Spies in Disguise: Passports and Protection (#1)

Chapter 6: Spies Retire For The Night

"Irwin just went past our room. The coast should be clear in a few minutes, assuming he's taking the elevator and heading back to the stadium," I report, turning to face Maddie and the others. 

"Good thinking!" praises Dad. 

"So how are we going to sneak downstairs without Irwin noticing us, since he might still be lurking around if he suspects anything?" I ask.

"I thought you were going to come up with a plan..." sighs Dad.

"I thought you were!" I protest.

"There's a stairwell in this hotel...why don't we just take the stairs?" suggests Maddie.

"Mads, you're a genius!" exclaims Uncle Hector, and high fives her. 

"Well, thanks, but it was pretty obvious..." trails off Maddie. "And don't call me Mads. It's weird!"

"The elevators are right next to the administration desk, and if we walk out of the elevator, everyone will be able to see us because we're right out in the open," explains Dad. "If we take the stairs, there's a separate door that leads to the stairwell, so we can hide behind the door if we see him."

"Okay, so can we go now?" I ask.

"Let's go!" says Uncle Hector.

Dad opens the door, sticks his head out, looks left and right, and nods. He opens the door wider, so that we can all creep out of the room. Maddie and I follow Dad, but Uncle Hector remains in the room, whispering something into his spy watch.

"Dad, what are you doing?" asks Maddie.

"I'm telling Chris to turn on the security cameras for this floor," answers Uncle Hector, and then he walks out of the room and closes the door, which Dad locks. Feeling hungry, I pull out a small box of orange-flavoured mints from my purse, and I eat several mints.

"Alright," whispers Dad. "Before we set off, just a reminder: If Irwin asks us why we took so long, tell him the line at the coffee shop was extremely long. If he suspects anything, act normal, and don't act all jittery and shaky." 

"We get it, now can we go?" I ask, irritably. "We can't take too long, or he will suspect something!" 

We walk quickly yet quietly towards the doors to the stairs, and we quickly climb down the stairs. As we get closer to the lobby, my heart is pounding very quickly. I feel scared inside. Will Irwin suspect something? And if he does, will Maddie and I fail our mission?

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"Are we at the lobby yet?" whines Maddie. We've been walking down the stairs forever. My legs are starting to get tired and sore from walking down the stairs so quickly.

"We're only on the 12th floor," says Uncle Hector. 

"There are two flights of stairs on each floor, and our rooms are on the 20th floor..." I realize. I quickly do some mental math in my head, multiplying 2 by 19. "So does that mean...we have to walk down 38 flights of stairs?" 

"UGGGGGGGGGGGH," grumbles Maddie. 

"I know, I can't believe it either," I mutter.

"We have to keep going!" reminds Uncle Hector.

"Yes, we have to get to the coffee shop as soon as possible!" adds Dad.

"Nice way to diffuse the frustration," I grumble.

After several gazillion years (Okay, I'm just exaggerating too much), we FINALLY reach the lobby, panting and exhausted (in Maddie's case and in my case). My legs are so sore from walking, and I feel like my lungs will explode.