10:24 a.m. – Willow Creek Elementary School, Parking Lot
The school bus was supposed to be going to the Natural History Museum. Instead, it was now swerving onto a restricted military testing road and being tailed by two suspicious black vans.
Inside the bus, chaos had already begun.
"HE TOUCHED MY SANDWICH!" a third grader howled.
"I WILL BITE YOU!" shouted Faith Bruce, standing on her seat like a gremlin in a tutu.
Holly sat calmly in the back row, headphones on, pretending none of this was happening—until she noticed the driver wasn't Mr. Jimmy, the retired jazz trombonist with a bad knee and a worse attitude. No. This guy was wearing gloves. And sunglasses. Indoors. Red flag.
"Faith," Holly whispered, pulling out one of her earbuds. "The driver's not singing off-key. That means... something's wrong."
Faith nodded solemnly, then promptly bit the armrest. "We fight?"
"Not yet. But stay ready."
Meanwhile, several miles away, Ryan Bruce was blending into the crowd at Willow Creek's annual Parent Career Day Carnival. He was supposed to be making balloon animals. That was his cover.
Instead, his ONYX CORE watch started blinking.
"CODE RED: FIELD TRIP HIJACK. KIDNAP PRIORITY: BRUCE X2."
Ryan's eyes widened. "Oh no. Not today. Not my kids. Not this field trip!"
He immediately tossed aside his half-inflated balloon dog and ripped open a crate marked CLOWN SUPPLIES – TOTALLY NORMAL. Inside: a collapsible flamethrower disguised as a bubble machine, three taser-stuffed juggling pins, and a backup mustache.
As he bolted toward his motorbike, a concerned PTA mom waved him down. "Aren't you supposed to be demonstrating balloon giraffes?"
Ryan gave her a wild-eyed look. "Emergency giraffe recall. Highly flammable."
11:01 a.m. – Highway 49, Inside the Bus
The "driver" made a sharp left onto a dirt road and locked the doors. A pair of goons in tactical gear emerged from the back rows where they'd been hiding behind oversized backpacks.
One whispered to the other, "The Bruce kids are onboard. Boss says bring 'em alive."
Faith snarled. "Who you callin' kid, ugly ninja?!"
She flung a juice box at one goon's face and promptly kicked him in the shin. The man howled, slipping on an abandoned fruit roll-up and collapsing into a pile of math homework.
Holly jumped into action, yanking the fire extinguisher from the emergency cabinet and hosing down the second kidnapper like she was born to do this. "We read about chemical suppression in science class!"
11:07 a.m. – Skies Above the Bus
Ryan parachuted out of a low-flying ONYX CORE drone with a ridiculous amount of grace for a man wearing a clown nose and tactical armor. He landed on the roof of the bus, rolled, and immediately cut into the ceiling with a laser yo-yo.
He dropped into the aisle like a spy-themed superhero.
"Girls, who wants ice cream after we kick these guys' butts?"
"DAAAD!" Faith yelled. "They TOOK MY CRAYONS!"
"That's it," Ryan growled. "Now it's personal."
The next five minutes involved a smoke bomb, an exploding lunchbox decoy, and Ryan zip-tying both goons while narrating his moves like a wrestling commentator. "And down goes Hijacker Number One! That's what happens when you mess with snack time, buddy!"
11:22 a.m. – Willow Creek Elementary, Return Lane
The bus screeched back into the parking lot, slightly singed, a little dented, and with a distinct odor of burned cheese sticks. But every kid was accounted for—and buzzing with excitement.
Principal Dawson stared at Ryan, stunned. "I thought you were a children's entertainer?"
Ryan handed him the scorched balloon giraffe. "I am. I just take the job very seriously."
Holly fist-bumped her dad. Faith demanded ice cream and a flamethrower of her own.
Ryan smiled, already imagining the paperwork this was going to require back at ONYX CORE.
[To be continued…]