PROJECT SPARTA

CHAPTER 11

As the wonder settled, Ezra and Xander stood stone still, blending in the best they could for the next half hour. Their fellow Spartans continued their search as if it were an Easter egg hunt. Xander caught something out of the corner of his eye. Below was what seemed like an optical illusion.

The grass was shifting.

Xander focused in on the inconsistency and nudged Ezra's attention below them. After scanning the same, strange visage Ezra nodded to Xander and together they seized the moment before it was too late. They had found her. Xander and Ezra dropped from tree limb to tree limb until they reached the ground level.

"Got you!" Ezra yelled. Ms. Rearden smiled, impressed by the muddy boy in front of her. She pulled away her green cap and face mask, revealing a long mane of flowing brown hair. Her disguise veiled her in the exact color of the grass this time of the year.

"Good Job, Ezra, cleverness is a natural gift!" She pushed a button on her wrist watch and spoke into it.

"Anni, bring them in."

"Attention Spartans, Instructor Rearden has been found. Please rendezvous at the entrance of the Thicket." Anni's robotic voice rung throughout the Compound.

The cadets assembled from all corners of the Thicket's terrain. Each Spartan was out of breath and frustrated that they were not the victors of the challenge.

"The first lesson of espionage is to become invisible. Whether you have to wear a disguise like this or blend in the open, you will learn it all here. We will have many exercises in the Thicket but our lessons can be anywhere. Today we will start our beginner's tutorial in basic steal techniques. We will begin with walking."

"Walking?!" Seamus scoffed. "We all know how to walk..."

"Oh do you?" Rearden cracked a smile and began the lesson.

Throughout the class, she showed the Spartans five different forms of walking. They took each step slowly to ensure proper form would become habit. Every minute aspect was covered from weight distribution to arch angle, they practiced over and over, until their feet stood numb. The Spartans continually stumbled over themselves off balance, as the proper walking form proved more difficult than they thought.

The second half of the class was dedicated to remaining light on their toes. The Spartans had to stand on a large limb of a tree and catch eggs without allowing them to break. Balance, soft feet and hands were of the utmost importance for this exercise. Jooles caught the most by far, moving through the tree like a feline whom lived there. Not all Spartans did well at the exercise, Seamus was naturally reckless. The disadvantage in the exercise proved insurmountable as he fell out of the tree on his back.

"Ahh, my bloody back! Someone tell me why we are catching eggs in a tree again!" The Spartans laughed together at his angst as he was wheeled off to the Infirmary. It was obvious that he wasn't seriously injured, but it served as a reminder to the real dangers such training presented.

After classes were over for the day, free time commenced. Some of the Spartans went to the fitness center to work out, others went for a walk down to the library. Xander decided to retire to his house to read. Each book on his shelf was either a piece of classic literature or military history but one book stood out. It was a thick book that had an odd look. At first Xander could not tell what it was that was strange about its appearance but after a moment of reflection its most obvious characteristic struck him. It was white. Xander realized that nothing was white in the Compound, other than Fiona's house. The majority of the Compound was ashy grays and calming beiges. The book's context made it almost shine throughout the room. On the spine it said, "The Fox and the Grapes". He recognized it as an Aesop fable and a thought occurred immediately.

The Fox and the Grapes is just a short story, not nearly as large of a tale as the size of that book calls for.

His hand could not resist, grabbing the book from the shelf. His fingers grazed the siding of the book. On the book's front cover it only had the plain text of the title – no author – no cover art. He also noticed that on the front cover some of the letters had been crossed out. It read:

THE FOX AND THE GRAPES

When he read the remaining letters that were not crossed out, the title formed two new words: "To Xander".

What the hell... Someone has placed this book in this house specifically for me and they obviously went through a great deal of discretion to make sure that only I saw it.

He opened the front cover and saw the hidden title page. It did not say "the Fox and the Grapes" rather the text had an entirely different title. Its cream pages were neatly stitched into the binding of the false cover.

The Republic

By: Plato

Ask yourself the highest questions.

- J. H.

His eyes narrowed down at the cover page, realizing the text was purposefully hidden, between the covers that acted as guises.

I guess you can't judge a book by its cover...

Xander reviewed the occurrence that brought the book to his shelf – curious of its purpose.

J.H.... Jackson Hardy... He planted this book for me. He wants me to learn Philosophy? But why? I've never studied it, I don't even really know what it is. What does Philosophy have to do with spy craft? Ask myself the highest questions...

But what questions?...

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