“Ms. Holiday—”
“Sit down, Alexander. I have something to say to you,” the woman replied.
Agent Brand shook his head but did as he was told. He was too tired to argue.
“So you want to shut the team down?” the librarian continued.
Agent Brand nodded. “Look around you. This is not the result of a team that can handle big problems.”
Ms. Holiday looked around. “I disagree. I think this is all the evidence you need to prove that these kids can be counted on to save the world. If they hadn’t done what they did, the whole planet would look like this.”
“They’re children,” Brand said. “I can’t trust their judgment.”
“This isn’t about their judgment, Alexander. It’s about yours. Heathcliff betrayed you and you feel like you should have seen it coming. You’re mad that a little boy deceived you and you’re using your bruised ego as an excuse to get out of this job.”
Brand raised his eyebrows in surprise. It was like Holiday was reading his mind. He realized then that this woman, this beautiful, talented, amazing spy could also be his friend.
“Well, snap out of it, you crybaby!” Ms. Holiday said. Brand nearly fell out of his seat.
The librarian continued. “You agreed to take on these kids. You agreed to lead them and help them to make the world safe. So one of them betrayed you! Are you telling me you’ve never worked with a double agent or someone who went rogue? Was Heathcliff Hodges the first person to surprise you? If so, you have been the most sheltered secret agent in the world, buddy. Now stop feeling sorry for yourself. You’ve got to reinstate Duncan and get the Playground back in working order, and—”
“Is this a man-up speech?” the spy asked.
Ms. Holiday couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, it is.”
The handsome agent sat quietly for a long moment. “Your message is received loud and clear, Ms. Holiday.”
“Good!” the woman cried, though she seemed surprised that he didn’t put up a fight. “Now let’s stop all the pity parties and get to work. We’ve got a world to keep an eye on.”
Brand grinned and Ms. Holiday stared. “I’ve never seen you smile. You should do more of it.”
Brand frowned but then laughed.
Then Ms. Holiday handed him a slip of paper.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a secret code, Alexander. The next time you need to talk to someone, use it.”
Brand looked down at the slip of paper. It was Ms. Holiday’s phone number.
“You could also use it to explain why you were jealous of Captain Blancard,” she continued.
Brand was going to argue, but Ms. Holiday stopped him.
“Just call me,” the beautiful librarian said. “I don’t want to have to give you another man-up speech.”
“Allen wrench,” Avery said. Duncan found it in the toolbox and handed it to his father, who was lying under the Mustang. His father’s oil-covered hand snatched it and disappeared.
“Thanks, son.”
“So, what are you doing under there?”
Avery rolled out from under the chassis. He was lying on a wooden dolly. “Why don’t you come down and take a look for yourself?”
Duncan put down the tools and eased himself onto the dolly. When he was comfortable, his father rolled them both underneath the car. Duncan marveled at the many parts of the Mustang. With the help of a handheld light, he could see hoses, tubes, and belts. There must have been hundreds of different mechanisms that made the car go. Not one of them was computerized.
“I’m changing the oil,” his father said. “And taking a look at the brakes. They felt a little spongy after our run-in with Ms. Nesbitt. I want to be prepared the next time one of our neighbors tries to kill us.”
“Dad, you work on cars all day. I could have the scientists from the Playground come out here and do this for you,” Duncan said.
Avery nodded. “I like knowing I can do a few things for myself.”
“Without technology.” Duncan sighed.
“It’s not that I’m against computers and gadgets, Duncan,” Avery said. “But as you get older you’ll find those things often fail you. If the power goes down, you lose all of them, and then it’s just you and a candle while you wait for someone smart, like those scientists, to come and fix it. I like knowing I can fix things myself. I like the connection my brain has to my hands.”
Duncan lay there close to his father and realized that they weren’t all that different.
“So, can you teach me how the car works?”
Avery laughed. “Not in one afternoon, son, but I’d be happy to tell you what I know.”
Suddenly, they heard footsteps and the Creature’s voice. “I’m going to kill him!”
Avery and Duncan shared a knowing look, then slid out from under the car.
“Kill who, Tanisha?” their father asked.
“TJ,” she cried. “He’s cheating on me.”
“Who is TJ?” Avery asked.
Suddenly, Benjamin floated into the garage. “Her boyfriend. She’s been using me to spy on him all afternoon, accessing satellite imagery. She wanted to fire a drone missile at his house, but I wouldn’t let her.”
“Tanisha!” Duncan cried. “Those satellites belong to the United States government.”
“Honey, when Duncan agreed to let you use his computer, he didn’t mean you could use it to invade other people’s privacy.”
“Then I guess you’re probably not going to be happy that I turned TJ in to the NSA as a suspected terrorist. All right, fine. I’ll fix it. It’s just—well, to be honest, I’m sort of starting to dig the computer. I seem to have a connection with it. I guess it runs in the family.”
Duncan smiled.
Aiah came out to the garage. “Well, word is that the school is a disaster. They’re shutting it down until they can repair the damage that wacko did to it.”
“The team is going to be operating out of a few empty offices at the Pentagon for the time being,” Duncan said.
“So Dad changed his mind about you being a spy?” Tanisha asked.
Avery shrugged. “The world needs him.”
“Yeah, I talked to Agent Brand myself and he suggested I could get upgrades, too,” Tanisha replied.
“Stick to abusing your boyfriend’s civil rights,” Aiah said. “This family can handle only one spy at a time.”
“So what are they going to do about school?” Avery asked his son.
“I guess they’ll have us take classes in trailers for now. Agent Brand, Ms. Holiday, and the lunch lady are already setting up access to the Playground.”
Suddenly, Duncan let out a powerful sneeze.
“Uh-oh!” Aiah cried. “Please tell me that was hay fever.”
“Sorry, duty calls,” Duncan said.
“Son, I can’t drive you,” Avery said. “The car is a mess.”
Duncan leaped up and snatched a backpack out of the car. He strapped it to his back and two metal handles popped out. He squeezed them and a rocket lifted him off the ground. “No need, Dad. The GV-761 Rocket Backpack will get me there.”
“I thought you had learned a lesson about doing things without fancy technology!” Avery cried.
“I did, Dad, but isn’t this the coolest thing ever? I can go from zero to a hundred miles an hour in two seconds!”
Duncan saw his family’s disappointed expressions.
“Fine! I promise to take the bus home,” he said with a grin. Then he rocketed away, leaving the Dewey family looking at the clouds.
ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT.
YOU DID IT.