Spy School and the Dead Agent

Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Reunion

1430 Hours

Friday

Declaration Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Erica stared at him for a moment. I glanced at him and instantly noticed how much his appearance had changed. His hair was messy, he wore an old-looking trench coat, and there was a scar on his right cheek, which honestly made him look cooler. He also looked slightly more buffed.

Erica approached him cautiously. Once she was close enough, she squinted and then gave him a tight hug. He was slightly shocked, but he accepted it. Erica pulled away after a second and stared at him.

Then she punched him in the stomach.

"WHERE WERE YOU!" Erica hissed loudly. He grunted in pain but managed a coy smile. It took him a while to recover his composure.

"Long story. Come with me." He gestured for us to leave. We had too many questions to ask him. He took out his own flashlight as we headed into the tunnel. Erica walked beside him, and I followed closely behind.

"First things first, how the hell did you escape without anyone noticing?" Erica asked, her tone softer yet still angry. He glanced at her before answering.

"The guy told me about a secret passageway in the mountains he dug in preparation. I calculated the seconds on which the drone's camera turned so I could fake going inside the lake cabin and into the mountains. I had to sweeten the pot by tossing my earpiece and stuff inside," he explained. Erica stared at him in surprise but quickly regained her composure.

"Why did you fake your death in the first place, and why did you trust this guy?" Erica asked the million-dollar question. He looked quite sad.

"Well, the agency is once again corrupted, and Nick Roman is, well, he's using his position to profit. And the way he profits is horrible. I also suspect he works with Murray," he stated. Erica mused.

"And where did you get this information?" she asked.

"From that guy. He showed me the paper proofs. The documents looked legit. The guy's actually a whistle-blower who had concrete evidence about his corruption," he explained.

"Alright, how is he corrupted? How does Nick profit, and how did you know you could trust this whistle-blower?" she asked.

"Nick profits from security companies, criminal organizations, and arms dealing. How? By orchestrating everything from heists and assassinations to full-scale terrorist attacks. He assists these organizations in planning, arming, and protecting their members, and in return, they pay him big. Also, Nick is paid by security companies to create chaos in these organizations, prompting the government to increase the defense budget and purchase more weapons and vehicles from these companies. Finally, he collaborates with corrupt officials in the DIA to establish a fake criminal organization that causes chaos within the United States. Nick then claims he can eliminate this fake threat and profit from the government funds allocated to do so. Since the organization is fake, all the budget ends up in his pocket," he explained. We all looked at him, surprised. Then he paused briefly.

"And for the second question, I don't know," he admitted. Erica looked at him with a mix of anger and confusion.

"You don't know if you could trust this person's source?!" she exclaimed. He nodded.

"Yes, but Erica, consider this: if you were in my position, you had two options. If you go back to the chopper and give the evidence to him, whether it's true or fake, he will either thank you for giving it to him or kill you for knowing about it. I couldn't just waltz into the chopper and pretend I didn't know anything," he said sharply. Erica looked stumped before she sighed.