John and Julie, the newly minted miniature agents acting on behalf of the mysterious alien intelligence known as The Investigator have just completed another exciting mission!
It began two days ago, when the agents were briefed by The Investigator. He relayed to them a worrying report about an imminent rocket launch from the small island of Theddida, thirty miles off the coast of Malta.
Theddida was under the iron rule of recently elected leader General Hazin, a corrupt leader with an appetite for extortion. The Investigator revealed that the General had been stockpiling components taken in daring raids against cargo vessels in order to construct a deadly rocket-launched super-weapon.
If the General was successful in launching the weapon into orbit, he would have the power to hold any country of the world ransom with the powerful laser satellite on board.
John and Julie left Malta immediately, departing in the Investi-Boat, one of the vehicles that had been provided by The Investigator. The small craft, no bigger than a surfboard, cut through the water at a fantastic speed. The thirty-mile journey elapsed quickly as the pair of agents prepared to foil the General’s scheme.
Arriving at the coast of Theddida, Julie deployed the Investi-Boat’s wheels and drove out of the water and up a nearby slipway. John produced the Sonic Detector and swiveled it towards the launch complex, a couple of miles due north. Even at such a great range, John and Julie could clearly hear the hive of activity. From the sound of things, the rocket and its lethal payload would be ready for launch in less than two hours.
Knowing that their own craft would draw unwanted attention, John and Julie set about finding another means to enter the highly secure launch complex.
Using a miniature laser cutter, John cut through the trunk of a small tree beside the nearby road leading to the launch complex perimeter. Next, Julie unfurled a thin steel cable from the rear of the Investi-Boat and wound it around the fallen tree. The small craft had no difficulty pulling the tree into position across the road.
Having hidden their vehicle behind some cover, the pair returned to the scene of their handiwork. It didn’t take long before the glow of headlamps was visible in the early light of dawn, proceeding down the road towards them.
As the vehicle neared, they saw it was a supply truck, just what they were looking for. The truck slowed to a stop on front of the fallen tree. The driver jumped out and hauled the tree clear of the road, muttering to himself. He didn’t realise as he moved off that he had acquired two passengers.
The truck passed through the security checkpoint without incident, before driving over to an unloading area near the launch pad. John and Julie jumped clear and ran for cover behind some nearby crates.
From their vantage point, they could see the enormous bulk of the rocket standing about a hundred yards away, while armed guards rushed around making final preparations. Away to the right stood the fortified bunker from which the General himself would undoubtedly be watching the spectacle.
Spotting a break in the guards’ movements, John and Julie bolted forwards, keeping to the shadows and cover as much as possible as they raced to the base of the launch gantry. Climbing the framework of the huge tower wasn’t easy, but their diminutive size made them virtually undetectable by the busy guards.
At last they reached the umbilical gantry reaching out to the rocket. Ordinarily it would have been wide enough for just one person, but the two agents walked across it side by side with ease. once more John deployed the small laser tool and set to work slicing open an access panel in the fuselage.
The panel dropped off with a small clang and Julie set to work on the gyro control settings inside. Precious minutes ticked by. The rushing people below looking more like ants from the great height of the gantry. Then, with a final confirmation check that her settings were set as The Investigator has instructed, the pair descended the gantry and made for the rear of the truck they’d come in on.
With ten minutes to go, a siren sounded and the convoy of vehicles began leaving the launch area, travelling back out of the perimeter surrounding the complex. Timing it just right, John and Julie leapt from the truck into the soft grass alongside the road near to where they’d hidden the Investi-Boat.
In moments, the little craft was motoring down the slipway and crashing through the waves once more. Once they were at a safe distance, John counted down the last few seconds.
With a blinding flash, a roar like thunder and a plume of exhaust gases, the great silver rocket soared majestically into the sky… for a few moments. Then, almost as if in slow motion, it began to tilt, further and further, travelling in a steep arc until it was pointing straight down into the ocean.
Julie pointed the end of the Sonic Detector back at the distant outline of the launch bunker and was delighted to hear the General’s shouts of fury as he watched his new weapon crash into the sea in a spectacular fireball.
With the weapon destroyed and the General’s latest plan in ruins, the two friends set course for Malta to report back to The Investigator. Little did they know, their next mission wouldn’t run quite as smoothly…
Leave a comment