Dressed in my funny, little Giovanni's Pizza uniform, I approached the security checkpoint of the Baltimore FBI office carrying three pizza boxes-wondering all the while whether the silk skirt under my red and white Giovanni's pinafore would give me away.

     "What have we here, little lady?" The male attendant said.

     "Some agents ordered pizzas," the female attendant replied. "I just love a good Giovanni's pizza."

     The man pointed at me. "Can I persuade you to leave one of those behind?"

     "Not a chance," I said over my smile. "Super Agent Strunk would have your jobs … and mine, too."

     "You look so cute in that Giovanni's uniform," the lady attendant said, searching my purse and setting it on the conveyor belt. "But you don't look old enough to drive. You deliver by bike?"

     "No, ma'am. I bought a car on my sixteenth birthday last month." I set the pizza boxes behind my purse and watched the female attendant separate and place them side by side. They disappeared through the hanging black, rubber slats. Once beyond this point, part one of my master plan would have been completed.

     "Wait a minute," the man said. "Why aren't you in school?"

     "It's a holiday," I replied.

     "Labor Day was last weekend, sweetie," the lady said.

     Red alert! She's got me-but wait. My home State of Maryland contains a large Catholic population.

     "I go to the St. Ignatius school, and it's the birthday of our patron saint."

     The female attendant squinted with deep thought lines wrinkling her brow. Who knew the birth date of St. Ignatius? She unwrinkled and nodded.

     The man reached out his hand. "You'll have to give me that cute little hat, too."

     "Of course," I said, yanking it off and handing it to him. Its triangular shape repulsed me. The male attendant was seriously fashion-challenged if he liked it. I was-ever since I turned fourteen. That's when I departed from my female peers, gave up caring about fashion, and wore only what appealed to me-but I drew the line at that bizarre hat.

     The man looked inside it, set it on the conveyor belt, and then pointed to the open doorframe. "Go on through."

     Walking through, the alarm sounded, and the lady waved me back.

     "Oh," I said, pulling off my headband. "I forgot this. It has metal inside."

     She slipped it onto the conveyor belt, and I walked through the doorframe. The alarm remained silent. "I wonder if either of you could direct me to the ladies' room."

     "Sure," the woman said and pointed down the wide hall. "Pass the elevators on your right, turn right down the next hall, and it's the second door on your left."

     I slipped on my headband, gathered my pizzas and hat, wished them a good day, and walked on.

     In the unoccupied bathroom, I scurried to the window, opened it, and threw the pizzas outside. Then I untied the pinafore, snatched off the hat, and walked to the paper towels. After cramming the clothing deep into the disposed towels, I jerked out several clean ones, wadded them up, and stuffed them on top of the clothing.

     Washing my hands, I stared at my reflection. "There, that should cover my tracks."

     Opening the bathroom door, I peered out, looked left, looked right, and, seeing no one, stepped out.

     "Now," I whispered, "I'm just someone's kid on 'take-your-daughter-to-work' day."

     I walked back in the direction of the elevators. Two suited men rounded the corner and my heart and stomach fluttered. Staring at their eyes, I saw they were too engaged in conversation to notice me, and soon they had passed by.

     Walking to the corner, I leaned around it and stared at the security checkpoint.

     "There they are," I whispered, realizing that slinking around in the hall of the FBI would only arouse suspicion.

     Staring at the attendants again, I watched them help an older woman remove the purse strapped over her right shoulder and set it on the conveyer belt. Neither looked my way.

     I stepped out and walked the thirty feet to the elevator hall, turned left, and scurried to the farthest one. "Good," I whispered, pushing the 'up' button. "They're out of sight."

     I waited-and waited-and waited, and then a "bong" sounded as the elevator closest to the main hall opened. Two men and a woman stepped out. I spun away from them and pushed the "up" button again. The elevator door closed and the "up" button light went out. I waited and pushed it again.

     Glancing at my watch, I looked toward the hall. A few people walked past, but none came toward the elevators.

     Bong.

     My elevator door opened, and I rushed in. Spinning, I pushed the third-floor button and moved to the corner. A man rushed toward me. "Wait! You! Wait a minute!"

     I flattened my lips and gulped as I reached for the third-floor button again.

     "Stop!" the man said, from twenty feet away. My finger punched the third-floor button so hard it nearly sprained.

     "Ouch," I said, looking at the man and shrugging my shoulders. The doors started closing and he arrived with them only a foot apart. "Sorry, sir. I don't know how."

     "It's okay-" he said before the doors closed.

     "Good, he wasn't after me … just the elevator. Well, I certainly don't need to hold a conversation all the way to the third floor." I tapped the purse hanging from my left shoulder. "Now, Agent Strunk, get ready for a most unexpected visitor."