“He dedicated his life to proving that all the continents had once been one big island, which broke into pieces. He was also famous for being a star in the competitive jigsaw puzzle circuit. Some called him the Tiger Woods of jigsaw puzzles, but if you ask me it was the puzzles that drove him crazy. The moment he was locked up in here it was all puzzles, day and night. He was obsessed. Still, he wasn’t a criminal so they couldn’t keep him. Someone signed him out and that was the last I saw of him.”

“They let him go? Does that mean he was cured?”

Denny chuckled. “You don’t get cured of what Jigsaw has. No, someone agreed to look after him.”

“Who?”

Denny led her to a dark office. He tapped a few keys into a computer and pulled up a file. Scrolling down, he found what he was looking for. “Here, this is who signed him out. A guy named Simon. Can’t tell you if that’s his first or last name.”

The Hyena frowned.

“Why are you so curious about this nutcase?” Denny asked.

“I work for him,” she said.

Jackson was curled in a ball on the floor of the rocket breathing in and out into a paper sack. Ms. Holiday knelt over him, rubbing his back and squeezing his hand to comfort him. “Just relax, Jackson.”

“Relax?” Jackson cried through his hyperventilation. “I’m in outer space. I signed up to be a spy, not an astronaut.”

“How pathetic,” Heathcliff said.

“Yeah, maybe we should call him Wheezer,” Matilda added.

“Be nice,” Ms. Holiday scolded.

“Jackson, this is the most efficient method of transport,” Mr. Brand explained.

“He’s right,” Duncan said. “Instead of flying across the globe for hours, the School Bus flies up into the stratosphere and then back down where we want. It shortens a flight from several hours to no more than thirty minutes, allowing us to get back to school before the end of the day.”

“If the new guy’s nervous breakdown is over, perhaps we should get into our gear,” Ruby said.

The children snatched the packs from the front of the rocket. Jackson found the one with his name on it, opened it up, and pulled out a heavy wool shirt and pants, a thick lamb’s wool coat, and a small cotton hat.

“Uh, this is just a bunch of clothing. Where’s the secret agent stuff? Where’s the exploding bow tie and the camera pen?”

“Everyone’s pack is assembled for their specific needs,” Ms. Holiday said.

“How am I going to do spy stuff with all this?” he cried.

“You’re not,” Brand said. “You’re observing on this mission.”

“What?” Jackson cried. He felt the rocket turn back toward Earth, and his belly did a flip. “I’ve been training for weeks. I’m ready.”

“How many people think Braceface is ready?” Ruby said to the team. None of them raised their hands.

“The desert is sparsely inhabited, and we don’t expect you’ll meet many locals,” Ms. Holiday said. “But if you do, they will probably be of two types—sheepherders or armed tribal fighters who won’t take kindly to trespassers. Do your best to avoid them.”

“Once you get into the city, you’ll pose as street kids peddling wares in the market,” Agent Brand said. “Each of you has been briefed on your specific tasks once you’ve found Dr. Badawi’s lab.”

“Briefed? I wasn’t briefed.” Jackson said.

Brand ignored him. “Ms. Holiday, what can you tell us about the good Dr. Badawi?”

“Dr. Badawi is married to American diplomat Omar Badawi, who is currently the United States ambassador to Egypt. Her lab is in a bustling tourist corridor of Cairo called the Spice Market. To get there, you’re going to travel through the Sahara desert. The sun will be brutal, and the clothes I packed you will protect you from burning, but will also keep you warm at night, in case this mission takes longer than expected. Pufferfish, Wheezer, you’ll find extra sets of clothing in your packs, as we discussed.”

“Got ’em,” Wheezer said.

“Flinch, I’ve packed a dozen marshmallow pies and a case of juice boxes, if you need them.”

Flinch licked his lips. “You are a beautiful person, Ms. Holiday.”

“What’s this?” Matilda said as she pulled a chocolate chip cookie out of her pack.

“Oh, that’s from me,” Ms. Holiday said. “I wanted to give you all a good-luck treat.”

The herd stared at her in disbelief—they clearly weren’t used to being coddled, and they weren’t sure they liked it. But then they shrugged and started dressing for their mission. Jackson found his sheepherder outfit very scratchy. “You can spend ten billion on my superbraces, but you don’t have a couple bucks for fabric softener?” he muttered.

Once everyone was dressed, they returned to their seats and locked their safety belts. Jackson had been on planes, and always found putting on his seat belt to be tedious and silly. But the descent in the School Bus changed his mind forever. It was even more terrifying than the takeoff, like a free fall right into the ground, until the lunch lady leveled the ship off above the desert floor.

“We’re over the drop,” the pilot grunted.

“The drop?” Jackson asked.

Suddenly, Brand was out of his seat and opening the hatch at the front of the jet. The other kids followed him, each snatching a parachute from a pile stacked nearby.

“No one told me we were jumping out of a rocket!” Jackson shouted. “I’ve never done this before.”

“It’s pretty easy,” Matilda said. “All you have to do is fall.”

A moment later, she jumped out and was gone.

Heathcliff was next, then Ruby.

“Your ride will be along soon,” Brand shouted over the wind.

Ruby nodded as she jumped outside.

Flinch raced to the front, snatched a pack, and leaped outside without even putting it on his back.

Jackson screamed, sure he had just witnessed the boy’s last moments alive, but Duncan assured him Flinch was OK. “He does that every time. He’s a bit of an adrenaline junkie.”

“He’s a bit of a lunatic,” Jackson mumbled.

“You and I are going together,” Duncan said. He ran his hands up and down Jackson’s back. When Jackson craned his neck he noticed a sticky film trail where the boy’s hands had been. Then Duncan hugged him from behind. The two boys were stuck tight.

Ms. Holiday helped the chubby spy into his parachute while Jackson squirmed for his freedom.

“You realize we are all minors,” Jackson said. “You’re letting six children jump out of a plane, into the desert, in a foreign country, alone.”

“You’ll be fine,” Duncan said to Jackson. “I’ll keep you safe.”

“You ate fourteen glue sticks in art class once. I don’t think you’re the best one to protect me,” Jackson said.

“Find the doctor and bring her back,” Brand said. “Jackson, Ruby is your team leader and unless she directs you otherwise, your job on this mission is to observe.”

“Wait, maybe I should stay in the rocket!” Jackson cried, but he never finished his sentence. Duncan dragged him through the open door. Jackson’s screams were drowned out by the wind, but he could still hear them inside his head as the ground raced toward them.

“Isn’t it beautiful up here?” Duncan shouted.

Jackson just kept on screaming. Eventually, he felt Duncan pull a cord. There was a loud pop, and then an incredible flapping sound as the parachute unfolded above them. When it unfurled, the boys were jerked roughly upward. Then they began to slowly descend.

“I love this part,” Duncan said. “It’s so peaceful.”

The boys landed on the edge of a dune and tumbled face-first into the sand. As they rolled, the parachute wrapped around them so that neither could move a muscle. Jackson now knew what it must feel like to be a burrito.

As they tried to untangle themselves, the rest of the team sprang into action. They buried their parachutes, while Ruby used binoculars to scan the valley. “Here comes our ride,” she said.