The Hunt for the Missing Spy (12 page)

“We'll come back. Don't worry,” Cody said. “But right now, we've got to find the next clue.”

While Mrs. Takeda sat down on a nearby bench and slipped off her high heels, the kids searched the front of the building.

Cody suddenly thought she saw someone in a trench coat and baseball cap. She was about to alert the others when she realized the guy's hat wasn't black—it was dark blue. She glanced at his shoes. They were white.
Mistaken identity
, Cody told herself. She was letting this hunt go to her head.

Moments later, Luke called, “I found it!”

The group rushed over to the far side of the museum doors, where Luke stood staring at the cryptic sign, written in the phonetic alphabet code, used by NASA.

Hotel Echo Romeo Echo

Yankee Oscar Uniform Lima Lima

Foxtrot India November Delta:

Romeo Oscar Charlie K
ilo

Mike Oscar Delta Uniform Lima Echo

Sierra Papa India Romeo India T
ango

Papa India Oscar November Echo Echo Romeo

Foxtrot Romeo India Echo November Delta Sierra Hotel India Papa

Code Busters' Key and Solution found on pp. 152, 156.

Cody was puzzled by the clue and the code.

“What's it supposed to mean?” M.E. asked.

Quinn smiled mysteriously. “A
rock
, a
module
, a
Spirit
, a
Pioneer
, and
Friendship.
I know what the words mean.”

“Really? What?” M.E. asked.

“Well, think about it,” Quinn said. “What do they all have in common? If you add the word
moon
to
rock
and you get
moon rock
.
Module
? How about
lunar module
? The
Spirit
of St. Louis—Charles Lindberg's airplane. The
Pioneer
was a space probe. And there was a spacecraft called the Mercury
Friendship
.”

“They all have to do with space!” M.E. cried. “That's the next waypoint.”

“The Air and Space Museum, to be specific,” said Quinn.

“Great job!” Cody said to Quinn. No wonder Quinn had cracked the code. He had set up a scale model of the planets in his bedroom, and had painted glow-in-the-dark constellations on his ceiling.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Quinn said.

They waved to Mrs. Takeda to follow them. Cody looked back to make sure she was coming and saw their chaperone slip on her shoes and rise from the bench. Then the Code Busters and Mika checked their map to see where the Air and Space museum
was. Seconds later, Cody and the others heard a scream.

They turned around to see Mrs. Takeda lying next to the bench. Her right foot was twisted at an odd angle. Cody noticed the heel of one shoe had broken off and was stuck in a crack in the concrete.

“Mom!”
Mika yelled. She ran back to her mother and knelt down. The kids followed her and huddled around their chaperone. “Mrs. Takeda, are you all right?” Cody asked.

Mrs. Takeda moaned and shook her head.

“I . . . think I've broken my ankle,” she said, pain evident in her face. “I don't think I can walk!”

Mika's face clouded over. “
Tasukete
!”

Cody didn't need to speak Japanese to know what Mika meant.

Help!

“O
h no!” M.E. cried. “Now what do we do?”

“We get Mrs. Takeda help,” Cody said, taking charge. She pulled out her cell phone and called the number Ms. Stad had given the students in case of an emergency.

Her teacher answered immediately. “Hello?” she said, sounding anxious.

“Hi Ms. Stad. It's Cody.”

“Did you find Matt?” Ms. Stad asked.

“Not exactly,” Cody said. “I'm calling about Mrs. Takeda. She fell and hurt her ankle.”

Cody heard a gasp at the other end of the line. “Is she okay?”

“I don't know. She can't walk and she's in a lot of pain.”

“All right, where are you?”

Cody told her that Mrs. Takeda had caught her heel in a crack on the steps at the National Museum of Natural History and had fallen. She glanced over at the chaperone and saw Mika holding her mother's hand.

“What should we do?” Cody asked her teacher.

“I'll call for an ambulance,” Ms. Stad said. “You kids just stay put. I'll send Mr. Littlefield to escort you back here.”

“But we haven't found Matt yet,” Cody protested.

“We'll just have to leave that to the police now,” Ms. Stad replied, her voice firm. “I want you students safe and accounted for. I should never have let you go. Now, here's Mr. Littlefield's cell phone number, just in case you need it.”

After Ms. Stad gave her the chaperone's number, Cody hung up, then told the others what Ms. Stad
had said. The kids sat down glumly on the steps next to Mrs. Takeda to keep her company while they waited for the ambulance and Mr. Littlefield.

“Great,” Quinn mumbled, hanging his head. “We didn't find Matt and we didn't get to finish the hunt.”

“I'm so sorry, kids,” Mrs. Takeda said. She looked like she was in serious pain, and Cody wished she could do something for her.

“It's not your fault,” Cody reassured her.

“No,” Quinn said, “It's Matt the Brat's fault for causing all this trouble.”

The kids grew silent, discouraged because the hunt was over and they hadn't completed their real mission—finding Matt. Several tourists stopped to see if they could help the injured Mrs. Takeda, but the kids explained that emergency medical techs were on the way. It wasn't long before an ambulance drove up, lights flashing. Two uniformed EMTs jumped out and rushed over to Mrs. Takeda.

The kids watched as the female EMT gently examined Mrs. Takeda's ankle, then asked her to move her foot, which made Mrs. Takeda wince.

“She may have a broken ankle,” the woman said when she was finished. The two EMTs gently lifted Mrs. Takeda onto a waiting gurney. “We're going to take her to Washington Hospital.” She looked around. “Is there another adult coming for you kids?”

“Yeah,” Quinn said. “Our teacher is sending someone. We'll be all right until he gets here.”

The EMT frowned. “I don't like leaving you here alone, but we've got to get her to the hospital. Stay here, stick together, and wait. Don't go wandering off.”

The kids nodded.

The male EMT pushed the gurney into the back of the ambulance. Mika stepped over to him and asked, “Can I come with her? She's my mother.”

“Of course,” the man said.

Mika looked at the Code Busters. “Will you guys be okay?”

“Sure,” Cody said, speaking for the group. “You need to be with your mom. I'll tell Ms. Stad you've gone with her to the hospital. Thanks for all your help.”

“Sorry we didn't find Matt,” Mika said. Then she climbed into the back of the ambulance to join her mother. Moments later they drove off.

The Code Busters sat down on the steps again. Cody texted Ms. Stad that Mika had gone with her mother to the hospital. Quinn sighed loudly. “Well, I guess we just have to wait until Mr. Littlefield gets here, then go back to the Spy Museum and get on the bus.”

They waited in silence for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly, a strange movement caught Cody's eye. She thought she saw someone duck behind one of the marble columns that flanked the Natural History Museum's entrance. Leaning over to see better, she spotted the toe of a black shoe just peeking out.

Why would someone be hiding behind that column?

Cody froze. Her breath caught in her chest.

Was it the stranger who'd been following them? Had he caught up to them? If so, they could be in real trouble.

Slowly she turned to the others and made the sign for the number seven, followed by the number eleven. She kept her hand low so only the Code Busters could see her hand. Luke sat up and looked around. Quinn frowned. M.E.'s eyes widened.

“Where did you see him?” Luke whispered, his eyes darting around the area.

Cody signed the number three, then tapped her wrist, indicating “Three o'clock” on a clock face.

The kids looked to the side of Cody. Just at that moment, the figure peered out from behind the column. He wore a black baseball cap, khaki trench coat, black shoes, and was holding a newspaper over his face.

The newspaper had a hole in the middle of it.

Cody was right. It
was
the stranger who had been following the Code Busters!

“I see him!” Luke whispered, excited.

“You were right!” Quinn said. “We
are
being followed!”

“Should we call the police?” M.E. asked, scooting closer to Cody. She looked terrified.

Before Cody could answer, the stranger threw down the newspaper, turned around, and fled.

“Dude, he's getting away!” Luke said, bolting up.

“We need to follow him and find out who he is and what he's up to,” Quinn said, rising to his feet.

M.E. shook her head. “We're supposed to stay here! That's what Ms. Stad said. If we leave, we'll really get in trouble.”

Cody knew they had to think fast or they'd lose the opportunity to catch this guy. But M.E. was right. They'd be in big trouble for leaving without a chaperone.

And what if the stranger turned out to be dangerous?

“
E Pluribus Unum
!” Luke called out.

The others looked at him as if he were crazy.

“What?” M.E. said.

“
E Pluribus Unum
,” Luke repeated. “Remember what it means?”

“
Out of many, one
,” M.E. answered. “So?”

“Listen, if we stick together as one, there's
safety—and strength—in numbers,” Luke explained. “I say we go after him.”

“But the chaperone . . .” M.E. whimpered.

Cody kept an eye on the stranger while the others decided what to do. As the guy was about to turn a corner, she said, “Luke, M.E., Quinn—watch him. I'll text Mr. Littlefield and let him know where we're going.”

“Write it in LEET code,” Quinn suggested as the two boys began heading in the direction of the stranger. “Just in case there are any spies hanging around. You never know.”

“But will he understand it?” Cody asked.

“Oh yeah. He's a computer engineer.”

Quickly, she text Mr. Littlefield a coded message.

Code Busters' Key and Solution found on pp. 152, 156

“Hurry!” M.E. called back to Cody as she followed the boys.

When Cody was done, she ran to catch up with the others. She was nearly out of breath when she reached them. “Did you lose him? Where did he go?”

“In there,” Luke said, pointing to the entrance of the National Sculpture Garden. It was located next door to the Natural History Museum.

“Come on!” Quinn said. “Let's go after him!”