Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I think I would rather have been pummeled by Erica than go to the principal’s office. Because at least she’s good at what she does. The principal on the other hand… Well, you’ve read this far, you know exactly what I mean.

Well unfortunately, I didn’t have a choice in the matter. I was in the middle of Advanced Self-Preservation class when the principal’s voice came onto the PA system. Although, not without some… struggle.

At first we didn’t hear his voice, all we heard were fumbling noises, and the occasional annoyed grunt. Then he finally spoke. But not to us.

“I can never remember which switch turns this damn thing on,” he muttered. “Is it this one, or— Nope, that’s for the desk lamp. This darned system is a bigger pain in the ass than my hemorrhoids… Daggone it, I still need to get that cream too… Oh, that little red light is on. Hello? Can you hear me in there?”

The self-preservation teacher, Professor Simon, sighed so heavily that it was almost tangible how disappointed she was in her principal and boss. Somehow, more disappointed in him than in us. And I was about to be skewered by her fake katana. Then again, I got the excuse of being a kid.

“Yes, we can hear you,” she said flatly.

“Fantastic, I want Benjamin Ripley in my office right away.”

I rolled my eyes. Plenty of people did call me Benjamin, but they had the excuse of not knowing my real legal name. The principal literally has my file on hand. Sometimes it's hard to tell if he was being a jerk, or if he was that dumb. With him in mind, it was likely both at any given time.

The class, excluding Zoe and Murray but including Warren, all chorused in a collective “Ooooh!” The typical student’s response to a classmate being called to the principal’s office. But they quickly clammed up when Professor Simon shot them a look sharper than an actual katana.

“I’ll send him over right away,” the professor said.

I took that as my cue to get going. I got up from the floor where the professor had pinned me for her “demonstration”, and hustled over to my seat to grab my backpack. While I knelt down and zipped it up, Murray leaned over from the seat next to me. “Can I go too?” he whispered to me.

“What— You hate the principal,” I whispered back, slipping the backpack’s straps on my shoulders.

“Yeah, but I hate this class even more, I don’t wanna turn into metaphorical mincemeat,” Murray gestured to the sword Professor Simon held in her hand. “Besides, backup’s always nice when it comes to the principal.”

“Sorry Murray, sounds like I gotta go alone,” I sighed. He did raise a fine point, and I wish he could come with me, even though he would likely just be using me as a shield the whole time. He’d be good emotional support, and a witness.

“What do you think he wants you for?” Zoe asked, who was on the other side of me at the table.

“No idea. Let’s hope I come back alive.”

When I had my backpack securely on my back, I made a goodbye smile at Zoe and Murray, glared at Warren who was looking at me with that smug shit-eating grin everyone hated, and walked out the door.

God, I really didn’t wanna go see the principal… Every time I saw him, something bad was going to happen. Being put on probation, being put in basically an isolation jail cell of a room, having all my summer plans get canceled so I can go suffer in the woods, and last but not least, he expelled me. I’m convinced the man is a living jinx. Because he’s sure as hell not smart enough to plan all this out.

I was initially planning on taking my sweet time getting to the principal’s office. He only said I needed to be there, not be there quickly. I deserve a little bit of revenge, he can wait.

Which is what I would have stuck with if not for a text I received on my phone. It didn’t show the name, but it didn’t take a genius to guess who texted me.

“Stop dawdling, this is important. Get over here.”

Only Erica Hale would text in grammatically correct sentences and proper punctuation. And also the fact that she’s the most likely candidate for who might be waiting for me at the principal’s office.

I decided it best to heed her words and hurry to the Hale Building. Both because if this was important enough for her to text me, it was important enough for me to get my ass over there as fast as possible, and because she could very well punch me for making her wait. While I speedwalked into the building, I did wonder how she knew I was dawdling. Was she watching me, or did she just know me that well?

When I took another step, I heard the crunching of dry leaves behind me. I turned my head, but saw no one around. Could it have been the wind blowing the leaves across the school’s pavement? But I could have sworn it sounded more like someone was stepping on it. Everyone was supposed to be in class… Oh god, could it be another assassin…? It wouldn’t surprise me though. Like I said, the principal is a jinx.

So I decided to not waste any more time and ran over to the Hale Building, practically bursting inside. At least if someone was looking to attack me, there are people here to see it, and fight them off. Especially if Erica’s here.

I went up the stairs to the fifth floor, doing two at a time. Both to get there quicker, and to be fast enough to evade whoever was following me. Once I got there, the security agents waved me in quickly. I spread my arms and legs for the frisking, but one of them held up a stand to stop me. “Not necessary. They want to see you right now.” 

Wow, this must be a bigger deal than I thought… Well, I guess they know me at this point, for how many times I’ve been dragged over here.

They directed me towards a door, but not the door to the principal’s office. Since I accidentally destroyed it with the mortar round, the principal must have relocated to a different room. What room would that be, you ask? From the looks of it, a janitor’s closet. Taped on the door was a paper that read, and I quote, “Pirnciple”. No I am not joking, no I am not exaggerating. The principal of a school for spies, ladies and gentlemen. Or should I say, the “pirnciple” of a school for spies.

I opened the door and was immediately greeted by the overwhelming stench of ammonia and bleach. Yep, definitely a janitor’s closet.

The office wasn’t set to be finished for another three years, which was pretty fast compared to the government’s other renovations, most of which have been on hold since the fall of the Berlin Wall. So instead of a big, beautiful wooden desk that made him look the slightest bit professional, the principal sat in a fold out chair at a card table. Well, at least now it’s accurate to his level of professionalism.

The closet was also pretty cramped, but not because me and the principal were there, but because three more people were there as well; All three generations of the Hale family. Erica, Alexander, and Cyrus.

Cyrus never bothered with dressing all pompous and fancy like his son did, instead favoring activewear and a fanny pack, like he was a tourist. Alexander was the complete opposite. Although he was fired once his fraudulence was discovered, he was reinstated when he proved himself on our last mission. So there he was, back to his suave, debonair self, dressed exactly like James Bond. Erica wore a black bodysuit with cargo pants over it, as well as a sturdy utility belt, like she was ready for action. I mean, she’s always ready for action.

“Sorry I kept you waiting,” I apologized. Judging from the lack of windows, Erica did indeed know I was dawdling.

“It’s alright, I just got here myself!” Alexander chirped with a smile.

“But unlike Benjamin, you had to be here half an hour ago,” Cyrus groused gruffly.

Alexander did wince, though he still kept smiling politely, to save face. “Well, um… I had important prep work to do for the mission.”

“No, tying your tie does not count as prep work. Anyhow, we have more important matters to discuss.”

“Wait, Alexander mentioned a mission, is it about that?” I asked.

“Oh yes! That’s because you’re being activated!”

“ Alexander! ” Cyrus hissed.

“That— That is what’s happening, is it not?” Alexander looked confused at his father’s scowl.

“ Yes, but you shouldn’t announce in front of—! ”

“What?!”

The principal promptly jumped to his feet, the raggedy clump of matted hair he called a toupee getting dislodged on his head.

“You’re seriously activating this little— twerp for a real mission?” he shouted.

“We wouldn’t exactly be activating him for a fake mission, now would we?” Cyrus snipped.

“Well then— He can’t go!” the principal huffed, like a little kid telling his mom he doesn’t want someone at his birthday party.

“Hate to break it to you, but the higher-ups don’t care if you agree with them, and I don’t either. Everything he’s done has all been for the sake of not one, but multiple instrumental missions. Including the office destruction you’re so peeved about.”

“But but but— He nearly killed me! Clearly he’s not a good enough agent! He hasn’t even gotten through his second year!” the principal blustered.

“He’s proved himself time and time again to be capable of carrying out a real mission. Which is more than I can say for some of us.”

“Surely I get a say—”

“No you don’t, actually. We’re only here because we’re obligated to inform you every time we’re activating a student.”

I looked between Cyrus and the principal. I was completely floored. Cyrus, defending me…?! I never thought my name next to a relatively positive adjective would even be in the same breath. He was mostly insulting the principal, but hey, good enough. I hate him too.

Defeated, the principal slumped back into his chair.

While he wasn’t screaming and whining like a child, I took the chance to finally talk to Erica, who hadn’t said a word throughout this entire exchange. Understandably so, talking with the principal is like talking to a rock. Yet somehow, the rock’s company is more enjoyable than his.

“Are you being activated too?” I asked.

Her piercing blue eyes flicked over to me, then her eyebrow raised.

“Right sorry, of course you are,” I apologized sheepishly. “Why else would you be here, right?”

Erica made an affirmative nod.

“That is indeed correct!” Alexander chimed in. “We will all be on an assignment together, isn’t that delightful?”

“It’d be more delightful if the assignment didn’t concern national security,” Cyrus cast a pointed look at Alexander, who shrank back from his glare.

As scary as the prospect of another real mission was, I was grateful to be able to hang out with Erica at least somewhat. She was somewhat of an enigma at this school, everyone both being head over heels about her, and knowing nothing about her at all. On the last few missions, I had gotten to see a side of her I never thought I’d see. The human side of her, the side that loved her friends and mourned when she lost them. Especially Joshua, after he betrayed her. I’d say he was the one she grieved the most. She was so much more than she was letting on. And I wanted to get to know the real Erica, not the walls she hid behind: The real Erica, from what I saw, was thoughtful, intelligent, and dedicated. Not just to her destiny as a spy, but to everything she cared about. I want to see more of the person Erica is inside. And maybe, just maybe, I can help her out of her shell. So other people can see what I see. An ally, a friend, a big sister of sorts.

“What’s the mission?” I asked.

Cyrus produced a manila envelope, labelled “Operation Snow Bunny” and stamped with “For your eyes only” in bold red ink.

Holy shit, this was the real deal… It’s so jarring when you’re holding something you’ve only seen in movies in your hands. The iconic manila envelope, with any sort of dangerous mission or perilous task waiting for me inside.

As anxious as I was, I was also very curious, so I had little hesitation before opening the envelope and examining the contents. It mainly consisted of photographs of varying quality. Most were grainy, including one of what looked like an older Asian man, with short hair and classy sunglasses shielding his eyes. Not much could be made out other than that.

“That is the man this mission concerns,” Cyrus started explaining. “Leo Shang, a Chinese billionaire. We suspect that’s not his legal name, but we can’t exactly find it. Nor can we find anything else about him. Not where he grew up, what his education is, or even what he does. He just appeared one day five years ago with loads of cash.”

Erica was leaning over to try to see the photos, though she was attempting to be subtle. Even so, I did notice, and I handed her the printed pictures. As she examined them, she made this… face. Her eyebrows furrowed, and her lips were the slightest bit pursed. Like she hadn’t seen these pictures before. Normally, she does her research beforehand, then comes to me already knowing the details. Had Cyrus not shown these to her? And why?

“We tried to investigate him, but he’s closed as tight as a mussel,” Cyrus kept going. “He’s certainly suspicious with no traceable background and millions of dollars at his disposal, seemingly from out of nowhere, but no matter what we do, we can’t reach him. His security is too high and his social circle is too closed. It's been years and we still haven’t made any progress.”

I heard a small thump near the door, and I turned to look in that direction. So had Erica, except she looked a lot more skeptical than I did. She turned back to her grandfather, but she still kept an eye on the door. “Why investigate him at all? We don’t have jurisdiction over Chinese criminals committing crimes in China.”

“That’s true, but we suspect he’s also extending his business here,” Cyrus answered. “One agent heard him drop a name before being uncovered and the mission being ceased. Operation Golden Fist. We’re not privy to the exact nature of the op, but the agent did say that he believed it to be a Level Eleven threat.”

Erica’s eyes widened, just barely, and her posture stiffened. Which usually meant she was panicking and didn’t want to show it. She kept her voice relatively even as she asked, “Level Eleven?”

“Yes.”

Right then, we heard a second, louder thump at the closet door. Me and Erica both swiveled over at the same time.

“It appears we have an uninvited guest,” Erica said dryly.

“Oh no, this is bad! What if Shaang found out where we are?!” Alexander cried.

“First of all, it’s Shang, not Shaang,” Erica snapped at her father. “Second, it’s not him. This guy isn’t even dangerous. If he was, we wouldn’t know he was there.”

“Well who is it?! Either way, it’s imperative to keep this a secret!” Cyrus said.

“Ben, I think you should open the door.”

“Me? Why me?” I asked Erica, confused. “What if he hurts me?”

“Trust me, he won’t.”

I swallowed my anxiety and did as Erica said. I walked over to the wooden door, turned the knob, and let the door creak open. I was expecting a mysterious, black-clad enemy agent, springing to attack as soon as the door was ajar. Instead, the spy had unceremoniously fallen on the floor, since he was presumably leaning against the door.

“Murray?!”

“Oh wow, what— what a coincidence,” he looked up and nervously smiled at me. He shifted his pose so he looked somewhat casual, not that it worked. “I was trying to find the bleach and oh wow, there you are…! So weird, right?”

“Yeah, especially considering Advanced Self-Preservation doesn’t end for another 23 minutes,” I crossed my arms. “Were you following me?”

“N… No…?”

“Of course you were…! Are you insane?”

“Okay you two, enough with the lovers’ quarrel,” Erica ordered. “Murray, you do know we can’t let you leave, right? Now that you know about the mission.”

Murray’s eyes widened. He scrambled to his feet and stammered desperately. “Wait, are you gonna kill me?! Listen, I swear, I won’t tell a soul! I just wanted to see what Ben was doing! You— You wouldn’t kill a kid, right? And what if it was my birthday? Would you really kill a guy on his birthday?”

“It’s not your birthday, Murray, your birthday is in January,” I said. “And no, we’re not gonna kill you. Right?”

“No, we’re not,” Erica confirmed. “But now you have no choice but to take part in this mission too. You can’t back out until it's over, for the sake of confidentiality.”

“Sweet! A real mission!” Murray’s mood changed from scared for his life to pleasantly surprised. “What’re we doing?”

Cyrus did not look happy about another person butting into our mission, but he held his tongue. He briefly explained, “We’re trying to find out what Operation Golden Fist is.”

“Wait, how exactly are we gonna do that…?” Murray asked. “You guys said that this guy is impossible to get to.”

“There is one way we can access Leo Shang. Erica, show them the next photo.”

Erica held up another grainy photo, this time of a girl. She was next to Shang, notably smaller than him.

“That is Jessica Shang, his daughter and the only familial connection to Shang we know,” Cyrus said. “She’s about your age.”

“Ah, so we get close to her, and then we’ll be able to slip in under the radar,” Erica said, nodding in understanding. “What dialect of Chinese does she speak? If it's not Mandarin or Hokkien, I can quickly study it, and enroll in a student exchange program at her school. Once I have the proper identification, I can—”

Erica cut herself off when she noticed Cyrus and Alexander giving each other looks of unease, like a silent exchange.

Cyrus took a deep breath. Then he said a sentence I never thought would come out of anyone’s mouth, much less his. “You’re… not the primary agent on this assignment.”

“ What .”

Erica’s shoulders stiffened even more than they already were, and I could see her jaw clench in barely contained anger. “You’re telling me Ben is the one that’s going to be doing this?”

“Oh shit,” Murray whispered. “Drama…”

“ Shut it, Murray .”

For a moment, I was filled with a cold dread. I crossed my fingers and prayed she wouldn’t direct that anger at me. Because I think she’s right…! Why was I going to be the primary agent on this?

“If this were for any other operation, you would be our first choice, pumpkin,” Cyrus put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “But we’re not doing any break-ins or assassinations. This is a matter of getting close to someone, befriending Jessica. That is what Ben is good at. He may not be half the spy you are, but he’s great at making friends. He’s disarming, easy to talk to. That is exactly what we want. Someone who won’t raise the suspicion of Jessica’s father.”

I felt very flattered by most of that statement, but that half a spy comment did sting a little… Though it does hurt less when you know it’s Erica he’s talking about.

“Hell yeah! Ben’s like, the friendliest person I know,” Murray joined in. “I mean, he made friends with me , and I’m a total loser. I didn’t have any friends until he came around!”

“Maybe you shouldn’t mention that last bit…” I murmured to Murray.

He shrugged. “Whatever, it's not like it's a secret.”

“Look, I can somewhat understand your logic, but— Ben can’t even speak Chinese!” Erica snapped.

It's true, I can’t speak a lick of Chinese… I knew “Ni Hao”, but that was it. If Jessica were Hispanic or Italian, I could talk to her just fine, but unfortunately, it is not my lucky day today…

“Well Erica, if they have American names, chances are they speak English,” Alexander brought up. “A lot of people from China, Japan, any Asian country really, will sometimes change their names to better interact with American business partners. And because they’d get their names wrong anyway…”

Both Erica and Cyrus looked at Alexander with surprise.

“Come on, I’m not completely clueless…!” Alexander cried helplessly. “Don’t forget, I’ve talked to many people from many different countries for my missions— disregarding the level of success on those missions, of course…”

Erica let out a sharp exhale, clearly still dissatisfied.

“Look, I know this isn’t ideal, but if you can’t handle supervising Ben as he completes his mission—”

“Don’t be silly, of course I can,” Erica cut in. “I’m the best person to protect him, and to complete anything else that Ben can’t accomplish himself.”

“Good to hear that Alexander didn’t raise a quitter like himself,” Cyrus scoffed, which made Alexander’s shoulders slump in disappointment.

“Wait, shit are we going to China?” Murray asked. “Fuck, how am I gonna pack? What do I even bring??”

“We’re not going to China, dimwit,” Cyrus interrupted him grumpily. “If you’d just let me explain, you’d know that they’re actually going to a ski resort in Vail, Colorado. Since Colorado’s ski resorts are among one of the best in the world, they’re coming here to get Jessica some skiing lessons. They rented a hotel there, and—”

“You mean a hotel room…?” I asked quizzically.

Cyrus looked me dead in the eye. “No. I do not.”

“O— Oh. For only two people…?”

“He’s very rich, Ben. So when he wants absolute privacy, he gets absolute privacy.”

“I… see.”

“Wait, so if he’s that cautious as to rent out an entire hotel, why is he coming here in the first place?” Murray asked. “I’m sure Sweden or Canada have great slopes too, maybe even better than ours.”

I was a little surprised when Cyrus responded to Murray’s observation with an actual answer, and not a snide condescending comment. 

“Because we think it's also a cover for Operation Golden Fist,” he said. “There are many important government facilities in Colorado he could be targeting. Or it could be a person. We can’t know unless Ben gets close enough to Jessica.”

“How? If she has the entire hotel to herself, I won’t be able to see her at all,” I said.

“You, Erica, and now Murray I suppose, are all enrolled in the same ski school; beginner’s lessons. Have either of you skied before?”

“Nope,” me and Murray answered at the same time.

“Great, neither has Jessica. That shared standing will give you the opportunity to bond about the experience.”

“Wouldn’t she be in private lessons?” Erica quirked up an eyebrow. “I know I would if I were that rich.”

“She actually was, but we’re guessing Jessica changed it to the chagrin of her father. That’s another advantage, since she’s been isolated her whole life from her peers, she’ll be more eager to make friends her age. And obviously she’s not against challenging her father’s authority.”

Cyrus looked at Erica as he said that last sentence, Erica rolling her eyes in response.

“What if someone else tries to make friends with her before me?” I asked. “What’ll I do?”

“That won’t happen. Her classmates have been instructed not to befriend her.”

“How are you going to make sure a bunch of random kids will take those orders?” Murray absently toyed with his hoodie strings.

“Who said they’d be random?”

Murray’s face slowly morphed into one of realization once he picked up what Cyrus was putting down.

“Does that mean…?”

“Yes, we are also bringing aboard some of your classmates. The three of you can put together a good team to make up Jessica’s class.”

This was actually turning out to be pretty great…! Skiing with my friends, expense free? That’s the kind of thing I’d never even hope to have for years to come. It was curtailed by the potentially life-threatening mission, but it’s still a hell of a deal.

“Her winter break coincides with our own, so this is good timing as well,” Erica seemed to have calmed down enough to tell me some of the facts. “We’ll be there for a week, starting the day after Christmas.”

My spirits were dampened a little by that. I was hoping to spend my winter break with my parents. We may not be as loaded as Leo Shang, but my parents knew how to make Christmas the absolute best. As much as I wanted to say that, I knew it wouldn’t matter. If I was needed on a mission, I couldn’t just flake out. Even if I wanted to, Erica would drag me right back.

“Okay cool, Ben makes friends with a girl, finds out the deets about Golden Fist, bada-bing bada-boom, we get a week’s worth of hitting the slopes, hot tubs, and most importantly, free food!” Murray grinned.

Erica made a slight scowl at Murray. “Murray, do you know why the mission was terminated in the first place?”

“Because the guy got caught?” Murray responded, confused.

“Yes. And Leo Shang doesn’t take kindly to spies.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t— Oh. Oh… ”

Murray’s face somehow got paler than it already was.

“Yay… Ski vacay…” he cheered weakly, trying to stay optimistic.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the principal smiling, almost gleefully. Most likely at the prospect of me and Murray dying.

God, why is it always me…?

Chapter Text

“Man, what the hell? This sucks.”

“I know, I’m sorry… The trip is mandatory, so there’s no getting out of it,” I sighed. Which wasn’t a lie. I absolutely did not have a choice in this matter. The difference is instead of my punishment being detention, it’s being chewed out by Erica, and forced into the mission anyway.

“I know we didn’t have much planned, but it woulda been nice just to hang out with you for a week, like we used to,” Mike took a twig off of a nearby tree branch, and threw it into the empty panda enclosure, frustrated. Normally he’d get in trouble for this, but since the pandas were inside due to the freezing cold, it was fine. Even so, Mike was never really a rule-follower.

Against every instinct telling me to give Mike the truth, I told him the story Erica and Cyrus had provided me. That every year, St. Smithens took a mandated trip up to Colorado to study weather patterns and the science of temperature changes, as well as go up to the ski slopes to learn about physics. And due to the costs already being properly allocated, and the trip’s high price tag, I was required to attend. It was the same story my parents were told.

“How does a school like that get the money for that fancy of a trip?" Mike muttered. “Maybe I shoulda enrolled after all…!”

I tried my best to laugh at Mike’s attempt at a joke. In truth, I wish he could. I wish we could go to school together again, and be able to tell him about… Well, everything. All the cool spy stuff I’ve been doing, all the times I saved the country… Maybe then he wouldn’t think I’m the same lame loser that left our middle school… Beating up that guy after I got kicked out of spy school did up my street cred though.

“I mean, who knows, I might be able to be here on Christmas Day…”

“It’s fine, you don’t need to try to make me feel better,” Mike leaned on the enclosure’s bars with a defeated look on his face. “Let’s face it; you’re never around anymore. Anytime you have some free time, it gets eaten up by that stupid nerd school. I mean— It’s not your fault, you’re probably sick of being dragged all around the damn state, but… Sometimes I wish you’d never gone there in the first place.”

When I responded only with sad silence, Mike groaned and combed his fingers through his hair. “God, that didn’t come out right, did it? Look— I didn’t mean that I blame you for going there, and it really is a good school for you. I mean, you were miserable at our old school. But just… Now that you’re gone, nothing’s fun anymore.”

“I mean, I’m sure a lot of people would love to hang out with you,” I suggested meekly, feeling the guilt already start to tear at my mental fortitude. “What about Elizabeth?”

“I broke up with her.”

“What— Why? I thought she was like— your dream girl?” I sputtered, taken completely by surprise.

“Yeah, but she’s also boring as hell,” Mike huffed. “Like seriously, she makes being rich and hot her whole personality. We never had the conversations you and I had, the ones that make me wanna talk to you for hours. Same goes for everyone else trying to buddy up with me. Even when they’re not shallow assholes, I just don’t… click with them like I clicked with you.”

“Really…?”

My cheeks warmed a little from what Mike was saying. I had no idea this is what he thought about me. I always thought I was just the loser he hung out with out of pity, or because we were friends for so long. I always thought I was the one holding him back; dragging him down to my level. Maybe we were never on different levels in the first place.

“Yeah. I’m— I’m sorry for bringing this up, you probably already feel super bad,” Mike stammered, uncharacteristically tongue-tied. “But there’s something else too. These stories you give me… They’re super reasonable and believable and all that, but… I just can’t help but feel like there’s something you’re not telling me.”

“W— What?”

I looked back over to Mike to see him staring right at me. 

“I know you, Ben. And I know you can be a pretty good liar when you wanna be. But I also know you well enough to know when you are lying. I’m sure you’re not lying about everything you’re telling me, but there’s something you’re keeping from me. What is it?”

Shit, I didn’t think he'd catch on so quickly…! Then again, knowing Mike, he probably had my number the whole time and didn’t wanna say anything about it. He is pretty perceptive.

“I… Well…”

I spent a minute or two stammering uselessly, at a complete loss for what to do. I couldn’t tell him about the CIA, that’d put both of us in danger, but I don’t want to keep lying to him, especially when he knows I’m lying.

But before I could settle on an answer, Mike’s expression fell, and he tore his eyes away from me. “You know what, it’s fine. I know you have your reasons for keeping this from me, whatever it is. You’re not some two-timing dickhead. But I don’t want to drift away from you because you’re dealing with something alone. Whenever you’re ready, you can tell me, and I’ll listen. I promise I won’t judge. Unless you start dating a guy from our school.”

“Why would I do that??” I cried, swiveling towards him.

“I dunno, you are bi,” Mike shrugged. “And lemme tell you— You’ve got the worst taste in dudes. I mean, besides me of course.”

“No I don’t…!” I said with a laugh in my voice.

“No, dude, it’s like clockwork! You fall for the hottest girl in our grade, and in the same week, you’re pining for some loser who plays basketball!”

My face flushed red; something about me that I hated. Whenever I get flustered, my whole face reddens like a cherry. It’s super embarrassing…

“See? I’m right, aren't I?” Mike smirked.

“Shush!”

Mike’s laughter eventually died down. “Sorry, that got kinda heavy there. But seriously, I’m not mad at you. Just want you to know that… you can trust me.”

“…thank you.”

God, I felt awful for having to lie to Mike, my best friend of like, ten years… Though if I wanted to have a hope of keeping him out of danger, and keep him as a friend, I had to keep this secret. 

“You mind if we walk around? I’m gettin’ antsy and my legs are sore from standing here the whole time,” Mike asked.

“Oh yeah, sure…!”

With no hesitation, we left the empty panda enclosure and started strolling around the National Zoo. We went here because, to be honest, it was all we could afford. Mike spent all his summer earnings already, and I couldn’t exactly make any money in my position, so we were both broke as hell. We couldn’t even split a slice of pizza. At least the National Zoo was free.

As we walked, my eyes darted from one person to another. From a short asian boy with straight bangs, round glasses too big for his face, and an orange winter coat, to the bulky guy with sloppily gelled hair holding him by the waist, wearing a blue and red letterman jacket and comfy sweatpants. At the other enclosures, the ones with actual animals in them, I noticed a slightly hunched-over grandfather with a bushy mustache leaning on his plain wooden cane, wearing a trenchcoat and a red beanie. He accompanied a little girl, about eight years old, wearing a white puffy jacket, black pants and a pink skirt over it. When she smiled, I could see her left molar missing.

You’re probably wondering why I’m pointing out all these seemingly useless details. I promise, it’s not on purpose. In the three days since the mission was assigned, I had been drilling to improve my memory with Professor Richmond instead of my normal classes. It started with memorizing strings of letters and numbers, the order of a deck of cards, then we would talk walks around the city; quizzing me on all the small details normally I wouldn’t have even thought about. What people were wearing, what model of car was parked right next to us, even the gait of someone that passed by us. It was hell for the first day, then as I did  it more and more, it began to come as naturally as breathing or walking. The only downside is I guess now you’re stuck with the occasional infodump.

“The most useful asset on any spy mission is your memory,” Cyrus had told me after we left the principal’s excuse of an office. “Cameras are well and good; but they always fall through when you really need ‘em. They can fail, get destroyed, not to mention, if Leo Shang finds one on you, you’re as good as dead. So the best way is to commit everything you see and hear to memory.”

Sure, it wasn’t the flashiest skill I could have learned, but hey, if it keeps me from dying. And if the Hales say a skill is important, you tend to listen to them. Except maybe if it's Alexander telling you that… He’s not always wrong, but I'd definitely trust Erica, or hell, even Cyrus more to give good advice.

“You uh… You good? You’ve been staring at like, everyone we saw,” Mike raised an eyebrow curiously. “What, do they owe you money or something?”

“N— No, I just… Thought I recognized some of them,” I lied.

“Bullshit,” Mike laughed. “Listen, I don’t care who you stare at, but you’re creeping people out. You might wanna keep it on the down-low.”

“Yeah. Right, right…”

While my memory has indeed improved tremendously, I still need to work on my subtlety…

“You know, you have been acting pretty weird lately,” Mike held a hand to his chin in thought. “I mean, you haven’t even been gone a year, and so far, you’ve chased a guy down at Adventureland, beat up Trey Patterson and his buddies without breaking a sweat, not to mention the time I got bodied by commandos when you told me to spring you from St. Smithen’s. They said it was a training exercise, but we both know that’s a crock of shit.”

“I’ve been learning a lot at that school,” I said vaguely. My eyes flicked to a freakishly tall blonde guy and a short brunette girl walking past us, the girl clad in way more winter clothing than her companion.

“Like what? Karate?” Mike chuckled, nudging me with his elbow.

“Karate is mostly physics anyway,” I replied. “It's also good exercise. And that guy at mini golf actually did owe me money.”

“Yeah right,” Mike dismissed my attempts to pass off my admittedly abnormal behavior as normal. “But tell me one thing. Are you a human experiment?”

“WHAT??”

I was bracing for the worst, for Mike to finally find out I’m a spy, to out me in front of all of these strangers at the zoo. Nope. Somehow, his assumption was even more inane than me being a spy for the CIA.

“You’re not serious, right??” I asked, my voice pitchy with shock.

“I mean, if the shoe fits!”

“Well no it does not fit…! And you’re calling me weird…! Wait, wasn’t it you who told those girls I was a spy?”

“Oh yeah, that,” Mike remembered. “I just said that to impress them. There’s no way in hell you’re a real spy…!”

“So me being a human experiment is more believable than me being a spy?? At least spies are real, dude!”

“Come on, you’d be terrible at it!” Mike said, amused. “You’re a wuss with horror movies, you can barely lift anything, and you’re clumsy as hell! If someone gave you a gun, you’d immediately shoot yourself in the foot!”

I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t help but shut my mouth. Because he’s not wrong. When I first got on the shooting range, my first shot was only an inch away from my foot, and my other ones weren’t much better. That day I decided that handing me a gun is the worst idea you could ever come up with.

“Anyways, what does it matter? Neither of those things are true, this isn’t a movie,” I waved my hands, attempting to wave away these notions.

“Don’t worry Ben, your secret as an experimental mutant human is safe with me,” he joked.

“You’re so stupid…”

At least my secret was safe, for now. But what I didn’t realize in the midst of me trying my hardest to hide my identity as a spy, was that I lost my hyper-focus, and I missed something pretty important…

Chapter Text

After a six hour flight, we landed at one of Vail’s airports, the Denver International Airport. From there, we took a bus all the way to town. It was a cozy-looking place, snug right in between the mountains and an interstate highway. The buildings all looked like they came straight out of a Grimm’s fairy tale, with their German-style architecture. They also had a few luxury hotels, with super fancy names, likely the kind of hotel the Shangs would be renting.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for us. We instead stayed at the only motel in Vail, the Ski Haüs, which wasn’t any bit as cozy or nice-looking as any of the other buildings in Vail. It was ramshackle, cold, barely cleaned, falling apart, and nothing was comfortable. In short, not a far cry from our normal dorms. The only difference being that we had to share a room. And by we, I mean me, Murray, Chip, and Warren. Jawa, Erica, and Zoe were also here,  but they had a separate room. Originally it was split by gender, but since there were so many guys, Jawa stayed in the girls’ room. I couldn’t because Murray wants to stay with me, Chip snores as loud as a chainsaw, and Erica might murder him as soon as he makes a sound while they’re trying to sleep, and Warren… Come on, you know why Warren isn’t sleeping in there, it’s not rocket science. Little creep…

Once we separated into our rooms, we divvied up the bed and room space amongst ourselves.

“I’m sleeping with Ben!” Murray was the first to call out his preference.

“Oh come on! That means I have to sleep next to this jerk!” Warren whined. “He’s big and sweaty, and he snores!”

“Hey! It’s not like you’re any better! You fuckin’ stink man, literally, ” Chip retorted. “Come on, Murray, can’t we switch?”

“Nope! No way in hell!” Murray shook his head. “Ben’s like, the best person to sleep with.”

“Exactly! He doesn’t snore, he actually showers, and I don’t hate his guts.”

“Well sorry Chip, if only you hadn’t tried to beat him up on his first day of school~”

“Fuck you,” Chip scoffed.

“Also, I’m his best friend! So of course I get first dibs! Besides, he wouldn’t wanna be in the same bed as you anyway,” Murray made a smug grin. “I’d feel bad for Warren, if he wasn’t worse than you.”

“You jerk!” Warren faced Murray, anger written all over his face. “Why, I oughta—!”

“Shut up, Warren!” me, Chip, and Murray all shouted at the same time.

Warren shrank back from the volume, instead opting to continue unpacking his luggage.

“Hey Warren, how about this: We take turns with the bed,” Chip said. “I’ll take it at night, and you get it during the day.”

“Ooh! Good idea! Deal!”

It was only after Warren shook Chip’s hand that it dawned on him what he just agreed to. When he realized it, he made a loud groan, burying his head in his hands. 

“Dammit!” he cried.

“And handshakes are legally binding!” Murray called out from his side of the room.

“Nooooo!”

Me and Murray both unpacked our bags on our side of the room. One bag was a lot neater than the other, and I think we all know which one that was.

“Man, I am so excited for this trip!” Murray said while putting a ratty sweater into one of the drawers. “Eavesdropping on that secret meeting was the best decision I made all month! Well, that and deciding not to wear those wool socks on the way here. Because I dunno about you guys, but my socks are soaked.”

Everyone chimed in agreement. It never mattered how good your snow boots were, your socks would always get wet.

“Hell yeah, this’ll be awesome,” Chip added. “Thanks for inviting us, Ben, appreciate you.”

“I mean, you guys were the first people I thought of…! You all are pretty good spies in your own right…”

“Even me?” Warren’s face brightened.

“Fuck no. I only brought you because Zoe said you’d bitch about it when we got back.”

Warren turned back to his bag, his metaphorical tail between his legs.

“Damn dude, that was harsh,” Chip laughed. “I didn’t even know you could swear.”

“I’m not a little kid, of course I can swear!” I protested. “I just choose not to.”

“I’m guessing Warren is the exception?”

“Correct.”

In terms of inefficient and messy packing, only one person in the room had Murray beat. Chip’s two-times-too-small duffel bag was stuffed so full of clothes that it was close to exploding. Chip moved the zipper a mere few inches, and immediately, a pair of boxer shorts flew out and socked Warren right in the face, nearly knocking off his thick-framed glasses.

“Hey!”

“Remember guys, we still need to be careful,” I warned. “Erica said this’ll be dangerous… We could actually die if we’re not careful…”

“That’s right, since we’re on a real mission, that means people will be tryin’ to kill us!” Chip looked a little too excited at the prospect of attempted murder. “That’d be pretty sweet, our classmates will be talking about it for weeks! They’ll be so jealous!”

“Assuming they don’t succeed,” Warren corrected.

Chip threw another pair of boxers at his face. “No fuckin’ duh, nobody wants to get killed, ya nitwit. I’m just saying I’m ready for some action! And nothing says action like having an honest to god ski chase with the enemy.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty good on skis if I do say so myself!” Warren bragged, taking the boxers off of his head.

“Quit playing with my underwear, you pervert,” Chip snickered as he took back both pairs of shorts and stuffed them into a drawer with other assorted socks and gloves. “Yeah, I rock at skiing. Warren’s probably lying out of his ass, I guarantee you I’d smoke him on the slopes. Leo Shang comes after me, I’m leaving him in the dust! What about you two?”

“I don’t know how to ski, my parents could never afford to even go to a place like this,” I admitted shyly. Looks like I was right to bring Chip along, but I still felt ashamed of my lack of skill. I couldn’t help it, but that notion doesn’t really make me feel better.

“Bummer, skiing’s really fun,” Chip replied, surprisingly not making fun of me. “What about you, Murray?”

“Well of course, naturally I’m awesome at skiing!” Murray embellished his non-existent talents.

“Liar,” Chip rolled his eyes.

“What? You don’t know that!”

“I do. You’ve never skied before in your life,” I raised my hand.

“Et tu, Benito?” he put an overdramatic hand to his heart. 

“Benito? Don’t you mean Brute?” Chip asked.

“No, Benito’s my full name,” I explained.

“Your full name is Benito?!” Chip turned to me in shock. “I thought it was Benjamin!”

“Nope, my mom’s Hispanic,” I said, putting the last of my stuff on my side of the bureau, then closing the drawer.

“But you look so white…”

I nearly choked on my own spit. I mean— I knew I inherited my dad’s looks, and my dad was half American, but I didn’t expect Chip to just say it aloud! I don’t know whether to be shocked or offended…!

“Chip you can’t just say he looks white,” Murray loudly whispered to Chip.

“También hablo español con fluidez. ¿Ahora me crees?”

Chip’s face blanked out, like a website frozen in place, loading endlessly but never producing any results. 

“Okay I believe you…” he finally said after a few seconds of silence.

I nodded in approval and stood up from my spot on the floor. “I just hope nothing happens on this mission… On my last three, I almost got killed at every turn. It’d be nice to take a backseat on this one.”

“If you got action on your past three, no doubt this one will be easy!” Chip said. “But if there is danger, we have your back! Just say the word, and me and Jawa’ll beat the ass of anyone trying to kill you!”

“Me— Me too!” Murray’s arm shot in the air. “I’ll protect you too!”

“I’m not sure how much protecting you’ll be able to do while using Ben as a human shield,” Chip raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Kinda counterintuitive if you ask me.”

“Please, I’m not a complete coward…!” Murray tried to argue. “I can be brave when I want to! And Ben being in trouble is one of those times!”

“Thanks guys… I’m worried about getting caught alone up on the slopes. I can’t ski, so if they catch me there, I’m a sitting duck…”

“Ptarmigan. You’ll be a sitting ptarmigan,” Warren piped up unhelpfully. “You know, since ducks don’t live in environments this cold.”

Everyone, including me, gave Warren the same deadpan annoyed look.

“Next time you say shit like that, I’m nailing you with my dumbbells instead of my boxers,” Chip threatened, eyes narrowed.

“Okay, okay…”

“Now that we’ve all agreed to ignore the peanut gallery,” Murray waved his hand in a shooing motion at Warren. “Does anyone have any theories about what Operation Golden Fist might be? My personal theory is that, since the plan’s name is a reference to Goldfinger; You know, Golden Fist, Goldfinger, that sorta thing, I bet this is a repeat of the movie! He’s gonna sneak over to Fort Knox and drop a bomb that’ll irradiate the gold and make it worthless, then China’ll be richer than us, and he’ll make a ton of profit!”

“Murray, you do realize that Fort Knox is in Kentucky, right…?” I brought up. “And we’re two states away…”

Murray opened his mouth and raised a finger to defend himself, but nothing came out. He looked more nervous by the second as he tried and failed to muster up a valid argument.

“Besides, why would he do something so convoluted?” Chip added. “You’re telling me that he holed up here just to throw us off the trail that he’s going to Kentucky to somehow break into the most secure gold vault in the country, all without the government noticing? There’s so many simpler things he could be doing other than ruining our gold to indirectly add to his wealth.”

“Well unless you guys have any better ideas,” Murray huffed and crossed his arms. “I’m sticking with my Goldfinger theory.”

“There’s plenty of government facilities in Colorado that Cyrus mentioned he might be targeting,” I took Murray up on his challenge. “NORAD and Strategic Missile Command are two examples. Those would be a lot closer, and more straightforward of a plan. But we can’t be sure until we get this plan rolling… Until then, Operation Golden Fist could be anything…”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out, fun-size,” Chip gave me what I assumed was supposed to be a playful punch on the shoulder. Unfortunately, it ended up making my body slam against the wall, hurting my opposite shoulder.

“Oops, sorry… Tried to be gentler there, but I guess I misjudged,” Chip sucked in through his teeth.

“It’s fine, I’ll walk it off,” I said, rubbing my sore arm. “Also, fun-size?”

“Trying out some new nicknames,” Chip shrugged. “Why? Not jive with you? How about pint-size?”

“How about neither of those.”

“Alright, I’ll keep workshopping.”

I do have to say though, Chip isn’t very far off… Not only do I look small, as per my father giving me his short genetics, but I feel pretty small too. Especially with this sinister scheme Leo Shang could put into action at any moment. And let’s not forget the fact that the second I’m found out, he can literally have me killed. I wish I was as excited for this as everyone else, maybe then I wouldn’t be quite literally shaking in my boots. Though, I’m pretty sure that’s mostly because it’s cold as shit in this room.

Speaking of, why did I feel so cold? Despite being hand-me-downs from my cousins, my winter clothes did a pretty good job so far keeping me warm. Then after looking down at my hands, I realized why. One of my gloves had just gone completely AWOL. Hmm, now that I think about it, I did take them off at the lobby to warm my hands by the fire. That is if the fire was actually real. Turns out it was just a cheap display, with the logs being made out of plastic and a projector showing crackling flames behind them.

Either way, my glove was probably still in the lobby. I should go get it before my hand freezes… I’d prefer to have all ten of my fingers, thanks.

“Hey guys, I forgot my glove down in the lobby, I’m gonna go get it real quick,” I said, making my way towards the door.

“I’m coming with!” Murray scrambled up from his spot to stand right next to me. “You never know, you might need an extra pair of eyes!”

“…right…” I said skeptically. 

“Okay fine, I just don’t wanna be left alone with these guys,” Murray whispered to me. “Chip’s scary, and Warren’s stinking up the room already.”

“Yes, you can come with me,” I agreed with a tired sigh. “Some extra help wouldn’t hurt.”

“Man, you guys are practically attached at the hip,” Chip chuckled. “Especially Murray. He acts like he’ll literally die if he’s not right next to you.”

“No I don’t!”

“Yeah you do! Aren’t you on this mission in the first place because you followed Ben to the principal’s office?” Chip raised an eyebrow with a teasing smirk. 

“We should go find that glove, Ben!” Murray made a fake laugh and began trying to push me out the door. “That glove won’t find itself! And we don’t want someone to take it while we’re here messing around!”

“I don’t think anyone’s gonna be stealing a singular glove that’s almost ten years old…” I said, while still letting Murray get me out of the room. “We’ll be right back, guys…!”

“Sure you will…!” Chip replied sarcastically.

What was that supposed to mean? Whatever, it was probably nothing, just Chip being his usual self.

First me and Murray left our room and went to the foyer area of the motel, where the fake fireplace was. But there was no glove. We looked in the fireplace, the ratty couches’ cushions, and asked the front desk, but they had no idea where my glove went. 

“Maybe my glove fell off while it was clipped to my jacket,” I said to Murray after checking the chair for the millionth time. “We should check the parking lot. I remember having it on the bus, so at the very least it’s here.”

“Do we have to go back outside…?” Murray asked with a whine. “Can’t we get Warren to look for it out there? He’s pretty dumb, so I’m sure I can convince him to go and find it. And he’s disposable, so we don’t need to worry about him getting hypothermia.”

“Dumb or not, I think he’d rather die than help me,” I refused his proposal, as tempting as it was. “Besides, it’s not much colder out there than it is in here.”

“Good point, outside we go I guess…”

It took very little effort to open the very flimsy doors that lead to the parking lot. Much to my relief, it wasn’t windy. Instead the sun shone down on us, and the snow-sparkling mountains in the distance. The immaculate appearance of the snow was only interrupted by long lines in the powder, likely made by skiers, and the thick forests along the edges. You know what? The threat of danger may have been looming over me like an ominous shadow, but when faced with this view, I can’t help but feel a little hopeful, maybe even excited…!

That feeling lasted all of two seconds before I felt a thwack against the back of my head. Something cold and wet that soaked my red hair and my hand-me-down jacket.

“Chip, I swear, if you’re the one that threw that snowball at me, I’m gonna—!”

“Think again, punk!”

As soon as I turned around, another snowball hit me in the face. I wiped it off and scowled at the assailant. It wasn’t Chip, but I was pretty close. It was Hank, his older brother. Bigger, meaner, and somehow smarter. Though that wasn’t exactly a very high bar.

“Well well, if it isn’t Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum,” Hank tossed a third snowball in his dominant hand. “I was trying to hit Hill, but hey, makes no difference to me. I heard about you sneaking off during the ten mile run at summer camp! And you’re gonna pay for that!”

“What— That was months ago!” I snapped. “God, you’re such an asshole! Get over it!”

I was already kind of annoyed at losing my glove, and the cold biting at every inch of my exposed skin, but the appearance of Hank, not to mention my hair and jacket now being soaked? Now, I was pretty damn peeved.

“Woah, what are you so mad for? It’s just a snowball, half-pint,” Hank taunted. “You wanna get me back, pick up some snow! I’d like to see you try! If you’re gonna have any hope of making it out of this mission alive, you gotta get some better reflexes! You react as fast as a sleeping sloth!”

“I’ll get us some snowballs, Ben! You’re better at throwing them than I am!”

Murray rushed over to the nearest snow bank, which was pretty far, since most of the snow nearby was turned to slush by tires and footsteps all over the parking lot. He only got about a foot away before being nailed in the back by another snowball. He then slipped on a puddle and nearly fell.

“Sorry, Ben!” he said, heading back over to me. “We’re just gonna have to make a break for it!”

“Oh no, you two ain’t running anywhere!”

Hank’s fourth snowball was too fast to dodge, but Murray managed to topple us both trying to get me out of the way. We weren’t hit by the snowball, but we did land on the pavement, which wasn’t much better.

“Fuck, now we’re sitting ducks! And we’re wet!”

“Trust me, we’re going to get wet anyway…” I muttered to him.

Hank had started another snowball, but before he could even finish forming it in his gloved hands, a snowball hit him… ! The snow just fell back uselessly onto the ground as Hank turned to see who had chucked that tightly-packed ball of snow at him.

Unfortunately for him, it was Erica. And she had a meticulously piled pyramid of snowballs, fourteen if I’m counting correctly, which I always am.

“Listen Erica,” he began desperately clinging to any innocence he had, faced with Erica and her pile of ammunition right beside her feet. “I was just trying to teach them a lesson—”

“And I’m teaching you one right now, a rather important lesson, in fact,” Erica responded in her usual monotone manner. “If you waste time attacking those who are unarmed, you just might miss the one that is armed.”

“Oh shit…”

Over and over Erica pegged him with snowball after snowball, never missing a beat. She hurled them so fast it was like a machine was doing it…! No matter how he tried to dodge, Hank got hit with every single one. He eventually cried uncle and ran into the lobby for shelter. It was truly a spectacle to behold.

“Great work, Erica!” Zoe emerged from behind her, likely having watched the whole thing.

“Yeah, that was awesome! You sure showed him…!” I joined in.

“I… suppose I did,” Erica responded, taken aback by Zoe's supportive cheering.

“I coulda done that…” Murray crossed his arms, huffing quietly.

“No you couldn’t,” Erica said. “The speed I threw those snowballs and the volume I packed them to would require much more arm strength and top-notch motor skills. Neither of which you have. Especially not the latter, considering you tripped on a puddle twice.”

“Semantics!”

Zoe came over to us with a spring in her step. In fact, I can’t remember a time on this trip when she didn’t have a spring in her step.

“So how’s your room? Ours is pretty cramped,” Zoe toyed with her zipper absentmindedly. “Especially with Erica and Jawa in there. Fortunately for us, Erica agreed to let me and Jawa have the beds. Well actually, Jawa offered first, but he was shut down pretty quickly… Actually, speaking of Erica, have you seen her luggage?”

“I don’t think Erica would ever let us see anything ,” Murray responded wryly.

“Okay yeah that’s true, but I snuck a peek at her suitcase, and half of it is ammunition! Not just bullets, no no no, I saw grenades in there, guys! Flash grenades, regular grenades… It is so freaky…!”

“I can hear you.”

Zoe quickly shut her mouth, looking over at Erica out of the corner of her eye awkwardly.

“I mean, it’s true, but considering we’re on a mission to stop a potential terrorist, I wouldn’t say it’s that strange to have ammunition,” Erica said. “In any case, we have something to take care of, so let’s discuss this later.”

“Oh right, I came out here for my glove…!” I remembered. With the impromptu snowball fight, I’d almost forgotten that I was looking for it.

“It’s right here.”

Erica handed me the missing glove.

“Wow, thanks! Was it in the lobby?” I put it back on my hand, which blissfully lessened the sensation of my right hand turning into an ice block.

“Yes. Now let’s go. We still have a mission.”

“Wait, where are we going?”

“Isn’t it obvious? We need to do some recon. Ben, it’s time for you to meet your target.”

Chapter Text

My first thought when I arrived at where the Shangs were staying was, “Holy smokes, they really are rich!” Not only did they rent out an entire hotel, but that hotel was one of the fancy ones…! It was called the Anabelle, and I’m convinced it's a five-star hotel…! It had five floors, and it had a prime spot, right at the base of the mountain where we’d be skiing.

On one side of the hotel was a public square with an ice rink and a variety of food places, including a pizza joint where Erica got us both slices of pepperoni pizza. We walked around with our slices of pizza in hand growing colder by the second.

“I thought you hated junk food,” I said to Erica, taking a bite of my pizza. “I mean, I’m not complaining, I’m just curious.”

“I do, but we’ll look a lot less suspicious if we’re eating. Since our hands are full and we look distracted, we’ll look less like spies that are ready to spring into action and more like a few teens that just went out for pizza before hitting the slopes,” Erica responded quietly. “Besides… This actually isn’t bad. My grandfather said pizza tastes like rubber, but the tomato sauce is quite flavorful. And I’m starving, so…”

“See? Junk food’s great sometimes,” I smiled, glad to finally see a glimpse of Erica behaving like a real teen instead of a spy.

Although we probably didn’t need the cover of pizza, since there were tons of kids our age walking around, as well as kids and parents, and skiers winding down from their long day on the slopes, telling their stories about their moves on the snow, as well as a few of their fails. Hearing them talk about it actually made me kinda excited…! Now I couldn’t wait to learn how to ski! And if I was bad at it, well, at least I’ll get a kick out of telling people how bad at it I am. 

“I still can’t believe you’ve never skied before,” I told Erica, who was now eating the crust of her slice of pizza. “You know so many skills and have done so much training that I’m surprised that skiing was never something you learned…!”

“There was never a use for it, until now,” Erica replied. “But I’m sure I’ll master it just as easily as I mastered the others. It can’t be that difficult if this regular many people can do it.”

“I wouldn’t get my hopes up, Erica,” I said warningly. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re like, the smartest person I know, but skiing is a whole different beast. The skis themselves look pretty hard to get used to, since they’re basically long, heavy pieces of wood attached to your feet, and the snow can make it hard to stop. I should know, I’ve slipped on wet snow enough times to prove it.”

“Your concern is noted, Ben, but I learned how to fence like a world-class swordswoman in one morning. I’m pretty sure it’ll be easy for me to learn how to ski,” Erica tried to keep her voice monotone, but I could hear a little bit of cockiness creep in.

“Alright, I trust you… But if you’re not good at it right away, no one’s gonna make fun,” I said. “Well, Chip and Murray might, but that’s like, their default state.”

“I don’t care much about their opinions, so it should be fine.”

All around the area were skiers who had taken their skis off and were currently waddling with their heavy ski boots like penguins… It's like skis were meant to be terrible for any kind of terrain except for the slopes. Soon, that was gonna be us. Yes, including Erica.

As Erica led me to the Arabelle, her fast walking pace had me winded. More winded than usual… Usually, I could keep up with her speedwalk for a little while, but we barely made it to the doors before I was slowing down and gasping for air.

“Feeling out of breath?” Erica asked with an inquisitive eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, actually…!” I panted.

“It's because of the altitude. We’re eighty thousand feet above sea level, so the air is a little thin up here. You should mind your physical exertion; otherwise, you’re going to be dizzy and light-headed the entire time we’re walking. That will lower your guard and leave you vulnerable to attack.”

“What about you…?” I asked breathily.

“I am in a more ideal physical condition than you are, so I should be fine, and I know how to control my breathing so I’m never short on air,” Erica replied, with no hint of bragging in her voice. Which made sense, it was an objective fact that she was much more in shape than me. Then again, I’m pretty sure that a high school athlete would look out of shape compared to her.

I was too stuck in my own head, trying to monitor how deep or shallow I was breathing, to notice that Erica stopped in her tracks, and I ended up bumping right into her.

“Sorry…” I whispered an apology. 

Erica didn’t seem to care; however, her attention was laser-focused on the hotel's front doors. “She’s almost here. Look at who’s coming out of the hotel.”

I looked over, and three asian men were filing out of the door in a neat line. They were all in heavy woolen trench coats that were probably warmer than my own hand-me-downs, and three times more costly. Their hair was neatly combed and gelled back, and all of them had various stylish hats and scarves. They looked like businessmen on vacation. But we knew better. Because just barely visible underneath their thick coats was a pistol strapped to their thigh. These were bodyguards.

“Looks like they’re taking the subtle approach,” Erica murmured, keeping an eye on the road as well as the three bodyguards. “Heads up, Ben, they’re here.”

She tilted her head towards a black car that was approaching quietly. An electric car, based on the lack of the telltale rumble of a gas engine. It was simple and black, but the model just screamed expensive, a fact only solidified by the completely tinted windows, allowing us not even a sliver of view into the car.

The car pulled into a spot, but no one came out yet. It was only after one of the bodyguards muttered a quick word in Mandarin into his earpiece that the door clicked open, and two people stepped out of the car.

Even with the very grainy photo I’d been shown, I could tell the man who got out of the driver’s seat was Leo Shang. His hair was closely cropped and neat, similar to his bodyguards’, and he wore the same sunglasses as in the photo. His face was stony and slightly wrinkled. It's kind of amazing, to be honest. In his file, his age was estimated to be in his fifties, but he doesn’t look older than thirty…!

And then, coming out of the passenger seat was the target. The complete opposite of her father. Where her father was rather short, at least compared to American men, Jessican Shang was actually pretty tall…! And unlike her father, she looked like she actually wanted to be here. Her hair was long and straight, maybe too long for her comfort, judging by all the hair ties around her wrist. Her left wrist specifically, which meant she was likely right-handed, whereas her father opened his car door with his left hand.

“Look, bà, we’re here! Aren’t the mountains pretty?” she chirped, pointing to the tall mountains in the distance. Her English was perfect, though her accent was distinctly Chinese.

“Yes, Jessica, they are quite striking,” Leo’s accent was a lot more American, probably so he didn’t stick out among the other American guests. “Now let’s get into the hotel before people stare.”

“No one is going to stare, bà…!” Jessica sounded exasperated, like she’d heard that a thousand times, which she probably did. “See? Everyone is smiling and waving at us…! People are friendly here…!”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Leo muttered under his breath, eyeing the crowd warily. “Now come along, let’s get out of this cold.”

“Fine, I’m coming…” Jessica sighed, following her father inside the hotel. But before she went in, though, she noticed me looking at her. For a moment, I panicked, waiting for suspicion to creep onto her face. But she just smiled and waved at me…! I internally thanked my lucky stars as I smiled and waved back. She went inside, and I let out the breath I had been holding.

“Good work, Ben. Now she’ll recognize you when you go to your lessons, increasing your chances of a friendship,” Erica nodded approvingly. “I have to admit… Maybe you being the primary agent wasn’t the worst choice in the world.”

“You’re just saying that because Ben gets to buddy up with a pretty girl and not you!” Murray came up behind me and leaned his arm on my shoulder. This time around, I knew he was coming. His jacket didn’t exactly blend in with the snow.

“No, of course not,” Erica denied it, maybe a little too quickly… “I was simply unsure whether Ben was competent enough to be the primary agent on this assignment.”

“Suuureeee…” Murray’s smirk widened. “Anyway, what’s the game plan now that you’ve seen the Shangs?”

“We’ll examine the hotel from the outside,” Erica lowered her voice to answer Murray’s question. “But we’ll have to be discreet, especially around his bodyguards.”

“Got it, ‘discreet’ is my middle name!” Murray said with a snap of his fingers.

“You’re anything but discreet, but I digress,” Erica shrugged her shoulders. “Just don’t blow our cover.”

Before Murray could protest, we began making our rounds by the hotel’s perimeter, while Erica got into character. Her name, for this mission at least, was Sasha Rotko. A sheltered, vapid ditz who enjoyed the winter weather and skiing, even though she had never done it before. I helped her rehearse her character, and I didn’t wanna say it in front of her, but it was kind of an… unflattering depiction of a teenage girl. I mean, yeah, there were definitely a few girls that acted like this, but it still felt kind of mean…

“Oh my gosh, guys, aren’t you guys like, super stoked about skiing tomorrow?” Her voice went into that higher register that she’d practiced, and she changed her speaking pattern from Erica Hale to Sasha Rotko. “I heard there’s supposed to be some fresh powder tonight! A full foot of pow-pow! Isn’t that, like, radical?”

Murray snorted, and he said to Erica, “No one says that, Sasha. Pow-pow or radical. You sound like a cheesy ‘90s movie… You can just say snow like the rest of us, you know that, right?”

Sasha scoffed, her voice momentarily sounding like Erica’s as she retorted, “I do not! Everyone says that, Morgan!”

Murray and I also got codenames. Murray, since his name wasn’t as common and thus was more recognizable, got a full name change, now being Morgan Harris. My name was shortened, and it was a dime a dozen as far as names go, so my code name was just Ben Richards.

“We certainly don’t…” I chimed in, playing into the act as I glanced at the hotel occasionally. “Just admit you got your vocabulary from Nickelodeon shows and we can move on…!”

For a second, Erica looked confused. Oh, right, she probably didn’t know what Nickelodeon was… I wouldn’t be surprised if Cyrus were one of those grandparents who say TV rots your brain. Except his version would probably be more akin to, ‘TV is a ploy by the Soviets to brainwash us.’ Then she regained her composure and scoffed. “Whatever, guys…! You’re just being like, so uncool right now. Ooh, an ice rink! Let's go ice skating! Last one on the ice is a rotten egg!”

Erica had done a good job at changing the subject. We had stopped bickering, and we ran after her towards the ice rink, where people on benches were putting on and taking off rental skates. Right away, I spotted one reason why we went in the direction of the ice rink. 

Stationed by one of the side entrances was one of Leo Shang’s bodyguards, judging by the earbud uniform of the other guards. Though he was clearly different from the others, namely that he was white and had blonde hair. He was also a lot more muscular than the other bodyguards, his biceps noticeable even from his thick coat. He was trying to seem nonchalant, but I could feel his eyes on me, Murray, and Erica. 

Erica must have wanted to see how many guards were posted around the hotel, and which ones were going to be a threat. Which turned out to be a pretty good idea…

However, there was another reason that I had not realized yet. A reason that Erica pointed out to me when her eyes flicked over to the ice cream parlor after seeing my confused look. At first, that just made me even more confused, because there were no bodyguards present at the parlor, just a line of families and kids, as well as a guy sitting on a bench reading a newspaper. But upon closer inspection, the guy reading a newspaper was looking at everything except for the newspaper. Who even reads those things on a windy day like this?

“I see more by the pizza place,” Murray whispered. “Probably casing the joint, making sure there won’t be any trouble.”

“Precisely. Now, both of you grab some skates, get in the rink, and have fun.”

“What’s fun about stumbling over your own feet in heavy ice skates?” Murray huffed.

“Then pretend you’re having fun, either way, I need a cover,” Erica hissed in response.

“For what?”

“Oopsies, sorry guys! I have to, like, take a quick bathroom break before we get on the ice!” Erica loudly apologized in her Sasha voice. “Here, carry this for me until I get back!”

Before I could ask what it was or what she was doing, Erica stuffed something small into my pocket and ran off.

“Damn, ditched us without hesitation,” Murray laughed. “Sasha must be really bad at skating! She’s probably grabbing a hot cocoa and waiting until we’re done.”

“Yeah, sounds like her,” I nodded. “Might as well get a little bit of skating in, could be fun…!

I fished the small object out of my pocket. It was an earpiece, a pretty small one too. I quickly slipped it into my ear before going to retrieve some skates with Murray following behind. We got two pairs from the stand and went to put them on. It was when we stepped on the ice that Erica finally spoke into my earpiece.

“I’m infiltrating the Shangs’ room while their security is on lookout outside,” she said in a hushed voice.

“What—!”

The rest of what I was going to say was cut off by me losing balance on the ice and stumbling over my skates. Murray scrambled to hold me upright and keep me from falling, but we ended up both tumbling down. Again.

“If I successfully get into their room and find out what Golden Fist is, there’s no need to drag out the rest of the plan, and there’s no need for you to make friends with Jessica,” Erica explained. “Every day that’s spent going undercover is another day that Leo Shang’s plan could be put into action. Sorry, Ben, but we both know that I’m the only one who can pull this mission off. Thanks for the diversion, though. Make sure you keep a lookout.”

Before I could even make a protest or a retort, the line went dead. The surrounding people were all either staring at us or trying to help us up and see if we were okay, including the bodyguards posted around the square.

“Are you two alright?” an older boy with long white hair and glasses helped me up, then Murray.

“Yeah, we’re okay… Thanks— Wait, Reese…?!”

I thought I recognized him! Reese Latch was a student who was framed by SPYDER as a mole, but was released from the detention center after Erica vouched for his innocence.

Reese made a slight smile and nodded his head. “Good to see you’re doing well. Are you here for school or vacation? I’m here on vacation myself.”

“School stuff, you know how it is,” Murray answered casually, brushing some of the scraped ice off his jacket. “We got a full expense-paid ski trip, so I’m not complaining!”

“Did Erica go off on her own again?” Reese lowered his voice.

“Yes…” I sighed. “I was supposed to become friends with Jessica, and she’s trying to find the plans in the room.” I made sure to keep the plan vague, though Reese could probably figure out the full plan himself.

“She likes to be efficient, what else can I say?” Reese said. “All you can do now is do what she asked of you. Probably to keep watch.”

“Man, we’re always second fiddle to her,” Murray frustratedly kicked a piece of ice with his skate, which turned out to be a mistake as he almost fell again. “Like we get it, you’ve been a spy ever since you crawled out of the womb, but why even drag us into this?”

“Sorry, there’s not much I can do to help. I’m off the clock,” Reese shrugged his shoulders. “Best of luck.”

He skated away gracefully with his hands behind his back, leaving us to our own devices.

“Well, shit, sorry Ben, I guess this ain’t your mission, huh?” Murray stuffed his hands in his pockets as he began to skate around the rink beside me. Our legs were both wobbling, and we were pretty slow, but it was fine. “I mean, look on the bright side, at least we won’t die! Or nearly die!”

“Yeah, I guess so,” I agreed somewhat reluctantly. “Man, Chip’s not gonna be happy about this.”

“Oh yeah, he is not! Tell you what, someone’s gotta break the bad news to him, and it ain’t gonna be us! It should be Jawa; he can take him in a fight. Or Warren, at least we won’t lose anyone important,” Murray snarked. Then his eyes glanced upwards, and his smug look melted off his face. “Oh god, she’s already all the way up there.”

I turned around to see what Murray was looking at, and sure enough, my face mirrored his as I saw that Erica had scaled the five-story building and was slipping into the room through the balcony’s sliding glass door. Thankfully, nobody else was paying attention, and now the bodyguards were either looking at us or at Reese and his skating. He even did a perfect axel…!

I was distracted by the earpiece coming to life with Erica’s voice. “I’m inside the room. Any danger?”

“Not that I can— Wait, Erica, above you…!”

Erica looked up at where I saw the figure clad in all black creeping in, but he immediately hid up on the roof out of her view.

“Whatever, I don’t have time for this. You probably just saw a crow or something. You are pretty far away. I’ll be in and out.”

But I wasn’t seeing things; that was distinctly a person climbing down from the room and stealthily entering through the slightly ajar door. They came up behind Erica, and she didn’t even notice…! But how? 

“Erica, no, they’re behind—!”

I was too late… Erica was knocked out. I flinched from her loud grunt and the thump onto the carpeted floor.

“…shit…” Murray and I vocalized at the same time.