Double Agent

Chapter 11: Maeve & Sophie

At some point, Maeve had gotten separated from the others. She was currently being chased by butterflies.

These weren't your typical butterflies. These ones were robotic and had wings that were as sharp as knives. They could also camouflage, making it hard for Maeve to see them at all times.

Maeve, however, wasn't your typical kid. She could beat adults in fights. Surely, butterflies wouldn't be a challenge. Unfortunately, the "bladewing butterflies" were quicker and more intelligent than regular butterflies. Maeve was mentally slapping herself as she fought. Only five butterflies down per second? she thought, disappointed.

Since there were only about one hundred butterflies, it took Maeve twenty seconds to get them all--although she would have vastly preferred nineteen. There was no time to rest, though. More animals would surely follow. She gathered some leaves and sticks, then coated herself with layer after layer until she was positive that anyone would mistake her for a bush.

Maeve counted fifteen bears, twelve bats, ten wolves, nine cats, five more butterflies, three birds, and two snails (that moved surprisingly fast) that passed by.

Oh, and one inconspicuous Mr. Sancoy.

He was tiptoeing around, heading towards some old building... was that a stage?... in the distance. Even though Mr. Sancoy was supposedly a great ASO agent--one of the best, actually--Maeve had never understood why. He always seemed pretty fishy to her, and even though he'd failed a few missions, he was still more well known than her parents, Jaime and Hanna. Maeve hadn't failed any missions. Her parents hadn't failed any. Was Mr. Sancoy... changing the database?

She ran a few quick calculations through her mind, then made a fleeting decision.

A few seconds later, a bush ran in the direction Mr. Sancoy had gone.

*****

Sophie

Sophie hated to admit it, but she missed Maeve.

The little girl could probably fight better than her, which was a surprise because Sophie was a rather formidable fighter herself. Instead, as Maeve flew off to who knows where, Sophie found herself following Mr. Sancoy.

"Where are we going?" she whispered, as they had escaped the out-of-control animals and didn't want to attract more attention. "I need you to pick a lock for me," he said, not even turning around. Sophie noticed that he hadn't actually answered her question.

They snuck behind some trees and approached some kind of building with a stage, but it was pretty old. Debris had completely blocked the front of the stage, and it looked like the bottom of the pile would collapse any second. It was a maze of cracks, and even as Sophie watched, another formed.

Sophie stopped studying the broken stage as a thought occurred to her. "Mr. Sancoy?" He nodded for her to continue. "If you're a spy... um, why do you need ME to pick the lock?" Again, he didn't answer; he only gave her an annoyed glance and told her, "We need to get moving."

She crossed her arms. "Do it yourself. This seems shady, and you're not answering any of my questions." He looked surprised that Sophie had deduced this, which Sophie was slightly offended by. However, before he could say another word, she ducked out of sight, hiding behind a large oak tree.

Mr. Sancoy tiptoed out of the shelter of the small forest, glancing around nervously to make sure nothing was following him. Then, he picked up speed, speed-walking to the stage building. Sophie blinked, then saw Maeve tailing him. Stunned, Sophie fell backward into the bushes. She hadn't even noticed her.

Sophie started to tail Maeve, praying that the girl's amazing spy sense would overlook her. Maeve didn't see her. It seemed that Maeve was too focused on her target to be watching for people following her.

Sophie timed her steps with Maeve's so that she wouldn't hear anything out of the ordinary. She nearly made it...

And then Maeve said, "I see you!"