Double Agent

Chapter 14: Maeve and Sophie

"Nice try."

That was all Maeve said as a sheepish Sophie emerged from the bushes. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I was curious..." Maeve waved off all the apologies. "It's fine. We just need to track down Mr. Sancoy. I mean, we are part of the ASO, but he's obviously up to something."

Sophie nodded. She'd never trusted the mischievous man ever since she'd seen been on a mission with him.

Mr. Sancoy crept into the UA bank's room with the safes in it. Sophie, who'd been called in as backup in case Mr. Sancoy needed help cracking the code, was waiting outside. She wasn't supposed to interfere with what he was doing, but she had to take a peek.

He STILL hadn't done anything. Sophie had thought that he was a FAST AND EFFICIENT agent, not as slow as a tortoise! Then she noticed that he was tapping his foot, as though HE was waiting for something too.

And he was.

Two robotic guard dogs snuck out from behind the safe and growled at him. Then, instead of quickly taking the money and getting out, he stood still. He reached one hand into his jacket pocket, rummaging for something.

Mr. Sancoy finally found what he was looking for. He pulled it out of his coat, and Sophie, though far away, could still make out a sleek silver whistle. He blew into it, and instantly the guard dogs sat down instead of attacking.

Smiling, the agent exclaimed, "It works!", forced the safe door open, and then ran to where Sophie was. "What were you doing?" she demanded. Mr. Sancoy shrugged. "They added another part to the mission." Then he rushed past her, heading for the Underground-to-mainland elevator (that the ASO had secretly constructed).

"Are you okay?" Maeve asked. "You just zoned out for a minute."

"I'm good," Sophie replied. "I was only thinking." Maeve asked, "About what?" Sophie shared her thoughts about Mr. Sancoy, and by the end, Maeve looked grim. "I always got a feeling that he was suspicious, but this basically confirms my theory. Thanks for telling me."

Sophie nodded and they went towards the stage building, hoping nothing would notice them creeping about in the open. Luckily, both of them moved super fast and reached the premises in no time.

Sophie saw two agents enter the building, but neither of them was Mr. Sancoy, Allie, or Reina. "They're UA agents," Maeve explained quietly, reading her confused expression. "Their names are Kat and Theo. They were sent with Reina to catch the ASO spy--which was Allie, of course."

Shaking her head in wonder, Sophie inquired, "How do you know all of this stuff?" Maeve smiled, but all she said back was "I have my ways".

Then it was Sophie's turn to do some spy work. She crept up to the front of the stage and climbed over the wreckage, testing for if it was a good eavesdropping spot. It took a few tries, but she located one--up a very, very high wall.

"We'll have to stand on a tower the litter," Maeve realized, concerned. There was only one bunch of garbage (with scraps piled precariously on top of one another) that was close enough to the thin wall for them to listen in on any conversation.

Sophie scaled the mound without much trouble. Maeve added more waste to the bottom of it. From there, she could hear voices.

"Allie, you there?"

"Reina?" Okay. So... Allie and Reina were working together now.

"I told you not to follow me," Allie added. Wait, what? Were they working together?

She continued, "Also, I think Theo and Jessica--"

"Kat."

"--Are having a rendezvous here. Because they know we're on the mainland."