The Hunt for the Missing Spy (14 page)

“Let go of me!” Matt jerked his arm loose.

But it was too late for him to run. The Code Busters had circled him. He was trapped.

“Matt! Where have you been?” Cody cried. “Ms. Stad is crazy-worried about you!”

“Yeah, you're in deep doo-doo, Jeffreys,” Quinn said.

“You'll probably be expelled!” M.E. added.

“I don't care!” Matt said. He threw the black marker on the ground and punched his fist in the
air. “I won the game! I beat all of you Code Losers and I get to meet a real Special Agent from the FBI!”

“So that's why you did all this?” Cody asked. “Just so you could win the game? What about your teammates?”

“Losers, just like you guys,” he said. “I'm the best. I'm the winner!”

Matt leaned down and picked up the black marker and his backpack that still lay on the ground near the sign. As he stuffed the marker inside, Cody glanced at the sign and saw a message written in Morse code. At least, it looked like Morse code. But it was obvious to Cody that Matt had used the marker to add a bunch more dots so the message wouldn't make sense. He had made sure the Code Busters wouldn't win that visit with an FBI special agent.

Matt tried to zip up his backpack, but the zipper seemed to be stuck on something. He stuffed his hand inside and swished it around, trying to clear the opening. When he pulled his hand out, a piece of khaki-colored cloth stuck out.

“Look in his backpack!” Cody cried out.

Matt jerked his backpack to his chest in an attempt to keep it away from the others.

“Hey, what's in there, Jeffreys?” Quinn asked.

Luke yanked the backpack out of Matt's hands.

“Give me that!” Matt yelled, but Luke turned away and quickly unzipped the pack. He dumped the contents on the sidewalk. Out fell a khaki trench coat, a black baseball cap, a pair of rearview sunglasses, a fake mustache, and some folded up newspaper. Plus, there were a bunch of clues he taken from Ms. Stad.

The stranger had been Matt all along. The Code Busters stared at him in disbelief.

Matt grabbed up the items from the ground and shoved them back into his pack.

“Seriously?” Cody finally said. “
You're
the one who's been following us everywhere!”

“That's why you were always lurking nearby when we got there,” Quinn said. “You knew where we'd be because you had all the clues and coordinates you stole from Ms. Stad.”

“I didn't steal them!” Matt protested. “I just borrowed them.”

“So your plan was to mess up the clues at each waypoint?” Quinn asked.

“It would've worked,” said Matt, pouting. “I almost beat you to the first few stops. And I got here first!”

“You scared us half to death,” M.E. said, scowling at Matt. “We thought you were some kind of spy who was stalking us!”

Luke shook his head. “I wasn't really scared.”

“Me, either,” Quinn added. “We figured it was you all along.”

Cody knew they were trying to act like they hadn't been fooled. “Well, we
were
a little weirded out by you. Not cool.”

Matt shrugged. “Admit it. I'm a better spy than all of you put together. I made up my own secret codes. And I'm going to join the FBI someday and be a real Code Buster.”

Cody frowned and shook her head. Mika was right about why Matt the Brat had done all of this—spied on them, tried to ruin the game. He hadn't just wanted to win the prize.

Matt the Brat really wanted to be a Code Buster.

* * * * *

Cody texted Ms. Stad and Mr. Littlefield to let them know where they were—and that they had finally found Matt. Since the Spy Museum was only two blocks away from the FBI building, Ms. Stad and Mr. Littlefield arrived there minutes later, relieved to see the missing boy and the Code Busters safe and sound.

Matt started to explain to her why he had gone off on his own, but Ms. Stad made it clear he was in big trouble. Furthermore, he would not win the prize because he had broken the rules. While the Code Busters told the teacher and chaperone what had happened as they walked back to the Spy Museum, Matt pouted every step of the way.

“Why didn't you answer our texts?” Cody asked Mr. Littlefield.

“What are texts?” the chaperone answered.

The kids giggled. Mr. Littlefield was a computer engineer who knew LEET code but didn't know what a text was? “Never mind,” Cody said.

When they arrived, Ms. Stad escorted Matt onto
the bus, and had Mr. Littlefield sit next to him to make sure nothing else happened.

“Well, you didn't follow my orders to wait until the chaperone came, but I understand why you did what you did, and I'm grateful you found Matt,” Ms. Stad said, giving each one a hug as they stood by the bus. “I just wish you'd told me in case you got into trouble. But thank you for saving the trip for the rest of the students—except for Matt, of course. Tomorrow morning he'll be flying back home with Mr. Littlefield.”

Cody couldn't help feeling sorry for Matt the Brat. He was always doing something to get himself in trouble. What he had done—going off on his own—could have been really dangerous, so he deserved to be in trouble. Still, it was too bad that he would miss the rest of the trip. Cody had a thought.

“Ms. Stad,” Cody said to her teacher.

“Yes, Cody,” Ms. Stad replied.

“I was thinking. Maybe instead of sending Matt home, he could just miss one of the other sites. That way he'd still get to learn about history and stuff, but also learn a lesson about leaving the group. Maybe
you could have him help you prepare for the next hunt. He's a really good artist. I've seen some of his drawings. He could draw some of the codes.”

Ms. Stad frown turned to a soft smile. “Not a bad idea, Cody. He'll learn a lot more by staying than he will be being sent home. I'm sure I can come up with some things for him to do to help me while you all are at the Cherry Blossom Festival.”

Cody smiled back at her teacher. Ms. Stad was firm, but she was also fair. And maybe Matt really would learn something this time.

“How's Mrs. Takeda?” M.E. asked.

“She'll be fine,” Ms. Stad said. “I talked to Mika and she said her mother has a cast on her ankle, but they'll both be joining us on the rest of our site-seeing tour. Mrs. Takeda will use crutches to get around. She's a trooper.”

“Are they still at the hospital?” Cody asked. She was eager to see her new friend Mika and tell her what had happened.

At that moment, a taxicab pulled up in front of the Spy Museum. The back door opened and a girl with
short dark hair stepped out, along with another one of the chaperones. As soon as the girl turned to face the group, the Code Busters burst out with laughter.

Mika was wearing a fake mustache!

“Mika!” they all said, rushing up to meet her while Ms. Stad paid the cab fare.

“You're back!” Cody said. “We missed you!”

Mika smiled. “Just for a few minutes. The doctor is still taking care of my mom, but I wanted to come back and thank you for your help,” she said.

“We're glad she's going to be all right,” M.E. said.

“Guess what?” Quinn said. “We found Matt!”

“That's great!” Mika said.

“That's not all,” Ms. Stad said, returning to the group as the cab drove away. “They also won the Spy Hunt.” She turned to the Code Busters. “You found all the clues, solved all the puzzles, and made it all the way to the end—without cheating. I think you've brought a whole new meaning to the word CODE in Code Busters. Clever—you were smart. Optimistic—you never gave up. Daring—you were brave. And Enterprising—you were creative in the
way that you solved the puzzles and found Matt. I'm very proud of you. You deserve to have the special meeting with my nephew, the FBI agent.”

“Sweet!” Luke said.

“Awesome!” Quinn agreed.

M.E. just squealed in excitement and clapped her hands.

Cody turned to the others and finger-spelled a question:

Code Busters' Key and Solution found on pp. 151, 157.

They all gave Cody a thumbs up—the universal code for agreement. Cody smiled at the new girl. “Mika, how would you like to join the Code Busters Club? You're really good at cracking codes and you'd make a great member.”

The others nodded and smiled warmly.

Tears formed in Mika's eyes. “I'd like that,” she said softly. “This is the best birthday ever.”

“Today's your birthday?” Cody said, surprised
Mika had kept it a secret.

Mika nodded shyly.

“Wow. How do you say Happy Birthday in Japanese?” Quinn asked.

“
Tanjoubi omedetou
,” Mika said.

“
Tanjoubi omedetou
!” the four Code Busters said together. They gave the birthday girl a group hug.

“
Arigato gozaimasu
!” Mika said, grinning. “I'm so glad to be a member of the Code Busters Club!”

Cody was glad too. She wondered what new adventures—and codes—awaited them when they returned home. Although their next field trip wasn't for several weeks, she was looking forward to the ferry ride to Angel Island, called the “Ellis Island of the West.” Ms. Stad had told them there were coded messages carved into the walls of the abandoned immigration station, left by people seeking a new life in America, just like Mika. She'd even given them a Japanese haiku to study on their flight home.

Ferry to the shore,

Scavenge for some hidden finds,

Snap, but do not take
. . .

Japanese Kanji Numbers:

George Washington's Code:

Alphanumeric Code:

International Morse Code: