EJ12’s mission gear was laid out, as usual, on the briefing table but it was pretty unusual gear. Rather than binoculars there were heart-shaped sunglasses, rather than a backpack there was a nifty denim shoulder bag with lots of little button badges pinned to it. There were badges with pictures of puppies, a baby monkey, even a badge that said ‘I ♥ Penguins’ and another saying ‘100% maths’. It was as if it had been created especially for EJ. Instead of cargo pants and standard issue mission t-shirt, there was a pair of faded denim jeans and, EJ’s eyes lit up when she saw it, a limited edition Pink Shadows tour t-shirt. There was also a black leather jacket and a pair of indigo-coloured sneakers that looked to be exactly EJ’s size. ‘The sneakers can also become platform sneakers, EJ. If you need a bit more height, simply click and wait for the heels to extend. They may help you look for things in the crowd. You will also be needing this,’ said A1 as she passed EJ her concert ticket. ‘There is a purse in your bag with some money in it. Keep the ticket there so you don’t lose it.’

A1 sounded just like EJ’s mum. She often did but EJ didn’t mind, it was good to know that someone was looking out for you. Before she put it away, EJ looked at the ticket and gasped. It wasn’t just any concert ticket, it was a ticket for Pink Class, the best section in the stadium.

‘How did you get this?’ asked EJ. ‘These tickets have been sold out for months.’

‘Oh, we have our ways,’ said A1 smiling. ‘You may need this as well,’ said A1, giving EJ a plastic disc, attached to a long pink cord. ‘It is a backstage pass. Put it around your neck and if anyone asks, tell them you won it in a “Light Up Your Life” radio competition. Now EJ, this is another night mission. Are you ready for that?’

‘Absolutely A1,’ replied EJ without hesitating. ‘You could say that I have seen the light on being scared of the dark!’

‘Well done you, EJ12,’ said A1. ‘And I do like a word joke. In fact, that reminds me of another SHINE motto: “It’s always more fun when you use a good pun.”’

EJ groaned at that one, then spied an mp3 player on the briefing table. It had a metallic indigo cover which, along with aqua, was one of EJ’s favourite colours. It looked slightly different from the ones in the shops.

‘This is a special SHINE-issue mp3 player, EJ. It’s a spy-pod and has extra functions including a record function. There is also a SHINE-issue headset but make sure you buy another set at the concert, as the message instructed. And some hair, whatever that means. Okay, let’s move on to your new charms.’

CHARM stood for Clever Hidden Accessories with Release Mechanism. The SHINE inventors were always creating new devices for their agents. They invented baby penguin food dispensers, glow-in-the-dark string, spray to attract butterflies and spray to repel spiders but their cleverest invention was a method to shrink all this equipment and hide it within charms. The agent simply wore the charm bracelet on her wrist and, when she needed to, activated the device by twisting the charm. It worked, as A1 liked to say, like a charm! Depending on where the agent was going and what she might need to do, the SHINE inventors would create new charms.

EJ saw there were four new silver charms laid out on the briefing table. There was a little microphone, a dog bone, a guitar and a heart with musical notes engraved on it.

‘I really think we have outdone ourselves this time,’ said A1. ‘Look at the microphone charm, EJ. This charm is embedded with SHINE-created micro-speak technology. Once activated, you simply select your voice type and then speak into the microphone. Your voice will be disguised as the selected voice. You can sound like a young man, an old woman, a small child, there is quite a range to choose from, including animal noises. It is quite ingenious, even if we do say so ourselves. You can also pick your language—once you talk into it, it will translate and, voila! it will produce the words in that language. And last, but by no means least, if you use your spy-pod to record a voice, you can connect it up and micro-speak will be able to copy it, allowing you to sound exactly like that person. It could be very useful to get past voice-recognition tests.’

‘Wow,’ said EJ, ‘that is amazing.’ And, she thought, imagine what I could do with it to annoy Bob.

‘Just remember, EJ,’ said A1 frowning slightly, ‘the charms cannot be used outside missions.’

‘Oh, of course not,’ said EJ, blushing. She thought she’d better move the conversation on. ‘What does this little dog bone do, A1?’

‘I am glad you asked,’ said A1. ‘It’s our new dog whisperer charm. We are a little bit worried about Shady Lady’s dog, Pinky-poo. She seems rather temperamental. If she does give you any trouble, this charm will help you manage her.’

That is so cool, thought EJ. I wish you could use them out of missions—it might work on Nema.

‘Okay, EJ12, the concert stadium is out of town and we need to get you there well before the show starts so you can have a look around. We must not miss a beat. There will be a further briefing once you are on your way. Now you need to get changed and prepare yourself for departure,’ said A1.

EJ headed off to the dressing room with her clothes. SHINE always got the right size and EJ felt confident and ready for anything once she changed into her mission gear, even if it was jeans and a leather jacket this time. Her school dress would be washed and sent home to EJ’s mum who, being a former SHINE agent herself, wouldn’t be surprised. Actually she would be thrilled that someone else had washed the uniform for a change.

Dressed and feeling fabulous, EJ attached her charms to her bracelet, put her backstage pass around her neck and packed her spy-pod, headset, purse and phone into her shoulder bag. Then she heard A1’s voice over the loudspeaker.

‘EJ12, push the button to the right of the dressing room door and you can exit directly to the SHINE underground car park, where your limousine is waiting for you. Good luck and keep in contact.’

A limo? Could this mission get any better? EJ12 was ready to rock.