The Secret Cipher by Whitaker Ringwald

Author:Whitaker Ringwald
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins

15

Ethan

FACT: There are two types of stress—acute and chronic. My nosebleeds came from acute stress, which is a temporary reaction to a situation or event—like lying to my parents or getting a phone call from a mysterious evil villain. Chronic means living in a constant state of stress. I was heading in that direction, thanks to the urn situation.

The tickle in my sinuses began the instant I read the screen.

Incoming Call from Ricardo.

I didn’t wonder how he’d gotten my number. So many people assume we still have privacy. That is an illusion. Any time you do anything online, or by phone, you make yourself traceable, trackable, contactable. What I was trying to figure out was—should I accept or decline?

It rang again.

“Don’t answer it,” Jax said. She shuffled in place. “I mean, why would we answer it? We don’t want to talk to him. Then again, maybe we should answer it. Would it hurt to answer? I don’t know what to do.” She looked at me, her face all scrunched up as if she was about to get sick.

“If I answer the call, he’ll hear exactly where we are,” I said. “Although there’s also a GPS tracking unit in my phone.”

“What? Why do you have one of those things?”

“They come with the phone,” I told her.

“Then don’t answer it.”

The phone stopped ringing. We both gasped as a message popped onto the screen. From Ricardo: We must talk about the urn. Meet me at the concession stand. Now.

“He’s here?” Jax cried.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. The tingling was stronger now. The bleeding would start soon.

“I knew it!” Jax said. “She came here to meet him. She’s working for him. If we don’t get that urn, she’s going to give it to him.”

“If she’s going to meet him, then why is he calling us?” I asked, pulling a wad of Kleenex from my pocket.

“I don’t know. This whole thing is crazy.” Jax whipped around. “Ethan? Where did she go?”

The girl was no longer in the Puzzle Master’s booth.

“Do you see her?” Jax asked. We hurried down the aisle. “She could have reached the exit already.”

“But Ricardo’s at the concession stand. Wouldn’t she go there?” I held the tissues to my nose.

“Concession stand! Of course!” Jax led the way down the aisle. “This is a really bad time for a nosebleed, Ethan.”

“There’s no need to point out the obvious.” I checked the tissues. Phew! There was no blood. I’d applied enough pressure. “Are we really doing this? Are we really going to meet Ricardo?” I asked.

“What other choice do we have?”

I started to list a half dozen other choices, but Jax was too far ahead of me to hear any of them.

The concession stand was actually a bunch of different vendors whose booths were lined up along the back wall. The scent of fast food filled the air. Every table was crowded, the conversation level high. A group of Pokémon characters sat eating mini pizzas. The Fabulous Four were slurping noodles. Jax ducked behind a display of energy drinks that had been stacked like a pyramid.

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