Kidnapped at the Capital by Ron Roy

1
Vanished
    “Come and eat, kitties!” KC Corcoran called out. She filled a bowl with cat food and set it on the floor. Lost and Found, her two kittens, came sliding around the corner when they heard the sound.
    Marshall Li, KC’s best friend, poured water into another bowl.
    “We have to leave soon,” KC’s mom said. Lois Corcoran held up an engraved invitation. “It’s almost ten o’clock. The president is meeting us outside the Air and Space Museum in half an hour.”
    “Do you think Casey Marshall will be there, too?” KC asked.
    “I doubt it,” her mother said, looking for her keys. “The president doesn’t want the public to know he has a clone.”
    The President of the United States had invited KC, her mom, and Marshall to the Cherry Blossom Festival. Each April, this celebration was held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Thousands of people came out to enjoy the museums and the beautiful pink cherry blossoms.
    KC and Marshall had become friends with President Zachary Thornton when they’d rescued him from evil scientists. The scientists had cloned the president, hoping to use the clone for their own purposes.
    But KC and Marshall had saved the president, and the president had saved the clone. Now the clone—named CaseyMarshall after KC and Marshall—lived in the White House.
    “Do I have time to run downstairs and feed Spike?” Marshall asked.
    Marshall lived in an apartment two floors below KC. He was staying with the Corcorans while his parents were away buying antiques for his mom’s shop.
    “If you hurry,” KC’s mom said. “We’ll meet you in the lobby in five minutes.”
    KC watched Marshall dash out the door. Spike was his pet tarantula. KC shuddered, thinking of all those hairy legs.
    Five minutes later, KC, her mom, and Marshall met in the lobby.
    “Say hi to the president for me,” said Donald. He held the door open. Donald was the building manager, and he was also their friend.
    The National Mall was a short walk from the apartments. They passed the Capitol building, then cut through the Botanic Gardens. The cherry trees that lined the grassy strip were in full bloom. Everywhere KC looked, people were going in and out of the museums and other buildings on the National Mall.
    Kids zoomed around on roller blades. Joggers dodged baby strollers. Vendors stood behind carts selling food, T-shirts, and Washington, D.C. souvenirs.
    “There he is!” Marshall pointed to a group of people next to the National Air and Space Museum. In the center of the group stood the president, wearing khaki pants, a blue sweater, and a baseball cap. All around him were secret service agents in dark suits. The president chatted andshook hands with everyone who came up to him.
    “Isn’t it great,” KC’s mom said, “that President Thornton gets out to meet the people who elected him?”
    The president looked up and waved at KC, her mom, and Marshall. The secret service agents made an opening for them through the crowd.
    “Hi! Thanks for coming,” the president said when they reached him. “Aren’t the cherry blossoms beautiful?”
    “Lovely!” KC’s mom said. She picked a blossom from a tree and tucked it in her hair. “Thank you for inviting us, Mr. President.”
    “The cherry trees are so pink!” KC said. “I feel like I’m walking through strawberry ice cream!”
    “Mmmm, ice cream!” said Marshall.
    “Now there’s a good idea,” KC’s mom said. “Would you like to get some?” She dug in her purse, then handed KC a five- dollar bill.
    KC and Marshall went looking for an ice cream cart. “President Thornton is so cool,” Marshall said. “Maybe I’ll run for president some day.”
    “I thought you wanted to be a bug scientist,” KC reminded her friend.
    Marshall shrugged. “I can always be an entomologist in my spare time.”
    “I don’t think presidents get much time for hobbies,” KC said.
    “That’s lousy,” Marshall said. “If I can’t bring my spiders,