Spy School: Framed for Murder (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter Nine: The Phone

We left the museum the next day.

Erica's plan was to find the principal's belongings, find his phone, and investigate every single one of the contacts on the lists - at least, the text messages.

We were heading to George Washington University Hospital, which was obviously not in Virginia, so we had to travel for another few hours by taxi. According to Erica, a victim's belongings would be held in a Medical Examiner's office, which was why we were headed to a hospital.

It was currently around 1300 hours, and we were eating hamburgers from a McDonald's.

"This is the only time I'm eating something so unhealthy," Erica told me. "I'm eating this because my energy levels need to stay up."

"But you have to admit this stuff is good," I said.

Erica didn't reply, which I took as her saying, It's good but I'm never admitting it.

We were standing right in front of the hospital, hanging out near a crowd of neatly trimmed bushes. Cars occasionally drove in and out of the underground parking lot, and people wearing suits passed by on the sidewalk. The hospital itself had a roundish triangular shape, and had a clutter of windows above the lobby floor. To the lower right of the front of the building was a sign on the wall that read: THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL.

Erica had finished her hamburger and had thrown the wrapping in a nearby trashcan and seemed to be observing our surroundings. I tried to do the same, but I wasn't exactly sure what to look out for.

"What are you looking for?" Erica inquired, in a tone that said I know exactly what you're doing and it looks idiotic.

I shrugged. "What are you looking for?"

"A way to get in," Erica mused. "Wait out here. I'm going to check out the interior."

She casually walked into the underground parking lot and disappeared from sight, leaving me alone outside.

As I continued to savor my hamburger, I thought about who the principal could possibly be in contact with. I couldn't think of anyone. Any smart evil organization wouldn't bother flipping him, and I was quite sure he didn't have many friends in general.

And why would anyone plan a meeting with the principal, only to kill him?

Ten minutes passed, and I started to get worried. Erica normally was quick about things, so ten minutes was an unusually long amount of time to scope out a place.

"She's fine," I assured myself. "She can handle herself."

I forced myself to wait another five minutes, then couldn't stand it anymore and started to head inside the parking lot. Before I could, though, someone tapped me on the shoulder, making me jump. Swiveling around, I mentally prepared myself to see a gun pointed at my face (that's what being a spy does to you), only to find Erica standing there.

I sighed in relief. "You scared me."

"You think I can't handle myself?" she questioned.

Her face remained deadpan, but there was a teasing tone in her voice. I flushed furiously and quickly replied, "No, I just-"

"I got his phone," Erica interrupted, holding up a small cell phone.

I blinked. "You weren't scoping out the place?"

"A teenage boy wandering around the place would look suspicious," she replied simply. "I can make myself look like an adult. I also might've stolen a doctor's coat."

I couldn't help but feel slightly offended and hurt by the fact that Erica thought I couldn't handle myself, but deep down, I knew she was right. It wasn't just my inability to change personas - it was also the fact that I looked like I didn't belong in a hospital.