Spy School: Family Ties

Chapter 9

New Jersey
March 16, 2027
2200 hours

Erica's POV

Jawa had driven me and Ben and Emma on our way to New York. We were about halfway there, but some terrible traffic held us up so we had to stop in Jersey. The weather was clearing up and looking ahead, it would be very warm in New York.

We had stopped at a hotel and checked in for 2 rooms. Me and Ben shared one and Jawa had one to himself. We had a king size bed.

Ben was in the bathroom taking a shower, while I was sitting down scrolling through my phone. I had hacked the CIA but they still had not found any information. I had contacted Grandpa to see if he had found anything, but I had not got a response.

I was frustrated with the lack of info. It seemed like a lost cause, this mission. But I knew that we had to try. Who knew what SNOW was planning. If we did know, we wouldn't be in this situation.

I opened up a bag of apple slices that I had got from a convenience store (don't judge, I know it's not a salad) and munched away. They were surprisingly soft and tasted very good. I munched away on them quickly and opened a second bag.

I quickly finished them too. I went through Ben's bag, but he only had chocolate bars, a few bag of chips, water, soda, and gum.

For real Erica, your husband is a pig.

He still has some nice abs though.

I decided not to take his stuff and went back to looking through my phone. I searched up any events in New York happening, but there wasn't anything important. Mostly just town rallies, protests, and random events. Nothing that seemed targetable.

I was going to throw my phone down in frustration when I realized that most of my missions have been like this. Ben has been the one to figure the problems out, I have just been his muscle. I'm sure that he can probably find out what is going on.

He did it at the Cayman Islands, anyway.

I thought back to that time. It was a fun trip, for all the danger. After our mission, we had had so much fun. Everyone close to us seemed surprised that I was showing emotion, but Ben had done a number on me.

We had walked the islands, played at the beach, went on cool tours, and just relaxed with some alone time, which was something that I loved to have (only with Ben, of course.)

Emma started rubbing my arm and I picked her up.

"Little girl got in her first fight tonight," I said, holding her in front of me. "Mommy was scared but you did well." I touched her nose and she smiled.

It was around 10 at night, but Emma seemed wide awake. She hadn't slept that much during the ride, mostly just squirming around and moving from me to Ben. She had napped for about 30 minutes, but that was it.

I was surprised by her ability to stay awake. I read that most babies sleep, but Emma didn't seem to do that. She looked at me curiously with her ice blue eyes. Her hair had started to grow surprisingly quickly. I saw black hair, just like mine, but in between some strands there was a nice brown colour, the same as Ben's hair.

I sat her down across from me, propping her up on a pillow.

"Little Emma doesn't want to sleep?" I asked. She started laughing and I poked her, making her laugh more. I kept tickling her until I saw tears forming in her eyes. I quickly stopped.

Right as I did, she blinked and the tears disappeared. I saw a little smirk run across her face.

She can fake emotions?!??

I just laughed. She might be the next super spy. I picked her back up and held her in my arms. She was very warm and I relaxed as I laid down in bed with Emma.

I heard the shower turn off and I waited for Ben to come out. He came out about 5 minutes after, with damp, messy hair, and a tank top and gym shorts on.

"May I?" He questioned, pointing towards Emma.

"Yes, dummy," I said, smirking. "You may want to watch out though. She's got the acting skills of me, or should I say, Sasha Rotko."

Ben's eyes widened in curiosity.

"Duly noted. Come her Emma, lets let Mommy take a shower."

I gave Emma to Ben and she started poking and prodding Ben. He seemed to enjoy it and let her harass him, sitting down on the bed. I went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

The water felt amazing and it was the perfect temperature. I quickly put soap on and rinsed myself off, then washed my hair. I got it out in around 5 minutes, and I put on a baggy T shirt that I found in Ben's bag, as well as biker shorts. I put my hair in a messy bun and walked out.

Ben was holding Emma out in front of him, making stupid faces, and Emma was trying to mimic him. I quickly rescued her.

"What are you doing with that silly man?" I questioned, looking at her. "He's not a good influence."

Ben laughed and I went to sit beside him. I rested Emma in my lap and I let Ben wrap his arm around me.

"You're a terrible mother," he told me.

"You're a terrible person," I said.

I felt his head rub my shoulder and I moved closer.

"Do you have any ideas?" I asked.

"About what?" Ben said.

"What they might be planning."

"I'm not sure, but I'm betting we can put something together. Especially with this little one." He ruffled Emma's hairs.

He was right. Emma had been extremely useful on the missions. She was definitely born to be a spy. She started crying and I'm guessing that was her cue that she was hungry.

She hadn't had anything since the little apple slices, so I dutifully let her feed. She instantly calmed down.

"You weren't kidding about the acting," Ben said.

"Oh no," I said. "I think this was real, but when she wants she can do it. It's amazing, really."

He nodded. I could see him look off into space and I nestled my head onto his chest. He rubbed my hair and held me close.

After Emma was done, I helped her get ready for bed by putting on her little pyjamas and giving her a little blanket. I looked back to see Ben staring.

"Ben, for the last time, mommy's milk is for Em"

"No, not that," he said, cutting me off. "I'm just looking at my girls."

I brought Emma between us and Ben kissed her on the forehead. He put her down and I heard the slight snores of her.

"I love you guys so much," he said, kissing me.

I just nodded, then made sure Emma was safe between us, and drifted off to sleep.

Sorry for the long wait, I had a lot of school stuff. I should update pretty soon