The Venice Job by Deborah Abela Page A

canal, leaving the angry gondolier shouting to the sky as the two halves of his boat disappeared beneath the churned waters.
    Luca was horrified and called back apologies, but when he turned back, he had other things to worry about as he sped towards an overloaded barge stacked high with boxes and crates. ‘Uh oh.’
    He spotted a ramp that was being used for loading the boxes.
    â€˜Hold on!’ he called to Max.
    â€˜No kidding.’ Max gripped even tighter.
    Luca pressed harder on the accelerator and steered the boat onto the ramp so that it lifted into air for whole seconds before splashing in a canal-soaking shower.
    â€˜Woah! That was great.’ Luca flicked hisdripping hair out of his eyes and turned the boat into a hard spin. It rose on the wash and then settled on a wave just in time for Max and Luca to see their pursuers slam into the barge, sending a volcano of boxes and crates into the air before raining down all over them.
    â€˜This boat thing is pretty easy. You can let go of that now.’ Luca pointed to Max’s white knuckles clutching onto the seat.
    â€˜Sure. I knew that.’ Max stood up.
    â€˜And now it’s time to get back.’ Luca took the controls and manoeuvred the boat into a smaller canal. ‘Are you okay?’
    â€˜Remind me not to put my life in your hands again.’ Max shivered from the cold and the thought that her life had nearly ended.
    â€˜Yes, but after a little practice I could be a speedboat champion?’
    â€˜Maybe.’ Max admitted. ‘That boat ramp was good thinking.’
    â€˜Thank you.’ Luca smiled. ‘But I can do better.’
    Max laughed as her watch vibrated on her wrist.
    â€˜Hello, Linden, and before you ask, yes, we finally lost those two guys, with a lot of help from Luca’s crazy boat driving. You should have seen …’
    Max was quiet and her smile drained from herface. ‘Okay, we’ll be there straight away.’
    She lowered her wrist.
    â€˜What’s wrong?’ Luca didn’t like the concern in Max’s voice.
    â€˜We have to go back to your house. Steinberger has something urgent he needs to tell us.’ Max wasn’t sure why, but she had a bad feeling about the message. ‘Let’s go.’
    Luca didn’t ask any more questions, and as a crack of thunder pounded overhead, the rain that had been threatening finally began to fall. Luca grabbed a raincoat that was at his feet and draped it around Max’s shoulders.
    In the narrow surrounding streets, parents grabbed small children, swung them into their arms or covered their heads with handbags as they ran to their homes. The few remaining tourists scrambled into restaurants and churches, or, if they were close enough, scurried back to their hotels.
    Sirens began to wail throughout the city.
    â€˜There will be a high tide. We must get back quickly.’
    Max braced herself against the rain as Luca steered the boat carefully through the many winding canals towards his home.

‘You were in a boat chase?’ Toby asked Max.
    â€˜Yes, and you should have seen Luca, he handled the boat like he was a racing champion.’ Max felt better now that she was warm and dry.
    Toby frowned. He was used to being the centre of attention, the one the girls all chased and whispered about in giggles at school. Being overlooked for someone else was new to him and he didn’t like it.
    â€˜But …’
    â€˜It’s time to talk to Steinberger.’
    The agents sat on the lounge in Max’s room. Linden activated the Shush Zone and Max turned on her palm computer so that Steinberger appeared immediately before them.
    â€˜Agent 31 has been hurt.’
    The news washed over Max like a cold wind. ‘Hurt?’
    â€˜He was to meet two other agents we have on the ground in Venice, but he failed to turn up. They used the locator on their palm computers to find him dumped in the grounds of a fish