Spy school, paradise city.

Chapter 21

PEK international

10:00 am ('cause the time change)

Ben's POV

We blazed through airport security and soon were in a cab and driving to our hotel. The hotel itself was in an old, run-down part of the city far away from the center. Worse still, when we arrived, our room wasn't ready. So we had to wait for a few hours outside on the most disgusting bench I've ever seen. Yet, finally, we were allowed into our room. Although it was half rotted and lacking in a tv or a clean bathroom, It was still 20 times better than our rooms at spy school. I set my suitcase down on one of the beds. 

"So we're forced to stay in this dump for two weeks," I said under my breath. I sat on the old sofa. Erica looked at me. I winced realizing that she had heard me. I braced myself to be chewed out.

"Lucky you," She said in a calm voice. I was surprised that she had said this. "We just received information that SPYDER's located in the yellow mountains. We're only staying in Beijing for 2 more days until we buy the train tickets."

"Great," I said sarcastically. I had never been that fond of climbing mountains. Especially those that were basically cliffs. Yet I still needed to know if we were climbing them. So I asked Erica.

"Oh yeah, we'll be climbing alright. There are some ancient halfway sketchy trails on Mt.Huanshen. But don't worry. We'll have guides. The CIA hasn't forgotten about us."

I gulped. The CIA wasn't known for its top-notch funding and I was worried that they cut costs by hiring not so professional guides. "When are we going to get the tickets?"

Erica walked to the door. "Right now."

I followed her out. She pulled out her phone and entered an app.

"Is it a good time to be on social media right now?" I teased knowing full well this wasn't the case. Erica gave me an ice-cold glare.

"No, it's the Chinese version of uber." She said. A car pulled up. We entered. Erica told the driver where to go. As we drove closer to the center of the city, we saw many skyscrapers. They were the biggest buildings I had ever seen in my life. D.C didn't have any so it was quite a shock.

"Which station are we going to?" I asked. 

"Beijing south railway station," Erica replied. "The one with the bullet trains."

As we inched through the roads, I saw that the drivers were a ton more aggressive in China. They pulled off moves that would certainly get you arrested in the USA. The roads, even though they had many, many lanes, were still inadequate for the massive amount of cars attempting to use them.

The train station looked like an airport. I thought that the driver had taken a wrong turn. But Erica got out of the car, so I decided it must be the station. I walked over to the entrance. Inside we were funneled into a security checkpoint and met with the ticket room. Erica walked over and asked for two tickets to the yellow mountains while I sat on a bench. The ticket room had no other entrances to the other rooms. I guessed that it was a type of security system. 

5 minutes later. We were done. We walked out and hailed another cab.

"Are we going back to the hotel now?" I asked.

"No, we're going to have to buy bus passes 'cause I don't carry around the exact change to use them." She replied. We went to the building, bought the passes and went back to the hotel room.

I slept like a rock.

I woke up at 2:30 to the sound of footsteps in the hallway. I assumed it was Erica but you never can be sure. I quietly rose out of bed and opened the door to the dark hallway. I crept to where the noise was coming from.

"You sure this is the right place?" A man with a gruff voice said. I froze. They spoke in English. I walked ever so slightly to the noise. 

"No, but that's why we're here." a second man said. I walked a bit more. I could see them now. The man with the gruff voice was much taller than the other. He wore a black Stetson hat and a dark trenchcoat. His sunglasses shone in the moonlight. The other wasn't as well dressed. He wore a worn out t-shirt and some cheap shorts. He had tennis shoes and old sunglasses.

There was a third person in the room. They were so thickly clothed that I couldn't tell which gender they were. The didn't speak.

"So, how're going to find them?" The shorter man said.

"We've been over this already!" The man with the gruff-voice said. "We sneak into the office, grab the notebook in which they write down the people staying here, then go to the room and kill them. Easy as that."

I walked a bit closer. The shorter man started to turn his head. I ducked.  After 30 seconds of tension. The men finally continued their conversation. I peaked my head out again. I saw Erica looking right at me from the other side of the room with a cold gaze. 

I froze once more. The taller man this time looked at me. He walked over with his gun pointed at me.

"Who are you?"