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principal at our school. He’s also one of the most important Controllers.
    I used to hate Chapman. I mean, once I knew that he was a Controller and all. But then we learned that he surrendered his freedom to the Yeerks as part of a deal to keep his daughter, Melissa, safe.
    It’s hard to hate someone for protecting their kid. Even if he or she ended up being a deadly enemy. That’s one of the terrible things about fighting the Yeerks. The real enemy is just the evil slug in a person’s brain. The host is often totally innocent.
     Tobias said.
     Ax said instantly.
    Jake caught my eye. “That’s pretty much what I figured.”
    I smiled, despite the fact that I had a bad feeling about the way this conversation was going.
    “How big is a Z-Space thingie?” Cassie asked.
    Ax held two of his fingers close together, indicating something the size of a pea.
    Rachel stood. “We are not going into Chapman’s house again,” she said firmly. “The last time we did, we almost got Melissa made into a Controller. We cannot morph her cat again. Chapman is on guard now. It won’t be easy this time.” She realized what she’d said and added, “Not that it was exactly easy the first time.”
    “A historic first,” I observed. “Rachel saying no to a mission.”
    “Rachel’s right,” Jake said. “We do
nothing
that will endanger Melissa again. So the cat is out. Alsoany other plan that means major risk that Chapman will discover us.”
    For a while no one said anything.
    Finally Ax spoke silently in our heads.
    What he said surprised me a little. I guess I’d expected him to argue that we should try and help him.
    “What if …” Cassie began.
    We all looked at her. “Yes?” Jake asked.
    “What if there was a way to get into Chapman’s basement room—the secret room where he keeps the transmitter—without even going through the house? With almost no chance of getting caught?”
    I felt my heart sink. “As long as it doesn’t involve anything with an exoskeleton.”
    I’d meant it as a joke. But Cassie just looked at me solemnly.
    “What?” I demanded. “A lobster again? How is a lobster—“
    “No,” she said. “Think smaller. Much smaller. Much, much smaller.”

CHAPTER 10
    A nts. That was Cassie’s brilliant idea. Ants.
    See, ants could get into Chapman’s basement. And ants could carry away the small transponder. Ants.
    This was what my life had come to. We ended up spending a couple of hours debating whether we should be red ants or black ants. I finally left in disgust. I didn’t want to be an ant—red, black, or any other color.
    I saw Jake the next day in school. I had just come out of history class, where I had blown a pop quiz. I wasn’t in the best mood.
    I was opening my locker and muttering about the Mexican-American War, and how was anyone supposed to remember the difference between that war and the Texas war of independence.
    “Hi,” Jake said. “The answer is black. Turns out most of the ants near Chapman’s house are black. Tobias checked it out.”
    I looked over Jake’s shoulder to make sure no one was close enough to overhear. “Jake, I don’t want to be a bug. I’ve been a gorilla, an osprey, a dolphin, a seagull, a trout, of all things, a