Route 66

37 Undercover

This was my very first international flight but time passed quickly with so many thoughts scrambling through my head.

Before you knew it, I was stepping out to the hot African landscape and had three days to get mentally and emotionally prepared.

Captain Rodriguez thought about attaching a wire under my sock but decided against it at the last minute, saying, "That's probably the first thing they'd look for."

My skirt had a small pocket to hold my phone. If found, what high school girl wouldn't have one?

"Just keep it on the whole time so we can hear everything. If you're in any kind of danger, we'll rush in," Rodriguez said with reassurance.

I woke up early on the morning of my undercover assignment and checked my appearance in the mirror, smoothing the required uniform. My long, straight, chestnut hair came down to mid-back and I easily passed for an eighteen year old schoolgirl.

Rodriguez stressed that if the Commander or Hindler were found, every effort should be made to take them alive. I questioned if my emotions would supersede the order.

Unknown to the captain, I strapped two small but powerful handguns to my thighs; up high enough so that they'd be completely hidden from view when wearing a skirt. To complete my camouflage I attached the magnetic repelling device to my wrist so that anyone looking would simply see a normal watch.

Finally, the moment of truth came as I drove to school hoping I could pull off the aura of a much younger woman.

I arrived fifteen minutes early and gingerly walked into the classroom. The teacher was sitting at her desk grading some last minute papers. She paused, peered at me, and said, "You must be the exchange student from California...Judy Young?"

"Yes ma'am," I replied meekly.

She gave me a welcoming smile and said, "You've come a long way. Please sit down in the second row, 3rd desk. My name is Mrs. Limbwa."

Soon, all the other students filed in and sat down, each glancing in my direction until the teacher rose and addressed them, saying, "Girls, as you've probably noticed, we have someone new joining us. Her name is Judy Young, our new exchange student. Judy, please tell us, is California as wonderful as we imagine? I don't believe any of us have ever been to the United States."

"It's nice but we have challenges too," I said with a nod.

A girl sitting next to me blurted out, "Do you live in Disneyland?"

"I'm about two hours from there but haven't visited yet," I said with a nervous chuckle.

"What?!" she gasped. "If I was that close I'd visit every day!"

"Well, maybe later you can give an oral report about how your life in California is different from the life you experience here," Mrs. Limbwa suggested warmly.

I nodded, glanced around the classroom sheepishly, and said, "Yes ma'am, I'd like that."

"You have joined us on a lucky day," Mrs. Limbwa continued. "We are going to spend the afternoon exploring a radio station!"

The same girl beside me yelled, "They might even put us on the air! That's just like Hollywood, right? Do you get to be in any movies?"

I shook my head, giggled, and said, "No, most people in California never get to do that."

A murmur of laughter swept across the classroom as Mrs. Limbwa said, "Okay girls, let's get down to work. You can ask her more questions on the bus if that's alright with you, Judy?"

"Of course, ma'am"

I played along the best I could glancing at the clock every couple minutes.

We finally boarded the bus and headed out to the station. At one point I asked one of the girls if they heard about the peculiar deaths around the area. She lowered her eyes and nodded. When I questioned her further, she refused any more information saying it was bad luck to talk about such things.