(Frank's POV)

"Hey, Frank, wake up – we're here."

I awake by a hand on my shoulder and I rub the drool from the corner of my mouth. I slip out of the car and join Zeke, Oscar and Percy on the pavement – all of us carrying the same exhausted look on our faces due to the all day/night stag do we have had.

I hurt. My body is covered in bruises after spending a full day of paintballing in the beautiful woodland on London's Essex borders. The first few hours were a barrel of laughs and high-octane action to see who can get covered in the most paint. (Guess who came out on top?) Then after lunch we came across another stag party and it became a missile command scenario which saw us attacking (and defending) a bunker as me and the others competed in capturing the flag. Naturally our team won due to our spying instincts – we took everything way too seriously, planning out tactical manoeuvres and military plans. Anyway after our paintballing session, we travelled back to London and stepped through time and into the Middle Ages for a medieval banquet located at St. Katherine Docks. We were served courses of delicious food that we ate in true medieval fashion, with lots of tearing with hands and slurping down. And all of it was washed down with huge amounts of ale and wine (soft drinks for Oscar). Throughout the event there was plenty of entertainment such as jesters, knight duels and more. And after the two-hour banquet, we enjoyed a disco at the venue which finished at 12:30 a.m. Afterwards, the guys and I took an Uber back to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel located in the Knightsbridge district of London where we all ground to a halt on our luxuriously comfortable beds… only for my phone to start ringing at quarter to three in the morning.

I tried to ignore it, I really did. But the ringing was non-stop and I don't think this person was going to let up, so I had no choice but to answer it. I was ready to give this person a piece of my mind – ready to eff and blind about why they were calling me in the middle of the night – but bit my tongue when I heard Director Fairchild's voice on the other line telling me to wake everyone up and to come to her house this instance as it was an emergency before she hung up.

I immediately jumped out of bed and did what she asked. I woke up Percy, Oscar and Zeke (mainly by pulling back their duvets) and told them that Director Fairchild wanted us. While very peeved, everyone got up and got dressed. Then we left our room and headed out of the hotel – only to be surprised that Stark was waiting for us outside, looking even more peeved off then me and others put together. Looks like the director gave him the same message like the rest of us. Anyway, the five of us got into Stark's car and we made the ten-minute journey to Director Fairchild's luxury apartment in Buckingham Gate, Westminster.

So here we all are – standing outside the director's house wondering why she called us over. After stretching and yawning, I follow the others to the door.

Just as Stark takes out a key to open the door my phone starts to ring – as do everybody else's. I take out my phone and see an unknown number flash on the screen. Unlike before, I am more than willing to ignore this. I reject the call and pocket my phone – just as Stark opens the door.

We follow Stark inside and I shut the door behind me – and I get a text alert on my phone. Again, everybody's phones pings with a text alert. I take out my phone and read the text. 'Watch me' it says, and a link – from an unknown number. Before I have a chance to delete the text, Director Fairchild's voice comes out from the next room.

"Everyone, come quickly! The Grandmistress is on television!"

My eyes go wide, now fully awake. "What?" Stark and I cry out.

"What the hell!" Percy exclaims at the same moment.

"It can't be!" says Oscar.

The four of us go through to the next room – and I gasp.

In front of me on the widescreen TV is the Grandmistress. Emerald green eyes stare into mine. Her sandy blonde hair topples over her shoulders, and has a large bang of hair that tries and fails to obscure the right side of her face which is disfigured and scarred. The Grandmistress is giving us the kind of supercilious smile that has reduced more smug jerks like Stark to ashes.

"Oh, my God," I whisper.

"Greetings, people of Earth. This is the Grandmistress," she says. "Do not attempt to adjust your set as I have taken control of all airwaves and electronic devices in the world to bring you this message."

I look to my phone. I look to the message that I was just about to delete. It was from the Grandmistress – the phone call, too. I click the link and, lo and behold, she appears on the screen of my mobile.

"Unless every nation on the planet surrenders to me, I will destroy all of the world's vegetation with a rocket," she continues. "And to show you all that I'm not bluffing, let me demonstrate the weapon's destructive power!"

The Grandmistress switches over to a wilderness area – a calm, green, vibrant land. Suddenly a rocket hits the lush forest, decimating it and turning it to ash and sand.

"That was just a simulation, but just think, your garden might look like that in the morning," says the Grandmistress when she switches back. "You have until 6 a.m., UK time. Let's hope that your country's world leader makes the right choice. Toodles!"

Just as the transmission ends, I catch a glimpse of three familiar faces walking behind her.

I gasp as I recognize them – so does Oscar. "Oh, my God! That's Rose and Carrie. SKUM has them doing slave labour!" he cries.

"They have my mother too!" I exclaim.

"Man," Percy says, "that doesn't sound like much of a hen party."

"Wait – what about Jen? I didn't see her before the transmission ended."

"Agent Brownstone is fine." We turn to Director Fairchild. "She managed to escape and is flying back to Crescent Cove as we speak. She was the one who called me to tell you that SKUM is back."

Zeke puts his hand up. "Er, excuse me if I sound like a total dunce, but what is SKUM? And who was the Grandmistress lady? Is she, like, the Grandmaster's daughter or something?"

"SKUM stands for Superior Krew for Ultimate Maximization. And they are just that. At SKUM, they consider efficiency to be of the utmost importance in everything that they do. From creating innovative products, to manufacturing toys and all kinds of nefarious criminal activities in between, you can count of SKUM for a fast, efficient and cost-effective job well done," I explain.

"And the woman who you saw on TV is the founder and leader of the organization, Anita Kane – aka the Grandmistress," Oscar adds. "She is in no way related to the Grandmaster. He would rather throw himself off the Shard than have people think that the Grandmistress was his daughter or wife. He absolutely hates her guts – especially since she once took control of SKUL with the help of animatronic animals as she is a toy factory owner. Rose and Carrie managed to defeat her – with the help of the Grandmaster."

"But then she was released from prison some time later and was allowed to give her input as to how MI9 could improve its operation as a part of her rehabilitation," Percy continues. "But somehow she made every MI9 operative – including myself – get stranded in the Himalayas and escaped. And guess which bright spark thought that exercise was a brilliant idea?"

Everyone looks to Stark.

"Oh, sure," he retorts. "Blame me. I'm not exactly a mind reader, am I? If I'd known she'd pull a stunt like that, I would have never considered letting her out. Besides, Agent Cole and the rest of the MI High team defeated her again – this time with the help of their school friends."

"And now she's back," Director Fairchild interjects. "This time, she has brainwashed the whole population of Crescent Cove into her slaves. Agents, it's obvious what you must do – you have to travel to SKUM's base underneath the English Channel to stop the Grandmistress and save the town, as well as Agents Gupta and Stewart and Martha."

"We have less than three hours before the Grandmistress launches the rocket," I say, looking at my watch. "Getting to Crescent Cove is fine. But getting to SKUM's underwater base is a different story. How do you suppose we get there?"

"We can take BABS," says Zeke. We turn to him. "BABS stands for 'Beautiful and Badass Supercar' – a supercomputer on wheels that's bulletproof and contains an assortment of weapons and gadgets such as front- and back-mounted machine guns. The car is also equipped with a smokescreen canister and oil slick dispenser, and extendable tyre-studs – for increased traction. Oh, and it's a custom-built submarine that's capable of flight, so getting to SKUM's base will be a doddle."

"Wow, Zeke. That's brilliant!" says Oscar, impressed. "We should head over to MI9 to get it."

"No need to – she's parked outside." We stare at Zeke with bemused expressions. "As soon as I heard Director Fairchild say that Jen flew back to Crescent Cove, I summoned the car. BABS was in silent mode, meaning she can run silently. The feature dampens her engine noise and allows her to sneak around. That's why you didn't hear her. And it's perfect for when we approach SKUM's base."

"Then it's settled," says Director Fairchild. "And while you make your way to the base, I'll alert the Royal Navy and have them on standby." She picks up her phone and makes the call.

The rest of us use our Spy Watches to change into our spy outfits and leave the house. A navy-blue BMW F33 Series 4 is parked in the middle of the road – BABS. But seeing as Percy, Zeke and I had too much to drink earlier in the evening and Oscar is not quite old enough to drive, the car keys are (reluctantly) handed over to Stark.

"Not a scratch," Zeke warns Stark.

Percy, Oscar and I climb into the backseats of BABS while Zeke slides into the front passenger side and Stark gets behind the wheel and start the car.

"Once we're in the air, BABS will be flying at the maximum speed of one hundred and fifty-five miles per hour," Zeke explains, activating the car's flight mode. "By my calculations we should reach Crescent Cove in exactly forty-one minutes and twenty-five seconds."

BABS elevates itself some distance from the ground through some repulsion technology, presumably exploiting some short range anti-gravity principle so as to eliminate most friction forces which act against conventional vehicles. Stark floors it and BABS leaps forward.

The car speeds down the street, then blasts off into the night sky like a streak.

"This is incredible," Oscar says in awe.

"This is amazing," I say, agreeing.

"This is the way to travel," says Percy, head pillowed on his arms.

"Please," Stark scoff. "This is no different than riding on an airplane."

"Spoilsport," Percy mutters.

"But Stark, this is a flying car!" says Zeke. "A vehicle that looks, drives and behaves exactly like an automobile… except flying! I have built what has been depicted in the many works of fantasy and science fiction, and what many many many people have attempted to make themselves. But believe you me when I say that certain person, other than yours truly, builds that flying car, it'll be the future. It'll show just how far technology has advanced."

"Wow, Zeke. You really believe that everyone will own a flying car in the future?" I ask.

"Of course I do. I mean you'll have to wait at least thirty-six years before the first conventional flying car will literally take off, give or take – and then everybody will own one a few years later. Although it might be another fifty years before they might include the gadgets such as the missiles, nitro boost and ejection seats, etc. Now less talk on the flying car and more focus on the mission at hand…"

Oscar begins yawning.

"And more focus on us staying awake and sober during the mission. And I have something for that." I hear Zeke open the glove box and have a rummage round before closing it. "I've got a couple of packets of chewable glucose and caffeine tablets for everyone. The glucose will help boost your energy, while the caffeine will help you stay awake and enhance your mental alertness and concentration."

Everyone takes one of each tablet. I'm certainly starting to become a bit energetic and lively than I was a few hours ago. If it wasn't for those supplements, I would have conked out halfway into our journey.

After the tablets have been passed out, we all ride in silence, now concentrating on the mission as Zeke advised us to.

While part of me is focused on what we have to do, another part of me is thinking about Jen. I have a sudden impulse to call her, to ask her how she is, is she safe, and to tell her that me and the others are on our way to stop the Grandmistress and save the town

But no.

We both made a promise not to get in contact with each other, no matter how bad one of us is doing. Besides if Jen is in trouble, she'll contact Zeke or Oscar. I just hope that she's OK.

It's nearly half an hour later when BABS pulls to a stop. "Here we are, guys," says Zeke. "Crescent Cove."

I peer down at the seaside resort. This moderate-sized town is located by the West Sussex coast and has a quaint atmosphere. I notice at the beach that the cove is the shape of a crescent moon, hence the name of the town.

"Whoa – this place is like a ghost town," Percy comments. "The roads are empty, the beach is deserted, and the houses of entertainment are closed."

"Looks can be deceiving, Perce," says Zeke. "Let me have BABS run a surveillance scan on the town. That way, we'll be able to detect people and vehicles and track their movements and discern proximity." A moment later the entire front windshield displays a holographic map of Crescent Cove. There are a few dots clustered in the south of the town. "There seems to be a handful of people down at the marina."

"The SKUM agents," Oscar deduces.

"Hm. And there's a few more patrolling the town entrance, so people are not allowed in. Fortunately for us, I can put BABS in stealth mode so those a-holes won't be able to see us."

I notice something on the screen. "Hey, look. There seems to be some people hiding in that building – the one near the beachfront," I say, pointing to the three dots.

Zeke does a close-up of the building. "They seem to be hiding in a B&B called Lily Cottage on the Primrose Terrace road. Maybe they broke free from the Grandmistress' brainwashing and hid from the SKUM agents."

"We should stop by and see if they're OK," Oscar suggests.

"No way!" Stark interjects. "Director Fairchild gave us strict instructions to head for SKUM's base and put a stop to the Grandmistress' plans."

"Yes – but at the same time those people could be young children or OAPs who must be scared out of their minds, considering that a criminal organization has taken over a whole community and brainwashed them!" says Percy.

"For all we know that could be Agent Brownstone hiding out with them."

"I don't think so," says Zeke. "If that was Jen, I would have seen her cat symbol on the screen. And before anyone asks – yes, I still use the Cat tech from when she was a crime-fighter. It makes things easier. Besides, she would have called to give us her location."

"I still think we should check on them," I urge. "Look, why don't me and Percy drop in at the B&B and check on the guests, while the rest of you head over to the base?"

"That sounds like a plan to me. What say you, Stark?"

Stark wants to refuse my request, but relents. "Fine," he grumbles. "London and Reed can drop in at the B&B."

"Gee, thanks, Stark," Percy murmurs sarcastically.

Even though I can only see the back of his head, I can tell that Stark is rolling his eyes.

"There are parachutes under the front seats," Zeke says.

I pull out the parachute from under Zeke's seat. I unbuckle my seatbelt and strap the bundle on my back. Percy does the same with his.

"Before you go, I have a couple of toys for you should you run into trouble." Zeke twists around in his seat. He holds up a ballpoint pen. "First, I have the Ballpoint Pen Grenade. It contains a flashbang grenade. A four-second fuse is armed after three clicks in succession and will temporarily impair visionary and auditory capabilities to those near after detonation. However you'll be unaffected due to the Sound Dampening Earplugs and Extreme Glare Goggles that come with the pen." He holds up the devices in his other hand.

I take the gadgets and pocket them. "Anything else?" I ask.

"Just this." Zeke produces two portable hand-held torches. "It may look like a regular torch, but get this – it's a torch with a hidden 55,000,000 volt stun gun inside it. The powerful voltage is emitted from two dual tipped prongs located on the head of the flashlight. When triggered, the crackling spark of the electricity can easily scare off would-be assailants by the sound alone. If this doesn't scare them off then the stopping power of 55M volts will." He hands the torches to me and Percy, and we clip them on our belts.

"Thanks," we say.

"No problem. Let me bring the top down – it'll be easier for you two to jump out of the car." Zeke presses a button on BABS's dash, and opens the retractable hardtop. "All the best, gents," he says.

"Good luck," Oscar adds.

"Likewise," Percy replies, and he jumps out of the car, with me following suit a few seconds later.

Once I'm over the threshold, I put my arms back and streak across the sky in aerodynamic perfection, catching up with Percy. We have been flying at four thousand feet. At that height, the skydiving will last thirty seconds – that's how long Percy and I will be in freefall.

After the time passes, Percy gives me a nod as an indication to deploy the chute. I nod back and together we jerk our rip cords. The parachute blossoms open above me and I jerk upwards, the harness cutting into my armpits and sides.

The tumble dryer effect continues for a few seconds and then it stops. I'm still floating, dreamlike in the quiet, quiet air.

Grabbing hold of the cords, I use them to steer myself. Down and down and down I go, gently floating closer and closer to the houses and streets below. Somehow I manage to manoeuvre myself over the beach, falling at the last few hundred feet.

I'm flying, floating, soaring across the sky – and if I wasn't on a mission, I would find this experience the most amazing and freeing feeling. I just hope the SKUM agents don't spot me and Percy.

I sweep in to land and my graceful out-of-body experience ends in a graceless heap on the sand. It has been a while since I last went parachuting. Seconds later Percy joins me. We gather our chutes and place them by the wall. Then we run – out of the beach, down the road and up the hill. We keep low and stay in the shadows to remain undetected by the SKUM agents.

A few minutes later Percy and I arrive at a row of attractive terraces of narrow Victorian townhouses. All of the doors to the B&Bs are wide open. All, except the one at the end. Lily Cottage. We walk up to the green door and I knock on it. No answer.

I knock again and call into the house. "Hello – anybody home?" No reply. "This is MI9. Are you OK?"

Silence.

I step off the doorstep and look up at the windows. All the lights are off, and there is no sign of movement.

"They must have barricaded themselves in the bathroom or something," I reason. "There must be another way of getting in. Maybe we can smash the window…"

Percy kicks the door open.

"Or we can do that," I add quickly.

I follow Percy into the small entryway. We peek into the dark living room. The curtains are closed. We switch on our torches and sweep the from side to side.

"No-one here," says Percy.

"Let's try upstairs," I respond.

We make our way quietly up the stairs. When we get to the top, the beams of light from our torches play over the open doors and empty bedrooms – apart from the two closed doors at the other end of the landing.

"You take the door on the left. I'll take the one at the end," I whisper, and Percy nods.

I walk over and silently turn the knob. The door squeaks quietly as I push it open. I raise my torch and aim it inside.

I see two people sleeping in one of the double beds. I swing the torch in an arc and move closer to see who they are.

When I reach the bed, I see two young ladies – one lying on her side in a foetal position and the other lying on her back, both unmoving, softly snoring.

My mouth forms a small O of surprise when I recognize who they are. Its Jen's sister, Livi and her friend, Emmeline!

"Oh."

So these are the people who are hiding out. That means that Theresa, Jen's mother, is here too. And this explains why they didn't hear the door – they're all asleep. But I'm surprised they didn't wake up when Percy kicked the door down. I wonder why.

And it's then that I notice something on the back of Livi's hand – a small transdermal patch.

I snap my fingers when I discover what it is. "Of course – the Deep Sleep Patch!" I murmur. "Good thinking, Rose."

Knowing that the girls are OK, I tiptoe out of the room and close the door.

I go into the next room. Everything is still, except for Theresa's muffled breathing in the bed across from me. I see Percy looking out of the window, cupping his ear. I wonder whatever for.

I walk over to the window. "What are you doing, Percy?" I ask.

He raises a finger to his lips. "Listen," Percy says quietly, his eyes straight ahead.

I listen.

There's a faint, low humming noise, like the sound of a washing machine. Then silence. A few seconds later it's back, a low-frequency buzz/hum.

"What is that?" I enquire.

"It's coming from those satellite dishes up ahead," Percy replies. "Look."

I peer out of the window. There's a great park I can see from where we are, with hills and trees. On one of the hills is an observatory, recognized by the giant telescope and white spherical exterior. Outside the observatory I see some antennas, radio receivers and a couple of satellite dishes. But there's something not quite right about those dishes.

"How strange," I breathe. "Those dishes should be aimed at the sky, not at the town."

"My thoughts exactly," Percy responds. "Let's head up there and find out why."

We creep out of the bedroom, closing the door behind us and down the stairs. We leave the B&B and run through the dark, deserted streets to the park.

Past the beach, down the road for a bit, turning left and up another road, running and running. I see iron gates right up at the end of the road.

"There's the park," I say.

Its pitch dark when we enter, but the pebbly paths in the park are alight by street lamps. We run past the lake; the sports pitches; and children's adventure playground. There's a big hill right in front of us, roughly in the centre of the park. On the top of the hill is the observatory.

"That looks like a steep climb," says Percy, panting slightly. "Come on, race you to the top."

We both start scrambling upwards. As Percy mentioned, it's a steep climb. I can feel the muscles in my legs tightening up and I feel more out of breathe than ever after all the running I've done. But we soldier on, trudging up the slope.

We nearly reach the top when Percy and I stop at the sound of low voices, and two people standing ahead of us. They're SKUM agents – and they're guarding the observatory. They both turn to walk in the other direction, when one of the guards suddenly stops and turns around as if he has sensed there is someone here – and he's not wrong! There is nowhere for us to hide. Percy and I do the only thing we can, and throw ourselves flat on the ground, burying our faces in the grass. I count slowly to five, and then look up. The SKUM agent shrugs his shoulders, turns once again and walks away.

By the time the SKUM agents have gone, Percy and I are once again up and reach the top of the hill where the guards are standing by the door… with their backs to us.

Percy and I bring out our Stun Gun Torches and slowly approach the guards. We switch on the stun feature and poke the torches against the guards' backs. They cry out spasmodically before falling in a heap, unconscious.

Quickly, Percy and I walk over the SKUM agents, up the steps and enter the observatory. The hall has a large reception area with a front desk, and a couple of prints on the wall. There's nothing much here, so Percy and I head up the spiral staircase the next floor.

We find ourselves in a not-quite-so-cavernous room containing working machines which are still running and there are books and papers lying around. Workstations are arranged in a circle around the perimeter, with rows and rows of consoles with monitors. On one screen I can see a reality TV show, on another a film, and on a third a kid's cartoon. There are different television shows being shown on the screens.

I go to one of the consoles, and type at the keyboard to switch off the monitors – but to no avail. Time for plan B – kill the power. The cables to the consoles are connected to a floor socket under the workstation. I crouch down and flip the lid. But as I reach for the plug, a miniature hologram projection appears before me. It's the Grandmistress!

She wags her finger and tuts. "Naughty, naughty. You didn't think I'd make it this easy for you now, did you?" the hologram says. "I have planted bombs in all the consoles. If you so much as unplug the machines or tamper with the bombs, they will detonate. Not only that, but if the bombs do go off, it will trigger SKUM's self-destruct setting which will destroy the base… along with the people of Crescent Cove." The Grandmistress, honour satisfied, leans forward with a smug smile. "You lose, MI9. Goodbye." And the hologram switches off.

I remove one of the panels from the console to see if the Grandmistress is bluffing.

She's not.

A big, bulky device the shape and almost twice the size of a football is attached to the wires of the console – and I can't deactivate them. Nor can I simply unplug the consoles to deactivate the bombs. There's only one thing I can say to that.

"Shit."

"Frank. C'mere a sec," says Percy. I climb to my feet and he hands me a set of headphones. "I want to show you something but not hear it," he tells me.

Curious, I put on the headphones and watch the monitor that's showing BBC News 24. Suddenly, out of nowhere, something briefly flashes on the screen.

"What was that?" I say.

"It's one of those 'blink-and-you-miss-it' frames," says Percy. "But if I slow it down, this is what you really see."

After a few types on the keyboard, Percy plays the broadcast in slow motion. This is what happens: about twenty frames into the transmission, the news breaks off, and the Grandmistress appears on the screen.

"Attention, people of Crescent Cove. This is the Grandmistress. You are to go to bed at 7 p.m. so you can report to the marina at midnight," she says.

The transmission switches back to the news. I take off my headphones.

"So that's how she's controlling the town – subliminal messages," I state. "And as she said in her other message, we can't unplug or tamper with anything without putting ourselves and the townspeople at risk."

"Then we need to figure out a way to reverse the subliminal transmission process," Percy suggests.

"Hm, yes," I say, but I'm in deep thought – a state of indecisive agitation. I want to stay and help Percy reverse the Grandmistress' mind control of the town. But at the same time, I want to go to SKUM's base and rescue Mummy, Rose and Carrie.

What should I do?

Percy answers the question for me. "Go." I turn to him. "I know you want to get to SKUM's base to save your mother and your team, and I don't mind. Believe me, if I were in your shoes, I would do the same thing. Now go – get outta here. I've got this."

I nod in affirmation. "Thanks, Percy," I say, and I head down the stairs.

"Just be careful!"

"You, too!" I call. I exit the observatory and make my way to the marina.

Don't worry, Mummy. I'm coming to save you – along with Rose, Carrie and all of Crescent Cove.

I arrive at the marina less than fifteen minutes later. I crouch down, hiding behind a few parked cars as the harbour is crawling with SKUM agents. I take a quick peek. There aren't that many guards around. But then again, they think that the town is empty and there's no-one to stop them.

That's what they think.

I take out the Sound Dampening Earplugs and insert them in my ears and put on the Extreme Glare Goggles. Then I take out the Ballpoint Pen Grenade and stand up. Following Zeke's instructions, I click three times and throw the pen. After a four-second beat, the explosive flash-bang charge detonates – followed by the SKUM agents running around, temporarily blind, disorient and confused.

I leave the cover of the cars and sprint across the harbour, pushing past the SKUM agents to find something that will get me to their underwater base. I have to be quick though – the flash-bang effects will only last for a few minutes, and if they catch me… well, let's not go there.

Fortunately, I find a small utility submersible with twin-barrelled cannons on top of it moored at the end of one of the piers. I open the glass canopy and climb aboard. After I get myself buckled in and close the canopy, I turn the key that has been left in the ignition and start the sub. I grab the joystick that's on my right and pull the vessel from its moorings. The sub slides out into the coast, and submerges, using the powerful tilting thrusters to propel me through the water. Once I'm finally settled, I take off my googles and earplugs.

I must admit I find travelling underwater in the dark a bit intimidating since I can only see what's within range of the searchlights, which is about ten feet. But at the same time it is quiet an interesting and mysterious experience. The calmness of night diving cannot be compared with diving in the day. It is completely different. And as I coast below the surface of the Channel, past the various fish, and occasional stingrays and basking sharks, I find it exciting and relaxing at the same time, giving me the chance to focus on the mission at hand.

However, about half an hour into my journey, the pleasantry is interrupted by a school of salmon scattering away out of fright. Something has disturbed them. And that's when I hear the sounds – cracks, swooshes, gunfire and explosions.

Maybe it's the Navy. They've arrived and are attacking SKUM's base. I push down on my lever and the sub speeds up, propelling myself forward. I swim a few hundred metres when I find where all the noise is coming from. Unfortunately, the sight is not what I thought it was going to be.

Several yards ahead of me, what I see is not the Navy attacking the SKUM base… but a SKUM submersible attacking BABS! Though it seems that Zeke, Stark and Oscar are holding their own, judging by the three immobile SKUM subs that are lying at the before of the Channel. Just then, the one remaining sub attacks BABS with a pair of torpedoes. This results in a cloud of smoke obscuring the car.

My eyes go wide with horror. "No," I whisper. There's no way anyone can survive an assault like that.

But as the smoke and debris clear, I see something that makes my jaw drop. "No way!" I gasp.

It's BABS!

The car is still hovering in the water – not a scratch on it. Everyone is OK – and there's a reason for it. It seems that the car is surrounded by a sphere-like barrier – a sort of deflector shield. That's what must have protected everyone from the torpedoes.

But while I'm ecstatic that everyone is alive, I can only guess that the SKUM agent who fired the missiles is one very unhappy customer after seeing that his target is in one piece. He launches another attack and fires a pair of harpoons at BABS. The spears hit the windshield – but they bounce off, leaving the glass undamaged. BABS launches a counterattack and fires a projectile at the SKUM sub. The craft is hit and is surrounded in electricity with multiple sparks coming off the sub. Everything shuts down and the sub drops to the bottom of the sea like a stone.

"Yes!" I cheer, and I can imagine that Zeke and the others are doing the same.

However, the celebrations are interrupted when something strikes BABS from behind. It's another SKUM sub! I was so caught up watching the guys beat one vessel, I didn't see the other. I watch as the other sub fire on BABS with torpedoes, creating a massive cloud of smoke – and they continue firing into the smoke cloud. While Zeke, Stark and Oscar are protected, they can't attack.

But I can.

The SKUM agent is so busy with trying to blast the guys out of the water; he doesn't see me turning my sub towards him, as I prepare my attack. I reach for the dashboard and type in the coordinates of the SKUM sub. Then I push the red button on the dashboard labelled 'CANNON'. The missiles fire and hit the SKUM sub, followed by an explosion as the craft disappears in a ball of flame.

I wait for the smoke to clear. Sure enough, BABS is intact. I proceed towards the car. But as I get nearer, more weapons begin to display themselves from various compartments of the vehicle. There's only one way to ensure they won't fire at me. I make a call on my Spy Watch.

"Frank?" Zeke answers.

"Surely you're not going to fire at the person who just saved you?" I say.

"Shut the front door! That was you?"

I respond by switching off and on my searchlights, letting the others know in Morse code that it's me.

"Holy shit, Frank! That was amazing! Thanks, man!" Zeke exclaims.

"Yeah, Frank – thanks for saving us," says Oscar.

I hear Stark mumble something in a hesitant drawl, with a few non-verbal grunts thrown in à la Marlon Brando, but I can't make out what he's saying. Then: "Ouch! Ouch! OK, OK, I'll say it again, just stop pulling my ear!" cries Stark. He clears his throat. "Thank you, Agent London. Thank you for saving us from that SKUM agent," he says reluctantly.

The corners of my mouth flicker into a smile knowing that Zeke is the one who forced Stark to express his gratitude out loud in a sincere manner. "No problem," I reply.

"So how did you and Percy get on at the B&B? Is everyone OK?" Zeke asks.

"Yeah. Theresa, Livi and Emmeline are fine. They are the people hiding out in Lily Cottage," I say. "All three are tucked up in bed, sound asleep. They won't know what's happening around them, thanks to the Deep Sleep Patches I gave Rose. Even if they do, they'll probably pass it off as a dream."

"What about Percy – is he OK? How come he's not with you?" Oscar questions.

"Don't worry, Oscar, Percy is fine. He's at the Crescent Cove space observatory, trying to reverse the Grandmistress' subliminal transmission. That's how she's controlling the town."

"Surely it would be easy for him to pull the plug," says Zeke.

I shake my head. "No can do, Zeke. If he does that, he'll risk having himself blown up. The same thing will happen if he tries to tamper with the bombs. Not only that but if they do go off, it'll trigger the self-destruct mechanism at SKUM's base and the whole population of Crescent Cove, along with Rose, Carrie and my mother, will be blown to kingdom come."

"Damn. This Grandmistress chick is more slippery than Greased-up Deaf Guy from Family Guy."

"You know, rather than all of us sitting here and chatting away like a bunch of phoneaholic teenagers, shouldn't we be making our way to the base?" Stark says impatiently.

"I agree," I say. "We better get going."

After murmurs of agreement, the four of us continue our journey and head for SKUM's base.