Read Online Passport to Danger by Franklin W. Dixon - Free Book Online Page B

she’s on the level and we bring someone along unannounced, she might get suspicious. If she’s trying to trap us, we need to travel light. Adding Jacques to the mix could put us in jeopardy.”
    â€œI hear you,” Joe said. “And I say we pack up some more of the symposium stuff, just in case.”
    They went to their dad’s room and checkedthrough the samples of spy gear and surveillance equipment that he had collected so far. They each packed a pair of folding night goggles, and Frank chose a voice alterer.
    Then they both grabbed a powerful, twenty-first-century device. “Man, these handhelds are way cool,” Joe said, holding one of the black devices in his hand. It looked like a cross between a cell phone and a handheld computer. He checked some of the features.
    â€œOkay, it’s a phone, of course,” he told Frank. “But look. This clicks on the computer. And you can access the Internet like this.” He played with the device for a few more minutes.
    â€œYou take photos here,” he explained, “and you can store them or download them to another computer.”
    â€œHow do you set up the GPS?” Frank asked. “The global positioning system.”
    Joe tried a few buttons. “There. See?” He demonstrated for Frank. “Now it’s on, and this toggles it off. Dad said we can locate and track one another from anywhere to anywhere.”
    â€œAnd it works underwater or underground,” Frank added.
    â€œRight,” Joe said. “But remember, these are only prototypes. So all the bugs might not be out of them yet. We can’t fully depend on them.”
    â€œOkay,” Frank said, packing his handheld away in his backpack. “Let’s go.”
    They had a few hours before the meeting with Isabelle, so they decided to get in a little sightseeing. They took the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe and walked up the stairs to the observation deck on top for a panoramic view of Paris. Then they walked the Champs-Elysées back toward the Tuilleries, a large park bordering one end of the Louvre complex.
    Halfway along the avenue, they stopped for croque-monsieurs —a popular French sandwich—and pommes frites . Then they continued along the Seine to the Louvre. As planned, they arrived an hour early.
    They walked across the vast courtyard, surrounded on three sides by the huge former palace. They stepped into the clear glass pyramid that sat like a pointed spaceship in the middle of the courtyard. It was like walking into the middle of a prism. They bought their entrance tickets and then rode the escalator down to the underground reception area of the museum.
    They stood in the large open room under the glass pyramid and surveyed their position. Gift shops, restaurants, and snack bars surrounded them. Steps led from the lobby into different wings specializing in certain periods or types of art. Crowds of people moved from the exhibits to the shops to the food and back to more exhibits.
    â€œThis is even bigger than I thought,” Joe said.
    The Hardys walked into the Denon Wing, whichhoused the famous sculpture of Winged Victory. They found the sculpture immediately. The huge headless body seemed about to launch itself from its pedestal and soar out over the large sweeping staircase beyond.
    Isabelle hadn’t arrived yet, so they wandered through some of the enormous exhibition areas. Occasionally smaller rooms led off the main larger spaces. “We don’t have nearly enough time really to go through this wing,” Frank said. “Let’s just do the best we can.”
    â€œWhoa, ahead at two o’clock,” Joe said, nudging Frank to look up ahead and to the right.
    Frank looked up and saw a young man with a camera around his neck. The man was standing against the wall, scanning the crowd.
    Joe stepped behind a column and Frank followed. “That’s the Victoire guy I taped yesterday in the