Spy Story

Orla got some pretty good feedback on her 'Spy Story' for English. Her teacher said it would be awarded an excellent mark for a Higher piece (for a 17 year old). Orla is currently only 13!

Here's the story:

Two figures, arms interlocked, broke through the swirling mass of colours, taking deep breaths as though they were close to drowning. They swayed to the rhythm of the crowd, careful to appear as ornate and pompous as all the aristocrats surrounding them. They appeared the perfect couple - decorated with jewels and fine leather that scratched and burned at their skin. They stood there smiling, sweltering among the many patrons. A classical waltz floated through the air, weaving through the amble chatter, creating an elegant, sophisticated atmosphere - which promptly shattered as the pair emerged from the crowd.

“…Can't believe how ridiculous you look..”.
“as if you're any better, you could fit a small whale beneath that dress…“
“…You're wearing a cravat!"

A whispered bickering wafted through the posh chit-chat, sending harsh glares and turned noses its way. Any graceful, refined impression the two may have left was squandered in an instant.

"How we're dressed does not impact the mission imperative. We shouldn't allow ourselves to be distracted, Sonia." A young brunette man adorned with feathers and gemstones whispered harshly to the woman next to him. The woman, with identical dark brown hair dressed in clips and ribbons, rolled her eyes. "Thanks, captain obvious." The man scoffed. The woman continued, "So who's the lucky fella we're paying a visit?" The man kept his eyes focused in front of him. "Our target is an undercover crook transporting over five-thousand pounds worth of illegally gained assets, which you would have known had you paid attention at the briefing. And keep your voice down." He chastised. The woman opened her mouth to retaliate, but merely grumbled after catching his glare.

The pair continued to stroll down the classy carpet, the woman flashing charming smiles at whoever happened to pass her. Among the polite smiles and dirty looks she received, it would be easy to miss the pair of cat-like eyes trailing behind them. As the two approached the dining area, the sound of clinking glasses and scraping forks merged into the cacophony of noise. The woman scanned the crowd. "Hey Ant," She asked, "Which of these geezers is the target again? My bet's on that one with the ridiculous moustache." The man stared at her incredulously. "Bet? You'd seriously wager our entire mission on a hunch?" The woman smirked, "Well excuse me," She argued, "Who's hunch was it that found your wallet on that social studies trip back in the day?" The man snapped back without hesitation, "It doesn't matter if a lucky guess found it, dimwit, if you were the one who lost it in the first place!" The man looked positively offended, seemingly haven forgotten his earlier claim of keeping their voices down. The woman sniggered, and the man deflated - his cheeks suspiciously pink. "This is why Scotland Yard never puts us on missions together." The man acknowledged, bluntly. The woman laughed. "They're just too dull to appreciate our amazing sibling dynamics." The man scowled. "You are terrible "

Shockingly, it was the woman who decided their next move. "I think we should try schmoozing our way to the top. All we hafta' do is get the assets from the hotel room upstairs, right? You wanna' try charming patrons? Or is sneaking through cleaning more your style?" The man raised his eyebrows, unimpressed. "Okay, 'schmoozing'? Who says that? And I was under the impression we weren't going to be 'schmoozing' anyone at all. Total stealth is the optimal approach for this mission. We may sneak through the ventilation and various disused corridors Scotland Yard provided us with the layouts of." The woman laughed at the notion. "Sneak through the vents? In a dress I can barely walk in? I'm sorry, but there is no way in hell I'm doing that." The man sighed, then spelled out his next words as if speaking to a five-year-old. "And that is why we're wearing climbing gear under these obnoxious costumes, why else would we have to risk dying of heat exhaustion?" It appeared as if the woman's faux patience finally snapped. She turned to face her brother. "Okay, buddy, I'm not sure if you know how I get things done on missions, but my talent lies in charisma. I've completed countless missions 'schmoozing' with stuck-up rich people. That's what I'm good at. And I'm not gonna' let you barge into this mission and tell me l've got to change my whole style because it's 'optimal'. I could find those assets ten times faster than you." The man, who had been caught off guard by the sudden outburst, quickly regained his composure and scowled. "Oh really? Then prove it. It's not like I need your help anyway. In case you hadn't noticed, I have also completed countless missions using my own technique. Finding those assets would be a walk in the park for me." The woman crossed her arms. "Fine," she spat, "You're on." The man smirked. "Of course." Proud of getting the last word in, he stalked off through the grandiose felt curtains and disappeared into the mob of lords and ladies, The sheer determination radiating from him carved a path through the crowd - it was almost enough to shake the creeping feeling of being watched. He hardened his resolve. "I'Il be the one to win this bet." he promised.

Moonlight shone through the intricately decorated windows, illuminating the dust settling on the fine carpet. The dissonant symphony felt far away now, the quiet calm of the empty corridor interrupted only by the distant humming of cellos and a muffled clinking just below the window frame. A pair of gloved hands fiddled with two silver pins before the locked window clicked open. The figure pushed open the small section of the window before clambering out, willing their footsteps into silence. They grasped onto the rusted pipe on the outside wall and shuffled their feet along the crumbling window ledge, pushing the window closed with a soft click. Taking a deep breath, they eyed the Victorian architecture of the building - swirling bricks and pillars and gargoyles. The figure coiled their legs, then sprang up to the top of the window. Ignoring their hammering heartbeat, they grasped the following ledge and pushed themselves up onto the space marking the next floor. Taking a moment to breathe, they watched the flowering weeds sway in the chilled winter wind. Hardening their resolve, they clenched their fists and pushed hard off the ground, leaping over a gap which, should they fall, would certainly result in their death. They caught the next window ledge by only their arms, quickly losing breath in the effort to heave themselves up. A frantic, desperate panic flooded through them after making the mistake of looking down - every inch of their body forced itself to scramble up onto the window ledge, finally releasing once they collapsed onto the stone wall. They took a moment to calm down - their hands and legs aching as they breathed so deeply their chest hurt - before kneeling in front of the closed window, calming their shaky hands to pick the lock from the outside. After a few moments of tense fiddling, the window clicked open. The figure took a slow inhale, clenched their fists, then exhaled, narrowing their eyes in concentration. They climbed through the window. 

"You moron!"

The man, clad in dark leather, was leaning against the open window - his eyes blown wide at the woman's gall. She stood in the room's doorway with her hands on her hips, the door smashed against the wall. She had very obviously kicked it in. The man, meanwhile, was red-faced and exasperated, pointing to him having scaled the outside of the building. 

"Well excuse you, I got in, didn't I?" 
"You kicked the door in. Do it again why don't you, there might've people five miles away who didn't hear you...“

"I least I don't look like a tomato whenever I work too hard."
"Are you ever going to let that go?"

The ceaseless bickering, much louder this time, echoed through the high-ceilinged hotel room like thunder - deafening enough to hide the muffled snickering arising from the figure curled up in a cat-like manner within one of the room's many dark corners. The man shook his head and returned to his senses. Eyeing a black briefcase lying on the desk, he sighed. "This is ridiculous. We have a mission; did you grab the assets or not? The woman paused. "I thought you had them?" A moment of realisation passed. They stared at each other, neither of them daring to blink. Like a bullet, they shot of in the direction of the briefcase, pushing and shoving at each other, hellbent in their stubbornness to win their foolish bet. In a stampede of scratched skin, pulled hair and stamped feet they pulled open the briefcase. only to find it empty. Frozen half-shove scrambled over each other; they blanched. A moment of precious silence enveloped the room. The silence shattered as the wardrobe's doors flew open. A small figure, wrapped in dark green fabric wearing a thief's mask, cackled like a hyena. In their hand, they held an identical black briefcase, "Sorry, sorry, your faces were just too priceless, I couldn't help myself!" They choked on their own words, shaking with uncontrollable laughter. Their frame was thin, and their stature too small to discern their gender, especially with the mask. The two twins, in a state of bewildered shock, simply stared at the unexpected intruder. The woman quickly fumbled for words. "What? We're the ones who were ordered to retrieve the assets, who the hell are you?" The figure's laughter began to recede, and they smiled. "Oh these?" They dangled the briefcase by their index finger. "Sorry, but I have my own orders to nab them before you geniuses can get your mits on them. It was fun watching you argue though!" They immediately sprang onto the windowsill and clipped their belt to a hanging wire just above the window ledge. They gave a childish wave and chirped, "Buh-bye!" before leaping off the edge of the window.

The woman jumped to the windowsill. "Oh no you don't you little brat..." Before she could move any further, she was stopped by her brother. "Sonia, stop! You can't follow after them that way, that fall could kill you." His voice was unlike the condescending and patronising tone it had been, this time it was serious - and laced with an undertone of anxiety. The woman settled. "I didn't see them below us. They must've gone to the roof." The man was already half-way to the door. "Then that's where we're headed." 

"Over there!"

A green flash disappeared over the roof's edge. "They're going to jump from building to building, don't let them out of your sight!" The twins, who were used to squabbles and arguments, were unusually synchronised. They could both feel the pounding of their heartbeats and the aching in their calves, both forcing themselves onward to keep up with the laughing menace, who dashed and dived with no effort at all. The icy air pierced their lungs - their chests and throats stung with the effort to keep going. They gave no mind to the gaps between the buildings, leaping over each, struggling to maintain speed; as they knew that if they looked down it would be all over for them.

The man shouted between laboured breaths, "This isn't working! They're just going to outrun us!" the woman vaulted over a series of bulky fans, "I know!" they both jumped over another gap, "We need to split up! Try to herd them away!" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man nod. He skidded to a halt and dashed off in a separate direction, as the woman continued in her pursuit.

The city lights flew by in a whirlwind of neon colours and fragmented shapes. The woman focused on the cold wind rushing past her face, watching the blur of green like a hawk, tracking and mimicking each of its movements. She could no longer see her brother - but it was clear his efforts were not in vain. Instead of trailing behind the jumping flea they had managed to control their movements, forcing them onto a different path. Between breaths, the woman smiled to herself.

The man scanned the surrounding buildings, calculating their trajectory best he could, while pointedly ignoring his throbbing ankles. His eyes darted from sign to sign, street name to street name, between buildings and cars and fences - all while chasing the silhouette darting between them all. 

A familiar street corner caught his eye. He smirked. Some distance away, his sister grinned.
————————————————————

Adrenaline rushed through the thief as they danced across the starlight-bathed city. Their grip on the briefcase was strong as they hurtled through dark streets and shining lights, the thrill of the chase spurring them onwards. The duo of clowns continued to trail behind them, clinging onto their shadow no matter how much they tried to shake them. The thief huffed. "Those two have been on my tail for too long now," they grumbled, halfway through a wall jump, "it was fun at first, but this is getting boring." The thief pouted like a petulant child, before quickly erasing it and replacing it with a strained smile. "Oh well, it's not like they'll catch up anyway." Despite their confident claims, the thief was beginning to feel the anxiety winding its way around their chest. Picking up the pace, they leaped and sprang with staggering dexterity, twisting and turning their way through the darkened streets. The shining lights of the city were now a distant ambience, the warm glow of street lamps lighting their path. Wishing to disappear from their pursuers' watchful eyes, the thief scurried down a series of shadowy, dishevelled alleyways. Hearing a pair of heavy boots dangerously close behind them, they dashed and darted from corner to corner, now frantic to lose their tail. Concealing their fear behind a calm smile, they turned to face their pursuer.

Looks like someone's awfully determined to see me again. Aw, don't tell me you missed me that much! It's only been about ten minutes, you know. If you were that desperate you could've just asked." The words coming from the thief's mouth were nothing more than feathery fluff. Though their pursuer presented them with a pearly white smile, her eyes gleamed with something that was certainly not amusement. "You've got guts stopping to face me like this," the woman growled, determination practically dripping from her. Her eyes were locked onto thief, boring holes into their skull. "I haven't been forced to work this hard in months. If you think I'm gonna let you escape now, you've got another thing coming, kid." The thief scoffed, mildly offended. "Kid? Really? Now you're just being rude. You shouldn't assume things, know. It's the twenty-first century, get with the times." The woman laughed. "If you're not a kid, stop acting like one. It's really getting on my nerves." The woman's tenacity faltered for a split second as she glanced, discreetly as she could, to the space just above the thief's shoulder. Just as quickly, she snapped back into glaring the thief down. The thief's hands became clammy as a hot panic constricted their chest. "I can't just do that! It's a part of my " A chill spread across the back of their neck. Within a single moment, they ducked down and twisted out of the reach of a gloved hand - directly above where their neck had been one second prior. The thief let out the breath they had been holding in a shaky laugh; a relieved smile spreading across their face, even as they ducked and dodged around their second pursuer's attempts at grabbing them. They took off, sprinting away from the advancing sound of heavy boots and frustrated cursing, moments away from finally being able to escape and fly across the city without a care…

before they tripped.

For a single instance, it was as if the world stopped. Time slowed and gave the thief just enough time - before they ate the concrete - to comprehend what had just happened. The man had set up a tripwire. Which the thief had no chance of seeing in the dark, shadowy alleyway. 

Unfortunately time didn't stop to spare them the time to be impressed.
——————————————————

The man didn't stop to listen to the swift smack of face-meeting-concrete before jumping into action. Not a second went by and he already had the thief pinned to the ground, briefcase kicked into a weed-ridden corner. The woman took great satisfaction in sauntering over to the briefcase, taking her time picking it up, brushing off the non-existent dust - all while holding back laughter at the scoundrel's prolonged whining. Her brother was not so amused. 

"It's nice you're enjoying yourself Sonia, but could you hurry up? I don't think I can take this much longer." While the thief could certainly jump like a flea; it seemed as if they had the strength of one, too. The man had no trouble at all holding them down, though the cat-like yowling was beginning to grate on his ear drums. Realising their hopeless predicament, the thief resorted to their final weapon: sulking. 

"This isn't fair! That was a dirty trick," they struck the pavement with their fist as though they were a child throwing a temper-tantrum, "Hey mister, can you relax please? Your knee is digging into my spine and it really hurts." The man dug his knee further into the thief's back, and pinned down the banging fist. The thief let out an undignified yelp before finally shutting up, pouting in annoyed silence.

The woman raised her eyebrows and gave a self-satisfied smirk. "Hurting a defenceless child? Wow Ant, I didn't know you had it in you." The man rolled his eyes, ignoring a sharp "I'm older than you!" from the thief. "Oh shut up, you would've broken his nose by now if you were in this position." The woman gave a dramatic gasp. "I would do no such thing!" The man simply sighed, seeing no point in answering. Remembering her downright murderous look from earlier, the thief was suddenly grateful it was the man who caught them. As per usual, it was the man who got them back on task. "Check the briefcase for the assets, we don't want a repeat of last time." He grimaced. It would've been a disaster had they reported back to Scotland Yard with nothing but an empty briefcase. After a quick confirmation from his sister, she set the briefcase down on the floor and clicked open the clasps...

…only to find it empty.

The twins glared at the thief.

For one, long moment, the thief stared down at the floor inches from their face. They hid their eyes, making sure the woman could only see their cheshire-cat grin.

Before snapping their head back up and chirping, "Congratulations! You passed!" with a now beaming smile on their face.

To say the twins were startled would be an understatement. Amused at their bewilderment yet again, the thief continued with a bright, theatrical grin. "As you two have done so fantastically well, I might as well enlighten you. There were never any assets to begin with. As young, prodigy, rookie agents you must have realised Scotland Yard would never let you join without a proper test. And that's what this was. A test."

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Prove it." While she was suspicious, her brother appeared as if he was having an epiphany. Just before the 'thief' could make a quip about being incapacitated, the man grasped at their mask and swiftly pulled it off, revealing a mess of curly, sandy hair. Not yet releasing them from his hold, he slowly asked, “…you're Agent Sage, aren't you?" Looking slightly disgruntled at having their hair pulled, the newfound agent nodded. "The one and only!" The woman stared at her brother. "Wait, so you know this nutjob?" After relaxing his grip and climbing off of the floor, the man proceeded to dust himself off. "This is Agent Sage, one of the police's many operatives. Though we've never officially met, it wasn't difficult to confirm after seeing what our little marauder really looked like." The agent paused in rubbing their sore wrists to shoot him an exasperated look. The woman, however, was not so satisfied with that answer. She turned her attention to the now pouting agent. "Wait - so this entire time, this whole thing was just one big test? Then what were you so panicky at the end for?" The agent pulled a face as if they had just swallowed something sour. "Unfortunately for me, I also had a few stakes in this. I am not looking forward to getting back to HQ." They shook their head, then put on a bright smile yet again. "But that'll be water under the bridge for you two. Cause guess what? You're officially agents now!" 

"really? You mean it?" The twins had previously been too caught up in the sudden revelation to fully comprehend the agent's words. For years, they had been trained, assessed, evaluated - sent on trial mission after trial mission, completely dedicated in their mission to finally become secret agents. The (now senior) agent smirked and put their hands on their hips. "And you'll be having the honour of the Agent Sage being your personal mentor!"

The woman's moment of pride jolted for a second. But for once, after seeing her brother's dumb awe-struck face, she decided to stay quiet. The agent seemed to notice it too, as they skipped away, humming as though they hadn't a care in the world. They certainly did, but maybe seeing first-hand the triumph of two newfound rookie agents would be worth it. Maybe. Eyeing-her brother's disbelieving expression, the woman patted him on the back and began to usher him out of the alleyway.

The sun was on the horizon, bathing the city in its early morning golden rays. The man broke out into a wide grin, finally grasping the fact that they were both, now, actually agents. "I can't believe it," he uttered, before his sister gave a bark of laughter. "Well good luck to us, considering that menace is gonna be our new mentor." The man blanched, but still couldn't help but find the humour in the situation.

"Good luck to us," he agreed, as they emerged into the sun bathed streets.