Snakehead

into him.”
    It was all beginning to make sense. MI6 Special Operations were chasing a missing bomb that had led them to the snakehead. Alex was investigating the snakehead and that had led him to MI6. It was as if they had met in the middle.
    “We were planning to put Daniels into the snakehead,” Mrs. Jones continued. “We’d arranged a cover story for him. He was a rich European who’d flown out from London, hoping to put together a big drug deal. Of course, everything changed the moment he spotted you. As soon as we realized you were here, we decided to keep an eye on you and find out what you were up to. I have to say, we were very surprised when you changed your appearance.” She ran an eye over Alex. “If we hadn’t seen you at the airport, we wouldn’t have recognized you.”
    “I like the teeth,” Daniels muttered.
    “So what now?” Alex asked. “You said you wanted me to help you.”
    “You and Ash have already penetrated the snakehead. You’ve also shaken things up a bit—no surprises there. Maybe you can find Royal Blue for us.”
    “It shouldn’t be too hard to spot,” Daniels said. “It’s bloody huge. And if it goes bang, you’ll hear it ten miles away.”
    Alex considered. Getting involved with MI6 again was the last thing he wanted, but in a way, what Mrs. Jones had told him had changed nothing. He was still working for ASIS. And if he did come across a bomb the size of a family car, there would be no harm in reporting it.
    “What do they want it for?” he asked.
    “That’s what worries us most,” Mrs. Jones replied. “We’ve got no idea. Obviously they must be planning something big—but not that big. A nuclear bomb would have been about one thousand times more powerful.”
    “So they’re not out to destroy a whole city,” Daniels added.
    “But if this is a Scorpia operation, you can be pretty sure it’s serious and large scale. These people aren’t bank robbers…you know that better than anyone. I have to admit, we’re in the dark. Anything you can find out will be helpful to us.”
    Once again, Alex fell silent. But he had made up his mind. “I’ll have to tell Ash,” he said.
    Mrs. Jones nodded. “I don’t see any harm in that. And in return, we can help you. You and Daniels already know each other. There’s no point in trying to put him in undercover now. But he can continue to watch over you.”
    Ben smiled. “I’d be happy to do that,” he said.
    “We can give you something to contact him anytime. Has ASIS provided you with any equipment?”
    Alex shook his head.
    Mrs. Jones sighed. “That’s the trouble with the Australians. They always rush into everything without a second thought. Well, we can give you what you need.”
    “Gadgets?” Alex’s eyes lit up.
    “You’ve got an old friend here. I think you ought to meet.”

    Smithers was down the corridor in a room that was a cross between a library, an office, and a workshop. He was sitting at a desk, surrounded by bits of machinery—like a destructive child on Christmas Day. There was a half-dismantled alarm clock, a laptop computer with its insides spilling out, a video camera divided into about fifty different pieces, and a whole tangle of wires and circuits. Smithers himself was wearing sandals, baggy shorts, and a bright yellow, short-sleeved shirt. Alex wondered how he could possibly carry so much weight around in this heat. But he looked perfectly composed, sitting with his great stomach stretching out toward his knees and two very plump pink legs tucked away below. He was fanning himself with a Chinese fan decorated with two interweaving dragons.
    “Alex? Is that you?” he exclaimed as Alex came into the room. “My dear boy! You don’t look like yourself at all. Don’t tell me! You must have spent some time with Cloudy Webber.”
    “Do you know her?” Alex asked.
    “We’re old friends. The last time we met was at a party in Athens. We were both in disguise, as it happened, and we chatted for half an hour before we recognized each other.” He smiled. “But I can’t believe you’re back again. So much has happened since I last saw you. That was in America. Did my Stingo mosquito lotion come in useful?”
    Now it was Alex’s turn to smile. The liquid that Smithers had invented attracted insects instead of repelling them and it had been very useful indeed, helping to get him past a checkpoint on Flamingo Bay. “It was great, thanks,” he said. “What are you doing