Spy School Revolution

Rescue Operations

Minivan

CROATAN Base

Fairwood, Maryland

0500 Hours

"So this is it, huh?" I said, holding my scope to my eye.

The headquarters of an evil intelligence organization who had kidnapped our friends stood before us.

The gray light of the early morning fell upon what looked like an average suburban house, which was because it was an average suburban house. It was sizable, but not enormous, with gray roof tiles and a well-kept lawn. A handsome wooden door was framed by two comfortable-looking deck chairs on the front porch. 

Shooting Sam a suspicious look, I muttered "I don't buy it."

I glanced over at Erica and found I did not have to look very far. She was leaning over my shoulder to get a good look at the building as well, her hair lightly brushing softly against my arm. 

"All the windows are shut, and the blinds are closed... What?" she said, turning to me. I blinked and realized I had gone completely rigid.

"Nothing," I said quickly, abruptly shifting away from the window. I cleared my throat. "But shuttering the windows doesn't mean that there are evil organizations inside. Plenty of normal citizens just do it for privacy's sake."

"True," she sighed, sending goosebumps up my back.

"I'm telling you, this is the place!" Sam snapped through gritted teeth.

 Erica sat back in her seat, the scent of lilacs and gunpowder receding away from me. Slightly dazed, I turned to look at him.

He was fixing us with such a loathsome glare I felt a little cowed. I also got the sense he was telling the truth. I turned to Erica for confirmation. She gave a slight nod.

"So what's the plan?" I asked her.

***

Thirty minutes later found me creeping around the outside of the house behind Erica, wondering what on earth she was planning. In typical Erica fashion, she had resolutely ignored any of my queries about what we were about to do. I simply had to trust that she wasn't going to get us captured, killed, or worse.

We had completed a full circle around the property, padding on damp grass in the dim light of the early morning. I was doing my very best to be completely silent, worried I might alert anybody who might be inside.

Without warning, Erica caught my arm and pulled me down--I landed unceremoniously on top of a prickly bush--so we were crouched against the wall of the house, directly underneath the window. "Wha--" I started, before she shot me a vehement glare, indicating I needed to be completely silent.

She pointed a finger to something on a window frame, a small yet rather complex-looking lock, definitely not the kind that had been installed simply to keep nosy neighbors out. Then she locked eyes with me and mouthed "That's where they're being kept."

I nodded understanding. She reached her hands up to the lock without standing up. Even though, like all the other windows in the house, this one had the blinds down, Erica couldn't guarantee that her shadow wouldn't be seen from the inside. I noticed the silver glint of a lock-pick in her hands, undoubtedly having been plucked from one of the many pockets of her utility belt.

Rudimentary lock-picking had been covered during our first year at spy school, but I knew Erica had been cracking safes and doors open for years before that. Therefore, I was not surprised to see her deftly inserting the lock-pick and immediately going to work on it. I was surprised, however, when I realized she wasn't even looking at what she was doing. Her eyes were fixed on our surroundings, keeping an eye out for any disturbances. She was cracking the lock from muscle memory.

In a matter of seconds, the lock clicked open and slid free from the window. I didn't have time to marvel at this, because it had then became clear to me that Erica's plan was to enter the house through the window. She eased her hand around the latch of the window and slowly pushed it open.

She met my gaze and held up three fingers. Then two. 

I tensed up, my heart beating madly in anticipation for what we were about to do. 

On one, we stood and scrambled up and pushed ourselves through the opening. 

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed this week's chapter! We hit 1.5k reads, which is absolutely crazy. Thank you all so very much. I know many of you are also starting school soon, which might be a bit weird given the circumstances of the world right now, but I hope you all know it's gonna be alright. 

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