The Hunt for the Missing Spy (5 page)

Code Busters' Key and Solution found on pp. 149, 154.

When they were done, M.E. said, “It looks like a bunch of math problems in Japanese. That's not as fun as the Washington Code the boys got.”

Was it true? Cody wondered. Had Ms. Stad just given them math problems to do for homework using Japanese characters? She scanned the page, then turned it over and noticed a note in small print at the bottom.

“Look,” she said, then read the message to the others: “
Students, when you finish decoding the Japanese numbers, use your Alphanumeric Decoder Card to read the secret message
.”

“Awesome!” M.E. said. “It's actually a coded message, too.”

“Dude, maybe it's something about the Spy Museum,” Luke offered.

“There's only one way to find out,” Quinn said.

The kids got out the alphanumeric decoder cards that Ms. Stad had given them a few months ago and quickly went to work figuring out the message:

Code Busters' Key and Solution found on pp. 149, 154.

“This trip keeps getting better and better,” M.E. said, after everyone had finished deciphering Ms. Stad's message. “I can't wait to check out the School for Spies and get a Spy vs. Spy T-shirt at the museum! Plus I want to see the National Museum of American History. They've got a collection of old fashions people used to wear.”

“I want to see the Apollo 11 Command Module at the Air and Space Museum,” Quinn said.

“I'm going to check out the stegosaurus and triceratops fossils at the National Museum of Natural History,” Luke added.

“Besides the Spy Museum, I think the Cherry Blossom Festival parade will be—” Cody stopped suddenly. She pressed her finger to her lips, her eyes wide. “Shhh!”

She sat stiff as a board while the others stared at
her. She touched her ear, then shook her hands in front of her—the signs for “hear” and “noise”—then pointed outside. She was certain she'd heard the crack of a twig close by. Someone—or something—was near the clubhouse.

M.E. raised her eyebrows and combed back her hair with her fingers, making the sign for “lion.” Cody remembered that hikers had spotted a mountain lion in the area last year, but she and the others had never seen any sign of the wild animal.

Cody cocked her head and listened, waiting to hear the sound again.

After a few seconds, Luke signed the word, “Nothing,” by shaping an “O” with his hand.

Cody nodded and started to relax. Luke was probably right. It was nothing.

Anyway, it was time to get home, or she'd get in trouble for being late.

But just as she was gathering up her homework, she heard the sound again—like the crack of a branch underfoot. She could tell from the tense looks on her friends' faces that they had heard the
noise this time, too.

There really was someone or something right outside their clubhouse door. And if it was an intruder—or a mountain lion—the Code Busters were trapped.

“H
ello?” Quinn called through the door.

M.E. rolled her eyes and whispered, “Quinn! If it's a mountain lion, it's not going to answer you.”

“I know,” Quinn snapped. “I was just trying to scare it off.”

“By saying
hello
?”

Quinn frowned at her. “Got a better idea?”

“Dudes, chill!” Luke said. “I'll go see who—or what—is out there.”

Cody admired how Luke always stepped up when there was danger. He seemed to be fearless. “But what if it really is a mountain lion?” Cody asked. While she was glad he wasn't afraid, she didn't want him to get hurt.

Luke looked around for something to fend off a possible attack. He pulled up the carpet and opened the secret compartment hidden under the metal floor. It was the perfect place to stash code-busting supplies. So far, they'd collected magnifying glasses, binoculars, flashlights, code books, and a bunch of other cool gear. Luke grabbed the large, heavy-duty flashlight with the long handle and hoisted it up.

“Wait!” Cody said. “I have an idea.” She got out her cell phone and opened the sound effects app, then pointed to the air horn icon. “Turn up the volume, then tap this when you get outside. It's really loud. That should scare it away.”

Luke kept the flashlight in one hand and took the cell phone in the other, his thumb ready to touch the app.

Quinn unbolted the door and opened it slowly.

Luke stuck his head out.

“See anything?” Quinn asked.

Luke shook his head. He took a step outside, the heavy flashlight raised to swing at an attacker, the cell phone ready to blast. The three other Code Busters peered out behind him, each one holding an object for protection. Quinn had grabbed the plank that blocked the door, M.E. held a pair of scissors that had been hidden in the secret compartment, and Cody was ready to launch a couple of large rocks.

“Shhh!” Cody whispered. She'd heard rustling in the bushes a few yards away. “Over there!” She pointed in the direction of the sound.

Luke tapped the phone app. A loud blast filled the air. He pressed it again and again.

The bushes shook.

Suddenly, a dark shape darted from the back of the bush and sprinted down the hill, through the Eucalyptus Forest.

Luke stopped blasting the air horn and strained to see the running figure. After a moment, he turned to the others behind him. “That was no mountain lion.”

“How do you know?” asked M.E., her eyes wide with fear.

“Because mountain lions don't wear extra-large hoodies and saggy jeans.” Luke knelt down and picked up something from the ground. When he stood again, he was holding a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it. The page was filled with illustrations. Familiar-looking illustrations, Cody thought.

“And mountain lions don't leave cartoon drawings behind,” Luke added.

Cody knew instantly who had been spying on them inside the clubhouse. And who had drawn that picture message that read, “Eye watch ewe.”

That wasn't a welcome
sign
at the bottom of the other note. It was a welcome
mat
.

As in Matt the Brat.

* * * * *

The Code Busters didn't have time to figure out what the new cartoons meant, so Cody offered to take the paper home, scan it, and email it to the others so they could all work on decoding it later.

With no sign of Matt outside the clubhouse—and no sign of a mountain lion—they jetted down the hill to their homes. Cody, M.E. and Quinn said goodbye to Luke at his condo where he lived with his
grand-mére
(grandmother). Then the girls dropped Quinn at his house across the street from Cody. And finally, M.E. waved goodbye to Cody and continued on to the next block.

“I was beginning to worry,” Mrs. Jones said when she saw Cody come in the door. She signed and said the words so that Cody's deaf younger sister, Tana, could be a part of the conversation.

“Sorry,” Cody said and signed, circling her chest with a fist. She told her mom and sister about her day, leaving out the threatening notes from Matt the Brat. There was no need to worry her mother any more than she already had.

After a dinner of chicken, green beans, rice, and salad—Cody's favorite meal—Cody helped Tana get ready for bed and read her a story in sign language. Then, Cody brushed her teeth, got into her cat-decorated pajamas, and went to her room to
finish her homework. By the time she sat down at her desk, she'd almost forgotten that the second note from Matt the Brat that was still in her backpack.

She pulled it out and quickly scanned it, then emailed the message to the other Code Busters. When she was done, she took a moment to study the drawings. In the middle of the note was a kid in a super hero costume. On each side of him were two kids—two boys and two girls—lying on the ground as if they'd been knocked out. In the background was the logo from the International Spy Museum.

Cody thought the cartoons were really good and wondered why she'd never noticed what a talented artist Matt was. Most of his drawings in class were of monsters, and dragons, and ugly beasts, so Cody never really paid much attention to them. But if he had drawn these cartoons, well, he really had talent. They were amazing—except for the message behind them. It was clear to Cody that Matt the Brat thought he was some kind of super spy. Did he plan to “knock out” the Code Busters at the Spy Museum?

We'll just see about that,
Cody thought.

* * * * *

The rest of the week couldn't go fast enough for Cody and the other Code Busters. Each day at school their teachers talked about what they'd see and do in Washington, D.C. Mrs. Stad taught Cody's class Washington Code, plus some more Japanese. But Cody had trouble concentrating. She couldn't get her mind off the Spy Museum. There were so many cool exhibits there she was dying to see.

Finally, departure day came. By the time the students boarded the plane at the San Francisco airport, they were all buzzing about what was planned once they reached the nation's capital.

Cody spent the five-hour flight reading a mystery on the mini tablet her mother had let her borrow. Quinn wrote secret messages for the others to solve using the Washington Code key. M.E. watched a movie. Luke mostly slept. Cody checked on Matt the Brat a few times to see if he was up to no good—he was sitting a few rows behind her—but he seemed to be listening to his iPod and drawing pictures. Cody wondered if the Code Busters would be getting more
threatening cartoon notes from him during the trip. But if he bothered the Code Busters again, she'd tell Ms. Stad. Her teacher didn't tolerate bullying of any kind.

The view from the plane as it flew into Dulles Airport gave the students a preview of the Cherry Blossom Festival. Clusters of pink blossoms seemed to be everywhere. They reminded Cody of bouquets of pink popcorn. By the time they got off the plane, everyone was excited about the upcoming adventure.

Since the trip had taken most of the day, the students, teachers, and chaperones were bussed straight to the hotel so they could rest up. Still, nobody got much sleep. Everyone was too busy reading the brochures, talking about the sites, and making lists of the souvenirs they wanted to buy.

The next morning, the students woke early, ready for their first stop—The International Spy Museum. Ms. Stadelhofer and Mr. Pike counted the kids as they boarded the bus. When all the students and chaperones were seated, Ms. Stad stood up at the front and clapped to get everyone's attention.

“Good morning, students! Welcome to your first day in Washington, D.C.!

In a few minutes we'll be on our way to the International Spy Museum. A few rules first. Number one, stay with your buddy and stay with the group. Number two, do not leave the Spy Museum for any reason without checking with me. Number three, don't ask your chaperones for help unless you're in trouble. And number four, complete your assignment and turn it in to your teacher or one of the chaperones before you head for the Spy Store. Understood?”

The students nodded and mumbled, “Yes, Ms. Stadelhofer.”

“Good. Now, are we ready for the Spy Museum?” she said, grinning.

The classes cheered and clapped. The teachers, along with several parent chaperones, handed out the first assignment sheets to be completed while the students toured the museum. Since the kids were visiting a
spy
museum, naturally the assignment was in code.

“By now, you're all familiar with Washington
Code,” Ms. Stad said. “Your assignment is to crack the coded message and follow the instructions. Good luck!”

As the bus headed for the museum, the students began to work on their assignments, deciphering the code.