The MI High team have moved on to their adult training. Can they become a successful adult team ?

Tom stared at Mac in confusion. "Okaaaay," he said slowly, thinking. "There must be something on this place," he muttered.

"Council tax and stuff ?" suggested Artie. Tom nodded and started tapping on his laptop. Artie craned over his shoulder, occasionally pointing and shaking his head. "Yeah !" said Artie triumphantly. "Pest Control. Nice one !" he said, high-fiving Tom.

"They've got a rat infestation," explained Tom to several blank faces. "They called the council, but they haven't been yet."

"Rats ?" said Dan, his voice at a higher pitch than usual. He hastily cleared his throat in embarrassment.

"We don't have to actually catch them man," explained Artie. "We just pretend we're looking."

"Aren't there rather a lot of us ?" asked Aneisha practically. "I mean, we're a small army. How many rats are there ?" she asked.

"Plenty !" said Tom with satisfaction.

Dan couldn't help lifting his feet slightly off the floor, toes curled inside his shoes. He hated rats.

"We'll split up," said Aneisha. "Some of us at the front, some at the back," she said. Mac started handing out overalls and they struggled to get them on in the confined space.

A minute or two later two small groups of agents stood in front of two entry doors. Keri pressed the buzzer button. "Yes ?" snapped a voice.

"Pest control," said Keri. "We've come about the rats."

There was a murmur of conversation. "Why are there two groups ?" demanded the voice.

"Half at the front, half at the back. Pincer movement !" said Aneisha. Keri had to stifle a giggle. It sounded so ridiculous. There was no way this was going to work.

"Very well. Enter !" ordered the voice, and the door opened silently.

A sharp-faced woman met them in a reception area. She eyed them up suspiciously. "Where's your equipment ?" she demanded.

Thinking quickly, Aneisha pulled a taser out of her pocket. "I think this should cover it," she said casually.

The woman looked surprised, but also relieved. "Just so long as you get rid of the things !" she said, shivering. "They're in the lower floors. Return here when you've finished," she ordered, before walking off down a corridor.

"Okay, we're in !" Dan whispered into his mic.

"Us too," Tom's voice whispered back. "It's pretty quiet back here."

"It's late," said Keri. "Come on. Let's go rat hunting !" she said gleefully.

They made their way to a stair well and worked their way down. They came eventually to a locked door. Keri placed her Spy Pod against the lock mechanism and a series of numbers spun across the screen. After a few seconds, six numbers were displayed on the screen. Keri tapped them into the keypad and the door clicked open. She grinned at the others before stepping through. An alarm sounded. "Oh," said Keri. Within seconds they were surrounded by armed guards. The group were roughly searched and their weapons confiscated before they were propelled through the door into a large open area filled with groups of KORPS agents.

The sharp-faced woman was standing at the front of the room, apparently giving a briefing. "So, our rat catchers are not what they seem !" she said, staring at them over the top of her spectacles. Dan, Keri and Aneisha were pushed to the front of the room. Their weapons were thrown on to a table nearby. Keri glanced across and was surprised to see that as well as their tasers and stun guns, there was also an automatic handgun. She glanced at Dan who shrugged. She hadn't realised he was carrying a gun. He hadn't said anything.

A man walked through a door at the back of the room. He looked curiously at the small group of MI9 agents. "Wait, these people were at the facility this afternoon !" he said. "They're MI9 !" he exclaimed.

"You don't say !" said the woman sarcastically. "I thought we'd been raided by girl guides !" She turned to the agents. "Where are the others ?" she demanded.

Dan shrugged. "No idea," he said truthfully. A KORPS guard punched him in the stomach, making him double over.

"Why are you here ?" demanded the woman.

Aneisha looked doubtfully at Dan, still gasping for breath. The guard was pulling back for another punch. "We were trying to find out what the plant was for," she said hastily. "It didn't make any sense."

"Ha ! That's what they all say !" said the older man, snorting with laughter.

The sharp-faced woman looked round at him with raised eyebrows. "Yes, they do. Why don't you explain ?" she invited him. "These agents won't be around to tell anyone," she said darkly.

"What ? Well, alright then. We're irradiating waste material so that it can be recycled into government stationery and then it's going to be distributed around all government agencies where it can poison the government !" said the man triumphantly.

Aneisha frowned. "What ?" she said. "That doesn't make sense !" she complained. "Why don't you just irradiate some stationery that you know is going to be delivered to the government ?" she asked.

"There's a new policy," said the man smugly. "It's got to be recycled !"

Aneisha couldn't help it. She laughed out loud. "That is absolutely idiotic !" she gasped. "What a total waste of time !"

The sharp-faced woman turned to the man. "We built an irradiation device, installed a clean room, radiation monitoring and a full recycling facility in the hope that some recycled stationery would be delivered to the government ?" she asked slowly.

"Yes. That's it, " said the man in a satisfied voice.

The sharp-faced woman pulled a gun from her pocket, turned and shot the man in the head.

Keri jumped and squeaked a stifled scream.

After a moment's silence, Aneisha spoke quietly. "I guess he hadn't told you then ?" she said.

"Obviously not," said the sharp-faced woman. "Perhaps it's as well you came tonight. We won't be wasting any more time !" she said calmly. The three agents stiffened as the woman turned her gun towards them. "And it seems we have another clean-up operation on our hands," she said.

Keri gasped. This was it. They were going to die. "Dan ?" she murmured tentatively.

"Love you too," he whispered. Keri felt a tear starting at the corner of her eye. Not like this !

Suddenly the lights went out and there was pandemonium. Keri dived for the floor and a shot rang out above her head. A hand grabbed hers on the ground. "Keri ?" whispered Aneisha's voice.

"Yeah," whispered Keri. There were more shots and shouting. Someone stumbled over Keri's legs, falling on the floor behind them. She kicked out, making contact with the body of someone who screamed. She and Aneisha scrambled away from the writhing body.

"Keri ? Aneisha ?" said Dan's voice.

"Here !" hissed Aneisha. A hand reached out and grabbed Keri's head, moving down and grabbing her left breast.

"Ooh, ah, sorry !" said Dan's voice, sounding embarrassed. The lights came on to reveal Dan's red face as he was still holding Keri's breast.

"Well, you ought to know what that is !" said Aneisha, rolling her eyes.

Dan went even redder and hastily handed the girls their weapons. "Move !" he snapped. They quickly scrambled out of the way as the KORPS agents rapidly blinked the bright light out of their eyes and focussed once again on their enemy agents. Dan pushed over the table where he had recovered their weapons and pulled the two girls behind with him. Bullets showered into the table top and they cowered behind it. Keri heard shouts and screams from across the room and risked a quick look around the edge. A scramble of bodies, flailing limbs and yells was making it's way through the room towards them.

Keri heard a snarl behind her and spun round to face a huge KORPS agent, holding a gun. Instantly her training came into play and she shot the man with her stun gun. The man looked puzzled and plucked the tiny dart out of his neck. He looked at the dart before tossing it on the floor. He showed no signs of drowsiness. Keri heard a tutting noise from beside her and a shot rang out. The KORPS agent fell to the floor with a neat round hole in his forehead. She looked in shock at Dan.

Dan's face was grave. He turned to Keri with a slightly questioning look. She nodded calmly back. "You had to," she said. "Thanks." Dan looked slightly relieved and gave her a sad smile. Keri took a deep breath. Yes, MI High was officially over.

The ensuing battle raged for probably no more than 15 minutes, before the training team also made their way into the building, shooting and capturing KORPS agents. An MI9 SWAT team then arrived to sweep up the stragglers.

Finally, there was silence apart from the voices of various agents giving instructions and medics dealing with the wounded.

The two trainee teams met at the front of the meeting room. "You guys okay ?" asked Tom, trying the shake the ringing noise out of his ears. "Are your ears ringing ?" he asked, wincing.

"Sorry, can't hear a thing," said Artie loudly. "My ears are ringing. Man that was loud !" he complained. "Jeez !" he said, stumbling over a bleeding body on the ground. "It's like, Armageddon or something !"

Laura and Mike looked slightly shocked by the carnage all around them. "Wow !" said Laura quietly. Mike held her hand. She smiled at him gratefully.

Tom nodded towards Dan's hand. "You brought the gun then ?" he said.

"Yeah," said Dan hoarsely. He felt a little sick, looking round at the dead, dying and injured. The sharp-faced woman was sprawled across the floor nearby, her body close to that of the KORPS leader she had killed. He could smell the sharp metallic scent of blood. He felt Keri's hand slip into his.

The Professor stepped through the bodies, making his way towards them. "Well, I think you should call it a night," he said calmly, surveying the ashen faces of his trainees. Just take your gear home. We'll sort it out in the morning. Bertie's organised transport for you," he said, nodding towards a waving figure at the far end of the room. "This could take a while to clear up," he said, glancing around.

Numbly they nodded and followed Bertie to a waiting van. Nobody spoke. What was there to say ?