“Mine are inside my body, doofus. My allergies make me highly sensitive to danger—almost bordering on psychic. For instance, my tongue is swollen because I’m allergic to angry threats. My eyes are itchy because I’m allergic to large groups of people with swords. My ears feel clogged because I’m allergic to answering dumb questions. My ability is not going to help us much here. Why don’t you use your upgrades?”
“I don’t know how to use them yet,” Jackson said. “All I know is that I can use my braces to catch a flying car and force-feed a dog. I haven’t had a single lesson on what they can do.”
“I told Brand you weren’t ready,” Ruby said. “I wish Gluestick was here. He’s a technology guy, but I’ll do my best to explain. Your braces are made from millions of tiny robots called nanobytes. They are linked to your brain so you have control over them. If you want them to react, all you have to do is to think it.”
Jackson concentrated and he could feel the wires swirling around in his mouth, and in a flash a crudely shaped fist rocketed out of his mouth and caught the warrior leader under the chin. He dropped his saber and fell backward into the sand.
The other warriors raised their swords in the air and screamed in fury. Six strands shot out of Jackson’s mouth, all with swords at the ends. The fighters slashed with their weapons, but Jackson’s braces blocked each attack. Jackson felt like he had six musketeers in his mouth. Metal crashed into metal and sparks flew everywhere. Finally, Jackson managed to disarm the entire gang, and they ran off in fear.
“Did you see that?” Jackson cried as his braces retracted into his mouth. “I rule!”
“That was hardly worth the self-congratulations,” Ruby said.
“What? Was I the only one standing here? Those guys were going to kill us. You’re lucky I was here to save your itchy behind.”
“Let’s just get something straight!” Ruby shouted. “We don’t need your help in any way, shape, or form. Each one of us is an expertly trained fighting machine. We all know how to paralyze a man with just a pinch. You’re on this team despite the fact that all of us voted against you. Our votes used to mean something … anyway, just because we’re stuck with you doesn’t mean we’re ever going to be buddies or grateful to you for anything. You’re a bully—”
“What?” Jackson cried.
“A bully!” Ruby shouted even louder. “So you fought off a few bad guys. If you think I would do the same for you, then you’re dumber than you look. You’re on your own, and if you think you can intimidate us with a wedgie or a headlock, you’ve got another think coming.”
“So I guess you’re not going to thank me?” Jackson said.
An hour later, Matilda floated to the ground with Duncan in her arms. In the distance they spotted a streak of dust heading in their direction. When it stopped just six inches away, Jackson realized it was Flinch with Heathcliff on his back.
“Oh, I always miss the fun,” Matilda complained when she saw the piles of weapons.
“Some fighters decided to mess with Jackson Jones!” Jackson crowed. “They learned the hard way how tough I am.”
Ruby turned away. “Let’s get going. We’ve got several more miles before we get to the lab, and who knows how many more of these fighters are lurking about.”
The others were soon climbing aboard their camels.
Jackson was annoyed. “What? No pat on the back? No good job, Jackson? Where’s the gratitude?”
The others ignored him and trotted off.
Cairo was a fascinating place. Skyscrapers rose high into the air next to ancient stone buildings. Taxis and sports cars shared the roads with camels and donkeys. Men in suits rushed off to work while farmers pushed carts of exotic fruits and vegetables to market.
A policeman yelled at the NERDS team. “He wants us off the main road,” Heathcliff told the others after searching through an Arabic-to-English dictionary. “He called us filthy gypsies.”
“He’s not very nice,” Duncan said.
Ruby steered her camel down a side street, and the team followed. She led them down several crowded alleyways. Children played while tourists gawked at the buildings and snapped endless photographs. Women carried baskets of laundry on their heads as tiny European cars struggled to get past.
“Badawi’s lab is around this corner,” Ruby said as she hopped off her camel. The others followed her lead. “Intelligence says she has several armed guards, and it would be best if we can avoid them. Wheezer, you and I will need to get changed. Flinch, Gluestick, and Choppers, circle the building and try to find where those guards are positioned.”
The three boys ran off.
“What about me?” Jackson said.
“You can turn around,” Matilda said. After several moments the girls tapped Jackson on the shoulder. He spun around and found them wearing Girl Scout uniforms.
“Again, I missed the briefing,” Jackson said. “What is going on?”
Before they could explain, the boys returned. “There’s two guards on a fire escape on the west side of the building,” Heathcliff said.
“There’s two at the front door,” Duncan added.
“Nothing on the roof,” Flinch said as he opened three juice boxes and sipped them all at the same time. It wasn’t long before he was shaking and giggling from the sugar.
“OK, we’re going to distract as many guards as possible,” Matilda said.
“How do you plan on doing that?” Jackson asked.
Matilda dug into her pack and pulled out several boxes of cookies. “With these.”
“No one can resist Girl Scout cookies,” Ruby said. “As for the rest of you, it looks like the roof is the safest way inside.”
“What about me?” Jackson asked.
“You’ve got the most important job ever.”
Jackson’s eyes popped open. “Really? What?”
“You get to guard the camels.”
Jackson scowled. “I’m not used to sitting on the bench.” Ruby pointed an angry finger at him. “Then you better get used to it. You’re here to observe.”
“Forget it!” Jackson snapped.
“Listen, he can go with us,” Duncan said.
“With us?” Flinch and Heathcliff cried.
“I’ll take responsibility for him,” Duncan insisted.
“If he screws up, it’s on you, Gluestick,” Ruby said.
“No worries,” Duncan said. Heathcliff shot him a murderous look, but he kept his mouth closed.
“All right, let’s go kidnap us a scientist,” Flinch said as he clapped his hands.
The girls headed for the front door, while the boys circled around the back of the building.
“So, how do we get up to the roof?” Jackson asked, eyeing the building. It was easily ten feet tall. “There’s no rope in my pack.”
“Like this,” Flinch said as he grabbed Heathcliff and tossed him high into the air. Jackson watched as the bucktoothed spy landed nimbly on the roof of the building.
“No way you are doing that to me!” Jackson said. It looked more terrifying than the rocket.
“It’s really safe,” Duncan said, just before he was tossed as well.
“He’s right,” Flinch said. “I’ve only crippled three people. That’s a very good percentage.”
“Now, let’s talk about this,” Jackson said, but a moment later the boy’s hands hefted him off the ground and flung him high into the sky. Flinch’s toss was perfect and Jackson came down on the roof like a feather. A barfing, crying feather—but a feather nonetheless.
Flinch landed beside him, grinning from ear to ear. “Fun, huh?”
The other boys pulled off their desert clothes, revealing black bodysuits covered in zippered pockets. Duncan took out a pair of goggles, slipped them over his eyes, and looked down at the roof.
“The girls are having some luck. The guards are gone from the fire escape. I’m detecting two people in a lab on the eighth floor. Braceface, want to take a look?” He handed the goggles to Jackson.