Agent 21: Codebreaker: Book 3 Read Online Free

sitting behind an empty glass desk in front of a bare beige wall, with no clue as to where he was in reality. Zak had no idea where his handler went when he wasn’t here on St Peter’s Crag; he was pretty sure that Michael intended to keep it that way.
    ‘Your studies are going well?’ Michael asked.
    Zak nodded.
    If Michael noticed that he was quieter than normal, he didn’t mention it. He just smiled again before continuing to speak. ‘I wonder if I might ask you to switch on the television?’ he said. It was framed as a polite question, but of course it was anything but.
    The TV was in the corner of the room. It was almost never switched on, but now Raf strode over, pressed a button on the side and it flickered into life. And for the next couple of minutes, the sound of the television filled the room, and silenced its occupants.
    ‘ You join us at the scene of the devastating blast at Pimlico underground station .’ The young news reporter was slightly wild in the eyes, and breathless. ‘ Rescue workers are still trying to gain access to the platform where it is thought that an explosive device was triggered by the arrival of the first train, a little before six o’clock this morning. As yet, no contact has been made with the driver or any of the passengers. It appears unlikely, however, that there are any survivors .’
    The camera panned round to a scene of absolute confusion. The whole area was cordoned off and there were countless emergency vehicles. Zak caught sight of grim-faced men in yellow hard hats disappearing down the underpass that led into the station, and a crowd of anxious onlookers had congregated nearby, some of them weeping.
    ‘My information is a little more up-to-date than our delightful correspondent’s,’ Michael said. ‘I think we’ve seen enough, Raf?’
    Raf switched the off TV, and they all looked back up to the screen that showed Michael’s face.
    ‘My sources tell me that the arrival of the first Victoria Line train into Pimlico triggered the detonation of approximately twenty-five kilograms of C4 plastic explosive.’
    Gabs gave a low whistle.
    ‘My thoughts exactly, Gabriella. If there are any survivors, it will be nothing short of a miracle.’
    The screen flickered. Michael disappeared and was replaced by some grainy camera footage. It took a moment for Zak to realize that he was looking at CCTV footage of Pimlico Station. The time code at the bottom of the screen told him that the footage was taken at 0231hrs. The platform was empty.
    The screen juddered. Zak immediately noticed that the timecode had changed to 0145hrs.
    ‘Hey, what just happened?’
    ‘Oldest trick in the book,’ Gabs murmured. ‘Record some innocent CCTV footage, then superimpose it over the live feed when you want to camouflage yourself. Chances of someone noticing are tiny.’ She raised her voice and addressed Michael. ‘I take it, then, that the device was planted between 0145 hours and 0230 hours? Forty-five minutes isn’t long for a job like that. Whoever it was really knew what they were doing.’
    ‘My thoughts precisely,’ Michael’s voice replied. ‘But there’s more. We had a tip-off approximately five hours before the blast that this would happen.’
    ‘Who from?’ Raf asked.
    The image on the screen changed for a second time. A photograph of a boy about Zak’s own age. He had a thin face, greasy brown hair and a protruding Adam’s apple. His glasses had brown frames and the lenses were so strong that they distorted his eyes slightly. There was wispy hair on his upper lip – he needed to shave, but had clearly never done so. He didn’t look like someone you’d want to spend a lot of time with.
    ‘Meet Malcolm Mann,’ Michael said. ‘Manny to his friends, although I’m reliably informed he doesn’t have many of those. Certainly not in his current place of residence – Harrington Secure Hospital in South London.’
    Michael appeared on the screen again. ‘Young Malcolm