Hot & Cold Read Online Free PDF

able to go on. Luckily it’s early summer here in Antarctica—the ice has been breaking up, allowing us to go further in. It’s a beautiful time of year, but these seas are rough all year round. I hope you have your sea legs, EJ12! Your mission briefing will commence in your cabin in five minutes.’
    EJ went down to her cabin to prepare for the on-board briefing. It was a small room with only a bed attached to the wall, a porthole looking out to sea and a flat screen on the wall with a small socket to one side. EJ knew what to do. She attached her phone to the socket, keyed in her pin and watched as the screen switched on.
    â€˜Welcome aboard, Agent EJ12. Briefing is delayed while new data is being processed. Briefing transmission will commence in ten minutes. You are advised to activate the BEST system in your phone.’

    While some secret agents worked alone, SHINE believed their agents worked better with back-up and so they had developed the BEST agent assistance system.
    B.E.S.T.=Brains, Expertise, Support, Tips.
    Every agent had a network of people who could help her. The BESTies, as they were known,were screened by SHINE HQ and cleared to help the agent on missions. Sometimes they helped with tricky codes, sometimes they were useful to get background information and sometimes they were just a friendly voice at the end of the phone when things got tough on a mission. There were two conditions though: the BESTies could ask no questions and an agent could never discuss her work with them when a mission was over. That was okay with the BESTies—who wouldn’t want to be part of a top-secret mission, even if they couldn’t tell anyone about it?
    EJ opened the BEST app on her phone, flicked through her contacts and thought hard. A BESTie had to be someone you could trust completely, someone who would never let you down. Elle’s profile came up. Elle was reliable. She was always the same, in a good way. Elle didn’t change—and neither did her friend, Hannah. Both her friends’ names were the same backwards as they were forwards—H-A-N-N-A-H and E-L-L-E—just like her family. No wonder they were so reliable!
    Elle had also done a project on Antarctica for geography class last term and she could have useful information. In fact, Elle had useful information about lots of things but particularly the environment. She had just been voted leader of the school Eco Club for that term and was always putting up posters about what people could do to help. Elle was definitely a good choice for a BESTie. But, thought EJ, would Elle still want to help after she had been so hopeless about the party?

    It was her phone—and it was Elle! That was weird. ‘Hi Elle, I can’t talk now,’ EJ said.
    â€˜Oh right.’ Elle sounded disappointed, again.
    â€˜No, no,’ said EJ quickly. ‘I mean, I’m OM.’ That was spy-speak for ‘on mission’, just in case anyone else was listening.
    â€˜Oh right,’ said Elle, sounding a bit more cheery. ‘Anyway, I was just calling quickly to say how dumb of me it was to say that you shouldn’t go to Nema’s party. I’m really sorry.’
    EJ took a deep breath. ‘No, it’s me that should be sorry and you’re right, I don’t even like make-up and hairstyles and all that stuff.’
    Suddenly EJ’s phone beeped again.
    â€˜Sorry Elle, but I’ve got to go, she said. ‘I’ve chosen you as my BESTie, I hope that’s okay?’
    â€˜Of course it is Em, always. See ya!’
    EJ smiled. She was lucky to have such a good friend and she wished she could be a better friend back. She would still have to...

    â€˜Stand by, SHINE mission briefing transmission about to commence.’
    EJ quickly clicked on Elle’s profile to upload her as the BESTie, and turned to face the screen. There was A1.
    â€˜Welcome aboard Shining Light, EJ12. As you know, you are