Spy Camp

Ben is surprised by how the SPYDER agents are dressed—in shorts, sneakers, and T-shirts. He, Alexander, and Erica lock the door and push a couch in front of it. They use the room’s other exit to flee; as they run, they see a series of red arrows drawn on envelopes. Erica follows the red arrows down to the basement level and into “a dreary, tangled maze of dripping pipes and groaning machinery” (207). They follow more arrows to a spot that says “stop here” and then hide. The SPYDER agents converge but are taken out by a single “ninja” before they attack Ben, Erica, and Alexander. The “ninja” removes his mask, revealing a man in his seventies. Erica greets him, calling him “Grandpa” (212).

Erica introduces Ben to her grandfather, Cyrus Hale, whose code name is Agent Klondike. Cyrus is not enthusiastic about meeting Ben and only says, “You’d better be worth all the trouble we’ve gone through for you” (212). Cyrus questions one of the SPYDER agents, asking why they’re after Ben, but the man refuses to talk, claiming that many more SPYDER agents are coming. Ben, Alexander, and Erica follow Cyrus through the basement and up through a pool maintenance shed near the edge of the property. From here, they flee into the woods and begin a one-hour hike to Cyrus’s vehicle. As they walk, Cyrus criticizes Alexander for allowing Erica to walk into a trap. Ben asks why Cyrus allowed them to go into Apple Valley if he knew it was a trap—Cyrus is offended at first, but Erica points out that it was a good question.

Cyrus says that they obtained valuable information on their mission, particularly that SPYDER must be far more entrenched into the CIA’s systems than they’d known to be able to pull off the switch with Murray and the other kid. The Hales have a mild disagreement about the usefulness of cell phones in spy work. As they hike to the car, Ben notices that Cyrus keeps scrutinizing him. He asks if something is wrong; Cyrus says he’s trying to figure out “what’s so all-fired important about you” (221) to make SPYDER reveal themselves to such an extent. Ben says he doesn’t know. Cyrus is disgusted. He and Erica say SPYDER doesn’t need to keep tracking them now because they still have hostages. This time, Erica says, they will be the ones to do something unexpected and get the jump on SPYDER.

After an hour’s hike through the woods, Ben and the Hales arrive at Cyrus’s car. They take a long, circuitous route to the farmhouse where the hostages are being held—this is a different location than where they agreed to meet SPYDER. As they approach the new location, they discover a Civil War historical battle reenactment. This means there are crowds of tourists and reenactors dressed in Civil War–era uniforms. Ben and the Hales join the side of the Union to get closer to where SPYDER is holding the hostages. First, they get fully outfitted in authentic Union uniforms of the time, which are hot and uncomfortable. Then, they are assigned to work one of the Union’s canons because Cyrus knows how to operate it.

Using their Civil War spy glasses, Ben and the Hales locate the hostages on the second floor of the farmhouse. Cyrus says that he’s going to get closer and do more reconnaissance. While Cyrus is gone, Ben, Erica, and Alexander discuss his history as a spy. Alexander reveals his resentment toward his father, explaining that he’d never been able to do anything right according to his father. Ben realizes that Cyrus only came out of retirement and exposed himself because Erica was involved in the mission. He tells the others, who also realize that SPYDER isn’t interested in capturing Ben—they want to capture Cyrus. They’d known Ben would go to Erica for help and that Cyrus would come out of hiding to help and protect Erica. As they come to this realization, Cyrus calls on the radio. He says there aren’t many SPYDER agents guarding the hostages and that he will attack on his own. Erica tries to warn and stop him, but Cyrus doesn’t listen and turns off his radio. Alexander and Erica run toward the farmhouse, leaving Ben behind to be their “eyes on the farmhouse” (240). 

Ben waits by the cannon, feeling sorry for himself. Not only has he been relegated to lookout duty, which he says “was basically like being asked to be the towel boy for the varsity football team” (241), but he has to cope with the fact that SPYDER never thought he was special in the first place. He can’t find Erica on the spyglass, but he does locate Alexander, who is lost and asking for directions at a souvenir stand. Around Ben, the reenacted battle rages; the lead cannoneer notices and challenges Ben, who tells him that the others had been picked off by snipers and moved to the hospital. The cannoneer, whom Ben calls “Lousy Sideburns,” orders Ben to fire the cannon and obtains a new crew for him. In the middle of their argument, Erica radios and tells Ben they need a diversion; she suggests the cannon.

Ben improvises an explosive device and gets his new crew to help him turn the cannon around to face the farmhouse. He convinces everyone that they’re forestalling a sneak attack from behind. Ben uses his excellent math skills to aim the cannon and then fires it, blowing up a minivan in front of the farmhouse. Lousy Sideburns comes back and yells at Ben, but Ben tells him it’s his fault for ordering a kid to fire a cannon.

The diversion works, and Erica and Cyrus can free the hostages. The hostages run, but Ben watches through his spyglass as Erica sees someone who surprises her—moments later, she crumples to the ground. Ben starts running toward the farmhouse, but he’s too late. When he arrives and tells the hostages that Erica had been attacked, a SPYDER getaway car is already leaving, and Erica and Cyrus are nowhere to be found.