Double Agent

Chapter 2: Reina

Reina had been prepared for a long autumn of missions and grueling chores, but the last thing that she expected, among the misery that she was already enduring, was that she'd have to go to school.

Tulipton Academy wasn't necessarily bad, of course. But she didn't want or need anything else on her plate. Sadly, the order had been issued by none other than Camila Brand, head of the UA. In the spy agency, unfortunately, nobody could defy Camila without suffering the consequences, so Reina was stuck on "school duty".

Luckily, her mother had vouched for her and at least gotten Reina's friends to go on the assignment with her. Kat and Theo, the twins, would be accompanying her on her journey.

Currently, she was standing with Theo and Kat in Meeting Room 237. They waited patiently--or in Reina's case, impatiently--for Camila to arrive and give them a briefing of the mission. About fifteen minutes later, Camila entered the room. She sat at the head of the table and started explaining the importance of the mission.

"You three are being sent on a very important mission. In fact, if you fail, all is lost."

Gee, Reina thought. No pressure at all.

"An Air agent has been spotted using our Underground Spy Trackers," said Camila, interrupting Reina's other thoughts. "However, we can't figure out what they look like or what they're here for--"

"Whoever-it-is probably came for our supercomputer data," Theo interjected. "That's the only important thing we have at Tulipton Academy."

"That's exactly right, Theo. Good job!" replied Camila. But her expression and tone did not match her words, and Theo knew it. He seemed to shrink under the weight of her glare. Every spy in the UA knew that Camila positively hated being interrupted, maybe even more than she hated the Air people.

"Anyway," Camila continued, calming down, "Only Kat will use a code name. You two..." she dropped off, her eyes drifting from Theo to Reina, "know firsthand how badly it worked out." She wasn't really even paying attention to the conversation, instead tucking away numerous envelopes that looked like exact copies of each other. "Honestly, I don't know why I even decided to activate you, considering..."

Both Theo and Reina had failed missions when using pseudonyms simply by slipping and using their real names, and they knew that Camila didn't want that happening again. Especially on this mission.

Meanwhile, Camila told Kat that her code name would be Jessica, passed everyone their "school bags"(which DID have books, but were mostly filled with high-tech equipment in hidden pockets). Then, they all walked to school together.

Camila hadn't been able to get Kat or Theo a similar schedule to Reina's, but at least they'd gotten in. The secretary, Mrs. Argenti, was more lenient towards spies on school missions than some other secretaries Reina had encountered... like Mrs. Rosa. Mrs. Rosa was too mean for words, and Camila had been forced to cancel a mission due to the stubbornness of one secretary.

Finally, they arrived at the school. Kat--or was Reina supposed to call her Jessica?--ran off to music class as Reina started walking towards homeroom. "What class do you have?" she called, and he answered, "Science!"

Reina shoved her way past a few students before she heard a commotion farther ahead. Barely any of the kids were talking, and seemed nervous.

A girl that Reina recognized was lying on the floor, hastily trying to pick up her books. "Oh my goodness!" Reina gasped. "Maggie White!" Reina was so happy to see her friend who had supposedly moved away that she, unthinkingly, invited her over.

*****

After a really awkward hour of tea with Maggie, Maggie excused herself and left Reina to her own devices. "Reina," her mother said, "you're lucky that Maggie left so soon. You just wasted valuable time, you know!"

Reina sighed, and went to work on her computer. No sign of anybody hacking into the database, which was good news. But it also left her with nothing to do. She settled for reading a book, and reached to take out her bookmark when she realized something.

She hadn't read that far ahead yet, and that the paper pressed between the pages wasn't a bookmark. It was a script of some kind...

Camila: Me and my friend, Melanie Nathanson, are the owners of The Robotic Animal Studies Centre and the Genetic Engineering Agency. We have each succeeded to create animals that are faster, stronger, and smarter than their average species. Melanie and I are using dogs for this demonstration, but we thought it to use extra precaution, as we aren't sure ourselves what will happen when they meet.

There was more, but Reina didn't bother reading it. She recognized the name of Camila's "friend". But why Melanie Nathanson? Every time she'd inquired about Melanie, to just about anyone, their answers were all the same: "Melanie Nathanson is an enemy of Camila's".

Spooked, Reina went to toss the script in the garbage, but when she did, the paper fluttered, and she saw the message scrawled on the back.

Come quickly.