Free For Your Paws Only by Heather Vogel Frederick

little jet-lagged. That red-eye’s a killer. Of course, I should be used to it now, what with all that time I spend chasing rats across Europe.” He flashed them a broad smile. “London, Paris, Rome—it’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it.”
    Behind Hotspur’s back, Glory caught her brother’s eye. She grasped the tip of her tail in both paws and chomped on it in mock exasperation. B-Nut smothered a grin. Hotspur could always be counted on to brag about his exploits.
    â€œWell, now that we’re all here . . . ” Glory began. “Almost all of us, that is”—she glared at Hotspur, who smirked—“I want to lay out our plan. You’ve got our listening post up and running, right, Bunsen?”
    â€œExcept for the video feed,” Bunsen replied. “There’s a bug in the system I’m trying to work out.”
    â€œKeep at it,” said Glory. “B-Nut, you, Hotspur, the Acorns, and I are scheduled to rendezvous in Grand Central at noon with Oz and D. B.—”
    â€œWho?” asked Hotspur, frowning. “I don’t recall any agents by those names.”
    Glory gave him a speculative glance. Should she tell him about the children now, or let him find out for himself? She decided to let him find out for himself. A bit of a shock might do old Snotspur a world of good. “You haven’t met them yet,” she said simply. “They’re new. Julius hired them after you went overseas.”
    She gave the rest of the group a conspiratorial wink,then continued briskly. “Oz and D. B. are bringing the rest of the equipment with them and will make the drop at lunchtime. Once everything’s in place, we’ll keep Dupont and the others under close surveillance. And when we have the intel Julius wants, we’ll relay the information and await further orders.”
    There was a knock on the door of the practice room. Bananas Foster poked his head in. “Sounds good from out here,” he said. “Catchy tune.” He held out a scroll of paper. “Some pigeon stopped me on the roof just now and gave me this. Said it was for someone named Glory?”
    Nutmeg, Romeo, and Tulip automatically looked over at Glory. She froze. Julius was right—the Acorns were wet behind the ears. Experienced agents would never risk blowing her cover like that.
    B-Nut jumped up and reached for the pigeon-post message. “Ah, that’s short for Glorious Voice,” he said. “That’s what Cherry’s fans call her.”
    â€œReally?” said Bananas. “Glorious Voice? Catchy. Can’t wait to hear you tonight, Cherry.” He passed the scroll to B-Nut. “Funny-looking writing. Almost like some sort of code.” He paused, then added hastily, “Not that I read it or anything.”
    B-Nut chuckled. “That Cherry Jubilee fan club!” he said smoothly. “Always up to something. Must be trying out their new decoder rings.”
    â€œI’ll have to get one of those,” said Bananas, winkingat Glory. “Wouldn’t want to miss out on any of the action.” He left, closing the door behind him.
    â€œSorry, Glory,” said Lip.
    Glory shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. We all make mistakes. But thanks, B-Nut. That was quick thinking.”
    B-Nut unscrolled the note and scanned it, then passed it to Glory. “It’s from Oz and D. B. by the looks of it.”
    Bunsen scrabbled about in his backpack and emerged with the cipher disk. “Fire away,” he called, and as Glory read out the sequence of letters, he twisted the outer dial into position, then scribbled the decoded message onto a tiny notepad.
    â€œWhat does it say?” asked Glory.
    â€œÂ â€˜SHARK ATTACK UNDERWAY! SEND HELP!’ ”
    â€œShark attack?” asked Hotspur, frowning again.
    â€œNo time to explain,” said Glory. She turned to the