Spy School: New Enemy

Chapter 17: Ready, Set, Attack!

LOCATION: Richard Weston Physics Academy

Ben's Dorm Room

TIME: 9:14 AM

DATE: Sunday, July 11th

POV: Agent Benjamin Ripley
___________________________________________

Was it all a dream? 

I pried my eyes open. I saw the roof of my room. I looked over at my desk and saw my phone on the edge. I slowly extended a hand and picked it up. I checked my photos one more time to see if they existed. And it was confirmed.

I groaned. That means the attack is true as well. 

I started to feel anxious. Erica's plan...disable the core. But what will it do? Create an explosion? Wipe out our minds like the subjects? What will it do? It looked kind of scary to even touch it. But I can't act like such a chicken. This is for the sake of the world! Fail or not. At least we tried out best.

I checked my time and realized it was 9:16. 

I shot out of bed and burst through my door. I checked to see if anyone was awake.

Sure enough, they were t the cafeteria.

I sighed and went over there for breakfast. I picked up my food, bacon, eggs, and orange juice. The sight of bacon reminded me of Murray. I checked around for him. Then, I saw him. Now with Nefarious, the gamer kid, Warren, and Ashley.

They all (except for Nefarious) gave me dirty looks.

I rolled my eyes and sat with my friends. Erica was also at the same table. 

I sat down next to her. Erica was only eating a salad and milk. I started to eat my food. But, as I was eating, I noticed Mike and Zoe playing around. They smiled at each other.

"So, are you guys a couple?" I asked as I took a sip of my orange juice. 

Mike looked at me and smiled, "Uh, yeah."

I smiled, "Well, good for you."

"Thanks. And uh, are you a couple with Erica?" He asked as Zoe snuggled up with him. They giggled.

"Uh, sure. I guess you can put it like that," I replied.

I looked at Erica. She was still eating her salad, reading a book.

I glanced at my food, wondering if this is the last meal I'll ever take in. The core is what bothers me.

Thinking about the fate of the world if I disabled the core. Doing that might not stop the production. Or might do something that can end the world.

My stomach was in knots and my heart was pumping hard.

Erica finished her food. She threw away her tray and noticed me, "Hey, Ben. Are you okay?"

I looked at her and nodded slowly, "Yeah. But it's just that...the core. I mean, what if we disable it and it does something bad? I just don't feel like that's a good idea. To disable the core.

Erica smiled and stroked my hair, making me flush red a bit, "It's gonna be okay. If it does something bad, at least we tried to safe the world. And if it actually does something bad,"

Erica leaned in and kissed me. I allowed it to come in. 

Erica let is soak in for a second, then let go and smiled, "Love you Ben, if it's the last time I see you."

She waved and walked away. 

I felt a feeling kick in. I didn't know what is was. It was a mix of anxiety, love, and loneliness. I ignored the feeling and polished off my food. 

I remembered for the ambush. It was planned at 0600 hours. That's when I will have to disable the core. But something else bothered me: SPYDER.

Warren, Ashley, and Murray aren't trustworthy. They might turn their backs on us and start to work with SOLDATS.

And it is possible that Warren, Ashley, and Murray might get brainwashed and turn into MS Subjects.

That would be their problem. For now, I have to wait for the ambush, and hope that it wouldn't go wrong.

But the thing is, I don't want to go. Not now. Not when the love of my life admitted that she had the same feelings for me.

I groaned and ran a hand through my hair. Then I got up and as usual, waited for my class in the hallway.

Today, we was going to learn about software and computer hacking. Something Zoe was professional at. Something that Mike was attracted to.

When the bell rang, we rushed to our class. The entire time I was in, I expected to hear the big boom and the words, "Everybody, down on the ground! Now!"

I sat in my group table and turned on my computer. The instructor, Instructor David, walked in.

"Hey, class," He said, "And hello to you four. You were missing for a while," He nodded to us.

"Today, I programed all of you computers to be secured by a passcode which is literally impossible to crack. So you're supposed to hack into. I'll check with you once you're done."

I looked at my computer and stared at the home screen. I tried clicking everything at first. Then I tried to click and drag up. And then I decided to right click. An array of options appeared next to my cursor. I browsed through every on.

One option was "See Page Source".

I clicked on it and an HTML Page appeared. I looked through it. Then, I saw a code:

;Passcode=/false

I clicked on the line and typed in:

;Passcode=<STC#24H1&C>=/true

Then I copied and pasted it into the passcode bar. The computer unlocked

"I'm done!" I declared.

The Instructor seemed impressed, "Great! Let me see."

He walked over to my computer, clicked on "See Previous Activity", and pressed on "REWIND".

The computer displayed a video of how I hacked into the computer. After the instructor reviewed it, he nodded.

"Great job kiddo! I'm going to write it down. Give me a sec," He copied the video and sent it to someone's email.

Then he tousled my head and went off.

Okay, 30 more seconds! This shouldn't take you long," The instructor said. Everybody picked up the pace.

"5," The instructor pressured, "4...3...2...1"

Then I heard a loud boom. And the ground shook. And, I could hear the words, "Everybody, down on the floor! Now!"