Spy School Out West

Chapter 27

Shoutout to @Demented_Moon for existing (the real ones will understand) 

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Ben's POV 
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Paris Nord Villepinte 
Paris, France 
August 4 

1400 hours
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"Don't hurt me!" I mewled as my attacker dragged me into the alcove, squeezing my eyes tight against any possible attacks as I curled into a ball. Not very spy-like, I know, but I didn't have any other ideas on what else to do. I got a sinking feeling in my gut as I wondered where everyone else was. 

"What makes you think I would hurt you?" She curiously asked as she let go of me. I relaxed instantly upon hearing her voice. It was one I knew well. Erica. "It took me a moment," I said as I uncurled from my ball. "You can still be awfully scary." 

Nearby, Mike was coming to a similar realization as he got up from where Chip had pinned him down. "We got you good," Chip snickered. "Let's get Balto and Zoe next." 

Erica froze on her hands and knees above me, not wanting to ruin the prank. I froze as well, noting with satisfaction as the girls trotted past unaware. 

Mike lashed out at Zoe's ankle. She looked surprised at first, but as he dragged her into the alcove, she caught on and laughed. "I'm gonna get you back!" She cried. Zoe put him into a headlock as he begged for forgiveness. "Please, Zoe! I swear, I'll never do it again!" He said around laughter. They both appeared to be enjoying themselves. 

Meanwhile, Chip pounced onto Balto. She began to scream, which was understandable. Chip put a hand on her mouth to silence her. Her eyes went wide and she started to blush when she realized it was him. 

"You don't have to scare me like that," she giggled once Chip pulled his hand off of her mouth. "Shush," he replied, smiling. 

Just then, Catherine and Alexander came upon our little huddle. I stopped breathing, as did everyone else, and we all slowly turned our heads to face them. I tried to picture the scene how they might see it in the split seconds before they reacted. 

Zoe and Mike were laughing and rolling around on the ground, though it wasn't immediately apparent that Zoe had Mike in a headlock. Chip was on top of Balto, and to add to the embarrassment, he'd been reaching for his radio as Erica's parents came upon us. The radio was clipped conveniently onto the front of his belt, so it looked like Chip had been planning to undo his pants on top of her. Jawa was the only one of us standing upright, but he had an absolutely gobsmacked expression on his face for some reason. I think it was because he heard Catherine and Alexander coming before the rest of us. 

Worst of all, though, was Erica on top of me in front of her parents. She looked immediately embarrassed but didn't move. She also instantly started trying to backtrack, though this just made the whole situation look more suspicious. "Mom, Dad, it's not..." 

"It is," Catherine snapped. Being angry seemed to be an effort for her, but she needed us to be properly punished and this was the only way she could do that in the middle of a mission. "Cyrus is missing, and you're all doing heaven knows what in a hidden space. Give me one good reason I should let you off scott-free." The way she said it indicated this was a rhetorical question. 

In the ensuing silence, everyone quickly stood up, including me. "We will talk about this later," Catherine snapped, but that was all the anger she allowed herself.

"We need to figure something out," Erica said before it could get any more awkward. 

"Yes!" Mike said, a little too loudly. "Which crisis should we handle first?" 

"The military one," Erica replied. "Stopping Joshua and all." 

"How do you want to do it?" Mike asked as he dug the wrinkled and slightly-damp map from his pocket.