Double Vision (4 page)

Ben pulled the note from my hand and read it before passing it back to the president. “Is there some sort of code in there?” he asked.

For once, Ben and I agreed. “Yeah, what's the talk about ‘this Washington'?” I asked. “And didn't that intercepted email also mention something similar?”

President Griffin's hands trembled as she folded the note. “Dagger—whoever he or she is—plans to kill me and my family. Thankfully, my husband is in the UK for an environmental summit and we can keep him safe there. But my daughter, Amy . . .”

“Since the note was left on my desk, we can assume that this person has to be someone who can move freely about the White House,” Wilson said.

“A mole, or more like a dirty rat,” Black grumbled.

“Not to question your thinking, President Griffin,” Agent Stark said, “but why bring in Pandora?”

“The mention of Washington in the threats made us
think we need Pandora.” President Griffin glanced at Wilson, then Albert Black. “We believe it's about an artifact. A special coat. The coat has . . .” President Griffin was searching for words. “It has certain properties. Powers that if used by the wrong people could be devastating.”

I knew what this was, so I said, “It's a Dangerous Double.”

TUESDAY, 11:05 A.M.

HOLD UP, YOU'RE SAYING—WHAT'S A
Dangerous Double? It's a twin of a real-world artifact, only the double has powers that would be dangerous if a bad guy got control of them. During my first case in Paris, we had to track down this double of the
Mona Lisa
that could be used to hypnotize people and turn a crowd into an ugly mob. Dangerous Doubles are bad news.

“You're right, Lincoln,” President Griffin said. “The reason I called in Pandora is because Wilson here told me the agency specializes in finding Dangerous Doubles.”

“So what does this coat do?” I asked.

“During his time as commander in chief of the Continental Army, George Washington fought in battle for years,” Wilson said. “Washington was shot four times but survived, even when a horse was shot and killed right from under him—twice.”

“Wait—this is
George Washington
we're talking about?” I asked. It was all a little too weird. “As in, our first president?”

“The one and only,” Wilson confirmed. “At first, Washington assumed that he was just lucky. But then he inspected his coat and saw it was still in one piece—the bullets had only charred the fabric slightly where they bounced off. He realized that his coat had special powers. Washington and his colleague Major Benjamin Tallmadge tested his theory and found that the coat makes whoever is wearing it invincible. You can't be killed while wearing it—it is the ultimate armor.”

“It seems like the Dangerous Double could be of good use in battle, ma'am,” Ben said. The guy had a point—invincibility was a nice perk for anyone, especially during the Revolutionary War.

“George Washington was a puritan at heart,” President Griffin said. “Am I right, Wilson?”

Wilson nodded. “He worried that whoever had the coat would have an unfair advantage in battle, and George Washington was a man of principle. Plus, you can imagine what could happen if the coat fell into the wrong hands. Who knows, we might have lost the Revolutionary War.”

“But the coat is still out there,” I said.

“You're right, Linc,” Wilson said. “George Washington couldn't destroy it—the coat makes you invincible, after all, so it's invincible, too. Knowing he couldn't destroy the
Dangerous Double, Washington hid it instead.”

President Griffin said, “I'm hosting a costume ball this Thursday at seven, to honor Celebrating America's History Week, with hundreds of special guests, foreign dignitaries, and diplomats attending. I'm afraid a lot of them will be wearing Revolutionary War costumes—including coats just like the Dangerous Double.”

“Then it would be difficult to spot our enemy at the ball,” Ben said.

The president gave him a sad nod.

“So that's the threat: This bad dude wants to kill you and tons of other people at the ball,” I said. “But he'll be wearing the coat, so he'll be safe. Wait—he doesn't have the Dangerous Double yet, right?”

“Not as far as we know.” President Griffin sighed. “The message has me worried that he or she is close. We've got to find it first.”

Black passed around a picture. “This is George Washington's coat, one that's on display at the Smithsonian. It was a very dark blue, with cream trim and gold buttons. The double looks just like it.”

President Griffin added, “I've been told the coat is in good shape, and unless you look close, you won't spot where the bullets bounced off it.”

“And with this coat, the bad guy would get out unharmed,” Ben said. Thanks, I already pointed that out.

But I wasn't going to have him rattle my cage, so I asked, “Why don't you just cancel the ball?”

“The perpetrator would simply pick another place and time,” Agent Stark said softly. “If someone wants to do something, they'll find a way.”

“Copy that,” Ben added. “We know when and where the enemy will strike. This is a position of advantage.”

I hate to admit it, but Ben was right: At least now we knew the when and where. We just needed to figure out who was behind it all.

“My life and my family's safety depend on you all.” President Griffin rubbed her hands together. “I need to know who the mole is among my staff. And most important, I need you to find this Dangerous Double. Before my nemesis does.”

Wilson gave us back our phones and whisked President Griffin away right after that conversation. She was already late for some briefing—places to go and a country to lead. She followed Wilson into the hall, and there was the metal clank of the door a second later.

Albert Black told us that they'd leased one of the offices on the fourth floor of the building—like Wilson said, we were underneath the Herbert C. Hoover Building. It's about three blocks long, and there are all these government offices inside the place. There's also the National Aquarium in the basement and the White House visitor center on the north end.

“Let's go upstairs, and then we'll hash out a plan,” Black said. He had a key to access the elevator. We got off on the fourth floor and went down a hall to gather in a cramped conference room.

I was beginning to feel a little nervous. These Pandora missions were dangerous—and this time the president and her family's lives were at stake. That history test wasn't looking like such a big deal anymore.

Albert Black clapped. “Okay, everyone. Have a seat. Time to get to work.”

“Yessir.” Ben almost jumped to attention.

“You can drop the whole soldier-ready-for-duty act now,” I said as we all sat around the table. “The president is gone. And I wish you were, too.”

Ben gave me an irritated glare.

“Kids,
kids
,” Albert Black said with his rumbling voice. “Save the fighting for after we're done with this mission. In case you haven't noticed, we don't have much time here.” Black looked to Agent Stark. “What's your take?”

“Well, first off, I wish you'd told me from the beginning what this was about.” Stark looked angry and a little hurt. “Where are you even staying—I thought we agreed on the Thrifty Suites?”

“We're at the Bergdorf Hotel,” Black said. That sounded like a serious upgrade from the Thrifty.

“That's nice,” Stark said. I could practically see the smoke coming from her ears. “I didn't even know we had a base of operations in this building—I just showed up at the White House West Wing this morning like some idiot!”

Black didn't seem bothered that she was mad. “Presidential orders. I couldn't tell anyone, including you.” He made a motion across his lips like he was zipping them up. “Get over it, and let's get to work. What's the game plan?”

Stark nodded but still had a dark look in her eyes. “We really have two objectives here. We have to find the mole and we have to find the Dangerous Double,” she said, ticking off the items on her fingers. “Like you said, we don't have much time. The best way is to split the cases. You and I will have to dig through the files, interview staff—the kids can't do those things.”

Albert Black seemed to chew on that. Then he nodded, slapped his knees, and got up. “That settles it. Stark: You and I will flush out the rat. And Ben and Linc here will find George Washington's coat.”

“Wait—Ben and I have to work together?” I asked, jumping up.

Black grinned. “Think of it as an opportunity to bond. Oh, and there's a Presidential Medal of Freedom in it for everyone on the team—if the mission is a success.”

A medal? That was even better than some certificate. Mom and Dad would love it. Still. “I'm not working with him,” I said.

Ben didn't seem too excited about partnering either. “Baker here is not trained for this mission, sir. He never even went to junior agent boot camp!”

“Thank goodness,” I said. “Who wants that?” Believe it or not, there's an actual boot camp for kids that all the agencies use. It churns out junior agents like Ben on a regular basis.

Ben gave me a death-ray look. “You need training to be an effective agent—not that you'd know anything about that.” He turned his attention back to Albert Black. “Baker
simply cannot handle the pressures of secret agent life. With all due respect—”

Albert Black put his hand on Ben's shoulder and pushed down. “Make it work, Agent Green.
With all due respect.
”

Ben clenched his jaw. “Yessir,” he mumbled.

“The ball is on Thursday evening at seven. You kids have just . . .” Black checked his watch. “Fifty-five hours to get this coat.”

Fifty-five hours.
I could almost hear the clock ticking inside my head.

No pressure, right?

“
NOBODY HAS A CLUE WHERE THE
Dangerous Double is, so time's a-wastin'.” Black pointed his finger at me, like he just remembered something. “Oh, you'll like this: I called in some help for you both. I figured you could use a gadget or two.”

I grinned from ear to ear. “You brought Henry?”

Henry's this scrawny kid with red hair, freckles, and glasses—and he's a total genius. For my last mission, he gave me a parachute and a device called the Double Detector that helped me find the evil
Mona Lisa
. But Henry isn't just super-smart. He's also a great friend.

“Permission to speak freely, sir?” Ben asked Albert Black.

Black nodded.

“I do not require the issue of any
gadgets
. Sir.” Ben pulled the junior agent training manual from his cargo pants pocket. “The manual is all the help I need.”

Black shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He looked at me, then at Ben. “I don't care how you get it done, but you bring me that Dangerous Double
before
Thursday seven o'clock. Get it?”

“Got it,” I said.

“Affirmative,” Ben said.

Stark gave us all a piece of paper with everyone's phone number to program into our phones. Then Black and Stark huddled at the other side of the room, going over their plans to flush out the mole or whatever.

Finally, it was just Ben and me. And I wanted to clock the guy but knew I had to take the high road, like Mom always tells me to do when I get into it with someone at school.

Ben had his arms crossed and pretty much looked like I felt. Fuming mad.

“Well, I'm going to see Henry and get some gear,” I said. “But you're too good for that.”

Ben squinted. “All I need is my training. A real secret agent doesn't require a
Double Determinator
, or whatever your little friend came up with.”

“For your information, it's called a Double
Detector
. And it saved our mission the last time, if you remember.” I pointed at his cargo pocket, where I knew he stuck his little book. “So you think that manual there will help you find George Washington's coat?”

“Affirmative.”

“
Affirmative?
What are you—a robot?” We'd only been around each other for a couple of hours and I was already sick of the guy. “Nobody uses words like that, you know.”

“You just don't like that I'm a real secret agent.”

“
Junior
secret agent.” So much for taking the high road. I forced myself to step back.

He squinted again. “This is impossible. They teamed me up with an amateur.” He glanced over my shoulder, looking for a way out. Like he was waiting for Black or Stark to tell him I was off the case so he could be the superhero.

“You think you're better than me,” I said. My blood was pumping through my veins like hot motor oil.

He looked at me with fire in his eyes. “Yes, I do. While you were riding your skateboard in Cowpoke, California, I was undercover in Cameroon, hunting down a—never mind, that is top secret.”

“It's Lompoc, for your information. No cows there.”

“This is not going to work,” Ben said. He straightened and puffed out his chest to declare, “I cannot work with a civilian.”

“Well, we agree there.” I give him an icy smile. “I can't work with you either.” Let's face it: I'd probably make the guy eat his junior agent training manual or something. “And you're wrong, you know. I
can
do this, and I'll be better at it than you.”