Suddenly, the foursome let out an enormous sneeze. Duncan, however, was fine.
“They turned off my nasal alert?” he cried.
“Just the alarm,” Jackson whispered. “Benjamin hasn’t gotten around to turning the comlink off yet.”
Matilda walked over to the window. “You won’t believe this! There’s a man outside juggling chainsaws!”
As usual, the entire class leaped to their feet, as did Mr. Pfeiffer.
“Sorry,” Flinch said as he ran to the door. A moment later he and the rest of the team had vanished.
This wasn’t fair. Duncan had to see Brand right away. He leaped up from his chair and rushed out into the hallway.
“Mr. Dewey! Where do you think you’re going?” Mr. Pfeiffer shouted, but Duncan ignored him. He raced down the hallway, where he found Mr. Brand in his janitor disguise mopping the floor.
“Is the mission about Simon?” Duncan demanded.
Brand scowled and ushered the boy into a broom closet, then closed the door tight.
“Have you forgotten that missions and spies are not for the general public’s ears?”
Duncan ignored the scolding. “Yesterday Albert’s mother attacked my family with the ray gun. We were lucky to survive. I can’t just sit in Mr. Pfeiffer’s class while Simon and his gang are running free. You have to let me help!”
Agent Brand looked taken aback by the boy’s forcefulness. He eyed him closely but shook his head. Then he went to work moving aside a stack of toilet paper rolls and window cleaner. Behind them was a bright red button mounted on the wall. He pushed it hard and Duncan heard the door lock behind him. A panel on the wall slid open and Benjamin popped out and hovered before Brand’s face like a mechanical bumblebee.
“Good afternoon, Agent Brand,” Benjamin said. “Former agent Gluestick.”
“Just a second, Benjamin,” Brand replied, turning his attention back to the boy. “Listen, Duncan. I’ve read your file. You told the last director you couldn’t keep such a big part of your life from your parents. He made the foolish mistake of allowing them to know, and now look where we are. They want you out so you’re out. And to be honest, son, I’m not sure you have what I need these days.”
“Huh? I’m your best agent!”
“Sure, you are. No arguments. But you’re a little lazy.”
“What?”
“Duncan, secret agents have lots of gadgets and technology at their disposal, but the good ones don’t rely on them. When your upgrades were destroyed, you were practically helpless. You second-guessed yourself and me. I need spies who can get the job done with their brains when all the fancy toys are broken.”
The spy unzipped his uniform and stepped out of it, revealing a sharp black tuxedo beneath. He pulled the mop from his bucket and slammed the head on the floor. Duncan watched as it morphed into a white cane. Brand leaned on it as he walked over to the wall and pressed another red button. From the floor, two metal bars rose up. Brand leaned on them.
“But this is personal,” Duncan argued.
Brand shook his head. “Son, saving the world is always personal. But for you, it is also over. Go back to class.” He grasped the bars, the floor fell, and the entire platform sank at an astonishing rate. A moment later, he was gone.
Duncan rushed out of the closet. “Flinch, can you still hear me?” Duncan called. He muttered to himself, “C’mon. The intercom is still supposed to work!”
“Gaaarrahgghgh!” sounded in his ear. There was a pause and then, “What’s up, buddy?”
“I should be going on this mission. You have to help.”
There was a long pause. Duncan worried the boy would say no, but then he heard, “Go to the gym and hide behind the bleachers. I’ll get you on the ship somehow, but if Brand starts shouting, I had nothing to do with it, cool?”
“Cool. I owe you, Flinch. Oh, find out what’s in the mission pack and make one for me.” Duncan rushed to the gym, only to see Ms. Holiday locking the double doors at the other end of the room. Sprinting as fast as possible, he raced toward the bleachers, fell to his knees, and slid on the waxed floor until he was safely out of sight. He lay very still, hoping he had not been seen, and when he heard the ceiling retracting he knew it had been his lucky day.
While the School Bus rose up from below, Duncan watched and waited for the secret passage to open. He wasn’t disappointed. Soon a team of mechanics in orange and scientists in white rushed through the tunnel and quickly went to work refueling the rocket and running diagnostic tests on its engine and landing gear.
Ms. Holiday directed the work and also double-checked the contents of four black packs that had been wheeled in on a cart. Satisfied, she dropped a homemade cookie into each one, then zipped them up. She then asked an assistant to place them aboard the ship. Agent Brand and the rest of the NERDS entered. Duncan couldn’t hear what was going on, but he could see Flinch had an identical pack in his hand. As discreetly as the hyper boy could, he handed the pack to the assistant, who placed it with the others. Duncan made a mental note to buy his friend a case of whoopie pies as a thank-you.
Duncan realized it was time to make his move. He crept along the wall behind the bleachers, then stepped into a crowd of busy scientists too preoccupied with tests to notice him. He waited patiently, then followed the assistant as he hefted the black packs up the ramp and through the ship’s door. When the assistant finished storing the bags and departed, Duncan jumped into the compartment where they had been placed and closed the door tight.
It wasn’t long before he could feel the engines rumbling and then the awesome blast as the ship exploded into the sky. He wished he had a more comfortable seat, but he was just happy to be on the mission, even as a stowaway.
He sat in the dark for a long time until the door opened. Luckily, Ms. Holiday didn’t even look inside the cabinet as she snatched up the packs and distributed them. Only when she realized there was a fifth pack did she look inside, but Duncan was already slipping it on and racing toward the open door of the rocket.
“Gluestick!” Agent Brand cried angrily.
“Duncan, what are you doing?” Ms. Holiday looked shocked.
Duncan reached into his pack and removed a black helmet. He slid it over his head and flipped up the visor so he could talk. “I’m sorry to disobey you and I know what I’m doing is putting you in a difficult position, but—”
“Duncan, you don’t have your upgrades!” Ms. Holiday cried.
“Simon and his gang attacked my family. I can’t wait for upgrades,” Duncan said. As he leaped out into the sky, he thought he saw a proud smile on Agent’s Brand’s face.
Duncan had no idea what was below him. As he plummeted through the misty clouds, all he could see was a chain of lush green islands that were getting bigger by the second. He counted eight in all and the largest seemed to be directly below him.
“Hello, everyone,” Duncan said.
“Gluestick!” Pufferfish cried. “Where are you?”
“Right above you, I think,” Duncan said.
“Does Brand know you’re with us?” Jackson asked.
“He does now.”
“Excellent!” Braceface laughed. “Glad to have you back.”
“Gluestick, I order you to stay where you are!” Pufferfish commanded.
“I’m not sure I can do that,” Duncan said. “I’m about a mile above the ground and falling fast.”
Pufferfish growled. “You are not a part of this team—”
“Oh, calm down, Pufferfish,” Wheezer said. “We wouldn’t be NERDS without Gluestick.”
“Thanks, guys. Now can anyone fill me in on what we’re doing six thousand feet above the Earth?” Duncan asked.
“Hope you like poi, big guy,” Flinch’s voice said. “We’re going to Hawaii.”
“What part?”
“The part with the big active volcano,” Matilda replied. “Simon stole a hoverplane from a base in California and he’s using it to suck something out of the lava. Intelligence has no clue what it could be.”