Capture The Flag

Henry insists it would be awesome if José’s mom stole the flag because it would make her a genius. José responds that his mother loves the flag as much as she loves him. He says he hasn’t seen her for three weeks because of it and asks how Henry would feel about not seeing his mother for that long. Henry reveals his mother died three years ago.

The kids walk with Hammurabi and his toy, Mr. Squeaky. They return to the diner to investigate Snake-Arm, whose real name they learn is Claude Pickersgill. They notice Snickerbottom and his crew, and Anna realizes Snake-Arm is tailing them. Henry is finally interested enough to look up from his video game and get involved.

The kids tail Snake-Arm as he follows Snickerbottom. Anna suggests Snake-Arm stole the flag and wants to stop Snickerbottom’s investigation, an idea Henry calls “dumb.” They consider the possibility that Snake-Arm has been hired to assassinate Snickerbottom. Henry says that would be like one of his video games where an evil character named Maldisio wants the crown prince dead so he can have power, and José quotes Otto von Bismark: “Politics ruins the character” (75). Henry wonders if Snake-Arm wants to kill Snickerbottom so he can be president, prompting Sinan to remind him that Americans elect their presidents.

A news report announces that police think a gang of international art thieves known as the Serpentine Princes might be involved. They show a picture of their leader, Vincent Goosen, and Anna notes that the snake tattooed on Goosen’s neck looks a lot like Snake-Arm’s.

Anna runs through the airport in search of Snake-Arm and stumbles into a press conference given by Snickerbottom. Nearby, Earl is on his phone saying, “They’ll do it when we get to Vermont. That’s what he said” (81). When he sees Anna, he stops talking and yells at her. Snickerbottom announces that his team has discovered the flag is in the airport and hints that the musicians in Sounds for a Small Planet were involved.

Sinan says the group members love America and they’re being scapegoated, pointing to his drawing of a goat escaping a pen in his notebook of idioms. Anna, Henry, and José set out to find the true thieves, following the lead that Snake-Arm is a member of the Serpentine Princes.

Sinan is upset to see his parents being questioned by police, but the kids assure him that everyone in America is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Then they see security guards putting Hammurabi in a cage. They protest, but the dog is sent to the baggage area. The guards continue searching through a pile of the musicians’ instruments and other items, noting that some baggage is buried too deep in suitcases to retrieve, so they’ll search for more evidence in Vermont.

As the kids argue about their next move, Henry says that “the test of any man lies in action” (91); he and José argue over whether Pindar or Maldisio said it first, finally concluding that in any case, they have to do something. They bring Sinan back to his parents, where he realizes Hammurabi doesn’t have Mr. Squeaky and won’t be able to sleep. His mother reassures him and he excuses himself to go to the bathroom. Anna, José, and Henry wish him goodnight and go check in with their guardians.

José’s father, clearly upset, tells the kids they’re holding José’s mom as a suspect because she was the last person to access the flag. He dismisses Anna’s ideas about Snake-Arm, so she decides to talk to her dad. He’s on the phone with Snickerbottom, who wants Anna’s mom to meet them with a news crew when they land in Vermont; he’s “confident” they’ll find the flag in the checked baggage. When Anna’s mom calls, Anna tells her they’ve been investigating the flag’s disappearance. Her mother scolds her, saying the Serpentine Princes are dangerous and Anna is just a child. She says there are members of the Silver Jaguar Society in the airport. Anna explains her theory about Vincent Goosen, but before her mother can tell her something important about him, they’re disconnected.

Anna rejoins José and Henry, who discuss breaking Hammurabi out of baggage claim, like in one of his jailbreak video games. She convinces them they need to “be sensible” and sleep.