International Affairs

Accidental Mission Complete

Chapter 8: Accidental Mission Complete

“Katelyn, Jane, Sammy,” Miss Bates said after the bell rang. “A moment?”

The girls looked at each other and walked over to Miss Bates’s desk as the rest of the students left, throwing them backward glances.

Katelyn looked around, wondering why they were being asked to stay behind.

“Pull up some chairs,” Miss Bates said, casually.

That only made them more nervous.

Katelyn slowly sat down in her chair.

“I took a look at your transcripts,” Miss Bates began. “All three of you are impressive students.”

There was a pause.

“I am actually very impressed,” Miss Bates said, pulling out her laptop. She set it on the desk but didn’t open it.

None of the girls knew why Miss Bates was suddenly complimenting them.

“Disciplined too,” Miss Bates added, finally opening her laptop. “You’re all dying to know what I’m talking about yet you are patient.”

Katelyn just silently nodded.

Miss Bates turned the laptop toward them so they could see the screen. “You know these three boys?” she asked.

Katelyn’s eyes widened as she recognized Derek, Cole and Aiden. Sammy and Jane were just as shocked.

“Yes…” Katelyn finally said.

“Do you know who they are?” Miss Bates asked.

“Guildford Marshall,” Katelyn replied.

Miss Bates nodded. “Guildford Marshall’s Academy for Gifted Young Boys,” she stated. “They are an ever moving school… The IA has been trying to locate them for years now.”

“Why?” Sammy asked. “Are they…” she trailed off.

“Say it,” Miss Bates said.

“A spy academy?” Sammy asked, quietly.

Miss Bates nodded. “They’re a boy’s spy school but they’re nothing like us.”

“What do you mean?” Jane asked.

“They’re poorly disciplined, reckless, rash,” Miss Bates stated. “They teach the boys important secrets and skills but they aren’t properly trained to handle them.”

“I’m confused,” Sammy admitted.

Miss Bates nodded. “You should be. I’ll start from the beginning,” she said, leaning back in her chair. “Grace Marshall had an illegitimate half-brother named Guildford Marshall. He was a solider for the Patriots during the revolutionary war. However, he was just an ordinary solider who died on the battlefield.”

“How did an academy form then?” Jane asked.

“You see, Grace Marshall opened her own parlor school, training spies but a loyalist, Wilkes Jenkins, suspected the school’s true purpose. He and his followers reported to the British crown but no one believed them. Women as spies seemed to be a ludicrous idea. Wilkes Jenkins then used the idea to start his own school. He chose the already deceased Guildford Marshall as the school’s leader.”

“That’s crazy,” Sammy said. “So what happened next?”

“He trained young boys,” Miss Bates said shrugging. “The original school dispersed hundreds of years ago due to its lack of success. Now, the Guildford academy pops up every once in a while but they’re monitored by the IA very closely…except they completely vanished a couple years ago. Most assumed they just scattered again but I wasn’t convinced so the IA sent me to teach at the academy as well as look into this issue.”