Agent 21 Read Online Free PDF Page A

sir?’ called someone from the back of the class, and there were a few laughs.
    ‘It’s
Mr
Peters to you,’ Jobsworth said. ‘And I’m sorry to say that he’s been called away on family business. We don’t know when – or if – he’ll be back.’
    Nobody in the classroom appeared at all concerned by this news. Nobody, that is, except Zak. He sat down at his place, slightly stunned.
    It made sense, of course. If Michael had been telling the truth about Peters, and he’d been at the school just to evaluate Zak, there was now no reason for him still to be here. Zak raised his hand.
    ‘What is it, Darke?’
    ‘What sort of family business, sir?’
    Jobsworth looked offended by the question. ‘Are you part of his family, Darke?’
    ‘No, sir.’
    ‘Then it’s not your business, is it? Now then, what were you doing in your last lesson?’
    A groan from the class. ‘Transistor radios, sir.’
    Jobsworth’s eyes widened in astonishment. ‘Youshouldn’t be doing that for another two years,’ he said, clearly a bit annoyed.
    ‘Yeah, well we couldn’t,’ a voice piped up.
    ‘Except
Darke
,’ someone else added. And then in a whisper: ‘
Swot
.’
    Laughter. Zak ignored it. ‘Settle
down
!’ Jobsworth shouted. ‘Open your text books at page fifteen.’
    And the lesson began.
    The day passed slowly. Zak was glad when it was over, but he still dawdled back to 63 Acacia Drive. Michael’s voice echoed in his mind.
It isn’t really home, is it? Not really
.
    No
, thought Zak.
It isn’t. It’s just a place I live – if you can call it living
. He remembered the skateboard. It upset him and his thoughts drifted, as they so often did, to his mum and dad.
You might even find out the real reason your parents died
. . .
    It was quiet back at his uncle and aunt’s house. The grown-ups weren’t yet back from work; Ellie was sleeping. Zak plonked himself in front of the family computer and launched a web browser, glad he had set things up so nobody would be able to track his searches. He Googled SECRET GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS . All he found were weird sites filled with absurd conspiracy theories. He tried to track down Mr Peters, even Michael. Of course, that wasjust a dead end. It wasn’t like they had Facebook accounts. And so his Internet session finished like they all did, with him looking at the various news reports of the tragic food poisoning in Nigeria that had killed his parents.
    Only it hadn’t
been
food poisoning. If the strange old man was telling the truth, it had been something else.
    Back in his tiny room, he sat on his bed and held the framed picture of his mum and dad. They looked very happy in it, and Zak felt anger rising up in him. They shouldn’t be dead. There was more to this than anyone had told him. And he felt angry with Michael too, whoever he was. He should have just said then and there what had happened to them . . .
    Zak fished the business card from his jeans pocket. It was a bit scuffed and crumpled now. He stared at the number for a full five minutes. Calling it couldn’t do any harm, surely . . .
    Once he’d made the decision, he moved quickly. His uncle and aunt were still out, so he hurried downstairs and found the cordless phone sitting on a coffee table in the front room. His brick of a mobile phone had given up the ghost weeks ago and his guardians hadn’t thought it necessary to replace it. He took a deep breath, then dialled the number.
    There was no ringing tone. Just a click and then silence.
    ‘Er . . . hello?’ Zak said.
    No answer.
    ‘Er . . . this is Zak. Zak Darke.’ He felt a bit foolish.
    ‘
Have you come to a decision?
’
    The voice was low. It sounded weird, as if it had been distorted in some way. It certainly didn’t sound like Michael.
    Zak closed his eyes. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I have.’
    The voice continued. It was totally lacking in emotion.
    ‘
If you have anybody to say goodbye to, do it now. This is the last time you’ll see them. It’s