A few hours later, Zac, Grandpa and Leon were rocketing out over the ocean in the MicroLab. They were closing in on GADGET HQ, where the final piece of IRIS was hidden. Zac’s mum and dad had gone off in the Ski-Pod to get back-up.
‘I still don’t get why I couldn’t have gone with Mum and Dad,’ said Leon from the pilot’s seat.
‘It doesn’t take three people to call for back-up,’ said Zac, rolling his eyes.
‘Besides,’ said Grandpa, ‘you’re GIB’s top gadget expert. You’re going to help us find the last piece of the most powerful gadget ever built.’
Zac’s heart pounded. Rescuing his family had eaten up precious time. They had a lot of catching up to do if they were going to beat Caz and Blackwood to the final piece of IRIS.
‘Where exactly is this place?’ Zac asked, watching the ocean rush past underneath them.
‘We’re headed for a tiny island in the middle of the ocean,’ said Grandpa. ‘That’s not where GADGET HQ is, though.’
‘Then why are we going?’ asked Zac.
‘Because GADGET HQ was built at the bottom of the ocean,’ said Grandpa, ‘and the water pressure down there would crush this MicroLab like a can of drink. We need a vehicle that’s custom-built to survive deep underwater.’
‘But why would you hide the last piece of IRIS at HQ?’ asked Zac. ‘Blackwood was in GADGET, and she can get there without a map!’
‘Yeah,’ said Leon, with one hand still on the MicroLab’s tiny steering wheel. ‘And why did you hide the IRIS computer chip in the City of Snow? Those people hated you after what IRIS nearly did to them!’
Grandpa shrugged. ‘I put the IRIS chip there because I thought it was the last place Elizabeth would look,’ he said. ‘And by the fourth piece, I was running out of good hiding spots. Besides, GADGET HQ was shut down years ago.’
Leon glanced out the window. ‘Island sighted,’ he said, turning back to the controls. ‘Preparing to land.’
Zac looked out the window as the MicroLab zoomed down to land on the island. He could see a sandy beach that stretched around the edge of the island, but there wasn’t a person in sight.
When the MicroLab was safely on the ground, the three of them climbed out.
‘Quick,’ said Grandpa. ‘This way.’
Grandpa led the way along the shore to an old wooden pier that stretched out into the ocean. Bobbing up and down at the end of the pier was a rusty yellow submarine.
‘This is the sub I used in the old days to get down to HQ,’ Grandpa explained as they ran along the pier. ‘It’s old, but it’s a good little vehicle.’
There was a heavy door on top of the submarine. Grandpa jumped across from the pier, spun a small dial, and heaved the door open. Zac and Leon followed him down into the sub.
‘Whoa!’ said Zac, as his feet hit the floor. The front of the sub was completely see-through, from the floor up to the roof. It was like standing inside a giant glass half-bubble.
‘So,’ smiled Grandpa, ‘who’s driving?’
Zac dived into the pilot’s seat. He’d had plenty of experience with underwater vehicles on previous missions, and he was itching to drive. It had been almost two days since he’d been at the wheel!
He grabbed the steering wheel and eased his foot down on the accelerator. The sub slowly drifted away from the pier and sank down into the water.
Zac guided the sub over the sandy ocean floor, sending schools of fish darting out of the way.
Then he glanced down at his PSU. The first three IRIS pieces were five kilometres away, but the last piece was still further out.
Good, he thought. That meant Caz and Blackwood were out there somewhere with the other pieces of IRIS – but they hadn’t made it to GADGET HQ yet.
The ocean floor suddenly dropped away, and the submarine sped out over a gaping underwater valley. Zac stared out through the front of the sub. The valley was so deep that he couldn’t even see the ocean bed.
‘The old HQ is just down there,’ said Grandpa, pointing into the darkness.
Zac spun the steering wheel, guiding the sub downward. The deeper they went, the darker the ocean became around them.
Grandpa reached over in front of Zac to switch on the submarine’s headlights.
CLICK!
‘Whoa!’ shouted Zac, slamming a hand down on the emergency stop.
‘Zac, look out!’ cried Leon.
Jets of water shot out in front of the sub, slowing it to a halt just in time.
Zac gazed out at the valley. Floating in the water down below them were hundreds of giant metal balls, covered in spikes.
