by K. E. Rocha
“And remember, you’re here to get information, not give it. Got it?”
“Got it. You’ll be here?”
Aldo inspected the cluster of trees they were standing in, then shook his head. “I’ll be up there.” He gestured with his snout toward the thick canopy of leaves above them. “Good luck,” he added, before taking Spencer’s backpack in his teeth and climbing a nearby tree. After a minute, Spencer couldn’t spot the bear at all in the tree’s branches.
Spencer jogged toward the house. He mounted the porch stairs slowly, then stepped up to the front door.
Beep beep beep beep.
Spencer froze. He searched the front door for something that might have made the electronic sound.
Beep beep beep beep.
There it was again! This time, Spencer saw that the noise was coming from a small camera perched on a metal shelf above one of the windows. A long black cord ran from the camera into the house. Kirby definitely lives here.
“Uh … Kirby?” Spencer called. He knocked once on the door. Before his fist could hit the door a second time, it flew open.
“Hey!” Kirby shouted, ducking to avoid Spencer’s fist.
“Oh! Sorry! I survived,” he blurted out. Kirby stared at him. “I’m going to get my Scout badge.”
“I know you’re not a Boy Scout,” Kirby answered matter-of-factly. “I’ve known all along. Why don’t you tell me who you really are?”
“If you knew I wasn’t a Boy Scout, then why did you tell me where to find your house?” Spencer shot back.
“Because you owe me information, remember?” Kirby scanned the trees behind Spencer. He shifted, trying to block her view. “Some very strange things have developed over the last twenty-four hours, and I’m—”
“That’s why I’m here!” Spencer interrupted. If Kirby had information, Spencer needed it now.
Kirby’s eyes snapped back to Spencer. “You know something?”
“Well actually, I was hoping you might know something … I need your help.”
“You need information? From me? About the woods?” Kirby’s voice was hopeful.
“Yes.”
“You’ve come to the right place.” Kirby swung opened the door, revealing the front room of her house, and Spencer stepped inside.
Kate would love this place, Spencer thought. He took a long look around Kirby’s living room. Everything was sparkly or candy-colored, and bunches of fake pink flowers were scattered around. When Spencer looked closer, he saw that most of the flower arrangements were covered with dust. The whole room looked neglected—like no one had time or interest to keep it tidy. The couch was the only place to sit and it was piled high with fluffy pillows.
“My mom gets all this pink, sparkly stuff for free from work,” Kirby explained. “She sells craft supplies. She likes flowers and frilly things anyway. I don’t like it very much, but I stay in my room a lot, and that looks just the way I want it to. Come on, I’ll show you.” Kirby turned on her heels and led Spencer to a door at the end of a narrow hallway.
He followed her into a small bedroom filled with electronics, video equipment, and very old-looking computers. A large wooden desk took up most of the room, and what seemed to be the only working computer sat in the middle of it. The computer was connected to a DVD player and various other homemade-looking contraptions Spencer couldn’t identify.
Kirby dropped into the chair at the desk and wiggled her mouse, illuminating her computer screen.
The image that appeared was of Spencer. He jumped back, surprised.
“It’s from the security camera on the porch,” Kirby explained. “It takes a picture of anyone who walks up the front steps.”
That explains the beeping camera, Spencer thought.
“So, anyway,” Kirby said, moving on. “What do you want to know?”
Spencer wished he and Aldo had prepared questions to ask Kirby. Now that he was here, he was afraid he’d say the wrong thing and cause more problems for Bearhaven. “That bear we saw yesterday, did you happen to see any other signs of her anywhere?”
“Her?” Kirby spun her chair around to stare at Spencer.
Oh, great. “It.”
“You said ‘her.’ How do you know the bear is a her?”
“I don’t. I was just wondering if you knew anything else about that bear. It’s really important.”
“What else do you know about that bear?”
“I, uh … ” Spencer stumbled. Pull it together! Kirby raised her eyebrows. “I know her,” he finally said. Kirby straightened up.
“What do you mean you know her?”
“I’m friends with her, and she’s missing, and I really need to know if you have any clues that might help me find her.” Spencer stopped himself from saying anything else.
“You’re friends with a bear? Is there something … different about this bear? I knew there was something weird going on in these woods! And I knew it had something to do with bears! There have been so many signs to—”
“No!” Spencer practically shouted. He was not about to give Kirby any more clues about Bearhaven. He’d already said enough. “She’s just a regular wild bear, but we’re friends.”
“Then why did you scare her away yesterday?” Kirby narrowed her eyes, inspecting him even more carefully now.
“I was afraid you might … hurt her.”
“I would never hurt a bear! I promise! Can I be friends with her, too? Please?”
“Well, I don’t know where she is right now … ” This wasn’t going as well as Spencer had hoped. When was Kirby going to give up the questioning and help him?
“If I help you, then can I be friends with her?” Kirby pressed.
“KIRBY!” Spencer yelled. “This is kind of an emergency!”
Kirby spun her chair back around to face her computer.
“All right, all right. You didn’t say it was an emergency before.” She started to open files and sift through images. Spencer took a deep breath. Now we’re getting somewhere.
“What did you mean when you said things had developed over the last twenty-four hours?” Spencer stood behind Kirby to get a better view of the screen.
“I check my surveillance cameras, microphone, and controlled locations every day. Usually, I only find anything unusual or something that requires further investigation once a week. I only have clues at more than one of my surveillance locations at the same time maybe once every month. Yesterday, after I left you, I had evidence to collect from one camera, the microphone, and one controlled location! That much activity must mean something! Look at this … ”
Kirby opened a file on her computer. The first frame of a video appeared on the screen. When she pressed PLAY Spencer saw a sudden flash of silver between two trees. It definitely wasn’t Kate, but what was it?
“What is that?!” He leaned closer to the screen. “Play it again.”
“Here. I’ll slow it down so you can get a better look,” Kirby said, then restarted the video clip. This time, the video played in slow motion. Spencer could make out a silver van as it flashed into the frame and then out again.
“Whoa!” Spencer could hardly believe it. Kirby really did have information they needed! “Can you slow it down any more than that?”
Kirby didn’t answer. She just fiddled around with the settings on her computer, then hit PLAY again.
“Can you freeze it? When the license plate comes into view?”
“Of course,” Kirby answered, though it took her a few tries before they could get a clean freeze-frame of the license plate.
“The van’s from Florida,” Kirby said, pointing at the screen. “See the oranges?” She was right. In the middle of the license plate number there was a pair of oranges.
“Do you have a printer?” Spencer asked. He had to show this to B.D. It was definitely a lead.
Kirby popped up from her chair and pulled something that looked like it could have once been a printer down from a shelf. She grabbed a second
contraption and put it down on the desk. She got a little bundle of cables out of a drawer and started to connect the two pieces of equipment together before connecting them both to the computer.
“Where do you get all this stuff?” Spencer asked. It looked as if Kirby was creating computers out of printers, radios out of cameras, and microphones out of stereos, and vice versa. He was impressed, and a little jealous of all Kirby’s cool equipment.
“My dad sends it to me from California. He’s a bodyguard in Hollywood. They use a lot of equipment,” Kirby answered, rearranging some of the cables after her first attempt to print didn’t produce anything. “The stuff he sends me is old and it usually doesn’t work at first, or it comes in pieces, but I learn how to fix everything on the Internet. There!” One of the printers erupted in sound as it started to work. Kirby settled back into her seat at the desk. “Want to hear the audio my hidden microphone picked up? It sounds very strange.”
When Spencer heard what Kirby’s hidden microphone had recorded, the hair on his arms stood up.
Kirby’s recording filled the room with a piercing, high-pitched cry. It was the sound of a black bear cub in distress. It was Kate crying for help.
Kirby played it again, and Spencer cringed.
Kate’s in trouble. There was no doubt about it. Cubs only made that sound when they thought they were facing terrible danger.
“Isn’t it weird? I can’t make any sense of it.”
“Yeah, I’ve never heard anything like it … ” Spencer muttered. He reached for the printout of the license plate. “Can I take this?”
Kirby hesitated.
“So what did you see at the controlled location?” he asked, moving on before Kirby could refuse him the printout. It worked. Kirby pulled a metal lockbox out from behind her computer. She shoved a pile of cables and tools aside to clear a space at the front of the desk and carefully set the box down. A combination lock dangled from the front of the box.
“Can you please turn around?” Kirby asked, her fingers poised over the lock.
“Oh, sure.” Spencer turned around, listening to the spinning sound of Kirby entering the lock’s combination.
Click!
Spencer turned back to the desk, dying to see what else Kirby had found that might lead to Kate.
At first he was confused. A plaid scarf was neatly folded inside the box. But it was almost May; nobody would have needed a scarf yesterday.
Kirby laughed. “That’s just an old scarf. It’s keeping the contraption safe.” Kirby gingerly unfolded the scarf, revealing what it covered.
Spencer gasped, then faked a cough to hide his shock. He stepped closer. Kate’s BEAR-COM glittered pink from within the folds of Kirby’s scarf. A paper tag had been tied to the BEAR-COM with a string. Exhibit A.
“Can I use your bathroom?” Spencer blurted out. Kirby was studying his face, waiting for him to react to her most exciting finding: Exhibit A, Kate’s BEAR-COM. He couldn’t think with her staring at him like that, and he definitely couldn’t trust himself not to give away the fact he knew exactly what the BEAR-COM was and where it came from. He needed a minute to collect himself.
“Yeah, sure.” Kirby sounded disappointed. She directed Spencer to the bathroom just down the hall.
Spencer stepped into the tiny blue-tiled bathroom and closed the door. He looked around, trying to calm down. Beyond the peeling blue-and-white striped wallpaper, there wasn’t much to look at. Spencer stared into the mirror.
“I have to steal Kate’s BEAR-COM from that box,” he whispered to his reflection, his mind racing. “But how?” Kirby was determined to solve the mystery of the bears in the woods, and the BEAR-COM was obviously her most prized finding yet, even if she didn’t know what it was. Sneaking the BEAR-COM out of here without her noticing would never work, Kirby was way too smart for that, but leaving the device with her wasn’t an option. Spencer had no choice but to come up with something. He had to bring that BEAR-COM back to Bearhaven, and he needed to get the image of the van back to the council right away.
Spencer couldn’t believe how lucky he and everyone in Bearhaven were that Kate’s captors didn’t have her BEAR-COM. Bearhaven’s most important technology would remain a secret, as long as Spencer could get it out of Kirby’s lockbox …
Spencer focused on his reflection in the mirror. He needed to think like an operative. He needed a plan.
In Operative Communications, Aldo had told Spencer about a device called the Ear-COM that Bearhaven operatives used on special missions, sort of a mini version of the BEAR-COM. It was a hidden earpiece both bears and humans could wear so they could still communicate without the risk of exposing the BEAR-COM technology. Spencer wished he and Aldo had Ear-COMs for this mission; then Aldo could just tell him what to do next.
“Spencer?” Kirby called.
“I’ll be right out!” Spencer flushed the toilet so Kirby wouldn’t get suspicious.
Aldo had also explained that effective Operative Communications wasn’t just about using Bearhaven’s high-tech translation gear. It was also about knowing your operative team’s strengths and weaknesses. And about what you were willing to risk to get the results you needed. Spencer reviewed the details of the mission. As a team, he and Aldo had an advantage over Kirby, mostly because of Aldo’s physical strength and speed. Their team’s weakness was they didn’t want Kirby to see Aldo and they needed to keep Bearhaven a total secret. Spencer’s mind raced. But even if Kirby saw Spencer and Aldo together, she wouldn’t be able to catch them and follow them to Bearhaven. This was an emergency. They were going to have to risk something, and the most important thing was getting back to Bearhaven with Kate’s BEAR-COM and Kirby’s other leads.
A plan started to take shape in Spencer’s mind. He washed his hands and left the bathroom.
“All right, so I’ve gone over all the evidence again,” Kirby said as Spencer joined her. While she was talking, he quickly reviewed the layout of her room. He was standing in the doorway facing Kirby, who sat at her desk, the lockbox beside her. As soon as Kirby turned to her computer, her back would be to him. The room was small, but Spencer thought that was a good thing. If he situated himself between Kirby and her desk, he would be in her way. She wouldn’t be able to get back to the lockbox until he moved back to the door. “There’s the van I caught on camera and the mysterious sound my mic picked up. Then there’s the sparkly contraption I found at the controlled location. I think what we should do first is check my notes on the controlled locations for the past few days, just in case—”
“Actually, can I watch the video of the van again?” Spencer cut her off. Adrenaline was already starting to pump into his veins.
“Yup, no problemo.” Kirby focused on her computer, turning her back to Spencer. Just as she pressed PLAY to show the surveillance video, Spencer hit the power buttons on the three closest machines. They blared to life. One, a radio, blasted crackly pop music; the second made the high-pitched beeping sounds of a fax machine, and the third clicked and whirred really loudly.
Kirby spun around and launched herself out of her chair. “What are you doing?!” she shouted, trying to get to the machines Spencer had turned on. The room was too small. Spencer was in her way.
“Sorry! I just wanted to see what all your cool equipment does!” The blaring noise continued, filling the room. Kirby pushed past Spencer and he stepped out of her way. He moved toward her computer, and the open lockbox next to it, making space for Kirby to get to her contraptions. As quickly as he could, while Kirby shut down her equipment, Spencer grabbed the BEAR-COM and shoved it into his back pocket.
The pop music cut out first, then the other two machines fell silent. Kirby turned back to Spencer. “You aren’t allowed to touch anything!” she scolded. “This equipment is very carefully put together and it’s not as easy as you think to get everything working right. Not to mention the fact that you don’t know what they do!” She crossed her arms and glared at Spencer.
“I’m sorry, Kirby. I, uh … I just got excited … about all of the information you collected. Really, sorry. Here … ” He motioned for Kirby to return to her seat at the computer. “Can we go over your notes now?”
Kirby pursed her lips as she squeezed past Spencer. He took a few steps backward, closing the distance between himself and the door as much as possible. His heart raced as he watched her take her seat. It was now or never. The second Kirby was seated at her desk, leaning toward the lockbox, he turned and ran.
“Hey!”
Spencer didn’t stop. He heard Kirby’s desk chair bang against something.
“STOP!” she yelled, but he was already throwing open her front door. He crossed the creaking porch in a single stride and skipped the steps altogether, jumping to the ground. He heard the door slam shut, then swing open again. Kirby was close behind him.
“ALDO!!!” he yelled. Up ahead, he saw a great black mass jump to the ground from the lowest branches of a tree.
“AHHH!” Kirby screamed behind him. Spencer ran faster. Aldo crouched down, facing away from Spencer and Kirby. His BEAR-COM was hidden from sight by the rest of his body. He’d dropped Spencer’s backpack to the ground nearby. Running as fast as he could, Spencer scooped up the backpack. He didn’t break his stride as he swung the bag onto his back.
Spencer took two more steps, then leaped up onto Aldo. He scrambled to get into the right position, wrapping his legs tightly around the bear and grabbing fistfuls of fur.
“Now,” he said under his breath. Aldo lurched forward, then broke into a sprint.
“Wait!” Spencer heard Kirby cry from behind him. The sound of her footsteps picked up again, but it was no use. Aldo was tearing through the woods at a terrifying speed. There was no way Kirby would ever catch up.
Spencer buried his face in Aldo’s fur and held on tightly as they raced through the woods toward the wall of trees surrounding Bearhaven. He could still feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins from the escape from Kirby’s as he reviewed all her evidence. Spencer was so deep in thought he barely noticed when they flew up the trunk of a tall tree, over the small bridge, and down into the clearing just inside Bearhaven’s walls.