Chapter 1: There’s Something Odd about the New Neighbors

Mr. and Mrs. John and Sally Hallett were two very ordinary people, the type nothing exciting would ever happen to.  John Hallett was a retired attorney who had specialized in property law for thirty years.  His wife, Sally, was a part-time music teacher.  Both were in their late fifties.  They resided in Ankeny, Iowa, a modest-sized suburb of Des Moines.  Ankeny was not the liveliest place in the world, and anything even the slightest bit out of the usual caused the citizens to take notice.  That’s why John Hallett, looking out his window one day, exclaimed, “Sally!”

“Yes, John?”  Mrs. Hallett’s voice wafted from the laundry room.  “What is it?”

“Someone’s moving into the old Petersen place,” said Mr. Hallett.  “The sign says sold.”

“Most likely to some demolition company,” said Mrs. Hallett, entering the room with a full laundry basket.  “That place is a wreck.”

“I suppose so,” said Mr. Hallett, looking back down the street.  “All the same, it would be interesting if someone moved in.”

He was correct.  Little did he know just how correct he was.  One week later, a large, orange moving truck appeared in front of the house.  It was replaced by another one, which was replaced by another one.  Movers spent all day going in and out of the house, watched nearly all day by the two people up the road.

“Someone’s moving in,” said Mr. Hallett.  “We should bring them something to welcome them to the neighborhood.”

“Yes,” said Mrs. Hallett.  “I’ll make my broccoli casserole.”

Mr. Hallett, not looking at his wife, made a face.  “Cookies will be fine,” he said.  “Whoever’s moving in has kids.  The movers unloaded four bicycles a little while ago, and I saw other toys as well.”

“They’d better have kids,” agreed Mrs. Hallett.  “That house is too large for one or two people.”

“I wonder what they’re moving here for,” said Mr. Hallett.  “Perhaps the father’s a good chess player.  I’ve been looking for someone to play chess with.”

“Have you seen a chessboard?” asked his wife.

“Not yet, but I’m hopeful.  Make sure you put plenty of sugar in those cookies.”

The moving trucks stayed two days—then, they were gone.  The house was all ready for its new residents.  Yet no new family showed up.  Either Mr. or Mrs. Hallett watched the house nearly constantly for the next few days.  Tuesday passed.  Wednesday.  Thursday.  Friday.  Nothing.

Saturday was different.  Mr. Hallett and his wife generally went out for coffee on the first day of the weekend.  Today was no exception.  Mr. Hallett got up, yawned, stretched, and dressed.  His wife was still sleeping, as she would be for another thirty minutes.  Mr. Hallett wandered absentmindedly over to the window and looked out.

There they were, two cars in the driveway of the old Petersen residence.  They’d come in the night, without so much as a peep.  Mr. Hallett rubbed his eyes and checked again.  Two SUVs—one a BMW, the other a Pontiac.  The Pontiac was older.

Mr. Hallett was inspired to head right over and introduce himself, but he thought better of it.  Seven twenty-three in the morning was a little early.  Also, the cookies his wife had prepared last Sunday had been given to some other friends.  The Halletts had nothing to bring.

So, they waited.  The Halletts already had a full weekend of activities planned, and it wasn’t until Monday that Mrs. Hallett had a chance to make cookies.  She needed some stuff from the grocery store, and it wasn’t until four o’clock that she finally had a platter of goodies to bring.  Her husband, glancing out the window, spotted four youths throwing a football around outside.

“They’re home,” he said.  “Let’s introduce ourselves.”

Mrs. Hallett sorted the cookies onto a disposable plate, plastic wrapped it, and started for the coat closet.  “You won’t need that,” said her husband.  “It’s not that chilly, and we won’t be that long, anyway.”

“I suppose you’re right, dear,” said Mrs. Hallett, changing her mind.  Coatless, the couple strolled down the street to the new house.  It did not take long for their neighbors to spot them.  One of the girls caught the ball and pointed at the Halletts, at which the other three youths all turned to look.  They went back to their game, but continued to look towards the road every now and then.  When the Halletts reached the driveway, the eldest caught the football and headed over.

“Hello,” he said.  “You our neighbors?”

“Yes,” said Mr. Hallett.  “I’m John Hallett, and this is my wife, Sally.”

“Nice to meet you,” said the boy.  “I’m Drew, and those are my siblings.  How long have you all lived here?”

“Oh, I’ve lived in Iowa since I was ten,” Mr. Hallett replied.  “My wife’s been in the state her whole life.  We’ve been in this town the last thirty or so years.”

“I see,” said Drew.  “What’s your occupation?”

“I was an attorney,” said Mr. Hallett.  “Just retired a couple years back.”

“I’m a teacher,” said Mrs. Hallett.  “Elementary school, mostly.  I’m off for the summer.”

“Fascinating!” said Drew.  “Congratulations on retiring, Mr. Hallett.  It must be quite a milestone.  Here, let me introduce the rest of my family.  This is—”

“Oh, we can introduce ourselves,” said one of his sisters, the second-oldest in the family.  “I’m Carol.”

“Edward,” said the third-oldest, who looked quite a bit younger than the first two.

“I’m Renee,” said the youngest.  “Nice to meet you!”

“I’m 18, Carol’s 17, Edward’s 13, and Renee’s 12,” said Drew.  “We won’t ask you for your ages, though we’ll guess you’re somewhere in your late thirties.”  Mr. and Mrs. Hallett laughed at the generously small guess.  “You shouldn’t have told us you were retired, or I’d have guessed ten years younger.”

“We have cookies for you, by the way,” said Mrs. Hallett.

“Do you really?  Aw, thanks!” said Drew.  “Take a look at these, guys!”

“Mmm,” said Carol, lifting up the side.  “Chocolate chip.  The best kind.”

“We really appreciate this,” said Drew.  “Uh—I would introduce you to our parents, but they’re still on their way home from work.  We’ll make sure they know these are from you.”

“If we don’t eat them all first,” said Renee.

“Why bother?” said Edward.  “Eat all but five and say they brought five cookies.  Mom and Dad will never know the difference.”

He was joking, of course.

“Say,” said Drew, “if you’ve lived here a while, you must know the best place for a haircut.”

“Oh, yes,” said Mr. Hallett.  “Art’s Barber shop.  Run by Art, like the name says.  He’s been cutting my hair for twenty-three years now.  You can’t get better quality anywhere else, and his prices are reasonable.”

“Art’s Barber Shop,” said Drew.  “Got it.  We’ll keep that in mind.  Thanks again for the cookies!”

That was the Halletts’ first meeting with their new neighbors, but it wasn’t their last.  It seemed like it might be at the time.  The Halletts saw the children outside fairly regularly, but they never said a whole lot, outside of a friendly “Hello” when they were out walking.  The parents worked long hours: the only time the Halletts ever saw them was at eight in the evening, when they got home from work.  Only once did the Halletts ever see them in the daytime, though that was notable.  It happened a couple weeks later when, around ten in the morning, the parents loaded a couple suitcases in their car and drove off.  By themselves.

“Think they’re going on a vacation?” said Mrs. Hallett, looking out the window.

“Probably,” said Mr. Hallett.

“I wonder who’s going to take care of the children,” said Mrs. Hallett.

“Drew, probably,” said Mr. Hallett.  “He’s 18.  They’re old enough to take care of themselves.  I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

That was the last the Halletts saw of the parents.  Five days passed—five quiet days.  The children began spending less and less time outside, even though the weather was nice.  Why?  The Halletts didn’t know.  It was none of their business, and they didn’t pry.  The families went their own separate ways, not interfering in the least with the other’s activities.

Then, Friday rolled around.

It started like any normal day.  Mr. Hallett was in the den, remounting the dartboard.  One nail wasn’t enough, as he’d learned the hard way.  Mrs. Hallett was reading a quilting magazine, trying to decide which threads to order.  Neither of them expected the knock on the door.

“I’ll get it!” called Mr. Hallett, placing the dartboard on a table and nearly falling off his stepstool.  “Ouch,” he said, banging his knee into the wooden arm of a sofa.  “Stupid piece of furniture—coming!” he called.  Reaching the door, he swung it open.

It was the new neighbors—Drew, Carol, Edward, and Renee.  They all stood outside.  “Hi!” said Drew.  “Mind if we come in?”

“Why, not at all,” said Mr. Hallett.  “Make yourselves at home, only you might want to stay out of the den.  I’m putting up the new dartboard.  Sally, we’ve got company!”

“That’s right,” said Drew.  “You are pretty good at darts, aren’t you?  And bowling.  I heard you got a three hundred at Ankeny Lanes a while back.”

“Why, yes I did,” said Mr. Hallett.  “That was a good night.  I—hey, wait a minute.  How did you find that out?  That bowling alley’s been closed for three years now!”

At that moment, Mrs. Hallett wandered into the room.  “Who is—oh, hello!”

“Hi, Mrs. Hallett,” said Drew.  He smiled.  “Or, should I say, Teacher of the Year at Lois McKinney Elementary School for the last four years.”

“What?” said Mrs. Hallett.  “Where did you hear that?”

Drew smiled.  “I’ll get right to the point.  We did some research on you, and you’re fine!”

“We’re what?” said Mr. Hallett.

“Fine, you check out,” said Drew.  “Your background check was clear.  You all have never been in any trouble with the law.  You’ve been fine, outstanding citizens your whole lives.  There’s nothing tying you to any foreign powers.  Art assures us you’d do anything in your power to help this country—”

“You spoke with our barber?” said Mr. Hallett.

“—you all aren’t in debt, so you’re not likely to be hired by anyone.  Other than some of the court cases you’ve argued, Mr. Hallett, you have absolutely no background in law enforcement.  No one would suspect either of you of a thing, and we can trust you two to keep a secret.  In other words, you all are perfect for the job.”

“What job?” said Mr. Hallett.  “Who investigated us, and why did they tell you about it?”

“Oh, we did it ourselves,” said Carol.  “You shouldn’t worry, though—you have a past anyone would be proud of.”

“Exactly,” said Drew.  “Now that we know all about you, we’re free to tell you about us.  You see, we’re spies.”

“Spies!” exclaimed Mr. and Mrs. Hallett.

“That’s right, spies,” said Drew.

“This must be some kind of a joke!” exclaimed Mr. Hallett.

Drew shook his head.  “Not at all.  See, here’s my badge,” he said, pulling something out of his pocket.  “For the United States, of course!”

Mr. Hallett flipped open the badge Drew had handed him.  There was Drew’s picture on it.  Next to it, in official-looking writing, was Drew’s name and position: Junior Intelligence Agent.  Most striking, however, was the logo on the badge.  A bald eagle sat above a shield with a large star on it.  It was surrounded by a blue background, and a banner at the bottom read “United States of America.”  The key words were in white capital letters at the top: “Central Intelligence Agency.”

“Astounding!” said Mr. Hallett, handing the badge to his wife.  “You’re a spy?”

“We all are,” said Drew.

“But you’re so young!” exclaimed Mrs. Hallett, looking up from the badge.

“That’s the point,” said Drew, taking the badge back.  “No one expects a spy to be 18, much less 12.  It’s excellent cover for us.  In situations where a regular spy runs a high risk of being suspected, we get sent in.  The Junior Division has the best record in the CIA!”

“Incredible,” said Mr. Hallett.  “Simply incredible.  But what do you want us for?  We haven’t done anything!”

“Of course not,” said Drew.  “We’re not after you for anything.  Quite the contrary: we need your help!  We have an important mission that could take about a month to complete.  However, it requires us to have parents with us.  Ours are out of town, and even if they weren’t, they’d be suspected.  With their CIA backgrounds, it’d be too dangerous for them to go.  We need someone with absolutely no ties to counterintelligence to accompany us.  That’s why we were wondering if you all would pose as our parents until we can complete the mission.”

“Pose as your parents!” exclaimed Mrs. Hallett.

“I’ll tell you up front what’ll be required,” said Drew.  “You’ll have to go to California with us for an indefinite period of time.  We’ll stay at the mansion of a certain Steve Blaine.  Mr. Hallett, you’ll pretend to be helping Mr. Blaine purchase a golf course.  You may have to do a little legal work, just to add plausibility to our cover story.  Outside of that, it’ll just be a vacation.  You’ll be compensated, of course.  If you’re willing, you’ll be paid thirty thousand dollars, plus travel expenses.”

“Please do it!” said Carol.  “You all will be perfect for this job!”

Mr. and Mrs. Hallett stared at each other, in shock.  “Well, I don’t know,” Mr. Hallett finally said.  “We should probably think—you say it’ll help the country?”

“You’ll be performing the United States an invaluable service,” said Drew.

“If that’s the case—but it’s so sudden—we—do you mind if we talk this over?”

“Sure!” said Drew.  “Go right ahead!  We’ll wait here.”

“Thanks,” said Mr. Hallett.  He and his wife went in and closed the door.  “Sally—”

“John, you’d better not—”

“Sally, listen to me.  When was the last time something like this happened to us?  You saw that badge, didn’t you?  This is real!  When is an—”

“Listen to me, John.  If you say no to those kids, I’ll slap you!”

“Sally!” her husband explained.  “I didn’t know you’d want—”

“We haven’t done anything exciting in years!” said Mrs. Hallett.  “What’s coming up this month?  The county fair.  Dinner with the Grays.  A trip to the hardware store.  John, if you pass this up, I won’t let you in the house again for a week!”

Mr. Hallett smiled.  “That’s exactly why I married you,” he said.  “Let’s give them our answer.”

Opening the door, he and his wife stepped out.  “Well, we’ve thought about it, and we’ve agreed—”

“Good!” said Drew.  “Thanks a lot!  We’ll go get ready and give you a couple hours to pack.”

“Pack?” said Mr. Hallett.

“Of course!” said Drew.  “Bring a lot—this assignment could take a while.  Also, pack as quickly as you can.  Our flight leaves in three hours.”

“Our flight?” said Mr. Hallett.  “Where to?”

“Denver, first,” said Edward, “then on to Los Angeles.  There aren’t a whole lot of direct flights out of Des Moines.”

“Los Angeles?” said Mrs. Hallett.  “In California?”

“Of course!” said Drew.  “How many Los Angeleses do you think there are?”

“I’ve never been to California,” said Mrs. Hallett.

“Me neither,” said Mr. Hallett.

“I’ve been too often,” sighed Drew.  “It’ll be pretty warm.  Keep that in mind when you’re packing.  We’re going to be near the beach, so you can go sightseeing if you want.  The more like tourists you act, the better our cover will be.  The reservations have already been made, in your name.  From now on, as far as you’re concerned, our last name is Hallett.  Got it?”

“I think so,” said Mr. Hallett, “but you’ll forgive me if it takes me a little while to get used to this.”

“That’s what happened last time,” said Carol.  “It’s natural for people like you to be a little surprised at first.  Always happens.”

“Well, we’ll see you in a couple hours,” said Drew.  “We’ve got to pack too.  Come along, guys.”

Mr. and Mrs. Hallett gaped at the door.  “Pinch me,” said Mr. Hallett.  “I’ve just had the craziest dream of all-time.”

“I had the same one,” said Mrs. Hallett.

“What are we getting ourselves into?” wondered Mr. Hallett.

Like this story?  Check out the next chapters in the menu at the right, starting in May 2016.  Check back each Monday for a new one!