Capture the Flag (11 page)

“Where on earth have you been?”

José's father came hurrying down the hall with an airport security guard only seconds after Anna and José had found their way through some kind of luggage storage room, down a poorly lit hallway, and back into the check-in area. They'd just ducked around to the customer side of the American Airlines counter when Mr. McGilligan spotted them. He hurried up to them, lugging his briefcase over one shoulder and José's bulging black backpack over the other.

“Sorry.” José shuffled up to his father. “We were seeing if there was anything better to eat out here.”

“Anything better to eat? You two had no way to get back through security without your boarding passes. Do you realize that? The snow's letting up. Flights will be leaving again soon. What were you thinking?” Mr. McGilligan's cheeks were red and his mouth turned down, but he pulled José into a hug. “You had me scared. Your mother's going to kill me when she hears about this.”

José's face lit up. “Have you heard from her?”

His father's shoulders sagged. “No. She's still not answering her phone. But I'm sure she would have called if anything had changed.” But his voice broke as he said so.

“
What?
” José asked. “What is it? It's not like the police are going to hurt her or anything, right?”

His father shook his head. “It's not the police I worry about. It's … other people who might be involved in this. If they find out that Mom's part of …” He shook his head. “I'm sure she's safe with the police, even if they do still consider her a suspect.”

Anna knew right away which “other people” Mr. McGilligan meant. “The Serpentine Princes? How would they even know about the Silver Jaguar Society?”

Mr. McGilligan stared at her. “How do
you
know about the Silver Jaguar Society?” His eyes shifted to José.

“José didn't say anything,” Anna said quickly. “My mom is in it, and I'm the one who brought it up, when I saw your wife's earrings when she was on TV.” She paused for a moment, until the confused look on Mr. McGilligan's face settled into understanding. “But how would the Serpentine Princes know?”

Mr. McGilligan sighed. “The same way you know — personal experience.”

José gasped. “One of them is related to a member?”

“Not quite,” Mr. McGilligan looked around and lowered his voice. “One of them
was
a member.”

Anna forgot to whisper. “What?!”

“Shhh!” Mr. McGilligan held a finger to his lips. “I suppose you've heard of Vincent Goosen? The leader of the Serpentine Princes?”

Anna remembered her mom on the phone.
There is something you need to know about Vincent Goosen.

“Vincent Goosen,” Mr. McGilligan whispered, “used to be on our side.”

José blinked twice. “But I thought to be in the Silver Jaguar Society, you had to be —”

“A descendant of a famous artist or inventor. You do. And he was … is … related to a famous Dutch artist.”

“Which one?” Anna asked.

“Rembrandt.”

“Rembrandt!” Anna forgot to be quiet again.

“Shhh!”

“But … how did he end up …?”

Mr. McGilligan looked at his watch. “Talk to your mom when you get home. For right now, realize that these people are extremely dangerous. That's the only reason I'm telling you all this. When I couldn't find you before …” He trailed off, and his expression kept flipping back and forth between stern and relieved. “No more wandering off.” Mr. McGilligan put an arm around José's shoulders, and they all headed down the hallway. “And here,” he said, shrugging off José's backpack and handing it over. “You need to take care of your own stuff. This thing weighs a ton.”

When they got back to the security screening area, Mr. McGilligan explained that Anna's boarding pass was back at the gate. That didn't go over well until he mentioned that it was with her father,
Senator
Hobbs, and then security let them through.

The whole way back, Anna searched the sleepy crowds for signs of Henry or Sinan. Her eyes scanned the seats in every waiting area — all empty or full of snoring grown-ups.

Henry and Sinan weren't back at the gate either, but Anna found her dad, who had woken up and resumed making phone calls. He gave her a quick wave, but he was frowning, looking out the big window at the snow. It had tapered off from that feather-pillow explosion of a blizzard to a few quiet flakes drifting down around the plows clearing the runways.

“I'm going to check on our flight status,” Mr. McGilligan said, heading for the counter. “Stay here.”

As soon as he was gone, Anna turned to José. “Where
are
Henry and Sinan? What if Snake-Arm has them both?”

José's brows knitted together over his dark eyes. “It's too soon to jump to any of those conclusions,” he said, but his voice wavered. “Let's give it a little time. I bet they'll find their way back here, and if for some reason, they don't, then —”

“Hobbs! Senator Hobbs! I need to talk with you!” A booming voice echoed off the walls.

“It's Snickerbottom!” Anna said. With one hand clutching his cowboy hat so it wouldn't fly off, he ran down the hallway as fast as a big man could run in high-heeled cowboy boots. His men scurried along behind him. “He's coming to see my dad, José. We can tell
him
about Snake-Arm and the flag! And he can take his security guys into the baggage area to make sure Henry and Sinan are okay.”

Anna tugged her notebook from her backpack and ran off down the hallway. José lagged behind her, weighed down by his backpack.

“What do you have in there, bricks?”

“Not quite,” he said, catching up. He unzipped the bag so she could peek inside. It was stuffed not only with the Harry Potter book he'd been reading but also the other six titles in the series, plus his notebook and quotations book.

“Did you have to bring them
all
?”

José looked at her as if she'd suggested he leave one of his ears at home. “I like to keep my books with me. Just in case I need them.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “José, I hate to break it to you, but your books aren't magically going to help us. Come
on
.”

“You said that about the shampoo and hair spray, and that worked out.” His hand tightened around the backpack strap at his shoulder. “Besides, I can go plenty fast with this.”

Anna sighed. “Fine. Let's go.”

Snickerbottom seemed to draw a crowd wherever he went, and by the time he and his entourage reached Anna's father, a few dozen people were pressing in on the group, snapping photos and shaking hands. Anna was out of patience; she started running and lost José in the crowd.

The World's Greatest Grandma was there, pulling her husband behind her. “Come on, Harold! There he is!” She waved wildly at Snickerbottom. “I'd vote for you twice if they'd let me, Senator!”

“Well, I'll be an armadillo's Uncle Albert!” Senator Snickerbottom caught his breath and straightened his hat. “You folks sure do know how to make a fellow feel appreciated.” He paused to shake some hands and give out some Tootsie Rolls from his hat.

“Now if you'll excuse me for a few moments, I need to talk with Senator Hobbs. As much as we're all aching to get to the Green Mountain State, we have business to deal with before that plane takes off.”

The people milled away, but Anna ducked under one of the seats nearby. If she tried to talk with Snickerbottom now, he'd send her off with everybody else, but if she stayed close, maybe she could catch him when he finished with her dad.

“Quite a fan club you have there.” Anna's father smiled. “Now, what can I do for you?”

Snickerbottom looked over his shoulder at a woman pushing a stroller past the gate. When she was gone, he leaned in closer to Anna's father. “Tell your lovely wife to bring an
extra
news crew to meet the plane. This is way off the record, but the police have found hard, cold evidence connecting those artsy, all-over-the-world orchestra types to the missing flag.”

Anna's father's eyes widened. “What kind of evidence?”

Senator Snickerbottom leaned in closer. His men stood nearby, their eyes darting from side to side. The skinny one with the cowboy hat dug his hands into his pockets and jingled his coins. Anna caught a flash of silver as one fell out and bounced on the carpeted floor. The man just kept on jingling.

Snickerbottom lowered his voice, but Anna could still hear. “Let's just say it was evidence of the red, white, and blue variety. They got an anonymous tip and found a torn bit of flag snagged on the hinge of a tuba case.”

Anna sucked in her breath. Sinan's parents both played tuba! And she knew exactly where that bit of flag had come from and who put it there. Snake-Arm and the Serpentine Princes were trying to frame the orchestra!

Sinan's parents were already in trouble. What would happen to them now? And what would happen to Sinan?

Just as Anna ducked down to crawl out from under the chair — she had to tell them, and no one would care she'd been eavesdropping when she had such important information — she spotted José peeking out from behind a recycling bin on the other side of her father and Senator Snickerbottom. José caught her eye and shook his head.

Anna frowned. Apparently, he couldn't hear what was going on from way over there. She
had
to say something. Anna leaned out from under the seat to crawl into the open, but something made her glance up again. This time, while her father and Snickerbottom looked out the window at the dwindling snowstorm, José shook his head again, so urgently she felt as if she could actually see the thoughts spilling from his brain.

No. No. No! NO!!

Anna tucked herself back under the chair and waited.

“Are you sure?” she heard her father say. He said something else, too, but Snickerbottom's guard with the clinking pocket change was making it hard to hear.

“Sure as shoofly pie, Hobbs! They have a piece of the flag. What more do you want?”

“Well, shouldn't we call the Smithsonian then? And the police?” Anna's father looked over Snickerbottom's shoulder at his security guards. “I'm sure you have a fine security team, but …”

“Listen, Hobbs. I came here to let you know your wife would have a story. Not to ask for advice. I've talked with airport police and — grab-nabbit! I don't need to explain this to you. I'm going to be the next president of the United States!” Snickerbottom wheeled around. “Stop that jingling, Earl, and let's go! We have work to do.”

Snickerbottom blustered back toward the concourse with his men behind him.

Anna scooted out from under the chair and ran after them.

“Senator! Senator Snickerbottom! I need to talk to you. It's important!”

He turned briefly to wave at her, but kept walking and reached for his hat.

“Senator!”

A Tootsie Roll landed at her feet, just as an airport security guard took her by the elbow. “All right, young lady. The senator has business to take care of, and you need to get on back to your family.”

“But —”

He grabbed her shoulders and turned her back toward the gate. “Go on.”

She ran back to her father.

“Dad, I have to talk to you. It's important!”

“Oh, there you are. Use the bathroom, okay? Looks like flights are about to start leaving, so we'll probably be getting ready to —” His hand flew to his cell phone in his pocket. “Hold on! I need to take this.”

“But, Dad, the —”

He held up a finger, turned away, and started walking down the hallway.

Anna turned to lean against the window. The cold glass pressed against her forehead as she watched the snowplows backing up, pushing forward again. She wished they would slow down. Or get flat tires or something. She needed time. She had to tell her dad — or
somebody
who mattered — the truth about the flag before they left for Vermont. Because then Snake-Arm would be long gone, and Sinan's mother or father would be on an airplane with threads of stolen flag in their tuba case, and then nobody would believe her.

She whirled around to go after her father — she'd grab the phone from him and
make
him listen — and almost crashed into José.

“We have a problem,” he said quietly. “A big one.”

“Well,
duh
!” Anna said. “Did you hear what Snickerbottom was saying back there? Snake-Arm framed Sinan's parents! They put that ripped piece of flag in one of their tuba cases, and if they get on that plane and then pick up their luggage in Burlington, then —”

“Anna, stop.” José's voice was still quiet. “It wasn't only Snake-Arm.” His face was pale.

“What?” She scrunched up her eyes. “There was that other guy, too — they talked about ripping the flag. I heard it rip, José. It was definitely Snake-Arm!”

“You heard one of those men clinking something in his pocket, right?” José slowly pulled a hand out of his own pocket. In it was some kind of shiny metal gizmo.

“What's that?”

José looked down at the hardware resting in the palm of his hand. “It's a clamp. It fell out of his pocket.” He nodded down the hallway.

“Snickerbottom's security guy?” Anna remembered him clinking his change. “I still don't see —” But suddenly, she did see. Or rather, she heard. The clinking sound. The same one she'd heard from her perch in the baggage room.

No.

It couldn't have been them.

But the voices … voices that sounded familiar but too quiet to place. Anna shivered. “Oh!” She looked down the hall and saw men in suits standing in line way down at the Cinna-Bunny stand. How could Snickerbottom's security guard possibly be involved in something like this? She forced her voice down to something that sounded calm. “José. Do you really think …?”