Spy School: On Ice (Fan-Made)

Chapter 8

Montreal, Canada
Oak Hotel
December 9th
700 Hours

I may have only gotten 4 hours of sleep, but those four hours felt like heaven to me.
I went through a lot that night, and I really needed some sleep.
While a couple more hours would've been nice, I'll take what I can get.
I woke up at my 7:00 alarm I set yesterday and got ready.
I took a shower (which was pretty difficult considering my arm wounds), got dressed, and brushed my teeth.
I've never been more glad that I'm left-handed.
Everyone else was already awake, with visible bags under their eyes.
Merlyn went back to his room, and we went down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast.
As always, Zoe and Erica were already there.
Erica had her usual steely stare, and Zoe looked anxious.
"Are you okay, Zoe...?" I asked as I sat down with them.
"No, I'm not okay! You got kidnapped last night! And you were tortured! What makes you think I'm okay!?" She took my shoulders and shook me.
"I wasn't hurt that bad! Everything's fine!" I tried to calm her down.
"No it's not! You could've been dead by the time we even noticed you were gone!" Zoe cried, shaking me harder.
"Zoe... Calm down..." Erica put a hand on Zoe's shoulder.
She slowly stopped shaking me.
"Ben's right. What matters is that he's here, and he wasn't hurt too bad." Erica said.
"Yeah, I guess so..." Zoe sighed.
"So why was he torturing you in the first place? What did he want to know?" Erica asked.
"He wanted to know which hotel rooms we were staying in." I replied.
"Did you tell him?"
"No, of course not! If I did he probably would have killed you all!"
Erica nodded thoughtfully.
"Did he ask for anything else?" She asked.
I shook my head. "No, that's all he wanted to know."
She closed her eyes and thought for a moment.
"He probably wanted to nip this operation in the bud before real agents get sent in." Erica suggested.
Something about this whole thing seemed odd to me.
"You have that look on your face. What is it?" Erica asked.
"Something about that plan seems weird to me..."
"It just seems too...crass... Too half-baked... Something tells me that the plan wasn't conceived as a group..." I explained my thoughts.
"You're right... That guy probably came up with it himself. Something tells me he doesn't play well with others..." Erica thought aloud.
"We can use that as an advantage!" I smiled.
"Exactly! We just need to find a way to get to him and we can take that organization down!" Zoe finished it off.
Erica cracked a rare smile.
"That's not a bad idea at all. That's worth a try. I suppose that unfortunate scenario last night was good for something after all."
On that enthusiastic note, we finished our breakfast and I went down to the ice rink for figure skating practice.
I checked in, grabbed my skates and went out to the meeting area.
Thankfully I was early this time.
The only ones there were Trís, Olivia, and two other girls.
"Hey! Over here!"
Olivia waved me over and patted the seat next to her. Trís made a barely noticeable scowl.
I swallowed and sat next to Olivia, trying not to freak out in front of Trís.
"I heard about what happened last night... Are you alright?" Olivia whispered so that the other girls couldn't hear.
"Yeah, it's just my arm that's hurt..." I held up my bandage-clad right arm.
"I'm glad you're safe..." She looked at me with worry.
"Trust me, I'm fine." I tried to act nonchalant about the whole thing.
I don't think she believed me.
"I also heard that one of the guys in the hockey team invited you to his game~" Olivia made a smug smirk.
"Oh right, that! It...It wasn't anything special!" I blushed.
"You were wearing his jacket! Come on, spill it! What's his name? Is he hot? Is he nice? What does he smell like?" She bombarded me with questions.
My face heated up despite the cold room. I hid my reddened cheeks in my jacket.
"Don't be such a stick in the mud! Help a girl out!" Olivia shook my shoulders.
"Oh no...! I don't remember! I must've caught a case of the ol' amnesia!" I made up a (very unconvincing) lie, laughing nervously.
"Fine! Be that way! I'll get you to talk somehow!" Olivia poked my arm.
To my relief, everyone else had arrived, and practice started.
After hours of drills and practicing skating moves, a thought struck me.
How did Olivia know I was with Merlyn?
And how did she know I was kidnapped?
As soon as the thought entered my mind, I felt a stone of dread settle in my stomach.
I just hope it all turns out to be a coincidence...
Otherwise...
I turned in my skates and turned to leave.
Then I noticed Trís heading somewhere else.
She frequently glanced behind as she walked.
I trained my eyes on her and started following.
I made sure to stay out of her line of sight as I tailed her.
She eventually arrived at a beat up shack.
She visibly relaxed and went inside.
I took a peek inside from a crack in the rotting door.
What she was doing was...a lot less suspicious than I thought.
Inside was a sort of memorial. Candles and flowers littered its surface.
And in the middle was a picture of a cat.
Trís laid down some daisies and stroked the picture frame.
She smiled and stood up.
Well...that was a waste of time...
I should be getting back...Before Trís sees me and beats my ass...
I started walking away, but I ran into something. Or rather...someone
"Sorry...! I'll get out of your..."
My eyes widened and I backed up.
The person blocking me was my kidnapper from last night.
"Well isn't this a pleasant surprise?"

Candidates
—————
-Resentful skater girl
-Maybe not Trís?
-Olivia?