“Geology, solar power, tidal movement—whoever is behind this is obviously up to something big, and whatever it is, it can’t be good,” Ruby said.
“We’ve got analysts trying to figure out what it might be, but for now we have to make sure that Dr. Badawi is safe,” Ms. Holiday explained.
“So we’re bodyguards now?” Heathcliff asked.
Brand ignored the sarcasm in the boy’s voice. “Our mission is to outmaneuver the bad guys. We’re going to kidnap Dr. Badawi before they can.”
Ruby sat back in her chair, stunned. “Kidnap her?”
Brand nodded. “If we pick her up and hide her, it puts a stop to whoever is behind this list. We did this many times when I worked for the Special Operations Bureau. Ms. Holiday has more about the mission.”
Brand turned and walked away.
“He’s not what I’d call a chatty guy,” Jackson said.
Ms. Holiday gave a knowing smile. She straightened her glasses and skirt, and placed her hand on a panel near the spinning blue orb. The images faded and were replaced by a scene of a desert. “The Nile River Valley in Egypt is a dry one hundred and two degrees today—”
“Wait! We’re going to Egypt?” Jackson cried. “I can’t go to Egypt! I’ve got detention.”
The group stared at him as if he were a babbling idiot.
“I’m serious,” Jackson said. “I’m in big trouble. My grades are falling and Dehaven has decided to make me his personal project.”
Heathcliff shot him a disgusted look. “You’re going to have to figure out how to solve your school problems on your own, Braceface.”
Ms. Holiday continued her presentation. “Your ultimate destination is Cairo, the capital city of Egypt. It has a population of nearly seventeen million, so it’s going to be pretty crowded. It’s also a dangerous place. The government is in a state of flux, and religious zealots are struggling for control. Westerners are still welcome, but they aren’t always respected or left alone. You’ll have to be careful.”
“When do we leave?” Matilda asked.
“Now,” a voice said from behind them. Jackson turned and saw the lunch lady. “Let’s get to the School Bus!”
The children and Ms. Holiday followed the lunch lady down a hallway. Jackson had concerns. “Um, I don’t know a lot of about geography, but I know we can’t drive to Cairo in a school bus.”
The others ignored him and stepped through sliding doors that led to a passageway. At the end of the passage, Jackson saw they were inside the school’s gymnasium. Agent Brand was waiting for them in the center of the room. He stood near a rope hanging from the ceiling. Jackson knew the rope well. He held the school time record for climbing. Brand pulled on it three times and a violent rumbling rose from beneath Jackson. A huge section of the gym’s floor slid aside, and from below an incredible machine rose. As it came into view, Jackson understood what it was—a rocket. It was bright orange and had small wings at the bottom. Once it was fully up, a dozen scientists in jumpsuits attached an enormous hose to its side. A moment later, the odor of fuel flooded Jackson’s nose. “What’s that?” Jackson asked.
“That is the TA-48 Orbital Jet,” the lunch lady said proudly. “But we call it the School Bus.”
There was a loud siren wailing from speakers mounted on the wall. A moment later, Jackson could hear a voice beckoning all students to the basement because of a tornado warning.
“There isn’t a cloud in the sky,” Jackson said.
“True,” the lunch lady replied. “But getting everyone into a crouched position in the basement distracts them for a while.”
“Let’s get that roof retracted, people,” Brand shouted, and in no time there was more rumbling, this time from above. Jackson saw the gymnasium roof spreading apart, revealing the blue sky.
Ms. Holiday ushered the children up a small flight of stairs to the rocket’s door. “Come along. We have to get you on board.”
“On board!” Jackson exclaimed. “I can’t fly in a rocket.”
Heathcliff, Duncan, Matilda, Ruby, and Flinch eyed him with disgust.
“It’s always about you,” Ruby said as the rest of the team entered the hull of the ship. Jackson reluctantly followed. Brand and Holiday brought up the rear.
Duncan rubbed his hands together eagerly as he strapped himself into one of eight leather seats. “I love missions!”
“Do I get to blow something up?” Matilda asked.
“That remains to be seen,” Brand replied, helping the librarian into her seat and then taking his own.
A group of workers brought in six stuffed backpacks. Ms. Holiday smiled. “Oh, good, do they have everything?”
One of the workers nodded. “Everything that was on your list.”
“You can put those in the storage compartment,” Ms. Holiday said. The men opened a panel at the front of the jet and shoved the packs inside. A moment later the men were gone. No sooner had they left than the lunch lady climbed aboard.
“You ready to get this bird in the air?” she asked.
Brand nodded.
“She’s the pilot? That woman can’t make meat loaf. How is she going to fly a rocket?”
The lunch lady reached up and snatched her dull brown hair off her head. Jackson quickly realized she had been wearing a wig and had a clean-shaven bald head underneath. Then it dawned on him that the lunch lady wasn’t a lady at all.
“You don’t like my meat loaf, kid?” the lunch lady grunted. “I’m hurt.”
“Buckle up,” Ms. Holiday said.
Jackson considered jumping up and rushing out the open door while he still had a chance. Unfortunately, one of the workers slammed it shut. There was a loud roar and a sudden burst of speed, which caused Jackson to sink into his seat.
“Blast off.” Flinch cried. Jackson was horrified. He could feel the skin on his face clinging to his skull as it was pulled backward by the g-force, and he imagined the whole machine exploding. He turned to his window only to see the ship shoot out of the top of the school and rise higher and higher in the sky, up into the blackness of space. If he craned his neck, he could see the entire planet below. That’s when Jackson screamed.
And screamed …
… and screamed.
“Oh boy,” Heathcliff said, rolling his eyes. “I think we have a barfer on our hands.”
YOU’RE BACK!
UNBELIEVABLE. WELL,
TO BE HONEST, YOU’RE
DOING VERY WELL. OUR
DNA EXAMINATIONS HAVE
REVEALED YOU HAVE
A LOT OF NERDINESS
RUNNING THROUGH
YOUR BLOOD. IN FACT,
SENSORS REVEAL THAT
YOU ARE PRACTICALLY 90
PERCENT NERD. THAT’S
A LOT OF NERD. STILL,
THE BIG SHOTS AREN’T
COMPLETELY CONVINCED.
THEY WANT MORE INFORMATION, SO…
TO GRANT ACCESS TO
LEVEL 6, I NEED YOU
TO RUB YOUR ARMPIT