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  Gotcha!

  Within minutes, EJ had broken the first two lines of the code.

  The next bit was trickier. Why suddenly have letters in a number code? That doesn’t make sense. Or does it? EJ had an idea. If there are letters where there are numbers, there are probably numbers where there are letters. Let’s see if this works...

  EJ remembered the maps they used in class. If I’m not mistaken, she thought, that’s a map reference: 2S 68W!

  The last bit was easy. EJ had now cracked the whole code and she wrote the message underneath.

  But what did it all mean? What was Project Green Eye? What was the problem and what on Earth was the Butterfly Tree? EJ folded the paper, put it back in the capsule and lifted the capsule back up into the mouth of the clear plastic tube.

  The capsule was sucked up and away, rushing towards SHINE HQ. Which is exactly where EJ was heading next.

  The decoded message would beat EJ to SHINE HQ. This allowed the SHINE support team enough time to work out what she would need for the mission. By the time EJ whizzed into SHINE HQ there was already a backpack and field-agent gear laid out on the briefing table. And in front of the table stood an older lady in a smart black suit and a beautiful yellow pendant necklace. It was A1, the head of the SHINE agency.

  ‘Good morning, EJ. Good to have you back—nice ride?’

  ‘Fabulous as always, thank you A1,’ EJ replied.

  EJ really liked A1. She was the one who prepared agents for their missions, and also the one to go to when things got tricky. While that explained the 1 in her code name, no one seemed to know what the A stood for. Her first name perhaps. Amy? Alice? Alexandra? EJ didn’t think A1 looked like any of those names. In fact, she reminded EJ a lot of her grandmother. A1 had lovely pure white hair swept back into a bun, which she often used to hold pens and pencils—and once a torch—she was using. EJ knew better than to be fooled by the white hair though—it was the only old thing about A1, who ran five kilometres every morning and was still the agency’s record-holder for long-distance swimming.

  A1 seemed to have been at SHINE forever. EJ wondered how long. She wondered lots of things about A1 but never seemed to find any answers. EJ had also heard other agents talk about A1 having a sister. There was an agent, codename A2, who worked for SHINE but one day she vanished with some secret plans SHINE was working on and was never seen again. Did she go across and start working for SHADOW? Was she really A1’s sister? Some agents believed so but there was never any proof and no one was brave enough to ask A1 what happened.

  ‘Daydreaming EJ12? Anyway, good work on the first message,’ A1 congratulated her. ‘You were right. It was a simple number-letter match and by cracking it so fast, we can get this mission off to a quick start. Now let’s see what we know already.’ A1 stepped back. ‘Light Screen lower,’ she said loudly.

  An enormous plasma screen came down in front of them. EJ loved the Light Screen. It was voice-activated and powered by SHINE’s giant computer system. It could show information from anywhere on the Internet, as well as SHINE’s own secret files, all within seconds.

  ‘Show message,’ said A1, and the message EJ had decoded in the Code Room flashed up on the screen.

  ‘You were right about the map reference,’ A1 explained. ‘Earth Map.’ A map of the world appeared on the large screen. ‘Find 2 South, 68 West,’ A1 directed, and within seconds the Light Screen had zoomed in on what looked like a huge blob of green.

  ‘But there’s nothing there,’ said EJ.

  ‘Wait a little longer,’ replied A1.

  And sure enough, as the map focussed and came into view more clearly, EJ could see that the green was made up of trees—hundreds and thousands of trees.

  ‘More detail, show images,’ instructed A1.

  Images began to appear on the screen: an enormous river surrounded by deep, green rainforest then pictures of monkeys, birds, butterflies, enormous and beautiful flowers. It was a tropical paradise.

  ‘Amazing!’ EJ sighed.

  ‘It is now,’ said A1, ‘but not for much longer, I fear. This is the location that corresponds to the co-ordinates in the code, so it must be pretty close to Project Green Eye—and whatever that is, you can bet it’s not good. We have been gathering information on SHADOW’s recent activities. The information suggests that SHADOW has been preparing to build a new satellite dish in a remote area that no one has ever been to. With an extra dish in a new location, SHADOW will be able to get more information to their agents—and quicker too. Their ability to send and receive communications will be second to none—not to mention their surveillance capability. If this new satellite dish becomes operational, we might not be able to intercept their messages. Who knows what evil plans they will make?’

  ‘And, if they’re planning to build it at this location, it won’t be any good for the rainforest,’ added EJ.

  ‘Exactly, EJ12,’ said A1. ‘So we have two reasons to move extremely quickly.’

  Suddenly a red light started to flash on the Light Screen.

  ‘Oh dear,’ said A1. ‘Make that three reasons. The red light indicates that SHADOW has discovered that we have intercepted their message. They won’t want to take any chances, so they’ll assume—correctly—that the message has been decoded. That means they know we’re on to Project Green Eye, so we’ll have to move quickly.’

  SHADOW messages usually worked in a particular way. When they needed one of their agents to do something, SHADOW would send a message but the message would be in a secret code and they would use several messages to deliver the full set of instructions. There could be two, three, even four messages for the complete set of instructions.

  SHINE was always on the look-out for these messages from SHADOW and they looked for suspicious emails, letters and texts. They needed to get the message before the SHADOW agent did. If they did manage to intercept a message, they then needed to decode it—and that’s where agents like EJ12 came in. Once an agent had cracked a code, it would often direct them to another message and then to another. But they had to work quickly to stay one step ahead of SHADOW. If SHADOW realised that a message had been intercepted, they might be able to destroy the other messages before the SHINE agent got to them or they might send a SHADOW team after the SHINE agent. Neither of those things was good. There was one more catch. SHADOW was always trying to find ways to stop SHINE being able to get their messages or inventing new ways to send them that SHINE would not detect. Sometimes the SHADOW codes would change and get harder with each message so an agent had to keep on her toes.

  And now it looked as if SHADOW knew SHINE had their message. EJ12 would have to move fast—and carefully.

  ‘Okay,’ said A1. ‘We’d better jump to it. We know where to send you...’

  ‘Yes, but what is the Butterfly Tree?’ EJ wondered aloud.

  ‘That we don’t know, but finding that tree is the only way to intercept the next message from SHADOW. Unfortunately we won’t be able to drop you right at the location,’ explained A1. ‘The forest is too thick and we may be detected. We can get you pretty close but then it’s up to you. Your mission kit is ready, so let’s get you started.’

  EJ looked over the gear on the briefing table: standard SHINE cargo pants, backpack, SHINE belt, boots and t-shirt, compass, torch, binoculars, insect repellent spray and sun cream.

  EJ smiled when she saw the boots. They looked like your standard-issue mission boots, but they could convert into practically anything: skis, stilts, ice-skates or even jumping springs. EJ wondered if they had been upgraded. While the boots were very clever, the various bits of equipment did seem to come out rather randomly which could cause problems. However, EJ didn’t want to seem rude so kept quiet. Then she spied a pair of sunglasses.

  ‘I bet they do something pretty clever,’ said EJ enthusiastically. She couldn’t wait to hear what clever invention the SHINE scientists had added to these quite ordinary-looking glasses.

  ‘They protect your eyes from the sun
,’ said A1, looking slightly surprised. ‘What else did you think they might do?’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ said EJ, feeling slightly embarrassed. ‘X-ray vision, perhaps? Infra-red night vision goggles?’

  ‘You’ve seen too many spy movies, EJ12,’ laughed A1. ‘Gadgets can be fun but sometimes the best tool an agent can have is her own common sense. Remember the motto: An agent’s best gadget is her brain.’

  EJ nodded and tried to look like she agreed. She wondered if A1 had kids—that common sense line was classic mum speak. EJ was a bit disappointed.

  A1 must have realised because she smiled and said, ‘And as always, there are a few extra charms for your bracelet.’

  Yes!, thought EJ, now we are talking! Out of all the mission gear, the charms were her favourite. SHINE invented the CHARM equipment system for agents to be able to carry gear easily and without being detected. Named for Clever Hidden Accessories with Release Mechanism, the system was made of gear and gadgets shrunk into small silver charms that were then worn on a bracelet on the agent’s wrist. The gadget was released and restored to normal size when the agent twisted the charm. Incredibly handy—and, rather cool, thought EJ.

  An agent would receive new charms for each mission but could also keep charms from previous missions that might come in handy. EJ always kept her skeleton-key charm on but didn’t always carry her baby penguin food!

  A1 produced a small velvet bag containing the charms for the mission: a butterfly, a crocodile, a heart with wings and a key.

  ‘But I already have a skeleton-key,’ said EJ.

  ‘We know but it’s time for an upgrade,’ replied A1. ‘Your other one was getting a bit old and being up to date is key for SHINE agents!’ she said, chuckling at her own joke. ‘There’s no time to go thought the rest now but remember to twist the charms to activate them.’

  EJ looked at the charms more closely, especially the crocodile. She really really hoped she would not need that one.

  ‘Okay EJ12, we’re running short of time,’ said A1, winding up the meeting. ‘There will be a further briefing once you are on your way. As soon as you find the second message and crack the code, make contact again. By then, we may have discovered important information about whatever SHADOW is up to this time. But for now, jump to it EJ12, and good luck!’

  ‘Will do,’ EJ replied. What was it with all the jumping today? She went into the dressing room and changed into her mission gear. Cargo pants, belt, t-shirt, boots, even a hair elastic for a ponytail. SHINE always thought of everything and that made EJ feel safe and confident. Finally she slipped the new charms onto her bracelet and she was ready—for anything.

  A1’s voice came over the loudspeaker in the dressing room. ‘Agent EJ12, Shineforce 10 is ready for you now.’

  ‘Awesome!’ cried EJ, coming out of the dressing room and meeting A1.

  Excellent, she thought. Shineforce 10, the jet—my favourite!

  SHINE had many ways of getting agents around the world quickly and secretly but super-sleek Shineforce 10 was definitely one of the best. It had delivered EJ to deserts, tropical islands and snowy mountain ranges and she couldn’t wait until she was allowed to fly it herself. She had already earned her mini-wings, which meant she could take control of SHINE choppers and hot air balloons, but the agents in the Under-12 division were not allowed to sit for their mega-wings licence, mainly because they were still too short! Oh well, thought EJ with longing. But it was still unbelievably cool to be a passenger on Shineforce 10. And to think that her dad was still worried about her going home alone on the school bus!

  EJ boarded the super-shiny silver jet, and looked around with an enormous smile on her face. This absolutely made up for the girls’ toilets at the start of each mission! There were only four seats on the plane and they were huge—much more like little couches than aeroplane seats—with lovely deep cushions and a control panel that moved the seat and backrest anyway you wanted them. You could even spin the whole chair right around! pre-flight checks.

  EJ snuggled in and strapped on her seatbelt. At the far end of the cabin she could see the pilot, LP30, in the cockpit, going through her last-minute pre-flight checks.

  ‘Welcome aboard, EJ12. Good to see you again!’ she called over her shoulder. ‘I’ll just get this bird up and running, then I’ll come back to you once we’re at cruising altitude.’

  EJ loved the take-off. She loved the rush of speed as the plane thundered down the runway, and then the almost magical way it lifted off the ground and climbed into the clouds. The houses and cars became smaller and smaller and then completely disappeared and the plane seemed to float along a fluffy bed of cloud. As she looked out the window, EJ’s thoughts wandered back to the gym comps and the routine on the balance beam. Twisting her bracelet around in her fingers, EJ went through her entire beam routine in her mind, from start to finish, well almost. But even when she did the routine in her head, she still stopped when it came to the high jumps. All she could see was Emma Jacks falling off the beam. Why was that? Why couldn’t she do an amazing split jump instead? What was stopping her? EJ knew the answer. She was stopping herself—but how on Earth did you stop yourself from stopping yourself?

  Suddenly the loudspeaker interrupted her thoughts.

  ‘EJ12, we are now at 30,000 feet and it’s time for your in-flight briefing,’ said LP30. ‘Please turn your phone to in-flight mode and watch the screen in front you.’

  A small screen popped out of the wall in front of EJ’s seat, and there was A1.

  ‘Hello again, EJ12. I hope you are sitting comfortably. Please listen carefully to this mission briefing. As you know, you are flying to one of the world’s most remote rainforests. You know a lot about animals, but in case you come across any you don’t recognise, you’ll be able to learn more about them using your phone. Just take a photo of them and the information will appear. The wildlife in this area is protected—it’s a World Heritage site. But be careful, EJ. The rainforest is beautiful and filled with some of the world’s most unique animals, but many of them can also be dangerous.’

  The screen flickered momentarily and then A1 continued.

  ‘Your mission, EJ12, is to find the Butterfly Tree and get the next set of instructions. Once you have done this, please report back to SHINE HQ. EJ, I can’t stress how important it is that we find out where Project Green Eye is and shut it down before it can do any damage—to us and the rainforest.

  ‘Whatever SHADOW is up to we know it’s going to be bad. Endangered animals are at risk as well as beautiful natural rainforest habitats. You are aware of the environmental risks and what it will mean for our planet. Project Green Eye must be stopped!’

  A1 paused and reached for a glass of water, then she resumed the briefing.

  ‘Finally, you will also need to activate the BEST system in your phone. Remember, you can only choose one contact, so choose carefully. Good luck, EJ12. SHINE out.’

  SHINE knew that no single agent could know everything that might need to be done on a mission. That’s why they had developed the BEST system for agent assistance.

  BEST=Brains, Expertise, Support, Tips.

  Every agent had a network of ‘BESTies’ who were screened by SHINE and authorised to help the agent, if possible, on missions. There were two conditions though: the BESTies could ask no questions and agents could never discuss their work with them outside of their missions. It was much too risky. EJ’s BESTies thought it was pretty cool, even if they couldn’t talk about it. After all, how many people have a secret agent for a friend?

  EJ opened the BEST app on her phone and flicked through the photos of her friends. Who would be best able to help her on this mission? What was she going to need? There was not much to go on but EJ did know one thing. She would need to stay calm and the best person to help her do that was Hannah. Nothing seemed to get Hannah flustered or upset, which was sometimes a little irritating, but also meant that she was a good friend to have around when EJ started to stress. W
hen Emma was on the beam, she could almost feel her friend’s support, as if she was doing the routine with her. Hannah would be perfect for this mission.

  Just as EJ was about to press OK to activate Hannah, Hannah’s photo started flashing—Hannah was calling her.

  ‘Hey there, how did you know I was OM?’ (EJ thought that was better than saying on a mission—you never knew who might be listening. She also thought it sounded like rather good spyspeak).

  ‘Okay, OM! Sorry, I just wanted to tell you about the change to the beam routine. It was decided after you left,’ explained Hannah.

  ‘OMG!’ said EJ. ‘Please don’t say there are more jumps!’

  ‘Okay...’ the phone went silent.

  ‘Well, then?’ asked EJ.

  ‘You told me not to say...’

  ‘Hannah!’ cried EJ.

  ‘You asked me not to say it but, yes, there are more jumps. Lauren thinks we have a better chance of earning more points that way, and she thinks everyone is doing great jumps,’ Hannah finished.

  ‘Everyone except me,’ said Emma, rolling her eyes.

  ‘No, that’s not what she said—and, before you say it, it’s not what she thought either. No offence Em, but chill a little! You get so jumpy,’ Hannah laughed. ‘Hey, that’s quite funny! Anyway Em, what’s the big deal? You’re actually a really good jumper when you put your mind to it. Just do the jump and get on with it! What’s the worst that can happen?’

  ‘I fall off, lose massive points, get no medal, let the whole team down,’ said EJ, feeling that this summed up the whole disastrous situation rather well.