The 39 Clues Unstoppable Book 3 Countdown by Natalie Standiford

and hot air.
    Back to the closet. She stared into it as if it were a mysterious cave holding a secret. Something was not right about that closet.
    Then she noticed a hook with a broom hanging from it. Some instinct, honed after two years of wild adventures with Amy and Dan, told her to tug on the hook. Sure enough, the back wall of the closet slid open to reveal yet another hallway.
    Nellie stepped over the bucket into this new, even more secret area. Trilon Labs had more layers than an Indonesian thousand-layer cake. All in the service of hiding stuff.
    The place had a lot of secrets.
    At the end of the short corridor was a windowed door. She walked toward it and peered through the window.
    There he was. All alone, dropping a chemical onto a slide and peering at it through a microscope, his handsome features stern and serious with work. Sammy.
    The door was locked. Nellie tapped on the window. Sammy looked over. He lit up, his face transformed by happy surprise.
    Open the door, dummy! Nellie thought. He ran to the door and opened it, pulling her inside.
    “I was hoping you would find me,” Sammy said. “Sometimes even the guards can’t find me here. They forget to bring my meals.”
    “Are you okay?” Nellie asked.
    “I’m okay. Any news from the outside world?”
    “Amy and Dan are in Guatemala — one step closer to making the antidote, I hope.”
    “When they find it, we’re going to need it,” Sammy said. “I just got crystal clear orders to speed things up. Pierce wants a safe, mass-produced serum ready to go in the next week.”
    “Before he announces his candidacy.” Nellie shuddered at the thought of all those Patriotist idiots in their tricorne hats . . . enhanced and superpowerful. Ruling the world.
    “And the people who are against him . . .” She didn’t have to finish the sentence. It would be impossible to oppose him. He would have absolute power.
    “Yeah.” Sammy nodded sadly. “I’ve been working as slowly as I can. I’ve managed to bluff and stall so far, but I don’t know how much longer I can keep it up. If I don’t come up with some results soon . . .” Sammy swallowed. “I’m trying to find a way to sabotage the research without anyone noticing right away,” Sammy explained. “But it’s tricky. I want you safely out of here before they figure out what we’re up to.”
    “Don’t worry about me,” Nellie said. “Just stop Pierce.”
    There was a noise outside the room. “Someone’s coming!” Sammy whispered. “Get out of here, quick!”
    Nellie ran to the door. She peered through the window and heard the sound of boots in the corridor. “Too late! I’ve got to hide somewhere in here.”
    Sammy set a rack of lab coats near the door. “When they open the door, hide behind it, using the coats for cover.”
    “This is the first place they’ll look!”
    “Shhh!” The footsteps stopped just outside the door. There was a sound of keys rattling.
    Nellie threw herself against the wall and wriggled behind the coats as the key turned in the lock and the door flung open. A guard dressed in a dark khaki combat uniform and armed with a machine gun stepped into the lab. “Everything okay in here?”
    “Everything’s fine,” Sammy said. “But, oh, do you think I could get more nacho chips with my lunch tomorrow? And maybe a spicier flavor, like Mexican Fiesta?”
    The guard grunted. “I’m not in charge of your lunch.”
    “Oh. Sorry. I just thought maybe you could convey the message to the kitchen, or wherever the slop you feed me comes from. It gets pretty boring down here all by myself, and food’s just about the only thing I have to look forward to.”
    He likes food, she thought. She was holding her breath and praying that this huge, muscular, armed guard wouldn’t catch her, but that didn’t stop her from melting a little over Sammy. He doesn’t just like it, he’s particular about it. Like me. Maybe someday, if we ever get out of this mess, I’ll cook