“Uh … good observation,” Mr. Brand said. He seemed to stumble over the compliment. “Dr. Munoz was a colleague of one Dr. Felix Jigsaw.”
“The Jigsaw Puzzle King,” Ruby said.
“You’re familiar with the doctor?” Brand asked.
“Isn’t everyone?” the itchy girl asked. “He’s a legend in the world of competitive jigsawing!”
“Competitive jigsawing?” Jackson laughed. The nerds looked at him as if he were a soupy zucchini they found in the bottom of the crisper drawer. “You’re not joking?”
Agent Brand continued. “Glad to know you have heard of him, Pufferfish. Er … you are a valuable member of this group.”
“What’s going on here?” Matilda asked Agent Brand.
“Pardon me?”
“What’s with all the compliments? ‘You are a valuable member of this group.’ You never praise us!”
Agent Brand flashed another look at Ms. Holiday. “It has come to my attention that you are children and maybe I shouldn’t be talking to you like seasoned war veterans. Thus, I’m trying to present a more positive tone.”
“Did you put him up to this?” Matilda asked the librarian.
Ms. Holiday shook her head. “I have no idea what you are talking about,” she lied. Ruby scratched her arm furiously.
Brand scowled. “If we can get back to Jigsaw. He’s an expert on continental shifts in the Earth’s surface. Apparently, he and Dr. Munoz worked on a variety of projects together before Jigsaw lost his mind and had a stay at a mental hospital in Minneapolis. Dr. Munoz approached the FBI when Jigsaw was in treatment. He claimed the man was building a machine that could move continents.”
“No way!” Flinch shouted. “That explains Greenland and Hawaii!”
“Maybe,” Heathcliff said. “Still, that kind of technology is pretty advanced. What tells us Jigsaw is smart enough to do something like that?”
“He’s not,” Brand said. “But when you look at the list of big brains that have been kidnapped recently—experts on geology and advanced power sources, inventors—he might be able to put something together.”
“You think Jigsaw is behind the kidnappings?” Ruby asked.
Brand nodded. “And I think we’ve already met someone who is helping him.”
The hologram changed again. Jackson saw a three-dimensional drawing of the blonde kidnapper he had come face-to-face with in Cairo. He was stunned by the details his teammates had re-created. It looked just like her, down to her dazzling green eyes. She was so pretty. Why did she have to be a bad guy?
“Meet Mindy Beauchamp,” Ms. Holiday said.
The image was replaced with a photograph of a young woman wearing a sash and a tiara. The kidnapper and this beauty queen were the same girl.
“Otherwise known as the Hyena,” Agent Brand said.
“Why do they call her the Hyena?” Ruby asked.
“We’re still working on it,” Ms. Holiday said. “But we do know a little bit about her. She’s a former pageant contestant who gave up her sash and gown for life as a professional goon. She’s been spotted at a few of the kidnappings.”
“Bingo!” Matilda said as she cracked her knuckles. “Now I know who to punch in the face.”
“That still doesn’t explain why we’re headed to Los Angeles,” Jackson said.
Ms. Holiday nodded. “Dr. Munoz lives there with his nine-year-old daughter. When he approached the FBI, he claimed to have some of the schematics for Jigsaw’s continental-shift machine, but they thought he was crazy, too.”
“Can’t he just mail them to us?” Jackson said. “I’m missing a very important test.”
Agent Brand shook his head. “We’ve reached out to him, but Munoz believes he’s being watched and is refusing to talk. He won’t even repeat what he told the FBI. So, the team is going to him for a face-to-face. Your cover will be his daughter Elizabeth’s birthday party. You need to find the schematics and see if you can get Munoz to talk about Jigsaw.”
“How do we plan on finding the documents?” Duncan asked.
Ms. Holiday reached down into a bag and took out a guinea pig. It had a big red bow wrapped around its belly. “With this.”
“Guinea pig cameras rule!” Flinch cried.
The cockpit door opened and the lunch lady poked his head out. “We’re over the drop point,” he shouted.
“Not again!” Jackson groaned. “You know, you can land this thing and just let us walk off.”
“Get your gear,” Brand said, ignoring him and gesturing to six backpacks at the front of the rocket. Inside his, Jackson found a complete mariachi outfit: a slim black jacket and matching pants, a sombrero, and boots.
“What’s all this?”
“Part of your cover. Munoz’s daughter is turning nine today, and you’re the entertainment. You’re posing as members of the hottest young pop band in America, Del Loco.”
“No way!” Flinch shouted as he leaped to his feet. His body twitched and shook, and at first Jackson was sure the boy was having a seizure, but soon he realized Flinch was dancing. Then he started singing. “’Hey, pretty lady, don’t walk on by—come and take a moment with the super fly.’”
Brand quickly cut him off. “Del Loco is an international sensation. They have coloring books, lunch boxes, their own TV show, and millions of records sold. Dr. Munoz had to pull a lot of strings to get them to play. Unfortunately, the real Del Loco is going to be detained at the customs desk at the Los Angeles airport. Ruby, you’re on point as usual.”
Ruby smiled briefly. “When our last director said I was ‘on point,’ that meant I was in charge. Is that what you mean?”
Brand gritted his teeth and looked as if he was swallowing a ball of impatience. He eyed Ms. Holiday who smiled at him and nodded. “Yes, I trust you,” he grunted as if the words caused him physical pain.
“And me?” Jackson said.
“Observation only,” Agent Brand said.
Jackson sighed as he strapped on his parachute.
“This isn’t a punishment, Jackson,” Ms. Holiday said. “You’ll be in the thick of things as soon as you’re ready.”
The lunch lady opened the side door of the rocket, and a moment later Jackson was floating down to Earth. Duncan had given him some pointers on skydiving and felt confident he was ready to jump on his own. He landed in a bush, but aside from a few scratches he was fine.
While the others slipped off their parachute harnesses, Ruby began to give orders.
“Wheezer, can you get airborne?” Ruby asked. “I’d like to see if you can spot the doctor’s house from here.”
Matilda took out her inhalers. With one in each hand, she pushed the plungers and shot into the air nearly as fast as the School Bus.
“I’ve got it,” Matilda voice rang in Jackson’s head. “It’s about a mile from here on foot.”
“Good,” Ruby said. “Flinch, why don’t you run ahead and let Dr. Munoz know the band is on its way.”
Flinch clapped his hands together, twisted the knob on his chest, and sped away, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. Though he’d seen it before, this never failed to impress Jackson.
Duncan noticed Jackson’s amazement. “He is incredible,” Duncan said as they walked in the direction of the doctor’s house. “He can lift nearly five tons and reach speeds of a hundred miles an hour if he’s had enough sugar. And he’s my best friend.”
“He’s such a little guy too,” Jackson said.
Duncan frowned. “Size has nothing to do with it, Braceface.”
“Don’t call me that,” Jackson begged.
“That’s your code name. I’m Gluestick.”
“I’m changing my name,” Jackson said.
“Great, you need something more appropriate. How about ‘Motormouth’?” Ruby said.
Jackson frowned.
“I like ‘Railroad Track Boy,’” Heathcliff said.
“I know! How about Monkeybrain!” Ruby cried.