Free Ruby Redfort 1 - Look Into My Eyes by Lauren Child Page A

when they found a tiny rusted metal doorway covered in graffiti — nonsensical words and sprayed-on images, including one of a fly. Different from the one on the manhole cover but a fly nonetheless.
    “How come we’re not going down through that old drain?” she said.
    Hitch smiled. “There’s a saying at Spectrum: ‘If you want to lead the enemy straight to your door, just keep using the same one.’ That’s why there are many ways to enter Spectrum. We are always sealing one up and opening another. We have to. We can’t risk anyone finding our true location.”
    “But how do they construct all of this?” said Ruby, peering into the gloomy passageway. “All these passages and corridors? And how do they link up? I don’t get it.”
    “And nor should you, kid,” replied Hitch with a wink.
    Hitch and Ruby were greeted by a dowdily dressed woman who introduced herself simply as Buzz. She was the least buzzy person Ruby had ever seen.
    “Buzz?” repeated Ruby.
    “It’s a nickname,” said Buzz, by way of explanation. It was clear she wasn’t the chatty type. The reception area was light and glossy, spacious in a way that made you wonder where they got all the space
from.
    “Give us a minute, will you, kid?” said Hitch.
    Ruby wandered across the hall-like room, her eyes darting from object to object, her brain trying to make sense of the place. Buzz and Hitch were talking way over on the other side of the room. Ruby could make out every other sentence, or just about — most of it was pretty dull but one thing she heard intrigued her.
    “How do you think she measures up to you know who?”
    “Bradley Baker? Your guess is as good as mine.”
    “Well, if she even comes close I’ll be amazed.”
    “Perhaps she’ll surprise us all.”
    Ruby had no idea what they were talking about. Bradley Baker? Who was he and why did she have to measure up to him?
    “Ready, kid?” called Hitch.
    She stopped pretending not to listen and walked over to where they were standing. “What now?”
    “You need to be security cleared and then you can take the ninety-nine-second test.”
    “What’s the ninety-nine-second test?” asked Ruby. “And why do I need to take it? I thought I already passed.”
    “Kid, everyone who walks through the Spectrum door has to take the agency test — it’s protocol.”
    Before Ruby could argue further, they were interrupted by a middle-aged man with wild-looking hair and a slightly stupid grin.
    “Come on, Ms. Redfort, time for your close-up,” he said. “Just got to get all your security details: a nice mug shot, a couple of paw prints, footprints, height, weight, hair color, eye color, teeth color, nail color, you name it, I need it.”
    A comedian,
thought Ruby, but it turned out he wasn’t joking.
    After all the checks had been made and every hair on Ruby’s head had been counted — at least that’s what it felt like — there was some time to kill before she had to take the Spectrum test.
    “Buzz, give the kid a little tour of the gadget room,” said Hitch. “That’ll keep her out of trouble.”
    He was wrong about that.
    Buzz matter-of-factly acted as tour guide, pointing out this and that as they walked. Corridors peeled off in every direction and staircases wound up through various rooms. It wasn’t like any spy agency Ruby had seen on TV — it was
much
more interesting. For a start, with the exception of LB’s office, everything was in color. Ruby had imagined the whole of HQ would be black, white, and chrome — that was how a spy agency was meant to look. But this was unexpected — each department was painted in shades of a different color; corridors gradually melted from blue to indigo to violet.
    “Oh, I get it,” said Ruby. “That’s why you guys call this place Spectrum — it’s the colors, right?”
    “Uh-huh,” said Buzz, nodding.
    When they got to the gadget room, Ruby’s pulse started to race. Ever since she was tiny she had always dreamed of