Spy School Project X: A fan teaser

Chapter 5 - TRACKING

June 21

On the road

Somewhere in West Virginia

1230 hours

My suspicions that we would be leaving camp turned out to be correct. After my training session with Erica at the firing range, I had joined the rest of the third-year students for a lesson on primitive trap making. I struggled to pay attention, my mind constantly wondering how Murray had escaped and what he was plotting next. My daydreaming was rewarded by being voluntold to test a snare trap. This was not enjoyable, as I ended up swinging by my ankles 10 feet in the air like a human piñata. At lunch I was hoping to catch a break, but my hopes were soon extinguished.

Almost as soon as I sat down with my food, a rusty old sedan rolled to a stop outside of the mess hall and Cyrus Hale stepped out. I groaned. 

"What?" Zoe smirked. "Are you having PTSD from that snare trap?" All of my friends snickered.

"No," I said, pointing out Cyrus through the window.

Cyrus was Erica's grandfather. He was a legend in the CIA and could still whoop anyone in a fight, even though he was over seventy years old. He had been training Erica to be the perfect CIA agent since she was a baby. Because of this, he had very little patience for people who screwed up (namely me). Whenever he was a part of something, it was usually unofficial and involved me nearly dying a lot. He did have a soft spot for Erica though, so whenever he was around her he tended to be a little less crotchety.

Cyrus walked briskly into the mess hall and made a bee-line to where I was sitting. The look on his face seemed to say I'm grumpy and I don't want to be here. He quickly brightened, however, when he spotted Erica and Trixie sitting at the table.

"Hey, hey, hey," Cyrus said as he neared our table. "How are my grandaughters doing today?"

"Grandpa!" Trixie exclaimed, jumping out of her seat and wrapping Cyrus in a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just stopping by to say hello," Cyrus replied.

"Ha!" Erica laughed. "When are we leaving Grandpa?" Cyrus gave her a pointed look, obviously wanting to keep the others in the dark about the situation.

"Wait, where are y'all going?" Mike asked.

"Murray Hill escaped prison," Jawa said. "They're probably going to track him down." Everyone turned to him, surprised.

"How do you know that?" I said, suspicious.

"I'm training to be a spy. It's my job to know things."

"Ooh! Let me come!" Chip blurted.

"Me too!" Zoe exclaimed.

"Me three!" Trixie added.

"Me four!" Mike shouted.

"No, no, no, and no," Cyrus rattled off. "Only Ben and Erica are coming. They're the most experienced in the field out of all of you and know how Murray thinks."

"Awww, come on!" Mike protested. "You know I can help with whatever you're doing. Plus, more people looking for Murray means a better chance of finding him."

"Yes, but that also means that it will be easier for Murray to spot us coming and light out," Cyrus countered. He turned to me. "You have ten minutes to pack your stuff and be in the car."

I sighed but didn't bother to argue. I just told my friends goodbye once again and headed off to my tent to grab my belongings. On the bright side, going on a mission with Erica meant that I'd get to spend a lot of time with her. Even if that meant I'd have to endure Cyrus' grumbling. I didn't take too long to pack, as I'd learned from experience that it was best to travel light on missions. When I got to the car, Erica and Cyrus were waiting for me. Erica glanced at her watch impatiently, acting like the 7 minutes and 38 seconds that I'd taken to get ready was too long. I hopped in the backseat, and Cyrus wasted no time putting the car in drive. We exited Happy Trails and started heading southwest. 

After driving for half an hour without any conversation, I decided to break the silence. "Sooo... would you care to tell us where we're going?" Cyrus glanced at me in the rear-view mirror and grunted. "I'll take that as a 'no'."

"You know, you don't have to be so grumpy all the time Grandpa," Erica said for my benefit.

Cyrus sighed. "As you're aware, that rapscallion Murray Hill has slipped through the government's fingers yet again. He was being held under maximum security at a classified location. Last night he was in his cell, this morning he wasn't."

"How is that even possible?" I asked.

Cyrus shrugged. "Beats me. All I know is that he was spotted boarding a flight to Atlanta a few hours after he was discovered missing. Which is why we're going there as well." 

Cyrus didn't say where Murray was flying from, but it must have been somewhere in North America. He was blaring East Bound and Down through the speakers and had the pedal to the floor as if he was racing the plane Murray was on, which I guess was actually the case. The engine howled as we flew down the road at well over a hundred miles an hour. At one point, Cyrus didn't even bother to take his foot off the gas as we went around a curve in the road, causing the car to tip up onto two wheels.

"WoooOOOOOAAAAAHHHhhhh!!!" I exclaimed. Cyrus didn't flinch and the car touched back down on four wheels as the road straightened out. Even Erica looked shaken, and I didn't think that she was capable of exhibiting fear. "Maybe you should slow down just a little bit," I said. Cyrus ignored me.

We reached the airport in record time, Cyrus nearly taking out a parking garage shuttle as he entered the drop-off loop. He quickly turned off the car and hopped out. 

"I'm going to infiltrate the security room and see if Murray can be seen on any of the cameras," he said quickly. "You two watch the exits. There are some weapons in the trunk." Then he raced into the airport. I exited the car more slowly, still wary from all of the near wrecks. 

Erica walked around to the trunk and popped it open. Our jaws dropped as Mike, Zoe, Chip, Jawa, and Trixie tumbled onto the ground. 

"What, er, wh- I mean how..." I stammered. "How did all of you fit in there?"

"I'm not really sure of that myself," Chip said.

"This car has an unusually large trunk," Mike added as he dusted himself off.

I turned to Erica, expecting her to be hopping mad, but instead she just looked annoyed. "Come on, let's go find Murray," she said, shaking her head. "Cyrus is gonna kill us when he finds you stowaways." She selected a few knives and a handgun from the stash of weapons that had somehow fit in there along with five people. She handed me a pistol as well.

"Uh, do we get any weapons?" Chip asked hopefully. Erica handed him a can of pepper spray. "What?! You're giving Ben a pistol before me? No offense Ben, but you endanger yourself when you carry a firearm."

"Not anymore, he doesn't," Erica replied. I turned to her, surprised at the praise. As I did, I caught a glimpse of the baggage claim area through the glass wall of the airport. There, staring directly at us, was Murray.

Sorry I haven't updated in a while y'all. I've been busy with school, sports, and mowing lawns. I went turkey hunting this weekend so I had plenty of time to think about this story. I'll try to post new chapters more frequently in the future. Anyways, what do y'all think of it so far?