Blue's Revenge (5 page)

Then it struck her. ‘How come you never had kids?'

‘We wanted to but we couldn't.' A brief flicker of sadness rippled across Eleanor's face. ‘Besides, we've got you.'

Sometimes Eleanor said things that made Max want to cry, and this was one of those times. Max flung herself into the white, cottony layers of Eleanor's shawl, just as Ben and Linden came out of the kitchen carrying giant sandwiches that only just fitted on their plates.

‘That is one well-packed fridge. Linden and I think we might move in for a while if that's okay.'

Linden sat on the lounge, looking awkward, and bit into his sandwich.

The doorbell chimed from the hall and a panicked call sounded from upstairs. ‘The cars are here!'

A tangle of fuss and high-pitched shrieking erupted as Max's mother and her followers exploded into the hall. They stopped in front of a hanging mirror as hairdressers finished shaping curls, manicurists put the final buff to nails and makeup artists applied the last strokes of lip gloss and waterproof mascara.

Squeals of laughter followed as they then hurried out the door of the apartment. Eleanor saw Max deflate as her mother passed her without a word. She held her face in her hands and gave her one of her doona-warm smiles.

‘Let's you, Ben, Linden and I have a fabulous day. Deal?'

‘I'll be in that,' Ben chirped in. ‘Especially as I am going to be with the two most beautiful women in the whole place.' His last word got caught in his throat and Max knew that was a definite sign he was going to cry.

‘It's true,' Linden let out in a strange voice that sounded very un-Linden-like.

Oh no, thought Max, they're both going to cry.

An awkward pause bloated around them like an overfed goldfish. Max was keen to avoid any tears and any more of Linden's staring, which was starting to freak her out. ‘We'd better get going.'

‘You're right.' Ben wiped away a tear and followed Max as they hurried down the stairs to the front of the building.

As Max reached the door to the street, she felt relieved that at least for the rest of the day, all the attention would be on her mother. But as she opened the door of the building, she held her hands up to shield her eyes from the lights of what seemed like a million flashing cameras. Every newspaper and magazine had turned up on their front doorstep to get a glimpse of the happy bride. Or, more likely, didn't just turn up but were actually invited. Max had thought it was her mother's wedding but suddenly, in the turning of a door handle, it had become the rest of the world's.

Max blinked into the blinding white light. She put her foot out to find the next step but missed and was sent free-falling through the swarm of camera operators piled onto the stairs.

‘Max!' Ben pushed his way through to catch her as she toppled downwards.

None of the photographers moved to help as Max somersaulted through the air and stumbled over every step until she landed with an ungracious and final thud at the bottom.

‘Max?'

Ben's throat tightened as he shoved the camera clickers out of the way. Max lay at the bottom of the stairs, her arms awry and her legs bent at a horrible angle.

After Max had come to a stop and figured out how to make her hands pull her dress down to cover her brand new undies, she felt someone lift her from the ground.

‘Are you alright, sunshine? Tell me what you feel. Have you broken any bones? Can you breathe okay? Where does it hurt?'

Max wasn't sure where to start. ‘Everywhere, I think. What happened?'

‘You had a bit of a fall.'

The fall. She remembered the blur of white flashes she had fallen past as she tumbled towards the car, and thought how they'd all make a perfect front cover picture for any one of the magazines and newspapers that were there.

Linden and Eleanor finally managed to push their way through the media pack as Ben helped Max to her feet. ‘Is that okay? Do you feel woozy? Do you know who you are?'

‘I know I'm a total klutz and that I have to get out of here before I do anything else to embarrass myself.'

‘Good.' Linden smiled in relief. ‘She's fine.'

Ben helped Max into the main car, where she nestled gingerly beside her mother, who hadn't seen a thing.

‘Sweetie, there you are,' she said as if she was seeing Max for the first time that day. ‘Sorry about the cameras. I knew there'd be
some
media but I never thought there'd be as much as this.'

Max shifted slightly on her seat, her left bottom cheek hurting from where she fell. ‘Will this be on the news tonight?'

‘Probably.' Her mother said it like it was almost as important as the getting married part. ‘Isn't that great? All your friends at school will see you.'

Suddenly the pain of sitting down was minuscule compared to the one eating into her pride. Great, she thought, as if the kids at school don't have enough reasons to make fun of me. Max was stuck in the gloom of future embarrassment when she noticed her mother smiling at her. Not a regular smile, but one she hadn't seen for ages.

‘You look so very beautiful, Max.'

Max stared, making sure her mother meant her. She'd never used the words ‘Max' and ‘beautiful' in the same sentence before.

‘Thank you for being part of this.' She pulled Max into her dress for a warm hug. ‘I love you so much it makes me want to cry.'

Max winced as her mother hugged her sore arms. She'd wanted her mum to notice her, but now
that she had, it felt strange. Then Max remembered another time someone had hugged her after she was hurt. It was on the ski fields in Aspen and that time it was her dad.
⁴

Max blinked away the tears that now blurred her vision. The thought of her dad could do that. Her mother rarely hugged her, and never like she was now. For a moment Max felt like she was a kid again and her mum and dad were still together and she never had to go too far before one of them would lift her into a hug that was like sleeping in clouds.

The car pulled up at the church, where an equally large squadron of cameras was waiting for them. Max looked up at her mother, but she looked so happy Max couldn't bring herself to complain. Instead she said something else.

‘I'm really happy for you, Mum.'

Her mother leant in and kissed her on the cheek. ‘Thank you.'

Ben opened the door. ‘Your escort is ready.'

Max's grandfather had died when she was young so Ben had volunteered to walk her mother down the aisle.

Max's mum stepped out of the car and onto the red carpet that led to the entrance of the church. She smiled elegantly and waved into the glare of the lights as if she'd just arrived at the Academy Awards. Max, on the other hand, fumbled out behind her and looked like she was being attacked by a swarm of bees.

‘You're first, sweetie.'

Her mother had organised that Max would lead the wedding party as a treat but she might as well have thrown her into a pit of crawling cockroaches for all the joy she was going to get out of it.

Max started a silent chant in her head. ‘Please don't fall down. Please don't fall down.'

Linden and Eleanor were standing nearby and Max caught the same cow-staring look on Linden's face as before. He smiled, but not with his usual grin – more of a soppy, sad-movie kind of grin.

The music started and Eleanor blew her a kiss before she nudged a dazed Linden into the church. Max breathed deeply and turned to Ben, who gave her a wink, ready to follow her lead as he stood beside her mum.

Max walked through the flashing lights, up a small set of stairs and into the beginnings of her mother's wedding.

Inside, twisting stems of red bougainvillea were draped on the ends of the wooden pews, which were packed with people Max didn't know, smiling at her lovingly as if they'd known her from childhood. There was a second level of seating above, which was reserved for more cameras and journalists hurriedly taking notes.

At the end of the aisle was a glass-domed roof that sent shafts of frosted light onto a huge marble altar. And before the altar was Aidan. He wore a light blue suit and no tie, trying for ultra-casual, but Max knew that he'd probably spent days getting ready and that the suit had cost the same price as a small island. He gave her one of those toothpaste grins he'd obviously practised in the mirror.

Then she remembered. In a short while that same grinning man would be her step-father. The thought instantly tripped her up and sent her staggering towards one of the seats. A woman wearing a hat that looked like a white fluffy cat caught her and smiled through a thick, wrinkled layer of make-up. Max righted herself and mumbled a quiet thank you.

Finally she reached the altar and, as rehearsed, stepped aside to make room for Ben and her mum. Ben kissed her mother on the cheek before moving
next to Max. Her mother then stepped up to Aidan and the two held hands and grinned like kids who've had too much sugar.

The minister soon got to the part of the ceremony where he asked if anyone knew any reason why the marriage shouldn't go ahead. Max looked around. Maybe now someone would stop it. Maybe her dad would burst into the church in his usual floppy clothes and demand the wedding be stopped, pleading with her mother not to marry Aidan and declaring that it was he who really loved her. Max knew it was all very soap, but it didn't stop her from wishing it was real.

No-one said anything and neither Max's dad nor his floppy clothes appeared.

The minister continued, raising his voice a little as they heard the sound of an approaching chopper.

Excellent, Max thought, now we've got TV cameras above us as well.

The chopper seemed to be approaching swiftly, its swooping blades becoming louder. The minister tried to ignore it, until he couldn't be heard over the whirring noise.

Max's mother looked around, smiling nervously.

A shadow appeared above the glass-domed
roof, cutting off the falling streams of light. Three large discs attached themselves to the glass with a suctioning thud. Small screams and quiet gasps filled the echoing church interior.

Max was looking at Ben, wanting him to explain what was happening, when a large glass-cutter jabbed into the dome and began slicing out a rounded hole.

Shouts of panic splintered through the church. The minister tried in vain to keep everyone calm as guests began climbing over seats, scrambling down balconies and pushing their way to the exits.

‘Mum!' Max saw her mother's frightened face but she couldn't be heard over the piercing noise.

Ben took Max's hand and looked down the aisle to see a bulge of terrified, jostling people. He scanned the chaos until he caught Eleanor's eye, signalling for her and Linden to get out. He then moved to protect Max's mother but, before he could reach her, the cutter finished its job. A huge circular slab of glass was wrenched from the dome and great clouds of smoke billowed through the hole, filling the church with thick fog.

‘Mum!' Max desperately reached into the fog, trying to grasp her mother's hand. Through the mist, she could see a figure moving on the altar, carrying
something large. They then moved upwards, as if they were being hoisted towards the roof.

The noise of the chopper swirled away.

‘Ben?' Max asked, unsure what had happened as an anxious silence settled inside the church.

‘I'm here, sweetheart.' He held her hand firmly and led her onto the altar. They were waving away the smoke, feeling their way through, when Max felt something against her foot.

‘Mum?' She knelt down and saw Aidan through the clearing mist, a bleeding gash in his forehead.

Ben knelt down and felt for his pulse.

‘He's okay. He's taken a nasty hit, though.' He took out a hanky and laid it against Aidan's head.

‘Ben, where's Mum?' Max asked. Ben was someone who could make things right, who could give her an answer that meant she could stop panicking. But when they searched the rest of the altar they knew their worst fears were real.

Max's mum had been kidnapped.

‘How does that feel?'

Eleanor had helped Max into her pyjamas and tucked a blanket around her on the lounge before placing a cold pack on her forehead.

‘It's okay.'

Max didn't know what she felt. Ever since she'd left the church she'd had this weird feeling of walking through clear gel. Everything looked normal on one level, but on another, it was all completely strange.

Her emotions swung up and down like a seesaw. One minute she wanted to jump up, break through the gel and make everything normal again. The next, she felt as if all her energy had been sucked out of her, leaving her lying uselessly on the lounge like a rag doll.

‘Can I get you anything else?'

Max looked into the kind eyes of her aunt. ‘No. Thanks, Eleanor. I … I …' Max gripped her hands together beneath the blanket. ‘I know I was bad at showing it, but I really love my mum.'

‘I know, honey. And she knows that too.'

‘Does she?' Tears straggled their way down Max's face. ‘But I never told her.'

Eleanor held her close. ‘Believe me, Max, she knew it. Sometimes you don't have to say things out loud for people to know it.'

Linden came out of the kitchen carrying a mug. ‘I've brought you a hot chocolate. Mum used to say hot drinks make everything feel better. I shaved some real chocolate on the top. I don't do that for many people. So you should consider yourself very special.'

Max smiled for the first time since leaving the church. ‘Thanks, Linden.'

‘No problem. They're pretty easy to make.'

‘No, I mean for the jokes … for you.' She stopped trying to explain. ‘You know what I mean.'

Linden smiled awkwardly. ‘Well, the jokes
are
good, but the chocolate is too.' He placed the mug on the table beside Max. ‘I'll leave it here.'

In the silence that followed, Max slowly scanned the room. It was strewn with ribboned boxes, presents, bunches of flowers and cards that spilled onto almost every surface. They sat as a constant reminder of what had happened. And the one thought she couldn't block out.

She was a spy, she'd completed all sorts of missions, but the time when she was needed most, she didn't do a thing.

Ben leaned into the curtains, staring vacantly at the sky outside. He'd been there ever since they returned home. Max knew by the slump
of his shoulders and the way he hadn't said anything that he was thinking the same thing about himself.

‘Uncle Ben?'

He kept staring out the window. ‘We'll find your mum, Max. I promise.' His words were full of guilt and sadness.

The door then opened behind them.

‘Hope you don't mind that we let ourselves in.'

Max saw Steinberger holding a silent lock-opening device, standing beside a serious-faced Harrison.

‘Thank you for coming so soon.' Eleanor welcomed them in.

‘The Invisible Jet still does a great job,' Steinberger said.

Harrison walked over to Max. ‘How are you dropping down?' He winced, aware that this wasn't a good time to mix up his words. ‘I mean …
holding up
?'

‘I'm all right. I …' Max had to pause to stop herself from crying.

Harrison looked around the room. ‘Is everyone else okay?'

‘We're fine,' Eleanor answered. ‘How is Aidan?'

‘He's in hospital for observation,' Steinberger
answered. ‘It seems he was knocked out pretty soundly and doesn't remember much more than what you told us on the palm computer. We'll question him further after he's rested.'

Max looked up at Harrison and spoke in a small, frightened voice. ‘I want to find my mum.'

‘We will, Max. There are agents on the job right now working on just that.'

Steinberger took out his palm computer and entered in several codes. ‘Fortunately there were plenty of TV crews and cameras at the church to capture everything that happened. Our agents are equipped with ultra-powerful magnifying glasses and digital tape machines capable of analysing every frame of a photo or video image. They also have an X-ray component that can see through the objects in the picture as well.' He looked reassuringly at Max. ‘Whoever did this won't be able to hide a thing.'

‘So you can find out who did it?' Linden asked.

‘We'll be able to get a complete fix on their faces, and with our International Computer Identity system, we should have the results in a few hours.'

‘Do you think it's Blue?' Max felt a surge of panic shoot through her like an electrical charge.

Ben turned his head slightly towards Harrison,
while the others sat rigid with anticipation, waiting for what their chief had to say.

‘Blacksea Penitentiary is one of the most secure prisons in world. Every piece of information that enters or leaves is intercepted and analysed. We're in direct contact with the guards and only minutes ago they assured me that Blue is in his cell.'

‘Do they know he's really there and not just a projection?' Max thought back to Blue's use of the Spectral Hologram Mark III during their mission to save the Annual Spy Awards Night.
⁵
What she had thought was him was merely his projected image.

‘He's there,' Steinberger confirmed. ‘The guards conduct random and routine physical checks. And …' He frowned. ‘By all accounts, he's a model prisoner.'

‘Well, that proves it,' Linden said wryly. ‘It can't be him.'

He smiled at Max, wanting desperately for her to feel better, but realised none of his regular jokes would do it this time.

‘So it wasn't Blue?' Eleanor tried to conceal her fear for her sister's life.

‘It would be almost impossible to organise from
where he is.' It was obvious from the look on Harrison's face that this wasn't the first time he'd thought about this question. ‘However, the more impossible the task, the more determined Blue is to make it happen.'

Max gulped in a clutch of air as another rush of dread sank into her. ‘But why Mum? Why not take me or Ben? We were there too!' She stopped, her breaths short and sharp, realising what she had said. She turned towards her uncle. ‘I don't mean I'd want them to take you, Ben. I'd never want that. It's just that …'

‘I know what you mean,' Ben answered softly.

He caught Max's eye, desperately wanting her to know it was okay, but they also both knew that this may be Blue's way of unleashing his cruellest revenge on them yet.

‘We have to do something!' Max again felt a wave of panic.

Harrison fixed her with a solemn eye. ‘After our initial investigations are complete, we will have a more solid picture of who is behind this and why, but until then you will all stay put.'

Max knew Harrison was serious, but she wanted so badly to save her mum that her skin felt like it was crawling with ants.

It was then the doorbell rang.

Max went to leap up but Harrison's warning voice made her stop. ‘Max!'

‘I'll get it,' Linden offered.

‘Whoever it is, tell them we'll call them at a better time,' Eleanor advised.

Linden nodded and went to the door, where he was surprised to find Toby. He was the one person who topped the list of people who weren't welcome in Max's life.

‘Toby. Hi.'

‘Linden!' Toby grinned wildly. Then frowned. The two had met when Linden visited Max for a week and came with her to school. Toby hadn't thought much of Linden then, but now he was standing in front of him, he wanted to plug him in the shoulder and arm-wrestle him like they were best friends.

Then, the weirdest thing happened. His head filled with strange images, all of them with Max and Linden. They were in a fancy restaurant, in a movie studio and in a dungeon where Linden lay at the bottom of a deep pit.
⁶

Toby had no idea where these images came from, but somehow he felt like they'd really happened. ‘Is Max in?'

Toby went to walk past but Linden put out his arm and stopped him.

‘Now isn't great. I'll ask Max to call you later.'

‘But I'm here now. I'll only be a minute.'

Toby ducked under Linden's arm and headed towards the lounge, where he could hear voices. ‘Sounds like there's a party going on.'

Linden followed him as he flung the door open and stared at the people gathered around Max. Toby didn't know who they were but he had the strangest feeling he'd met them all before. ‘Hi, my name's Toby. Max and I go to the same school. Don't we, Max?'

‘I tried to keep him out but he got past me,' Linden explained.

‘It's okay,' Eleanor said gently as Max sank back into the lounge.

There was an awkward silence. Toby noticed Max's pale and drawn face.

‘Aunt Mable said you called.' He felt suddenly uncertain. ‘I left messages, but when you didn't call back I thought I'd come over.'

Max pulled the blanket higher over her pyjamas. The day had been one of the worst in her life, and Toby seeing her in this state was only making it worse. ‘Don't bother saying anything
about how awful I look. Whatever you're thinking, I already know I look worse.'

Toby said nothing. He knew from Max's voice that something terrible had happened. He also knew he probably should leave, but his feet wouldn't move.

Eleanor stood up and walked towards him. ‘It's been a bit of a rough day, Toby. Maybe Max could call you when she's feeling better.'

‘Sure.' Toby wanted to stay and make sure Max was okay, to ask what was wrong and see if he could help, but he also had to tell her something.

‘Mum and Dad have to stay in Europe for the rest of the year and they want me to go and live with them,' he blurted as Eleanor opened the door for him.

Linden saw an even deeper sadness settle in Max's eyes.

‘When?' Max asked softly.

‘In two weeks.' Toby paused. ‘I just wanted to tell you.'

Max was silent. Now she knew why Toby had looked so sad in the park. His parents were heart specialists who'd been working in Austria for the last few months. He'd stayed home so he wouldn't interrupt school, but also because he didn't want to
leave his friends. Now it looked like he was going to have to leave them for good.

‘Do you have to go?' Max felt the ache in her chest suddenly get worse.

‘Mum and Dad have already organised it.'

Toby paused. He and Max had never been friends, but when he'd found out about his parents' plan, Max was the first person he wanted to tell.

‘Well, I'll see you later then.' Toby walked out of the room and, seconds later, the front door clicked shut after him.

Eleanor settled herself even closer to Max and kissed her on the forehead. Harrison nodded to Steinberger, who handed him a tape.

‘Here's a copy of all the video taken at the wedding. I know it may be difficult to look at, but it might give you more of an idea as to what happened,' Harrison said. ‘We will be in touch as soon as we know more and have a further plan of action.'

Max carefully took the tape.

‘Agents Canon and Crampton are positioned downstairs,' Steinberger explained. ‘You can contact them with your palm computers if you need anything. They will also be watching the area for any suspicious behaviour, so you are completely safe.'

Linden flinched. He hadn't thought they may be in danger as well.

‘The news will also be on every network and front page throughout the country, so the media attention is going to be fierce. The agents will also be in charge of keeping them away.'

Max said nothing as she stared at the tape.

‘Eleanor, I'll leave it to you to call Linden's dad. Max, your principal knows what has happened and understands that you'll be away from school for a few days.' He smiled gently. ‘By then everything should be back to normal.'

Harrison walked over to Max and wiped her fringe out of her eyes. ‘Your mother will be fine, Max. With all the agents and resources we have on the case, she will be back home with you very soon.'

Max saw in Harrison's eyes that he would do everything he could to make this happen. She wanted to believe him, wanted everything he said to be true, but as her head ached and her chest felt locked in a twisting vice, what she wanted more was for this day to have never happened.