Spy School Revolution

Interrogation

CROATAN Warehouse

Deanwood

Washington, DC

0330 Hours

"Search the building," Erica told me, keeping her gun on the enemy agent.

I found a light switch and flicked it on. Several industrial-sized overhead lights turned on, which was a stark contrast to the darkness it had replaced. Whatever had been previously stored in the warehouse had obviously been moved recently. There were dusty imprints where boxes had been.

I sighed, frustrated for not anticipating this. Had they known we were watching them the entire time? Or had they simply been so prepared that they had been able to take out Catherine Hale, arguably the best spy I had ever encountered. Either possibility was disturbing.

"Erica Hale." I turned to see Erica had clicked her flashlight off so the agent could see us.

I stood by her side, staring at him. This was the first chance I'd had to look at him up close, and what I saw shocked me. He looked no older than I was. Blond hair, with a short, stocky build, I could see him fitting in at any normal school.

I folded my arms across my chest. "Sam...something," I replied.

"How do you know my name?" he asked furiously, turning slightly red. Just the way he was speaking, I felt like the anger was a front. He seemed extremely worried that I knew his first name.

"Where are the people your organization just captured?" Erica interjected coldly.

"Like I'd tell you," Sam said defiantly.

She calmly cocked her gun. "Want me to ask again?"

He wavered. I was impressed by his resolve--He was clearly loyal to these people. But apparently being shot wasn't too appealing to him. "We put them in the trucks. I don't know where they went." Erica's eyes narrowed. "I swear it's true!" he said, throwing up his hands desperately. "There are a few locations they could have gone, and I don't know which family's place they went to!"

Then he clapped a hand over his mouth, clearly having revealed too much information. "CROATAN is made up of families?" I asked, thrown. Even though he could've been lying about all of it, his reactions seemed too genuine. I believed he was telling the truth.

He studied me for a moment. "Oh. You're that Ripley guy, aren't you?" I furrowed my brow and glanced at Erica. How did he know who I was?

"We're asking the questions." Erica waved her weapon every so slightly, a reminder that he needed to follow her orders.

He swallowed nervously. It seemed like he had never been in a situation like this before. Then he answered my question, mumbling "Yeah. Sort of."

Erica took a step towards him, to which her faltered backward in fear. "If you're all one big happy family, why didn't they bring you with them?"

For a second, he almost looked bitter at the question. "One of your people knocked me out. I only just woke up." He pointed to a lump on the back of his skull. Probably Catherine or Zoe's handiwork.

"And they just left you here?" I asked, suspicious.

He gave a scornful laugh, although it didn't seem like it was directed at us. "Yeah. My parents are always telling me to handle my own mistakes. I guess they just expected me to find them later."

I winced, almost feeling a bit sorry for the guy. 

"What's the plan that you all were talking about?" I asked, thinking of the conversation I'd overheard.

He glared at the ground. "I don't know that, either. They didn't disclose it. They kept saying they'd tell me when the time was right."

"So you're useless, then," Erica said.

"Why would you put up with that?" I cut in before he could reply to the insult. I was starting to think this guy wasn't actually that bad. Maybe he had simply been led to believe that what his organization was doing was alright because his parents had raised him that way.

Sam glowered in our direction. "It's not like the CIA is much better, is it? I've heard about you guys. You're the ones who took down SPYDER with your own agency breathing down your necks the entire time. I'll bet they still don't even trust you after everything you've done for them."

Erica's icy expression didn't waver in the slightest, but mine sure did. It was true that the CIA didn't really look out for us. They would probably gladly arrest us if we showed up at their doorstep today. The thought made me feel uneasy, but I knew that I believed in what our agency stood for, at the very least. 

He picked up on my discomfort. "You know it's true, don't you?" 

Erica broke in. "Stop attempting to equate your tiny evil organization with an agency that has collectively saved thousands of lives." She tossed me a bundle of rope. "Tie this guy up."

As I did, I felt the panic setting in. We had no idea where our friends were, or whether they were alright. And our only source of information to find them and thwart the enemy's plans was a kid who apparently didn't know much more than us. Any optimism I'd had after reconnecting with Erica seemed pretty thin on the ground at the moment.

I looked to Erica. "What do we do with him now?"

She looked at Sam distastefully. "I suppose we should bring him along. Too dangerous to leave him here and risk the rest of them finding him. They'll know we're still hunting them."

"You'll never find us," Sam muttered darkly. "We've hid for longer than you've been alive."

"I guess it's a good thing we've got a tour guide this time," she told him.

He scowled in response. 

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A/N: Thank you for reading! It feels like there's a new milestone for me to celebrate everyday, and today's is 100 votes! I'm extremely grateful for every single one of those, as they allow more people to find my story.

Yet another milestone we will probably hit at some point today is 1000 reads! In honor of such an occasion, I was thinking about writing a spy school bonus scene/one-shot for you all. Please suggest something you'd like to see in the comments below! It does not have to be related to my current story in the slightest. Thank you all so much, and have a great day!