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The next morning, I carefully avoided contact with anyone who might ask about my forehead, including Trinity. The bump had risen to a nice blue and purple goose egg that seemed impossible not to notice. A couple of my teachers looked at me funny, but I ducked in and out of class so fast that none of them had time to ask me about it. I was really thankful when Matt and I finally headed to Dr. Kestler’s for our tutoring. Thankful, but also edgy.
“Some secret agents we’ve turned out to be.” I hit the steering wheel with the heel of my hand. “We’ve only been at this a couple of days, but we’ve already managed to blow our cover.”
“We don’t know that.” Matt didn’t sound very convinced.
“Right. Because teens like us get our dorm rooms trashed and our cars shoved off the road all the time.” Sarcasm covered my fear. We were in over our heads.
“Call. Chris.” Matt rolled his eyes and leaned toward me. “He’s trained for this. We’re not.”
“And get pulled off the case? Maybe sent to my grandparents’ ranch?” I gripped the wheel harder as the fear I was fighting crept into my voice. “SATURN doesn’t even believe my parents are alive.”
“Chris does.”
“He told you that?” This was news to me. I couldn’t get Chris to give me the time of day.
“He didn’t have to.” Matt scoffed. “You saw the way he acted around Mr. Jackson. They don’t agree about what happened to your parents, and I know my brother well enough to know he won’t be happy until he knows for sure.”
I had noticed Chris’s odd behavior, too. Perhaps it was time to pin Chris down on exactly how much he knew about my parents. “I’ll call him as soon as we get to the dorm.”
“Did you get all the bugs planted?” Matt asked softly as we pulled into Kestler’s driveway.
“All but one.” I dug a tiny disk from my pants pocket and handed it to Matt. “I figured you could plant it in his car, since you were admiring it so much.”
An eager grin split Matt’s face as he took the bug from my hand. He’d only stared at the car every day we’d come, even gotten up the courage to caress the flawless black paint on the hood of the ancient vehicle. I wasn’t even sure the thing could drive, but it seemed worth the risk.
Matt stepped from my car and crossed to the Model T, admiring it the same way he’d done the day before. I followed a few steps behind, partly to shield him from view of the house and partly to keep myself from looking like a nervous idiot while I waited for him.
Maybe spy genes run in the family after all – in Matt’s family at least. I didn’t even see him plant the bug, and I was watching for it.
When he stepped back from the car, a mischievous smirk lit his face. “How much trouble do you think I’d get into if I sat in it, just for a moment?”
“Do you want to get us kicked out of here, too?” I shoved his shoulder playfully.
“Because that’s exactly what would happen.” Mrs. Gunther’s voice behind us made me jump.
I held my breath and hoped the guilt on my face looked normal for a teen caught horsing around an antique car.
“If you punks have so much as scratched Dr. Kestler’s car, I’ll make sure you pay.” She stepped down from the porch and crossed the yard to us menacingly.
My eyes went wide as I instinctively took a step back – right into the Model T. I winced as her glare deepened.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Gunther.” I swallowed hard and extended my hand as I stepped away from the car. “How are you today?”
“Dr. Kestler is waiting for you.” She ignored my hand and scowled past me at the car. “You’d better not keep him waiting any longer.”
With a quick nod, I circled past her into the house with Matt close behind. She stayed back and muttered angrily to herself as she buffed at an invisible scuff on the car with her apron.
As soon as we were inside, Matt whispered, “Do you think she suspects, or does she just hate everyone?”
“I don’t know.” I sighed. “Are you sure you hid it well enough?” If she found that bug, we were toast.
“Well enough.” Matt sounded a little doubtful, which didn’t help me feel better. “Please tell me I’m not the only one who would hate to do this for a living.”
“No kidding.” I laughed as I knocked on the heavy oak door at the end of the hall. How do my parents and Chris do this all the time?
“Come in,” a voice muffled by the thick door answered.
Every time we entered Dr. Kestler’s study, it felt like we were going back in time to a Victorian drawing room, complete with candlelight. The eccentric scientist seemed to prefer candlelight to light bulbs. I hadn’t seen a light bulb anywhere.
No wonder. If his experiments went wrong, at least he wouldn’t be in the dark.
Dr. Kestler sat, his brow furrowed, staring at a stack of papers in his hands. As we entered, he started, as if he'd already forgotten we were there, and hurriedly stuffed the papers under a folder on his desk.
“Boys. Welcome.” He cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up his nose. “Please, take a seat.”
I walked close to Dr. Kestler’s desk as I headed to the table. hoping to get a glimpse of what he was working on. Half of a page stuck out from beneath the folder.
... only son of Eric and Marisa McCully, agents of the Secret Agent Training and Reconnaissance Network...
A sharp breath caught in my throat. How long had he known? And if he knew, who else knew about us?
Matt met my gaze as we sat at the table and opened our books. He gave a short nod toward the incriminating papers and clenched his jaw.
“I saw,” I whispered. Like it or not, Chris needed to know our cover was blown.
“Turn in your textbooks to page seventy-six.” Dr. Kestler tapped the tip of his bony finger on the table between our text books. “Your grades won’t improve if you don’t take this seriously. That is why you’re here isn’t it?”
“Nobody who’s seen my last test grade would ask that question,” I quipped, then bit back a nervous laugh. Maybe I was a lousy spy, but I wasn’t going to start lying now.
Matt gave me half an appreciative grin as he thumbed through his textbook.
Dr. Kestler’s only response was a narrow look and a soft “harrumph.” I doubt he was convinced, but at least he stopped asking questions.
I’d like to say I learned a lot from that lesson, especially knowing it would likely be our last after I told Chris what we found, but I was too concerned about what exactly was in those papers to concentrate. Even Matt glanced back at the desk several times when Dr. Kestler wasn’t looking.
“Good work, boys.” Dr. Kestler finally ended his lesson and followed us to the door of his study. “Do remember stop by the kitchen before you go. Mrs. Gunther said she would have a snack ready for you.”
Matt and I looked at each other warily as Dr. Kestler closed the door behind us.
“An apology for how unwelcoming she’s been?” Matt suggested.
“Or a chance to really grill us.” I took a deep breath and straightened my back. “Do you think she’s read those papers, too?”
“I’d like to read those papers,” Matt grumbled. “Do you think there’s one on me?”
“It’s a safe bet.” I shook my head and started down the hall. “Maybe if we play this right, we can find out exactly how much they do know.”
We followed the warm scent of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies to the open kitchen door. The kitchen was industrial looking and uninviting, and my own apprehension didn’t help the atmosphere.
“Come on in, boys.” Mrs. Gunther looked like her face would crack if she smiled any wider. “I’ve made chocolate chip cookies just for you.”
The small table in the center of the spotless kitchen was set with two glasses of milk and two plates of steaming cookies.
“Thank you, ma’am.” I took a seat and was swiftly echoed by Matt, who sat down opposite me.
Mrs. Gunther stared at us awkwardly as we prayed for our snack, then blurted, “Tell me about yourselves.”
There it was. Give me the wisdom not to make this worse than it already is.“What would you like to know?”
“Who are you? Where did you come from? Why are you here?”
“I’m Cadet Scott McCully,” I answered readily. She already knew that much. “And this is Cadet Matthew Marshall. We’re students from John Jay Military Academy, being tutored in Physics by Dr. Kestler.”
“Why are you here?”
“I didn’t pick the tutor.” I dipped a cookie in my glass of milk. “You could call the school and ask them if you like.”
“Either of you ever heard of SATURN?”
“Sure,” I answered easily.
Matt’s foot smacked into my left shin under the table. I blinked twice and ground my teeth to keep from wincing. Or kicking him back.
“It’s one of the nine planets in our solar system,” I continued naively. “The one with all the rings.”
I stuffed the milk-soaked cookie into my mouth and reached for another as I fought to hold back a grin. I had definitely won that round.
Angrily, Mrs. Gunther stormed out of the kitchen. As soon as she was out of sight, Matt let out a long breath.
“Man, Scott,” he whispered. “I thought you were going to give us away for sure!”
“We must have already given ourselves away somehow,” I said as I rubbed my leg where Matt had kicked me. “Why else would she ask that? And why the profiles on us?”
“Maybe they’re just paranoid enough after all that’s happened to run some sort of background check on us.” Matt yawned widely.
“On teens? Besides, what kind of background check would turn up our SATURN connection?” I covered my own yawn with my hand. “You know, Matt, I think you’re contagious.”
My head felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls. I shook it to clear it, but I only got more groggy.
“Matt?” It was as if I hadn’t slept in a week. “Are you as sleepy as I...”
I stopped. Matt had folded his arms on the table and rested his head on them. He was beginning to snore softly.
What in the world! My head drooped heavily. It’s as if we’ve been...
I jerked my head up. Drugged! I tried to stand, but my knees buckled, and I to the floor beside my chair.
Was she the one after Dr. Kestler all along? I couldn’t keep my eyes open. We’ve failed. SATURN was counting on us. Chris was counting on us...
My whole world was slipping into a heavy black fog. Mom and Dad were counting on us... And I’d managed to fail them all.