M.I. Spy

By Merv Lambert

This fantastic edition to the Colin the Librarian series contains four new exciting stories.


M.I. Spy

Colin and Olivia meet the British spymaster F for Frank in the 1980s. Of course M accompanies them in an adventure in which Colin’s grandad suddenly appears at the Russian Embassy in London, and leads them through a secret passage to the American Embassy. On the way M helps them to rescue an agent known as Yvon The Terrible, who may be able to help them to discover who the mole is in their ranks.


M.I. Spy 2

A Caribbean adventure in which Colin and M help Frank and Perkins to recover some sunken treasure. They foil an attempt by a villainous Russian to steal it. At the same time they rescue Yvon The Terrible again, but there is still no sign of the mole hidden in their ranks.


M.I. Spy 3

An adventure set in Paris, where Braine finally proves himself and with the help of Colin and M enables Yvon to be rescued yet again, and is instrumental in unearthing the mole in their midst. M has great fun on the Eiffel Tower.


M.I. Spy 4

Colin and co thwart a conspiracy in the 1980s to destabilise the British colony of Hong Kong by flooding the city with counterfeit banknotes. M, invisible as ever, has a lot of fun catching the villains with the aid of a tube of superglue.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AUK Kids
• Release date: Mar 25, 2014
• ISBN: 9781783336777

Book preview

house.

M.I Spy

Ah, you must be our new agent.

The speaker was a tall thin man wearing an expensive-looking light grey suit and expensive-looking rimless tinted glasses, which hid his eyes and gave him a rather sinister appearance.

And you must be the legendary F for Frank, the Head of M.I.5, answered Colin. The magic phoenix bookmark pulsed reassuringly in the top pocket of his equally expensive-looking dark suit. For a fleeting moment he thought back to how the amazing bookmark had sent him here. He had been looking at page 100 of his special book, and his finger had traced down it until he came to the words M.I.5 and M.I.6. He was not sure which of these two departments he was now in, but he knew that M.I.5 dealt with national security at home and M.I.6 was involved with things happening in other countries. He was also not sure if he was about to find out what time period he was now in. It was impossible to tell from the clothes he was wearing. He guessed it could be the 1980s or even the 1970s. There was not a computer in sight, and he knew instinctively that he did not have a mobile phone in his other pockets. He also realised that for a moment or two he had been distracted by M peering over Frank’s right shoulder, and had missed what he had just been asked.

Colin frowned. I beg your pardon, he said rather formally.

Frank returned the frown, and repeated what he had asked. I said what am I to call you?

Thinking quickly on his feet, Colin said the first thing that came into his head. Oh, C.

Frank’s face showed some expression for the first time. It was one of surprise. C? he said.

No, no, the name’s Colin. You should call me that.

"O.K., and yes, I am Frank, the so-called legendary almost invisible man. It’s been said that I’m so slim or thin that I have to stand twice in the same place in order to cast a shadow!"

Colin laughed delightedly, but then he became serious. So what am I doing here? What’s my mission? I must confess I did not expect to be summoned here. I’m rather mystified.

Likewise, replied Frank with a somewhat fiendish grin. In the business of gathering intelligence we are always on the lookout for moles.

Colin had read quite a lot of spy stories in his job as a librarian.

Oh, those little furry creatures can be quite a nuisance.

Quite, agreed Frank. Yes, other countries , even our allies, are always trying to insert their own people into our organisations to dig out information. Of course we do the same. In a sense it’s one big game.

Just as Colin said, Right I... there was a knock on the door of the room, and a large, rather overweight, blond-haired young man appeared. He took one step inside the room, and fell flat on his face. This was nothing to do with M, who was clinging upside-down to the high ceiling.

Oh, do come in, Braine, Frank drawled sarcastically. You’ll never beat my defences like that.

Whilst he was speaking a young woman wearing a bright red outfit and a hat of a matching colour that clashed with her long ginger hair stepped over Braine. She was pointing a small revolver at Frank, who merely smiled and leant back to press the leading edge of his large desk. Immediately a trapdoor opened under the woman’s feet, and as she dropped through it, Frank remarked, Trying to look inconspicuous, to blend in with your surroundings, Olga? The trapdoor sprang shut again. M had nothing to do with this either. He was standing on one leg in Frank’s large waste-paper basket.

Just as the second unexpected visitor disappeared from view, M, who had now decided to hang upside-down again, but this time from an elaborate chandelier, found he had some competition up there. A small, dark-haired young man wearing black-framed glasses with round lenses slid back a panel in the ceiling. He was peering in uncertainly.

Oh, not you again, Perkins! groaned Frank.

Again he pressed something on his desk, and Perkins fell straight down headfirst into an extremely large well-lit aquarium full of small fish, all displaying bright colours..

Egad! Amateurs! sneered Frank. He explained to Colin. "They keep trying to defeat my inner-office defences. No one has succeeded so far, although you, I admit, are the exception. He did not know that M was now performing an amazing headstand on the desk right in front of him. However, he continued in a bored tone of voice, Perkins, will you never learn not to practise your swimming in my fish tank? Go and buy one of your own!"

By now the unfortunate little man had managed to scramble out of the aquarium and was dripping water over the smart wooden parquet tiles of the floor. Frank shook his head in mock despair. His fierce gaze