Spy School Goes to Trial

Chapter 23 - Enemies

Maximum Security Prison
Secret Location in Virginia
May 30
1400 Hours

It was the second time that day I had entered a prison that had been forcibly opened by an explosion. And, the second time it involved Murray. Both times, the air had a strong burning smell, and the lights flickered on and off, creating a very creepy atmosphere.  I was completely alone in a dark room without any weapons on me, inside a building that housed some of this country's greatest foes.

I jumped as something grabbed my shoulder. Not something, someone. It was Jawa, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"We should split up and try to track down Murray," he said. Then he ran off up a flight of stairs.

I wasn't nearly as sure this was a good idea as he seemed to think it was. Yet, I also knew I wouldn't be much use in a fight. So instead, I did what I did best, stopped to think. For one, we hadn't observed any other forcibly made entry points while we circled the building from the air. That meant, either Murray intended on creating a new exit when they fled, assuming he was still there, or he was going to come back through the one I was currently standing in. One of the things I knew for certain about Murray was that he was lazy. It seemed likely he would just create a new exit instead of walking all the way back here.

I scanned the walls for any clues that might point me in the right direction of where he would leave from. The first thing my eyes settled on was a small rectangular blue plaquette with white lettering. It said "Employee Cafeteria" with an arrow pointing down the hall to the right.

The other thing I knew for certain about Murray was that he was constantly hungry. He had once ate three day old pizza in front of me, and that was after he already had a large breakfast. Before I could second-guess myself, I ran down the hall towards the kitchen.

It didn't take me long to reach the cafeteria. It was pretty obvious that's where the double doors led, since it was labeled, and it was where the hallway dead end. The two doors  swung inside and out, and two signs above them indicated which was for entering or exiting.  The entrance side had been propped open using the door's built-in foot. The bright fluorescent lights were turned on, making it easy to look inside. From what I could see, it reminded me of my old school's cafeteria with long rectangular tables separated by small gaps, and surrounded by plastic chairs that could be pulled up close. There were metal slat security doors that had been pulled down in front of the kitchen and cash register. Either it was closed for the day or the explosion had scared off the staff. I thought I could see the movement of shadows along the walls coming from inside the room. So, I slowed my pace to reduce the amount of noise from my footsteps and strained to listen. Then, I could hear voices.

"Hurry up Murray, why are we even stopping here?" I recognized the distinctly chipper voice of Agent Durkee. No matter how bad the situation was, her tone always sounded like she was the princess in a little kid's television show, upbeat and bright.

"Just hold on, I want to get a candy bar," Murray said, sounding slightly annoyed.

"It won't take long before they realize the prison has been broken into. And you said that brat already figured it out," Agent Durkee responded, making it sound more like a birthday party was about to start than they were going to be captured. I assumed by brat she meant me.

"If you get your arm stuck inside that machine, so help me, I'll leave you here," said another voice. I recognized this one too. It was Ms. E. Whereas Agent Durkee always sounded chipper, Ms. E sounded angry all the time. Apparently, Murray was trying to reach inside a vending machine through the dispensing box.

"I can do this," he said. "I've done it lots of times." The others groaned.

I looked behind me, hoping to see Erica or one of my friends. No one was there. I wasn't sure what I could do to stop them. Then I noticed there was a fire extinguisher on the wall. This gave me an idea. Maybe if I was loud enough, and distracted them long enough, someone might find me.

I yanked at the red tube hanging on the wall, but it didn't budge. Feeling around it, I found a strap that was attached to the wall and wrapped around the extinguisher. Loosening the strap allowed me to pull it free. Unfortunately, it was heavier than I expected, and it dropped to the ground with a clang.

"What was that," Agent Durkee asked.

Now, I didn't have any time to waste. I hoisted the extinguisher up and charged into the room. Ms. E was standing next to Murray at the vending machine with her arms folded, tapping her toe against the floor. Agent Durkee had turned towards the door, intending to investigate the noise I made. She was facing me when I burst through, her jaw dropping at the sight of me. Ms. E turned sharply to see what was happening, while Murray struggled to free his arm.

Agent Durkee's eyes narrowed as recognition dawned on her. "Ripley," she screamed.

"Hey, Murray, snack on this," I called as I pulled out the pin to release the extinguisher's handle. Then I let it rip, squeezing the trigger, and imagining a burst of foam covering everything in front of me.

Only, a cloud of white frothy foam didn't explode from the nozzle like they showed in movies. Instead, a slow dribble of soapy looking liquid splashed on the floor a few inches from my feet. Agent Durkee and Ms. E had reflexively braced themselves for a dousing of retardant, and now turned to me, smirking. I looked down at the extinguisher, and saw a label titled 'Last Inspection Date'. The first and only entry said 10/16/1985. 

"I got it," Murray exclaimed, removing his hand from the vending machine.

They both turned towards him, and I threw the extinguisher towards Agent Durkee. Only, it didn't reach her. It was too heavy for me to get any distance so it just dropped, slowly rolling towards Agent Durkee, where she stopped it with her toes. However, at the same moment Zoe and Mike rushed into the room and stood next to me. Ms. E made a sound that was a mixture of a growl and gurgle of shock. Murray stood up and started running to the nearest wall.

"Really? 'Snack on this,'" Zoe said to me, rolling her eyes.

I shrugged, "It was the best I could come up with."

Murray flipped a table on it's side with the help of Agent Durkee and Ms. E. Then he threw something towards the wall while they ducked behind the table. 

"Cover," Zoe shouted. Mike and I jumped behind more tables and chairs, and Zoe dove back out of the cafeteria.

Murray's explosive device shook the room as it broke through the cinder blocks of the cafeteria's wall. Mike and I weren't as well protected as the others, and we were showered with tiny pieces of cement. Our enemies recovered more quickly than we did, and were heading out the newly created exit before we even could stand up. Then the sprinkler system on the ceiling of cafeteria went off, putting out the small fires that erupted on the exposed insulation of the wall. Soaking wet, we chased after them through the destruction left in their wake. While my hearing was muffled, it was not as bad as the day before, and I made out the distinct sound of a helicopter hovering next to the prison. I hoped that it was Alexander keeping an eye out for us, but it wasn't him. Instead, this helicopter was painted black, and looked modern.

Murray, Agent Durkee, and Ms. E were attaching themselves to a harness similar to the one we used, but designed to hold three people. A cable led up to their helicopter's much larger winch. Murray gave me a wave by wiggling his fingers, while the other two grinned. Ms. E's grin looked malevolent, while Agent Durkee's looked downright happy. The helicopter took off before they were even to the top. I thought for a moment I could see Murray pull apart the wrapper of his candy bar, and drop it to the ground. We watched it speed away, helpless. Unsure what we should do.

Suddenly, we were surrounded. Soldiers seemed to come out of nowhere, pointing guns and blinding us with flashlights. Someone in the group was barking orders, and their voice sounded familiar. Cyrus Hale had joined the fight.