(Jenny's POV)
I know it's a dream, but I can't get out of it.
I'm running down an eternal-looping street. I feel like I've been running forever, but my legs don't ache, nor do I feel out of breath.
"Hello – is anybody here?" I call in the dream. "Hello?"
No reply.
"Mum? Livi? Emmeline? Anybody?"
Silence.
"Martha, Rose, Carrie – where are you?"
Again, no reply.
I'm about to call again when my ankles are grabbed by ropes, causing me to trip. I get dragged along the ground like a bag of screaming meat.
Wake up, I tell myself. Wake up out of this nightmare.
I'm still being dragged when I spot a lonely-lit lamppost up ahead. I launch the belt buckle from my Grappling Belt and it becomes attached to the pole. I reel myself in and I entangle my arms around the pole. But my legs are still tied together and I feel myself almost being torn in half as my legs get yanked.
Wake up, wake up!
I feel my legs have stretched to a length of about thirty feet. Just when I feel like I'm about to be torn apart, the ropes snaps and disappears.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I remove my arms from the lamppost and stand up and dust myself. I turn to run – but I only get to four yards when I see a five-storey-tall cloud of dust coming towards me. As it gets nearer, I quickly realize that the cloud has torsos, heads, and arms sticking out. I freak out when I see a sufficiently large group of people heading towards my direction – some of whom I recognize. There's Mum, Livi, Emmeline, Rose, Carrie and Martha. With them is the artist that I saw at the beach and the host of the B&B, and the residents of Crescent Cove. They all have the same creepy and ominous look on their faces and the red-glowing eyes indicate that they are under some form of mind control.
As the thundering herd get even closer I take off, my feet kicking as I run. I'm a short distance up the street when a very tall figure stops me in my tracks. The figure has no face – just the black shape of its head, a strange red smile and bright solid white eyes.
"You cannot escape, Little Miss Spy," the figure says in an echoing, distorted voice. "I have you in the palm of my hand!"
The figure bursts into an evil laugh. A hand grabs my shoulder. I spin around, confronted by my mind-controlled zombie of family, friends and townspeople. I can't escape from them. The horde surrounds and overwhelms me. They begin to pull at my limbs.
I scream, as I see my skin tear apart, splitting like an envelope being open, and my arms and legs separate from my body.
Wake up! Wake up! This dream has got to end!
I try to stop screaming, but the pain is so excruciating. Suddenly, the buildings beside me start to collapse and fall on top of me and the brainwashed horde.
And all I can do is scream.
And wake up.
I sit straight up in bed.
Finally. I finally got myself out of it. I finally woke myself up.
I wait for the dream to go away, for the ugly pictures to fade. I wait to forget it, the way I forget most of my dreams. But it won't go away, not the pictures, nor the sounds, nor the fear.
I can see it all as clearly now as when I was asleep.
And I have the same urge to scream, scream my lungs out at the dark ceiling.
The quilt is hot and slightly damp with perspiration. I untangle myself from it and climb out of bed quickly, hoping to leave the dream behind. But it follows me as I make my way to the en-suite bathroom in the dark and I flick the light on.
I come out nearly a minute later, the dream still replaying in my mind. When my eyes adjust to the darkness, I walk over to the bedtable to look at the time on my watch. It says 12:14. I didn't even sleep that long. Wide awake, still shaky from the vivid nightmare, I walk to the window and press my forehead against the cool glass. It's a dark blue night with a crescent moon forming a perfect Cheshire cat grin in the sky. I close my eyes and listen to the gurgle of the waves and the distant whisper of the wind in the trees.
When I open my eyes, I notice something very strange happening in the street. A large handful of people are shambling and shuffling like zombies – all in one direction. I instantly knew that something is wrong. I quietly leave the room and rush to the other bedrooms. There are other people that are staying in this B&B. One is two sets of couples, who are coastal walkers, and the other is a family with a little boy and a toddler – and they are all gone!
I go back into my room and head over to the bed that Rose and Carrie are sharing. I nudge the girls gently and Carrie wakes up with a jump.
"What's going on?"
Rose stirs noisily and looks up. "Jenny?" Her eyes only half open, her face filled with confusion.
"Get your Spy Watches and meet me in the hall way," I whisper. "We've got an emergency."
I tiptoe out of the room and go to the room next door. I head over to Martha's bed and I give her shoulder a nudge.
"Martha."
She looks up, startled to see me staring down at her.
"Jenny."
"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you, but we have to go. Right now."
Martha hops out of bed and follows me out of the bedroom and into the hallway, where a half-asleep Rose and Carrie are waiting for us. After I tell them how the townspeople of Crescent Cove are walking along the street in the middle of the night, everyone is wide awake and alert. The girls and I use our watches to change into our spy outfits. Then I use my watch on Martha and change her into her own spy outfit: a black biker jumpsuit with a belt, boots, and fingerless gloves. Her hair is styled in a side swept high ponytail.
I'm about to head down the stairs when Carrie says, "What about the others? One of them could wake up and notice that we're not in bed."
"I've got something for that." Rose digs into her pocket and takes out three small, square patches. "These are Deep Sleep Patches. They pretty much do what it says on the tin. When applied, it'll send the person into a deep, profound, unwakeable sleep."
"Nice!" I murmur.
Rose gives two of the patches to Carrie and Martha, and the three go into the rooms to apply them on Mum, Livi and Emmeline. Once they come out and close the doors behind them, the four of us head down the stairs and out of the B&B, shutting the door behind us. We follow the enthralled townspeople as they shamble through the street.
"I wonder where they're going," says Carrie.
"Wherever it is, it's definitely not good," Rose remarks.
"Psst – look alive, girls. Man with an assault weapon up ahead," Martha tells us.
We quickly duck behind some parked cars, and we continue to follow the residents. After about fifteen minutes we finally see where everyone is heading: the marina. Cautiously, Martha, the girls and I slip through the crowd and find a hiding-place behind some crates. The citizens of Crescent Cove have formed a lined stretching back almost to the point where a crowd has formed.
"What could these people be waiting for," I wonder.
The question is answered a few seconds later. The four of us stare, unable to believe quite what we're seeing.
A submarine. It has emerged from the sea with the speed and impossibility of a huge stage illusion. One moment these is nothing and then it's there in front of us, ploughing through the sea towards the jetty, its engine making no sound, water streaking off its silver casing and churning white behind it.
"The submarine has no markings, but I think I recognize the shape of the diving plane slashing horizontally through the conning tower and the shark's tail rudder at the back. A Chinese Han Class 404 SSN? Nuclear-powered. Armed, also, with nuclear weapons," says Martha.
Rose, Carrie and I stare at her. She just shrugs and smiles when Rose compliments how awesome her knowledge of water-borne vehicles is.
"A sub similar to that unwittingly malfunctioned in enemy waters, and James and I had to remove it to prevent political carnage," Martha tells Rose.
"That aside, what is that sub doing here, off the coast of West Sussex? What is going on?" I question.
The tower opens and a man climbs out, stretching himself in the cold morning air. Even without the crescent-moon, I can make out the sleek, dancer's body and the close-cropped hair. He's dressed in horrible green overalls and a purple roll neck jumper underneath.
Note to self, never turn to this guy for fashion advice.
The man climbs down and motions the townspeople to get in the submarine.
"That outfit that guy is wearing doesn't look like something SKUL would wear," says Carrie. "They're more black and red than green and purple."
"You're right, Carrie. That outfit looks that something that…" Rose trails off.
"Rose? What's wrong?" Martha asks.
"No. No, it can't be. We stopped them."
Carrie registers what Rose is saying. "Are you telling me that they're back? That's them?"
"What are you guys talking about? Who's back?" I ask.
Before Rose can answer, a shot rings out and whizzes past, narrowly missing Rose as it hots the crate. We look up. A single guard stands a few metres away from us, a gun in his hand. He's about to fire again – but I don't give him the chance as I lift the crate over my head and hurl it at him. The guard crumples, the pistol falling out of his hand. This causes the other guards to look around and spot me, the others and their unconscious colleague.
"Run!" I yell.
Suddenly there's an eruption of gunfire. Bullets whiz past, narrowly missing us as we weave our way through the crowds, pushing some people into the water as we do so. We jump over the wall. A second later there's an explosive hammering on the other side as the guards fire at the wall. But it's a brick wall, so we're good.
"Now what?" Carrie asks.
Good question.
"There's a police station located in the shopping district. We passed it on the way to the marine. We can head there and get some assistance," says Martha.
We arrive at the station less than five minutes later. We run in and behind the front desk, there are two police constables and sergeant playing cards.
"You bloody cheat!" one of the constables calls the other.
"Please – you have to help us!" Rose pleads. "SKUM has kidnapped the citizens of Crescent Cove. You need to call for backup and help us stop them!"
SKUM? Who's that? Surely she means SKUL, right?
"Well, well, well. It seems to me that we have some loonies in our midst," the sergeant tells his constables.
"It's the truth – we're not crazy!" says Carrie. "We really need your help!"
"Jenny – we need to leave. Right now," Martha states.
"What? Why?"
"Look at what the officers are wearing."
I look at them – and notice a bit of purple popping out from their shirts.
"Girls… I think it's time we made ourselves scarce," I declare. "I don't think these guys are real coppers."
We start to back away slowly. Then we turn and run – but skid to a halt when the shutters to the doors slam down. We turn to the 'police officers' as jump over the desk and they rip off their uniforms.
"You ladies are going nowhere," says the sergeant. "Let's get 'em, lads!"
"Oh no, you don't!" I exclaim, and I get out some freeze grenades from my utility belt an throw them at the guards. The grenades encase the men in a block of ice upon contact.
"Right, that's them sorted. Now let's get outta here!" I say.
I use the Lipstick Laser to cut a large hole in the shutters. We burst out of the station and stop in the open air, taking stock of our surroundings. I see an open-top car parked nearby. There's a guard standing next to it, a cigarette in his hand, looking around – but looking in the wrong direction. Perfect. I motion the others to follow me and we dart forwards across the road, moving like cats, our feet making no sound.
The guard looks up as we approach and fumbles for the pistol he's wearing in a holster at his belt. He never makes it. Martha swings into action. She brings up one leg, twists her body round and lashes out. Her foot powers into the man's abdomen with such a force that he doesn't even have time to cry out. His eyes bulge and his mouth half-open in surprise. Then, with his hand still at his belt, he crumples to the ground.
"Damn! Grandma's got skills!" Carrie says, stunned.
"Why, thank you," Martha replies.
"Chat later, guys! We need to go!" I say.
I grab the pistol and leap into the car, grateful to see the keys are in the ignition. I turn them and hear the engine start up. The other cars are closing in on us. They must have seen Martha attack the guard.
With everyone in the car, I slam the gears into first, release the handbrake and gun the convertible forward, heading out of town. At the same time there's a chatter of machine-gun fire. I yank down on the steering-wheel and twist away as my wing mirror explodes and a spray of bullets slams into the windscreen and door. The two cars, speeding towards us, head-on, are getting closer and closer. Each of them has a guard in the back seat, leaning out of the window, firing at me and the others. I swerve between them, and for a horrible second there is actually one on each side. We're sandwiched between two cars, with guards firing at us left and right. But then we're through. The guards miss us and hit each other. I hear one of them yell out and drop his gun. One of the cars loses control and crashes into the front of a shop, metalwork crumpling against brick and glass. The other screech to a halt, reverses, and then comes after us again.
My foot is pressed down, the accelerator against the floor. The car is doing about eighty – not fast enough.
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" I cry angrily. Straight ahead of us, the way is blocked. Two Jeeps have arrived on the roundabout. More guards with machine-guns balance themselves, half-crouching, on the seats. I glance at my mirror. The car that has chased us from the police station is right on our tail. We have nowhere left to go.
One car behind us. Two Jeeps ahead of us. Everything happening at once.
I can almost imagine the hail of bullets tearing into us…
An idea suddenly comes to me.
"Martha – take out the fourth pocket of my utility belt on the left hand side and open it," I say.
She does what's asked and small spherical balls falls into her hand.
"What are these?" Martha asks.
"EMP Shock grenades," I answer. "Give some to Rose and Carrie and when I say the word, throw them."
Martha gives some of the grenades to the girls while I keep driving, nearly approaching the Jeeps. I can only pray to God that this works.
"Now!" I shout, and Martha and Carrie throw the grenades to the Jeeps while Rose throws them to the car behind.
The effect is a total electrical shutdown of the target vehicles, as well as stunning the guards with an electrical shock to temporarily paralyze them. I hear the car behind me swerve, out of control. It crashes through a shop window. I plough between the two Jeeps and shoot over the roundabout, heading out of Crescent Cove.
When we reach the main road, I stop the car and let out a shaky sigh of relief.
"Wow," I whisper. "Can you believe we actually got away with that? Here's me thinking we were gonna be Swiss cheese, but look at us – alive and kicking!"
Everyone murmurs in agreement.
After I calm down, a thought comes to me. I turn to Rose. "By the way, Rose, I think you may have suffered from Slip of the Tongue Syndrome back at the police station. It's SKUL that's kidnapping the townspeople, not SKUM."
"It wasn't a slip of the tongue, Jenny. That's who is behind the kidnappings: the Superior Krew for Ultimate Maximization. SKUM," says Rose.
"What is SKUM?" Martha asks.
"A criminal organization that's a splinter faction of SKUL," Rose explains. "It's headed by a woman called Anita Kane, who calls herself the Grandmistress."
"The Grandmistress?" I repeat. "Who is she – the Grandmaster's wife?"
"Oh, God, no! He hates her as much as MI9 does," says Carrie. "The Grandmistress is a criminal mastermind and a toy factory owner. She once overthrew the Grandmaster and took over SKUL and started a crime wave with the help of animatronic robots that she made in her toy factory. Rose and I defeated her with the help of the Grandmaster and MI9 animal expert Maurice Hutchinson, but she escaped."
"The next time we saw her, she planned to launch a life-size replica of the X48 toy which carried a bomb and would destroy all of London," Rose chimes in. "But she captured me, Carrie and Oscar before we could stop her, forcing Frank and Stark to put together a second spy team consisting of Avril, Davina and Scoop."
"No way! Those guys are MI9 agents?" I exclaim. "How come they never mentioned it?"
"They were given Smart Ease – a compound used to dramatically speed up agent training. The effects only lasted for twenty-four hours. After that, the guys would forget they were ever spies."
"Whoa. Best MI9 story ever. That aside, it seems that the Grandmistress is planning something big if she's brainwashing and kidnapping a whole town. We need to contact MI9 and get some reinforcement."
Just as I say that sentence, I hear the sound of helicopter blades sweeping through the air. I look to my right – it's coming for us.
"Time to go!" I say, and start the car up again. The engine springs to life and we jolt forward.
We're on the main road, heading for Seahaven. As we're racing round a winding cliff, we're still being chased by the helicopter. The door slides open and a SKUM agent brings up his machine-gun and fires.
"I'm starting to get sick and tired of having hot lead rain all over me!" I shout as I zig-zag between lanes. Suddenly, I remember the gun that I took from the SKUM agent earlier. I use one hand to draw the weapon, pulling it out from my belt.
"Martha – take the wheel!" I say.
She grabs the wheel and tries to keep the car under control while I take aim…
And empty the gun.
The first bullet goes nowhere. The second hots the gun-toting guard, causing him to drop his weapon. The third hits his head, and he falls out of the helicopter. The fourth hits the tail rotor, causing one of the propeller blades to break off, throwing the craft into a spin. The pilot fights for control, and tries to bring the chopper towards us, threatening to slice up the car and us. The fifth and sixth bullets hit him. The helicopter wobbles, pulls back, and then plunges down.
There's an explosion – a ball of flame and a fist of grey smoke. A moment later there's another explosion.
"Oh, my God, Jenny! That was insanely awesome! You're awesome!" Carrie screams excitedly.
"You know it!" I reply, taking wheel again. I glance in the rear-view mirror – and my eyes go wide when another helicopter appears.
"Oh, you have got to be shitting me!" I exclaim.
I gun the engine and spurt forward. The helicopter does the same. I look to the mirror again. A SKUM agent's head pops out from the window of the chopper – followed by the automatic weapon he's carrying.
"Get down, everyone!" I cry.
A barrage of bullets strikes the back of the car. The brutal impact causes an explosion.
"Jenny – the car's on fire!" Rose shrieks.
"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, shit, shit!" I chant. The flames are flickering higher and I'm losing what control I have.
"Guys, you need to make a break for it!" I say. "You're gonna have to jump – right now!"
"What?" Carrie cries. "But what about…?"
"Do as she says!" Martha orders.
I watch as Rose and Carrie jump out of the car and land in a painful roll on the side of the road. The car swerves, out of control. A moment later I drive through a guardrail and over the edge of the cliff…
However, Martha and I jump out. We grab a hold of each other and I launch the belt buckle from my Grappling Belt to a branch growing out of the sheer rock face, and we're suspended in the air. Martha and I watch as the car falls down…
Down…
Down…
SMACK! It hits the water with a colossal splash and sinks a few seconds later like a stone.
"Blimey, that was close," I say. I turn to Martha. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," she replies. "What about you?"
"Same."
The noise of the helicopter fills my ears. I activate the cloaking device, and Martha and I become invisible. The helicopter hovers where the car drove off the cliff. The wind rushes into me, hammering my body. Seconds later, the craft flies away.
"The SKUM agents must think that we're dead," I assume. "It's better to let them think that. We can follow them and see where they're taking everybody. Come on – we better get back up and collect Rose and Carrie."
I reel myself and Martha to the branch and after I detach the belt buckle from the branch, we begin the long, arduous climb to the top. At one point, one of my hands slips, and I hang for a second before regaining my grip and finishing the climb.
It takes us another five minutes to reach the top, and sure enough, SKUM is there, encircling Rose and Carrie who have their hands raised. I suddenly realized that the guards haven't spotted me or Martha… yet. I grab Martha's hand and activate the cloaking device – just as one of the SKUM agents look up at the mangled guardrail. The agent, a thin, fair-haired man, walks over to where the car went over and looks down the cliff.
"Shame about the car," he says with a Scottish accent. "I was looking forward to confiscating it."
The Scotsman heads back to the other agents and tells them to take their captives to the submarine.
Martha and I can only watch helplessly as Rose and Carrie are escorted to the Jeep by the SKUM agents, their guns pointing at the girls so that they don't try anything. Once everyone is inside, the Jeep starts up and drives off, leaving me and Martha standing on the dark, lonely road.
"Deactivate cloaking device," I say quietly. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have forced the girls to jump out of the car. If only I…
"We'll have none of that, thank you." Martha's voice startles me.
"Huh?" I turn to her. "None of what?"
"Wallowing in self-pity. And don't try to deny it – I can see it on your face. It's the same face that James and Frankie used to pull when they tried to blame themselves."
Damn, this woman is good.
"You mustn't blame yourself for what's happened to Rose and Carrie," Martha continues. "You put their safety first before your own – that's what an MI9 agent is supposed to do. Yes, they got caught, but you know what? We're going to get them back. We're going to save them – the townspeople, too. So are you going to continue this 'woe is me' lark… or are you going to get your act together and do what you do best?"
There's a long pause. I break into a badass smile. "Let's save our friends and kick some arse," I say.
Martha smiles back. "That's more like it."
I use my watch to change into my aquatic flight suit. I do the same to Martha.
"You ready?" I ask, and my future mother-in-law nods.
We activate the suit flight pack and we take off and follow the Jeep, being extra careful not to get spotted.
It takes us ten minutes to get back to Crescent Cove. As the Jeep stops at the Marina, the submarine pulls out to sea. One moment it's there, sleek and silver, gliding through the water. Then it sinks below the surface, disappearing as quickly as a bad dream. Just when I thought it'll be good time to lay some hurt, the SKUM agents drag Rose and Carrie, who are handcuffed, out of the Jeep and down the harbour… where a smaller submarine is waiting. It has a bumper on either side with a light attached to it, a propeller, and a harpoon on top of the propeller. The sub is a mixture of green and purple.
The SKUM agents place Rose and Carrie at the aft, and then they enter the cockpit. Martha and I watch as the mini submarine submerges.
"Let's do this," I say. I take Martha's hand and once again, I activate the cloaking device. Together, we dive in after the sub.
I feel like I'm in a black, swirling, freezing version of hell. But after I turn on my headlamp, I can just make out the tail of the sub. Turning to Martha, I nod at the direction that we need to go. She nods back and together we swim forward, using our flight packs to catch up with the mini sub in a matter of matters, and stay close to its side.
"I take it this wouldn't be your first time gate-crashing your classic James Bond-Villain Crazy-Man underwater base, is it?" I ask Martha.
"It's my second," she replies. "The first time I did it, James and I were investigating a series of kidnappings, and we encountered a man called Captain Iglo who was trying to create a modern day Noah's Ark with the intention of repopulating the world in the event of a nuclear holocaust."
"Cool. I can't wait until I hear the full story after this mission."
We carry on swimming in silence. I wonder how long we've been under water. Five minutes? Ten? No matter – the point is that Martha and I have to stop the Grandmistress' dastardly scheme and save Rose, Carrie and the Crescent Cove townspeople.
We're coming, guys. We're coming – don't worry.
It seems like hours later when Martha and I see where the large and mini sub is heading up ahead. It's your typical Bond villain lair that's overly elaborate in both scale and opulence.
The base is a giant jewel-tone green dome that is built upon some large supports. The uppermost deck is covered with a glass canopy that offers a 360-degree view of SKUM's underwater surroundings. On the top of the base is a rotatable spring-loaded gun, and mounted above the entrance doors are two harpoon cannons that look like Gatling guns. Each one consists of six spears.
We watch as the large and mini sub enters the opening.
"You ready, Martha?" I ask, even though I know the answer.
"Always," she says, and we follow the subs inside.
Once the large sub reaches the dock inside, the conning tower opens and the Crescent Cove residents climb out on deck. The same goes for the mini sub. The canopy opens and the SKUM agents force Rose and Carrie on deck and take them away. Martha and I climb out of the pool and follow the four.
From the docking pad leads a walkway to a bulkhead which connects to a botanical garden the size of a city. The garden is composed of brown plants and large compost heaps. Not so much as the Garden of Eden, more like the Garden of Evil. There are thousands of people digging and pulling up dead plants while the SKUM agents watch from either the ground of the viewing platforms. There are also hundreds of television screens around the dome, playing various TV programmes.
Not that anyone is watching.
While we're walking, I notice two familiar faces. One is the artists that I saw at the beach and the other is the B&B host. Both of them are digging, fatigued and sleepy.
"Come on, you lazy bastard, put your back into it!" an incredibly fit black SKUM agent shouts, shoving the old man to the ground.
I clench my teeth and narrow my eyes at what I see. As much as I want to rip that guy's head off, I can't afford to blow me and Martha's cover. All I can do is watch the helpless B&B host gingerly get back on feet and carry on with his work. I look away and carry on tailing the other SKUM agents who holding my team-mates captive.
Martha and I follow the group to the lift where it takes us to the top deck. We go across the platform and stop outside large glass doors where you can see the inside of the office. There is a large desk and chairs, a couple of sofas, in the corner a fridge, on the wall a couple of prints. A boring executive office. Perfect for a boring executive, not a criminal mastermind. There is a gold name-plate next to the door that spells out Grandmistress, CEO in a fancy font. On the other opposite side is an intercom system. One of the SKUM agents, broad with a bit of a beer gut, presses the call button.
As her back is turned to the door, I only see a single hand pick up the phone. "Yes?" the Grandmistress answers.
"Ma'am, we've picked up a couple of new recruits," the SKUM agent says with a strange, slightly foreign accent. "They're quite young and fit. And from the way that they're dressed, they look like they work for the government."
There's a pause.
Then there's a bleep and the doors part open. The SKUM agents take the girls in the office, with me and Martha following behind. Rose and Carrie are forced to sit down. Their handcuffs are removed. The guards leave. It's just the five of us now – or the three of them since Martha and I are invisible.
The Grandmistress spins her chair around and stands up. She's a tall and slim woman. Her sandy blonde hair is styled in glamorous waves and a coat of red lipstick complements her dress suit. A fitted collarless iridescent green and purple jacket with gold studs. The jacket is paired with an iridescent green pencil skirt. The Grandmistress' accessories include diamond jewellery. She also wears green high heel shoes.
"Well, look at what the cat dragged in," she starts, leaning against the front of her desk. "It's the Double-O-Nothings. I would say that it's nice to see you again, but we both know that that's very untrue."
Rose and Carrie stay silent.
"You know," the Grandmistress continues, "the last time we met, I was planning to launch a rocket that was supposed to destroy MI9, the Grandmaster and SKUL, and anyone who lived within the Greater London area. But then you two brats and your other bratty friends from MI9 diverted the rocket and set it on course for the ocean – where I happened to be on my luxury yacht! The force of the explosion from the rocket sent me flying into the water and destroyed my yacht in the process. And even though I survived, it came at a price…"
The Grandmistress tucks her hair behind her ear, revealing her face. Half of her face is normal, even pretty. The other half is a shiny mass of scar tissue from where she was burnt in the rocket explosion.
Carrie is half-smiling. "Nice to see that your face matches your top," she says.
The Grandmistress' hand shoots out and she gives Carrie a sharp slap across the face.
"Take that smirk off your face! It's you and your friends faults that I look this way, you little bitch!" the two-faced woman shouts. Her lightly tanned face flushes face. Her eyes staring into Carrie's, like daggers. I have a good mind to march over to the Grandmistress and slap the bitch myself. But I keep my cool – for now.
"Anyway," she continues, regaining her composure, "after recovering from that… mishap, I decided to build a new business empire. I spent the last couple of years building it up as you saw on your way up here."
"And you have the people of Crescent Cove doing slave labour to make that business happen," says Rose.
"SKUM, Incorporated is a business where the employees are allowed to sleep only if they work really hard."
"It looks like these people haven't been getting any sleep as we saw when we came to Crescent Cove," says Carrie. Her cheek is scarlet red and must be still smarting from where the Grandmistress had hit her. "They look like they haven't slept in three weeks."
"Six weeks to be exact," says the Grandmistress. "I'm a very anal person, so I like to make sure that my work is absolute perfection."
"Well, from the look at that garden, it seems to me that it may need a bit more perfecting. I never really had you down as the green-fingered supervillain."
"That's because I don't plan on growing plants. I'm going to destroy them. And you two are going to help me."
"Oh, yeah? What with?"
"You just have to ask," Rose murmurs.
"Oh, I can be very persuasive, as you're about to see," says the Grandmistress. She grabs a small remote control from her table and presses a button.
Suddenly, steel bands in the chairs arms and legs snap shut on the girls' wrists, holding them in place.
As Rose and Carrie struggle to break free, the Grandmistress presses another button on the remote. A king-size television screen slides up from the desk which immediately flickers into life.
"…will have a pleasant day tomorrow followed by another pleasant night in Crescent Cove," the weatherman announces in a monotonous voice.
Rose and Carrie stop struggling and watch the screen. Their eyes begin to shrink.
"That's right, girls. Keep watching the TV – it's good for you," says the Grandmistress, and lets out an evil laugh.
Time to shut this party down.
I give Martha's hand a squeeze. She squeezes back. We make our way to the TV. I bring out my Lipstick Stun Gun from my utility belt and I'm about to jab it in the back of the TV…
"Not so fast!" the Grandmistress says as she grabs my wrist.
My eyes go wide. "What?!" I gasp.
"Sorry. Did I forget to mention that I'm wearing special Infrared X-ray Contact Lenses? How very silly of me. Did you really think you could pull a fast one on me like that, thinking I wouldn't see you if you try and stop my plans? Well you've got another thing com…"
I slam my head into the Grandmistress', and her grip on me is lost. She staggers back, her nose running with blood.
"My God, you supervillains talk too much!" I exclaim. I deactivate my cloaking device and Martha and I become visible.
"Aw, what's wrong, Grandmistress? Did you not see that coming?" I sass.
The two-faced supervillain glares at me with immense hate. "You bitch!" she spits, blood dribbling. She feels her nose gingerly. "You're going to wish you never did that."
"And you're gonna wish that you never crossed with us when we're finished with you," Martha retorts.
"Damn straight," I say. "I've already made a call to MI9. They're already making their way here as we speak."
The Grandmistress giggles. "Forgive me if I don't believe you," she says. Her face is suddenly stone. "And forgive me when I order your spy kids to end your lives."
She presses the button on the remote and the restraints snap back into the chair. "Stand up, girls," she says.
Rose and Carrie stand up obediently.
"Turn around this way," the Grandmistress instructs.
The girls turn to face me and Martha. Their faces are expressionless.
The Grandmistress stands behind the girls and leans forward. "Kill them," she whispers with a smirk.
Martha and I start to back away as Rose and Carrie start walking towards us.
"Girls – you must snap out of it!" says Martha, still backing away. "We're your friends, not your enemy."
"Come on, girls. Old buddies, old pals, old friends," I say.
I feel my back against the wall. Martha, the same. Rose and Carrie stop in front of us, looking bland and showing no emotion.
There's nowhere to go.
This is it.
"Any last words?" the Grandmistress asks, looking smug.
"Just this," I say. "Here's smoke in your eye!"
I drop a smoke bomb (that I got out of my utility belt when the Grandmistress was howling in pain from when I headbutt her nose) and the room fills with thick grey smoke. I use one hand to grab Martha by the wrist and shoving past Rose, Carrie and the Grandmistress, I use the other hand to grab one of the chairs and hurl it at the glass doors. An almighty crash is heard as the doors break and shatter. Martha and I make exit the Grandmistress' office, coughing and spluttering.
"Are you OK, Martha?" I ask.
"I… I will be when we get out of here," she responds.
The alarm goes off. A klaxon barking electronically around the dome, echoing everywhere. Overhead, a red light begins to flash red. The lift doors open, and SKUM agents exit from it and head towards me and Martha. I look over the platform. We must be at least one hundred feet from the ground.
"Looks like we're taking the long way down," I say.
"Agreed," Martha replies. "See you at the bottom!"
She jumps over the balcony. I follow. I do a forward dive before activating my flight pack and landing safely on the ground, next to Martha.
Then we run. We run for our lives. We pound along the soil and dead plants, heading for the exit. We barge into people, zigzagging past those who can't budge, bumping and jostling. I realize the only reason the SKUM agents aren't firing is that they are either afraid of hitting the townspeople or the bullets will ricochet and hit the glass, and the pressure from the water will crack the windows, drowning and killing everyone.
A whooshing sound shoots through the air. I hear Martha scream, and I turn. Martha is on the ground – tendrils have ensnared her. She's struggling to break free from her restraints.
I take a few steps forward…
"Leave me! Save yourself!" Martha cries.
"What – are you crazy?! No way!" I respond.
"It'll be no good if the two of us are caught. You're the only one who can send a message to MI9 about what is happening. Now go – get out of here!"
Footsteps approach. I look up to see a large group of SKUM agents coming towards us.
"Go!" Martha tells me. "Now!"
I dither for another second. Then I turn and run.
Don't worry, Martha, I'll save you. And Rose and Carrie. And everybody in Crescent Cove. I'll save you all.
I suddenly stop. Up straight ahead, SKUM agents have blocked my path and are coming for me. It's the same when I look over my shoulder.
That's it. I'm trapped. I have nowhere left to go…
Except through this door on my left. Before a guard has a chance to make a grab at me, I drop a smoke bomb, giving me the chance to slip away. I go into the door, and encase the handle with my freeze grenade, though it won't hold for long.
I take a look at my surroundings. The room is spacious. Here are all the technological pieces, the heart of the laboratory. It includes several machines and a desk with a computer monitor and a large translucent viewing screen. A few machines are connected to a glass container full of water. There is also a maintenance rack with an underwater scoot that is hanging on a small crane. Directly below it is a large opening in the middle of the floor.
An exit!
The door shakes with the shock of a hard blow. The ice on the handle is starting to crack. I move away from the door and run to the opening.
Suddenly the door flies open and bangs against the wall with a sound like a dynamite exploding. The SKUM agents chase after me – but I jump through the opening and splash into the water. Looking down through the water, I can see a ramp that ends in a transparent tunnel. I swim along the ramp, through the tunnel and out of the base. I take one look over my shoulder. Nobody is following me.
Finally, I got myself out…
Or so I thought.
Something flashes past me through the water. I look at what it was. A harpoon. No wonder no-one is following me – they're firing at me! Another harpoon is launched at me. I swim to the side, narrowly avoiding it. I activate my flight pack and swim forwards. Just then another harpoon tears through my wet suit. Water pours in, so cold, such a shock.
I'm really frightened now.
I need to get to the surface. Like, right now!
I rise up, weaving my way through the water until I am high enough for the harpoons not to reach me. I break through the surface of the water and begin my journey back to land.
At first, I thought I can head for London and warn Director Fairchild about what's happening. But seeing as I'm currently flying over the English Channel, it'll take twice as long. And by that time, the Grandmistress will executing her plan right this second. I come to a halt. What time is it? 2:43 A.M. Director Fairchild will be asleep. But I have to call her, and tell her to bring the guys in. I'll be disrupting their beauty sleep too, but I'll make it up to them, I promise.
I make a call to the director. The phone rings for ages before she picks up.
"Hello?" she answers, sounding groggy.
"Ma'am, it's Jenny – Agent Brownstone," I reply. "You need to make a call to Frank and the others. Tell them this: SKUM is back."