‘Oh come on!’ wailed Van, ‘We need to know!’
‘It’s a VIP rescue,’ said Tom. ‘That’s all we need to know.’
The boys stepped away, leaving the Officer to finish the briefing alone.
‘When do we enter the cheat code Tom?’ asked Zak, excitedly.
‘We have to make it into the castle first,’ said Tom calmly. ‘On the ground floor there is a Communications room with several computer terminals. We have to enter the code into one of those terminals. But once that’s done, the cheat is activated for the rest of the mission and all future missions.’
‘Thank God,’ said Van. ‘Splatting all these Spongeymen is turning me into a disturbed individual.’
Tom laughed. ‘You’re gonna love it,’ he said, clearly amused at what he knew, but they didn’t.
Zak had another question about the cheat code, but couldn’t decide whether it was worth asking. Before he could make up his mind, Tom took charge of strategy.
‘We need to punch a hole in their defences and clear the path of guns and patrols for the return journey,’ said Tom. ‘So let’s split up. Get thirty metres apart, and move forward in parallel. Then, before the bottom of the cliff, head either left or right, and follow the tracks up the steadier incline. Once we’re over the cliff, it should be an easy route to the castle. We’ll gather outside the main gate, then talk again. And one other thing – try not to get hurt on the way up.’
Van and Arnie nodded. But Zak frowned at Tom.
‘Hang on a minute.’
‘No Zak,’ said Tom firmly. ‘Let’s get going.’
The Officer had finally finished, and was fading out.
Tom set his feet apart and leaned forward.
‘Open!’ he commanded.
