Spy School Fail-Safe

Chapter 10

Chapter 10!!!

I couldn't even remember the last time I had been on a flight. It was just as crowded as I thought it would be. there were people of all ages doing things that someone would normally do on a flight. I was wedged in between Erica and Mike, while Jawa, Zoe and Catherine were in the seats right in front of us.

"Been a while," Erica said. "I can't remember the last time I was on a public flight."

"When have you ever been on a public flight?" Mike asked. "I thought you always flew private. You know, with all those missions and everything."

"I have a life too," Erica replied. "I've done it occasionally."

The rest of the ride was somewhat boring, as everyone either snuggled in to catch up on some sleep or they watched something on screen in front of them. After a few hours of doing nothing, I had also fallen fast asleep, and I hadn't noticed that we had already landed in Singapore a few hours later.

We filed out of the flight and entered Singapore Airport, which as usual was a remarkable looking place, with all its magnificent attractions and beautiful landscapes. I spotted a huge waterfall in one area and sky trains connecting terminals. There were lots of people moving back and forth, and I spotted a few food areas as well. The five of us followed Catherine to the baggage claim and immigration area.

"If I wasn't here on a mission, I would totally do some sightseeing," Zoe said. "I love Singapore. It's always been on my vacation list. If I hadn't signed up for spy school, I would totally be living my life here."

"You children won't really be doing anything during your stay here," Catherine spoke. "So you might as well enjoy the opportunity to maybe visit a few tourist attractions in and around where you will be staying."

"Speaking of which, where are we staying?" Jawa asked. "Like a fancy hotel or something? Or is it another safehouse?"

"Kind of a combination of both," Catherine replied. "It is a fully equipped house with a main floor, a basement and some bedrooms upstairs. There is everything you need except clothing and personal belongings. Almost like you five will be living in that house. It has four bedrooms, I'm sure, and two pullout couches, one in the living room and one in the basement."

"Wait, five?" I repeated. "Catherine, you're not staying with us? Why?"

"Oh, Benjamin, don't worry," she replied. "The house is opposite to one of our Mi6 bases. I will be staying there."

I visibly relaxed. The last thing I wanted to do was stay alone without an adult in a country I had never been to. Erica seemed to notice my body language and smirked, making me turn beet red in embarrassment.

We grabbed our suitcases and headed to the exit, and on the way Catherine informed us that there was a car waiting for us with an Mi6 agent, who would take us to the safehouse where we would be staying. As we headed out though, I noticed that Erica kept looking back and checking her surroundings.

"Everything okay?" I whispered to her.

She perked up. "For now," she replied. "Just making sure no one is following us or anything."

"Why would they? No one here knows us," I replied.

"It's a dangerous world," Erica simply replied. "You have to keep watch all the time, Ben." She didn't bother saying anything else, walking up to Catherine, who was looking around for what I presumed was a car.

Sure enough, a few moments later a blue SUV pulled up. There was a woman wearing a dark jacket, and her eyes lit up when she spotted us.

Catherine subtly motioned for us to stay back, and she walked up to the woman and said something in a low voice so it wasn't audible. The woman said something in response, and they both smiled, then Catherine opened the car door.

"Come on in," she said, and we piled into the car while Catherine and the other agent loaded our suitcases in the back.

"This is Marissa," Catherine said. "She's a fellow Mi6 agent. I'll be staying with her while you kids stay in the safehouse, alright?"

We all nodded our heads yes, and Marissa began driving. Unfortunately, Erica couldn't ride shotgun, and she seemed somewhat upset by that. All throughout the ride, I looked out the window, admiring Singapore's amazing skyline and cityscapes.

We reached the safe house in about twenty minutes, and Marissa stopped the vehicle so we could all get out and grab our luggage. The safe house looked just like all the other single homes around, which was good, because we needed to blend in and stay as inconspicuous as possible.

Catherine opened the door, and we found ourselves looking at what seemed like an extravagant family home. Just like Catherine had explained, it was a fully equipped house with a main floor, a basement and some bedrooms upstairs. We immediately took our suitcases upstairs, except for Jawa, who excitedly rushed off to the basement, which also had a bathroom.

There were four bathrooms in the whole house, but only three with showers, which meant Mike and I had to wait for Zoe and Erica to freshen up before we could go in.

After everyone showered, changed into fresh clothes and all, we took our respective suitcases to one of the four rooms. Mine was the last in the hallway, the walls painted a light violet color. It was a pleasant room, and definitely more spacious than my dorm.

I was just unpacking my clothes when I noticed a figure standing in my doorway out of the corner of my eye. Startled, I turned around only to find Erica leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed.

"Erica!" I exclaimed, standing up from where I was kneeling down to unpack. "You scared me."

She smirked for a second before it faded. "Gets you every time."

"Not funny."

"Yes, it is," she replied, walking into the room. "What are you doing?"

I noticed she was back to wearing her signature color. Black leggings, a black full-sleeved shirt and her hair loose around her shoulders. "Nothing, just unpacking," I replied.

"Recon with me at 0200 hours." Her voice was flat, toneless and expressionless. I couldn't tell if she was trying to ask me a question, order me, request or advise me.

"Why?" I chose to reply. "We barely even know this place. What will we even do here? The bad guys are back in the US. We're all the way across the world."

"Ben," Erica spoke, coming closer and lowering her voice, "someone's been following us for a while now."

I was taken aback. "Say what now?"

She sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I haven't told anyone. From the time we were at the right gate to board the flight until we got into the car to come here, I noticed a guy standing about ten feet away from us. Same clothes, same face. He had no luggage, and he got into a car twenty seconds after our vehicle started."

"You're telling me this now?" I asked.

"Yes, because I don't want to do recon alone. It's dangerous, and plus, I thought I'd let you know, because, well, we're all here because of you."

I frowned. "Hey!" I protested. "That's not true! I didn't do anything!"
She nodded. "I know. If we're going to prove everyone else wrong, then you need to get in on the action. So, are we in?"

I shrugged. "Okay," I replied.

Just like that, I had dragged myself into waking up at 2 am to follow Erica into a city I'd never been to before.

Enjoy! Have a great day/night!!