In this fifth installment in the New York Times bestselling series from Edgar Award winner James Ponti, the young group of spies takes on New York City in another international adventure perfect for fans of Spy School and Charlie Thorne. The City Spies head to the Big Apple when a credible threat is made to a young climate activist who is scheduled to speak in front of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly. With Rio acting as alpha and a new member in their ranks, the team’s mission to protect a fellow teen takes them on an exciting adventure in, around, and even under the greatest city in the world as they follow leads to the outer boroughs, the UN Headquarters, and even the usually off-limits stacks that extend deep under the main branch of the New York Public Library. Meanwhile, Mother has run into trouble in DC, leading the rest of the crew to help save him from the wrong hands and prevent the entire operation from being exposed! James Ponti is the New York Times bestselling author of four middle grade book series: The Sherlock Society following a group of young detectives; City Spies, about an unlikely squad of five kids from around the world who form an elite MI6 Spy Team; the Edgar Award–winning Framed! series, about a pair of tweens who solve mysteries in Washington, DC; and the Dead City trilogy, about a secret society that polices the undead living beneath Manhattan. His books have appeared on more than fifteen different state award lists, and he is the founder of a writers group known as the Renegades of Middle Grade. James is also an Emmy–nominated television writer and producer who has worked for many networks including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, History, and Spike TV, as well as NBC Sports. He lives with his family in Orlando, Florida. Find out more at JamesPonti.com. Chapter 1: The Swarm 1. The Swarm SPY MISSIONS WERE NOTHING LIKE spy movies. All Cairo had to do was look in a mirror to see that. He was about to go undercover for the first time, and rather than a tuxedo or finely tailored suit, he was wearing a bumblebee costume. It was a padded onesie over a pair of black tights and was very much not tailored. “This thing’s giving me a wedgie,” he complained, tugging at the seat of his costume. “It was the best we could do on such short notice,” replied Paris, who wore a matching outfit and was smearing black and yellow greasepaint on his face. “When it comes to spycraft, the bottom line is that comfort takes a backseat to blending in.” “Maybe so,” Cairo replied. “But right now, my backseat and bottom line are blending in with my underwear.” Paris laughed. It was a good sign that Cairo was able to joke right before his first official mission. Most people would’ve been too nervous. “Welcome to MI6,” he said. “It’s oh so glamorous.” They were in Venice, Italy, because the Secret Intelligence Service had gotten word of a potential threat at a global warming demonstration scheduled for St. Mark’s Square. The event was organized by a group of teenage environmental activists known as the Swarm, whose members dressed accordingly at protest rallies. “You ready?” Paris asked once he’d finished putting on his makeup. Cairo nodded, gave his costume one final tug, and said, “Let’s get buzzing.” This was their first time in Venice, and it would’ve been easy for them to get lost because the city was spread across more than one hundred small islands, but they had help navigating its baffling blend of bridges and alleyways. As they stepped out of their safe house, they heard a loud buzzing that sounded as though a massive swarm of bees was overtaking the city. “What’s that noise?” Cairo asked. “Vuvuzelas,” answered Paris. “You mean those plastic horns fans play at soccer matches?” “The Swarm uses them whenever they march to a rally,” Paris explained. “All we have to do is listen and follow.” “Helpful,” Cairo said. “ Annoying , but helpful.” As they tried to catch up with the Swarm, the rest of the team was getting ready in St. Mark’s Square, which the Italians called Piazza San Marco . Sydney and Brooklyn were stationed near the security gates through which all the protesters had to pass, while Rio and Monty were backstage, keeping an eye on the speakers scheduled to talk at the rally. Kat was the alpha, which meant she’d call the shots once the mission got underway. She was positioned on the observation deck atop the bell tower overlooking the square. Four hundred years earlier, this was where Galileo looked to the heavens with his newly invented telescope and discovered order in the universe. Now it was where a fourteen-year-old spy looked across a sea of demonstrators, hoping to figure out which ones were a threat to the others. “Testing comms, one, two, three,” she said into the microphone hidden in her jacket collar. “Can everyone hear me?” “Roger that,” replied Sydney. “Loud and clear,” Brooklyn added. “All good,” said Monty. “Good for m