Spy School Oneshots

Sacrifice

THIS IS A REWRITE OF THE SCENE IN SSBI WHERE THEY INFILTRATE MR.E'S HOUSE. Hope you enjoy! :D

Ben POV

We were positioned directly on top of Mr. E's house, right beside an air vent that led into the house. From what we could tell from sticking cameras down it, it led right down into the center of the building, and there seemed to be a place where we could crawl out.

"Everybody ready?" Catherine asked.

"Yes," we replied. 

"Okay then," Catherine said. "Let's move." She leapt into the air conditioning vent, followed by Erica, me, Chip, Jawa, Mike, and finally Zoe. The air ducts were cramped, and we had to go on our hands and knees. Our faces were also directly behind the other person's rear end, which meant I had a clear view of Erica's. I tried not to hyperventilate as we crawled through the vents, but that just made me more obvious.

"You okay Ben?" Jawa asked from behind Chip. "You seem to be breathing hard."

"No, no, I'm fine," I lied. "Just don't really like cramped spaces."

"I can relate," Chip said.

Soon, we reached the bottom and clambered out of the vent. We were in an office room. There was a slightly outdated computer in here, with notes on it that said 'Send card for Tina's birthday' and 'Order bullets' and 'Find Ben Ripley & kill him.' That last one didn't make me feel too good. There was also a small desk, a half-eaten bar of chocolate, a leather couch, some paintings, a couple of stained wood cabinets, and to top it off, a rug on the floor covered with pictures of butterflies.

 Suddenly, 5 armed guards burst into the room, throwing smoke and concussion grenades everywhere. They then started spraying some submachine guns and one even had an assault rifle (an AK-47 from what I could tell from its firing pattern).

"Take cover!" Catherine yelled. I dived behind the computer, bullets rattling the screen. Zoe and Erica joined me. On her way behind the computer, Erica had accidentally tripped on a computer cord and fell straight into my lap. Her head was resting on my leg, and, possibly from instinct, her arms were wrapped around my neck.

Zoe didn't seem to like this one bit.

Erica quickly got off of me, reddening. She didn't have time to be embarrassed, though, since more armed men were coming in. It didn't look like we had any chance against them, and I saw only one possible option. 

The air duct we came out of was still there, so we could escape up it if we were fast enough. But still, the air duct was on the other side of the room, so how could we get there with all the bullets firing?

 It looked like everyone else had also come to this conclusion. So there was only one more thing to do.

I leapt out from behind my cover, waving my arms to attract attention. While doing this, I yelled 'Go!' to everyone else. Bullets flew at me, and quite a bit hit me, nicking my arms. One bullet hit me in the thigh, causing extreme pain. Finally, the bullets stopped, since the men had to reload. Everyone except Erica scrambled to the vent, climbing up it.

"Ben!" Erica said. "You go first!"

"No, Erica," I said. "There isn't time for both of us to go. Please, Erica. This is how it would always be."

"No!" Erica screamed, wrapping her arms around me. I didn't want to do this, but I had to for Erica and everyone else. Gently but quickly, I led her to the vent and started to push her up. Before she went up, she took a firmer hold on my neck, looked into my eyes, and kissed me. The kiss was quick since the men were almost finished reloading, but it held a lot of meaning. I could see that Erica truly didn't want me to go, but she knew I had to.

"Goodbye, Ben," she said, sobbing. 

"Goodbye, Erica," I said, shoving her up the vent just as the bullets started flying. I felt one nick me in the thigh again, and I fell to the ground. Another bullet dug into my arm, and I screamed in pain. Distinctly, I heard Erica crying and yelling at her mother to let her come back and help me. I heard Zoe sobbing as well and Mike crying, which I never heard before. Those were the last things I heard before it all went black.