Spy Camp

Ben calls Tina, who has started her new position in Vancouver. She tells Ben he was right about the job and that she likes it and her new city very much. Ben says that’s great and that he needs a favor. He tells Tina that the CIA is “rife with moles” (273) and that he knows he can trust her. Tina checks the forensic report and discovers that the exact type of coal on the letter can be found in two places: Vladivostok, Russia, or Junction Mine, West Virginia. She gives Ben the coordinates to the mine; he commits them to memory. Everyone is excited to have a destination, but Warren is annoyed that Ben didn’t tell Tina he said hi.

The group raids the rucksack Cyrus had left, finding medication, first aid supplies, flares, and a lot of cash in multiple currencies, including over US$5,000. They rent a minivan and then go to Walmart, where they outfit themselves in “camouflage gear […] walkie-talkies, backpacks, head-mounted flashlights, greasepaint, a few laser-sighted scopes, and a dozen rolls of duct tape” (278). They can’t buy guns, but they get “alternative weaponry,” including the following: “bows and arrows, hunting knives, pepper spray, and tomahawks” (278).

Once outfitted, they head to the coordinates Tina had given them. At first, they can’t find the entrance to the mine; the others blame Ben, but Alexander says it’s a good sign because it means someone has tried to conceal it, which suggests they’re in the right place. They look more closely and find a disguised gate concealing a dirt road. The group decides to approach through the woods on foot. At first, they are disappointed that SPYDER’s headquarters consists of “two mobile homes and a Winnebago” (282), but Jawa notices a generator with many power cables leading into the mines. They determine that Erica and Cyrus aren’t being held in either of the mobile homes and that they will have to go into the mine to find them. Hank mixes up some “knockout drops” that will render the SPYDER agents unconscious; Warren accidentally knocks himself out by sniffing it.

Ben spots a box with Russian writing near the Winnebago. Translated, the box reads: “SURFACE MISSILE CONTROL SYSTEM” (285). They are all dismayed to realize that SPYDER has a missile, but something from an earlier conversation returns to Ben’s mind: Cyrus Hale saying that the global positioning system (GPS) “isn’t as accurate as everyone thinks” (285). Alexander reveals that Cyrus was the CIA liaison to the original project that developed GPS. Cyrus had seen the danger inherent in the project and convinced the Department of Defense to “purposefully build errors into the system to protect certain locations that might be targeted by terrorists” (286), such as the White House. Cyrus memorized the actual coordinates of these locations.

Alexander says that, alone, Cyrus would not give up the coordinates—but that he might do it to protect Erica. They discuss possible targets for the missile: The White House, the Supreme Court, and the Pentagon, but ultimately realize that the missile’s range isn’t long enough. Ben realizes that Camp David—the President’s country residence—is within 30 miles. Claire reveals that the President is currently at Camp David, hosting the British prime minister and other European leaders. They know they have to stop SPYDER’s plan. 

Jawa, Hank, and Chip take out the three SPYDER guards with the knockout drops. The others—minus Warren, who is still unconscious—join them and search the trailers and Winnebago. Ben finds the Winnebago’s keys and steals them. The group decides that Ben and Alexander will be in charge of reprogramming the missile while the rest of the team searches for and rescues Cyrus and Erica. Ben urges Alexander to be honest about his lack of skills and experience, but Alexander refuses. Ben wants to tell the others that they can’t rely on Alexander, but he can’t do that without alerting SPYDER to their presence.

They find the missile, already on its launchpad and ready to fire. It is enormous—“three stories tall and eight feet in diameter” (295). They find three additional missiles; they do not find more SPYDER agents on guard. Ben decides this makes sense because it wouldn’t be safe to be near a launchpad. As they work to determine which tunnels to follow, they hear Cyrus’s voice. Hank, Chip, Jawa, Claire, and Zoe head in that direction. Ben and Alexander are supposed to follow a thick cable through another tunnel toward what they suspect will be the mission control, but Alexander says he can’t leave his father’s fate to a bunch of kids and follows the rest of the team. Ben is terribly afraid, but he knows he’s the only person who can stop the missile launch. He also thinks: “If I ran, Erica Hale would never so much as look at me again,” which motivates him to keep moving (298).

Ben follows the cable and finds the missile control system. It is manned by Murray Hill, who seems extremely surprised to see Ben. Ben holds Murray at gunpoint and orders him to shut down the missile, threatening to shoot him somewhere painful if he doesn’t. Murray says he can’t do that for two reasons—first, he doesn’t know how it works; second, his boss is behind Ben with a gun to his head. Ben says he doesn’t believe Murray, but then he hears and feels the press of the gun of the man behind him. Ben says, “Joshua Hallal, I presume” (301). Murray is extremely impressed that Ben figured it out.

Joshua Hallal disarms Ben. There are four minutes and thirty seconds remaining on the missile launch countdown. Hallal asks how Ben knew it was him. Ben explains that they’d constantly been marveling at how much SPYDER seemed to know about spy school and that clearly they’d a mole other than Murray. The other mole seemed to know far more than Murray did about the campus. The only person Ben knows of with that kind of knowledge is Erica, who learned a lot from Joshua. Ben points out that no one ever saw Joshua Hallal’s body and guesses that he’d faked his death to cover up his move to SPYDER.

Murray is enthusiastic about Ben’s reasoning and invites him again to sign SPYDER’s contract. Ben is surprised to hear that it wasn’t just a ruse. Joshua Hallal confirms that his superiors at SPYDER think Ben has potential and once again offers him a position in the organization, which bolsters Ben’s confidence. He decides that he can’t reprogram the missile, but he may be able to stop it from going off at all. He distracts Joshua and Murray by telling them that he’d seen Erica’s look of surprise when she was captured. He plays on Joshua’s fond feelings for Erica and positions himself near the power cord for the missile launcher. Forty-five seconds remain on the countdown. Ben accuses Joshua and SPYDER of caring only about profits and not making a real difference against political corruption. As soon as Joshua points his gun away from Ben, Ben kicks at the power cord and unplugs it. The machines all go dark. The missile starts to fire, then shuts off. Ben guessed that the system would abort itself if it sensed a problem—like all of the machines shutting off.

Joshua points his gun at Ben again, intending to fire, but is blown off his feet by the explosion when the missile crashes back down to the launch pad. After the explosion, Ben sees Joshua and Murray running for their lives. He follows. The warhead for the failed missile lies on the ground in flames, close to the other three missiles. Ben shouts at the rest of the team to get Erica and Cyrus safely out of the mines, then chases after Murray and Joshua. He loses Joshua but tackles Murray just outside the entrance to the mine. He hears gunfire and feels four shots hit his chest; luckily, it’s just a paintball gun fired by Warren. He turns over Murray and the keys to the Winnebago to Zoe, then runs into the woods to pursue Joshua. Jawa joins him; Ben explains that Joshua Hallal is not dead. He asks how Erica is; Jawa says she’s okay, but the SPYDER agents “worked her over to make Cyrus give up the information” (312). Jawa reveals that Alexander had saved the students from a trap they’d run into. Ben is surprised and wonders what the success will do to Alexander’s ego.

Ben and Jawa nearly run over the edge of a cliff but stop just in time, with Ben pulling Jawa back from the precipice. They see Joshua Hallal racing away from them in an old metal bucket used to move coal down from the mine. They look around to find a way to cut the wire the bucket was traveling on but find nothing. Then the mountain explodes, and the post holding the wire collapses off the cliff’s edge. Joshua and his bucket plummet down into the woods. Erica appears suddenly and says, “This time, I don’t think he’s faking his death” (316). She looks horribly beat up, but Ben thinks she’s beautiful. She tells Ben, “Nice work” (316). Ben thinks to correct her and say that he hadn’t done anything to take Joshua out but decides to learn something from Alexander: “If a gorgeous female agent thinks you’ve done something impressive, don’t try to change her mind” (316).

The rest of the team joins them. Hank and Claire are holding hands. Ben asks if they’re a couple; Chip says they’ve been a couple since London and explains that he knew because of how Hank would defend Claire any time someone got upset with her. Hank seems to respect his brother more after their shared ordeal. Alexander and Cyrus catch up with the others. Cyrus says they have “all done the world a great service this evening” (318) and includes Alexander in the sentiment. Erica personally thanks Ben; she says she doesn’t think even she could have stopped SPYDER alone and asks how he did it. He tells her he unplugged the system. She laughs and calls him “one of a kind” (319). She reminds him it’s his birthday and gives him a tooth she’d taken from Murray Hill. She asks for his help getting back through the woods; he puts his arm around her and helps her walk.

The chapter ends with a redacted letter from The White House to the CIA’s Director of Internal Investigations. The letter suggests that Ben will be of further use against SPYDER, “perhaps in Operation Deadly Weasel” (322). The letter also says that Erica’s record will be expunged, and she will be involved in some way as an agent against SPYDER.