It's a Spy vs. Spy World

Chapter Twenty-One

 Chapter Twenty-One

                "Hurry up Ricky." I advised my incompetent partner who was lagging three feet behind me.

                The final challenge, capture the flag paintball, had started ten minutes before and as I'd expected I was stuck dragging Rick around the city with me. The job was especially grueling because he was agonizingly slow and completely unable to keep up with my brisk pace despite the fact that he was more than a few inches taller than me and should have a longer stride. The key word regarding Rick almost always seemed to be should.

                 I turned around so I could see what was holding him back. I was both surprised and unsurprised (a contradiction only possible to experience around Rick) to see that he was shaking his foot around like a maniac. "What are you doing?" I asked. He froze, his foot still suspended above the sidewalk.

                "I stepped in something sticky, and it won't come off." he explained. I sighed in exasperation and closed the gap between us.

                I glared at him for a moment before I spoke, "Ricky. It will come off while you walk. So let's keep going." he shrugged in response. I knew he could tell he was getting on my nerves and in a rather rare moment of intelligence, he refrained from speaking more to prevent any further impulses on my part to strangle him.

                Nevertheless, in true Rick style his shrugging led me to notice he was doing something else wrong. Poor guy couldn't catch a break. At least, not from me.

                "I'm only going to say this one more time Ricky; you don't need to have your gun out so put it away."

                "But-" I didn't let him continue. Instead I grabbed his gun (modified to shoot paintballs instead of real bullets) and put it next to mine in the waistband of my jeans and covered them both with my jacket. I smiled, "There, that's better. Now let's go, or next time we meet up with the other team, I am letting you get shot."

                He snorted, "What's got you all agitated?" he asked while smirking, because he knew the answer and knew asking me would just make me more annoyed. I looked at him pointedly. "Oh I see." then he thought for a second, "So if you're the leader how come you got stuck with me anyway? Not that I mind, although the threats on my wellbeing are getting a bit redundant. You need to be more creative."

                 "Oh I can be plenty creative." I mumbled as I turned and continued to walk in the direction that the twins had scouted the other teams hiding spot at. Rick jogged to catch up.

                "So, are you going to answer my question?"

                "No. Can't you go twelve seconds without opening your mouth?" he counted to twelve annoyingly before continuing his assault on my paper thin patience.

                 "Wouldn't it look less suspicious if you actually talked to me instead of ignoring me like I'm some creep stalking you?" I feigned surprise.

                "That's not what you are?" I replied and he chuckled.

                "Come on Jessi, how did you get blessed with my presence tonight?" I rolled my eyes.

                "Blessed?" he nodded, "There is no reason that I was blessed." I made sure to sound disgusted when I said blessed. "I'm your mentor so I have to drag you around with me. Even if it is against my will."