The Daring Book for Girls - Andrea J. Buchanan [79]
♦ Write each word backwards
♦ Read every second letter
♦ Use numbers for letters (A=1, B=2, C=3, etc.)
♦ Reverse the alphabet (A=Z, B=Y, C=X, etc.)
♦ Sliding scale alphabet (move the alphabet by one letter: A=B, B=C, C=D, etc.)
♦ Use invisible ink (write with lemon or lime juice; after it dries hold the paper up to a light source to read the message).
♦ Pigpen code: Each letter is represented by the part of the “pigpen” that surrounds it. If it’s the second letter in the box, then it has a dot in the middle.
TOOLS
In movies, spies often use high-tech equipment to accomplish covert tasks, but all spies are grounded in the basics: good, old-fashioned, low-tech observation that can be performed without the aid of any fancy hardware. In World War II, women spies used something called an “escape and evasion” scarf—these were scarves with maps printed on one side, so that any agent who needed to find an escape route or nearby town or road had a map that was easy to get to but not so easily detectable by someone else. You can make your own with an old scarf or other fabric and a permanent marker (providing you get permission to mark up the scarf first).
A few other tools that would be good for a spy to have handy are things like binoculars; a small notepad and pen; walkie-talkie; magnifying glass; Swiss Army knife; hat or wig for quick disguising; sneakers or other quiet shoes for stealth walking; clothes in dark or subdued colors. The best tools of all, though, are your eyes, your ears, and your ingenuity. Pay attention to everything that’s going on around you, blend into your surroundings so you can observe without being noticed, look for subtle clues to tell you more about what’s happening, and write everything down. With any luck, you’ll not only become a great spy, you’ll be on your way to becoming a great writer. You know, just in case the espionage career doesn’t work out.
YOUR SPY TEAM
The life of a spy can be a lonely one, with so much secrecy and subterfuge and no one to share it with at the risk of blowing your cover. It’s much more fun to operate within a spy ring and work as a team to accomplish your undercover goals. On a team, spies can have specific tasks or areas of expertise, and of course code names.
The Agent-in-Charge: This is the head spy. She is responsible for directing, planning, and organizing the mission. All team members report to her.
The Scout: This is the person who scopes out the physical landscape to see if it’s safe for the rest of the team to move in. She goes ahead of the team when they are out in the field, and no one moves in without a signal from her. She should have excellent eyesight and hearing and should be an expert on geography and the outdoors.
The Tracker: This person acts as the “trigger,” the spy whose job it is to monitor the target of investigation. She tracks and observes the suspect’s actions and alerts the rest of the team when the suspect is in range.
The Techie: This is the group’s technology maven. She knows about computers, tools, and gadgets, from using them to fixing them to creating new ones. She is the one who draws up any maps, plans, or charts, and also keeps notes about the mission.
The Wheel Artist: This is the person who organizes the get-away, or who can use her wheels to accomplish any stealth maneuver. If she can drive, that’s great, but she doesn’t have to be commandeering a car. The wheels can be anything that gets your spy team out of the field in a timely manner. She can oversee a fleet of scooters, ride another spy to safety on her bike, or even accomplish a sensitive mission lightning-quick on her skateboard or roller skates.
The Stealth Master: This is a small, quiet person who can sneak into tight places and generally move around unnoticed. It helps if she is also a master of disguise, and an illusionist, able to use card and magic tricks