Spy School: Why did you leave me? [EDITING]

[Chapter 14]

On route to Delaware

May 16

0830 Hours

Ben POV

There are many horrible ways to get your sleep shattered when you're in the middle of a nice nap. Having your close friend judo flipped onto your face is one of them. I woke up with a dirt-like metallic taste in my mouth. I opened my eyes, and there was a shoe. Zoe's shoe to be exact. I looked around and figured out that Zoe was sprawled across the back row, her head resting on Mike's lap. I wondered how that had happened and looked at Erica. She was glaring at Zoe, and I realized that Erica had judo-flipped Zoe into the back seat. But that wasn't what I was paying attention to. As I stared at Erica's face, I realized her face was a little bit red. Was she blushing? No, she couldn't be. This was the Ice Queen, who never showed any emotion. I put that thought out of my head as I gained consciousness of my surroundings. We were at a hanger. In front of us, there was a luxury Embraer Legacy 500, the words painted in metallic gold as it swept the side of the plane. My jaw dropped.

"Everyone out of the car," Cyrus said, opening the doors. We all hopped out.

"How could we afford such an expensive plane?" I asked Cyrus.

"The CIA is part of the government," Cyrus said, "this plane is to be used only for government business. Unfortunately, I must return to the CIA base."

"We're going to be on a plane without an adult? Who's going to fly it?" Mike asked.

"Ah, yes. Let me introduce you to my colleague. Her real name is Natalya, but she goes by Raven," Cyrus said, pointing to a woman with blue eyes and dark hair. She had a pale complexion, with a scar running down her left cheek.

"Nice to meet you, Raven," we said in sync. She nodded in return.

"Raven will be your pilot for the trip to Rio De Janeiro, as well as your guardian for the rest of the mission. I trust her with my life, and you should too." Cyrus continued. We nodded to show our understanding.

"If there are no more questions, you can board the plane. It will leave in 30 minutes." Cyrus finished. We all walked to the plane, Mike and I chat about the special features of the plane while Zoe and Erica discussed which beaches we should go to in Rio. When we reached the boarding stairs, we said our goodbyes and climbed up. But as I climbed I couldn't help but notice how Erica was staring off into space...

Erica POV

As I climbed the stairs, I couldn't help but think about what Joshua told me...

Flashback

I was in the car, thinking about Ben and Jessica, who had a relationship with him when I heard footsteps coming to the car. I didn't realize that the footsteps were too heavy and hollow to be any of the others until the car door sprung open. I jumped to my feet. As soon as I saw who it was, I cursed. How could I let myself be distracted? I must have left the door unlocked!

"Nice to see you again?" said the person.

"What do you want, Joshua?" I growled.

"If that's how it's going to be, I'll get right to the point," he said, lunging at me. I step sided the lunge and swung my backhand at his head, but he used his other hand to block mine and retreated.

"I couldn't help but listen in on your conversation with the group," Joshua started.

"I bet you could," I replied.

"You want to know who Jessica is, right?" he asked me. This time I stayed silent.

"It's pretty obvious. It's Ben's girlfriend," Joshua said, smiling maliciously. My eyes widened, and I hesitated to deliver my roundhouse kick. He took the opportunity to punch me in the jaw. Then Ben and the gang arrived, and Joshua fled.

End of Flashback

My jaw clenched as I remembered that. But if this Jessica was Ben's girlfriend, then why haven't I ever seen her before? There were so many emotions swirling in my head, I couldn't think straight. I pushed these thoughts and emotions out of my head and started to think about the mission...

Ben POV

Erica had just been staring into space for the last two minutes, and I was worried about her.

I prodded her on the shoulder and asked, "Are you okay?" But she was so deep in thought, she didn't hear me. I considered tapping her again but then thought better of it.

If anything is bothering her, she'll talk to me about it, right?

I pushed those thoughts out of my head and started focusing on the mission to come...

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

- Cookie