Compared to being attacked by a bird, the rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Jack came home at 3:30 p.m., played a few computer games, ate dinner, and by 7:20 p.m. was heading upstairs. When he got to his room, he wrapped pieces of the GPF’s Fix-It tape around his cuts and watched as the clock ticked by to 7:30 p.m. His miniature globe, Whizzy, was still asleep, snoozing on Jack’s bedside table.
Whenever the GPF had a mission for Jack, Whizzy would wake up at 7:30 p.m., and cough a country-shaped jigsaw piece out of his mouth. Jack would then slot the piece into the Magic Map of the world on his wall and be transported to his destination.
Since Whizzy was still asleep at 7:32 p.m., Jack was sure he didn’t have a mission tonight. He went over to his desk and opened a drawer. Sliding his hand inside, he tapped the underside and a secret hiding place was revealed. He pulled out some important papers.
Carrying them over to his bed, Jack laid them out on the duvet. The first was the original note he’d received many months ago, telling him that Max was in danger. The second was an example of a forged note from Max in Louise Persnall’s handwriting. The last was the coded note from Max himself.
As he was looking at the letters, something struck Jack. The Signature ID was created after notes from Max started coming home. This meant that Jack had never checked the identity of the person who wrote the first note! Jack shook his head in frustration. He couldn’t believe how silly he’d been.
Quickly he tapped his Watch Phone and asked for the code of the day. As soon as the code word FOOTBALL appeared, Jack punched it into the lock on his Book Bag, and opened it.
Pulling out the Signature ID, he scanned it over the letter. It took only seconds, but the name ‘Penny Powell’ popped up. Jack didn’t know anyone named Penny, so he asked the Signature ID to give him more information. When he found out who Penny worked for, he was shocked.
Penny worked for none other than the GPF. The same organization that he and his brother belonged to! Maybe Penny knew details about Max. Better still, she might help Jack get to Egypt.
Using his Watch Phone, Jack found Penny’s phone number in the GPF Employee Directory, and dialled it. A crackling noise came from his Watch Phone. An image of a woman sizzled onto the screen. She was young, probably in her twenties, and more than a little nervous.
‘Secret Agent Courage here,’ said Jack. ‘Are you Penny?’
‘I’ve been waiting for you to contact me,’ she said, looking quickly over her shoulder. ‘I don’t have long.’
‘What do you know about Max?’ asked Jack.
‘I used to work for Director Barter,’ she said, ‘before Louise. I came across your brother’s file, and saw that he was in trouble.’
‘What kind of trouble?’ said Jack.
‘Someone was trying to hunt him down,’ said Penny. She looked over her shoulder again, then back at the screen. She leaned in closer. ‘I told the Director that we should pull Max off the case,’ she said. ‘That it was getting too dangerous for him.’
‘What did he say?’ asked Jack.
‘Nothing,’ said Penny. ‘He ignored me. Before I knew it, I was assigned to work with someone else.’
Jack’s heart was really thumping now. If what Penny said was true, then Max was all alone. Jack really was his brother’s only hope.
‘Can you get me to Egypt?’ he asked.
There was a noise behind Penny. ‘Someone’s coming,’ she said, looking worried. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’
Before Jack could say anything else, the image disappeared from the screen.
Just then, Whizzy woke up, winked at Jack and started to spin. Whizzy coughed up a jigsaw piece and Jack scooped it up. As soon as he saw its shape, Jack knew that Penny had managed to help him.
Fitting the shape into the map, Jack waited for the name ‘Egypt’ to appear. He grabbed his Book Bag from underneath his bed and ran back to the map. The light inside Egypt was growing brighter now.
Jack closed his eyes and said a silent prayer for good luck. When the time was right, he yelled, ‘Off to Egypt!’ Then the light burst, and swallowed him into the Magic Map.