Read an Excerpt
Chapter 1 HEY, BOT!
Henry Heckelbeck spied a new mystery behind the playground swing set.
“What’s THAT?” he asked.
His best friend, Dudley Day, zoomed in on the object.
“My spy sense tells me it’s personal property,” he said.
The boys crept closer.
Henry smiled. “Well, my spy sense tells me its somebody’s LUNCH BOX!”
Dudley put a finger to his lips. “Shh, not so loud. Remember Spy Rule Number Five!”
Henry covered his mouth with his hand. “Oops, sorry!” he whispered. “Spy Rule Number Five: A spy never calls attention to themselves.”
The boys crouched over the dark purple lunch box.
“Don’t touch it,” Henry warned.
“Why not?” Dudley asked.
“Because the owner might be watching!” Henry told him.
Dudley looked around. School was over, and the playground was nearly empty.
“I doubt it,” said Dudley. “There’s hardly anyone over here.”
Henry scanned the playground. He motioned to a couple of third graders on the monkey bars and some kids playing four square.
Dudley saw them too. But he wasn’t worried. “They’re so far away that they’re practically in the next town!” he said.
Henry gave a big shrug and reminded his friend that a spy can never be too careful.
Then Henry pulled out a magnifying glass.
He always carried one just in case. He held the magnifying glass over the top of the lunch box.
“Dancing robots,” Henry noted.
Dudley corrected Henry. “No, those are BATTLING robots.”
Henry looked again. “Could be,” he said. “But if it’s dancing robots, this lunch box belongs to Nina Noff. Remember when she brought her Boogie Bot to school?”
“Oh yeah,” Dudley said with a laugh. “It was taken away because of the no-toys-at-school rule. Did Nina ever get her Boogie Bot back?”
Henry nodded. “Yup, but I heard she almost got it taken away again on the bus ride home because it started singing in her backpack!”
The boys cracked up. Then they got right back into spy mode.
“Well, if the robots on the lunch box are BATTLING, then the lunch box probably belongs to Ryan Riley,” said Dudley. “He always doodles battling robots.”
The boys kept their eyes fixed on the lunch box.
“I wish we could open it,” said Henry.
Dudley nodded. “Me too, but it might be a trap.”
Henry stroked his chin thoughtfully. “We need to think like super spies!”