Chapter 1
“Pay attention, Kate,” calls my teacher. I immediately look up to see what she’s saying. I wish I could tell her what keeps me from paying attention everyday, but if I said anything, the Terces Society would be in trouble — big trouble.
“Ring-ring,” the bell sounded.
Finally, it’s time to leave and I can get ready for my biggest mission yet. I am gathering up school supplies to bring home when my teacher tells me to come to her desk. I am prepared: all I need to say is “Sorry, I would love to chat but I have to get on the bus or it will leave without me.” Then I run out the door.
After I do this, I hear her calling out to me. “You don’t have a bus pass,” she says. I keep on running. I don’t worry about being caught. The only thing I’m worrying about is what is yet to come.
I know the route by heart but I am so nervous, I feel like I’m lost. I turn the corner and see the building. It’s tall and gloomy and grey. There are many huge signs on the front that say things like “under construction,” “back off,” “beware,” “hard hat zone,” “danger,” etc. The signs are meant to keep strangers away from our top secret files. When strangers walk by they think it’s an old scary building under construction. I am so used to the building now that I am never scared of it, but now may be an exception. As I walk up the stairs I can feel my hands shaking.
When I walk in the doors, I hear the front desk lady say, “Hi, Kate, stop by your dorm room to pick up your stuff, and then go to the archives to pick up your file.”
“Okay,” I respond. The front desk lady’s real name is Lily, but I don’t like to call her that because it doesn’t suit her. She’s pretty nice but very strict, and is very good at keeping spies in and strangers out.
I go upstairs to the fifteenth floor, room number 15B. I take out my key and it slowly turns in the keyhole, making a soft clicking sound. My dorm is a soft mint color. I have a small living room and kitchenette. All the other kids share a dorm, but I got my own because I am the best spy in the whole Terces Society… but I think it’s more because they felt sorry for me after what happened five years ago.
I am getting together all of the things I will need: spy uniform, disguise, flashlight, rope, duct tape, gun, pocket knife, etc. I am almost ready and am walking out the door when I realize I am forgetting something, the only thing I have left of my parents. I rush back into my dorm. I run into my bedroom and open the bottom drawer of my dresser. Under my t-shirts I find a photograph of my parents with me as a baby. Looking at the photograph makes my eyes water, so I bury it under all of the stuff in my spy bag.
I am eight again, and I am in my bedroom. The door is locked and I can’t get out of my room. I start to get really, really scared. I look around and start to scream and cry. All of a sudden everything becomes dark. I hear a terrible scream come from downstairs. I suddenly have an idea. I run my hands along the wall and find the window. I open the latch on the window and climb onto the edge, and I jump into the night, landing on two feet. I walk to the front door and find the key under the welcome mat. I unlock the door, wondering what will be behind it. I run in and walk to the living room. My parents are lying there completely unmoving and covered in blood. I am too late, I can’t save them.
I take a quick glance at my watch. 4:27. “Oh no, I will be late to start my mission!” I sprint down the twelve flights of stairs. When I get down to the third floor I turn the corner and walk into the archive. I am searching for the file on my mission when I see Mr. Brown, the president of the Terces Society. I don’t see him often because he is always cooped up in his office.
“Hi Kate. Here is your file,” Mr. Brown says to me, passing me the green folder.
I take the folder and my bag and walk downstairs through the doorway. My heart is pounding so hard, I feel like I can’t even walk. I am terrified, but I don’t even know what my mission is yet. I slowly open the folder. I can feel my hands shaking. One third open. Two thirds open. Finally, the folder is open.
I see a picture of the criminal who I need to catch. He has pale skin, almost transparent, and I can see his veins popping from his skin. There is a huge bloody gash across his face. His eyes are bulging and bloodshot. He is creepy but something about him is familiar. Then I remember who he is — he is Murderous Marvin, the worst villain in the whole universe. All of a sudden, I start to cry because I remember how my dad used to tell me scary stories about him when I was little. I can just hear my father’s voice. Now I have to learn more about what Murderous Marvin has done.
Chapter 2
I read through the file. It shows that he has stolen a top secret file from the Terces Society. I am terrified, and I know that we have some really important and secret things in the archive. If someone reads the files, the Terces Society will be in danger — real danger. I have only two questions. One: what did Murderous Marvin take? Two: why did he do it?
The file doesn’t have a lot of information, so I don’t know what I will do. I have to go back upstairs to do some research. This time I take the elevator up to 15B. I turn the key in the knob and walk inside. I walk through the door to my bedroom and climb up the ladder to my loft. I love the loft; it is cozy and bright, with a big skylight above it. I have a big day bed right below the skylight. When I go to sleep I watch the light go from blue to pink to black. My favorite time is when it’s raining at night. It makes me feel safe and warm.
I come back out of my thoughts. I know what I need to do. I sit down at my desk and log into my computer. A long time ago, when I started having missions, finding the files for the mission was really hard and time consuming because the archive is so big. I decided to make a computer program to help me. I hooked up sensors to each one so that I know where the files are in my computer. I need that program now so that I can see what file was taken.
I scroll through the missing files. There are five. Immediately, I know which one Murderous Marvin took — the top secret file about the president, which is very important. Our president’s name is James Smith. The file has a document that President Smith received in order to declare World War III. Luckily, I stole the document so that Mr. Smith couldn’t sign it.
If Murderous Marvin gets ahold of the document, he could forge the signature and start WORLD WAR III!