to laugh.
âOf course, Luke knows all the rules. Heâll know where you can and canât go.â Warren sneezed three times in a row.
âExcuse me again,â he said.
âSounds like allergies,â Callieâs dad said.
âShouldnât be allergies. Iâm not allergic to anything but cats.â
âI picked up a cat outside the motel,â Callie said quickly. âMaybe some of its fur got on my clothes.â
Warren sniffed. âThatâs probably it. I just canât stand cats.â
The kitten gave a tiny meow, so Callie pretended to cough. She pulled her camera out of her backpack. There wasnât much to see, but at least the clicking of the shutter might cover any sounds from the kitten.
The agent frowned in the rearview mirror.âThat camera will have to stay in your cabin,â he said. âYou canât take photos at Camp David.â
âWhat if I show you all the pictures I take before I leave?â Callie asked. Now that the camera was in her hands, she knew she couldnât put it away for a week. It went with her everywhere, because she never knew when a good shot would appear. âYou can delete all the ones you want. I wonât take any pictures of buildings.â
âWell, maybe,â he said. âEven if we get permission, though, you canât take even one picture of Luke Brockett. That is absolutely against the rules.â
âNo problem.â She didnât want to take pictures of Luke! âCould I take a few pictures before we get there? Out of the window, I mean. My aunt Kate wanted me to e-mail her lots of pictures.â
âThatâs fine, but we will be in the restricted area in just a minute.â
The SUV turned onto a road marked with a sign: CATOCTIN MOUNTAIN PARK . Callie snapped pictures of everything, even if nothing seemed very interesting. They passed two people dressed for hiking.
Agent Erickson motioned at the hikers and slowed the car as the road narrowed. âCampDavid is located in a national park, so even outside the fence we are surrounded by woods.â
A black shape appeared in the cameraâs viewfinder. Callie tried to make out what it was. It was moving, but not as fast as the car. She held down the zoom button.
âItâs a bear! I see a bear!â she yelled.
âWhere?â Agent Erickson braked as if afraid the bear was in front of the car.
âThere, over there, in the forest.â The bear was moving fast, his big body swaying from side to side. âHeâs gone,â Callie said, lowering the camera and turning off the shutter. âWow! I canât see it anymore. That was great.â
âYou were lucky,â Agent Erickson said. âThere arenât that many in this part of Maryland.â The car moved forward again.
Callie shifted around, trying to put the camera away and take off her jacket without hurting the kitten. She positioned the pocket and the kitten in her lap. When she leaned over to peek in, her braid dangled down and the kitten stuck a paw out to bat at it.
Agent Erickson sneezed again. Startled, Callie hid the kittenâs paw.
The road became steeper until they came to awooden fence covered with vines. Two security cameras were mounted on either side of a big wooden gate.
âItâs just like the ranch,â Callie said. âI bet the electric fence is inside this one.â
âYouâre right. This fence is meant to blend in with the surroundings and warn off anybody who might get this close. Iâm glad youâre old enough to know to stay away from the electric fence. When the President is in residence we donât turn off the fence, and thatâs why we usually donât let staff children up here.â
The wooden gate opened and Agent Erickson drove the car through, stopping before a much more imposing metal gate. On either side of it were thick chain-link sections held in place by concrete