The Dead Drop Read Online Free
Author: Jennifer Allison
to see.
“I need to stop,” the psychic spy called out to his supervisor—a man sitting across the room who wore a yellow bow tie and took notes steadily. “Something’s wrong.”
“Keep looking for your target,” his supervisor replied. “You can’t stop now.”
4
A D.C. Tour Guide for Math-Camp Shut-Ins
Dear Wendy,
Here I am in Washington, D.C.--writing you a letter at 11:00 P.M. in my new apartment! It’s late and I need to get some sleep before my first day of work at the Spy Museum, but I promised you I’d write you on my first day here, so here ‘tis:
General summary: things are awesome so far. The only thing missing is my best friend (that’s you, in case you’ve forgotten about me already).
How are things going at math camp? Have you learned to multiply fractions yet? ⇦joke--haha.
Remember how we were trying to guess what my roommate would be like, and we agreed she sounded “perky” when you listened in on my phone conversation with her? Well, we were right! Except she’s not quite as girlie as we expected. For example, I don’t think she even owns a comb or even any makeup. As we were walking around the city, she kept combing her fingers through her hair, twisting it up in a bun, and trying to keep it in place with a ballpoint pen (which didn’t work). She’s really nice, and I think we’re going to be friends. However, she seems concerned that she’s going to have to be my babysitter all summer.(We know how wrong she is about that!)
Caitlin took me on a tour of the national monuments today. Since I know you haven’t had a chance to visit D.C. yet, I thought I’d write you a little tour guide to keep in your files for future reference.
WASHINGTON, D.C.--
A TOUR GUIDE FOR MATH-CAMP SHUT-INS
By Gilda Joyce
THE D.C. METRO SYSTEM:
The Metro system is the subway system of our nation’s capital. It’s also a great people-watching venue! If you have nothing else planned, just ride the Metro from one side of the city to the other, and you’ll get a sense of who the American people really are.
In the middle of the afternoon, there are two basic types of people on the train: people wearing shorts and baseball caps, who smile and look out the window as if the train is a fun ride at an amusement park (because they’re on vacation), and people wearing suits, who view the ride as a tedious journey from one point to another. I was dressed like a tourist at that point (and yes, I DID wear the Jackie Kennedy get-up on the plane even though you thought I wouldn’t have the nerve or the stamina!) but I tried to look bored, as if I was on break from my work at the Senate building.
Here and there, standing out like little islands, you see the true Americans, who look totally different from everyone else.
PEOPLE-WATCHING HIGHLIGHTS:
1. Standing next to me was a guy with the body of a sumo wrestler and a tall spiky Mohawk. His arms were covered with tattoos like patterned shirtsleeves. The surprising thing was the way he gazed down at the baby carriage he was pushing, smiling and making gooey faces at an infant dressed in the frilliest pink outfit you’ve ever seen.
2. A nun in full habit sat on the Metro stitching embroidery, surrounded by mustachioed men wearing security clearance badges and dark suits. It’s unusual enough to see a nun in that get-up in the middle of the summer, but I also got the feeling she was surrounded by a bunch of FBI agents who were planning to arrest her as soon as she stepped off the train.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NATIONAL MALL:
First of all, Wendy, the National Mall is NOT a giant shopping mall. (I know; I was disappointed, too.) It’s more like a big open space devoted to monuments of important people and events in American history. It also serves as a running track where portly government employees shuffle their sagging bodies to and fro during their lunch hours.
The most important thing about the National Mall is the feeling of vast, open space.
“I need to stop,” the psychic spy called out to his supervisor—a man sitting across the room who wore a yellow bow tie and took notes steadily. “Something’s wrong.”
“Keep looking for your target,” his supervisor replied. “You can’t stop now.”
4
A D.C. Tour Guide for Math-Camp Shut-Ins
Dear Wendy,
Here I am in Washington, D.C.--writing you a letter at 11:00 P.M. in my new apartment! It’s late and I need to get some sleep before my first day of work at the Spy Museum, but I promised you I’d write you on my first day here, so here ‘tis:
General summary: things are awesome so far. The only thing missing is my best friend (that’s you, in case you’ve forgotten about me already).
How are things going at math camp? Have you learned to multiply fractions yet? ⇦joke--haha.
Remember how we were trying to guess what my roommate would be like, and we agreed she sounded “perky” when you listened in on my phone conversation with her? Well, we were right! Except she’s not quite as girlie as we expected. For example, I don’t think she even owns a comb or even any makeup. As we were walking around the city, she kept combing her fingers through her hair, twisting it up in a bun, and trying to keep it in place with a ballpoint pen (which didn’t work). She’s really nice, and I think we’re going to be friends. However, she seems concerned that she’s going to have to be my babysitter all summer.(We know how wrong she is about that!)
Caitlin took me on a tour of the national monuments today. Since I know you haven’t had a chance to visit D.C. yet, I thought I’d write you a little tour guide to keep in your files for future reference.
WASHINGTON, D.C.--
A TOUR GUIDE FOR MATH-CAMP SHUT-INS
By Gilda Joyce
THE D.C. METRO SYSTEM:
The Metro system is the subway system of our nation’s capital. It’s also a great people-watching venue! If you have nothing else planned, just ride the Metro from one side of the city to the other, and you’ll get a sense of who the American people really are.
In the middle of the afternoon, there are two basic types of people on the train: people wearing shorts and baseball caps, who smile and look out the window as if the train is a fun ride at an amusement park (because they’re on vacation), and people wearing suits, who view the ride as a tedious journey from one point to another. I was dressed like a tourist at that point (and yes, I DID wear the Jackie Kennedy get-up on the plane even though you thought I wouldn’t have the nerve or the stamina!) but I tried to look bored, as if I was on break from my work at the Senate building.
Here and there, standing out like little islands, you see the true Americans, who look totally different from everyone else.
PEOPLE-WATCHING HIGHLIGHTS:
1. Standing next to me was a guy with the body of a sumo wrestler and a tall spiky Mohawk. His arms were covered with tattoos like patterned shirtsleeves. The surprising thing was the way he gazed down at the baby carriage he was pushing, smiling and making gooey faces at an infant dressed in the frilliest pink outfit you’ve ever seen.
2. A nun in full habit sat on the Metro stitching embroidery, surrounded by mustachioed men wearing security clearance badges and dark suits. It’s unusual enough to see a nun in that get-up in the middle of the summer, but I also got the feeling she was surrounded by a bunch of FBI agents who were planning to arrest her as soon as she stepped off the train.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NATIONAL MALL:
First of all, Wendy, the National Mall is NOT a giant shopping mall. (I know; I was disappointed, too.) It’s more like a big open space devoted to monuments of important people and events in American history. It also serves as a running track where portly government employees shuffle their sagging bodies to and fro during their lunch hours.
The most important thing about the National Mall is the feeling of vast, open space.
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