The Doublecross (27 page)

“And I'm here,” Beatrix explained, pointing to the room next to Kennedy's, “and then Ben, then Hale, then Walter, and then Uncle Stan is going to be at the front of the hall. And then Otter said he's just going to sleep three floors up because he's afraid we'll bother him at night.”

“What, you mean, like, if we snore?” Clatterbuck asked.

“No—he said it would bother him if we were alive at night,” Beatrix answered, shrugging.

We were all moving into League headquarters. It just made sense, really—Walter, Kennedy, and I wouldn't fit into the apartment that the twins and Clatterbuck used to live in, and Otter couldn't go far since he was the director now. Most of the other staff—the handful of computer researchers Kennedy and I had tied up the first day, and the receptionist—weren't staying here, but I hoped that before too long there'd be other field agents moving into the empty
rooms. It'd be a long time before The League had numbers that compared to SRS but . . . The League had us.

Well, actually, The League basically
was
us.

“Come on,” Clatterbuck said after Kennedy folded and refolded her bed/tumbling mat a few more times. “We have a briefing on the deck.”

“Really?” Walter asked.

“That's what Director Otter said,” Clatterbuck said. We walked together to the deck, which still looked shabby compared to SRS's, but it was really coming along. Otter had had the whole thing painted a sleek gray, and there was new carpet. Plus, the stations now had real office chairs at them instead of cafeteria chairs Ben and Clatterbuck had originally stolen. Otter was standing in the back, looking through a stack of papers.

Step 2: Organize and define operations

“What's up?” I asked.

“I've put together everything I can remember from my last few missions at SRS. They were a while ago, since I've been teaching you people for the past five years, but it's something. There's one in particular I thought we should check out as our first mission. There's the case name at the top—pull it up on your machine . . . thing . . . That hand thing . . .” he said to Beatrix, and gave her one of the documents.

“Right Hand,” Walter corrected him. Otter rolled his eyes.

“Why this one?” Beatrix asked as she typed a few things into her Right Hand. The enormous screen in front of us clicked on and was soon displaying a variety of pictures and documents that seemed to depict a bank. A Swiss bank, if I had to guess.

“Because it's the one I chose, and I'm the director,” Otter said. When we all lifted our eyebrows in near unison, he exhaled. “And because if we pull this off, we crack into SRS's funding, which is a pretty great first strike. Besides, we bankrupt them, and we can afford to hire some cafeteria workers. Okay?”

I looked at the others. “Well. Let's do it then.”

Step 3: Get to work

As with all books,
The Doublecross
was not a solo effort but rather a story raised by a metaphorical village. Many thanks to:

The editorial crew at Bloomsbury—Sarah Shumway, Cat Onder, and Caroline Abbey, all of whom I'd want on my superspy team.

My agent, Josh Adams, for a ridiculous amount of guidance, support, and enthusiasm.

Maggie Stiefvater and Saundra Mitchell, for reading early and/or often.

To the real-life Clatterbuck twins, with many thanks for the use of their last name.

To my family, who tolerated me working on this book nonstop over the holidays, and to Nelson Dean, who I hope enjoys having his very own sports academy in this book.

And of course, to all the readers who, like me, wouldn't have passed the SRS physical exam at Hale's age. Don't worry about it, guys. You're awesome.

Copyright © 2015 by Jackson Pearce

All rights reserved.
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce, or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. For information address Bloomsbury USA, 1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018.

First published in the United States of America in July 2015
by Bloomsbury Children's Books
This electronic edition published in July 2015
www.bloomsbury.com

Bloomsbury is a registered trademark of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Bloomsbury Children's Books, 1385 Broadway, New York, New York 10018

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pearce, Jackson.
The doublecross : (and other skills I learned as a superspy) / by Jackson Pearce.
pages    cm
Summary: Overweight and non-athletic, twelve-year-old Hale may have been born and raised to be a spy for the Sub Rosa Society but it seems he is unlikely to become a field agent until his parents are captured by the evil League and Hale sets out on a solo mission to save them.
[1. Spies—Fiction. 2. Schools—Fiction. 3. Family life—Fiction. 4. Missing persons—Fiction. 5. Overweight persons—Fiction. 6. Ability—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.P31482Dou 2015   [Fic]—dc23   2014025349

eISBN: 978-1-61963-415-2

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