Spy School - Nemesis [1]

04: Activation

History of Espionage Classroom

The Academy of Espionage

Washington, DC

April 24

1000 hours

One moment I was in History of Espionage, listening to the teacher drone on about espionage in the Civil War, the next I was asleep in my chair.

I was suddenly awoken by the loudspeaker crackling to life. "Hello, is this thing on? Ah yes, the red light is blinking." The "Idiot" cleared his throat. "Will Ben Ripley and Mike Brenzenski come to the office please," said the principal, trying to save face.

The class reaction was mixed, not knowing whether to 'ooooo' because I was in trouble, or gasp in awe because I was selected for a mission. With the principal, it was a 50/50 chance. He hated me, but I had been in many missions, more than any student. Mike, being in another class because he started spy school a year later than me, would be going on his own. I took a deep breath and went up to the principal's office.

I hurried up the steps and turned left two times, finally found the door marked 'pirncpal' and got frisked by the guards. When I entered, Mike was already there, along with Erica, Cyrus, and of course, the principal, who looked like he was going to blow a fuse.

"It is enough that he already blew up my office, and then went on a mission with several other students with barely no training!" the principal shrieked. "Then, he blows up the president's office, and he is STILL IN MY SCHOOL! Furthermore, he sent me this!" the principal shook the letter I sent to him yesterday in everyone's face.

Cyrus sighed impatiently, already having to go through this during Operation Snowbunny. "I'm not going to bother telling you why Ripley is still in your school, because you can't seem to retain that information. The only reason why you are being told is because the principal has to be told when junior agents are sent out to the field."

"Agents, as in multiple agents!?" the principal exclaimed.

Cyrus looked like he wanted to set the principal's sickening wig on fire. "Yes, that's why there are three spies-in-training in this room, aren't there?"

"Fine, fine, I'll let-"

"For the last time, it is not up to you-"

Mike cut off Cyrus, (a dangerous move,) and said, "So what is this mission anyways?"

Cyrus cleared his throat and pulled out an envelope with the words 'Operation Sneaky Monkey', and of course, it was sealed with a 'for your eyes only' stamp. He placed the contents on the principal's flimsy desk. They were mostly maps of Nicaragua, pictures of a cruise ship named Queen Anne, three tickets, and a photo of a family. The photo looked like it was from a family album. There was a young man with his wife, and two smiling twins that looked the same age as us standing in front of an amusement park.

"Now, you knew about Operation Sneaky Monkey when Mike brought you the info to you at the hospital," Cyrus told me. "We knew that Murray Hill was recently somewhere in Nicaragua or Antarctica according to analysis done by Chester Snodgrass, and that an operation team in Nicaragua found evidence of a possible new secret organization. Now, we have some new information that this new organization may be plotting something, and that one of their higher-ups"- Cyrus tapped the picture of the smiling family - "is traveling there on a cruise."

"Do we know which one of the family members is the higher up?" Mike asked.

"No," Cyrus admitted. "But there is evidence that one of the family members corresponded with this new organization, and are planning something, possibly called Operation Valley. You three will need to find out what Operation Valley is."

Mike said, "Seriously? Operation Valley? I thought it would be like Operation Biting Cobra or Operation Feisty Lion," while I internally groaned, preparing myself for the worst. "Please don't tell me I have to befriend one of them? The time with Jessica Shang nearly became a disaster," I said nervously.

Cyrus and Erica scowled at me in harmony. "Like you were told once before, a good agent needs to be prepared for activation anytime, anywhere, but no, none of you are befriending them. Instead, you will be tutors for the twins, helping them study Nicaragua, so I suggest you brush up on some geography," she told me.

I sighed in relief. Studying, and tutoring, were one few things that I was completely sure of. And yet....

"So we still have to interact with them."

Cyrus sighed in annoyance. "Enough of that. I recommend you try to investigate the adults, but don't count out the kids either. Now, we originally were going to begin this mission in two weeks, but we are now starting at 500 hours tomorrow."

Mike and I gasped in surprise. Erica was unsurprised, of course. She was the best spy on campus, and whenever someone asked how she knew something classified, she would say, "I'm a spy. It's my job to know things."

"Why are we starting the mission two weeks early?" Mike asked.

"Because all of the CIA mission funds were stolen," Erica said. "The last thing we used them on was for our tickets to the cruise."

Mike and I gasped in surprise again, and I started thinking out loud. "If they were able to steal our funds for the mission, this means they are an organization as crafty and smart as SPYDER, maybe even smarter. Without any funds, we won't be able to have any more missions to stop them, and their plots will be successful."

"Without any missions, the CIA will fall apart," Erica added. "It's a perfect way to for them to complete their plans without anyone stopping them. They didn't leave any traces, but even if they did, we wouldn't have the money to investigate."

"Yes," Cyrus said, "and that is why you need to be ready at 500 hours tomorrow and take a bus to Virginia Beach. From there, you will board the Queen Anne and begin your mission. The cruise will last ten days, then you'll arrive to your destination, Puerto Cabezas in Nicaragua. Make sure to bring your passports."

"Yes, sir," Mike and I chanted.

"I see you all understand? Good, now go back to class," Cyrus told us. "You will receive more information about packing and cruise ship details once you go back to your dormitories."

We all left the office as the principal was stuttering, "Stolen CIA funds. . . must be Ripley. . .stupid kids. . .go on more missions than me. . ."

1113 words.