Spy school goes to Zoo

Chapter 6

Operation

after hailing a cab to take Summer back to her house, I started the long trek to the trailer park. Our mobile home was as far from the front gates of the park as humanly possible. I guess, J.J didn't want guests to see the dilapidated living accommodations that were provided for the staff. I trudged along through the darkness, occasionally stubbing my toe. I quietly pushed through the door to our home out of habit. Although my parents weren't home, I had broken curfew enough times to know to enter silently. I made a beeline for my unmade bed, jumping onto the pile of sheets.

Falling asleep was surprisingly difficult considering it was pretty late and I had experience what qualified to be "a stressful day". Yet, my mind raced uncontrollably. I stared through my window for what seemed like hours. The scene remained unchanging, save for the leaves dancing in the light breeze. That is, until a figure darted across the landscape outside the trailer.

I shot up, kicking the tangled mess of bedding from my ankles. I dodged shoes and dirty clothing that littered my floor as I made my way to the window. I peered through the darkness, trying to make out the shapes.

Suddenly a hand clasped over my mouth as my legs were swept out from under me. I landed hard on my back, staring up at Sasha.

"Why are you in my room?" I asked with a lot more confidence than I expected.

"Just be quiet" she muttered, still glaring down at me.

A few seconds later Ben strolled in and said, "Sorry we entered this way. I figured it would be the best way to tell you-"

"Tell me more lies," I continued as I raised myself to sit on the edge of my bed. Frankly, I hadn't thought of where I was going with this train of thought. It just slipped out. However, I was sure that Ben and Sasha were pumping Summer and me full of false information.

"Actually, the exact opposite of that. We're here to tell you the real truth..." Sasha responded calmly. "Besides, Ben suspected you'd figure it out on your own anyway."

"I thought something seemed suspicious about that cover story," I said stifling a yawn. I continued bluffing, hoping to convince them that my suspicions had existed for longer than the last few minutes. In truth, I wasn't really sure what I was suspicious of, so I just continued rambling. "Seemed strange that the secret service would be looking into an animal kidnapping of all things. It seems like they would have more important things to do"

"You have a point," Ben agreed, nodding his head.

"Also..." I continued, "You're not really with the secret service. Are you? I mean, this is way out of their jurisdiction. This seems more like CIA territory to me."

"Ben was right. You are smart," Sasha said, any trace of surprise already gone and replaced by a grin. "We are junior agents in the CIA. Now, we are trusting you with very sensitive information. If you share our true identities, not only will you jeopardize the mission, but you will jeopardize all of our lives."

"What you're about to hear is extremely classified. Sharing it will result in incarceration" Ben explained sternly. He played with a lock of hair as he spoke, making him seem more childish than his tone suggested. "We are here because of intel suggesting J.J. could be a major funder of an illegal organization that has tried to kill us along with the president of the United States and many world leaders."

"It's our job to find out the accuracy of this information and decide the appropriate actions to take," Erica finished.

I took this all in then said "Oh, that makes sense. I could believe he would "

Ben started, "I know you probably think this is completely ridiculous but..." pausing surprised at what I said. "Wait you actually think it's a possibility?"

"Yeah. J.J. has done things to risk my life in the past including blackmailing me plus many people say he participates in less legal activity. I doubt he would directly participate in the action but he'd fund them to raise money for himself," I said thinking.

"Do you think Summer might be open to this reasoning?" Ben asked hopefully.

"No..." I admitted. "I love Summer, but there's no way you can tell her. She'll probably tell her dad. Plus, if what you're saying is true he could easily hire people to come after you."

"So you will help us and keep this info between us?" Sasha said.

"Yes I will, but I have some conditions," I said.

"What are they?" Sasha asked, seemingly intrigued as to what they could be.

"If J.J. is arrested, Summer and her mother keep all the money and assets. Next, the entire incident is kept under wraps and any prosecution is done secretly. Also, you keep both of us out of danger," I said keeping my eyes trained on them.

"That seems reasonable," Sasha stated to what appeared to be Ben's surprise. "And we could definitely keep Summer out of danger, but..."

"You can't guarantee my safety?" I interrupted. There was a silence for a few seconds. "My parents won't like that..."

"They won't know," Ben said softly. I thought I saw sadness in his eyes. I wondered how much his parents knew about his life. He quickly averted his eyes from mine, whipping out an envelope that had been enclosed in his jacket. "Non-disclosure agreement. Sign it and you're in. If you don't. Well, I don't know? Frame a crime on you? Kill you? It's the administration's call."

Ben shifted his eyes to Sasha, almost searching for approval. Sasha's features remained cold and emotionless. Although, I knew from the moment Ben looked at her that he harbored a severe crush for the girl standing next to him. I pondered this, trying to clear my head. Sometimes it was hard to remember that the two "crime fighting" people in front of me were really just teenagers. Noticing Ben's crush for Sasha just gave me a glimpse into their real lives. If I was really going to work with these two people, I wanted them to let me see their human side.

I sighed and took the pen. I tried to read over the fine print, but it was extremely hard to read and the text was excruciatingly small. I squinted at the paper before returning their gazes.

"I have one more condition," I reported firmly. "Drop the whole "special agent" act and let me get to know the real you. I'm tired of you two talking down to me. And stop using words like "brief" and "non-disclosure" and "incarceration". I know that isn't how you really talk to your friends."

"Well... it's how she talks," Ben muttered sarcastically to himself.

For the first time in our whole conversation, Sasha spun around to face Ben. She playfully punched his shoulder, although judging from Ben's reaction it probably hurt more than the average punch. Sasha turned back to me, with a grin plastered on her face. Maybe she was better friends with her partner than she was letting on.

"Alright. You're right, we don't really act like this all the time. We're actually pretty normal people, I would say. So, if we agree to be honest with you, do we have a deal?" Ben said, still clutching his deltoid muscle.

"When do I start?" I asked, signing the papers.

"Tomorrow." Ben replied with a smile. "Try to get some sleep. You'll need it." With that, he and Sasha walked away.

"Oh, and one other thing," Sasha said lightly as they started through the trailer door, "My real name is Erica."