YOU ARE BECOMING QUITE
THE CODE CRACKER. EVERYONE
IS IMPRESSED . . . EXCEPT
ME, OF COURSE. I STILL HAVE
SOME SERIOUS DOUBTS ABOUT
THE THING INSIDE YOUR HEAD
YOU CALL A BRAIN, BUT THE
PEOPLE IN CHARGE TELL ME
YOU HAVE A LOT OF POTENTIAL.
UNTIL I CAN CONVINCE THEM
OTHERWISE, I’M FORCED TO KEEP
YOUR TRAINING MOVING ALONG.
YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY MAKE IT
THROUGH MY RIGOROUS TESTS.
WE SHOULD PREPARE FOR THAT
HIGHLY UNLIKELY EVENT.
THE NEXT CODE IS SO
SIMPLE, YOU’LL WONDER HOW
ANYONE COULD BE FOOLED
BY IT, BUT TRUST ME, KID,
LOTS OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN.
IT’S CALLED A TRANSCRIPTION
ROUTE CODE, AND EVERY GOOD
SPY KNOWS HOW TO DECIPHER IT.
FIRST YOU NEED A MESSAGE THAT
CONTAINS THIRTY LETTERS, LIKE:
BEANPOLE WAS THE
GREATEST NERD EVER.
(THIS, BY THE WAY, IS NO
SECRET.) NOW, TO PUT IT INTO
A ROUTE CODE, FIRST
TAKE OUT THE SPACES:
BEANPOLEWASTHEGREATESTNERDEVER
THEN ESTABLISH A
ROUTE TO READ IT:
S E T A E R
T L O P N G
N E B E A E
E W A S T H
R D E V E R
YOU CAN SEE THE “B” NEAR THE
CENTER. READ TO THE RIGHT LIKE
YOU’RE RUNNING A MAZE, THEN UP,
THEN TO THE LEFT, THEN DOWN,
AROUND AND AROUND UNTIL
YOU COME TO THE END.
WHERE THIS GETS TRICKY
IS WHEN YOU USE YOUR KEY
CODE CIPHER CIRCLES. ADDING
THE TWO CODES TOGETHER
MAKES THIS MAD DIFFICULT.
I’VE WRITTEN A SPECIAL
MESSAGE JUST FOR YOU,
PAL. THE KEY LETTER IS
“H”—GOOD LUCK.
L M F S S L
L J H D V T
A B P R U Z
A Y L M V Y
Y F Z V H W
I FEEL LIKE I’M BEATING
A DEAD HORSE HERE.
That night, Duncan and his family camped out on the floor of his Aunt Marcella’s home. Aiah and Avery shared an inflatable mattress. The Creature took the couch, and Duncan slept uneasily on a reclining chair. He was fairly certain that without her ray gun, Ms. Nesbitt could do them no harm, but he had no idea if Albert had built a second one, or a third, or a dozen. Who knew if he, or Simon, or the goon was on his way for a second attempt at killing them all. Much of the night Duncan was awake, keeping a close eye on the people he loved the most.
His cousin Winston lent Duncan some clothes to wear to school the next day, but Winston was nearly half a foot taller than he was. Winston was also a huge fan of hip-hop, so most of his clothing ran XXL. Duncan took a look at himself in the mirror and realized he was dressed much like the cool kids at his school for once. His father lent him his belt to keep his pants from falling to his ankles, and he headed off to school.
He was certain his new clothes would bring him a lot of unwanted attention. There was nothing worse than a nerd trying to fit in, but much to his surprise few people even noticed. In fact, most of the kids acted as if they didn’t recognize him at all. Even Principal Dehaven, who took great joy in abusing him, walked right past him in the hallway.
Flinch did a double take when he sat down next to him in class. “Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” he asked.
“Listen, I have to see Agent Brand, right away.”
“We heard all about the attack,” Ruby whispered as she leaned over to join the conversation. “I’ve ordered agents to watch your family. They’ve been instructed to steer clear of computer technology.”
“I want to talk to Brand. I know my dad yanked me off the team, but I have to do something about Simon and his gang. I can’t just sit and watch you guys fight my battles.”
Jackson shook his head. “He’s busy prepping for our next mission.”
“Mission? How come no one told me?” Duncan asked.
“Duncan, you aren’t on the team anymore,” Matilda replied. “I’m sorry.” She smiled sadly at him. “It’s not the same without you.”