Spy School Revolution

Home Invasion

First Floor

CROATAN Base

Fairwood, Maryland

0500 Hours

I wish I could say it was the first time I've ever broken into someone's house, but sadly, it wasn't. Given my current track record, I highly doubted it would be the last time either. 

In my excited state, I had accidentally gone a little overkill trying to get in. My momentum threw me forward and I tumbled towards the ground, landing with a dull thump. Slightly dazed, I looked up to see Erica gracefully vaulting in, her landing catlike and silent. She pulled me up to my feet, sparing me the briefest disdainful look.

Then it occurred to me to check out where we were.

The lights were off inside, but the open window behind us cast a slice of light upon a mahogany  table surrounded by a dozen or so chairs. A dining room. 

But it was empty of all life. 

I looked over at Erica--or at least, where Erica had been. There was no one there. Starting to freak out, I frantically swiveled around to see a flash of raven black hair slipping into the next room.

I hurried after her, keenly aware of how loud my steps were, no matter how carefully I was moving. "Could you give me a little warning before you ditch me?" I muttered.

She ignored my suggestion.

The room Erica had gone into was a kitchen, which was empty. It was possibly the cleanest room I had ever seen, like it was a cover page of an appliance catalog.

We kept going through the house, room by room. Nobody was home. 

Finally, we stood in front of the last closed door. With a sinking heart, I pushed it open, already knowing what we'd see.

It was a bedroom. Large, grand, and--as expected--completely devoid of people.

"Sam..." I pushed the hair out of my face, frustrated. "He set us up."

Erica said nothing. She was crouched down next to the bed. "How didn't I see this coming?" I said bitterly. "Nobody even lives here."

"I'm not so sure about that," she said quietly. "Look at this."

She was holding an empty mug. "This was under the bed."

I stared at it. There was a little bit of liquid at the bottom. And it smelled like--

"Coffee," Erica said satisfactorily. "The cup is still warm. Someone was here very recently and left in a hurry."

I frowned. "They knew we were coming. But how?"

Erica gave me a look that indicated she was amazed at my lack of deductive powers.

I blinked. "Oh. Someone must have tipped them off."

Erica nodded. "There's something else," she said, walking out of the room.

"Y'know, it would be great if you could explain what's going on before you abandon me in an enemy headquarters," I muttered as I hustled after her.

She didn't reply, but the corners of her mouth twitched upward a bit. I followed her back the way we had come until we arrived in the dining room again.

She knelt down, examining the carpet under our feet. I didn't see what she was looking at until I bent down as well. A small divot in the carpet. 

And another three next to it, like a chair had been there. 

"This chair was moved," I said slowly, my eyes flitting between the chairs around the table and the divots.

"Right," said Erica. "But why?"

I wasn't sure, but I felt like this was important somehow. I glanced up and noticed several more uneven areas in the carpet behind Erica. More divots. 

A suspicion then seized me. I rose to my feet and moved to the middle of the room, my back resting against the table.

"Look," I said.

Erica rose to her feet. I watched her eyes narrow slightly. There were several more sets of imprints, arrayed in a semi-circle around us.

"Six chairs total..."

She turned to me suddenly, having the exact same thought as I did.

"Alexander, Catherine, Zoe, Mike, Chip...Jawa," I ticked the names off mentally.

Erica huffed, irritated. "They were all here less than an hour ago."

I started pacing around the carpet. "And they just happened to clear out right before we were about to find it. Can't be a coincidence, can it?"

"No...in fact..." Without finishing her sentence, she froze.

"What?" 

"They're still here."

And then I felt a cold, unpleasantly familiar sensation of dread. 

From behind us, a voice yelled "Put your hands up!"

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A/N: Okay, I know it's been much too long since my last update. I've got no excuse for it! But hopefully you guys can forgive me. I promise I'll do my best to get back on top of it.

Thanks for reading today's chapter! If you enjoyed, please leave me a vote and a comment. Also...during my extended break we hit 2K reads, and then 2.5K reads. I am so grateful for every single one of you!

Question of the day: Thoughts on Zoe? I think a lot of people dislike her for no good reason. But let's hear everyone's opinion!