For several hours, the Searcher zoomed over the ocean at full speed. It turned out that the old chopper was faster than Zac had expected, even though it creaked and rattled all the way.
WHOOMF-WHOOMF!
‘…and then,’ Zac told Grandpa, finishing the story he’d been telling, ‘the Turbo Boots blasted me up out of the volcano, about two seconds before the whole thing exploded!’
‘Sounds like that was a close one!’ said Grandpa from the co-pilot’s seat. ‘You really are becoming an amazing spy.’
‘Just like my grandpa,’ Zac smiled.
He shifted in his seat. The Searcher might have been fast, but he and Grandpa had still been at the controls for ages. And even swapping stories about their missions couldn’t keep them entertained forever.
Grandpa had chosen hiding places for the IRIS pieces that were as far apart as possible. That meant a lot of travel time. Four days all up, and he was only one and a half days into his most extreme mission ever.
Soon, Zac saw snow-capped mountains rising up in the distance.
‘The Misty Ruins are down in the valley between those mountains,’ said Grandpa from the co-pilot’s seat.
Zac looked down at the Proximity Scanning Device on his wrist, checking to see how far they were from the second piece of IRIS.
A few minutes later, Zac steered the Searcher down between two mountains. A valley stretched out below them, covered in a blanket of white mist.
‘Our next target is IRIS’s power core,’ Grandpa explained. ‘It’s hidden down there in an old, broken-down castle.’
Zac looked out the window for some sign of Leon. Grandpa had asked Zac’s brother to meet them on the way here. But there wasn’t any sign of Leon’s flying MicroLab.
Zac guided the Searcher slowly downwards. They hit the mist and suddenly everything went white.
Grandpa flicked on the fog lights.
WHIRR!
Two enormous fans buzzed to life, blowing the mist out of the chopper’s path.
CLUNK!
Twin beams of bright light shot out in front of them, lighting up the Searcher’s way. Zac saw that they were hovering just above an enormous pine forest.
The old Searcher really is cool, thought Zac, impressed at how well he could see now.
He flew over the treetops, dodging any trees tall enough to block their path. Then Zac saw another vehicle up ahead.
The BIG chopper! he realised.
The Searcher had managed to catch up with Caz and Blackwood. Without fog lights, the two BIG agents were obviously having a hard time finding their way through the mist.
Zac pushed the Searcher forward. The old engine rumbled beneath his feet.
‘Look!’ said Grandpa, pointing through the windshield. Zac squinted to see what Grandpa was looking at.
POP-POP-POP-POP!
Shining silver discs were flying out of the back of the BIG chopper. They spun through the air, zooming straight towards the Searcher.
Zac looked at Grandpa. ‘Uh-oh.’
As the discs got closer, Zac saw that they were actually sharp, spinning frisbees. They were small, but looked powerful enough to rip right through the Searcher’s metal body.
Zac sent the Searcher swooping down towards the forest, almost nose-diving into the treetops. The frisbees whizzed past, straight over their heads. The Searcher groaned as Zac pulled it back up again.
‘Ha!’ he said, grinning. ‘They’ll have to do better than that!’
But then a cold shiver shot up his spine. The frisbees made a sharp U-turn in mid-air. They were coming back!
They must have movement-seeking technology, thought Zac, annoyed. But he was also a little bit impressed. He swerved the controls from side to side, trying to out-run the frisbees. But it was no good. They ripped through the mist, closer and closer.
‘I can’t shake them,’ said Zac, clenching his teeth.
‘Keep trying,’ said Grandpa, getting up from his seat. ‘Hold them off for as long as you can.’
‘What are you doing?’ Zac asked.
‘The Searcher has a last-resort Extreme Pulse Deactivator,’ Grandpa said, moving towards the back of the cockpit. ‘It’s harmless to us, but it’ll send out a strong electronic pulse to shut those frisbees down.’
SHHHIINNKK!
The cockpit shuddered. One of the frisbees sliced into the side of the Searcher, right next to Zac’s seat.
The frisbee tore along the Searcher’s side, leaving a massive gash in the chopper’s hull. Wind rushed in and the chopper creaked and groaned even more.
Zac weaved between the trees, trying to dodge the other frisbees. He looked back at Grandpa, who was using a crowbar to lever a metal panel off the floor.
SHHIINNKK! SHHIINNKK!
Zac cringed as two more frisbees sliced into the Searcher. The whole cockpit was filled with the sound of scraping metal.
Zac slammed the rusty accelerator, trying desperately to get more speed. The Searcher lurched forward. They were right behind the BIG chopper again.
Over his shoulder, Zac saw Grandpa preparing the EPD.
‘It’s armed!’ Grandpa called. ‘Hit the square button in front of you to fire it.’
SHHHIINNKK-SMASH!
One of the frisbees smashed right through the front window of the Searcher. It was inside the cockpit! The frisbee buzzed around the room, narrowly missing Zac’s arm.
It’s now or never, Zac thought. He closed his eyes and jammed his finger down on the button.
