Who Cloned the President?

by Ron Roy

  “Come on,” KC whispered over her shoulder. She yanked on the first door knob they came to. It was locked. “Try every door,” she ordered.

  Just then a man in a uniform came around a corner. Luckily, he was looking at the floor, not straight ahead.

  “Guard!” KC hissed. She grabbed Marshall and hurried him through a small door. It led to a set of stairs.

  “Let’s go down here,” KC whispered.

  “I need to find a bathroom,” Marshall said.

  KC whipped around. “Why didn’t you go at home?”

  “I did, but that was a long time ago. We were under that dumb bed for about a year! And besides,” he added, “breaking into the White House always makes me a little nervous!”

  KC started down the stairs. “Maybe there’s a bathroom down here.”

  A few minutes later, they found themselves in a huge, dark kitchen. KC twisted a dimmer switch on the wall.

  “Cool!” she said. “This must be where they cook those big state dinners!”

  Marshall spied a small door. “I’m gonna see if that’s a bathroom,” he said.

  KC looked around while she waited. The kitchen was in a basement. The floors were tiled. Instead of fancy wallpaper, the walls were painted white.

  Marshall came back while KC was twirling a combination lock on an enormous freezer.

  “Why do they lock everything in this place?” she muttered.

  “To keep people like you out,” Marshall grumbled.

  They found a corridor and tried more doors.

  “I’m getting tired of this,” Marshall said. “Can we—”

  “Shhh! I hear something!” KC whispered.

  They froze and listened. Then Marshall heard it, too.

  Somewhere, someone was laughing!

  They tiptoed down the passageway, following the noise. Over their heads, pipes ran along the ceiling. Small lights shone down, casting shadows on the concrete floor.

  “Look!” KC pointed to a partly opened door.

  She heard someone laugh again. Squeezing Marshall’s arm, she crept closer and peered around the door.

  Then she nearly fainted.

  President Zachary Thornton was slumped in a chair, just a few feet away!

  5

  Two Presidents

  KC tugged Marshall into a dark corner. “It’s him! He’s in there!” she hissed.

  “Who?” Marshall hissed right back.

  “The president!” she whispered. “With a bunch of other guys!”

  KC peeked into the room again. This time she noticed the president’s eyes. They looked weird, like they did when she saw him on TV. She backed away from the door and grabbed Marshall’s arm.

  “Marsh, that’s not the president in there. It’s the clone!”

  Marshall peeked into the room. “I hate to admit it, but I think you’re right,” Marshall said. “He looks like a zombie!”

  “What are they doing?” KC asked.

  “The clone is in pajamas and a robe,” Marshall reported. “Three other guys are with him. They’re smoking cigars and watching ‘I Love Lucy.’ ”

  Marshall backed away from the door. “Okay, we found the clone. Now what?”

  KC opened her backpack and pulled out her tape recorder. She tiptoed back to the door. She clicked on the tape recorder. A deep voice was talking.

  “We pulled it off, fellas. Everyone thinks our guy is really the president!”

  Other voices joined in.

  “—make millions of dollars!”

  “—can’t wait to see the headlines when we spring our little plan!”

  KC hoped the recorder was picking up every word. The hum of the tape told her she was getting something, at least.

  She stared at the president’s clone. He was slumped in a chair, wearing slippers, red pajamas, and a blue bathrobe. His eyes looked cold and dead.

  Two men in dark suits sat at the table. On it were paper and pens, a small TV, and a few cans of soda. The third man stood by the clone. He was dressed in a white coat, the kind doctors wear.

  Suddenly a rough hand grabbed KC by the arm. She turned around. A guard was glaring down at her. The guard’s other hand was clamped on Marshall’s shoulder.

  “March, you two,” the guard said. He shoved KC and Marshall into the room.

  The three men looked up. The clone didn’t budge.

  “Well, what have we here?” the man in the doctor suit said. Moving like an eel, he crossed the room.

  “I found ’em in the hall,” the guard said, “playin’ peek-a-boo outside the door!” The guard’s breath smelled like sweaty sneakers. His fingers felt like iron on the back of KC’s neck.

  “Explain yourselves, please,” the man in white said. His voice bubbled like he was under water.

  “We were on a tour and got lost,” KC said.

  The man laughed. “A tour at ten-thirty? In the White House basement? I don’t think so.”

  KC had never seen a scarier face. His head was totally bald. Pale blue eyes bugged out, and his teeth were yellow.

  His arm shot out. “I’ll just have that recorder, please.”

  “No you won’t!” KC said. “I need it for a school report.”

  The man grabbed the recorder out of her hands. He pushed the REWIND button, then pressed PLAY. Everyone in the room heard the men’s voices.

  The man in white glared at KC. “Quite the little liar, aren’t you?” he said.

  “I’m not ly—”

  “It’s all my fault,” Marshall said. “See, we were on a tour, then I decided to go look for the president.” Marshall smiled innocently at the glaring men. “I wanted the president’s autograph, so I talked my friend into helping me look for him.”

  Marshall turned to the clone. “Hi, Mr. President. Can I have your autograph?”

  The clone didn’t even blink.

  “The brat’s lying through his teeth!” one of the other men barked.

  “We’ll get the truth later,” the man in white said. “For now, they can join our friend. Bring them to the storage room.”

  “May I please have my tape recorder?” KC asked. “I really need it for school.”

  The man in the white coat showed his yellow teeth. Then he threw the machine to the floor. When it hit, the tape ejected.

  Still grinning, the man ground the tape and recorder under his foot. Soon they were nothing but mashed bits of plastic.

  All the men laughed.

  “Take these brats away,” the man in the lab coat snapped at the guard.

  The guard dragged KC and Marshall back into the dark hallway. They both struggled, but the man was too strong.

  KC yelled. No one came to help.

  “Shut up or you’ll be sorry!” the guard snapped.

  “You’re the one who’ll be sorry,” said Marshall. “My dad is a lawyer!”

  “Big deal,” the man growled. “My old man’s a bank robber!”

  Halfway down the hall, the guard unlocked a door. He shoved Marshall and KC into a dark room.

  The door slammed behind them. KC heard the lock turn.

  “Are you okay?” Marshall said.

  KC couldn’t see him. The room was pitch-black. “Yeah, I’m all right,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck. “How about you?”

  “I’m okay, but what’s that smell?” Marshall asked. “It’s like my dad’s aftershave lotion.”

  “Shh, I hear something!” KC said.

  Marshall leaned against her in the dark. “Don’t say that. I’m scared enough!”

  They both stood and listened, holding on to each other.

  “Hello,” a voice said from out of the darkness.

  “Aaahhh!” Marshall yelled. “Someone’s in here with us!”

  KC dug for her flashlight and switched it on. The beam shone on a tired-looking, familiar face.

  “It’s okay, Marsh,” KC said. “We just found President Thornton.”

  6

  Locked In

  T
he president blinked at the light. He looked tired. The skin under his eyes was saggy, as if he needed sleep. He was wearing a rumpled blue suit and a red tie.

  “Who … what do you want?” he asked.

  KC told the president how she had figured out that he’d been cloned, and about her plan to rescue him.

  The president stared at KC. “Cloned?” he asked, rubbing the stubble on his chin.

  “Did they drug you, sir?” KC asked. “Is that why you don’t remember?”

  The president nodded slowly. “Yes, I must have been drugged.”

  “By those goons who caught us?” Marshall added.

  “I—I guess,” the president agreed. “I can’t remember.”

  KC shone the flashlight around the room. There was a small bed, a chair, and a radio on a table. On one side was a tiny bathroom.

  “Mr. President, your clone is making an important announcement tomorrow,” she said. “He’s going to tell the world that it’s okay to clone humans.”

  The president didn’t say anything. He must be exhausted, thought KC.

  “We have to stop them!” she went on. “Otherwise—”

  “Otherwise those guys will run the world!” Marshall interrupted.

  “Yes, stop them,” the president said.

  KC flashed her light on the door. “First we have to get out of here,” she said.

  Marshall tried the handle. “Good luck. The door’s locked from the outside.”

  KC examined the door hinges. “Hand me my knife,” she said to Marshall. He dug it out of her backpack.

  KC opened the screwdriver part of her knife. She began removing the hinge screws. She stood on a chair to reach the top ones.

  There were two hinges with four screws in each. It took KC five minutes, but finally she handed Marshall the last screw. “Done,” she said.

  KC and Marshall removed the door and leaned it against the wall.

  KC peeked around the corner. The corridor was dark and empty. “Let’s go.”

  “Shouldn’t we put this door back?” Marshall asked. “What if some guard sees it off the hinges like this?”

  KC and Marshall managed to set the door in its opening and replace the hinge screws. They left the door closed.

  With the president walking between them, KC and Marshall tiptoed back down the hall. They stopped outside the door where the kids had gotten caught.

  “The light’s still on,” KC whispered.

  The room was quiet. When KC peeked around the door, she jumped.

  The other men were gone, but the clone was still sitting in his chair. Now he was wide awake and tied with thick rope. His mouth was covered with tape. He was struggling to get free.

  “We’ve got to get out of here,” KC said. She thought fast. “Could you come to my apartment?” she asked the president. “You can sleep in the guest room. My mom voted for you!”

  The president looked around uneasily. “Yes, let’s go.”

  “Wait! I sat under a bed for six hours for this.” Marshall picked up a paper and pen off the table. “Mr. President, may I have your autograph?”

  “Marshall!” KC groaned. “We’re trying to escape here!”

  But the president had already taken the pen and scrawled his signature.

  Marshall beamed.

  KC nearly fainted.

  He had signed with his right hand!

  7

  Rescued

  “Hey, thanks, Mr. President!” Marshall folded the paper and put it in his pocket.

  KC stared at the president. Now she didn’t know who was the president and who was the clone! If she helped the wrong one, who knew what would happen?

  Feeling panicky, KC studied the two look-alikes. The man in the blue suit was right-handed. But KC knew the real president was left-handed.

  “What’s wrong, KC?” Marshall said. “You look like you swallowed a spider.”

  KC shook her head. “No, but I just thought of something.” She smiled up at the president. “Sir, I need you to go back to the other room.”

  “Why?” the president asked. He looked confused.

  “To buy us some time,” she explained. “If anyone looks in, they’ll know you’re not there. But if you stuff pillows under the covers, they’ll think you’re in bed.”

  The president hesitated, then said, “Good idea. I’ll be right back.”

  KC watched him leave the room. When he was gone, she grabbed Marshall. “Follow him!” she whispered. “As soon as he goes into that room, lock the door!”

  Marshall’s mouth fell open. “Huh? But why, KC?”

  “Because he’s the clone!” Then she pointed to the man tied in the chair. “This is the real president!”

  The man in the chair mumbled behind his gag, nodding his head furiously.

  “Now go!” KC shoved Marshall out the door. Marshall gave KC a look, but he hurried down the dark hall.

  KC gently removed the tape from the struggling man’s mouth.

  “Water!” he gasped.

  KC looked around the room. There was no water, but she grabbed a can of soda and held it to the man’s lips.

  After he took a few gulps, KC put the can down. Even in his pajamas and robe, this man looked exactly like the president.

  But so did the other one! If she was wrong, she was making a terrible mistake!

  Then KC had an idea. “How did you earn money to help your family?”

  “I sold eggs to our neighbors,” he said.

  “How many brothers and sisters do you have?”

  The man grinned. “There’s Patricia, Trudy, Tommy, Roger, and the baby is Edward. That makes five!”

  Anyone might know that, KC realized. “How many merit badges did you earn in the Scouts?” she asked.

  The man blinked. “That was a long time ago. Ummm … twelve, why?”

  Just then Marshall rushed back into the room. “He’s locked in,” he said. “I hope you’re right about which one is which.”

  “Marshall, don’t worry. This is the real President Thornton,” KC said, grinning.

  “Excuse me,” the president said. “But could you untie me?”

  “Oops, sorry, sir!” KC took out her knife and cut the ropes.

  “Thanks!” The president stood up and rubbed his hands and ankles. “I expected the FBI or CIA, but you two look a little young for agents,” he said. “Who are you? And what are you doing in the White House in the middle of the night?”

  KC and Marshall introduced themselves and explained again.

  The president laughed. “My mother always told me that being left-handed would make me stand out!”

  Marshall pulled the folded paper out of his pocket. He looked at the clone’s signature, then ripped it to pieces.

  He picked up another piece of paper.

  “Sir, could I please have your autograph?” he asked the real president.

  “Sure, but can it wait? We need to get out of here.” He glanced around the room. “KC, did I hear you say something about your mother’s apartment? Could we go there?”

  KC nodded. “Won’t Mom be surprised when she sees who I brought home!”

  The president led KC and Marshall down the corridor. His slippers flip-flopped on the hard floor. He took them back to the kitchen, and stopped in front of the freezer.

  “We’re going into a freezer?” Marshall said.

  The president smiled. “This one is special,” he said. He twirled the combination lock a few times. The door popped open.

  Suddenly KC heard voices.

  “Sir, someone’s coming!” she hissed to the president.

  8

  Secret Passageway

  The president pulled KC and Marshall into the cold freezer.

  “Hide!” he said as the door closed. He unscrewed a light bulb on the ceiling, then disappeared into the shadows.

  Marshall jumped behind a stack of hamburger boxes. KC clambered over the boxes and crouched next to him.

  The door to the freezer o
pened. Light fell onto the floor, and KC saw two shadows appear.

  “Hey, Blinky,” a man’s voice said. “Someone left the lock open. Now’s our chance to pig out!”

  The two shadows came closer. Horror-struck, KC realized she could see her breath. She clapped both hands over her nose and mouth. Next to her, Marshall did the same.

  One of the men stopped only inches from KC. She saw a pair of legs and dark leather shoes.

  KC dared to look up from behind the boxes. The man standing there had been in the room with that awful guy in the white coat.

  “Nah, it’s all vegetables and meat,” the man said. “No good stuff.”

  The feet turned and left. The door shut behind them. KC began to breathe again.

  The president stepped out from behind some hanging beef. “Marshall, KC? Are you okay?” he asked.

  “J-just a little c-cold,” Marshall said.

  “Come on,” President Thornton said, walking to the rear of the chamber.

  At the end of the freezer, the president shoved aside a few sides of beef. Behind them was a blank metal wall. Then the president said, “Zachary Thornton,” in a clear voice. KC heard a whirring sound, and the wall slid sideways. In its place was a door.

  The president punched in a code on the keypad by the door. The door opened. The kids followed him into a dark tunnel.

  “This is so cool!” KC said.

  “This secret passageway was built a long time ago,” the president explained. “I think Teddy Roosevelt used it once.”

  “Where does it go?” Marshall asked, peering down the dim tunnel.

  “You’ll see, but let’s hurry,” the president said.

  The tunnel sloped downhill for a while, then up. At the end, they climbed stairs leading to a door.

  This one had a steel bar locking it from the inside. The president slid the bar out of its brackets. Behind the bar was a hole. The president reached into the hole and pulled out a tube.

  “Periscope,” he said, putting his eye to the tube. After a moment, he said, “All clear. Let’s go!”

  When the president pulled the door open, KC saw streetlights and cars whizzing by. “We’re on Pennsylvania Avenue!” she said.