Jane Blond International Spy
By- Brianna Schatt & Stan Schatt
Genre- Middle Grade
Publication Date- October 19th
Fourteen year old Jane thought getting through high school was difficult enough with her dad in prison and her mother dating. Throw in being bullied by the popular girl who has everything- it’s completely unbearable. But when terrorists kidnap a boy she cares about, she knows she is the only one who can save him. International Spy, Jane Blond, must prevent terrorists from blowing up her school during the President’s visit. She’ll need all of her courage along with the help of a teen with CIA secrets, a friend with Asperger’s and a parrot with an attitude.
The line expanded and then contracted, depending on whether kids made it through security the first time. Often someone would forget a pen or a set of keys; alarms would go off, and the line would push back as the student had to retrace steps and go through the scanning device again. As we drew closer to the security people, I noticed that one agent had a device in his hand that he used to scan people and their backpacks.
“It’s a Geiger counter,” Anouk said.
It always stunned me just how smart she was. I suddenly remembered that Mr. Penzoni had a similar device he used when he talked about the “heavy” elements. I hadn’t made the connection at first, but Anouk remembered everything.
One of the guards reminded me of the guards at Riverdale. His stomach hung over his belt, and his blue uniform fit very tightly across his chest. I thought of a movie I saw where bank robbers decided they didn’t have to worry about the guards because they were all retired police officers and way out of shape. I couldn’t imagine the guard standing in front of me chasing and catching anyone, even if they had a wooden leg.
“Your turn,” he said.
I walked through the scanner and heard the satisfying sound that meant I passed. I started for the museum’s door, but the second guard stopped me.
“Just wait a moment while I scan you with this,” he said.
I saw Anouk waiting by the door. She waved at me as I raised my arms so the man could run the Geiger counter over me. I heard a chirping sound that suddenly grew louder and faster. I saw the guard’s eyes widen. He motioned for me to stand still while he ran his scanner over me a second time. The sound grew louder still as he touched an additional button.
“Please step over here,” one guard said pointing to a secluded spot away from the line of students trying to enter the building. I shrugged at Anouk. She nodded and turned to go in. I knew she’d wait for me inside. I noticed the guard talking into his cell phone. He stared at me as if I were some kind of criminal.
The guards made me sit in a chair that they placed against the museum wall. One of them started to put his hand on my shoulder, but then he seemed to reconsider and pulled his hand away.
“Don’t move from that seat,” one guard said. He kept turning back and glancing at me while he checked kids going through the line. The guard whose stomach hung over his belt turned to his companion.
“Larry, why don’t you sit with her while we wait for the cavalry?”
Larry was a thin older man who had lost most of his light brown hair. He looked at me and shuddered. “Why don’t you? I’m not going to get shot full of radiation for what they’re paying me!”
I hadn’t thought of that. I thought about all the pictures I’d seen of kids with cancer who had lost their hair and were living on borrowed time. As I sat there, bored, my mind created an Oscar award-winning movie in which I starred as this doomed girl dying of cancer. I interrupted my movie when I saw two men with black suits, white shirts, and identical blue ties heading my way. My first thought was that these men looked like they belonged in the movie Men in Black, but then I realized they had to be the FBI and they were very real.
About the Authors-
Dr. Stan Schatt spent many years as a futurist responsible for forecasting future technology products and markets for Fortune 500 companies. He served as a Fulbright Professor and taught at Tokyo University, USC, and the University of Houston. He is the author of over thirty books ranging from science fiction and paranormal mysteries to young adult novels. Schatt is a technology expert who has been quoted in the New York Times, Fortune, and BusinessWeek as well as CNBC.
Links-
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Stan-Schatt
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StanSchatt
Author Website: www.StanSchatt.com
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