Howard took the teen’s stunned silence and kicked as hard as he could, launching the teen assassin and her feline master into the children’s section. She landed in the story circle, unconscious, the cat trapped beneath her, mewling for a rescue that wouldn’t come.

Howard wasn’t dead. He swore under his breath and picked himself up, wincing at the knot in his back caused by the fall over the cart.

What now? He’d told Kristin his secret. Well, this was a night of firsts, and if he was going to be a superhero (with a codename, even), he’d have to face many hard truths.

“Let’s get this over with,” he sighed as he started towards the back door.

“Howard! You made it!”, screamed the mousy law librarian (her name is Cheryl) from the open door of the Bookmobile. “Come on, we have to get out of here! We found Tinker Creek on the map, and can make it there by morning.”

Howard climbed into the door and up the steps to face the future. He was a super secret agent, after all, and they don’t run away from a challenge.