The Venice Job Read Online Free PDF

Ben answered a little flatly. ‘We’ll be here if you hear more pancakes calling your name.’
    Max left the room and carefully closed the door.
    â€˜It’s her decision.’ Ben put his fork down. ‘Even though we don’t like it.’
    Linden kept staring at the door, his face a blanket of disappointment.
    â€˜You’ll miss her on this mission, won’t you?’ Ben asked.
    â€˜She’s not like any other spy I’ve met,’ Linden said quietly. ‘She makes me feel different, like I can do anything.’
    Ben nudged him in the side. ‘You’re as good a spy as any of them.’
    Linden winced through a pained smile. ‘Yeah, but I don’t think I’ll be any good without her.’
    Eleanor reached out and held his hand. ‘Do you remember another time you felt like this?’
    Linden bit his bottom lip. ‘Yeah. When Mum died.’
    â€˜I think we all felt like that for a long time, but then, slowly, we realised she’d never want us to sit back and do nothing because of what happened. I reckon she’d have been pretty angry with us if we’d let it go on much longer. And do you remember what she made us promise?’
    â€˜That we wouldn’t go wasting our lives moping around because of her.’
    The bottom of Eleanor’s eyes began to glisten. ‘You remember a lot of your mum’s sayings, don’t you?’
    â€˜It’s like I can still hear her saying them.’
    â€˜And what do you think she’d say now?’
    Linden thought. ‘That there’s no use sitting down beside life, it’s there to be lived. That was one of her favourites.’
    Ben laughed. ‘That’s exactly how she would have said it, too.’
    â€˜Do you think Max will come back to Spyforce?’
    Ben and Eleanor exchanged an uncertain look. ‘We don’t know.’
    Linden slumped forward onto his crossed arms. Eleanor’s answer wasn’t the one he was hoping for. ‘Everything seemed so simple up until now.’
    Eleanor frowned. ‘You mean apart from escaping from vats of jelly, surviving plane crashes and saving an entire spy agency from a deadly sleeping sickness?’
    Linden slumped even further. ‘All that seemed easy compared to this. Max, why won’t you just come back?’
    â€˜I thought you’d never ask.’
    The door had swung wide open and Max was standing there trying out a series of poses that she hoped looked casual.
    And as if she hadn’t been listening.
    â€˜You’ll come back?’ Linden sprang upright.
    â€˜Sure, if you need a hand, but just for this mission.’
    Ben and Eleanor bubbled out of their chairs like a shaken fizzy drink and were about to swoop in on Max.
    â€˜On one condition.’ Max held up her hand. ‘No-one makes any fuss.’
    Her aunt and uncle stopped mid-swoop and slowly backed away to a more regular standing position.
    â€˜Right then. No fuss. Gotcha.’ It took all Ben’s strength to put his hands in his pockets and not pick Max up and swing her around in a huge sweeping arc.
    â€˜Welcome back, boss.’ Linden almost saluted.
    Max gave him a warning look. ‘And don’t call me boss.’
    â€˜Sure thing, boss.’ He gave her a small apologetic smile. ‘I mean, sure.’
    The kitchen settled into an awkward silence as no-one said anything. Max stared at the wide beaming smiles that stretched before her, smiles that were making her feel more and more self conscious every minute.
    â€˜Well, come on, Linden. If I’m going on this mission, I’ll need to be briefed on what you know so far, and we should tell Steinberger that I’m coming back.’
    â€˜Sure, boss.’ But he just stood there in a pool of Linden happiness.
    â€˜And I was thinking we might do it sometime like … now.’
    â€˜Oh, sure.’ He snapped out of it. ‘Follow me,