Enemy Spy by Wendelin Van Draanen Read Free Book Online Page B

you should go around telling people they've committed treason when they haven't!”

    A guy with a big camera came up and aimed it at me, but Harry yanked the toothpick out of his mouth and pointed it at the camera guy like a micro magic wand. “No, man,”he said. “Not the kid.”
    “But, Harry…”

    “I said no, man. It's not cool.”He kept pointing the toothpick right at him until the cameraman grumbled, “Whatever,”and backed off.
    Harry turned to me and said, “I know your dad—not real well, but I do know him. We've covered a lot of the same stories—him for the paper, me for TV. Always seemed like a pretty decent guy to me—”
    “He
is.
He's a great guy! So's my mom!”
    He scratched his neck and looked at me. “You said your name's Nolan, right?”
    I nodded.
    “Okay, Nolan, I'll tell you what. I'll do my best to be sensitive to what you're going through, but if your parents are part of an international spy ring, it's my job to report it.”
    An international spy ring? Holy cryptanalysis, Batman! This was getting bigger by the minute!
    “You've got it all wrong! My parents aren't the spies! Neither is Mr. Green! They're the
good
guys!”
    “That's right,”a few of the kids said. “No way is Mr. Green a spy.”
    “Yeah!”said Vinnie. “He's a hippie!”
    Harry laughed. “Well, look. I appreciate that you kids are sticking up for your teacher and Nolan's parents, but like I said—”
    I interrupted him. “How would
you
like to be plastered all over the news as a criminal when you were the good guy? My parents and Mr. Green are the good guys, I
promise
you.”
    “All right, all right! I said I'd be sensitive, okay? My sources are telling me that none of them is being very forthcoming—”
    “Whaddaya mean, 'forthcoming'?”Vinnie asked.
    “You know—they're all keeping their mouths shut.”Harry leaned forward a little. “That usually means they're
hiding
something.”
    Maybe, but it wasn't
spy
information!
    “But—”I said.
    “But,”
he said, “I'll make sure the story's solidbefore I run it. If they're spies, though, there's nothing I can do about that.”He nodded over my shoulder at the parking lot. “Your real problem's not me, though. Your real problem's out there.”
    I looked over at the white news van parked under some trees. “You mean Chatty Adams?”I asked.
    He nodded. “Good luck getting
that
news chick to back off.”He snorted. “Just from the few days I've known her, I can promise you that she'll report what she's got, no matter who it hurts.”
    All of us were looking at Chatty now. And inside me I felt something strange swelling up. Something strong. Something I've only ever felt when I was being Shredderman.
    But here I was, just Nolan Byrd, surrounded by classmates who were waiting. Waiting for
me
to say something. Or
do
something.
    “Come on,”I said, leading the way. “Let's go have a little chat with Chatty Adams!”

Chapter 16
Chatting with Chatty
    They followed me. Every single one of my class-mates followed me. Even Bubba Bixby! And on the way over, Trinity whispered, “I like the way you stood up for your parents, Nolan.”
    I didn't understand why she was whispering. Or what the big deal was. “My parents are great,”I told her.
    She nodded. “Mine are, too.”She was still whispering. “But it's not real cool to admit it, you know what I mean?”
    I couldn't help pulling a face. “Why?”
    She smiled at me. “That's what I like about you, Nolan.”Then she scurried away to walk with Miriam and Danielle.
    Weird! But I didn't have time to think about it. I had to get my digital camera set up without anyone noticing, and I had to do it
while
I was walking!
    This was going to take subtlety
    Finesse!
    Some real legerdemain!
    And believe me, I'm not known for my smooth moves.
    Lucky for me, my camera was already in the secret compartment in my backpack. But I had to open the lens flap.
    Get out the remote control.
    Activate the camera and