The Hollywood Mission by Deborah Abela Page A

away.’ He lookedearnestly at Eleanor as Max sat on the bed, her lips glued together for fear of what might come out.
    â€˜Right.’ Eleanor turned and narrowly missed stepping on Toby’s hand as she left.
    Max locked the door. Toby stood up and brushed himself down. ‘Boy, that was close. You were nearly caught that time. You need to be more careful.’
    â€˜Me be careful? It’s your fault I’m in trouble in the first place. If you hadn’t stolen the Matter Transporter …’ Max was so angry she hardly knew what to say first.
    Until it came to her.
    â€˜I want you to go home. We’re about to go on a serious mission and we can’t afford to have anything or anyone mucking it up.’
    â€˜Are you serious, and miss all this fun?’ Toby laughed again.
    â€˜I mean it,’ Max said pointedly.
    Toby eyed her with a determined stare. ‘But what about your dad? He’ll get suspicious if I don’t turn up to filming.’
    â€˜I’ll tell him you’re busy. And besides, what about your parents? Won’t they be worried?’
    â€˜Doubt it.’
    â€˜Why’s that?’ Linden was curious.
    â€˜Because they’re in Austria.’
    Max was stumped. ‘Austria?’
    â€˜They’re heart specialists and were asked to go there to help with research.’ Toby shrugged. ‘It’s no big deal. I live with Aunt Mable who’s eighty and lets me do whatever I want. She thinks I’m staying with friends.’
    Linden stared. ‘Don’t you miss them?’
    â€˜My parents?’ Toby pulled his gown around him. ‘They’ll be back.’
    â€˜What about school?’
    Toby grinned. ‘Aunt Mable’s eyesight isn’t great without her glasses, so a note’ll be no problem.’
    Max felt bad about Toby’s parents just leaving him like that, but if she let him be part of the mission, she could be kicked out of Spyforce.
    â€˜You still have to go.’
    Toby paused. ‘No.’
    This was as good a stand-off as Linden had ever seen. It was the gunfight at the OK Corral, the lion eyeing off the gladiator, the crew about to mutiny on The Bounty .
    Max had to get Toby out of there. ‘Don’t you think you’ve caused us enough trouble already? Then again, that’s all you are, Toby Jennings.Trouble. From the moment I met you you’ve been nothing but a major nightmare to me and the only way my life is going to be anything other than miserable is if you disappear from it completely.’
    Toby looked hurt. ‘You really mean it?’ he asked softly.
    â€˜Yeah, I mean it,’ she said, not so forcefully this time.
    â€˜Okay.’ Toby dropped his dressing gown to the floor and made his way to the middle of the room. ‘See you, Linden. It was fun hanging out with you,’ he said sadly before turning to Max. ‘Bye, Max. I’ll give you this when you get home.’ He held the Matter Transporter towards her. ‘I never meant to cause you any trouble.’
    He entered the coordinates into the Matter Transporter.
    â€˜Give me back the …’ but it was too late. With a small ffffttt and a flash of green light he was gone.
    â€˜I’d better get ready for dinner.’ Linden left the room quietly, leaving Max standing in a pool of guilt that was deep enough to dive into. She tried to step out of it by telling herself it was wrong of Toby to steal the Matter Transporter and it was against the rules for him to be involved in a mission.
    It didn’t help.
    What she said was true. She did want Toby out of her life. So why, after she got what she wanted, did she feel so terrible?

She’d done it. Max Remy had captured one of the most fiendish villains the world had ever known. On the surface he was all charm but inside was the heart of a pure criminal. She’d scoured the world to find him, and now his unlawful days were over.
    â€˜So,