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“OK, that’s bad,” Flinch said to Duncan. “How about you get us out of here, buddy?”
Duncan gu
“What was that?” Jackson cried.
“Must be some of that gunpowder,” Matilda said.
“That’s not possible,” Ruby cried. “This ship sank more than two hundred years ago. Any gunpowder they had on board could never have survived this long underwater.”
There was another explosion, and the tiny craft was knocked about again.
“Tell that to the gunpowder,” Flinch said. “I think all this fighting around it is setting it off. We need to get the diamonds and get out of here fast.”
“The ship’s steering is out of whack!” Duncan cried as Simon’s sub closed in.
“Got any ideas, gadget boy?” Jackson shouted to Duncan.
Duncan was at a loss. If he had his abilities, he could shoot a spray of glue into Simon’s engines and gunk up the works. But he didn’t have any abilities. He was just a kid now. A normal kid who was begi
“Hang on,” Duncan said. “And hold your breath. I’m venting the compressed oxygen into the ballast tank. It’ll push the water out and we will rise fast. I just hope we have enough oxygen to breathe until we get to the surface.”
Duncan pushed a button and a red warning light flashed on the controls. A mighty flow of bubbles fired out of the back of the Muhammad Ali. It began to rise higher and higher toward the surface, leaving Simon and his gang below.
“Where are we going?” Matilda complained. “I’m not done with him yet!”
“I have no idea how many punches this craft can take, and I think we’ve had one too many, Wheezer,” Duncan said, pointing to the crack in the window. It had grown considerably.
“But what about the rest of the diamonds!” cried Jackson. “Simon will get them.”
“Yeah, we can’t leave now!” shouted Finch.
“The sub is broken,” said Duncan. “There’s nothing I can do.”
“See ya, NERDS,” Simon’s voice cackled over the speakers as the submersible rose higher and higher. “Thanks for leaving all these diamonds for me. It’s just so convenient that I can predict your moves at every turn.”
Brand’s face appeared in the glass. “We’ve been monitoring the situation from above. We’ll pick you up on the surface,” he said tersely.
Duncan felt his face light up with embarrassment. It was clear Brand was disappointed in them.
“Does someone need a lift?” Blancard’s friendly voice said over the communications system a few minutes later, as they bobbed to the surface near the S.S. Julia Child.
Duncan tried to smile, but all he could think of was Agent Brand’s disappointed face.
NICE TO SEE THAT YOU DID
NOT BURN THE HOUSE DOWN.
REALLY. I WAS WORRIED.
ALL RIGHT, NOW LET’S DO
SOME MORE CODE MAKING. YOU MAY
FIND THIS TEDIOUS, BUT THE TRUTH
IS YOU’RE REALLY GOING TO NEED
THIS STUFF WHEN THEY SEND YOU OUT
IN THE FIELD. CODES ARE, LIKE,
A REALLY BIG DEAL. NOW LET’S BUILD
ON WHAT WE LEARNED WITH THE
SUBSTITUTION CIPHER, BUT INSTEAD
OF SUBSTITUTING ONE LETTER FOR
ANOTHER, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS
HAVE A CAREFUL EYE.
THIS METHOD WAS CREATED
BY A GUY NAMED FRANCIS BACON,
AND IT’S
SIMPLE—WRITE YOUR SECRET
MESSAGE INSIDE A SECRET MESSAGE.
I CAN SEE THE CONFUSED LOOK
ON YOUR FACE AND NOW REALIZE
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
THAT FACE AND YOUR REGULAR
FACE. THAT’S A RELIEF.
WHAT I’M SAYING IS, YOU USE
DIFFERENT TYPE FONTS TO HIGHLIGHT
THE REAL SECRET MESSAGE.
FOR INSTANCE, YOU COULD USE
A BOLD FONT FOR THE LETTERS
THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOUR
REAL MESSAGE. TRY THIS ONE:
OVER YONDER, UNDER THE FIR TREES,
TRACKS WERE FOUND. THE AWFUL AND
FOUL AROMA OF THE SABER-TOOTHED
BADGER ARISES. VILE YELPS SOAR
UNDER THE BROKEN MOON. TAKE
YOUR CHILDREN. RUN
FOR THE HILLS.
I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S
SCARIER . . . THE MESSAGE
OR THE SECRET IT CONTAINS!
“Why didn’t you shoot their sub with the harpoon gun?” Mama shrieked at Simon as they puttered toward the surface with their treasure.
“Because I enjoy taunting them with their inadequacies,” Simon said.
“But you’ve let them survive,” Mama cried. “Turn this thing around and do the job right.”
“Mama!” Albert cried. He could have died from embarrassment.
“I’m just saying, the only way to insure that good guys are no longer a threat to us is to see them die before our eyes.”
Albert held his head in his hands and wondered how he had gotten into his current predicament. He was working for a prepubescent lunatic, a walking pile of muscles with a hook for a hand, and his own bloodthirsty mother. Were superpowers worth all this?
Albert couldn’t help but think of the kids in the other submersible, fighting for their lives. They were brave. A bunch of kids who couldn’t have been older than twelve had tried to save the world. They were the real heroes.
“Albert, you look sad,” Mama cried. “We just got a part for your big machine.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s awesome,” Albert said, though he refused to look at her.
When the submersible broke the surface, Mama leaped out of her seat.