Football Frenzy (6 page)

“Does it look okay?” Jessica asked. She gave Josh a twirl as the lift swished up towards the fancy bar on the twenty-seventh floor of the
Shangri-La Hotel. She was wearing a blue embroidered silk shirt and a black skirt.

Josh shrugged. “There are about a billion mirrors in this lift,” he pointed out. “But yeah, very pretty, I suppose.”

Jessica rolled her eyes at him. “I
mean
, can you see where I’ve got my radio mic hidden in my collar? You’re lucky, it’s not so difficult to hide kit in a posh
suit.”

“
That’s certainly true,
” said Mr. Yamamoto’s voice in Josh’s ear. “
I once smuggled eighteen swords out from under the nose of the Black Fist Gang,
under cover of a Venetian ball. And I still had time to dance with the Grand Duke’s wife, and – oh, all right, Mimi. Perhaps that is a story for another time
.”

Josh smiled as he imagined the frosty expression on Granny’s face. With Mimasu’s amazing invisible ear-buds it felt as if Team O were standing right beside him. Josh looked himself
up and down in the mirror. His suit was a sort of greyish-black, and ridiculously swanky. Last time he checked, he was a wannabe comic book artist from North London, not some kind of ambassador. He
wondered if all secret agents felt this weird the first time they wore a tuxedo.

“
Good luck, kids
.” It was Sachiko’s voice. “
Don’t forget to use your secret cameras if you need to get a record of anything
.”

“We won’t,” Josh and Jessica replied. Josh lifted his watch to eye-level and pointed the practically sub-atomic camera in its side at one of the mirrors, catching a good shot
of him and Jessica standing side by side in their finery.

“One for the holiday album,” he joked.

The lift opened, and they gave their names to a uniformed doorman, who waved them through into the Welcome Reception.

The players were all there, dressed in suits that were even smarter than Josh’s, with crisp lines and expensive-looking clips on their ties. A few of the Japanese players wore suits that
looked like a fusion of Eastern and Western styles, with bright silk prints and thin black neckties. There were a lot more people too, women dressed in elegant cocktail dresses or traditional
embroidered kimonos, waiters, and journalists with blue security badges on their lapels.

Josh looked around for Shini, and spotted him standing below a large, beautiful painting of snow-capped mountains breaking through a cloud. He was chatting to the England manager and one of the
journalists. He looked quite cheerful, and this place did seem safe – there were several security guards on the doors, and the twins had had to be given a special key to even get the elevator
to stop at the right floor. Still, Josh made sure to keep Shini in sight as much as possible as they milled around the party.

The reception was in full swing. The players had obviously got over the shock of this morning and they were laughing and joking together again, under the appreciative eyes of the various
officials, important businessmen and journalists.

“Go on,” Takeshi Higa was saying, as he gave Jamie Elton an encouraging grin. “Do it like I taught you.”

“
Ha...hajimey...ma...shayter
,” Elton said, bowing low to one of the journalists, who roared with laughter.

“
Hajimemashite
,” he said, bowing back. The group of people they were standing with all smiled and laughed...except for one man.
Kobayashi
.

Josh’s eyes narrowed. “Hey Jess, look,” he said, tapping her on the shoulder.

“He doesn’t look any more comfortable, does he?” Jessica said, turning to glance at the Minister.

Kobayashi was bowing and shaking the hand of the England manager, but he still looked really stiff. There was something about him, Josh thought, the way his eyes scanned the room, as if he was
looking for someone, but couldn’t see them.

“As if he was looking for someone...” he repeated aloud, under his breath.

“Huh?” Jessica asked.

“It’s just...this morning, I first saw the concrete block because I was watching Kobayashi, and his eyes flicked up. I think he looked up...before it fell,” he
whispered.

“Are you sure?” Jessica looked at Kobayashi again, her eyes wide with suspicion.

“Not a hundred per cent. But...maybe ninety-five per cent.”

“That’s quite a lot of per cent,” Jessica murmured.

“Even if he just saw something moving before I did,” Josh went on, the pieces sliding together in his head, “I didn’t hear him call out or try to move anyone. Did
you?”

Jessica shook her head. “Not after it fell... But before, remember, he was rearranging the players?”

“Of course!”

Josh wanted to smack his hand to his forehead, and only just stopped himself when he felt the weight of the secret camera around his wrist.
Incognito, remember?

“Mr. Yamamoto,” he whispered, pretending to scratch his ear so he could tap the ear-bud to make sure it was working. It buzzed. “Are you there?”

“
We’re here, Josh,
” Mr. Yamamoto said. “
We hear you. Mimasu-san is checking out your Minister Kobayashi’s government records as we speak. Keep an eye on
him
.”

“
Hai,
” Josh whispered. “Come on, let’s get closer. I have stuff I can ask the manager as a cover.” They made their way through the crowd, navigating by the
distinctive blond hair of one of the footballers, but when they arrived in the place where Kobayashi had been standing, he had already gone.

“Argh,” Jessica said under her breath. “Lost him.”

“
Nana-san,
” Mr. Yamamoto’s voice rang in Josh’s ear. “
Take a look at the CCTV, where has Minister Kobayashi gone to?
”

“
That’s him,
” said Mimasu. “
The tall, fragile-looking one
.”

“
He’s left the room – he’s out in one of the service corridors,
” said Nana’s voice. “
Through the door beside the bar. There’s
a
...” The voice cut out.

What?
Josh thought, holding his breath.
There’s a what?

Jessica raised her hand as if to play with her hair, and tapped her earphone.

“Hello?” she whispered.

“...
waiter, he’s
...” Nana’s voice came back, and immediately went away again. “...
food on a tray. They’re having...not happy at
all. Something about the food
...”

Josh swallowed. “If you can hear us, Mimasu-san, there’s something wrong with the earpieces,” he whispered. He turned to look for the door beside the bar, and his throat
tightened. A waiter had just entered the room through the door, carrying a plate of food. Kobayashi was nowhere to be seen – was he still in the back corridor? Josh watched the waiter walk
across the room. The other waiters glided across the carpeted floor like dancers, but this man stomped. He was big, wearing a waistcoat that didn’t do up completely across his
chest...and he was making a beeline straight for a small group of players – among them Takeshi...and Shini.

“Come on!” Jessica hissed. They dodged back through the crowd as the waiter approached Shini’s corner of the room.

“Delicious canapés,” Josh heard the waiter say as they drew closer. “You must try one, Hanzo-sama.”

Josh ducked under a player’s arm and around a woman in a black dress, longing to shout a warning – but how could he explain what was going on? He just had to get to Shini, to stop
him taking the food...

“Team O, come in!” Jessica whispered frantically behind him. “Can you hear us, Granny? We need you!” Panic made her voice tremble, but Josh hadn’t time to panic, he
just had to get to Shini...

“Ooh,” Takeshi grinned. “Looks good!” He snatched the little circle of bread and paté that Shini was reaching for, and tossed it into his mouth. He started to
chew, crumbs falling from his lips. He swallowed hard and reached for another appetizer. Soon he’d eaten three or four, his cheeks red. His cheeks were
too
red... Then a crease
appeared in his brow. His smile froze on his face and he bent over in a violent coughing fit. Josh pushed past a couple of journalists to run to Takeshi’s side. He was clutching at his
throat, his eyes wide with fear.

“Takeshi? What’s wrong?” Shini was saying. He grabbed hold of Takeshi, who was coughing hard, his knees buckling. Josh looked around for the waiter. He was already making a run
for it, dropping the canapé tray to the floor and pushing through the bemused crowd before they realized what was happening.

“Takeshi’s been...something’s happened,” Jessica said. Josh saw her remember their cover and clench her teeth over the word “poisoned” halfway through
the sentence. “He needs an ambulance!”

“
Kkkkkkssssssshhhh
...” Josh winced as a static crackling hissed into his ear. “
Nakamura-san will...don’t let the waiter get
...”

Shini stared at Jessica, then plunged his hands into his pockets and pulled out a mobile phone. “Is there a doctor here?” he called out to the assembled, shocked guests. He tapped a
number into his phone, but the signal was weak.

“We’ll, um, go and ask at reception,” Jessica improvised. “Come on!” She grabbed Josh’s arm and they dodged out of the crowd that was forming around Shini and
Takeshi. As they passed a waitress, she paused and Josh nearly ran into Jessica’s back. “Can someone call an ambulance? One of the players is really ill.”

The waitress’s eyes widened as she saw Takeshi doubled up. She nodded and ran towards the main doors.

“Come on. We can’t let that waiter get away,” Jessica hissed to Josh, as they started pushing through the crowds again.

They were just in time to see the man yank open the door behind the bar. Josh swallowed hard, and put on a burst of speed. If anything serious happened to Takeshi...

The twins pushed past the stunned bar manager, and slammed open the door that the waiter had gone through. The short corridor beyond was obviously not a visitor area, with its bare plaster walls
and faint smell of dishwashers. It was empty, but they could hear echoing footsteps, getting fainter.

“We’re following the waiter,” Josh said, hoping Team O could hear him. He and Jessica sprinted to the other end of the corridor. The only door was marked
Fire Exit
, and
Josh pushed it open to find himself in a cold, brightly lit stairwell. Tiled stairs led both up and down, with a black metal banister between them and a long drop down to the ground floor. Josh
stopped and held his breath, listening. The footsteps were still sounding, somewhere below them.

“He’s heading down the fire exit,” Josh whispered.

“Oh, good, stairs again,” Jessica sighed, leaning on the black metal banister and looking down. Josh took a deep breath. The last time they’d chased a crook down a flight of
stairs, they’d had to be rescued by Granny. This time, she probably had no idea where they were.

“I don’t think he’s heard us,” Josh whispered. He motioned Jessica to follow him as quickly and quietly as she could. Josh moved forward down the stairs, still listening
out for the footsteps of the waiter. It sounded like he wasn’t running – his footsteps were slow and even.

The sign for floor eighteen passed by, then floor seventeen. As they passed the door to floor sixteen Jessica stopped dead. Josh turned to look at her, his eyebrows raised.
What?
Jessica
tugged her ear. Josh listened, and heard...nothing. The footsteps had stopped.
No!
The waiter was getting away. Josh launched into a run, two steps at a time, kicking off the wall at
the turn of the stairs.

“Josh!” Jessica cried, and Josh looked up just in time to see a huge figure looming into his field of vision, fist first.

The waiter had been hiding just around the corner. Josh threw up his arms as the punch hit him, and fell back hard onto his elbows, trying to swallow a cry of pain as his bones smacked into the
stairs.

The waiter vaulted over Josh, his big boots smacking down on the landing above.

“Think I’m stupid?” the waiter demanded. “Think I don’t know when I’m being followed?”

Josh sat up, his head spinning and his arms covered in burning bruises. He got to his feet and charged back up the steps. The waiter was busy fighting Jessica on the landing, blocking her kicks
with one arm and reaching for her hair with the other. Josh leaped, aiming a high side kick to the back of the man’s head. As he hurtled through the air he saw Jessica’s foot coming up
in a plunging front kick – they’d meet in the middle of the man’s head. No way he’d be walking away from that...

Except that the waiter ducked. Josh winced as their feet slammed together in midair. Their knees buckled, Josh crumpled to the floor, the sole of his foot aching worse than a thousand wasp
stings.

Josh tried to get to his feet, but fell back again, his leg twitching nastily when he tried to put his weight on it. The man seized Jessica and threw her against the banister. Josh watched
helplessly as she hit the metal rail and tipped over it head first.

Josh reached out to grab her skirt, but the fabric slipped through his fingers.

With a scream, Jessica fell.