Big Brother (5 page)

EJ needed to check her phone but wasn't game to let go of Misty's mane.

‘Agent GG,' she said. ‘I need to get off and look at this message.'

‘Of course, EJ12. I'll take Misty back to the stables. If you need anything, I'll be in the office.'

EJ held on to Misty's mane and swung herself over and down to the ground. She stroked Misty's neck, feeling much more friendly towards her now that she was standing on her own two feet, not the pony's four. EJ sat in the grass of the paddock and looked at the message on her phone.

It's the same code as last time
, EJ realised.
But then I guess if
SHADOW
doesn't know we got the first message, there's no need for them to change the code. This will be easy.

EJ keyed the cracked code into her phone in seconds and re-read it. She didn't like what she saw.

It was the first part of the message that worried her the most: it contained the same information that GG22 had just told her.
How could
SHADOW
have known about the early return of the trainees so quickly?
But the next bit was just as worrying: ‘EJ12 here at CAT'.

That means a
SHADOW
agent is sending the message from here
, realised EJ.

EJ then had an awful thought as she remembered that GG had been using her phone when EJ was riding Misty. Had Agent GG22 been contacting
SHADOW
?

‘It can't be,' said EJ, shaking her head. ‘A1 said GG was one of
SHINE
's most trusted agents.' But then EJ had another thought. That top-level clearance meant GG knew a lot about
SHINE
's activities, information
SHADOW
would want to know. And all the information that had leaked had come from the horse CAT. And then EJ had one more, just as awful, thought.
GG22. Her code name is made up of double letters and double numbers.
Is GG22 a double agent? Is she working for both
SHINE
and
SHADOW
?
And what about HH33? Her code name has double letters and double numbers as well. Is she also a double agent?
And then EJ remembered Agent II44 out on the bush ride. GG22, HH33 and II44 were all double code names and the letters and numbers all followed each other. Was it just a coincidence? EJ knew the
SHINE
motto, ‘Coincidences are clues waiting to be caught.' She had to admit that it was possible all three were double agents working with
SHADOW
.

EJ leant against the fence and bit her lip, as she always did when she was thinking or when she was nervous. Now she was both. If II44 was a
SHADOW
agent, the trainees might be in danger and if GG22 and HH33 were double agents, so was EJ and the whole CAT. What should she do now?

Then EJ heard a voice calling out to her.

‘Is everything okay, EJ12? Are you ready for another lesson?'

EJ gulped as she turned around. It was GG22.

EJ thought quickly. ‘I'm sorry but I can't keep on with my training,' said EJ. ‘A1 has called me back. Something's come up and A1 thinks
SHADOW
is involved. I'm going to head out now.' EJ had a plan. If GG22 were a double agent, figured EJ, she would surely try to send that information on to
SHADOW
.

‘Really?' said GG, her eyebrows raised in surprise. ‘A1 didn't mention anything.'

‘Probably not,' said EJ. ‘NTK basis only.'

‘Really?' said GG, raising her eyebrows. EJ didn't think she looked convinced.

‘So, anyway, I'd better get going to the meeting point. Thanks, GG.'

‘Okay, EJ,' replied GG. ‘Good luck.' She turned and walked back towards the stables.

Did Agent GG mean that? EJ wondered as she walked down the path towards the front gate. She looked back again to see that GG22 was walking back to the office and she was on the phone again. Was she contacting
SHADOW
right now? Or was she contacting A1? If she were, A1 wouldn't know
what was happening. EJ quickly sent A1 a text.

Now EJ needed somewhere to hide. She needed GG to think she had left the centre but also to be somewhere where she could watch what went on. She would be a spy spying on spies, so it needed to be a good hiding place. As she walked past Lucinda's paddock, EJ saw the large gum tree in the corner. That gave her an idea.

If I climb high enough up into the branches with all the leaves,
she thought,
I'll be completely
hidden but still be able to have a great lookout over the training centre. But to do that,
realised EJ,
I'll need to go close to the horses.

EJ remembered what LG12 had done with the foal. Could she do that too? She would have to try because she needed to get up the tree and quickly. EJ took a deep breath and climbed through the fence. The white horse and the grey horse looked up. The grey snorted at EJ. She froze and waited. Both horses cantered off to the other end of the paddock. Now only Lucinda was left under the tree. EJ walked up to her slowly with her hand stretched out flat. The horse smelt her hand and nuzzled it.

‘Good girl,' EJ whispered. Then, just as she had watched LG12 do, EJ slowly stroked Lucinda's neck and whispered calmly in the horse's ear. ‘I need you to keep my secret, girl. No one must know I'm here.' EJ looked into Lucinda's eyes. Could the horse understand her?

EJ waited for a moment and then moved slowly to the tree. As she reached up to a low branch,
Lucinda moved towards the trunk of the tree.

Is she going to set off the alert button on her halter?
wondered EJ. She was about to jump up to grab at the branch when she felt something push her upwards. It was Lucinda, nudging her up, high enough to reach the branch and pull herself up.

‘Thanks, Lucinda,' she whispered to the horse.

EJ climbed high up into the tree and sat in the fork of two branches. She took her binoculars from her backpack and looked out over the centre and watched as the agents carried on with their work in the stables. Agent HH had returned to the foals' enclosure and was making more notes and EJ could see Agent GG22 working at her desk through the window of the office. EJ watched but saw nothing unusual. Would
SHINE
intercept another message and, if they did, would it contain the information EJ had just fed GG? If it did, that would prove Agent GG22 was a double agent. If she were, what would EJ do next? There were a lot of ‘ifs' but, for now, there was nothing for EJ to do but wait.

EJ waited. And waited. She had been in the tree for an hour but nothing unusual seemed to be happening and there was no message. She was starting to think she must be wrong about GG22.

Then there was a whinny from Lucinda. EJ looked down and saw that the horse's ears were pricked forward towards the front gate. Lucinda moved to the trunk of the gum and activated the alert. For a moment EJ couldn't see why but then she heard the clatter of horses' hooves on the drive. It was the Animal Training Division agents returning from the bush ride. EJ picked up her binoculars
again and watched the group. She immediately picked out HJ12 but she nearly fell out of the tree when she saw who was riding beside her. It was Eve, or EJ guessed, EL12. Eve had been recruited to
SHINE
too!

EJ watched as GG22 left the office, locked the door and went outside to meet the agents. Agent HH33 was still in with the foals, taking notes, even though the other agents were feeding the horses. She hardly looked up when the agents arrived. But EJ was still watching GG22.

Hmmmm,
thought EJ.
Why is she locking the office when she is only going a few metres away? Is there something in there that she doesn't want anyone to see?

EJ continued to watch as Agent GG led the agents down the drive and to the mounting yards. The agents dismounted and unsaddled their horses. EJ watched as the agents checked the horses' feet, sponged off the dirt, brushed them down and put their rugs on. Each then carried water and hay to
the boxes. EJ saw HJ12 helping EL12 carry hay for her horse.

Typical Han,
thought EJ.
She's always helping someone.

Soon after, with the horses happily in their boxes, the agents went into the dining hall for dinner. EJ realised how hungry she was. She took out and opened the yellow lunchbox A1 had given her. Inside were what looked like muesli bars, wrapped in yellow wrappers. They were ‘
SHINE
Agent on the Go' meal replacement bars. There was a choice of spaghetti and meatballs, vegetable noodle or soy chicken and rice. EJ chose the spaghetti bar.

‘Delicious,' she murmured, taking a bite. ‘It actually tastes like spaghetti!'

But EJ wished there was something else she could get her teeth into. She felt useless just sitting in the tree, waiting. She watched the agents leave the dining hall and head over to the sleeping quarters. She watched Agents GG and HH talking but then they too went over to the sleeping quarters. All but
a few outside lights went out and the CAT was silent.

‘I can't just sit here all night,' said EJ. ‘I need to look around. If GG and HH are double agents, perhaps I can find some proof in the training office.'

EJ sent a message to A1.

It was a message from A1.

EJ was pleased to have the help. She climbed
down from the tree and over the fence and ran back down the drive. She passed the main stables and the foals' enclosure and then crouched behind a bush just across from the office. There was an outside light on and there was too great a risk that she might be seen if she went through the door. She needed to look for another way in.

Maybe there's a back door,
thought EJ.

Keeping well clear of the light, EJ sprinted to the back of the office through the shadows. There was a back door. She tried the handle but it was, as she expected it would be, locked. Quickly EJ took her skeleton key CHARM from her bracelet and twisted it. She inserted the key into the lock, turned the key and opened the door. She looked around and on the desk, noticed a
SHINE
-issue phone. She was about to pick it up when EJ noticed the handle of the front door turn. Like lightning, she dived under the desk and held her breath. From under the desk she could only see the riding boots of someone coming up to the desk. EJ didn't dare breathe.
Whoever it was took something from the desk and then left. Only when EJ heard the door lock did she let her breath out.

That was close,
thought EJ getting out from under the desk. She noticed the spy phone was gone.
I suppose GG22 had just forgotten her phone.

EJ looked around. There was desk, a chair, a computer, filing cabinets and, above the desk, a painting of a beautiful bay horse. EJ recognised the horse immediately—it was Lucinda. She carefully lifted the painting from the wall and saw a safe with a keypad. EJ keyed in the numbers A1 had given her. There was a beep as the door opened and EJ looked into a long, dark chute. It was a Mission Tube. EJ stepped back as she heard a familiar whooshing noise getting louder and louder. A pet carrier slid down the chute, coming to a stop right at the end of the tube. EJ lifted it onto the desk and opened it.

‘Yap!' barked BJ1, putting her paws up on EJ and giving her a big lick.

‘First Mission Tube ride complete, Beret, I mean
BJ1!' she whispered. EJ closed the Mission Tube door and replaced the painting. ‘I'm glad you're here. We have some work to do.'

That was EJ's phone.
SHINE
had just intercepted another message.

It's pig Latin again.
SHADOW
is getting lazy
, thought EJ, smiling as she quickly decoded the
message while BJ1 sat quietly by her side. But EJ's smile vanished when she looked at what she had keyed. This time the message didn't make any sense.
SHADOW
had changed the code after all.

It's a code within a code,
realised EJ.
But what code?
Then EJ noticed the last word of the first line: it was EJ12 backwards. Was it a backwards code? EJ wrote it out, going from right to left.

OM, that's a
SHINE
word. That must mean it's a double agent sending the message,
thought EJ.
But there are those flies again! What are they? And
why are they on Trojan?
‘I don't like the sound of what
SHADOW
might do with Trojan tonight? We need to get to the stables, BJ1.'

EJ and BJ ran back to the stables. The horses, including Trojan, were quiet and no one was around. At least, not yet. EJ knew
SHADOW
would come.

‘And we'll be waiting for them,' she said, fingering her rosette CHARM.

At the stables' entrance, a branch of one of the gum trees had fallen down. BJ stopped and started growling at the branch, pawing it.

‘Shhhh, BJ!' whispered EJ. ‘Come on, we need to set up the cameras.'

But BJ kept growling.

‘BJ! You're barking up the wrong tree,' said EJ. ‘Come, on!'

This time the puppy ran to EJ and followed her as she took the rosette CHARM from her bracelet and twisted it twenty times, producing twenty different coloured gymkhana rosettes. EJ placed the rosettes on the stable doors, at different heights, all
along the stable boxes. She put extra rosettes on Trojan's box.

‘Perfect,' she said. ‘Come on, BJ1. We need to get into position and I know the perfect hiding spot.'

EJ walked over to the hay store where piles of hay bales were stacked nearly to the roof. She picked up BJ1 and climbed to the top, shoving one of the bales back to create a gap large enough for her and BJ1 to lie down in. She took out her phone and set it to monitor the rosette-cam cameras.

‘And now we wait again,' said EJ, yawning. It was late, very late and there was nothing more EJ could do now. She checked the rosette-cams one more time and then, cuddled into BJ1, whose eyes were already closed. If
SHADOW
agents were coming, she would know about it. But for now she could rest and she had a feeling she was going to need her energy. Seconds later, EJ12 was also asleep. She wouldn't be for long.