Spy School Revolution

Pursuit

First Floor

CROATOAN Base

Fairwood, Maryland

0600 Hours

We whipped around to find four imposing agents pointing guns at us. The person who'd spoken was the size of a gorilla, and nearly took up the entire doorway to the room. "Now," he growled.

I looked over at Erica, who had obediently raised her hands. I followed suit, feeling it would be exceptionally dumb to disobey. And potentially fatal.

"Whoa, I'm sure this is just some kind of misunderstanding..." I started, doing my best to sound like accidentally breaking into enemy bases was something that happened all the time.

Then I noticed a much smaller person partially hidden by the mass of agents. "Sam?" I couldn't help saying it, I was surprised to see him. Mostly because we had tied him up and left him in our car about an hour before.

Apparently this was the wrong thing to say, because all of the older agents turned to look at him in disgust. Sam cringed at this, then seemed to launch into a whispered apology which was quashed by a frightfully angry look from the leader of the group.

He returned his glare back to me, raising his gun menacingly. "Tell me what you know about this operation." He looked awfully scary, and yet there was bit of concern in his expression. 

Erica seemed to pick up on this as well. With an incredible amount of confidence, she cheerfully said "Absolutely everything. That kid spilled his guts about your plan."

This was a massive lie, but all the agents bought it. Once again, they couldn't help but turn to look at Sam, who was now desperately trying to deny it. "She's lying!" he said quickly. "I didn't tell them anything!"

"He knows your name," one of the agents hissed.

While this was going on, I turned my head slightly, meeting Erica's eyes, asking a silent question. Slowly and calmly, she pointed one of her outstretched hands towards the window behind us. It was still cracked open from when we went in. 

With a nod of her head, we both leapt into action. I sprang towards the window and threw it open. Erica dove through it with me on her heels. We tumbled out into the dewy grass and scrambled to our feet, sprinting away from the house.

This victory was cut short by the yells of the agents taking up the chase. Unfortunately for them, the large man went first and subsequently got stuck in the open window--it was much to small to accommodate his bulk. He roared in frustration.

This obstacle wouldn't hold them for long.

I was already panting from trying to keep up with Erica, who was a very fast runner. "Plan?" I gasped.

"Working on it."

Then she veered to the left, across the street, where there was a row of parked cars. She yanked me behind them just in time, as right then the enemy opened fire, bullets loudly puncturing the vehicle windows and doors. I craned my neck around back at the cars. "They just ruined somebody's car!" I exclaimed.

Somehow, Erica managed to sigh while full-out sprinting."It's better than ruining the structural integrity of our bodies, Ben." 

 We pressed onwards, but the cover that the parked vehicles had granted us was running out. To make things worse, I heard the rev of an engine starting behind us.

I wasn't thinking too clearly, but it did occur to me that us versus a car full of armed bad guys did not sound like it would end well.

Luckily Erica did, in fact, have a plan. "This way!" she shouted.

She vaulted over a fence into someone's backyard. I pushed myself over it and landed in a slightly overgrown garden. 

With everything that had been going on, I'd forgotten that we were in a normal suburban neighborhood, and that normal suburban people lived here. 

I turned to Erica. "We have to get out of here! There are innocent citizens in these houses! They're probably terrified by all the gunfire!" 

Erica kept running through the yard for a moment, but then she stopped suddenly; I nearly ran into her.

"What?" I asked.

"Shhh." She was staring off into space, listening intently. 

I strained my ears as hard as could, but heard nothing.

"Sirens," she explained. "It'll be the police, investigating the gunshots. Or maybe even the police and the CIA, looking for us. We're probably wanted--me for bombing the school, you for disappearing to help me."

I puffed out an exhale. "Okay..." This was yet another variable in what was quickly becoming a very dicey situation. "What should we do?"

She said nothing, instead looking around urgently, apparently thinking hard. Then, without warning, she turned around and ran right back the way we had come. Back towards the bad guys with guns.

I had absolutely no idea what she was planning, but I trusted her to get us out of this. So I followed her.

We leapt over the fence, where they were waiting for us. The big man in front raised his gun again, but before he could shoot, or I could even have time to register I might be shot, Erica raised her hands above her head.

"Okay, you got us," she said, ignoring my utterly confused expression. "We aren't armed. But law enforcement will be here in--" she cocked her head, listening again. This time I heard the scream of sirens in the distance. "I'm not sure, less than a few minutes?" 

"That's plenty time to kill both of you," one of the agents said loudly.

Erica continued "But you won't. You need us to pin the blame on whatever you've got planned. We can't really be your scapegoats if we're dead, can you?"

The agents seemed thrown by her honestly and complete lack of fear. But what she had said made sense...at least for them. I was terrified. "Why are you turning us in?"I hissed under my breath to her.

She didn't answer, her eyes remaining firmly fixed on the agents. 

Then the leader turned to her, mulling it over.  Then he said gruffly "Alright then. You're coming with us."

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A/N: Thanks for reading today's chapter! If you enjoyed, do me a solid by leaving a vote and a comment! (I kinda feel like a YouTuber filming an outro every time I write the author's note, haha.)

Today's question: Have you read the real Spy School Revolution yet, and if so, what were your thoughts? 

I'm just going to preface this by saying the comment section MIGHT have spoilers, because I'm so excited about the book that I will absolutely forget my manners and ruin it for everyone. I promise to put a big spoiler warning at the beginning of each message if I do, though.