The Amazon Experiment by Deborah Abela Page B

soaking jacket and into one of Frond’s lab coats. A bright red one with lady beetles on it.
    â€˜I … it’s … you.’
    â€˜Thanks, Frond.’ Max was keen to get beyond Steinberger’s stuttering and onto Frond’s testing. ‘Irene has the bag the sample came in.’
    Irene stepped nervously forward, as if she’d just been summoned to the principal’s office. Frond smiled at her warmly. ‘Thanks, Irene.’
    Frond took the canvas bag and cut a sample small enough to fit on a microscope slide. Sheplaced the slide under the lens and examined it closely. It looked like a completely normal mixture of spices and herbs, so she turned on the heat ray of the microscope. Now she could see traces of something more sinister.
    â€˜There,’ she announced with a mixture of joy and trepidation. ‘The blood parasite that causes the sleeping sickness.’
    â€˜That’s excellent!’ Max’s shoulders fell in relief. ‘Now you can work on creating the antidote Finch needs to wake the agents from their sleep.’
    Frond went on staring into the lens of the microscope before slowly straightening up. ‘I’m afraid it isn’t that easy. From what Finch has told me, the parasite is carried by insects found in parts of Africa and South America. There’s evidence here that this is the South American strain of the sickness, which is carried by the triatoma bug, also known as the kissing bug.’
    Steinberger’s small yelp at the mention of the word ‘kissing’ was met by a withering look from Max. ‘Sorry,’ he mumbled.
    â€˜Let me show you.’ Frond turned to the computer beside her microscope and within seconds had an image of the bug on her screen. ‘As you can see, the triatoma has a darkbrown, flattened body with six reddish spots circling its wide abdomen. It has an elongated, cone-shaped head with elbowed antennae and a prominent beak.’
    Linden remembered back to Finch’s diagnosis. ‘But I thought Finch said the disease is caused by the bite of the insects?’
    â€˜Normally it is, but in this case …’ and here Frond’s voice became edged with amazement. ‘The sample has been infused with some kind of dormant or sleeping parasite. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.’
    â€˜So …’ Irene was desperately trying to piece Frond’s information together. ‘When I added the sample to my food, the parasite woke up and put everyone to sleep?’
    â€˜That’s how it appears.’
    â€˜Oh, it was all my fault.’
    Linden looked firmly towards Irene. ‘No. The fault is someone else’s and Max and I are going to find out who. Right, Steinberger?’
    â€˜Ah … I … you.’
    â€˜Linden’s right.’ Frond offered Irene a smile that was like rich chocolate sauce but had the effect of ripping the floor from under Steinberger’s feet. He stumbled against the desk, unsettling astand of test tubes and beakers that his lanky arms scrambled to rescue.
    Max was almost out of patience with Steinberger’s lovesickness. She turned to Frond. ‘So can you make the antidote?’
    â€˜I would need the pure form of the parasite to do that.’
    â€˜And all we need to do is get hold of the triatoma bug so you can extract the parasite?’ Linden queried.
    Max felt her shoulders tense again. ‘Yeah, that’s all.’
    â€˜At least we’ve narrowed down our search,’ Frond said, trying to be optimistic.
    Max wilted. ‘Yeah, to the entire continent of South America.’
    Just then a great crash echoed around them. Max turned around to see what damage Steinberger had done, but this time it wasn’t him.
    â€˜Irene!’ Linden ran to Irene’s side and lifted her head from the cold floor. ‘Irene, can you hear me?’
    She didn’t move.
    â€˜It must be the sleeping