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Deadly Heist Page 8


  The inside of the vault has bare concrete walls, a concrete ceiling and laminated tiles which probably cover a concrete floor. You expected to see piles of gold, or at least cash, but there’s only a big metal box in the middle of the floor, about the size of a desk. Maybe banks don’t store much real money in them these days. It’s all electronic. But if that’s the case, what are the robbers here to steal?

  Miss Scarlet answers your unspoken question by kneeling next to the metal box. She holds her hands out but doesn’t touch it. It’s as though she’s warming them by a camp fire.

  ‘The jammer will keep us safe, right?’ Mr Sharp says nervously. ‘When the signal goes out?’

  Miss Scarlet ignores him.

  ‘Relax,’ Mr Signet tells Mr Sharp. ‘Only working phones will explode. Stay close to the jammer and you’ll be fine.’

  You start to feel dizzy. Whatever is in this box, it sounds like it’s going to hurt people. Maybe a lot of people.

  Miss Scarlet stands up. She looks at her watch. ‘Where’s my phone call?’ she asks.

  Boom! The whole building shakes. The lights flicker. It’s as though an asteroid has hit the roof.

  ‘Looks like the police decided to skip the phone call,’ Mr Signet yells.

  While they’re distracted, you lean over to the box. A screen glows on the side of the box. It reads SET: _ _ _ _ _. A keypad waits underneath. You don’t know the right code this time.

  Maybe this is the first time the box has been used. Maybe you could set a password. Something they would never guess.

  If you type in your own name, Click Here.

  If you type in RHINOCEROS, Click Here.

  If you type in BEEHIVE, Click Here.

  Published by Scholastic Australia Pty Ltd

  PO Box 579 Gosford NSW 2250

  ABN 11 000 614 577

  www.scholastic.com.au

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  First edition published by Scholastic Australia Pty Ltd in 2017.

  This electronic edition published by Scholastic Australia Pty Limited, 2019.

  E-PUB/MOBI eISBN: 978-1-74383-748-1

  Text copyright © Jack Heath, 2017.

  Illustrations and design copyright © Scholastic Australia, 2017.

  Cover by Steve Wells Designs.

  Additional illustrations: Police car with lights © u3d | Shutterstock.com; Image of dollar rain © Revenant | Shutterstock.com; Light trails on modern building Backgrounds: 86409772; 161893115; 85757920 © zhangyang13576997233 | Shutterstock.com; Office vector house illustration © petovarga | Shutterstock.com; Red real laser beam on black background © Michal Vitek | Shutterstock.com; Metallic security shield © Tribalium | Shutterstock.com; Helicopter in flight © Baldas1950 | Shutterstock.com; Asphalt road and modern city © gui jun peng | Shutterstock.com; House building and city construction © Scanrail1 | Shutterstock.com; Soldier silhouettes and arms © lapi | Shutterstock.com; Dark storm clouds © Dudarev Mikhail | Shutterstock.com; Stage spotlight with laser rays © snvv | Shutterstock.com; Panoramic skyline and buildings with empty road © zhu difeng | Shutterstock.com; Black Van © Trimitrius | Shutterstock.com; Concert lighting against a dark background © Skylines | Shutterstock.com; Traffic in Hong Kong at night © ESB Professional | Shutterstock.com; Grunge border © Rochakred | Dreamstime.com; Digital timer © milmirko | iStockphoto.com; Digital clock © Samarskaya | iStockphoto.com; Urban Skyline © Bakal | iStockphoto.com

  Jack Heath asserts his moral rights as the author of this work.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, unless specifically permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 as amended.