Kate and Bethany searched the room thoroughly. They glanced out into the hallway, only to find it empty. Panic seized Kate's chest.

"We have to find her!" Kate exclaimed.

"Let's go check her room," Bethany suggested.

Deciding that it was a good idea, the girls walked towards Valerie's room, peeking into rooms on the way there.

They finally reached Room 119, Valerie's assigned room. Kate knocked and held her breath, hoping to get a response. There was no answer.

"Do you have a key for her room?" Kate asked excitedly. They could search the room, find clues on Valerie's whereabouts, and...

"No. I only carry a key for my room and the Certified Spies section."

Kate's once high hopes had deflated quicker than a balloon. There was only one thing to do, and that was to wait.

∆

The 6:00 bell rang, signaling the start of dinner. For the past hour, Kate had been in Bethany's room listening to all her insane spy stories.

Valerie had never showed up.

Bethany had just finished telling her a story about one of her missions at the Rosebush Cemetery. She was explaining how creepy, not to mention illegal, it was to dig up a grave in order to find a precious red gem.

Kate did not know whether she was making it up or not, but Bethany didn't seem like the type of person who would just lie in order to entertain people.

"So tell me a little about yourself," Kate said as they headed to the cafeteria.

"My name is Bethany. I am 16 years old. I enjoy playing tennis and I don't like shopping. I prefer being outside than inside," she explained.

The girls walked into the cafeteria and headed towards the lunch line, continuing their small talk.

They soon received their food and sat down to eat. Caitlin talked throughout the whole dinner. Logan was quiet as usual.

Once dinner was over, everyone retreated to their rooms. Kate decided to head to Valerie's room once more. She approached the door a minute later and was about to knock before she stopped. She heard someone talking.

As Kate listened harder, she could distinguish two voices: Valerie and Harry.

"I know it's a lot of pressure. You don't have to do it," Harry said cautiously. There was silence for a second before Valerie spoke.

"No, it's okay. I have to do it for my grandma," Valerie replied.

"Okay. Remember, lead Kate away from the files," Harry said. Kate heard a chair scrape and footsteps heading towards the door.

She rushed to her room, fumbled for her keys, opened the door, and scrambled in. She sighed with relief when the door closed behind her.

What were Valerie and Harry talking about? Why was Valerie trying to lead her away from some files? What files?

Before Kate could ponder more about the conversation she had just eavesdropped on, there was a knock on her door. Valerie stood in the doorway, a blank look on her face.

"Hey! Where have you been? Bethany and I were looking--" Kate said, but was interrupted by Valerie.

"Our mission starts now," Valerie commanded.

"I'm not even ready!" Kate said, not liking the annoying whine in her voice. A quick glance at her watch showed that there were five hours left before their mission.

"You get ten minutes," Harry said, coming up behind Valerie.

Kate just nodded. Valerie and Harry left while Kate changed into black clothes. She grabbed a bag and filled it with weapons and tools she had found in a separate drawer.

Nunchucks. Knives. Guns.

She stepped outside of her room and, sure enough, Harry and Valerie were waiting outside.

"Let's go," Harry said, leading them to a black sedan parked outside. Kate was not able to shake the feeling that danger lurked ahead.

∆

In a matter of fifteen minutes, the girls had reached Westhill High School.

"Remember what you girls have to do. Find any evidence against Ms. Martinez that proves she is trying to overthrow Black Rose," Harry reiterated.

Kate and Valerie nodded. They tentatively stepped out of the car and headed to the rear of the school to go through the back entrance. When Kate glanced back at the car, it was gone.

Kate took out the slip of paper with the alarm code. "Just in case," she said when she noticed Valerie staring at her with a perplexed look on her face.

Kate approached the door and tried the knob, expecting it to be locked. Suddenly, the door opened.

It had been unlocked.

That was odd in itself. Moreover, when the girls tiptoed inside the building, Kate was shocked to find that the alarm was disarmed. Taking a quick glance at Valerie only heightened her confusion. Valerie did not look at all confused but rather relieved.

"Come on," Kate whispered, stuffing the alarm code back into her pocket and shutting the back door quietly.

Kate and Valerie shuffled through the familiar hallways. They passed the gym where Kate had her first varsity cheerleading competition, the cafeteria that served unidentifiable meals, and the auditorium in which Valerie had performed many plays for her theater class.

Finally, they arrived at the science wing on the east end of the school. "You first," Valerie whispered, stepping behind Kate.

Kate inched closer to Ms. Martinez's classroom door. She peered into the small window that looked into the room. The room was exactly as she had seen it this morning.

She fished out the classroom key that Susan had given her and inserted it into the knob. The door opened swiftly.

Too swiftly, Kate thought to herself.

The girls crept inside and headed to Ms. Martinez's desk. Kate plopped onto the desk chair and booted up the computer. Valerie quietly grabbed a chair and brought it over to sit beside Kate.

The computer finally turned on and the screen flashed two dreaded words: Enter Password.

"We did not plan this far ahead," Kate muttered. She sat there for a moment, thinking hard. She typed in the word science, hoping that it was that simple.

Incorrect Password.

"Does she have any grandkids that might go to this school?" Kate asked. Valerie stiffened for a moment before she shrugged nonchalantly.

"I don't know," Valerie said. "Let me try something."

Valerie spun the computer around to face herself. She typed something in and then turned the computer to Kate.

Correct Password.

"How did you guess her password?" Kate asked incredulously.

Valerie averted her gaze but answered with a simple "I am just an amazing guesser."

Kate brushed away the thought that Valerie was keeping secrets from her. Whether she was or not, this was certainly not a time for confrontation. There was a mission to be done.

Kate clicked into Ms. Martinez's email. She skimmed through the emails, looking for anything that read Black Rose or spy organization. She could not find anything remotely incriminating.

"What's that?" Valerie asked, pointing to an email titled OBR.

Kate clicked on the email. The email had been sent to someone with the initials HB. Did that stand for Harry Black?

There was also an attachment. Kate opened it to reveal three pictures. One was of the Black Rose headquarters. Another was of the headquarter's cafeteria. The third picture was of Susan's office.

"What is Ms. Martinez planning?" Kate muttered under her breath. These were seemingly insignificant pictures but Kate knew there had to be something more.

She minimized the screen and clicked on a folder marked Personal. Kate saw a picture of Ms. Martinez and a man who Kate assumed was her husband. She continued to scroll through the pictures. Ms. Martinez was in every picture, whether it was with her husband, a family member, or friend.

Suddenly, Kate stopped. In the next picture, Ms. Martinez was holding hands with a little girl. The girl looked vaguely familiar. Although her hair was blonde and her eyes were a light blue, Kate felt like she recognized that face. Was that--?

"Did you hear that?" Valerie whispered anxiously, looking around the room. Kate looked up from the computer and shook her head. The room was dead silent.

"We have to hide!" Valerie whispered nervously.

Suddenly, Kate heard it. Footsteps echoed down the hallway. She glanced at the supply closet in the corner of the room. It was the only place she could think to hide.

"Come on," she said, tiptoeing quickly to the closet. Valerie followed at her heels. The girls squeezed inside. By now, the footsteps had stopped.

"Girls, you can come out," a voice shouted from outside the classroom door. Kate froze in fear. She felt Valerie stiffen next to her as well.

Suddenly, Kate recognized the voice. It sounded exactly like Harry.

Kate stepped out of the supply closet. She glanced at Valerie and beckoned for her to come out. Both girls stepped outside and faced the door, which was now wide open.

Kate froze in complete fear when two figures stepped into the moonlight that shone from the small window adjacent to the desk.

Harry and Ms. Martinez were standing in the doorway. Their eyes gleamed bright with malice. They were holding their hands on their hips in a stance that radiated authority.

Valerie slowly began to walk towards them, her stride confident and her head held high.

"Valerie, stay back. Something is wrong. We need to get out of here right now," Kate whispered to her.

Valerie turned to flash a devilish smile at Kate. "You're right. We do need to get out of here," she said, gesturing to the two adults behind her.

"Valerie, who are these people?" Kate stammered nervously, glancing at the now unfamiliar faces.

"Just my grandma and Harry. You know them, don't you?"

That same malicious smile was still plastered across her face.

"Your grandma? Valerie, what are you trying to tell me?"

"I'm trying to tell you that it was nice to have you as a partner but my time here is up. We better go," Valerie said, glancing at two-person crowd behind her.

Just as easily as they appeared, Harry and Ms. Martinez quickly stepped out of the classroom with Valerie right behind them.

The door was shut with a loud bang. Kate rushed to the door and tried the knob, only to find it locked.