Spy School: Another Mole

Chapter 20:

"Zoe and Mike are you there?" Erica asked over the radio.

"Yes, we are," Zoe answered.

"And me," Jessica added.

"Yes and Jessica," Erica said. "Are all of you there?"

"Yes."

"Zoe we are headed your way. Did you get my mom and grandpa?" Erica said.

"No, but we found them. Head over to the main entrance and near there is a back entrance. Then follow the hallway all the way down and turn right." Zoe said.

"OVER," Mike responded.

"Mike, no one says over," Erica said.

"They do in the movies though. Erica, you should try it."

"Not a chance," she replied.

"You forgot to say over. Over." Mike said.

"Still not saying it," Erica said. "Chip, Jawa?"

"Yeah?" Chip responded.

"How's the main entrance?"

"All clear. So is the back entrance." Jawa said.

"Yeah, the last guard just turned to the other side of the building to switch shifts." Chip said.

"Looks like you've got five minutes to get over here before the next guard comes," Jawa added.

"Got it. Already headed over there." Erica said.

Erica and I got out of the vent and checked the hallway. We ran towards the exit and turned right. That's where we found the main entrance. We walked towards the back entrance. It was locked.

"Locked," Erica said.

"Try 5781. It was the code on the other door." I said.

"It worked. Nice." Erica said. "Now hurry."

We ran down the hallway and turned right where we found a room where there was a window that showed where Cyrus and Catherine were being held.

"Pst! Over here." Zoe said.

Zoe, Mike, and Jessica were both in a corner covered by a curtain that appeared to be the controls for security cameras.

"How are we supposed to get them without anyone noticing they are gone?" Mike asked.

"But what if them noticing can help them get out of here?" I said.

"How?" Jessica questioned.

Erica sighed. "Think about it. If there is enough of a distraction then we could get them out of here with no issue." Erica added. "Can they by any chance hear us?"

"No. We tried telling them something and there was no response. I think one of the controls over here gets them to hear us but I don't know." Zoe said.

As soon as she said that I lunged toward the controls and flipped as many as I could. Alarms went off and my ears were filled with noise.

"GO NOW!" Erica ordered.

One of the controls must have opened the door because the door automatically opened but Cyrus and Catherine were tied to chairs.

"Everyone out of the way!" Erica yelled. She lit a match and for a second I thought she was going to burn Cyrus and Catherine. Instead, she just burned through the ropes. "Go, go, go!"

I reched for the raido. "Chip! Jawa! Get out of there. We are headed straight for the exit."

"Already making a run for it," Jawa said while taking short breaths.

We ran. Cyrus and Catherine already knew the drill. Cyrus lead the team while Catherine stayed behind the group. We sprinted faster than ever. I thought my legs were going to fall off.

"BENJAMIN RIPLEY!" Murray said.

I didn't turn to face him. I didn't say anything to him. I didn't even stop for a second. I kept running because I knew there were guards behind us and Murray wanted to distract us.

"It's okay. It will all be over tomorrow. This one is for the history books! You don't know what is coming." Murray yelled.

"Just keep running!" Catherine yelled.

I did. I kept my eyes fixed on the exit and as soon as we were out I didn't look back. As soon as I heard Joshua say, "STOP, we didn't need Cyrus and Catherine anyways. We launch it tomorrow. It's almost complete." I slowed down. And as soon as I knew Joshua was serious I stopped, gulping air and trying not to collapse.

"What do you know? Do you know anything?" Erica questioned her mother and grandfather.

"Sweetie, calm down and take a moment to think. We were locked in a room where we couldn't hear anything. I think their plan was to drive us mad, really." Catherine said.

"Maybe they told you something," Erica said as she started walking back.

"I assure you that we were just locked in a room the entire time. This entire thing was a waste of time. They locked us in a room and didn't even think to look at us." Cyrus said. "In my opinion, I think they were trying to distract you."

"Well, the distraction failed," I said while taking out the piece of paper. "I haven't opened it yet, but I think whatever this is could get us one step closer to solving the case." I placed the paper back into my pocket as we got into a taxi that led us back to our motel.

XXX

Once we arrived at the motel room I grabbed the piece of paper from my pocket and slammed it down onto a table. "Look. Erica and I overheard that there was a person tailing us."

"Well the person tailing you has to be the mole," Mike said.

"Exactly," Erica responded.

"Well! Who is it?" Cyrus asked.

"Briellia Miya," I said.

"Brie? The girl who sits behind you in class?" Jawa asked. "Why would it be her?"

"But what if it wasn't her?" I said. "What if Briella was a cover-up for the real person behind this. And if this whole "mole" situation has been going around for weeks now, don't you think that the people related to the actual person could become slightly worried after not seeing her for weeks?"

"That is what we heard on the phone call- people getting worried. Ben...I think you're onto something," Erica stated. "Keep going."

"So technically, what people do after not seeing someone, they will report the person as "missing". Usually they will also put up posters of the person. So that's what I think this is." I pointed to the paper. "Some sort of wanted poster for a "missing" person."

"Wait Ben, if you are right, we could have solved who the mole is!" Zoe said.

"Do it," Erica said.

"Do what?" I asked.

"Open the paper."

So I did. And our jaws dropped when we saw who's face and name was on the paper.

"What about the map?" Erica asked still shocked.

"Show me the photo," I said. I glanced over at the photo and checked again. I think this case was getting pieced together. Soon, I knew what launch they were talking about. And it wasn't a good one. This plot was for the history books. And Elizabeth Pasternak was involved with it. 

If you need a little refresher: Elizabeth Pasternak was one of the very popular girls at Ben's old middle school ;).