About the Book

  How do you pretend everything is fine when those that you love are in danger? If people you once trusted are now deemed a threat?

  After winning the National STEM Championships, Kensy, Max and a team of students from Central London Free School are ready to compete for the international trophy in Singapore. But when Granny Cordelia is poisoned, the twins no longer feel like celebrating. They still have a duty to their team though, and everyone seems to think they’ll be safe in a country halfway around the world. It turns out that Singapore is rife with mysteries. Soon Kensy and Max have uncovered a much larger case than anyone counted on. And this time, it’s personal.

  WORLD STEM CHAMPIONSHIPS

  Annual competition that sees school teams from around the world compete in a series of challenges designed to test their STEM knowledge. It is one of the most prestigious prizes for bright young innovators.

  CENTRAL LONDON FREE SCHOOL TEAM:

  Alfie Dingle, Amelie Jagger, Autumn Lee, Carlos Rodriguez, Curtis Pepper, Dante Moretti, Harper Ballantine, Inez Dufour, Kensy Spencer, Max Spencer, Misha Thornhill, Sachin Varma, Yasmina Ahmed.

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Cast of Characters

  Map of London

  Map of Singapore

  Dedication

  Case Note 21

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  The Phone Cipher

  About the Author

  Jacqueline Supports

  Books by Jacqueline Harvey

  Imprint

  Read more at Penguin Books Australia

  The Spencer-Grey household

  Kensington Méribel Spencer

  Agent-in-training, 12-year-old twin to Maxim

  Maxim Val d’Isère Spencer

  Agent-in-training, 12-year-old twin to Kensy

  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

  Pharos

  Dame Cordelia Spencer

  Head of Pharos, PA Z001

  Song Li

  PA U2613, butler

  Sidney Li

  PA U2614, butler

  Rupert Spencer

  PA X2672, Dame Spencer’s son

  Tippie MacGregor

  PA Q2668, head of Inventions Team, Magoo MacGregor’s wife

  Irene Lee

  PA W2670, head of Asian bureau of Pharos

  Fletcher Lee

  PA W2667, head of Asian bureau of Pharos

  Central London Free School staff

  Magoo MacGregor

  Headmaster

  Romilly Vanden Boom

  Science teacher

  Monty Reffell

  History teacher

  Gordon Nutting

  PE teacher

  Central London Free School students

  Autumn Lee, Curtis Pepper, Harper Ballantine, Carlos Rodriguez, Sachin Varma, Yasmina Ahmed, Dante Moretti, Inez Dufour, Alfie Dingle, Misha Thornhill, Amelie Jagger

  Trainee Pharos agents and the school’s STEM Championships team

  Other

  Sedgewick Koh

  Philanthropist

  Miss Polly

  Sedgewick’s beloved African grey parrot

  Vera

  Sedgewick’s helper

  Mae Lyn

  Sedgewick’s helper

  Heston Fong

  Managing director of Jurong Bird Park

  Winston Yu

  Deputy Commissioner of Investigations and Intelligence

  Lily Lo

  Member of Singapore Police’s Special Operations Command

  Honesto Huang

  Criminal

  Cameron Lu

  Criminal

  Lars

  Student from Finland

  For Ian, as always, and for David and Eileen, two very special friends in Singapore

  Case Note 21

  Author: Fitzgerald Williams, Pharos Agent (PA) X2660

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

  Kensington and Maxim Spencer were admitted as Pharos agents-in-training at the age of eleven years and one month.

  FIELDWORK

  Kensington and Maxim recently accompanied their parents, Song and myself to Zermatt, Switzerland, on a mission to uncover vital information about Fox and Heike Van Leer, the owners of Van Leer Holdings. The twins befriended the Van Leers’ son, Soren, and helped expose not only the illicit activities of the boy’s parents, but also those of the Meyer siblings – identical twins, Damon and Daniel, and their sister Helena – and Axel Gruber, Fox and Heike’s personal trainer, who were double-crossing the pair to do their own separate arms deals.

  Kensington and Maxim proved themselves invaluable during the final sting, capturing Fox and Heike at the headquarters of Cornucopia, the vast data storage empire that provided a legitimate cover for the couple’s misdoings. The twins also stopped Soren from running away after the lad accidentally discovered he was adopted. Given his relationship with his parents was already fraught, Soren had gone to the Cornucopia bunker where he planned to take enough money from the safe to simply disappear.

  Ultimately, the gang was handed over to the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) who, as planned, took full credit for the capture of the Van Leers and their associates. Soren learned that his birth mother was in fact his nanny and the family’s housekeeper, Sylvie, who had taken a job with the Van Leers following his adoption. Sylvie and Soren have been officially reunited and will continue to live in Zermatt in the Van Leers’ chalet, which has now been transferred into Soren’s name along with a sizeable trust fund to ensure the boy and his mother are taken care of.

  Kensington and Maxim’s role in this mission was due to Maxim having won the Pharos Spy Games the previous year; however, the twins would always have been Cordelia’s first choice due to their outstanding skiing and snowboarding abilities.

  Cordelia’s reticence to involve trainee agents in sanctioned missions appears to be easing. I suspect there will be more opportunities in the future, not only for Kensington and Maxim but for their peers too.

  SKILLS, STRENGTHS AND VULNERABILITIES

  Although the twins had not been on the snow for over a year, their expert skiing and snowboarding abilities served them well during the mission. They both displayed courage and initiative, physically and mentally. Their connection is strong, despite frequent teasing and banter on both sides. Kensington’s decision to share Romilly Vanden Boom’s mind-reading device with her brother, while asking him not to reveal the information before the device had been tested, was a sound one. It was also thoughtful of Kensy to make sure that Romilly was the first to hear of her inventions’ success after the mission; a move that showed great integrity.

  The fine line between withholding and sharing information has always been one of the most difficult to navigate as an agent, especially when that information is likely to impact the safety of others or success of a mission.

  It would appear that both Kensington and Maxim are increasingly making good choices, though Maxim did act impetuously during a chance meeting with James Strawbridge, the head of Scotland Yard, revealing more details than he probably should have. While Maxim’s involving himself in a police matter did reveal information that helped crack the Meyer twins’ underhanded dealings in relation to the Van Leer mission, this outcome was a stroke of luck and will not always be the case.

  TRAINING

  Prior to leaving for Zermatt, the children made frequent use of their grandmother’s Christmas gift – a virtual reality snow sports room in the basement at Ponsonby Terrace. They have kept up their training regime across all disciplines and their dedication has been rewarded with superior levels of fitness and skills. Their competitive streak serves them well in ensuring that neither falls behind the other.

  EMOTIONAL STATE

  Maxim was deeply impacted by an incident at the Houses of Parliament where he encountered a firefighter who proved to be a fake. He was right to be worried as the fellow, Daniel Meyer, and his twin, Damon, were prepared to do whatever was necessary to get Kensington and Maxim out of their way. Maxim was also deeply troubled by his conversation with James Strawbridge and the chain of events that it set off. Ultimately their discussion proved a lynchpin in bringing down the gang and enabling Pharos to uncover Strawbridge’s unfortunate involvement.

  Kensington has displayed a propensity for anxiety too, which has affected her sleep. The subjects of her worries were her brother and m
yself after I inadvertently fell into a disused military bunker while tailing the Van Leers.

  Worrying aside, the twins’ emotional maturity is developing at a rapid rate.

  OTHER INFORMATION

  Anna Spencer had made some intimations that she may reactivate her agent status despite frequent protests that this would never happen. She appeared to enjoy this most recent mission far more than she was prepared to admit and proved a vital member of the team. Anna’s spy training came to the fore on a number of occasions and Cordelia is obviously hoping that the woman will change her mind and rejoin the ranks. Kensington and Maxim are keen for their mother to reconsider her position as there is obviously much they can learn from her. Anna’s full commitment would make future missions easier, and this is obviously one of Cordelia’s long-term goals.

  Max turned the handle of the door that had just shut behind him, only to find it refused to budge. ‘Hey!’ he yelled, pounding his fist on the metal surface, but there was no answer.

  Curtis looked around the empty stairwell and jiggled uncomfortably on the spot. ‘There’s no toilet out here, is there?’

  ‘No,’ Max said with a sigh.

  ‘I’m really sorry. I can’t believe I fell for it,’ Curtis said. ‘That kid was so convincing – I just thought he was being kind.’

  ‘That was probably the furthest thing from his mind.’ Max gave a wry grin and closed his eyes, remembering the plan of the stadium he’d been studying this past week.

  ‘We’ve got to find a way back inside or the team’s going to be disqualified and it will be all my fault,’ Curtis lamented. He banged on the door and yelled for help again but no one came.

  They’d spent the day at the O2 Arena with dozens of other school groups, competing in the National STEM finals, which comprised a series of challenges designed to test the children’s knowledge of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. When the afternoon tea break had seen a mass exodus of students to the toilets, the pair had trusted a boy from another team at his word when he said there was an additional facility at the end of the hallway. They were through the door before they realised it was a trick.

  ‘Come on,’ Max said, and raced up to the next level. ‘I think I know a way out of here.’

  The auditorium fell silent as the event’s host, a former soap star turned children’s book author, strode to the centre of the arena. He adjusted his blazer lapels and ran a hand through his perfectly coiffed chestnut hair.

  ‘I think you’d all agree with me that it’s been an incredible day,’ Riley Morton bellowed into the microphone with his trademark enthusiasm. ‘We’ve seen everything, haven’t we? Tears, tantrums, fireballs, catastrophic collapses, collisions and a rather unfortunate act of collusion,’ he continued, referring to a team that had been caught cheating by using a mobile phone. ‘It’s hard to believe it’s only been six hours. I don’t know about you, but at times I think it’s felt more like six days.’ There was chortle of laughter from the crowd. ‘From fifty teams there are now only three, and we’re about to welcome them back to the floor for their final contest.

  ‘And remember, the winners will progress to the World STEM Championships in steamy Singapore – all expenses paid – happening next week. I hope your passports are in order, and make sure you have some chilli crab for me while you’re out there, kids; it’s delicious.’

  Kensy felt her stomach flip. The teams had come from all over the United Kingdom, and consisted of twelve students plus one reserve – a thirteenth member who could be called upon in the event of illness or misadventure. The final three teams included Central London Free School, their old football foes from Bridgewater and a group of kids from somewhere in the Scottish Highlands. Television cameras had been beaming the proceedings to several giant screens all day, to ensure that the audience had a good view of the activities.

  Kensy was standing with Autumn and Harper, the three girls wondering what their final task would be. So far they’d had to undertake feats of civil engineering, with the design and construction of a tower that could hold a small aerial on top, build a robot to carry a cup of tea without spilling a drop and create a water filtration system. There had also been mathematical problems and a design challenge to upgrade the features of a wheelchair. Who knew what this last test would bring, but Kensy rather hoped she could use her expertise with insect drones.

  ‘Where are Max and Curtis?’ Carlos asked as he glanced around at the remaining students.

  ‘They must have gone to the loo,’ Dante said. The children had only been allowed off the stadium floor for tea breaks and urgent calls of nature. The competition was due to start again soon though, so Max and Curtis were cutting it fine.

  ‘Okay, finalists, this is your five-minute call,’ Riley announced.

  Their Science teacher, Mrs Vanden Boom, caught Kensy’s eye from where she was sitting in the front row, supervising the student audience from Central London Free School. ‘Where are Max and Curtis?’ the woman mouthed.

  Kensy looked around and held her hands out, palms upturned. ‘I don’t know,’ she mouthed back, and shook her head. She would have sent Max a message via her watch, except that none of the contestants have been allowed to wear one today – given the advent of smart watches, the organisers didn’t want any possibility of cheating.

  She had a bad feeling about her brother’s absence. They’d been doing well in the competition all day. It didn’t hurt that every student who had earnt their way onto the team were Pharos trainees. Kensy glanced at the clock, her mind ticking. It wasn’t like Max and Curtis to be remotely unreliable. Losing fair and square was one thing but losing for any other reason would be a total outrage.

  Max and Curtis ran up the stairwell, trying every door on each level of their ascent.

  ‘What about picking a lock?’ Curtis asked. He wondered why neither of them had thought of that before, then realised there was no mechanism on any of the handles. ‘Okay, scratch that idea.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’d already checked,’ Max said. ‘And I know how we can get out – we’ve just got to move fast.’

  The boys charged to the top of the stairs and Max spotted his target – an air-conditioning vent. If they could somehow haul themselves inside the ducting, they’d be able to get back into the building. It was their only hope.

  Curtis looked up, assessing the height of the vent. He and Max were both way too short to reach it.

  Max leapt onto the metal railing, balancing precariously as he stretched up to the ceiling. He swiped with his arm but his fingers didn’t go anywhere near close enough to grip the metal.

  ‘We need something to extend your reach,’ Curtis said.

  Most days that wouldn’t have been a problem, but the Pharos students had been stripped of all devices by Mrs Vanden Boom and Mr Reffell prior to the competition. After all, none of the other students would have had the sort of advantages spy gadgets brought to the table. The boys had given up their Pharos issue tie clips that had a myriad of uses including holding a length of fine steel cable with a fastener on the end – which would have come in very handy right now.