Spy Camp

On the way down to the surface of the water, Erica advises Ben to point his toes and keep his arms to his sides. Once in the water, Ben is pulled downriver by the current. He fears he will drown, but just as he is beginning to black out, he breaks through the surface and takes a breath. Erica climbs out of the river beside him, looking refreshed. They hear Alexander calling for help and locate him clinging to a nearby rock. Erica makes Alexander promise that she will be in charge of the operation before she will rescue him. He promises, so Ben and Erica pull him out of the water.

Alexander is upset with Erica for having treated him badly in front of Ben. He tries to take over, but Erica says she and Ben won’t be listening to him. Erica and Alexander argue. Erica tells Ben to follow her if he wants to get to safety. Ben follows her, which upsets Alexander further: “He’d known how his daughter felt about him, but it was a shock to see that I felt the same way” (130). Ben points out that Alexander took credit for capturing Murray Hill, when it was actually Ben and Erica. Alexander says this was for Ben’s own good, but Ben isn’t fooled. Alexander announces that there is a leech in his underpants and ducks behind a tree. He follows Ben and Erica only a few seconds later.

Erica explains that she was hiding in the back of the bus with the supplies because she suspected that SPYDER would try to attack Ben on the road. She points out that it was stupid for the CIA to move Ben away from the well-protected campus and out into the middle of nowhere. Alexander is annoyed by Erica’s tone. Ben asks Erica what her plan is; she explains that they will double back to the bus and avoid the SPYDER agents who will be anticipating them to head downriver toward civilization. Alexander tries to put his foot down and turn them around, but Erica says there’s another reason they are heading in the direction that they are: There are bears following them. Alexander says there are no bears in this part of the country. Three bears emerge from the forest.

Ben recognizes the bears as black bears. The grouping is of a mother bear with two cubs, which makes the situation more dangerous. Erica tells them that they have to stay quiet and back away slowly. If the bears attack, she says they must first try to fight back and, if that doesn’t work, play dead. Alexander loses his courage and runs away, which makes the bears chase him. Erica and Ben grab rocks and follow. Erica chases the bears off by shouting and throwing rocks.

Alexander thanks Erica. She uses the opportunity to tell him how little she thinks of him. Hurt and defeated, Alexander follows Erica and Ben, but his mood is dark and miserable. They climb up the side of a cliff. At the top Erica forages for mushrooms and shares them with Ben when he reaches the top and catches up with her. Ben tells her that Alexander, who is still climbing, could use some encouragement; Erica says Ben can give it to him but that she will not. She says that he’s spent her life telling her how great he is at everything and that this is his opportunity to prove it.

Ben asks why Erica is so angry with Alexander, but she won’t answer. She tells him that she studied maps of the area and is leading them to an abandoned fire tower. She reveals that she, like Ben, has a remarkable memory for some things. While Ben easily remembers numbers, Erica easily remembers maps, photos, and books. Ben is astonished to realize this.

When Alexander arrives at the top of the cliff, Erica tells him it’s time to get moving again. Alexander protests that he needs a rest, but Erica says they’ve lost enough time already. As they walk, Ben asks Erica how many SPYDER agents she thinks are in the woods. She says she doesn’t know and that the CIA actually knows “virtually nothing” about SPYDER. Ben asks if the CIA doesn’t have a SPYDER expert and is astonished when Erica says that he’s the expert. Murray’s conversation about SPYDER with Ben in the previous book is the sole source of knowledge the CIA has about the organization. Even in custody, Murray gave no viable intelligence about SPYDER. Erica explains that the CIA is likely to believe they’re dead or captured, so it’s vitally important that they make contact as soon as possible. She leads them into the clearing with the old fire tower.

Alexander protests that SPYDER could have set up an ambush at the tower, but Erica says it’s unlikely. Alexander says that the CIA has activated something called “Klondike.” Erica asks why no one told her, and Alexander says it’s because she’s a teenager and doesn’t have the clearance. Erica says that Klondike is a very bad idea and climbs to the top of the tower. They find a cistern full of rainwater, which they drink from, and a ham radio that Alexander uses to call for help. An agent answers and asks for their location. Alexander is about to give it, but Erica grabs the radio from him and asks the agent on the other end for a security clearance code. The voice then admits they are a SPYDER agent and asks if Ben is with them. Erica lies and says no. The SPYDER agent says they will kill the other campers they’d captured if Ben is not delivered to them.

Erica asks for proof that SPYDER has the hostages they claim. They put Zoe on the radio. She tells them that she, Warren, Jawa, Chip, Claire, and Hank have all been captured but haven’t been harmed. She tells Erica she’s heard four distinct voices from the SPYDER agents. The agent takes the radio back and tells Erica to meet them at a designated farm in six hours to surrender Ben. He threatens to kill the hostages if they do not show up on time. Erica negotiates and persuades SPYDER to give them two days to find Ben and bring him to the farm. They agree to meet at the farm at “two thirty, give or take fifteen minutes” (157). She asks if they will kill Ben once they have him, and the agent says that it’s up to Ben whether he will accept their “very generous offer” (157). Erica says they should take her instead because she’s the better spy. The SPYDER agent says that though the idea is tempting, they need Ben because of some “very special abilities…Abilities that he might not even be aware he has” (158).

After Erica ends the radio call, Ben says that he still doesn’t know what these abilities are and isn’t sure how SPYDER does. Alexander says that Murray Hill probably observed them when he was working as a mole in the academy. Erica looks interested in this idea, but when Alexander says maybe he’s not as big of an idiot as she thinks he is, Erica is dismissive of him. Alexander is “deflated” again (160).

Ben asks how hard it will be to make it to the farm in two days. Erica says they could easily make it in one, but they have somewhere to stop first. She explains they’re hurrying away from the fire tower not because of time restraints but because they must evacuate before SPYDER attacks. She says SPYDER will be able to either pinpoint the source of the ham radio signal or figure out they must have been at one of the fire towers and attack those. Alexander asks how long they have; Erica says it depends on the form of the attack: “If it’s an assault team, it might be half an hour. If it’s a helicopter, it might be a minute or two” (161).

There is a sudden roar and an object racing toward them in the sky. Erica identifies it as a missile, and they all run as fast as they can. They escape the explosion without injuries. Ben asks Erica where they have to visit before meeting the farm. She says they have to find out if Murray Hill is actually in jail. The woods catch on fire around them.

The fire in the woods attracts a rescue team, who pick up Erica, Alexander, and Ben in a helicopter. As they wait for the helicopter to land, they discuss their plans; Erica says it’s important to find out about Murray because it’s their best shot at discovering SPYDER’s plans. She warns Alexander and Ben not to mention any of this to anyone. Alexander protests and says they should call the CIA for backup, but Erica tells him that they would quickly lose control of the situation if they did that. Once on the helicopter, Alexander ignores Erica’s orders and tells the pilot: “I work for the CIA, and the enemies of democracy are swarming these hills. I need to use your radio to contact headquarters immediately…” (166). Erica tells the pilot that Alexander was hit on the head and is delusional. This story is more believable than Alexander’s, so the pilot believes her.

They repeat this routine with the paramedics after the helicopter lands, and the paramedics believe Erica. In the back of the ambulance, Erica steals some sedative and injects Alexander with it so that he’ll pass out. At the hospital, they’re told there will be a wait for Alexander to be seen; Erica and Ben take advantage of the delay by sneaking Alexander out of the building. Erica steals a car and explains they’re going to Murray Hill’s prison, approximately two hours away. Ben expects Erica to have a plan and some idea of what’s happening, but she tells him she doesn’t and needs time to think. Ben also thinks, trying to figure out why SPYDER wants him so much, but he can’t think of anything.

They reach the city of Vaughn, where Murray Hill is being imprisoned. Erica rents the three of them a hotel room and borrows a roll of duct tape from the hotel manager for “security” (176). 

Erica and Ben tape Alexander to a chair so he can’t get free. Alexander sleeps through the event. Erica tells Ben to stand watch over Alexander while she goes to do reconnaissance on the detention center where Murray is being kept. Ben tries to argue that Erica should stay with her father instead, but Erica points out that she is the only one with the skills to infiltrate the facility. Ben takes a shower and falls asleep on one of the hotel beds; he wakes when Alexander groans.

Alexander demands to be untied, but Ben tells him that Erica had left instructions that he should not be. Alexander is saddened by this. He asks how long Erica has been gone, and when Ben says it’s been a long time, he suggests that Ben cut him loose so they can rescue her. Alexander says he needs to go to the bathroom; Ben tells him that Erica said Alexander claimed to have held his bladder for three days once in Djakarta. As Alexander tries to spin this story to make himself look good, Ben interrupts and says, “Before you go on, you should know that Erica told me everything about you. [...] She says you’re a fraud” (183). Ben confirms that he believes this because of how Alexander “stole the credit for capturing Murray from [him]” (185). He notes that Erica seems to truly hate Alexander right now and challenges him to tell the truth about why. Alexander explains that he “sort of lost a briefcase full of important classified documents” (185) by leaving them in a McDonald’s bathroom; to avoid getting in trouble, he told the CIA that Erica had broken into the briefcase and spilled a glass of milk on the documents. This resulted in “the top brass” putting a “black mark” on Erica’s records, which means “her chances of going into the field after graduation are, er…seriously diminished” (186). Ben is very angry.

Alexander says he thought they’d “just let it slide” (187), but Erica suddenly announces her presence and says this is a lie. They argue briefly, and then Erica unties Alexander and says they need an adult to accompany them into the detention center. She makes Alexander promise that he will recognize her as the lead on the mission. He agrees. She makes him promise that as soon as the mission is over, he will personally call the head of the CIA and admit that he’d lied about Erica damaging the documents. Alexander hesitates but agrees.