Spy School: Old Becomes New

Chapter 9

May 13th, 2029

0245 hours

Washington, D.C.

Erica's POV

I raced through the streets of Washington, running quick and quiet. I knew that many onlookers probably would not be able to find me, due to the environment and the clothes I was wearing. I raced through an empty intersection, the lights switching to green as soon as I exited it.

It felt to be on a run again, even if it was not for a mission. I hadn't been keeping up with exercise as much as I would've liked. 

I guess this was a mission, in a sense.

Just not an official one.

I headed towards a park. There was no one on the streets and it was quite warm for a May night. I wasn't sweating, but I suspected that normal people would be.

I went to the park that my mom had told me about. I walked into the shaded forest behind the memorial, then took a sharp left and continued into darkness. I could tell by the texture of the ground that this path had been used many times, and recently.

I continued on the path, it being completely shrouded. I felt my foot step on a concrete material and I stopped, listening to my breath and seeing if there were any echoes.

I tiptoed down the steps and continued through a hallway. It only had one ending, straight ahead.

As I walked, I started to judge the situation, where she could be hiding. I took a deep breath before the entrance to the room, then leaped out and whipped my head around.

There was no one here. I cased the room for any traps, recording devices, or cameras, but I found nothing. I was alone. I started to search the room.

There were papers with notes about different shopping items to get, a microwave in the corner, a monitor, and even a DVD player. I saw a laptop and quickly went over to access it. I hacked the computer and bypassed the security, although it took a few minutes. Zoe was good with coding.

I accessed a basically empty laptop. I searched through the files but found nothing of interest. I opened the web browser to find recent websites and found the CIA database.

She still had access.

I went into the database and found the notes she had been working on. The last one was cut off, as though she had left to go somewhere in a hurry. Someone must have tipped her off.

I read through the notes, and it was mostly about MH plans. She seemed to know a whole lot.

Plans launching in 1 week. Toronto, Canada. 

Lots of equipment being hauled there. Technical, spy, cameras, food, everything.

Items being carried in B&B trucks.

Expected to arrive 3 days before their launch plans.

Estimated date of attack: May 20th, 2029

I closed the laptop and left it how it was before. I was wearing gloves, obviously, so I did not have to worry about fingerprints.

I looked around the rest of the room and saw a cookie and a half eaten sandwich. It was a ham sandwich with cheese. I made sure there was nothing else in the room and left.

I was mad. Someone had ruined my chance.

Ben's POV

I was stressing out. I kept reloading my messages. I wanted to make sure that it had sent. It already had, but I couldn't control myself. I stared at the screen.

Read.

What are you talking about? 

I responded.

Move from your spot. Trust me.

Mike said:

Ok.

I laid back down in bed with a sigh of relief. This was getting too stressful. I had to confront Erica about this at some point. She probably already knew, so what would be the issue?

In truth, I was just scared of conflict. Our relationship had been smooth for the most part. I remember all the times I would mess up on our missions as kids and she would get mad at me. I didn't want that to happen this time. 

I heard someone walking towards our room and went on high alert.

Then I recognized the soft footsteps.

"Emma, what are you doing?" I called out.

I heard her run towards the bed. I felt around for her in the dark and picked her up. 

"I'm scared," she said, but I could see her smiling a little bit.

"Of what?" I asked her.

"Nightmares," she said. I set her down on my right, where Erica was sleeping, and sat up.

"Don't worry," I said. "They're not real."

"In nightmare, Mama gone missing," Emma said.

Oh no.

Emma turned around, looking for her mom, and didn't find her. 

"You said it's not real," she said, and I saw her smile fading. 

"No, no, no," I said. I picked her up and hugged her. "Your mama is just doing something right now. She'll be back before you know it. You might not even see her."

Emma looked at me.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course."

I sat her down in front of me and watched her. I saw her jet black hair fall on her shoulders, with those brown highlights showing through a little bit. Her eyes were ice blue, and I could see them through the dark.

"Where did Mama go?" She asked.

"Oh, you know, just out," I said, stuttering. "I promise she'll be back soon."

Emma gave me a look that seemed like she knew I was lying, but she didn't say anything else. I gave her a little plastic ball that had been on the bedside table and she started to look over it.

I watched Erica come into the room, and saw her surprise when she saw Emma. She was perfectly quiet though, and undressed herself quickly into pyjamas. She got into bed and Emma noticed her.

She crawled over to Erica and gave her a hug.

"I thought you left," Emma said as she was hugging her.

"No, of course not," she said laughing. "Mum is always going to be here."

She gave me a look asking how long Emma had been in here. 

"10 minutes, maybe," I said to her.

She nodded and looked back at Emma, who did not want to let go of Erica.

"Are you going to stay here tonight, little Hale?" she asked. I heard Emma murmur yes.

I turned around and tried to go to sleep.

But I couldn't.

I lay there for what seemed like hours, but I knew it was only half an hour. I heard Emma and Erica both breathing in synch. I looked over and saw they were sleeping.

Tomorrow I would confront her.