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THAT’S MORE LIKE IT.
I’M GLAD WE COULD COME
TO AN UNDERSTANDING. NOW,
LET’S GET PAST ALL THAT
UNPLEASANTNESS AND
MOVE ON … OH YEAH,
LEVEL 9.
ACCESS GRANTED!
Ten minutes later Jackson was on his feet and staggering through the door. Ms. Holiday was standing nearby. It was the first time he had ever seen her angry.
“I can do this, Ms. Holiday,” Jackson said.
“I know!” she replied. “But I don’t have to like it.”
“I’ve got it,” a scientist shouted as he rushed into the room. He was carrying a vat of something in one hand and a spoon in the other.
“I don’t have to eat the creamed corn again, do I?” Jackson begged.
Holiday nodded. “You volunteered.”
Jackson opened the lid and looked into the half-empty container. The slick yellow-gray substance swooshed around, releasing a noxious fume. It took all of his courage, but he dipped a spoon into it and shoveled a heaping helping into his mouth.
Jackson tossed the rest of the creamed corn to the floor and snatched the Hyena by the hand. “You ready to save the world?”
The Hyena nodded.
“OK, I have to make one stop.”
Mr. Jones loved his dog Butch, but even he wasn’t stupid enough to give him a bath. After several attempts and a few tetanus shots, he had devised a clever way to clean the dog and stay healthy. He pelted the dog with soap-filled water balloons and sprayed him with a hose from a safe distance. He had Chaz stand by as backup in case Butch got off his chain and wanted revenge.
Tossing the balloons also allowed him to have some fun with Chaz and to relive his glory days on the football field. Before he was injured, Jackson’s dad was on his way to Ohio State University to play quarterback for the Buckeyes.
This evening, as he and his son tossed the balloons at the dog, he imagined himself marching down the field with the stadium on its feet. Just as they were getting the hose ready, they heard a roaring sound that seemed to be coming from directly above Mr. Jones. When he looked to the sky, he saw some sort of bright orange machine. He wondered if his imagination was playing tricks on him. But then a moment later the machine landed on the front lawn.
Astounded, Mr. Jones waved the garden hose as if it might help him fight off the aliens that were invading the cul-de-sac. The door on the machine’s side opened, and a metal plank lowered to the ground. A moment later his son Jackson stepped out, followed by a strange girl.
“Jackson,” his father said.
“Dad, do you remember the breakdown I had in Mr. Dehaven’s office?”
“Yes,” he said.
“Well, it wasn’t a breakdown. I really am a secret agent. Everything I said about my bad grades and being late and failing fifth grade was the truth. But I made a decision. You need to know what’s going on with me, and maybe it’s not going to be popular with my boss, but I’m not going to lie to you. I may have to lie to everyone else in the world, but not you.”
“Jackson, this is crazy,” his father said. “And perhaps you’d like to introduce your girlfriend to me.”
Jackson’s face turned bright red. “This isn’t my girlfriend, Dad,” he said.
“I’m actually a professional assassin,” the Hyena said as she reached out and shook the man’s hand. “It’s a pleasure.”
“Likewise,” said Mr. Jones.
“Hey,” Chaz said. She nodded back to him.
“So, we have to get going,” Jackson said to hurry things along. “The world is under attack. If we don’t stop it, lots of people are going to die.”
“What are you telling me, Jackson?”
“I’m going to be late for di
“Uh, Dad? Since we’re confessing things, I should probably tell you I got cut from the football team,” Chaz said.
But his father was busy staring up at the stream of smoke rising into the heavens.
As Jackson and the Hyena came back down out of the stratosphere, they saw the icy landscape of the North Pole before them. Ms. Holiday had programmed the exact coordinates into the ship’s autopilot program, and while they were airborne the kids took the opportunity to step into the cold-weather gear the librarian had provided. There was also the librarian’s usual addition of home-baked cookies and thermoses of hot cocoa.
“Uh, you might want to skip the cookie,” Jackson said just before the Hyena bit into hers.
“These are rock-hard. I think I might have lost a tooth!” she cried.
“She means well,” Jackson replied.
The Hyena tossed her cookie against a wall, and it left a dent. “Here’s what you need to know. The fortress is built like a huge tower and has dozens of rooms inside, but Jigsaw’s lab is in the back. It’s enormous and has an observation room that overlooks it. The kidnapped scientists are held in cells and watched by armed guards. Dr. Jigsaw has about a hundred goons and about five hundred henchmen on his payroll. There’s not much in the way of security, but with so many people it’s not going to be easy to slip in u
Wham!
Something hit the side of the School Bus so hard it knocked them to the floor. Their ears filled with sirens, and their eyes filled with flashing red lights. When they got back into the pilots’ seats, they found the control panel was partially fried and sparks were showering over everything. A radar screen dropped out of the ceiling. On it were three angry red dots.
“What’s going on?” the Hyena cried.
Benjamin’s voice chirped through speakers. “It appears the ship is under attack. Three stealth warplanes are in pursuit. I suggest you take evasive maneuvers.”
Suddenly, there was another loud siren screaming a warning, and the words INCOMING MISSILE appeared on a screen.
Jackson grabbed the rocket’s throttle and pushed down. The jet jerked to a ninety-degree angle. The missile came within inches of the School Bus before slamming into the icy ground below. “These controls are sensitive,” he muttered.
“Here comes another one.”
Jackson banked left and the School Bus followed. Unfortunately, the missile followed him into the turn. He banked right and there it was again.
“I believe the missile chasing you is of the heat-seeking variety,” Benjamin said.
“So what do I do?” Jackson asked.
“I suppose you should try to outrun it.”
Jackson growled. “Thanks,” he said as he sent the ship into a nosedive. The missile, according to the radar, was only seconds away.
“What are you doing?” the Hyena cried. “Pull up or you’ll kill us.”
“Relax, I’ve done this in video games a million times,” Jackson said and kept the nose of the plane aimed at the ground. More warning sirens filled the air, screaming for him to pull up, but he ignored them as well. And just when it seemed like they would crash for sure, he pulled up and cleared the ground. The missile didn’t have the same agility as the School Bus, and exploded on the ice below.
“I’m so awesome!” Jackson cried.
“Celebrate later,” the Hyena said, and pointed to another missile warning on the radar screen.
The missile hit, sheering the right wing off the rocket.
“What’s your next brilliant idea?” the Hyena said.