Making Waves Page 5

  ‘One more slice and I should have cut away enough net to pull it free,’ EJ told herself. ‘Hang in there guys, hang in there!’

  EJ grabbed another piece of net and raised it as high as the robotic arm would let her. She then pulled the cutting device down, ripping through the net. With the gripping arm still holding the net, she then put the sub into reverse. With a jolt, the net lurched backwards and the two dolphins fell out. They were free. In a frenzy, they shot up through the water to the surface.

  Squirt and EJ followed and Squirt seemed to be pushing the dolphins up, as if she were helping them get to the surface. Would they make it in time?

  When EJ surfaced, she was relieved to see the two dolphins opening and closing their blowholes—they were sucking in air and blowing it out again. They looked calmer now that they could breathe.

  EJ converted SHINE mobile 3 to jet-ski mode and reached under the seat for the fish.

  ‘Good job, Squirt,’ said EJ, throwing the dolphin some fish. ‘That was close. Let’s hope C2C has been just as successful.’ She threw out some more fish, and the two recovering dolphins gobbled some down too.

  EJ checked her phone but there was no message from C2C. She tried to ring her but there was no answer. That was strange and definitely not good. Had C2C found Adriana—or had Adriana found C2C first?

  Piinngg!

  Another message. EJ just had a feeling that it wouldn’t be good news.

  EJ looked at it. It was quite a short code and it seemed to be the same mirror code in the same crazy font as last time. EJ smiled to herself. Adriana is getting a bit lazy, this won’t take long at all.

  She again pasted the message into the code app and applied the mirror app to each line. She keyed in what she saw in a font that was easier to read.

  Hmmm, I take that back, thought EJ looking at what she had just keyed. Adriana must have changed code because this doesn’t make sense.

  At least it didn’t make sense if you read it normally, left to right. But no one thought Adriana was normal. EJ re-keyed the text right to left.

  Something Shiny, that’s got to be a SHINE agent—C2C! thought EJ. Adriana has captured C2C and is taking her along to her next harvest area. We will have to hurry. We can’t let Adriana start another harvest.

  ‘Squirt,’ said EJ, turning to her dolphin buddy, ‘I think we have another rescue mission.’

  Adriana’s A-Sub might be hard to find in water but C2C’s sub wasn’t—if the A-Sub was holding the other agent’s SHINE mobile, Squirt should be able to find them.

  A light on EJ’s dashboard started to flash. EJ reconnected her phone and her screen flashed as well.

  ‘Yes,’ shouted EJ. ‘C2C has activated the homing device on her sub. Looks like you are going to have some help. Come on Squirt!’

  EJ pressed the S-button and the shield came over as SHINE mobile 3 went into sub mode and EJ once again headed deep down into the water.

  EJ was steering her way through the last of what had been a long series of underwater canyons when the light on her dashboard started to flash faster, just as Squirt started to flap her tail and make her distressed buzzing noises. EJ had to be close.

  She reversed back into the reef then turned off the engine and waited: if it was the A-Sub, she didn’t want to be caught like C2C. In the distance, she could see a large submarine, long and black with windows right around the front half of the boat, moving through the water. As it came closer, she could see the letters on the side: A-SUB. As the vessel came closer still, she could make out someone standing at the front looking out of the windows. It was a woman with jet-black hair swept up in a big beehive-like but messy bun, and black, thick, thick glasses. It was Adriana on the A-Sub, the Adriana Submarine. Trust Adriana to name her submarine after herself. And then EJ saw the thing that was different about the A-Sub: underneath, on the submarine’s bottom, were two sets of poles and between each of them hung a giant net made of heavy chains. One net was closed and full of coral and one was open.

  ‘That’s how she harvests the coral,’ said EJ to herself. ‘The A-Sub drags the net along the bottom of the seabed and it pulls along the coral with it. No wonder it makes such a mess; it just rips out everything! And then Adriana pulls up the net and takes her precious black coral.’

  Then, suddenly, there were clanking noises and the A-Sub began to turn and, as it did, EJ could see C2C’s SHINE mobile attached to the side, held in a giant clamp. Adriana had captured it. Then the nets underneath the A-Sub started to move. At the same time, from the top of the sub, a pole with a huge searchlight attached to the end began to extend into the water. EJ held her breath. The bright light was coming closer and closer. Had she found Adriana or had Adriana found her? Adriana must be preparing for the next coral harvesting, thought EJ. I can’t let that happen. But if I take SHINE mobile 3 closer I’ll be captured just like C2C. EJ swallowed and her mouth felt dry. There’s nothing for it, I will have to swim.

  Then in her mind, she heard Nema’s voice again. ‘You’re not still afraid of the deep end, are you? Only little kids are afraid of the deep end. Babies.’

  ‘Well, are you?’ said EJ to herself. She looked out the sub’s window at the water, then she looked at the A-Sub and Adriana’s haul of coral. She bit her lip. Then she looked out the window and saw Squirt, who seemed to be looking at her, waiting. ‘No, I am not,’ she said out loud, ‘but I’m glad I have a dive buddy.’

  ‘Okay, okay, I’m coming,’ she said laughing. She wasn’t scared at all, she had just forgotten to tell herself that. She should actually thank Nema. Well, maybe not.

  EJ switched the SHINE mobile 3 sub to auto-hover and activated the homing device. She then sent a text to A1. SHINE would now know exactly where to come to find her sub. Then EJ took out the scuba gear from behind her seat, and pulled on her tank, flippers and goggles. Taking a deep breath, she moved to the back and opened the door to the escape hatch. Submarines had hatches to allow divers to leave and enter a submarine while it was under the water. The divers first entered a small, sealed chamber that separated the rest of the sub from the sea. Once the diver was in that chamber, she could then open the next door and enter the ocean. EJ closed the first door and then opened the next one. She was in the water. She closed the door behind her and clicked her dive shoes together and waited for them to convert to flippers. She then swam away from her sub. Seconds later, and unknown to EJ, the A-Sub’s searchlight swept over SHINE mobile 3.

  Bubbles streamed behind EJ as she glided slowly through the water. Squirt swam next to her, clicking and whistling. The A-Sub’s searchlight kept swinging around and EJ kept her eyes firmly on Adriana, who was standing at the window squinting, as she watched out through the water. The A-Sub seemed to turn back towards EJ.

  Uh oh, thought EJ, Adriana’s bound to see me and if she does, I’m done for. I need somewhere to hide. And quick.

  And then, as if on cue, a school of large fish swam by, large black fish, each one as big as both of EJ’s hands, with flashes of yellow and deep purple on their tails. There were scores of them and, as they swam past EJ, everything seemed to go black for a moment. She couldn’t see anything except fish. And that gave EJ an idea on how she might make it to the top of the A-Sub without being seen by Adriana.

  Can I use the fish to hide me? wondered EJ. My wetsuit is almost exactly the same colour as their scales and if I can just get enough of them to keep swimming with me, it just might work.

  EJ took off her fish charm and twisted it. She was holding a small bottle with a lid like a salt-shaker. There was a label.

  The bottle held fish food. EJ shook the lid and a cloud of tiny particles flooded out of the bottle and floated in the water. EJ waited and watched. No fish. Maybe that wasn’t enough? she thought. She shook out more particles. That did it. In seconds the school of large black fish returned but they were not alone. Hundreds of other fish, large and small, rushed to eat the reef feed, all frantically pushing each other to get at it. And in the m
iddle of the mass of tussling fish was EJ.

  The commotion did not go unnoticed by Adriana. Through the mass of fish, EJ could just make out Adriana peering over in her direction. Did that mean Adriana could also see her? The A-Sub’s spotlight swept over EJ and the fish. EJ fed out more fish food and more fish came. Just when EJ was convinced she had been discovered, she saw Adriana shrug her shoulders and look away.

  Phew, thought EJ. That was close. If I can just keep swimming and feeding them, these fish will keep hiding me and I should be able to make it to the top of the A-Sub and over to C2C’s SHINE mobile.

  It worked like a charm. EJ kept releasing fish food and hundreds of fish kept flocking around her as she swam closer and closer to the A-Sub. When she reached the top of the vessel, she stopped sprinkling the reef feed and slowly, the fish drifted away. EJ hovered above the A-sub and then saw C2C’s SHINE mobile. She slowly swam down to it and peered in the window. C2C’s face smiled out at her. EJ gave her the thumbs up and C2C smiled again, also giving the thumbs up. C2C then pointed upwards and wrote in the condensation on her window.

  EJ admired C2C’s handwriting—and the fact that she was writing backwards—but there was no time for that now. She gave C2C the thumbs up and swam back up to the top of the A-Sub. EJ pulled herself along the top until she came to a door with a large metal wheel, the A-Sub’s escape hatch. She pulled hard to twist the wheel lock. It didn’t budge. EJ tried again and this time she felt it give a little. She pulled again with both arms straining on the wheel and both legs pushing on the sub’s roof. Finally, with a last heave, she felt the wheel turn. She spun the wheel once around and pulled the door open, then slid into the small chamber as the water rushed in. Once inside, EJ tightly turned the wheel lock on the other side of the door and pressed a button on the wall next to a light that flashed red. As she did, the water was pumped out and another light flashed green. The cabin was sealed and airtight. EJ took off her air tank and opened the next hatch below, dropping into the submarine cabin. She clicked her flippers and they converted to dive shoes.

  She had made it past the searchlight, through the deep water, had checked C2C was alright and got into the submarine. EJ was feeling pretty proud of herself. Now all she had to do was find Adriana and figure out a way to stop her. No problem. EJ moved across to open the door in front of her. She hoped it would lead her to Adriana—just not quite as fast as it did.

  ‘Well, well, who might this be? Another Shiny friend from under the sea!’

  It was Adriana.

  ‘So, we meet again, EJ12. Will you never learn? Yes, that’s right, it’s me, I told you I’d return.’

  Adriana had led EJ out to the observation room of the submarine. In the middle of the deck was a large tank filled with what EJ instantly recognised as live black coral. Brilliantly coloured coral but with a jet-black skeleton.

  ‘Isn’t it beautiful?’ asked Adriana. ‘So fine, so fragile, so valuable.’

  ‘It’s more beautiful in the sea,’ said EJ.

  ‘Well, maybe, but it’s no good there. You can’t use it to make beautiful jewellery,’ replied Adriana, stroking the large black pendant that hung around her neck. ‘And my coral is perfect for jewellery. The tests of my first harvest show it to be of the highest quality. You have no idea how much money SHADOW and I can make from selling my coral.’

  ‘Except it’s not your coral.’

  ‘It is now,’ said Adriana, smiling smugly.

  ‘But you can’t just take it,’ cried EJ. ‘And your harvesting collects the rest of the reef as well.’

  ‘But I just did take it,’ said Adriana. ‘And anyway, I throw back all other stuff.’

  ‘But it’s too late then, it’s destroyed.’

  ‘Oh I suppose that’s a pity,’ sighed Adriana. ‘But the jewellery is so pretty and I do like pretty things.’ Adriana’s squinty eyes glared meanly at EJ over the top of her thick black glasses. ‘But now, I’m bored with talking to you, EJ Nothing,’ she said, her voice hardening. ‘In fact, I am tired of you always trying to ruin my projects, you little goody-goody. You’re as bad as my sister. Actually, shall I tell you a little secret about your precious A1?’

  ‘No!’ shouted EJ. ‘You shouldn’t tell other people’s secrets.’

  ‘Why not? I was never very good at keeping secrets,’ said Adriana.

  ‘Well you should get better,’ said EJ.

  ‘Oh should I now?’ snapped Adriana. ‘Do you really think that you can tell me what to do, EJworrywart-12?’ Adriana cackled. ‘ You can’t stop me.’

  ‘Yes I can. We can. I have alerted A1 to our location and she and a team of SHINE agents will be here at any moment.’

  Adriana stopped cackling, her smile fell away and she was completely still for a moment. ‘Well, not that I wouldn’t love a family reunion...’

  And with that, Adriana pressed her pendant. The floor underneath her opened and she dropped down to a lower deck of the submarine. EJ rushed over but the floor closed up again before she could get across the room. There was a loud, clanking noise as if something was moving from underneath the deck. Then a voice boomed over a speaker somewhere in the observation room.

  ‘Thanks for dropping in, EJ. Do give my worst to A1 but I really can’t stay. You know how it is. I win, you lose.’

  EJ rushed to the window to see that Adriana was making her escape in a small black mini-sub.

  ‘I don’t think so, Adriana. You’re not getting away this time,’ said EJ12 as she rushed to the A-Sub’s control panel.

  The control panel was enormous. There were buttons, levers, dials and flashing lights everywhere but EJ wasn’t one of SHINE’s leading agents for nothing. She knew exactly what she was looking for as she scanned the panel. First she flicked an audio switch and spoke into a handset.

  ‘C2C, do you copy?’ said EJ into the radio.

  ‘I copy, EJ,’ replied C2C. ‘I am so pleased to hear your voice.’

  ‘I’m going to pull the release lever for the robotic clamp that’s holding your SHINE mobile. Hold on.’

  ‘Check,’ said C2C.

  EJ scanned across the board and then pulled a lever on the right. ‘C2C, did that work?’

  ‘No, I think that one controls the net. Try another one.’

  EJ pulled the next lever. She heard another clanking sound from the back of the A-Sub.

  ‘That was it. Well done. EJ, my sub’s oxygen levels are low so I need to surface. Will you be okay?’

  ‘Oh yes,’ said EJ smiling. ‘I have everything under control. I’m now in pursuit of Adriana.’ EJ was going to enjoy this. Adriana had escaped from her last time and there was no way EJ12 would let that happen again.

  With C2C’s SHINE mobile now safely clear, EJ switched the engine to turbo and the A-Sub surged forward, racing through the water. EJ could see Adriana’s mini-sub just ahead. Its engines were no match for the A-Sub’s powerful ones and she gained on Adriana quickly. She then pulled the net lever again and waited. As she drew in closer to the mini-sub, EJ pulled the A-Sub up higher in the water and moved the net lever down.

  ‘Just a little further, just a little further,’ she said. Adriana’s mini-sub was now directly in front of the A-Sub’s net. If EJ could just get close enough she would be able to activate the net.

  ‘Perfect,’ said EJ as she pushed the button to open the net. The net hovered over the mini-sub.

  EJ pushed the button to close the net. ‘Gotcha,’ she said, and she began to bring both the A-Sub and the now entangled mini-sub up to the surface. EJ could see a very cross Adriana looking up at her.

  Piinngg!

  There was a message from SHINE on EJ’s phone.

  EJ12 smiled as she sent her reply.

  EJ climbed out on top through the escape hatch and stood on top of the A-Sub, looking up at the sky and breathing in the fresh air. The underwater world was amazing but it was nice to be back in more familiar territory. She smiled as she looked out and saw a large boat, with the two SHINE mobi
les being towed behind, coming towards her. A1, C2C and F15H were standing on its deck. A1 beamed at EJ as the boat drew in alongside the A-Sub.

  ‘Well done, EJ12,’ A1 cried. ‘Your best mission yet, I think. Not only have you stopped the coral harvest, you rescued C2C, captured the A-Sub and, last but certainly not least, you have captured Adriana.’

  ‘Thank you, A1,’ said EJ, blushing. ‘Adriana is in the mini-sub. I don’t think she will be very pleased to see you.’

  ‘Neither do I,’ said A1. ‘Agent F15H will make sure Adriana is taken away. We will put her to work, under guard, in the SHINE laboratories. She can develop some ways to fix the reef she has destroyed. C2C will take care of the A-Sub and EJ, we need to get you back home. You must be tired.’

  EJ groaned. Sometimes A1 was just a little bit too much like her mum.

  ‘Jump aboard, EJ. It’s time to go home. Mission accomplished.’

  They slowly navigated the boat over the reef but, as they hit open seas, the captain opened up the engine and the boat almost flew across the water. It was fantastic but EJ kept looking out hopefully across the sea.

  ‘Looking for something, EJ12?’ A1 asked.

  ‘I was just hoping to say good-bye to Squirt,’ said EJ a little sadly, still looking out to sea. Things had gotten so busy that she hadn’t noticed the dolphin swimming off.

  ‘Well, I think you could probably use your charm one more time,’ said A1. ‘After all, technically, you are still on a mission.’

  EJ jumped up and almost hugged A1 before stopping, thinking that wasn’t particularly secret agent-like. Instead, she took out her dolphin charm, twisted it and pressed the Return button.

  ‘Maybe you would like to wait in the water for her,’ called the captain. ‘We can pull you along on the side with a rope—dolphins love swimming behind boats and you can swim together.’