the nearest exit and quietly slipped outside.
Linden looked down into the blackened pit below him and took another quick breath. His body was held inside a coffin-shaped cage called an iron maiden, with double doors lined with spikes. Manacles gripped his wrists and ankles. If the doors were slowly closed, the spikes would pierce his body as easy as a pincushion. He did all he could to stay still, to avoid the sharpened points. Max was nearby, tied upright to a stretching rack, unable to stay quiet in the face of the thugs who had captured them.
âWhatâs wrong?â she taunted. âAre you trying to remember where you last saw your brain?â
One of the men flinched and sent her a gnarled stare.
âAh, Max,â Linden offered. âMaybe getting these guys upset isnât such a good plan.â
She said nothing.
âMax?â He tried again.
âI havenât decided if I ever want to speak to you again,â she shot back.
âI know youâre angry with me, and I bet youâre right about your dad. I bet he isnât involved in anything. I want to help you prove it.â
Max gave him a cold stare and looked away.
âAh Linden, youâre always playing the good guy, arenât you?â
The two spies looked towards the man who was walking down the stairs.
âDad! Youâre here!â Max cried. âI knew youâd come. These guys kidnapped us and are working for someone who is using the studio to transmit top secrets throughout the world.â She was so happy to see him, until she realised he wasnât rushing to free them.
âDad?â Maxâs voice was small and unsure.
Lindenâs hair prickled on his head and stood even higher than usual. The way Maxâs dad was looking at them, setting them free wasnât what he had in mind.
âSo youâve got yourself into a bit of trouble?â He reached the bottom of the stairs and walked towards Linden. He felt the sharpened end of one of the spikes. âMaybe itâs because you were sticking your noses where they didnât belong.â
âBut Dad, I know you donât mean that,â Max said quietly from above.
âOh, I mean it. You think you know me, but itâs been a long time since you and I have lived together and quite a few things have changed.â
âBut you said that you and I will always be the same.â Maxâs throat ached.
âDid I?â He rubbed his hand across his chin in mock confusion.
Linden eyed Maxâs dad carefully.
âCome on, Max. Youâre a clever girl. You know sometimes we say things because theyâre the right things to say and not because we believe them.â
A painful throb slammed into her chest.
âI mean, really, it takes very special people to like each other for a long period of time, and I donât think you and I are that special.â He turned to the goons. âAre the distribution trucks in place?â
Maxâs eyes blurred with tears. âWhy are you talking to them? Theyâre part of Blueâs â¦â
Maxâs dad offered her a syrupy smile before placing his hand under his chin and tearing the latex mask from his face to reveal his true identity.
âBlue?â
âYes.â He slowly ran his hand through his blue-streaked hair. âLovely, isnât it, that weâre all together again?â
Maxâs mind unscrambled itself, trying to understand what had happened.
âYouâre the one behind the smuggling operation!â Linden glared coldly. âWe should have known.â
Max fixed Blue with a venomous gaze. âIf youhurt my dad in any way youâll regret it for the rest of your life.â
Blue answered her gaze with a smile dripping with victory. âI think you should be much more worried about your own future than that of a man you rarely even see.â
âYou shut up about my father.â
Linden tugged at his
Bathroom Readers' Hysterical Society