Spy School: The Rise of Gama

Chapter 24: The Mask of a Leader

"One, two, three," Matias counts, pointing to each student as he goes, "four, five, and Lyndley makes six. Everyone is here."

"Now that you're done counting them like the children they are, can we get moving?" Rena asks impatiently, clicking her heels against the linoleum floor in the hospital lobby.

"Acalme-se, Rena." Matias says, stopping both Nico and Adela before they can snap at Rena. "As much as you dislike it, this is the backup we have to work with. Seeing as our numbers are already stretched thin, isn't it best if we don't leave anyone behind?"

"I don't see how it would matter." Rena responds with a huff, crossing her arms. "By time we finally get to the base our own agents will have taken care of everything."

Matias sighs in defeat, "Lead the way then."

Rena turns sharply on her heels, her smooth black hair swaying behind her as she walks them all to the vans. After a short drive through the city, the vans pull to a stop in front of a small building.

"Wait, is this the base? It's kind of small." Liz wonders out-loud, earning a chuckle from Matias.

"No, Liz. We're making a quick stop here first before heading to the base. This is where you all will be staying until we're ordered to return to the states. We can drop off the gear we don't need, that way we aren't carrying the extra weight." While explaining this, Matias had opened the van doors for everyone as well as the trunk and is now currently lifting one of the large bags to carry inside.

Rena is already waiting for them at the door, holding it open for them as they pass. "Rooms are down the left hallway. This is the main room which contains a kitchen, dining, and lounge area. Hallway on the right leads to a workout space and the bathrooms."

"You know, Rena, you'd make a lovely tour guide if you just smiled a bit more. Ever thought about joining the tourism industry?" Matias teases as he drops the bag he's carrying onto a tattered grey couch.

"Cale-se, Mancera." Rena snaps at him, leaning back against a counter that separates the lounge area from the kitchen area.

Matias smiles innocently, "Me faz."

"Can you two please speak English?" Adela sighs, flopping down onto a second tattered couch.

"Haven't any of you taken Portuguese yet?" Matias questions as he rummages through the bag he had placed on the couch. "It's important to be able to communicate with your allies."

"We didn't even know about having allies until a few days ago. The Imperial Eagles like to keep their trainees in the dark." Nico defends, walking around to examine the room.

It's a decent sized room split into three sections. The section they entered is on the left and is the lounge area with two tattered couches that face each other and a beat-up old chair off to the side. A worn down red rug covers the hardwood floor between the two couches. A black slate counter separates the lounge from the kitchen section.

The kitchen area is just as basic as the lounge area. There's an old white refrigerator with multiple dents in the door humming loudly against the wall. Next to it is a small stove that needs to be cleaned. A microwave and coffeemaker sit next to the sink. The white cabinets that line the wall are in need of repair, some missing handles, others holding on with only one hinge.

The third section to the far right of the room is the dining area. A folding table surrounded by four black folding chairs. One of them doesn't look very stable, leaning dangerously to one side due to one of the supports being broken.

"You guys really go all out for your guests don't you." Nico comments, his voice dripping in sarcasm.

"It's the best we have available for now. Usually you'd be staying at the base, but that isn't really an option at the moment." Matias mumbles, closing the first bag and going to search through the second that was brought in by Ahara. "Maybe if one of you knew Portuguese, you could find yourselves a hotel to stay at." He suggests, taking the bag from Ahara and setting it down on the ground so that it's easier to search through.