Free S.T.I.N.K.B.O.M.B. by Rob Stevens Page A

going. We accessed some satellite images of the crash site and they clearly show that in the seconds following your old man’s car making like a submarine, someone else jumped into
the sea from the cliff. We reckon the kidnappers were trying to rescue him.’
    ‘And did they?’ Archie demanded urgently.
    ‘We don’t know for sure.’ Agent X-ray pursed her lips. ‘The satellite was being repositioned to spy on some foreign students suspected of plotting to bump off the Queen.
It was only luck that it caught any of the action at all.’
    ‘He must have saved him though,’ Archie said brightly. ‘You see, my dad was wearing this heart monitor to help RAF Cranfield with a study they’re doing—’
    ‘Yeah, we know all about the scientific study,’ Agent X-ray interrupted, displaying the university website on one of the wall-mounted monitors. ‘We bugged your hospital room so
we heard what you told DC Flowers. We accessed your father’s vital statistics to check for ourselves and we agree with you.’
    ‘You think he’s alive?’ Archie beamed.
    ‘We’re pretty sure he is,’ said Agent X-ray with just a flicker of a smile. ‘Or at least he was at just gone midnight the night before last.’
    ‘That’s brilliant!’ Archie turned and high-fived Barney. Then he noticed that Highwater and Agent X-ray weren’t smiling.
    ‘That’s the good news,’ said Highwater grimly. ‘Unfortunately there’s some bad news too.’

‘The bad news, Mr Hunt, is that while your father is alive,’ Grey chipped in, ‘he’s still in very hot water without a paddle.’
    Archie grimaced as he tried to decipher the elderly man’s metaphor.
    ‘In simple terms,’ Highwater added, glaring at her colleague, ‘we are working on the theory that the man who kidnapped your father is planning to carry out some sort of
experiments on his captives in order to further his despicable plan to take over the world. In short, we are dealing with an Evil Mastermind Uprising.’
    Barney nodded, the corners of his mouth turned down as if this was exactly the scenario he had expected.
    Archie began to feel weirdly woozy, as if he was immersed in glycerine. It was as though reality had somehow become mixed up with some strange spy fantasy. ‘Evil Mastermind Uprising. Is
that, like, an official term?’
    ‘I’m afraid so,’ Highwater stated coldly.‘We use it only in the very gravest circumstances when an individual of exceptional intelligence demonstrates he has both the
intention and the wherewithal to instigate a fiendish plot designed to destabilise the balance of world power.’
    ‘In short, he’s a well nasty gangster, isn’t it?’ added Grey.
    ‘And what exactly is he going to do with my father?’ Archie asked faintly.
    Highwater nodded knowingly. ‘I’m afraid, young man, that our theory as to Doctor Doom’s objectives is highly classified information. I can’t tell you any more unless you
agree to sign the Official Secrets Act and accept the terms of the MI6 Undercover Agents Disclaimer. And this is the point at which I must ask Mr Jones to leave.’
    Archie looked at Barney, who gave him a tightlipped smile and a nod of encouragement.
    ‘OK, I’ll sign,’ Archie said.
    ‘Excellent.’ Highwater produced a welcoming smile.
    ‘But only if Barney’s on the team too.’
    Highwater’s face froze. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Hunt, this isn’t some after-school club. You don’t get to join because your friend’s a member.’
    ‘But Barney knows everything there is to know about spy stuff,’ Archie insisted.
    ‘I have seen every single James Bond film at least five times,’ Barney offered timidly, ‘even Die Another Day . I’ve read all the Young Bond books over and
over – and I got through the whole Alex Rider series in one week. I never miss an episode of Spooks or Alias and I even watched The Bourne Identity when my parents
thought I was doing my homework. I can recite all the dialogue from Mission Imposs