(based on 2 ratings)

The Secret of Stoneship Woods - by Aladdin Paperbacks


Team Spy Gear is born!
Jake and Lucas Bixby and their friends Cyril and Lexi are typical suburban kids. Nothing exciting ever happens in their utterly normal town. That is, until the day they venture deep into their local woods and stumble upon an abandoned warehouse filled with high-tech spy equipment. They've just opened a big, fat can of worms... and they are about to have the time of their lives!

This is the first book in a new series of Team Spy Gear books by Aladdin Paperbacks.

From the Book:

The Ridgeview Estates sub-development bordered the dark, fallow acreage of the Old Farmhouse. Homes in Ridgeview Estates were not really estates, nor could one view a ridge within five hundred miles in any direction. But they were nice houses, anyway.

The four hiked down a winding trail through a playground to an ominous looking fence that separated the neighborhood from the farm property. Jake started to climb through the split rails.

"Wait a minute!" said Lucas suddenly.

"What?" said Cyril, spinning around. "Who's there?" Who's tailing us?"

Lexi patted Cyril's arm. "Nobody."

"Then what is it?" yelled Cyril. "Who's after us?"

"Well, I was just thinking," said Lucas. "Before we go in-country, shouldn't we come up with a name?"

Cyril said, "A name for what?"

"For us."

"You mean, like, The Super Spy Guys or something?" said Cyril, wiping cold sweat from his brow.

Jake looked over at his brother and said, "Yeah, what do you have in mind?"

Lucas hefted his backpack. "This spy gear is the most amazing stuff I've ever seen, more amazing than even I could have possibly imagined. With the kind of technical capability provided by this, you know, this spy gear, I foresee some wicked tight reconnaissance work"

"Hmm," said Jake. "So you mean something like, uh, Spy Gear, I don't know, Team Reconnaissance Unit?"

"Yeah, but shorten it to Spy Gear Ghost Team Recon!" said Lucas.

"That sounds stupid," said Lexi.

The Bixbys both looked at her.

"Excellent point," said Jake, patting Lexi's shoulder.

"I like being called Lexi," said Lexi.

Lucas said, "Well, yeah. I guess we don't need some cheesy name." But he looked disappointed, and folded his arms. "It's not like we're the X-Men or whatever."

Jake said, "How about we just call ourselves the Spy Gear team?" He glanced at Lexi.

Lexi looked over at Lucas.

Then Jake said, "Or maybe, like "Team Spy Gear?"

Lucas brightened. "That works." He nodded. "Says it all, really."

Lexi said, "Sure."

Jake turned to Cyril and said, "Cyril? Your input?"

Cyril was staring over the jagged line of weeds at the Old Farmhouse. Beyond the fence, dark stalks waved in the breeze. To Cyril, they looked like spears of some brutal goblin army. A pale moon shimmered in the sky. Off in the distance, you could hear a barn owl hoot.

Cyril put his hand on the fence. To him, it seemed the boundary between civilization and chaos.

"Team Spy Gear," he said.

"Yeah! So what do you think?"

Cyril said, "I think I'd rather not."