Christmas Countdown by Susannah McFarlane

pad and began to scan the room with the X-ray app.
    â€˜I was just thinking about these cupboards,’ said IJ. ‘This door having the same lock as the one in the vault makes me wonder.’
    EJ immediately understood what IJ was thinking. ‘Another corridor connected to this room?’
    â€˜Could be,’ replied IJ as she continued to scan. ‘Bingo!’ she cried.
    EJ went over and looking through IJ’s pad she saw that, sure enough, there was another secret corridor. She opened the cupboard and kicked the backboard with her foot. The backboard splintered, revealing a corridor just like the one that led from the vault room.
    â€˜Let’s go,’ she cried.
    â€˜One more thing,’ said IJ. She took a charm from her bracelet and twisted and a camera appeared. ‘Can you just get back in the sleigh for a quick photo?’
    â€˜IJ,’ said EJ. ‘I’m not sure this is the time.’
    â€˜It’s insta-cam,’ said IJ positioning the camera on a shelf and sitting back on the chair with her hands behind her. ‘Okay, here it goes, now don’t smile!’
    EJ obliged and frowned and the camera flashed. She was still frowning as IJ waited for the photo.
    â€˜IJ!’ she said. ‘We’ve got to go!’
    â€˜Yes but we don’t want Tiffany to know that and look up there on the top of the shelf.’
    EJ looked up and spotted the micro-camera, its red light flashing.
    â€˜Good thinking,’ she cried as her friend placed the photo in front of the camera.
    â€˜Now, I just need to adjust the distancing mechanism of the camera,’ said IJ. ‘Tiffany can check as often as she likes and she’ll think we are still tied up here. There done.’
    â€˜Good work, IJ. Now let’s go! We’re running out of time!’
    The two girls climbed through the hole at the back of the cupboard, closing the cupboard door as they did. They then ran down the secret corridor. EJ checked the time. There were only ninety minutes left until the parade started.

    The corridor turned and EJ recognised where they were—back in the same corridor that led from the vault. EJ stopped and looked up; she wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.
    â€˜IJ, hold on a minute,’ she cried. ‘Look up! It’s one of Tiffany’s spy cameras.’
    They dropped down and crawled along the ground on their stomachs, keeping low until they were out of the camera’s range.
    â€˜There’ll be another one somewhere in the forest,’ said EJ. ‘We need to watch out for it.’
    They reached the end of the corridor and, once again, activated the door. They were back in the Christmas tree forest. They again dropped down to their stomachs and looked up, looking for the red flash of a camera.
    â€˜There,’ said IJ, pointing at a small model bird.
    â€˜IJ, that’s a bird,’ said EJ.
    â€˜Look in the middle of the robin’s chest,’ IJ said.
    Then EJ saw the red flashing light in the middle of the bird’s red chest feathers. ‘Good work, IJ!’
    EJ slid around to the other side of the tree and then pulled herself up on the branches. Once she had climbed up to the branch the ‘robin’ was on, she turned it off. ‘I think we should take this one back for research,’ she told IJ as she put it in her backpack. ‘Perhaps you can make a kookaburra version!’
    IJ laughed. ‘Good idea.’
    EJ climbed back down.
    â€˜Well done,’ said IJ.
    But EJ didn’t think she’d done well on this mission. She had allowed her junior spy-buddy to be captured, she had been captured and, even though they were free, she was still no closer to finding the diamonds. Things weren’t working out at all. It was time to contact SHINE . She reluctantly took out her phone and sent an update.

    EJ hoped A1 would not be too disappointed.
    Â 
    Piinngg!

    â€˜IJ,’ asked EJ,