Blockbuster

BLOCKBUSTER
BY
H. I. LARRY

ILLUSTRATIONS BY
ANDY HOOK

Blockbuster
published in 2007 by
E2
an imprint of Hardie Grant Egmont
85 High Street
Prahran, Victoria 3181, Australia

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means without the prior permission of the publishers and copyright owner.

A CiP record for this title is available from the National Library of Australia

Text copyright © 2007 H.I. Larry
Illustration and design copyright © 2007 Hardie Grant Egmont

Cover and illustrations by Andy Hook
Based on original illustrations and design by Ash Oswald
Typeset by Pauline Haas

Printed in Australia by McPherson's Printing Group

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ONE

It was 4.30pm. School was officially over for the day. So why was Zac Power still stuck in a classroom, pretending to look interested in fractions?

Stupid Homework Club
, he huffed to himself. Kids whose parents worked late went to Homework Club and finished their homework while they waited to be picked up. But really, Zac didn't need any teacher watching him while his parents were working. After all, he was a top international spy who'd been on heaps of missions by
himself
.

Zac's brother Leon and their parents were spies, too. They worked for the Government Investigation Bureau, or GIB for short. Zac's parents were taking an advanced code-breaking course. So Zac had to attend Homework Club all week, even though he was twelve years old.

Ms Tran, Zac's teacher, was supervising Homework Club that day. Zac heaved a gusty sigh and flicked open his maths book. Ms Tran looked over at him and smiled.
Isn't learning maths fun?
her eyes seemed to twinkle.

Zac tried to keep his eyes open, but it was so hot in the classroom. The air stank of ripe bananas and other people's feet.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and it swung open to a stern figure in a skirt and suit jacket. Mrs De Souza, the school principal!

‘Zachary Power,' said Mrs De Souza. ‘Please step outside for a moment.'

Zac sat bolt upright. Zachary? This must be serious. Only his parents called him Zachary, and even then, only when he was in big trouble.

The other kids stared as Zac leapt up.

Zac racked his brains for what he could have done. He'd missed a lot of school lately. He'd been so busy on important international missions! But he didn't think he was failing or anything.

‘Well, Zac,' said Mrs De Souza, closing the classroom door. ‘I don't usually interrupt Homework Club, but the young girl who delivered this insisted that I give it to you straight away.'

Phew!
He wasn't in trouble after all – but what was she giving him?

‘What was her name again? It started with C…' said the principal, vaguely. ‘Never mind,' she finished, handing Zac a glittering gold envelope.

Splashed across the front in curly black letters were the words:

For the urgent attention of
Mr Zachary Power.

His next mission from GIB? It had to be! Although it was weird that everyone was calling him Zachary all of a sudden…

Zac didn't think about it too long. A mission would get him out of Homework Club, and right now that was
all
that mattered.

Zac tore open the envelope. But it wasn't a new mission. It was something even better.

To thank you for so many spying missions accomplished, GIB invites you to the premiere of a blockbuster movie,

COVERT OPERATIONS

Where: Nightshade Theatre, Hollywood.

When: 5pm tomorrow
Dress: Formal
Transportation: Provided

Awesome! Zac was getting out of school, and he didn't even have to stress over any difficult spy work. This time, things would be strictly Mission: Fun.

Zac looked at his watch. He had to get a move on if he wanted to get to Hollywood. The premiere was in 24 hours!

Mrs De Souza asked him how the Homework Club was going, and Zac smiled politely. But he wasn't listening. Zac had noticed a strange sound – a kind of low hum unlike anything he'd heard before.

It was a bit like an engine, but it didn't growl like the fighter jet Zac had trained on. It wasn't an ordinary passenger plane either.

‘I should probably get going,' Zac said, waggling the gold envelope at Mrs De Souza. She nodded and stalked away.

Zac fished around in his pocket for his SpyPad, the mini-computer that all GIB spies carried. It had heaps of cool functions, including a powerful mini-telescope. If there was some weird aircraft in the sky, Zac was easily be able to spot it.

Zac raced outside. He looked up, SpyPad at the ready. But Zac didn't need a telescope to see what hovered in the sky above him.

It was an enormous, shiny gold blimp. Across the side, in giant black letters, were the words,
Covert Operations
. This bling-covered blimp must be Zac's transportation to Hollywood!

How am I going to get up there, though?
he wondered. But before he could blink, a red velvet rope swung down from the blimp's cabin.

Zac grabbed the rope. His feet lifted off the ground.

He was headed for Hollywood!

CHAPTER TWO

It seemed slightly weird to Zac that GIB would send a flashy gold blimp to pick him up. Normally GIB was paranoid about being noticed.

But Zac didn't dwell on his doubts for too long. The blimp was even cooler inside than it looked from the outside!

The cabin was carpeted with white fluffy rugs. Chocolate frogs were heaped into crystal bowls dotted around the cabin.

And although the blimp could have carried lots of people, it looked like Zac was the only passenger.

A woman in a long, white apron appeared. Zac had never seen her before.
Strange,
he thought. He knew pretty much all the local GIB staff.
Maybe she's from the
Hollywood office?

‘Please make yourself comfortable, Mr Power,' she said smoothly.

Zac's reclining seat was soft and wide. He had never travelled in such comfort!

‘You can access all the latest movies here,' explained the woman, pointing to a massive plasma screen. ‘And this', she continued, as a machine sprang out of Zac's armrest, ‘is your personal popcorn popper.'

The trip was ten hours, which wasn't long enough to enjoy everything on the blimp. First, Zac watched a movie.Then he had a foot massage and head rub. Then he discovered the in-seat virtual reality roller-coaster rides.

He was still riding
Iron Gutz
, the world's first virtual reality roller-coaster, when suddenly he felt a bump for real.

Zac checked the time on his SpyPad. It was 3.03am – nearly time to touch down. Perhaps the bump Zac felt was just the blimp coming in to land?

Then –
EURGH!

The blimp lurched sideways, leaving Zac's stomach behind.
This is no ordinary
landing!
Zac thought, worriedly.

He rushed to the window. Below, the lights of Hollywood lay spread out like Christmas lights. Mansions clung to the steep cliffs, a shimmering aqua swimming pool in every yard.

But none of it explained why the blimp was flying so crazily all of a sudden.

Inside the cabin, crystal bowls smashed on the floor, scattering chocolate frogs everywhere. The lights flickered.
What's
going on?
Zac hoped they weren't about to crash.