. "Your investors can go and suck eggs because we're leaving and you can stay. Any questions?" I ask the doctor menacingly.
He shakes his head, clearly frightened to use his mouth to speak.
"I have a question," says Carrie. "How are we getting out of here?"
"Ah." I bow my head, realizing that we're stuck on this island and we're gonna get devoured by these giant reptiles.
"So we're stuck here?" says Oscar.
"It would appear so," says Rose. "And with no way of getting in touch with MI9, who knows how long we'll be here."
But just when we thought we had to build a treehouse, swing from vines and survive on berries and leaves, a large shadow appears out of nowhere, over us. We look up and see an aircraft hover above our heads.
"Look – we're saved!" I exclaim.
The underbelly of the aircraft opens and sucks me, the team and Dr. Rhodes into the aircraft. "Ouch!" we cry when we hit the ceiling of the plane. Then when the door below us closes, we come crashing down on top of each other on the ground. "Ooh!" we moan.
"Nice of you all to drop in."
I look up, startled to see Frank staring down at us, smiling.
"Frank," I say, getting up gingerly and waggling my arms and legs to make sure they're not broken. "What are you doing here?"
"You didn't think that the Aviancore was the only jet that MI9 owned, did you? Besides, it looked like you needed some help after your jet disappeared from radar."
Carrie sits up. "But you can't fly a jet," she says. "So who bought you here?"
"PAM did," says a voice, and we see Zeke sitting at the controls with an attractive woman in a dark blue air stewardess outfit, piloting the aircraft. "Guys, meet PAM – the Pilot Android Mechanism."
The team and I wave at PAM. The android turns to us, nods and returns to flying the jet.
"So how did you find us?" Rose asks.
"We tracked your coordinates before your jet vanished from radar," Zeke explains. "I had to call MI9 to send us another jet because Mr. Worrywart here went into hysterical mode."
"I did not!" Frank protests.
"He did," mouths Zeke. Then he says out loud, "Anyway, I called PAM over as Frank and I have never flown an aircraft, so she came in pretty handy. We flew out here to track your coordinates, but it looked like we didn't need to as we saw a fist of black smoke billowing from an island. So here we are."
"Well, we're thankful for the rescue," I say. The team murmur in agreement.
"So what's going to happen to the island?" Oscar asks.
"MI9 have commandeered it," says Frank. "We've also acquired Dr. Rhodes research on cloning and the dinosaur bones that he found."
"You what?" the doctor cries. "You can't do that! That's my life's work!"
"I'm sorry, doctor. But you've got to understand that after what has happened we can't let SKUL or anyone else use the data for their villainous schemes."
"Frank's right – we have to think about the safety of the people," I say. "Also, you can't tell anyone about this – your investors, the public, no-one. If you do, there will be consequences. Is that understood? Dr. Rhodes?"
The doctor sadly nods. "I understand."
"Good. Now that we've got that sorted, we can go home." I let out a yawn. "This mission has left me exhausted."
"Not to mention starving," Carrie adds. "I could eat a horse."
"Luckily you don't need to," says Frank. Next to him is a duffel bag. He crouches down and opens it… revealing various assortment of snacks and drinks. "Since none of you had any breakfast, I thought it'll be a good idea to bring some food."
Carrie gasps in delight. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cries, jumping and clapping her hands. Then she dives into the bag to pick out a snack.
Rose, Oscar and I shake our heads in amusement, but soon we help ourselves to the grub while PAM sails the Aviancore through the skies to take us home.