Spy School Fail-Safe

Chapter 8

Enjoy!

Going to Singapore was easy. We had the tickets, and we had the public flight. But there was only one problem with the whole thing.

"We're five minors with no luggage. Won't everyone be suspicious?" Mike asked with a frown.

"Not if you pose as five high schoolers on a trip to Singapore with a chaperone," Catherine said with a sly smile. "I'll accompany you, and from Singapore I will catch a flight back here to London eventually."

"You still haven't answered the luggage part of the question," Mike replied.

Zoe nodded. "If we're high school students going on a trip, won't we need luggage? Clothes?"

"Then a little shopping will do," Catherine replied. "We'll hit the mall and buy one suitcase for each of you. Stock up on whatever you please. Clothing, makeup, perfume, cologne, toiletries and other essentials. Alright?"

"Your mom has the best solutions," I whispered to Erica, who smirked, nodding. Then I turned to Catherine. "Are we going right now?"

"The faster the better," she replied. "Now follow me."

We headed to the Mi6 headquarters, where there was an SUV we could all pile into. Catherine started the engine and cranked up the heater, and we all got a blast of heat, which was bliss as we didn't even have jackets in the cold weather outside. Erica rode shotgun while Mike and Jawa sat in the very back, leaving me and Zoe in the middle.

"How are you feeling about, well, all of this?" she asked me as the vehicle started down the road to the mall.

I shrugged. "I guess I'm kind of used to this by now," I replied. "Getting accused for something I didn't do, fleeing the country, being shot at, all that stuff. You could say I'm actually doing well."

"The great Smokescreen is finally adapting," Zoe replied with a laugh. "You should consider yourself lucky that people want to kill you. You're popular among terrorists and evil organizations, you know."

I groaned. "That's not exactly something to be proud of, you know."

"Whatever," Mike replied from the back. "You know how in Ms. E's basement there was a photo of you in her dartboard? I wish my face was there. You're lucky, Ben."

"Sure," I replied, rolling my eyes, and luckily, before any of my friends could continue, Catherine stopped the SUV. "What happened?" I asked. "Are we being shot at again? Is someone following us again?"

"Ben, you're such a worrywart," Erica replied with a smile. "We've reached the mall."

Jawa laughed. "Your girlfriend roasted you," he teased as we got out of the van, and while it made me turn red, it also kind of embarrassed me.

Catherine led us into the mall, which was crowded with people, seeing that it was a weekend. I saw people of all ages shop in all kinds of stores. "Now, children," Catherine said to all of us, "I will give you an hour and a half to shop. Swipe with these cards and the funds will be wired to Mi6. Have fun!"

"Come on, let's shop together or something," Mike urged as we walked away from Catherine, who got a phone call. "I need new clothes. Can we hit the Nike store?"

"So they even have a Nike store here?" I asked. "We're in London, not the United States."

Erica nodded, pointing to a sign above us which was marked with signs showing where stores were on different floors. "There's a Nike here alright," she replied. "I think we should all hit the Nike store."

"Nike is for athletes," Jawa smirked, and I groaned, though a smile spread across my face because I knew my friends were pulling my leg. "But whatever, Mike and I fit the athlete personality. Erica only likes black, and Zoe's not that bad for an athlete. So..."

"Smokescreen can get Nike too," Zoe replied in my defense. "He's figured out so many evil plans. He's a mental athlete."

"Brains wear clothes?" Mike asked. "Last time I checked, they sit inside our heads." He laughed, but when he saw my half-upset glare he pushed me. "Joking," he said. "Come on."

We took the escalator up one floor and found the familiar-looking Nike swoosh hanging above a door. We slipped into the store and were instantly surrounded by mannequins wearing shorts and tees, and boxes of shoes.

"Alright, time to shop!" Mike exclaimed, rushing over to where shorts were neatly stacked on a shelf. I spotted Zoe and Erica go over to the women's section, and I followed Mike and Jawa, who had beat me to the men's section, already surfing through sizes.

"How long are we going to be staying in Singapore?" Jawa asked. "That way I know how many pairs I need."

I shrugged. "Probably more than a week. I don't know." I picked up a pair of basketball shorts, then put them back down the moment I spotted track pants. Finding the right size, I picked up three pairs of pants and one pair of shorts, then grabbed a few t-shirts.

"We've been given too much lenience," Mike laughed. "We've been handed credit cards and asked to buy whatever we want. For a minute I forgot we're all wanted."

"You're not alone," Zoe replied, walking over to us. She had piled up on some leggings and tees as well. "This is like any other day at the mall. Are we done?"

Erica followed suit, carrying a few t-shirts and leggings, all black, which was her usual style. "I think we're good for clothes. We should probably go get some other things too."

"What about towels and toothbrushes and shampoo and all that?" Mike asked. "If we're staying in a hotel then their products probably won't be long-lasting."

"I doubt we'll be staying at a hotel," Erica replied. "We might stay in a house."

"A house?" I repeated. "All by ourselves?"

Erica nodded. "Think of it as a fully furnished, large hotel room," she clarified. "It's a huge house, but they have the comforts of a hotel and everything. We'll have everything we need except for clothing and accessories, which is why we're here."

Zoe nodded. "We should probably purchase these and then buy some suitcases," she said. "We don't have a lot of time, and we have to buy other things too."

About half an hour later we had bought suitcases and were sitting on a bench outside the stores, stuffing our clothes, accessories and other items into our suitcases. Luckily, not many people were around, so our activity didn't look suspicious at all.

"This is officially the weirdest thing I've done at a mall," I admitted. "I'm just glad no one's watching this."

"We need to move fast," Catherine reminded us. "We really need to hustle. There's not much time for you to sit and dawdle. The faster you're on your way to Singapore, the better."

As soon as everyone was done packing their suitcases, we slipped out of the mall and back to the SUV, which we would take directly to the airport. On the way, Catherine passed out our respective tickets. While fleeing we had all packed our passports safely, and even if we didn't, Catherine had scored some emergency ones.

The drive to the airport wasn't very long, but it seemed like forever. We were five kids in an SUV with a pile of suitcases and one adult. As fun as it would be to travel to Singapore as part of some high school activity, that was only our cover.

"I really wish we were actually going for fun," Jawa complained. "If we have to be hiding the whole time, I'll never get to do any sightseeing. It's not fair."

"You won't have to hide all the time," Catherine replied. "I suppose you could probably visit a tourist attraction or two."

"How long will we be staying in Singapore?" Zoe asked. "Just until the bad guys are found, right?"

Erica nodded, though she was sulking. "Finding the bad guys is our thing," she said. "Instead, now we're in a pickle, hiding from them because we don't even know who they are."

"Patience, Erica," Catherine smiled, and in the distance, Heathrow Airport came into view. "I know you have better things to do than this, but you have to be patient. Plus, I know you five are more capable than people at the CIA. But right now all we can do is wait."

If only waiting was easy.

Ok!!! I might update anywhere in the next few days, so stay tuned!! See you all in the enxt chapter!