Story Wormholes: My Sister the Spy, Part 2
I can’t just wait around all night hoping to hear from Olivia – I have to do something! So, I’m going to go stake out the embassy like I’m in a police procedural.
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Join us as we help Mitchell save his sister, Olivia, from the dreaded Tejuristan embassy. She might be the spy, but this barber is going to have to step up and save the day. Read Part 1 here.
I can’t just wait around all night hoping to hear from Olivia – I have to do something! So, I’m going to go stake out the embassy like I’m in a police procedural. I walk over to Olivia’s desk to write her a note to call me if she comes home because I think she’s probably dead (okay, maybe I won’t make it that dramatic). I pull out a few drawers, looking for a pen.
I get to the bottom drawer, still pen-less, when I realize that the drawer has a false bottom. The drawer should be at least two inches deeper than it is. I quickly pull all the stuff out of the drawer, looking for the latch to open the compartment. I slide my fingers around the bottom edge and feel a small lever, the same color as the drawer itself. I gently pull the lever and am rewarded with a soft click that frees the false bottom.
I pause, wondering if I should be snooping in my sister’s stuff. I mean, if I had done this when we were kids, she would probably have tackled me to the floor. She’s always been small but surprisingly strong. Still, desperate times call for desperate measures, so I pull up the bottom panel revealing a neatly organized compartment underneath.
Nearly everything seemed perfectly ordinary – a pair of chopsticks, a tube of lipstick, a comb, some incredibly tiny earbuds. The only thing even mildly suspicious is a velvet pouch of lock picks. This can’t be normal stuff, though, right? It has to be some super secret spy gadgets that knock out other agents and confuse guard dogs. Why else would they be hidden like this?
Wondering what on Earth they might do, I take the only two things that would be the most inconspicuous on me – the comb and the earbuds. I’ll see if I can figure out how to use them later, hopefully not killing myself in the process. I put the drawer back together, finally locate a pen and paper, and head out the door, feeling decidedly unprepared for this mission.
I consider going home to get my car, but it would take too long – I might miss something important. I decide instead to walk the couple of blocks over to the Tejuristan embassy. It has started to drizzle since I left the restaurant, so I gratefully pull up my hood, hiding my face. Unfortunately, the turn in the weather also means that there are fewer people out than there were earlier. Oh well, I’ll just have to make do.
As I stroll past the embassy’s entrance, I glance through its little windows. I can see a couple of guards, but sadly no flashing neon sign pointing to Olivia’s prison cell. The guards glare at me through the glass, so I saunter on. I circle around the corner then double back to pass by the embassy again from the other direction. By the third time walking back and forth, I wonder if the guards are starting to suspect anything. Glancing in as nonchalantly as I can, I see one of the guards nudge the other and mutter something. I hurry around the corner with my heart pounding wildly.
I stand there with my back to the building, trying to wipe my sweaty palms on my now rain-drenched pants. For a moment, I’m paralyzed with fear. I can’t go back – they already suspect something! I take a deep breath, trying to think of what to do. Across the street, I see an ice cream parlor, empty except for the sullen teenager with spiked hair behind the counter. I hurry inside, order a chocolate cone, and start retracing my steps, licking my quickly moistening ice cream cone as normally as I can manage.
As I near the embassy, I hear the lock grind open on the door. The two, muscular guards step out to block my path, their tall bear-fur hats casting a shadow down on me. I try not to faint as I consider my options.
Maybe I should smile at them like I have no idea what they’re doing. I’m just a regular guy out here taking a walk for some ice cream in the rain. Nothing to see here! They might believe me...or they might drag me inside to my doom.
Maybe I should run away instead. I probably can’t outrun these guys, considering that I haven’t run a day in my life since high school gym class, but this is my city, not theirs. I’m sure I know my way around better than they do. Maybe I can lose them….
What should I do?