About the Book

  Kensy and Max have a new mission – to win the Pharos Trainee Spy Games! But there can only be one champion . . .

  The annual Pharos Trainee Spy Games competition is being held at Alexandria and Kensy and Max can’t wait to participate – and win! The challenges include an obstacle course, driving race, extreme parkour, coding and the big one – a treasure hunt, full of danger and intrigue. The prizes for the games are legendary, and with only one champion, the twins are forced to go head to head.

  When the stakes are raised with news of a saboteur in their midst, Kensy and Max must put all their spy skills to the test. Who is the double agent? And which of the trainee spies has what it takes to emerge victorious?

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Cast of Characters

  Map of Alexandria

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  The Reverse Cipher

  About the Author

  Jacqueline Supports

  Books by Jacqueline Harvey

  Imprint

  Read more at Penguin Books Australia

  The Spencer-Grey household

  Kensington Méribel Grey

  Agent-in-training, 11-year-old twin to Maxim

  Maxim Val d’Isère Grey

  Agent-in-training, 11-year-old twin to Kensington

  Anna Spencer

  Dormant agent PA S2694, Kensy and Max’s mother

  Edward Spencer

  PA X2658, Kensy and Max’s father, son of Dame Spencer

  Fitzgerald Williams

  PA X2660, Kensy and Max’s manny, Edward’s first cousin

  Alexandria Estate

  Dame Cordelia Spencer

  Head of Pharos, PA Z001

  Song Li

  PA U2613, butler

  Central London Free School Staff

  Romilly Vanden Boom

  Science teacher

  Willow Witherbee

  English teacher

  Elliot Frizzle

  Art teacher

  Lottie Ziegler

  Mathematics teacher

  Gordon Nutting

  PE teacher

  Students

  Autumn Lee,

  Kensy and Max’s friends

  Harper Ballantine,

  Carlos Rodriguez,

  Sachin Varma,

  Yasmina Ahmed,

  Dante Moretti,

  Inez Dufour,

  Curtis Pepper,

  Misha Thornhill,

  Alfie Dingle

  For all of my superspy readers.

  Case Note

  Author: Song Li, Pharos Agent (PA) U2613

  Subjects: Kensington Grey, PA A2713; Maxim Grey, PA A2714

  Kensington and Maxim Grey were admitted to Pharos as agents-in-training at the age of eleven years and one month. Prior to this, the twins had been completely unaware of the organisation or their familial links to it. They lived with their parents, Anna and Edward, and their manny, Fitz, moving every six months or so to a different ski resort for the Greys’ work as ski-patrol medics. Anna and Edward disappeared while supposedly taking a holiday en route to meet the twins and Fitz in Switzerland. This resulted in Fitz (whom up until this point Kensy and Max believed to be their father’s best friend, but later learned was his first cousin) taking them to a country estate called Alexandria in North Yorkshire, England. The children had no idea about the place, who owned it or why they were there, but all soon became apparent.

  Days later they were whisked to London and enrolled at Central London Free School. While awaiting news of their parents, the twins resided in a terrace house owned by a newspaper baroness called Dame Cordelia Spencer and were cared for by Fitz and myself. Their lives were about to be forever changed when they fortuitously solved a crime involving a burglary at the Tate Gallery.

  One thing led to another and the children learned that Dame Cordelia Spencer not only ran a newspaper called the Beacon, she was in fact their paternal grandmother and head of Pharos – the world’s oldest and most important spy organisation. For various reasons their parents and Fitz had left the organisation prior to the twins’ birth.

  Anna and Edward were missing for some months. However, Edward and Fitz are now back in active Pharos service though their father maintains he is only helping his mother run the Beacon, whilst Anna, an orthopaedic surgeon has resumed her private practice.

  Since their admission to Pharos, the twins have been involved in extensive training and undertaken several accidental missions in Rome, Sydney, Paris and New York. They are working hard to become the best spies in the business and are keen to impress their grandmother – who, despite her advancing years, continues to keep a tight rein on the organisation.

  Although the twins do not yet share my love of country music, I have come to appreciate their charms and cannot imagine the Spencer household without them.

  Max’s arms felt like dead weights as he lay facedown, using only his elbows and knees to claw his way, squelching, through the thick mud of the commando course. The rope net above him was so low it had already caught several of his fellow competitors who were tangled like flailing fish, trying to break free. He did his best to keep his head down and his mouth closed, not keen to swallow any more of the brown sludge that coated his entire body.

  Now in the lead, he was almost to the end of the obstacles. After the commando crawl, there was just a wall separating him from the finish line. The only problem though – it was three metres high and he had to climb to the top using one of two knotted ropes dangling down the side.

  Max felt something brush against his leg and turned to see a horrifying creature – something akin to a swamp monster – right behind him before realising it was his mud-covered sister and she’d almost caught up.

  ‘This course is mine!’ Kensy yelled.

  Not if Max had anything to do with it.

  The boy reached the end of the nets and pushed himself onto his knees, using every ounce of energy he had left to pull his feet from the quagmire and run towards the wall. He grabbed the first rope and, despite his arms stinging, hauled himself upwards. He was almost to the top when there was a snap! The line broke and he plummeted back to the ground. ‘Aargh!’ the boy yelled and rolled over in the sticky bog, trying to get to his feet. Kensy was already halfway to the top on the other rope. Max jumped up and grabbed the end, dangling precariously and wondering if it was strong enough to hold the both of them, given what had just happened.

  ‘Get off me!’ Kensy roared and kicked at her brother. He dodged out of range – her foot only just missing his cheek. Kensy shimmied higher until she reached the top then hauled herself over and sat straddling the platform to catch her breath.

  Max was soon next to her, surveying the ground below. Three metres hadn’t seemed that high on the way up, but now it felt as if he was perched on the edge of a cliff.

  ‘See you at the finish line, little brother,’ Kensy said, pushing herself off and landing with a thud at the bottom, the impact sending a shudder all the way from her ankles to her hips.

  ‘Eat my dust, Kensy!’ Max dropped from the ledge and hit the ground, commando rolling to absorb the blow. He could hear the thuds and thumps of the other competitors as they too began to reach the top of the wall. The finish line was fifty metres away, but someone had thought to make the last part of the course more interesting and installed a giant length of black plastic that, upon closer inspection, appeared to be covered in dishwashing detergent. Song, Dame Spencer’s butler, was standing beside it. He grinned and gave the children a wave.

  ‘Oh no! Please, Song! You seriously don’t want to do that!’ Kensy shouted, skidding on her feet as the man pressed the nozzle on the hose he was holding and sprayed the pathway, turning it into a giant slip and slide.

  ‘I am not washing all of your filthy clothes,’ Song shouted, then chuckled loudly. ‘This is much better and it will be fun to watch.’

  ‘That’s not faaaiiirrr!’ Kensy screamed as she did her best to keep upright but quickly ended up on her backside, whizzing down the trail and spinning several times.

  Max decided to take a different approach and launched himself headfirst, speeding past his sister. He reached the end and shot onto the grass then scrambled to his feet and pressed the buzzer on the post, recording his time and position.

  ‘Woo . . . hoo! Winner . . . winner . . . chicken . . . dinner!’ Max shouted between gasps while happy dancing, much to the disgust of his sister, who only just managed to edge ahead of Carlos into second place.

  ‘Urgh!’ The girl’s shoulders slumped. ‘I really thought I had you.’

  Max grinned, revealing two rows of black teeth coated with mud.

  ‘Maybe next time, sis,’ he said.

  Kensy curled her lip and hugged Autumn, who had just crossed the finish line in sixth place behind Dante and Curtis. There was a loud yell and the children turned in time to see Alfie hit the slippery slope. The lad hurtled towards them at such a speed there was no time for anyone to get out of the way.

  Arms and legs flew as the boy shouted, ‘Strike!’ and the children who had already finished the obstacle course went down like a set of bowling pins.

  ‘Argh! . . . Ouch! . . . Get off me!’ came the cacophony of cries.


>   Alfie lumbered to his feet and hit the buzzer, thrilled at his top-ten position. ‘Best I’ve done on this type of course yet,’ the boy declared with a beaming smile. ‘Sorry, everyone.’

  ‘Well done, Master Alfie,’ Song said. ‘Now line up, children, and I will hose you down then you can have a hot shower afterwards. Dinner is at seven and there is a challenge meeting at eight. Just wait until you see what Mrs Vanden Boom has lined up for tomorrow.’

  Kensy rolled her eyes. ‘Can’t wait.’ But in truth she couldn’t. The Pharos Trainee Spy Games were quite possibly the most fun she’d had in years. She was determined to be named champion, especially over her twin brother, no matter what it took.

  ‘Good evening, everyone.’ Romilly Vanden Boom pushed an unruly curl behind her ear. She was standing at the podium, which had been set up in the common room in the stables at Alexandria where the trainee Pharos agents were residing for the duration of the Spy Games contest. Though, this was no ordinary stable-style set up, having been configured into dormitories and other social spaces more closely resembling a boarding school. ‘Congratulations to everyone on finishing today’s commando course. With the exception of Dante’s slightly sprained ankle after he landed awkwardly at the last hurdle – but still managed a top ten place, I might add – it seems everyone has come through unscathed.’

  Dante lifted his injured foot from the ottoman he had it resting on and gave everyone a wave. He was certain he’d be fine by tomorrow – it was just a twinge.

  ‘Although I think some of you could have done a better job in the shower.’ She glared at Alfie. ‘You could grow potatoes in the dirt I can still see in your ears, Dingle.’

  There was a chortle of laughter around the room. Peppered among the students were several staff from Central London Free School, who had joined them for the games. Gordon Nutting, who taught PE and was also an expert in weapons and explosives; Elliot Frizzle (pronounced Friz-ell), their Art teacher who was basically an all-round genius; Lottie Ziegler, Maths teacher and specialist code breaker; and Willow Witherbee, who taught English and was similarly well acquainted with armaments. While the regular students at Central London Free School were enjoying the October half-term holiday, the trainee Pharos agents had received instructions that they were going to be spending three days of their break at Alexandria engaged in the annual Pharos Trainee Spy Games competition – a hotly contested event.

  Autumn leaned across her seat and whispered to Kensy. ‘What do you think we’re doing tomorrow?’

  ‘I heard Song say something about taking things over to the track. I hope we’re racing. That would be the best,’ Kensy whispered back.

  ‘Now tomorrow we are going to test your driving skills,’ Mrs Vanden Boom said to a whoop of cheers.

  Kensy turned and arched her eyebrow at Autumn who gave her a wink.

  Romilly waited a moment for the din to die down. ‘But this won’t be straightforward racing.’

  ‘What do you mean, miss?’ Alfie called out. ‘Are we driving Batmobiles or something?’

  There was another round of giggles before Romilly silenced the crowd with one of her death stares.

  ‘You’re going to have to wait until the morning to find out,’ the woman said. ‘It’s lights out at half nine and you’ll need to be at breakfast by six in full race attire – your suits and boots are hanging in the wardrobes in your dormitories. Please don’t forget your helmets, gloves and goggles too.’

  Carlos raised his hand in the air.

  ‘Yes, Rodriguez,’ Romilly said.

  ‘Are we allowed to know where we sit on the scoreboard?’ he asked.

  Prior to the children completing the commando course they had undertaken a written test involving riddles and codes. They knew their positions for the physical activity, but had no idea about the other.

  ‘Yes, of course,’ the woman replied. She’d forgotten about that. Romilly fiddled with the dial on her watch and a scoreboard projected onto the wall with the competitors listed in alphabetical order. Seconds later the names began to shift up and down, stopping and starting several times over, then scrambling again, completely confusing the children, who were glued to the screen and waiting to see where they finished up.

  Finally the names were static.

  ‘Yes!’ Kensy clenched her fists and jiggled in her seat. She was in the lead by half a point, which meant she must have eclipsed her brother’s score in the code-breaking and puzzles activity. That was unexpected. She turned around to gloat.

  Max shrugged his shoulders. He was coming second and behind him was Autumn, who must have excelled on the written test too. Alfie was the big surprise in fourth place. Despite the lad’s best efforts to make everyone think there was barely a brain in his head, that clearly wasn’t true at all.

  The cheers and groans finally died down and Romilly gave a nod. ‘Congratulations, everyone. There’s still a long way to go until the finish line, but I can see it’s going to be as competitive as always.’

  ‘What’s the prize this year, Mrs VB?’ Sachin called out.

  The woman shook her head. ‘All in good time, Varma. But I know you won’t be disappointed. It’s possibly the most exciting reward yet. But there is something else I need to tell you,’ Romilly continued. ‘This year we have decided to spice things up a little. There is one among you working as a double agent. Your mission is to deduce who that is and what they’ve done to sabotage your individual efforts. Though you may not make any accusations until after the final event – when you will secretly give me your answer. And you must not share your thoughts with anyone, or there will be an immediate penalty of fifty points to your score.’

  Max’s mind whirled, thinking of the snapped rope. Maybe it wasn’t an accident after all. There was a very strong possibility that someone had frayed it earlier. He was just unlucky enough to be the fall guy, so to speak.

  ‘Don’t look so worried. The saboteur is under strict instructions not to do anything to endanger your lives,’ the woman said. ‘Although I am counting on them making things interesting.’

  The children looked at one another, thoughts swirling. One of their friends was a foe – this changed everything.

  ‘There will be an additional fifty points to the person who correctly names the double agent – although wild guesses will not be permitted. You must be able to identify at least two correct acts of sabotage. However, if there are no accurate answers, the double agent will be named the winner of the competition.’

  Mrs Vanden Boom raised her nose in the air. ‘Right, I think Mrs Thornthwaite has just delivered cheese toast and hot chocolate for your supper. Don’t dally and sleep well – you’re going to need it.’

  The children stood up. For the first time since they had gathered, a deafening silence cloaked the room as everyone now came under suspicion.

  Max sipped the last of his hot chocolate then walked over and deposited the mug into the dishwasher. He glanced at the clock on the wall and realised they only had fifteen minutes until lights out.

  ‘So this revelation from Mrs VB puts a new perspective on things,’ Carlos said as they walked to the boys’ dormitory.

  ‘Yeah.’ Max nodded. ‘Bit tricky.’

  The pair was joined by Curtis Pepper, who had only recently been recruited as a trainee and was still in awe of the fact that he was part of something so incredible. He woke up most days wondering if it was real, having wanted to be a spy ever since he could remember.