Hitch raised his eyes heavenwards and depressed a button on his watch and the glass lid slid back. There looked to be enough space to seat three passengers comfortably and four at a squeeze. It looked worryingly unstable and Ruby was concerned that it would tip as she climbed in.
‘Plenty of agents bigger than you have found themselves jumping into this thing, trying to make a fast getaway,’ said Hitch. ‘And I can assure you kid, it never rolls over… so long as you don’t slip, you won’t drown. If you do, it’s anyone’s guess.’
Ruby gave him a sideways look, then climbed in very carefully and buckled up. Hitch took a key from a well-concealed compartment, slotted it into the ignition, turned it this way, that way, another way and then the engine began to purr.
After fiddling with some switches, and once the roof was locked into place, Hitch pushed a lever and they moved forward, dipping smoothly under the waves. The cliff ledge suddenly disappeared and the sub moved into deep water.
‘Keep your safety belt fastened!’ said Hitch, as he pulled on another of the controls and the scuba sub suddenly jetted forward at great speed, silently cutting through the ocean. Things on either side of them vanished into a blur as they passed by.
‘How do you avoid colliding with a whale?’ asked Ruby, who was sort of pinned to her seat, enjoying the ride, but not yet entirely relaxed.
‘Automatic Avoidance Sonar,’ said Hitch. ‘I’ve never hit anything yet kiddo!’
It was a thrill to travel so fast – better than any amusement park – but Ruby wouldn’t have minded slowing it down a little, taking some time to look at the scenery. In the blink of an eye they reached another rock face; this one seemed to be covered in petrified insects – sort of prehistoric-looking flies and insect fossils.
‘We’re stopping here?’ asked Ruby.
‘Not exactly,’ said Hitch, pressing one of the buttons on the control panel.
What looked like solid rock suddenly corkscrewed open and they entered a water-filled channel.
They navigated their way up the passage until they reached a dead end, a round pool. Hitch switched off the engine and a platform under the sub lifted them and their vehicle out of the water.
They had arrived.
Ruby assumed this entrance must be the latest ‘way in’ to Spectrum HQ since it was not unusual for the location to be moved several times a month.
‘So this is Spectrum?’ said Ruby.
‘Not exactly,’ said Hitch.
‘What does that mean?’
‘This kid is Spectrum’s Sea Division, Spectrum 5. Sea Division, as the name would suggest, is always located somewhere at sea.’
‘So, given that we work for Spectrum 8, what are we doing here?’ asked Ruby.
‘Spectrum 5 have been working on a case that might cross over with a case that Spectrum 8 have been looking into – LB thought it might be an idea to join forces.’
As they walked, some of the slick white corridors became clear glass-tube passageways, and fish swam by on the other side – sunfish, rockfish, cardinal fish, kelpfish, garibaldi, stingrays, and a thousand others. It was sort of like being in a giant aquarium, though the fish might well conclude it was the people who were the exhibits here.
It was strange for Ruby to enter Spectrum as a fully paid-up agent in training. She stifled a smile, remembering that at the tender age of thirteen she had already achieved her lifetime ambition of becoming an undercover secret agent for one of the most undercover and secret of secret agencies in the world.
She looked around her at the huge domed space with its glass floor and sealife moving underfoot.
‘Hey kid!’ shouted Hitch. ‘Want to look lively? LB’s waiting.’
Ruby had taken off her jacket and slung it over her shoulder so it was again possible to read the slogan written in bold letters across her T-shirt: excuse me while I yawn.
Hitch paused a minute. ‘Kid, my advice? Put your jacket back on and zip it right up – LB sees that and she might not find it so funny.’
‘She not in a good mood?’ Ruby called across the hall.
‘I doubt that sincerely kid. That diver who just washed up dead on the beach – he was one of ours and losing an agent always puts a crimp in her day.’
HITCH LED THE WAY DOWN A STEEPLY SLOPING PASSAGE that wound round and round and seemed like it must spiral right through the seabed. When they reached a black circular door, Hitch punched in some numbers and they were admitted to the screening room.
The room was full of agents and Spectrum staff, sitting in cinema-style seats which all faced a large white screen. There was a buzz in the air, everyone knew something big had happened, but few knew exactly what had gone down. Ruby tried to get her bearings, looked around – unfortunately straight into the eyes of Agent Froghorn (he of the silent G). He made much of pointing to his watch, indicating that it was way past her bedtime, and Ruby mouthed a word not to be repeated. Agent Redfort and Agent Froghorn were never likely to exchange birthday cards.
Sea Divison headquarters had much in common with Spectrum 8 HQ, but there were some very obvious differences, the main one being: when you looked out of the window you saw water. Agent Trent-Kobie, head of Sea Division, had been called away on urgent business and so the briefing was to be given by the boss of Spectrum 8.
LB.
Dressed all in white, LB walked into the room – and instantly the chatting stopped. LB had this effect on people. She was immaculately dressed but for her feet, which were bare, red nail polish perfectly applied to her toes. The head of Spectrum 8 did not much care for shoes of any kind and was rarely seen in footwear.
When she reached the front, where the microphone stood, she dropped a perspex file onto the small table to her side, and launched right in.
‘So, as you will know by now, Agent Trilby’s body was found on Sunday evening – he had been diving off the coast not far from Twinford Bay beach. During the past month he has been investigating unusual ocean activity – strange behaviour of marine life. There has been a lot of unusual ocean activity recently and it can all be found in Agent Trilby’s report.’ She continued to go through example after example of things that had been occurring just off the coast of Twinford.
Dolphins refusing to leave the bay, seagulls flocking inland, fishing stock low.
‘As we all know,’ continued LB, ‘Trilby was a very proficient diver and it is highly unlikely that he would have drowned in normal circumstances. We are still waiting for the autopsy, but it would seem that he was unfortunate enough to come into contact with something like a stingray or an electric eel. There is evidence of bruising to his leg that still needs to be explained, but we feel it’s likely that he encountered this sort of creature and this either led to a cardiac arrest or a severe shock that in turn led to drowning.’
It couldn’t have been a stinging creature that killed him, thought Ruby, Trilby would definitely have utilised his Spectrum-issue anti-sting Miracle serum. It was a comfort to know that every diving agent had this life-saver with them even if it couldn’t guard against shocks and bites.
LB pushed her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose. ‘Yes?’ she said, spotting a raised hand.
‘Do you think the strange ocean activity is linked to something else – some dark plot I mean – or do you think it’s all just a consequence of some natural event throwing things off course?’
The