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mission, too.’
    ‘The first of many, I suppose,’ Simon said, ‘but nothing to boast about.’
    His muscles still felt tingly and his skin itched.
    Ivan Ho burst into the change room. ‘Hi, Simon, how’ve you been?’
    ‘Okay,’ Simon replied.
    ‘Man, how do you feel about this time-travel kick—amazing, eh?’ Ivan asked. ‘Feels like you’re being pulled at a zillion k’s an hour into a tube of glue.’
    Simon nodded. ‘Then that kind of explosion. Bright red and yellow light. Then …’
    ‘Then nothing … and you wake up wherever they sent you. It’s a trip, all right,’ Ivan said with a broad smile. ‘So, where have you been today?’
    ‘New York, year 2000,’ Simon replied. ‘You?’
    ‘Beijing, 1900. They wanted me to get some original documents on the Boxer Rebellion.’
    ‘So, why were they refusing to wear underwear?’
    Ivan frowned. ‘The Boxers were a secret Chinese society …’
    ‘I know! I know!’ Simon laughed, despite his tiredness. ‘They were opposing Westerners who were trying to extend their influence in the country. I read about it the other day. Major effort.’
    Ivan grinned again. ‘Hey, if you don’t learn something in this job, what’s it worth, eh?’ He sat down. ‘And what’s with Danice? The mystery girl. You’re hanging out with her, so fill us in.’
    ‘She’s under wraps. I don’t know much.’ Simon shrugged. ‘She’s a mystery all right. No one’s told me anything.’
    ‘Savage!’ Cutler’s voice boomed through a speaker built into the frame of the drinkbot.
    ‘Yes, sir!’
    ‘I want you to report to the professor,’ Cutler said. ‘Fifteen minutes. You can rest later.’
    ‘Yes, sir.’
    ‘What’s that all about?’ Ivan asked.
    ‘Beats me,’ Simon said, searching his locker.
    Whenever Cutler wants something, it usually means trouble, he thought. Then he pushed the idea from his mind.
    ‘Hey, have you seen my sandwich?’ he asked.
    Ivan laughed. ‘Nick took it to Egypt, 1798.’
    ‘Hope the Egyptians like cheese and tomato,’ Simon replied, making for the door.

10

    The 16th Century, Spain
    A pinpoint appeared in the darkness, like the first stab of starlight in a night sky.
    A second later, it grew to the size of a bottle top. Then it burst into bright yellow-and-white swirls that filled the stone-walled cellar with rippling light. The light flared off the piles of gold plate, gold bars, candlesticks, jewellery and chests of ducats. A final, brilliant flash brought a TPS spinning into the space, punching a wormhole in the air. Shadowy forms flickered far back along the time tunnel. Then suddenly they materialised in the chamber as three shimmering human forms.
    A moment later they assumed their full solidity.
    ‘ Phew , right on target!’ Damien said, shaking his body to get his limbs moving again. ‘You all okay?’
    Alli nodded, opening a thigh pouch on her travel suit. It was a simple but practical outfit made of a plastic-like material. She took out a hand-pump spray bottle. ‘Doesn’t get any easier, no matter how many times we do it. You okay, Lee?’
    ‘Yeah, I’m okay,’ a bony, red-haired boy replied. He squinted in the dank and unfamiliar surroundings. ‘Are we in the right place?’
    ‘This is it,’ Damien confirmed.
    ‘There’s that bird again!’ Alli pointed to a solid gold statue in the alcove above the door. It was the size of a small dog, with the head and wings of an eagle and the claws and body of a lion.
    ‘What is it?’ Lee asked. ‘It’s creepy.’
    Damien glanced up. ‘Yeah, plug ugly. It’s a griffin. You see them in a lot of these places. They’re an ancient sort of charm that guards the treasure.’
    ‘Doesn’t seem to work,’ Alli grinned.
    ‘Not with us around. You know what to do, Lee?’ Damien reached into his own leg pouch and took out a spray bottle, then picked up a fifteen-centimetre gold bar from a stack. ‘Gold bars first …’
    ‘Finger bars are the most valuable,’