The Mission to Find Max: Egypt Read Free Page B

appeared, Jack punched it into the lock on his Book Bag, and opened it.

    Pulling out the Signature ID, he scanned it over the letter. It took only seconds, but the name ‘Penny Powell’ popped up. Jack didn’t know anyone named Penny, so he asked the Signature ID to give him more information. When he found out who Penny worked for, he was shocked.
PENNY POWELL
GPF HQ
    Penny worked for none other than the GPF. The same organization that he and his brother belonged to! Maybe Penny knew details about Max. Better still, she might help Jack get to Egypt.
    Using his Watch Phone, Jack found Penny’s phone number in the GPF Employee Directory, and dialled it. A crackling noise came from his Watch Phone. An image of a woman sizzled onto the screen. She was young, probably in her twenties, and more than a little nervous.
    â€˜Secret Agent Courage here,’ said Jack. ‘Are you Penny?’

    â€˜I’ve been waiting for you to contact me,’ she said, looking quickly over her shoulder. ‘I don’t have long.’
    â€˜What do you know about Max?’ asked Jack.
    â€˜I used to work for Director Barter,’ she said, ‘before Louise. I came across your brother’s file, and saw that he was in trouble.’
    â€˜What kind of trouble?’ said Jack.
    â€˜Someone was trying to hunt him down,’ said Penny. She looked over her shoulder again, then back at the screen. She leaned in closer. ‘I told the Director that we should pull Max off the case,’ she said. ‘That it was getting too dangerous for him.’
    â€˜What did he say?’ asked Jack.
    â€˜Nothing,’ said Penny. ‘He ignored me. Before I knew it, I was assigned to work with someone else.’
    Jack’s heart was really thumping now. If what Penny said was true, then Max was all alone. Jack really was his brother’s only hope.
    â€˜Can you get me to Egypt?’ he asked.
    There was a noise behind Penny. ‘Someone’s coming,’ she said, looking worried. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’
    Before Jack could say anything else, the image disappeared from the screen.
    Just then, Whizzy woke up, winked at Jack and started to spin. Whizzy coughed up a jigsaw piece and Jack scooped it up. As soon as he saw its shape, Jack knew that Penny had managed to help him.

    Fitting the shape into the map, Jack waited for the name ‘Egypt’ to appear. He grabbed his Book Bag from underneath his bed and ran back to the map. The light inside Egypt was growing brighter now.
    Jack closed his eyes and said a silent prayer for good luck. When the time was right, he yelled, ‘Off to Egypt!’ Then the light burst, and swallowed him into the Magic Map.

Chapter 5:
The Curator Speaks
    The next thing Jack knew, he was standing in the middle of a dusty, busy market place called a souk. Shops were selling just about anything you could imagine — ceramics, coffee, copper pots, dresses and King Tut T-shirts. A donkey cart clip-clopped in front of a queue of taxis.
    Usually, when Jack arrived at a location, he had a contact to meet; someone in charge of the operation on the ground.

    But this time he was all alone. Up ahead was a sign:
    KHAN AL KHALILI
CAIRO’S 700-YEAR-OLD
MARKETPLACE
    Now Jack knew where he was. He was in Cairo, Egypt’s capital city. Jack also knew that Cairo was home to one of the most famous museums on King Tut, the Egyptian Museum. Since Max was probably guarding one of King Tut’s treasures, Jack thought it would be a good place to start. After all, he needed to find out more about that diadem.
    He pulled out the GPF’s Map Mate. The Map Mate was a hand-held GPS navigation device that could tell you how to get from point A to point B. He waited for the device to pick up his signal, then he told it he needed to get to the Egyptian Museum.

    Within seconds, the Map Mate had calculated his route. The museum was only ten minutes away. Jack