Spy School Revolution

Eavesdropping

Warehouse

Deanwood

Washington, DC

0300 Hours

"This might be the most bored I've ever been," Mike said.

I had to agree. We were camped out on the roof of an industrial landscaping supplier warehouse, which apparently is a glorified name for a building filled with bags of gravel. And dirt.

We had chosen this place because it was directly adjacent to Erica's last location. Perched on the edge of the roof, holding a scope to her eye, Catherine murmured, "Yes, but it does seem suspicious that my research said this place was abandoned."

"Why do you say that?" asked Alexander.

Catherine pinched her chin, studying the average-looking building before us. "See how well-kept it looks? The driveway was recently swept." She pointed at the squat metal units on the roof of the building. "And frankly, what kind of abandoned warehouse has functioning air conditioning?"

I withdrew my own scope from my utility belt. I was still wearing my black outfit under my partially rain-soaked sweatshirt. Even though I didn't have anything it it, I figured it would come in handy, and I was right. Before getting situated on the roof, Catherine had dished out some gear: electronic scopes, grappling hooks, and duct tape. She had also distributed weapons to everyone except Alexander and I.

That was alright by me. My aim was improving gradually, but I still didn't trust myself to not shoot myself in the foot on accident. Alexander looked slightly dejected about not being given a gun, but he too had learned it was for the best.

I pulled the scope up to my face, then winced as it bumped against my black eye. Holding my hands as steadily as I could, I peered through the scope.

It was impossible to see into the warehouse, as there were absolutely no windows. If this really was an enemy hideout, this was likely for concealment purposes. Not that there was any evidence to prove it was a hideout. Nothing around it had stirred in the slightest while we had been there, which had been a good three hours.

I swiveled the scope to the driveway. "Those trucks from the satellite imagery aren't here anymore."

"I noticed that as well," Catherine said. "Perhaps they've been moved inside the building."

I lowered the scope, turning to my friends. In a way, their demeanor during the uneventful surveillance greatly depended on their own personalities. Zoe and Jawa were diligently watching the building for any signs of life; they had barely moved since our arrival. Mike was doing his best to stay focused and was succeeding for the most part. Chip was pacing the roof behind us, he had given up staring at the warehouse. I had always known him to be an upfront, get-in-your-face type of guy. Careful observation for hours at a time wasn't really his style.

"Or maybe they've been on an errand," Zoe said, her voice suddenly urgent. "Look there. One o'clock."

I followed her gaze and two vehicles heading down the backstreet behind the ware house. The photo Catherine had showed us was a bit blurry, but I was almost certain they were the same trucks.

Quick as lightning, Catherine ducked away from the edge of the building. "Stay low, everybody."

We all followed her lead, except for Alexander, who was still trying to figure out what Zoe had seen. I grabbed his arm and pulled him down in an unceremonious heap. It wasn't really the nicest way to treat a friend's father, but he really was going to get us caught.

He let out a surprised "Aghrk" as he went down.

Catherine held up her hand, indicating we should all be silent. I focused on the sound of tires approaching, getting closer and closer. I guessed the vehicles had turned into the driveway. After a moment, I heard the dull hum of engines being cut off. Then the doors clicking open and shut as the passengers got out.

We needed to see what was going on. I wormed forward on my stomach so my head was just peeking over the edge of the roof.

I counted four people in total surrounding the trucks. They appeared to be unloading its cargo, bits of their conversation drifting up to us as they did.

"...He's a pain in my backside," one was saying. "I've got no idea why the boss trusts him so much."

Another voice, female this time, snickered. "You sure you aren't just jealous?"

"Of course n--" the first guy started furiously. "No!"

"Sure sounds like it," she said.

A new person standing near the back of the truck handed him a large box. Then he wiped his brow and said "No, no, Sam's got a point. The kid is barely a teenager!"

Sam grunted as he took on the box. "And he steals all my food too!"

 Zoe and I locked eyes, both of us mentally confirming we weren't jumping to conclusions. This guy was sounding an awful lot like...

Sam continued "I swear we don't get paid en--"

 "Oh, quit whining and get this done." The last guy finally spoke up.  "The entire plan depends on this shipment, so hurry up!"

Apparently he held some authority over the rest of them, because they hustled to the truck and started taking on more boxes.

They worked in silence for several minutes. 

Then the woman said "I don't even get the plan, though. I thought the whole point was to lay low and keep operations within our  own people. We've done it for centuries, haven't we?"

I saw Catherine shift slightly in surprise at this statement. What enemy organization had been around for that long? The trucks were nearly empty, and all of them started to head into the 

The woman continued, carrying the last box into the building. "But lately it seems like the boss has been relying on other people, even enemies to handle our business. It just seems risky."

"He knows what he's doing," one of the guys said.

"What about the girl?" she pressed. I perked up, thinking this was about Erica.

I didn't get to hear the answer though, as the doors swung closed behind her and the neighborhood fell quiet again.

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A/N: Apologies for the late update everyone, but thank you for reading! Unfortunately I will be taking a short break tomorrow, but I promise you'll get to learn more about the mystery organization on Thursday! Side note: We hit 150 reads! Thank you guys so, so much!

As always, if you enjoyed this chapter please leave a comment and a vote! Question of the day: Which was your favorite SS book and why? Mine is probably British Invasion :)