Agent 21 by Chris Ryan Page B

‘
Mexico
. . .’ he repeated
    Michael was nodding in satisfaction. It clearly pleased him that Zak could remember this information so well. He brought up a new picture on the whiteboard: a thin, elderly man with a lined face, abald head and sharp eyes. ‘Meet your great-uncle,’ he said. ‘You look confused. What’s wrong?’
    ‘I don’t know.’ Zak shrugged. ‘I guess I kind of thought all these relatives of Harry’s were as made-up as him.’
    ‘Some are,’ Michael said, ‘and some aren’t. That’s the art of deception. The best lies are the ones that have an element of truth in them. Remember that. Of course, it’s probably crossed your mind that Frank Gold might not be everything he seems. He is, in fact, a long-serving MI6 field operative.’
    ‘What’s his real name?’
    Michael sighed. ‘This obsession with real names, Zak. You really must let go of it. If you think things through, you’ll realize how important it is that you don’t know Frank’s “real” name any more than he should know yours. After all, there’s no way you can give up information you don’t have, is there?’
    ‘No,’ Zak replied. ‘I guess not.’
    ‘As you’re aware, Frank Gold has been living in Mexico City for the best part of fifteen years. His cover is good and he’s melted into the local community. He’s part of the scenery, really. And as luck would have it, he’s just extended an invitation to Harry to come and stay with him for a year. Frank was very upset by the death of Harry’s parents, you see, and would like to do what he can for the lad –especially as Harry’s Spanish is excellent and he’s shown a real interest in Mexican culture.’ He looked over at Gabs. ‘Harry’s Spanish
is
excellent, isn’t it?’
    Gabs nodded mutely and Michael winked at Zak, looking rather pleased with his deception; but the mention of dead parents had been like a knife in Zak’s guts, and he just looked down.
    Michael continued talking. He didn’t appear to notice Zak’s pain. ‘Of course, as Harry’s guardian, Frank needs to make sure that his great-nephew continues his schooling, so he has enrolled Harry into the
Colegio de Mexico
, one of the finest educational establishments in the capital. This also happens to be the school that Cruz Martinez attends.’
    ‘How convenient,’ Zak murmured.
    ‘Isn’t it though? Harry needs to make friends with him, Zak. Good friends. Hopefully that will give you a reason for being in Martinez’s compound, but after that it’s up to you. Remember, your primary objective is to locate hard evidence regarding Martinez’s involvement in drug trafficking. I can’t tell you what that evidence will be. You just have to use your intuition. Once you’ve gathered enough evidence, you’ll need to guide a special forces assault team into the compound, locate Martinez –
not
one of his body doubles – and help them abduct him.’
    ‘Michael,’ Gabs said. ‘This is too much for hisfirst assignment. It’s too difficult, too dangerous . . .’
    Michael ignored her. ‘You’ll need this,’ he said, and he handed something to Zak. It was an iPhone, slightly scuffed around the edges as though someone had already been using it. ‘It’s been modified,’ Michael explained. ‘You need to keep it on you all the time. It contains a highly advanced GPS tracking chip that we’ve attached to the SIM card cradle.’
    ‘All phones have GPS chips these days,’ Zak said.
    ‘Not like this. It has its own built-in power source and can transmit much more powerful signals than most GPS devices. Special forces use these in the jungle where ordinary GPS chips get blocked by the canopy overhead.’
    Zak glanced over at Raf. ‘I thought I wasn’t supposed to rely on GPS for navigation anyway.’
    ‘You’re not. This isn’t for navigating, Zak. It’s for us to know exactly where you are at any given moment. We have spy satellite technology – a dedicated satellite, just to follow