Amos Binder, Secret Agent

by Gary Paulsen

  Mesha motioned for the boys to follow her into the kitchen. She brought two tall drinks to the table and silently left the room.

  “And I thought our room was great. Did you see that aquarium in the living room? You could swim in that thing.” Amos picked up one of the drinks and took a sip.

  “Did you get a look at the key?” Dunc whispered.

  “What key?”

  “The one the old woman used to open the safe.”

  “What about it?”

  “It’s identical to yours.”

  Amos looked puzzled. “Why would the government give us a key to Fatima’s safe?”

  Dunc shrugged. “I don’t know. That part wasn’t in the folder.”

  Mesha appeared in the door of the kitchen and motioned for them to come with her. Amos put his glass on the table and they followed her back to the living room.

  Fatima was standing next to a distinguished-looking man with a short gray beard. “These are the boys I told you about, Father.”

  The man stepped forward and eagerly reached to shake their hands. “Words cannot thank you enough for what you have done. Please let me express my gratitude by repaying you in some way.”

  “What did you have in mind?” Amos casually leaned one elbow against the six-foot-long aquarium.

  “Name your price. Fatima is my only daughter. Her safety is invaluable.”

  Dunc coughed. “He was just kidding, sir. We don’t need a reward. We were glad to help. Weren’t we, Amos?”

  The aquarium started to move. One of the guards ran over to steady it just as it started to topple off its pedestal. Water sloshed out, drenching the guard and soaking the carpet.

  Dunc grabbed Amos’s sleeve and dragged him toward the door. “It was really nice meeting all of you, but I just remembered we have an appointment.”

  Fatima followed them. “It’s a shame you have to leave so soon. But now that you know where I’m staying, Duncan, please don’t be a stranger.”

  “Don’t worry.” Amos jerked his arm away. “I’m sure Duncan will be back.”

  They had barely made it back to their room when there was another knock on the door.

  “Room Service.”

  Amos vaulted over the couch and raced to the door. “Food. Thank goodness. I think I was starting to get faint.”

  The waiter pushed a small serving cart into the center of the living room. Amos was so busy taking the lids off the dishes that he didn’t notice when the waiter quietly closed the door.

  Cyrano laughed at him. “Man, you must really be hungry.”

  Amos glanced up. Between mouthfuls he mumbled, “Boy, you sure do get around. One minute you’re a police officer, the next you’re a waiter.”

  “In our line of work a person has to be flexible.” Cyrano smiled. “But then I guess you know all about that.”

  Dunc picked up his cheeseburger. “We didn’t think you would contact us this soon.”

  “I had word that you and Popeye have already managed to get inside the ambassador’s suite. I’m impressed at how quickly you guys work. What did you find out?”

  “Not much.” Dunc took a bite of the cheeseburger. “The ambassador’s daughter had a run-in with a jewel thief. We walked her to the penthouse and her dad thanked us. That’s about it.”

  Cyrano frowned and shook his head. “We were afraid something like this might happen. The government tried to talk Ambassador Khalil into leaving his daughter’s jewelry at home but it was no go. He said it was a matter of custom. In his country his daughter is of marriageable age and no female looking for a husband would be seen without her dowry.”

  Amos dug his elbow into Dunc’s side. “So, she’s looking for a husband—Duncan.”

  Dunc ignored him. “Do you have some sort of plan to protect the jewels?”

  “It just so happens …” Cyrano reached under the white cloth covering the cart and pulled out a small black case. He flipped it open. Inside was an assortment of jeweled necklaces, rings, earrings, and bracelets. “We do.”

  “Whoa! We could retire on this. I could buy Melissa a summer home in the mountains and play video games till I die.” Amos ran his fingers through the jewelry.

  “Not exactly.” Cyrano closed the case and handed it to Amos. “These are all fakes.”

  “I don’t get it.” Amos made a face. “Why would we want fakes?”

  “Because they want us to substitute the fake jewels for the real ones in Khalil’s safe.” Dunc sat on the couch. “Isn’t that right, Cyrano?”

  “The brass thinks it’s best to be cautious. That way if anything does get stolen, nothing of value is really lost.”

  Amos scratched his head. “And just how are we supposed to make the switch? Khalil’s suite is full of people, not to mention those two trained gorillas who stand guard by the door.”

  “The brass wants you to handle it delicately. Khalil must never know about the fakes. He would be offended.” Cyrano pushed the cart toward the door. He tossed a small packet on the couch. “These might come in handy.”

  Dunc closed the door behind Cyrano. “What did he give you?”

  “The label says ‘knockout pills.’ ” Amos wolfed down the last of his burger. “I don’t know about you, but I vote we give Cyrano the key to the safe and let him handle it from here. In fact I was thinking maybe it was time for us to call it quits and go home. Melissa’s probably wondering where I am by now.”

  Dunc closed his eyes. He thought about telling Amos that Melissa Hansen couldn’t care less where he was—ever. Instead he decided to try to convince Amos to stay until they made some progress in the case. Dunc wanted to read the file again. He felt under the chair cushion.

  The folder was gone.

  Amos splashed more water on his hair. One long piece in the back refused to lie flat. “You’re not fooling me a bit. I know the real reason you talked me into going to this dance.”

  “Like I said, we have to go to the party to keep an eye on Fatima’s jewelry and to watch for an opportunity to get back inside the ambassador’s suite.” Dunc straightened his tie and checked his teeth in the bathroom mirror. He brushed an imaginary piece of lint off his sleeve.

  “You’ve obviously forgotten who you’re talking to here,” Amos said. “If anybody knows the signs, it’s me.”

  “Signs of what?”

  “Romance, true love. You’ve got it bad.”

  “Don’t be dumb. All I want to do is finish this case and go home.”

  “Whatever you say—Duncan.”

  “Get real, Amos. There are a lot of strange things going on here and I just don’t want to leave them hanging. Are you ready?”

  “Right behind you, Romeo.”

  “Cut that out. Did you remember to hide the fake jewels?”

  “Hidden.”

  “How about the knockout pills?”

  Amos patted his pocket. “Got ’em right here.”

  “Then let’s go. I don’t want to be late.”

  “I bet you don’t.” Amos followed him to the elevator. “Maybe Melissa will agree to a double wedding. We’ll let Fatima’s dad pick up the tab.”

  Dunc pushed the button for the first floor. “Now, remember. You’re supposed to be a hotshot secret agent working on an important case. Mingle with the guests, but keep your eyes open for anything suspicious.”

  “Whatever you say, loverboy.” Amos started whistling the wedding march.

  When the doors opened in the lobby Dunc stopped a bellboy to ask directions to the ballroom. The freckle-faced young man smiled and pointed to the right.

  Music drifted out the double doors. A band was set up at the far end of the room, and off to one side was a buffet table heaped with every kind of food imaginable.

  “Hey, this is my kind of party.” Amos licked his lips and started for the buffet.

  Dunc was about to follow when he spotted Fatima. A diamond tiara sparkled in her hair and she wore a matching pendant around her neck.

  She saw
him at the same time. “Duncan! I’m so happy to see you. No one told me you were coming. Where’s your friend?”

  Dunc pointed at the buffet table. Amos already had one plate loaded and was trying to manage a second. “Looks like we better get something to eat before he takes it all.”

  “Actually,” Fatima said, smiling, “I was wondering if we could dance.”

  “Dance?” Dunc cleared his throat and loosened his collar. “It seems kinda hot for dancing.”

  A waitress tapped Fatima on the shoulder. “There’s a telephone call for you, Ms. Khalil. You may take it in the next room. Right this way.”

  “Will you excuse me, Duncan? Perhaps we can have that dance when I return?”

  “No problem.” Dunc breathed a sigh of relief. He watched Fatima follow the waitress out of the ballroom.

  A short man in a dark suit was standing by a plant near the door. He followed Fatima into the next room.

  Amos strolled over to his friend. “Would you mind holding one of these?” He held out a plate. “It’s hard to eat without a free hand.”

  “Hmmm.” Dunc rubbed his chin. “There’s something familiar about that guy.” He snapped his fingers. “Beltron!” he yelled. “Let’s go, Beltron is after Fatima!”

  Amos shoved his plates at a man wearing a purple sash and a turban. “Take good care of these. I’ll be back.”

  Dunc was already in the next room when Amos caught up with him.

  Fatima was on the floor. “It was that man from the elevator. He stole my grandmother’s diamond tiara!”

  Dunc pointed to the lighted display above the elevator doors. “He’s headed for the basement, Amos. Come on. We’ll take the stairs.”

  They crashed through the stairwell door and bounded down the stairs two and three at a time until they got to the basement level. They flew through the doors just in time to see the man dash from the elevator.

  “There he goes!” Amos spotted a dark pants leg disappearing behind a laundry cart.

  Dunc gave the cart a push and sent it flying into Beltron’s back. The man stumbled but was on his feet in seconds, heading through a set of swinging doors.

  They pushed through the doors and stopped.

  Beltron was nowhere in sight.

  “What do we do now?” Amos whispered.

  Dunc motioned for Amos to go around the left side of a row of washing machines while he took the right.

  They met at the end. Dunc shrugged. His voice was low. “He’s got to be here somewhere. There’s no other way out.”

  A muffled noise came from somewhere in front of them.

  “Look over there by those lockers, Amos, and I’ll check these laundry hampers.”

  “Uh, Dunc. A thought just occurred to me. What exactly are we going to do when we find him?”

  Amos realized that he was talking to himself. Dunc was already half buried in a huge hamper and throwing dirty towels out over his head.

  Amos moved cautiously around the edge of the lockers. One of them was standing wide open.

  “Dunc. You better get over here.”

  “Did you find him?” Dunc rounded the corner at a run.

  “You could say that.” Amos moved so that Dunc could see the locker.

  Beltron was unconscious. His head and shoulders were in the locker and his legs were sticking out on the floor. The diamond tiara was lying on his stomach.

  The swinging doors flew open behind them and footsteps rushed to the lockers.

  “Man, I’ve seen good before, but you guys are something else.” Cyrano picked up the tiara and examined it. “Not even dented. Wait till the brass hears about this.”

  He handed the tiara to Amos. “Maybe you can use it as an excuse to get in Khalil’s safe. I’d better disappear before the security guards get down here.” The big man vanished out the door before they could stop him.

  “He thinks we did this.” Amos turned the tiara over in his hand.

  “I know.” Dunc scratched his head. “The question is, if we didn’t—who did?”

  “I don’t think Cyrano wanted you to give that tiara back to Fatima right away.” Amos unlocked the door of their room. “Remember, he said maybe we could use it to get in the safe.”

  “I know what he said.” Dunc took off his tie. “But I couldn’t let Fatima worry like that. She seemed awfully glad to get it back.”

  “I’ll say. Boy, did she ever plant one on you. Right on the lips too. I thought girls from her country were supposed to be shy.”

  Dunc’s face started to turn pink. “She was just excited. That was her way of saying she was grateful.”

  “I sure wouldn’t mind if Melissa ever wanted to be grateful.” Amos flipped the switch to open the electric curtains. A freckle-faced boy with red hair was sitting on the iron railing of the balcony, grinning.

  “Uh … Dunc, we have a visitor.”

  Dunc raised one eyebrow. “That’s the bellboy from the lobby.”

  The boy opened the glass doors and strode into the room. “You guys aren’t bad for rank amateurs. A little more polish and they’d probably hire you.” He sat down in the wing-back chair.

  “Do we know you?” Amos asked.

  “No, but you should. You’re using my identity.”

  “So you’re A. Bender?” Dunc moved to the couch.

  “The one and only Andy Bender. Or so I thought, until now.”

  “Oh, you still are. I mean, it was all a mistake,” Amos said. “You see, I got this letter—”

  “We know all about that. Cyrano sent you that letter. Somehow his people came up with the wrong address. I was in Hong Kong when they contacted me about the situation.” Andy took a folder out of his jacket and tossed it on the table.

  “So that’s where it went.” Dunc picked the folder up and thumbed through it. “I never got a chance to finish reading it.”

  “Sorry about borrowing it. But I had to see what I was supposed to be doing.”

  Dunc sat down. “You weren’t by any chance in the laundry room awhile ago?”

  Andy smiled. “I thought I’d save you guys some trouble and take that bozo out for you.”

  “Then you really do know martial arts?” Amos sat on the arm of the couch and leaned forward. “To tell you the truth, Andy, I’m kinda glad you showed up. This whole thing is getting out of hand. Cyrano wants us to break into Ambassador Khalil’s safe and switch fake jewels for the real ones. Now that you’re here, you can take over.”

  “So that’s his game.” Andy rubbed the back of his neck.

  “His game?” Dunc looked worried. “You mean Cyrano isn’t one of the good guys?”

  Andy sighed. “Maybe I better explain things. Cyrano does work for the government. And in the past he’s been one of our very best agents. But lately all kinds of strange stuff has been happening on his cases. Priceless artifacts turned up missing from his mission to Egypt. His partner died mysteriously in South Africa, and a fortune in gold was taken from a museum.”

  “That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s guilty, does it?” Amos leaned back. “I mean, those things happen in your line of work.”

  “True, but when he started this case, the government put a tail on him. They discovered he’s very friendly with a known double agent—Beltron.”

  “Beltron!” Dunc did a double take.

  “He’s definitely guilty.” Amos pounded the back of the couch. “Call your boss and tell him to send someone to come pick him up.”

  “Unfortunately it’s not that simple. We have to catch Cyrano in the act to make sure he stays behind bars.”

  “Well, I hope it works out for you.” Amos stood up. “Let us know what happens.”

  “Actually, I was hoping you two would stay around and help out. Cyrano has never met me. For all he knows, you really are Popeye. If we keep it that way, I can move around secretly behind the scenes and set a trap for him.”

  “I’d really like to.” Amos pulled his suitcase out of the closet. “But I’ve got import
ant stuff to do back home. Right, Dunc?”

  Dunc was still sitting on the couch. “Maybe we should stay, Amos. After all, we did sort of horn in on Andy’s case and mess things up for him.”

  Amos stared at his friend. “And just whose big idea was that?”

  “I know, I convinced you to come. But now that we’re here we can’t very well back out when Andy really needs us, can we?”

  “Why not?”

  “Amos!”

  “He’ll be fine, Dunc. He’s a professional.”

  “Okay, Amos. If you want to go home, I won’t try and stop you. Of course there is that other thing.”

  Amos stopped. “What other thing?”

  “Never mind. It’s probably not important enough for you to worry about.”

  “What thing?” Amos’s voice had a sharp edge.

  “I was thinking about your relationship with Melissa and how it could use a little help.”

  “So?”

  “Well, it’s just … haven’t you noticed how girls really go for the hero type? Look at Fatima.”

  Amos wavered. “You could have a point.”

  Andy joined in. “They especially go crazy over secret agents. Being a gentleman and everything, I can’t give you details, but take my word for it, they just eat this stuff up.”

  Amos tapped his fingers on the top of his suitcase. “I suppose it is my patriotic duty to stay and see justice done.”

  Andy clapped his hands. “All right! Now all we have to do is make a plan to catch a thief.”

  “You call this a plan?” Amos nodded at a cleaning woman and waited until she was gone. “How is one guy going to get rid of a whole suiteful of people?”

  “I don’t know.” Dunc paced the floor outside the Khalil suite. “All I know is Andy said to meet him here at eight o’clock and he’d have everything taken care of for us.”

  The door to the suite swung open. A hand wearing a black glove gestured for them to enter. They darted inside and closed the door.

  Andy, dressed entirely in black and wearing his usual grin, was waiting for them. The two bodyguards were slumped on the floor near the door. Mesha seemed to be sleeping peacefully on the couch.