The Doublecross by Jackson Pearce Page B

accessany information on it, and it doesn’t sound like The League can either.”
    â€œBut maybe together, we could,” Oleander said.
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    Oleander took a deep breath and glanced at Clatterbuck before responding. “We’d like you to go back to SRS. We’d like you to be a double agent. Keep working for SRS while really working for The League. If we figure out and stop Groundcover, not only have we kept SRS from becoming more powerful, but I think we’re a lot closer to making it safe for your parents to come home.”
    Now it was my turn to take a deep breath. “Things don’t work out well at SRS for double agents,” I finally said grimly. I said agent
s
, but I’d actually only ever heard of one double agent—it was supposed to be a secret, so naturally, everyone knew about it by the time we were seven. I’ll spare you the finer points of what SRS did when they realized they had a traitor in-house. Let’s just say that Kennedy swore she’d seen his ghost once.
    â€œWe know,” Oleander said. “Don’t think I’m oblivious as to what this would mean, Hale. But without an inside man, we’re left exactly where we were before you broke in—”
    â€œI didn’t say I won’t do it,” I cut her off. “Just that things don’t work out well for them. But yes—I’m in. I’ll be a double agent.”
    Oleander looked pleased. She rapped her nails on the desk a bit and then spoke. “All right, Hale—what sort ofmissions are you on right now? What we need is to get you assigned to Project Groundcover, but we’ll need to know—”
    I lifted my eyebrows, halting her. “I don’t go on missions.”
    â€œI’m sorry?”
    â€œI don’t go on missions,” I repeated. “I can’t pass the physical exam, so I’m not a junior agent.”
    Clatterbuck and Oleander gave each other wary looks. “Are you . . . close to passing it?” Clatterbuck asked hesitantly.
    â€œNo,” I answered. “Look, I’ll do what you want—but there’s no way they’re going to start sending me on missions.”
    Oleander frowned. “Well. Huh. Clatterbuck? Any ideas? What would you have done back in your mission days?”
    â€œWe would’ve sent in a different agent,” Clatterbuck said uselessly. “How is a kid able to break into
and
out of League headquarters not a junior agent?”
    â€œYour security isn’t very good,” I muttered. Clatterbuck looked offended, but Oleander sort of nodded in agreement and then sighed.
    â€œHale, why don’t you head to the cafeteria and grab some dinner while we sort this out?”
    â€œAll right,” I said. “But I’ve got to be back at SRS before lockdown at seven, or they’ll miss me.” I trudged down to the cafeteria, hands slung in my pockets.
    I wasn’t quite sure why The League called this acafeteria—it was really a wall of vending machines and a basket of sandwiches made from questionable-looking cheeses. There wasn’t an attendant, but there was a jarful of coins and a sign that said HONOR SYSTEM. I didn’t have any money, and I didn’t think it’d bode well for me to take one without paying—after all, that would mean my first act at The League was to flood the place, and my second was to steal. There was a little bowl of candy on one of the chipped-up tables, though, so I slumped down into one of the closest chairs and ate one.
    â€œHale!” someone said cheerily. I looked up to see Ben walking into the room, followed by Beatrix. “You came back!”
    â€œI did,” I answered.
    â€œDid you sneak in? Did you use another disguise?” Beatrix asked excitedly. “Ben and I were talking about that Campfire Scout uniform—well, actually, everyone was talking about it. That was