by Stuart Gibbs
Cyrus turned on Catherine. “You had a chance to blow up SPYDER’s top brass and you didn’t?”
Catherine sighed. “Unlike SPYDER, I don’t believe in killing people if it can be avoided.”
“But now they got away!” Cyrus exclaimed. “The most despicable people on earth! It could take us years to track them down again!”
“Maybe not,” Murray said.
Everyone turned to him, surprised.
“You know how to find them?” I asked.
“Of course.” Murray opened his hand to reveal something that had been clenched in his fist: the silver key that had been on the chain around Joshua Hallal’s neck. He must have snatched it as Joshua had fallen into the cenote. “This is literally the key to destroying SPYDER once and for all.”
“How’s it work?” Zoe asked.
“I’d be happy to explain that,” Murray said. “In exchange for my freedom.”
There was a sudden shift in the mood around the clearing. Up until that point, everything had been quite tense, with the Hales discovering that Catherine was a spy, and Zoe accusing Erica of falsely sacrificing herself, and the fact that we were all hot and sweaty and tired from the chaos of the morning. But now there was a palpable sense of excitement. I could see it on everyone’s faces: Catherine and Alexander and Cyrus and Mike and Zoe and Erica and even Murray.
I could feel it in myself, too. The leaders of SPYDER might have escaped, but we had dealt them a serious blow. We had thwarted their plans again, and this time, they had lost billions of dollars without hope of more investments. Their only option would be to hole up in a safe place—and if we knew where that was, we could finally get the jump on them. For once, we might be a step ahead of SPYDER, rather than a step behind.
Mike was grinning the broadest of all of us, his smile stretching from ear to ear. “Sounds like fun,” he said. “Who’s up for another adventure?”
To the members of Operation Tiger Shark:
Given the events of the last few days, it is evident that the CIA has been completely compromised by SPYDER. The two agents I trusted to ensure your safe flight down to Mexico—agents I was sure were incorruptible—turned out to have been corrupted by SPYDER. (They also turned out to be expendable. And crocodile food. Serves them right.)
At this point, though, no one in the CIA can be trusted. If we are going to go after SPYDER’s leadership, we are going to have to do it ourselves, without any help from the Agency. In fact, the Agency cannot even know we are thinking about this mission, let alone pursuing it.
We have no choice but to go rogue . . . again.
Obviously, this is asking a lot of all of you, especially considering that most of you are not yet of legal voting age. But you represent the best—and perhaps the only—chance we have to take down SPYDER once and for all.
It is my duty to make you aware that this mission may be extremely dangerous. And given the rogue status, should it end in failure, the CIA will likely disavow your status as agents (or agents-in-training). I will understand if you do not want to participate in such a perilous endeavor. I won’t be happy about it, but I will understand.
Given the nature of this decision, I know it is not to be taken lightly. Still, time is of the essence. SPYDER is on the ropes, but we still need to act fast to take advantage of their situation. The more time we give them, the better their chance to recover.
Therefore, this mission will begin at 1200 hours today. Let me know if you are in or out.
Cyrus
Destroy this message after reading.
ONE FINAL NOTE
The day I finished the first draft of this book, President Donald Trump informed the world that the United States would no longer be part of the Paris Accords, effectively abdicating the role of this country in fighting climate change.
Therefore, I had to rewrite the scene in which Joshua Hallal discusses SPYDER’s plans to hasten the melting of Antarctica. Originally, SPYDER’s plan was to try to undo all the work the governments of the world were doing to fight climate change. Now, as you have read, he simply claims that climate change isn’t happening fast enough.
As rewriting goes, that didn’t cause me too much trouble, though. But sadly, Trump’s decision may end up causing far more trouble for me, and you, and pretty much every other human being alive.
The truth is, climate change is happening, and humans are responsible. Almost every scientist on earth who knows what they are talking about agrees on this.
What is absolutely disheartening is how this topic has been politicized. It should not be a political statement to say “I believe in science,” but somehow, that has happened. So let me be clear: I am not making a political statement here. I am making a statement based on plenty of research and careful analysis and reading the work of people far more qualified to write about the subject than me. In the same way that I can flatly say that there is plenty of evidence that the earth is round and elephants are being hunted to extinction, I can say that climate change is happening, and that human behavior is responsible. Even worse, if we don’t do anything, very bad things are going to happen to this planet, and every living thing is going to suffer as a result. Acting like this won’t happen, or claiming that it’s all a hoax, is sticking your head in the sand.
The good news is you can still make a difference, but the bad news is time is running out to do it. You can do things at home, like encouraging your parents to drive more fuel-efficient cars (which is by far the most effective way to cut down on your own impact on global warming) or trying to save energy around the house. But you can also make a difference on a bigger scale by writing letters or e-mails to your U.S. representatives and senators, telling them that you are worried about a future of unchecked climate change, and asking that they take action. Even though you might only be a kid, they’ll still listen to your voice. In fact, they might be more likely to listen to you if you’re a kid they have to explain their actions to.
If you are still young, you’re going to be living on this planet for many, many years to come. I truly hope it’s a planet where the ice caps haven’t melted and the major coastal cities of earth aren’t underwater (and, for that matter, that there are still elephants in the wild). Even though there are plenty of people out there who recognize the problem of climate change and are doing everything in their power to reverse it, the fact remains that we humans have done a crappy job of taking care of our planet. And that trend isn’t going to change unless you want it to.
So get involved. Climate change might be a joke in this book, but it’s no joke in real life.
acknowledgments
As we were putting the finishing touches on this book, my wife, Suzanne, died very suddenly. This was devastating to me, our children, our extended family, and Suzanne’s hundreds of friends. However, even in tragedy, there can be a few rays of light—and one of those was the incredible way in which the publishing community came together to support me and my children at this terrible time. I am deeply indebted to everyone on my team at Simon & Schuster: Liz Kossnar, Justin Chanda, Anne Zafian, Lucy Ruth Cummins, Aubrey Churchward, Audrey Gibbons, Lisa Moraleda, Jenica Nasworthy, Chrissy Noh, Jessica Harold, KeriLee Horan, Christina Pecorale, Victor Iannone, Emily Hutton, Caitlin Nalven, Diego Molano Rodriguez, and Theresa Pang. Additional thanks must be given to my amazing agent, Jennifer Joel.
My fellow authors also rallied to my aid. James Ponti and Sarah Mlynowski were available whenever I needed to talk. Rose Brock and her team of incredible volunteers bent over backward to give my children a fantastic weekend at the North Texas Teen Book Festival. My kids’ favorite authors, Ally Carter and Nathan Hale, were unbelievably generous with time, entertaining my children for hours, but I’m also incredibly thankful for Jennifer L. and Matt Holm, Varian Johnson, Lauren Myracle, Emily Jenkins, Julie Buxbaum, Jennifer E. Smith, Christina Soontornvat, Julia DeVillers, Adele Griffin, Michael Buckley, Jenny Han, Pablo Cartaya, Brendan Kiely, Soman Chainani, Christina Diaz Gonzalez,
Jeramey Kraatz, Rebecca Stead, Ronald L. Smith, Lauren Tarshis, Michael Merschel, Morgan Matson, Robin Benway, and Dav Pilkey. They’re not just amazing authors—they’re amazing people as well.
And then, there are my friends from outside the publishing world. The list of every single person who was there for me would fill this entire book, but I simply must thank my Suzanne, Darragh and Ciara Howard, Ken and Carol Parker, David and Tara Stern, Cheryl and David Bosnak, Rachel Bendavid and Jon Steinberg, Channing Dungey and Scott Power, Sheryl Gibbs, Michelle Ellenbogen, Lennlee Keep, John Janke, Jeff Peachin and Kristin Byrd, Mark and DeLynn Middleman, Chris Kuklinski and Kira Meers, Joel Delman and Mieke Holkeboer, Bill and Carol Rotko, Drew Filus and Andrea Berloff, Cori Wellins, Julie Lynn and Doug Smith, David and Angelique Higgins, Learka Bosnak and Zack Smith, Marc and Vivian Zachary, Chris Heisen and Laura Diamond, Adam Zarembok, Jamie Gordon, Shawn and Ashley Mendel, Tiffany Daniel and Mike Murphy, Marty Scott and Bellinda Alvarez, Gabrielle Stanton and Tris Carpenter, Tracey Underwood and Brian Keyser, Albert Sukoff, Chip Touhey, Craig Perry—and Courtney Spikes, who worked so hard to introduce Suzanne and me in the first place, knowing we’d hit it off. I’m sure I have missed hundreds of other people I should have named, and I apologize profusely for that.
Finally, this book was probably more inspired by my wife than any other I have written. She was the one who had first suggested that we visit Quintana Roo in Mexico, and we had such a lovely time there that we returned two more times. Suzanne was far more adventurous than she ever fully realized; with her, I explored hidden ruins, swam in cenotes, and boated through nature preserves. We never stayed at Aquarius (because it doesn’t exist) but Suzanne did always find fantastic hotels and delicious restaurants. The final research trip for this book was a full-family affair, with my parents, Ronald and Jane Gibbs; Suzanne’s parents, Carole and Barry (who also served as our amateur travel agent); and my favorite junior researchers, Dashiell and Violet. Thank you all for all your help.
And Suzanne, thank you for being my wife for fourteen wonderful years. Without your support for my writing career, these books might never have existed. I love you to the moon and back, infinity and beyond, always and forever.
about the author
STUART GIBBS is the New York Times bestselling author of the FunJungle, Moon Base Alpha, and Spy School series. He has also written screenplays for movies, worked on a whole bunch of animated films, developed TV shows, and researched capybaras (the world’s largest rodents). Stuart lives with his family in Los Angeles. You can learn more about what he’s up to at stuartgibbs.com.
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Stuart-Gibbs
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Simon & Schuster, New York
Also by Stuart Gibbs
The FunJungle series
Belly Up
Poached
Big Game
Panda-monium
The Spy School series
Spy School
Spy Camp
Evil Spy School
Spy Ski School
Spy School Secret Service
The Moon Base Alpha series
Space Case
Spaced Out
Waste of Space
The Last Musketeer
SIMON & SCHUSTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2018 by Stuart Gibbs
Jacket design and principal illustration by Lucy Ruth Cummins,
copyright © 2018 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
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Interior design by Lucy Ruth Cummins
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Gibbs, Stuart, 1969– author.
Title: Spy school goes south / Stu Gibbs.
Description: First edition. | New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, [2018] | “A Spy School Novel.” | Summary: Thirteen-year-old spy in training Ben Ripley is sent to Mexico to try to thwart the evil organization SPYDER—the CIA’s main enemy.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017038945| ISBN 9781481477857 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781481477871 (eBook)
Subjects: | CYAC: Spies—Fiction. | Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. |
Friendship—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction. | Mexico—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.G339236 Sph 2018 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017038945
