Jack wasn’t sure what the men had found, but at this point he didn’t much care. The most important thing was to get out of there—and fast.
He stared at his hands and feet. There was no way he could wriggle out of the ties. Hoisting himself into a sitting position, he reached his fingers down to his boots.
Mr. Davidson, the GPF tech wizard, had stashed a few goodies in every secret agent’s shoes. There was the Dome, an expandable bag, under the left sole. A Mine Alert feature was imbedded in the tips. Smoke-Screen Pellets were hidden in the right heel, while a miniature pocket knife was on the side of the left.
It was the last tool Jack was after. He moved his hands over the inside of that shoe and opened a small plastic door. Poking out was the top of the pocket knife. Taking it out, Jack immediately began to cut through the ropes.
Frantically, he looked at the temple doors. The last thing Jack needed was for Callous and his men to come out now. He carried on slicing until the ropes around his hands and his feet broke free.
Putting his knife back in his shoe, Jack quickly ran back to the path. But as soon as he did, he stopped. There was no way he could hike back down that trail. It was steep, and he guessed it would take at least forty-five minutes to descend.
The only other way off the mountain was to abseil. Abseiling was dangerous, and something the GPF recommended only in an emergency. Since Callous had threatened Jack’s life and his hooligans were looting treasure, Jack figured this qualified as a critical time.
After pulling his Abseil Kit out of his Book Bag, he anchored the rope, slipped the harness around his waist and placed the Noggin Mold on his head. The floppy piece of rubber instantly hardened to form a protective shell.
Jack raced to the side of the mountain, and turned around with his heels on the edge. He was about to step backward when he heard a noise. It was coming from the temple. Callous and his men had discovered Jack was no longer there.
“The boy!” roared Callous. “He’s escaped!”
Quickly, Jack lowered himself over the rim of the mountain, but not soon enough. One of the men noticed Jack’s head popping up over the ridge.
“There he is!” he shouted. The men started running toward Jack.
Using his hands and feet as quickly as he could, Jack slid down the rope and the side of the cliff. As he dropped, he looked upward. Callous and his men were now leaning over the side, watching Jack’s every move.
“Get him!” shouted Callous.
ZING!
PING!
Jack ducked. A bullet ricocheted off a rock and into the trees. Only a few more moments and he’d be safe. The voice echoed again from above.
“Cut the rope!” Callous hollered.
Jack figured at least one of the men had a knife handy. He knew he didn’t have much time. Moving quickly, Jack swung himself far to the right.
WOOSH!
The next thing Jack knew was that he was falling. One of Callous’s thugs had cut the cord. Crashing into the treetops, his body bounced from branch to branch until it fell onto the ground with a thud.
As Jack lay there, he looked through the leaves. Callous and his men were still leaning over the ridge, checking that Jack was toast. He lay completely still to try and fool them.
From what Jack could see, the gang believed it. They stopped paying attention to Jack and stood up around Carl. Callous pulled something out of the bag on his hip, and as he lifted it to the sun Jack saw something blue sparkle. The gang let out a big cheer, and then Callous put the object away. Jack was pretty sure it was a stone like the one he’d seen at the cave, only this one was obviously a different color. The men congratulated themselves again, and then walked away from the side of the mountain.