The herd stared at her in disbelief—they clearly weren’t used to being coddled, and they weren’t sure they liked it. But then they shrugged and started dressing for their mission. Jackson found his sheepherder outfit very scratchy. “You can spend ten billion on my superbraces, but you don’t have a couple bucks for fabric softener?” he muttered.
Once everyone was dressed, they returned to their seats and locked their safety belts. Jackson had been on planes, and always found putting on his seat belt to be tedious and silly. But the descent in the School Bus changed his mind forever. It was even more terrifying than the takeoff, like a free fall right into the ground, until the lunch lady leveled the ship off above the desert floor.
“We’re over the drop,” the pilot grunted.
“The drop?” Jackson asked.
Suddenly, Brand was out of his seat and opening the hatch at the front of the jet. The other kids followed him, each snatching a parachute from a pile stacked nearby.
“No one told me we were jumping out of a rocket!” Jackson shouted. “I’ve never done this before.”
“It’s pretty easy,” Matilda said. “All you have to do is fall.”
A moment later, she jumped out and was gone.
Heathcliff was next, then Ruby.
“Your ride will be along soon,” Brand shouted over the wind.
Ruby nodded as she jumped outside.
Flinch raced to the front, snatched a pack, and leaped outside without even putting it on his back.
Jackson screamed, sure he had just witnessed the boy’s last moments alive, but Duncan assured him Flinch was OK. “He does that every time. He’s a bit of an adrenaline junkie.”
“He’s a bit of a lunatic,” Jackson mumbled.
“You and I are going together,” Duncan said. He ran his hands up and down Jackson’s back. When Jackson craned his neck he noticed a sticky film trail where the boy’s hands had been. Then Duncan hugged him from behind. The two boys were stuck tight.
Ms. Holiday helped the chubby spy into his parachute while Jackson squirmed for his freedom.
“You realize we are all minors,” Jackson said. “You’re letting six children jump out of a plane, into the desert, in a foreign country, alone.”
“You’ll be fine,” Duncan said to Jackson. “I’ll keep you safe.”
“You ate fourteen glue sticks in art class once. I don’t think you’re the best one to protect me,” Jackson said.
“Find the doctor and bring her back,” Brand said. “Jackson, Ruby is your team leader and unless she directs you otherwise, your job on this mission is to observe.”
“Wait, maybe I should stay in the rocket!” Jackson cried, but he never finished his sentence. Duncan dragged him through the open door. Jackson’s screams were drowned out by the wind, but he could still hear them inside his head as the ground raced toward them.
“Isn’t it beautiful up here?” Duncan shouted.
Jackson just kept on screaming. Eventually, he felt Duncan pull a cord. There was a loud pop, and then an incredible flapping sound as the parachute unfolded above them. When it unfurled, the boys were jerked roughly upward. Then they began to slowly descend.
“I love this part,” Duncan said. “It’s so peaceful.”
The boys landed on the edge of a dune and tumbled face-first into the sand. As they rolled, the parachute wrapped around them so that neither could move a muscle. Jackson now knew what it must feel like to be a burrito.
As they tried to untangle themselves, the rest of the team sprang into action. They buried their parachutes, while Ruby used binoculars to scan the valley. “Here comes our ride,” she said.
Jackson turned his head in the direction Ruby was looking. He saw a lone figure walking toward them with six camels in tow.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Jackson said. “We’re riding camels to Cairo?”
“Aaagha bezzzeter chuck,” Flinch said.
“Huh?”
The hyperactive boy turned the knob on his body harness. “I said ‘camels rule, bro!’”
Ruby ignored the chatter. “Let’s move, people.”
“Uh, we’re kind of stuck!” Jackson cried from inside the parachute burrito.
“No worries,” Duncan said. “Laser watch activate.”
Duncan’s wristwatch opened and a tiny laser cannon poked out. It targeted the straps of the parachute, and moments later the two boys were free.
“I didn’t get a laser watch,” Jackson grumbled.
“I know,” Duncan said with a smile. “It’s only for the good agents.”
With the camel salesman’s help, Jackson and the others mounted their animals. Once they were safely aboard, the old man smacked Jackson’s camel on the rump, sending him racing into the desert. It turned out riding a camel was like being on a smelly inner tube trapped in white-water rapids. He fell off the furry monster a dozen times, and each time, the camel reached down and bit him. His teammates just laughed.
Worse, the sun was broiling. The disguises the librarian had given them protected against its vicious rays, but felt heavy in the heat. Jackson complained, and the others ignored him.
They had been traveling for a couple of hours when Ruby called for them to take a break. She pointed out a rocky outcropping and led the rest of the team toward it.
Jackson attempted to dismount, but his camel bucked and kicked, sending him sprawling onto the ground. He couldn’t be sure, but it seemed as if the beast was giggling at him, just like the rest of his team. He picked himself up and pulled his pack off the camel’s back. Inside he found several bottles of water and Ms. Holiday’s cookie. He decided he needed a treat and took a bite. The cookie was as hard as stone and tasted like vinegar. He wrapped it back up and put it in his shirt pocket. Clearly, Ms. Holiday could not bake.
“How long do you think we’ll be here?” Jackson asked Ruby. She ignored him. She took a school organizer out of her pack and opened it up. Where folders and rulers should have been, there was a computer monitor and keyboard, as well as a tiny satellite dish spinning in circles.
“Probably a half hour,” Duncan said. “Ruby likes to get topographic maps and weather before we get into the heat of the mission. It will take a while to link to Benjamin.”
Jackson laid back and closed his eyes. “I think I’ll take a nap, then.”
“Do what you want, but don’t expect a bedtime story from me,” Wheezer said.
When Jackson awoke, the sun was in his eyes, his mouth was dry, and he had a knife across his throat. He looked up and saw the owner of the blade—a dark-skinned man with a long beard and stringy black hair. He wore loose, flowing white pants and a green shirt and had a leather belt lined with shotgun shells. He barked something in a language Jackson didn’t understand. Out of the corner of his eye, Jackson saw more men just like him, all brandishing ugly swords and shouting threats. He didn’t have to be multilingual to know they were angry.
“Try to relax,” Ruby said to him. “No sudden movements. These are local tribal fighters and we’ve stumbled onto their land.”
“How do you know that?” Jackson said as he craned his neck to see her. She was standing behind him. A group of men had their swords aimed at her heart.
“Call it a hunch,” Ruby said.
“Where are the others?” Jackson asked.
“I sent them ahead to scout the highway into Cairo. They won’t be back for an hour,” the girl replied.
“So we’re here alone?” Jackson cried. The man holding the sword shouted at him angrily and pressed his blade closer to his Adam’s apple.
“You remember me telling you to relax, right?” Ruby said.
“So what are we going to do?” Jackson said more quietly.
“Well, we have two choices. We can die, which is what these guys want us to do, or we can fight back and die a little later. You choose.”
“Don’t you have some spy gadget or gizmo?” Jackson asked. “What about your upgrades?”