Spies Never Die

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"Holy friggin shit!!" yelled Casey, startling Sam's dog. Zuzu barked and leapt off Sam's bed.

Sam looked alarmed.

"Casey?" He asked cautiously "What's it say?"

"Dunno." said Casey, staring at the phone in her hand.

"Um, ok," said Sam, coming to look over her shoulder, "Wait, you didn't open it yet?"

Casey ignored him.

"Casey, you are allowed to read it, you know that right?"

Casey shushed him. She was almost afraid to open it. All she could see was the word "Hey!" She was so excited and scared. What if TCB didn't like her using their story to write her own? What if they were mad at her? What if they wanted her to take it down? Casey hadn't wanted it published in the first place, but now that it was up, she was reluctant to take it down. Not that she'd tell Sam that.

Casey took a deep breath. The screen had gone dark, so she grabbed Sam's hand and used his finger to unlock the screen. The message still waited in her inbox. Sam, however, was getting impatient.

"Just open it, Casey!"

"Can you maybe shut up a little?" Casey retorted. She knew that the Tin Can Brothers were really kind people, but when she was stressed or excited, she tended to worry and overthink things too much.

Sam made a grab for the phone, but Casey jumped away from him.

"Casey-" Sam started, but she didn't let him finish. Jumping up on his bed, she held the phone out of his reach. With the other hand, she lightly shoved him away from the bed. Sam fell onto his butt. Casey smiled at his expression, and suddenly felt better. Everything was going to be okay.

The screen threatened to go dark, but Casey tapped it. It brightened, and the conversation opened up.

Hey!  It read.

We really like the story you published. It has given us a spark of inspiration, and we'd like to ask your permission to use the idea.

Casey was a little disappointing at the brevity of the message, but extremely overcome with emotion at their thoughtfulness. Then, she panicked. What was she supposed to write back and say?

She was so distracted, that she didn't notice Sam had crept up next to her until he grabbed the phone out of her hands.

Casey let out a small shriek of annoyance, but he ignored her. Sam read the message, then began to type. Casey got really nervous. What was Sam up to this time?

Sam stopped typing, and Casey lost it. He'd probably sent a message back, and now she really needed to know what he'd said. Jumping off the bed, she tackled Sam, grabbing desperately for the phone. Sam fell, taking Casey with him. It was a good thing the floor was carpeted. Casey landed hard, knocking her elbow against Sam's desk. Sam didn't do her any favors either. He was so bony, that Casey might as well have landed on a pile of bricks. Pain flared briefly in her side, but she ignored it.

She cupped her elbow, waving away the pain, before grabbing for the phone again. This time, however, Sam was ready. He dodged her and leapt away. The last she saw of him was a wide grin before he leapt up and ran out of the room.

Swearing, Casey scrambled after him. By the time she made it down the stairs, Sam was slipping into his kitchen. Casey almost fell again, but managed to make it to the bottom of the stairs. She leapt over a footstool, and made it into the kitchen in record time. When she appeared in the doorway, Sam was standing at the sink, sipping a glass of water. He had a smug grin on his face. When he saw her, he nodded.

"'Sup?"

Casey growled and he laughed.

"Where's the phone?" she said, her voice dangerously quiet. Sam didn't say anything, but Casey had read many a fanfiction about similar scenes. She knew to look for any clues. Sam's hand twitched towards his back pocket, and Casey grinned. Prey spotted.

Sam tried to pass the movement off by putting his hand on his hip, but Casey had seen the small rectangular bulge where the phone had been hastily shoved into his pocket. She stalked towards him. Sam backed up until he has leaning against the counter. He watched her, smirking.

Casey was suddenly distracted by her own phone, which had somehow survived the scuffle upstairs and Casey's flight to the kitchen. It made a cheerful pinging sound. Casey pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the screen. Her mother wanted her home soon. That meant that Casey needed to make this fast.

While she'd been distracted, Sam had inched towards the door. He was trying to get around Casey when her hand suddenly shot out. She missed the phone, but hit his glass of water, which splashed them both. Sam stopped and hissed at the cold, but Casey was not to be deterred. Finally, she grabbed his phone. She ran away from him, out of the kitchen. Then, she realized it was locked. Damn. She tried to remember the number combination, but after three failed attempts, she gave up.

Sam was right where she'd left him, now cleaning up the spilled water.

"Fingerprint." she said.

Sam grinned and obliged her. When Casey had finally opened up the chat again, she sighed in relief. Sam had sent a decent message:

Yes, of course! Thank you!

Casey though about it. Maybe it was cheesy or weird, but she hoped they wouldn't  mind.

When she finally returned the phone to Sam, she said,

"You are so not off the hook, but I have to go home now."

Sam grinned at her.

"Good job, Case," he said. Casey glared at him, but he seemed sincere. Casey sighed, and went upstairs to grab her laptop. As she came downstairs, something occurred to her.

"Sam. I want the url to the story and the password to the insta account."

Sam tried to say no, but she wouldn't give him the chance.

"Sam."

"Fine," he said.

Casey, finally satisfied, turned to leave.

"And you're not allowed to text TCB. At all." Casey gave him her best death glare and left.

When she got home, her mother called her into the kitchen to help prepare dinner.

"Be right there, mom!" Casey yelled. She went up to her room and dumped her stuff on her bed. She was tempted to check her phone for messages before remembering she didn't have the password. Grumbling, she sent a quick text to Sam before going to help her mother.

Give me the passwords, you heathen!