Spy School: Danger is my Middle Name

Düşmən düşməndirmi? Dəqiq bilmirəm. Dır,-dir,-dur,-dür.

Is water wet 💦

---POV Switch to Agent Benjamin Ripley---

The first thing that caught my eye was that as soon as the bodyguard closed the door behind Jade, his expression went from protective dad to remember to close your window tomorrow night.

This immediately sent an idea coursing through my head. What if the bad guys were double-crossing Jade?

It made perfect sense. For one, she knew a thing or two about James, about his life, and about how he was living in a hotel in Florida. For two, she was the perfect blackmail and bait device that could be used to lure us to the Croatoan area. 

So all they had to do was to set up some kind of cover in order to hide the fact that they were the Croatoan, blow it off onto Jade, randomly accuse this 'Erica Hale' as a villain trying to end the US's life, and then sell it out to her. And by seeing this result, she probably took the whole plot hook, line, and sinker.

"Jade's been disposed of," the first guard said, walking towards us. "As for these spicemens...men, bring them to the experimenting room."

"Experimenting room?" Jayden hissed. "What are these guys playing at? Are they trying to become some kind of human gerbil for their tests?"

"No, we're not, Jayden," the nearest bodyguard said. "We're taking you there to divulge certain information from you. And if you choose to fight back against us, then..." he brandished his gun. "Certain events will have to proceed."

Jayden gulped. "Okay, sir."

Three staggering minutes later, we were handcuffed, chained to the floor, and brutally placed inside a room that looked suspiciously like solitary confinement. Except we weren't being held so solitary- the whole gang, minus the other peeps were here.

"You led us directly into a trap, Erica," Dylan huffed disapprovingly. "I'm disappointed in you."

Erica didn't respond. From my point of view, it looked like as she was inspecting a spot on the wall- though I knew she was probably thinking about how to escape from here. That was the wisest thing to do at the moment- after all, there was basically nothing else to ponder about.

Other than the fact that James had slipped out of our sights. Heck, he probably was making out with Jade in a corner right now. There was no doubt that he couldn't care less about our fates.

I took a grim look towards the guard at the door. "What did you bring us here for? What's this all about? Why is this room called the 'Experiment room'?"

"You should be asking those questions to yourself, Benjamin Ripley," the guard said, chuckling. "Didn't your file say you were abnormally smart for your age? Where'd all of that come from"

"Shut it," I shot back. "You're the one who wants to kill millions of innocent lives without even hesitating. You shouldn't be laughing at me."

"You think I care?" the guard sneered. "Nothing can stop us from doing anything. You can put all of your effort up- you won't be able to punch a kink into our plan."

"We stopped your thermonuclear bomb," Jayden said absentmindedly. "You call that less than a kink? How large is your plan?"

The guard hesitated. "That thwart doesn't count. It was simply a lack of central intelligence- those agents didn't have any experience. They were just some spare people we sent on a random mission."

"We stopped your last plan, also. Not to mention doubling that when we knocked at least a few hundred of your henchmen unconscious- then we continued to breach your insides by finding out where your headquarters were. You call that not much?" Erica piped in. "You can try all you can, but you can't beat us. I already know what you're planning to do next- and I'm betting if I relay that information to Ben, he'll easily find out your whole plo-"

Erica's arm suddenly sprouted a sedation dart, and her eyes glazed over. "Really...?" she muttered. "I swear to god, you guys are so e..."

Before she finished her sentence, her body went slack, leaning towards the ground. If it wasn't for me catching her, she would've taken a hard knock onto the floor- and then I realized something else. Erica seemed so lightweight when I was holding her... but when she was walking around, it seemed she was as heavy as a normal fourteen-year-old girl.

"But mom," Erica muttered, tightening her grip on my shirt and making me wince. "I want a rocket launcher...I know I'm only six....mom..."

I held in my laugh, switching positions so I set Erica lightly on the ground. A few seconds later, she grabbed me again and snuggled up against my side. "Don't escape, pillow," she muttered, snoring lightly. "You're so soft."

Jayden took a look at Erica and smiled. 

"I know you're about to make a dirty joke," I grumbled right when his mouth opened an inch. "So I'm going to warn you beforehand to shut it."

"B-but..." Jayden said, visibly trying to holding his giggles. "That position...I need to get this on camera!"

I grimaced and slapped the phone out of Jayden's hand. "You little-"

Erica suddenly hugged my waist, softly snoring into my chest. My whole face turned red, and in a moment of embarrassment, forgot that Jayden still had control over the phone. It was only after a flash and a click sound that I realized I had just received another item in my blackmail envelope.

I took a whimsical look at Erica, who was still convinced I was some sort of pillow in her sedated state, quickly making a desperate attempt to escape. According to Erica's grip, I realized that it was impossible to.

Mike took a look at our position. I could tell at first he thought Erica was actually awake and we were doing something that I'm not going to mention, but when he saw the dart in her arm, his expression went back to normal.

"Cute," he noted. "Jayden, you have to picture, correct?"

"Yep!" he said satisfactorily. "I've posted it on all of my social media accounts, not to mention also making multiple copies and making sure that they can't be deleted. After Erica's awake, promise not to mention me doing this, since she's going to kill me."

"Okay, I'll mention it," I said. "Thanks for telling me that."