The Hunt for the Missing Spy Read Online Free PDF Page B

out from behind them. He gestured with his thumb for Mika to move back. When he held up his hand, Cody noticed his fingertips were black. Yuck!
    â€œShe’s not cutting,” Cody explained. “She’s with us and we were already in line.”
    â€œI’m telling!” Matt said.
    Cody turned to Mika, who was no longer smiling. “Ignore him,” Cody said.
    Mika nodded, but said nothing.
    When the girls reached the entryway, they were handed their dossiers—file folders that held their cover information. Each student received an official-looking ID card with a blank spot for a snapshot, plus spaces to fill in with a fake name, address, and other details. To Cody, the ID card looked a lot like her mother’s driver’s license, only instead of “State of California” at the top, it read “United States Identification, Department of Secret Activities .”
    Wow
, Cody thought
. Secret Activities?
That sounded pretty official.
    Once the students were inside the winding hallways, the Code Busters and Mika explored the exhibits. Quinn was fascinated with all the cameras that were concealed in things like briefcases, wristwatches, and fountain pens. They looked just like ordinary objects—not at all like cameras.
    Luke was a big fan of James Bond movies and all the gadgets Double-Oh-Seven used, especially the cars. He always said he wanted an Aston Martin one day. “It’s got tire shredders to stop bad guys chasing you, a rotating license plate so you can disguise thecar, a bulletproof shield in case someone is shooting at you, and machine guns in the fog lamps if you really need power!”
    M.E. was intrigued by the lethal umbrella, which had a sharp point at the tip and could stop bad guys if they got too close, and the lipstick recorder, which looked like a real tube of lipstick, except it could record conversations between two spies. Mika seemed to like all the disguises the spies used, especially the stick-on mustaches and fake glasses. And Cody loved anything that could hide tiny secret messages, like the hollow coin, the concealment ring, the false-heeled shoes, and the fake can of soda. The Code Busters had one of those at their clubhouse where they hid important messages.
    When they reached the Spy Shop, the kids headed for their favorite gadgets. After a few minutes, Cody looked around for Mika, but she was nowhere in sight.
    Her new friend had gone missing!

Chapter 5

    C ody felt her heart race. The group was supposed to stay together and they’d already lost one of their members. “Has anyone seen Mika?” she asked the other Code Busters as she frantically glanced around the store. “She’s gone!”
    â€œShe was just here a minute ago . . . ,” Luke said, checking one of the aisles.
    â€œI thought I saw her over there.” M.E. pointed toward the exit.
    â€œWe’d better find her,” Quinn said.
    A kid standing next to Cody turned around and tapped her on the shoulder. Cody gasped.
    â€œOh my gosh!” she said. “Mika! I didn’t even recognize you!”
    Mika had covered her short black hair with a knitted Spy Museum cap and was wearing a black T-shirt over her outfit that read: “A Ninja Swiped My Homework.” She’d put on dark glasses, stuck a fake mole onto her cheek, and held a book about spying over her mouth to hide the bottom half of her face.
    â€œWow, awesome disguise,” Luke said to Mika. “How do you like mine?” He stuck a furry black mustache above his upper lip and pulled a camouflage fisherman’s hat on his head.
    M.E. laughed. “Nice hat, but a mustache? Seriously?”
    â€œI think it looks cool,” Luke argued, checking himself out in a mirror.
    Following Mika’s lead, the other Code Busters began gathering items for their own disguises. Cody found a Russian-style fur hat. “I’m goink to use a
Rrr
ussian accent,” she said, rolling