Spy School: Catalyst

Chapter Three

Welp, here's chapter three. Btw, any likes, votes, or comments makes writing this for you guys worthwhile , so I would really appreciate it if you guys could comment on anything really.

I'm not really in it for the votes, but like I said, any comments appreciated.

Enjoy,

AaronJPyro

SPY SCHOOL:CATALYST

CHAPTER THREE

Benjamin Ripley

We all gathered around the computer . I scratched my head, confused and yet shocked at the same time. Erica stared at me, questioning.

"Okay." She said simply. "Ben was with me at the time of this recording, so there is no way possible he could be in two locations at once."

RIley nodded. "I figured that out as well. Catalyst, or whoever created it, must have used some kind of software to transplant a photo creation of Ben onto this recording."

"Um." I interjected. "Something looks odd about this. How could they have created such a realistic photo, especially at night? It doesn't make sense."

Erica shook her head. "With new technology, you could practically make anything look realistic. It would be easy-peasy for anyone with the right technology to make something like this."

I nodded, although secretly I wasn't convinced.

Riley tapped the computer screen yet again. The video paused, then resumed in slow motion. The fake me slowly walked to the fence, then jumped over with an agility I knew was impossible for me. The metallic flash glared on the screen once again, and the figure darted over a second before it flashed again.

Erica received a text on her phone, and smiled.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Just a message from a friend." She said.

Riley tapped the mousepad rapidly. "I got something." She zoomed in on the video, slowly zooming in and augmenting the pixels. As it became clearer, we could make out a sign. Slowly, the words on it became clear.

Riley grinned at us. "How do you guys feel about California?"

The plane flight from Washington, D.C to LAX was scheduled to be around eight and a half hours. After a short delay for takeoff, we were served a tasteless meal. I fell asleep about an hour later.

"Is Ben really ready for something like this?", Riley asked, jolting me out of sleep. Luckily, I was facing away from them, so they couldn't have seen my eyelids flutter for a split second.

Erica was quiet for a ten count. "I sincerely hope so.", She said finally. "We've stopped the melting of Antarctica while held at gunpoint. Threw a nuclear bomb off the roof of the Eiffel tower together."

I may have just been imagining it, but there seemed to be a small sweetness to her voice when she said "together." Or it may have been "nuclear bomb." That would be considerable with Erica.

Probably to Erica's immediate chagrin, Riley said. "And what is the deal with you two? Is it because of the Joshua guy that you're shying so far away from Ben?"

I could literally feel Erica grimace, as our lousy airline chairs were stacked together like sardines. "I wonder where we are right now. Our course seems to be off the flight plan." She said, blatantly ignoring Riley.

Riley didn't let this go. "Oh, come on! Just because one person broke your heart and turned to the dark side doesn't mean everyone will."

Erica yet again responded by simply evading the question. "We need to know if our flight plan is correct or not. We could be over the Mediterranean right now, and we wouldn't know."