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"Those aren't aquarium staff," she whispered as I scrambled to her side.

The first figure reached the door, yanking it repeatedly. The bus driver, a retired Navy veteran named Earl, locked it and shook his head.

"Call 911," I muttered to Lily, reaching for my phone only to find it soaked from the touch tank incident.

The second figure produced something that made my blood run cold – a crowbar.

"Back of the bus, now," I said to Lily. "Get the kids to the emergency exit."

Glass shattered as the crowbar connected with the side window. A child screamed.

My mind raced. Twenty-seven kids. One exit. Not enough time.

The would-be intruder's arm snaked through the broken window, reaching for the door handle.

Without thinking, I grabbed the nearest object – a plastic trident from the gift shop – and jabbed it at the arm. The man recoiled with a curse.

"Tommy!" I shouted. "Remember those alien communication skills? Time to deploy them!"

The boy's eyes widened with understanding. He raised his shark snow globe and hurled it through the broken window with surprising accuracy, nailing one of the masked figures in the head.

"Blue Dolphins, battle stations!" Lily called out, and to my astonishment, the children responded with military precision, grabbing their souvenirs and positioning themselves along the windows.

A barrage of plastic sea creatures, rock candy, and gift shop projectiles rained down on our attackers. A particularly well-aimed stuffed pufferfish knocked the crowbar from the lead figure's hand.

Earl had recovered his composure and was now on the radio, calling for police backup.

I spotted a fire extinguisher mounted near his seat. "Keep them busy!" I yelled, lunging for it.

One of the masked figures had managed to get the door partially open. I aimed the extinguisher and unleashed a cloud of white chemical spray directly into their face.

He stumbled backward, colliding with his companions. If the situation weren’t so serious, I would have laughed as it reminded me of a skit from The Three Stooges. Relief washed through me at the sound of wailing police cars in the distance.

"They're running!" Emma shouted, her motion sickness apparently cured by the adrenaline rush.

Sure enough, our attackers were scrambling back to their vehicle. I caught a glimpse of something falling from one of their pockets – a small black device with a blinking red light.

"Everyone out the back!" I shouted, a sick feeling in my gut. "Now!"

Lily didn't question me, immediately directing the children toward the emergency exit. I helped Earl from his seat, supporting his weight as we followed the stream of blue-shirted kindergarteners pouring out the back door.

We were barely fifty feet away when a deafening boom shook the ground. The bus rocked on its wheels as flames erupted from beneath it.

The children stared in stunned silence as their field trip vehicle became an inferno.

"Is this part of the aquarium experience?" whispered a wide-eyed Marcus.

Lily wrapped her arms around the nearest children, her face pale but composed. "No, but you all just earned your bravery badges."

Police cars screeched into view, followed by fire trucks. In the chaos of emergency responders, I found myself standing beside Lily, watching flames consume the bus.

"Those weren't random thieves," she said quietly, so the children couldn't hear.

She met my eyes. "No, they weren't."

"They were after me, weren’t they?”

I nodded. “I hate to say this, Lily, but I think you need to take a leave of absence.”