‘Good morning … er … children,’ the Prime Minister said.
They were standing in an astonishing hotel suite, all of them stunned into silence. It had three sofas, a giant TV screen and a large desk strewn with papers. The walls were decorated with a green and gold leaf pattern. Real gold. Beyond the desk was the massive window that opened out on to the amazing view they had seen from the roof: Norway’s northernmost city and its magnificent surroundings.
Hatty was smiling. Smiling because she couldn’t believe that the Squad were meeting the British Prime Minister. This was the man who was in control of their country. If they were meeting him – and he was telling them what to do in person – whatever mission Julia had for them, it was going to be serious. Deadly serious.
Face to face, the Prime Minister looked smaller than he did on the television. He also looked uneasy. His face was flushed. He was fidgeting with his hands. From the far end of the room he was watched by a young man who was holding a file of documents and wearing a pair of expensive sunglasses.
The Prime Minister cleared his throat. ‘We’ve brought you to the Arctic for a reason,’ he said. Then he paused, still seemingly unsure as to how he should talk to them. Hatty knew what this was about: the Prime Minister wasn’t used to giving orders to children.
‘Please, sir,’ Julia said. ‘Brief them as you would brief me. The children need to understand the sensitivity of the mission.’
The Prime Minister looked at Julia, hesitated, then tried again.
‘This week there’s a very important conference taking place here in Norway,’ he said. ‘Let me explain. All the nations that have a claim to the seabed beneath the Arctic ice … the melting Arctic ice … well, they’re here … to discuss who owns which part of that seabed.’
Kester understood what the PM meant. ‘Norway, Canada, Russia, the United States, Denmark, Iceland.’ He reeled off a list of the countries involved. ‘They need to work out how to divide the seabed up without a war starting.’
The Prime Minister looked more relaxed. ‘To put it simply, yes. If we can convince them to sign a Tromsø Treaty – an agreement as to who owns what in the Arctic – then it will most definitely prevent a war.’
‘You’re chairing the conference because you’re neutral,’ Lily added. ‘I read about it in a Norwegian newspaper on the flight.’
‘A Norwegian newspaper? Do you know Norwegian?’
‘Lily knows several languages, sir,’ Kester clarified.
‘Very good,’ the Prime Minister said. ‘I’m impressed. You’ll know what’s really at stake here. The truth is that under the seabed, here in the Arctic, there are billions of pounds’ worth of oil and gas and other resources. Trillions in fact. Added to that – and as I’m sure you know – the world is fast running out of oil and gas. Therefore, whichever country can get its hands on that oil and gas will be rich and strong and far more powerful than any other nation. If one country does get the lion’s share, it will, effectively, rule the world.’
‘Which is why there might be a war,’ Hatty said, speaking for the first time. ‘Because oil means war.’
The Prime Minister closed his eyes again and nodded. ‘Yes. You’re absolutely right. The chance of a war is growing by the day. But there doesn’t have to be a war. If we can stop the people who want to disrupt this conference, then we can – and we will – avoid it.’
‘We?’ Hatty asked.
The Prime Minister smiled at Hatty. Lily smiled too: she was always interested to see how adults reacted to Hatty’s blunt questions and remarks. But that was Hatty for you.
‘You are the “we”,’ the Prime Minster said. ‘Look. I’m not happy that we’re using … I mean … working with … you … with children, but really we have no choice.’
‘We’re a very experienced unit, sir,’ Kester said.
‘Yes, so I’ve heard.’ The Prime Minister was looking at the four children as if he was trying to make sense of them. ‘But tell me how the football element of your cover works. I know about you, but very little about what you do.’
‘It started in Poland, sir,’ Kester explained.
‘Yes?’
‘We needed to be able to get into places without being identified as spies. Anywhere in the world. And no one would suspect a kids’ football team of espionage.’
‘That’s true. But what about the other players, your teammates?’ the Prime Minister asked. ‘Do they know about what you do?’
‘No, sir.’
‘That must be very tricky. I mean, to hide it from them.’
‘We keep the two worlds separate,’ Kester said. ‘We take precautions. Like any spy ring.’
The Prime Minister nodded. ‘Good. As you know, we’ve organized for you to be involved in a tournament here for just that purpose. USA, Canada, Norway and yourselves. I’m looking forward to seeing you play. I’m a huge soccer fan myself.’
Lily winced. She hated to hear English people call football ‘soccer’. It made it seem like they didn’t know what they were talking about.
‘Sir,’ Julia broke in. ‘The conference. We need the children to understand the sensitivity of this mission.’
‘Indeed,’ the Prime Minister said, focusing.
‘Can I ask …?’ Kester interrupted.
‘Yes?’
‘Well, can I ask why anyone would try to disrupt the conference? I mean, why would they want to spoil the chance of a Tromsø Treaty?’
‘Julia?’ The Prime Minister passed the question on to the Squad’s commander.
‘We suspect several people,’ Julia explained. ‘We have intelligence to indicate that someone may be planning to undo the work the Prime Minister is doing here. That is, to make sure no agreement happens. Perhaps they think that, if there really is a war, then their country would get more oil than if everyone just made a group decision. It’s basic greed, really. We need you to find out what these people are planning.’
‘Who would want to do that?’ Hatty asked.
‘We’ll go into it later, Hatty,’ Julia said quickly. ‘Let’s not bother the Prime Minister with that now. The fact is someone is planning to undermine the conference. We know that.’
‘The who is related to the why.’ The Prime Minister interrupted Julia this time, glancing at his watch. ‘But the truthful answer is we don’t know which of them it is, so we don’t know why exactly they want to do it. But we do know that, if the Tromsø Treaty doesn’t come off, some of the countries involved are ready to start drilling now in places they shouldn’t be.’
‘For instance, sir?’ Julia pressed.
‘For instance? Well, Russia has a fleet of ice-breaking ships and massive oil-drilling ships that they could take to places that maybe aren’t Russian, and they may start drilling just to see what happens, to test how another country reacts.’
‘So why us?’ Hatty asked. ‘This is a big deal. Is it something suited to us? Surely this is down to politicians or adult spies. I don’t see why you need children to do this for you.’
‘That’s the point,’ the Prime Minister said. ‘The only adults allowed in this hotel to attend the conference are government officials. Like Mr Luxton over there.’
The Prime Minister pointed at the silent young man holding the file in the corner.
‘There are going to be no maids to service the bedrooms, just to make sure no undercover officer from any country is posing as a hotel worker. Prime ministers are going to have to make their own beds! Therefore, no spies can be here. It’s the perfect way to keep things fair. In fact, the only people staying at this hotel, other than known government officials and the UN soldiers making sure that everyone sticks to the agreement, are you and the other three teams taking part in your football tournament. All of you children.’
‘And because we’re children,’ Hatty said, ‘no one will suspect us.’
‘Exactly,’ the Prime Minister said. ‘And all the Arctic Powers agree that having innocent children and sport around the conference sends a good message to the world.’
‘That we are the future,’ Lily said. ‘That you’re saving the world for the children.’
‘It’s good to think about the children.’ Adnan spoke before the Prime Minister could reply. ‘But isn’t this terrible for the planet? Surely more oil coming out of the seabed means more global warming. That’s no good for the polar bears.’
The Prime Minister put his hand to his mouth and spoke again. ‘If we can encourage the countries involved to drill for oil in controlled and cleaner ways, then it’s the best we can hope for. More chaotic drilling or a war would make it far worse for the wildlife. Don’t you think?’
There was an uneasy silence.
‘So, can you help me?’ the Prime Minister asked.
All four children said yes as one.
‘Good.’ The Prime Minister smiled, stepping forward. ‘Now, please, do tell me your names.’
None of the children spoke.
Then Kester broke the silence. ‘It’s probably best, sir, that you don’t know our names.’
After the children had shared a tray of soft drinks with the Prime Minister, Julia signalled that it was time to leave his elegant hotel suite.
‘Even if I’m not to know your names,’ the Prime Minister said, ‘I want to say thank you for the work that you do. You know that I’m serious about the possibility that the conference could end in a war between some of the greatest countries in the world. It would be such a global disaster that it may turn into World War Three. If …’ The Prime Minister hesitated. ‘If anyone was left to speak of it afterwards.’