Ahh okay, that was weird. So if you don't know what I'm talking about, when I posted this chapter last night, all my text erased and it was replaced with this weird text/code thingy. Luckily, I write on google docs and transfer everything over to Wattpad so I didn't have to re-write the chapter which would be a pain in the behind to do. So about what happened. I don't know. I have no idea. I did like a python coding class like three years ago and I know that this is weird. Normally, when code appears, it appears on an extra box on your screen or something else external. It seems like this was embodied into the chapter, as if I wrote it, which I didn't. Wattpad should have given you an error I think, not the chapter itself.

So this is super suspicious and I emailed Wattpad about it. They haven't responded yet so I will let you know when they do! I've had issues with Wattpad in the past (idk if anyone remembers this but my entire SSR story was deleted for like a day along with some other stories out of the blue and then reposted. It was weird.) This night because I'm working all on my phone as my computer is broken and I had to return my school computer I used to write on.

So while I was waiting for Wattpad, I FaceTimed a tech genius friend of mine. He's not familiar with Wattpad at all, but deals with Instagram a lot. Have you even gotta where someone sends you a random link and you haven't talked to them in two years? That's when the account is hacked. Someone else accesses your Instagram account and DM's people as you. Anyway, he knows that it happens a lot on social media sites like Instagram or Facebook a lot. He thinks the only logical explanation is that I was hacked. I doubt this highly because there's no reason to hack my account out of the blue. And if so, why would you take an already written chapter, delete it and write code? Makes no sense. That's why I think it's an error with Wattpad. I use a third party VPN app and he said maybe they hacked me through there, but again, seems unlikely. Please let me know if this happens to you or if you have any ideas as to why.

I want to be clear that this isn't intentional. There was no secret code (although that sounds super dope and super fun to write. Like make people decode it and it reveals a secret message. Lowkey kinda wanna try it haha). Anyway, I'm SO SORRY about that and I hope this wasn't an inconvenience.

I dealt with it as I would a hacked Instagram account: change the password, delete the app and reinstall it. For now, it seemed to work and I deleted that weird chapter and replaced it with this. This is what it said and was supposed to say. I'm so sorry again. Don't forget to vote and comment. Please enjoy!

Hi everyone!! Hope you all are doing well!! So occasionally I look at Stuart Gibbs website and apparently, he's making a comic book version of the first spy school! Yay! I don't have much to say other than please enjoy!!

It was chaotic. When we got even close to the capitol building, we were met with black SUV's and tons of traffic. Workers in orange vests tried uselessly to manage the mess but it was pointless. Reporters swarmed each SUV, hoping it was a member of congress they pester with questions.

We found a parking spot, thank god, a few blocks away from the capitol building. Because this was all happening so fast, we didn't have a plan to get into the building. I just hoped something would work in our favor.

Zoe, Mike, Erica and I approached the capitol building on foot. Once we got in its vicinity, it was madness.

All of the important figures in the United States government were showing up at one time. Basically every news station in the country was here, trying to bombard the congresspeople with questions about their opinions on certain issues and their thoughts of the state of our nation. News crews with heavy equipment and giant cameras were running around everywhere. It was super lucky for us. One thing that spies love is chaos. It makes us undetectable. However it also makes the enemy undetectable.

We knew we had to be very careful though. Not only was Erica and Mike somewhat known public figures, we knew that Joshua's men were probably looking for us. Joshua was obviously nowhere to be found as he was supposed to be far from DC as the designated successor. However, since we saw him only a few days ago, I knew he couldn't be too far.

Mike and Erica avoided all the flashing cameras best they could. Because we just looked like secretaries, we could weave in and out of the crowds with ease. The media didn't care about us, they just cared about government workers.

"How are we going to get in?" Zoe whispered as we tried to shove our way to the entrance of the capitol building.

"Leave it to me," Erica whispered back.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Erica. When the reporters or news crew weren't looking, she sneakily yanked their card, which gave them access to the building, off. Because they were cheap, the loose clasp on the back of the lanyard popped off easily. The reporter never even noticed their ID card was gone.

Erica handed us one each and instructed us to put them around our necks, but facing backwards so only the barcode, not their picture or name, was facing forward. 

Suddenly, the chaos seemed to increase. Shouting and stampeding started occurring all around us.

"He's here!" I heard someone shout from the front.

"Oh my god, CHAD YOU BETTER BE FILMING THIS!!" Someone else screamed.

"THEY'RE HERE!" Someone else shreaked next to me. It occurred to me that there weren't only news and media groups here but fans of these politicians as well. Just adding to the chaos.

"President Walsh!! What do you think of the new justice system?"

"Mr. Walsh! What are your thoughts on the Emerson vs Boyle Supreme Court case?"

"Mrs. Vice President Jenkins! How will the administration's new executive order affect the nation as a whole?"

Reporters were shoving us all around, trying to get near the front of the building. It was evident that the president Jackson Walsh and vice president Katherine Jenkins were finally here.

Erica saw the opportunity in the madness. Secret service and security were trying their best to keep the crowd at bay, but they were quickly outnumbered. While no one was looking, we somehow got around the security checkpoint and shoved our way into the capitol building. Everyone was focused on the action at the steps of the capitol building, sono one paid attention to us. I don't even think we went through the metal detectors. That's lucky for us, because I'm pretty sure Erica was hiding some type of weapon on her.

Once we got inside, it was way calmer. There was still an abundance of secret service, but we were all dressed accordingly (I was wearing the same clothes from Joshua's campaign event) and had badges around our neck, so no one gave us a second glance. I was worried we'd be the only ones that weren't politicians in this building. I was very wrong. First, the capitol building is so vast that thousands of people work there daily and they don't get a day off for the state of the union address. Second, news crews from around the world came to stream the address to everyone at home. We blended in very nicely with the tv crew from C-SPAN as their group was trying to lug all their equipment past the chaos at the front.

The capitol building never ceases to amaze me. As a kid from Washington DC, I've been to the building on a field trip a dozen times, minus the times our family wants to see it when they come to visit. The entryway with the beautiful marvel statues and of course, the famous dome with its breathtaking artwork design. I noticed Zoe and Mike take a second to admire it as well. Erica was all business.

There was another security check as we walked in. But since we were with the news crew, they were quickly waved through without stopping because all of the equipment would set off the alarm every time. Within seconds, we had unrestricted access to the building.

When we turned the corner, we quickly broke away from the tv crew. Erica took sharp turns and led us down long passageways, where there seemed to be no people.

"Uh... do you know where you're going?" Mike asked her as she led us down another unused, abandoned hallway.

Erica rolled her eyes at him, "I've had this building memorized since I was five. This is only one of the most important US government buildings ever. It's a shortcut to take us to the left wing of the building where, according to Scott, Jackson's class tour is supposed to take place. It makes sense as most of the access to the basement and maze of catacombs is over there."

"There are catacombs beneath this building?" Zoe asked, surprised.

Erica nodded, "For sure. You could get from one side of the building to another just by the basement. The hard part is navigating it. I have a rough idea, but even I don't know how to get all the way from the left wing to the right wing."

After what felt like an entirety of twists and turns, we were spat out in a large, open hallway. It was way more used than the other ones. The ceilings were about three stories high with doors to offices lining the halls. Huge murals of our founding fathers and important moments in the US's history hung on the walls. Business people milled about.

We followed Erica to yet another hallway. This one wasn't abandoned, but it was definitely not used very often. Erica paused and winced a little.

"You okay?" Zoe asked, sounding slightly concerned.

Erica nodded, just looking a little annoyed, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I have this like a chunk of food or something stuck under my tooth. It's like wedges into my gum now. I flossed the hell out of it last night but it didn't get it unstuck. Now it's just annoying."

"Still?" I asked, remembering it was bothering her earlier.

"Yes, it's fine though. According to Scott, this is where he was instructed to lead the kids and leave the group to set the bomb. Makes sense. This hallway has the most access to the underground maze than any other spot in the building. I guess we wait until we see the group? I'm just hoping Joshua didn't change the location after he fired Scott."

So we awkwardly waited there. The state of the union address tends to run about an hour and a half at the most but it was still ten minutes until it was supposed to start. We pretending to be very invested in these stupid pamphlets that were on display.

After about five minutes, we heard little high pitched voices. Goosebumps appeared on my skin. It was showtime. The group had just arrived, but we couldn't see them yet. But boy, could I hear them.

"Look! I can jump higher than you!" Some little girl yelled.

"Oh yeah?" Another little girl, about five by the sound of her voice, retorted, "Well I can jump on ONE foot! See?"

We all made eye contact and slowly started to creep towards the sounds.

We turned the corner and saw a group of about twenty five year olds yelling and jumping around. We tried to find who was leading the group. One taller man with brown hair had his back turned. He must be a chaperone. My blood ran cold. I couldn't see another adult. Did they already go down into the basement to set the bomb? That would make it a hundred times harder to find. We wanted to apprehend them before they had the chance to set up the bomb. We were too late.

The little kids finally noticed us at the end of the hallway. It was evident they found US history to be VERY boring and was looking for anything to be a distraction. They started pointing and shouting.

A distinct voice rose above the others.

"Mommy!" It was Jackson. He sounded delighted to see her.

Luckily, the kids seemed to be in good condition. The chaperones who worked for Joshua weren't cold hearted enough to hurt five year olds. I think they were even attempting to teach them some history in the process. Yeah, try to get some kids to learn the civil war. Good luck.

Zoe's face filled with relief then worry. Jackson was here and unharmed, but not for long. According to my watch, the address started five minutes ago. The bomb technically could go off at any second.

"We're gonna get him," I whispered to Zoe comfortingly, "They're going to be okay."

She nodded, but didn't look too sure.

All of the attention made the man turn around. The chaperone did a full 180 and faced us. I could feel my mouth hit the floor. My friend's around me were equally shocked.

Wow, I haven't seen Warren Reeves in YEARS. He physically matured a lot. His baby face was gone and was replaced with a nerdy look. He was tall and lanky with styled brown hair and even a short beard. When he saw us, he looked surprised, but he definitely wasn't as shocked as we were. There might have been a hint of expectancy and even... joy? That was odd. But he still paused for a moment and didn't know what to do.

"Holy sh-" Mike started but Erica interrupted him.

"Mike and Zoe, you get the kids to safety and Ben and I will handle the bomb and disarming Warren. Lead the kids out of here and far away. We'll handle the rest."

"We will..?" I questioned, but there was no use. Out of the blue, one of the kids started charging at us full force.

Well who we thought was a kid. Turns out, it was none other than our good old friend Ashley Sparks.

Poor Ashley Sparks hasn't grown since we last saw her over a decade ago. Some people stop growing younger than most, so this must have been the case for Ashley. She still seemed about five feet tall. Erica had a huge growth spurt and was like five eleven now and was almost a whole foot taller.

But what I clearly noticed was that they were both still wearing their chaperone backpacks. So luckily for us, they hadn't set the bomb yet.

Everything started to happen at once.

"GO!" Erica screamed at Zoe and Mike while she prepared to fight Ashely. Zoe, Mike and I started sprinting towards the group as Warren frantically tried to herd the kids away from us and down the hallway.

The kids weren't scared but seemed mostly excited at the idea something other than US history was happening.

We reached them and I knew I had to attack Warren. I haven't had a day of training in ten years. I had a month free trial at the CrossFit gym near my apartment but after that expired and realized how crazy expensive it was to have a membership, I quickly dropped out.

With lack of better judgement, I body slammed Warren. Together, we went tumbling down to the ground. The kids started cheering like we were putting on a show for them.

I heard Zoe and Mike tell the kids to drop their backpacks. Smart. There was a small chance Joshua had someone sneak the bomb into a kid's backpack and they wanted to eliminate that threat. They told the kids to follow them and leave us. The kids, stupidly going with strangers, started to follow them. But I think it did help that Zoe was Jackson's mom and probably knew some of the kids from play dates. Warren and Ashely didn't seem a bit concerned that they were taking them and didn't try to stop Zoe and Mike. Zoe lead the kids back the way we came and Mike hung back, making sure none of them got away and to make sure Warren or Ashley didn't try to fight back. The kids were going with them easily to everyone's relief.

All the backpacks littered the ground. Warren and I rolled on the ground for a few feet and rolled over some Paw Patrol backpacks which hurt a lot. Warren's backpack came off in the little scuffle.

I heard shouts, grunts and punches from where we left Ashely and Erica. It was evident that Erica had definitely been training while living her luxurious lifestyle and was stronger than ever. Ashley, too, had trained and was giving Erica a run for her money. This all gave me some serious  nostalgia.

Warren stood up first and yanked me up with him. It looked like he had worked out a bit in those last ten years. Back in spy school, fighting Warren was a piece of cake but now I feel like it would be more of an actual fight.

As we were sizing each other up, I could feel him studying my face and features. It had been so long since I last saw him too. We were both just noticing how we both changed. Warren definitely didn't lose his weight and I think even had somewhat of a beer belly, despite muscular arms.

"Still working for the bad guys?" I sneered at him.

"Erica is still bossing you around?" He sneered right back at me.

Oh that's how he was going to play?

"You still lovesick? Still dreaming about your imaginary life with Zoe? How does it feel to see her child from another man?" I snarled.

Hurt flashed in his eyes for a second. Warren quickly recovered.

"Still lovesick for Erica? I saw in a newspaper she's cheating on you with a hotter, richer actor I think." Warren retorted.

"Nope, but thanks for asking. How's life been? Are you with Ashley? You guys a thing?" I asked, very snarky.

This was obviously a sore spot for Warren, although I don't know why. In anger, he charged at me. I had less than a second to react and quickly side stepped him.

He stumbled but caught himself before he could crash to the ground. I took this opportunity to be in the offense and punched him right in the stomach. He stumbled but didn't fall. That layer of fat really protected him.

As he was stumbling backwards, I kicked him in the shins. I didn't have much experience fighting and quite frankly, I kinda forgot a lot of it from spy school. When this is over, if it's over, I need to get back in the gym.

I could already see a giant red spot appearing on his shin. He hissed through gritted teeth and stood back up. Without warning, he karate chopped me in the side. As I staggered to the right, he brought his leg up to kick me straight in the jaw. He was a few inches taller than me. If he was successful, I would be out of commission right then.

But as his lanky leg flew towards my face, I grabbed his leg and yanked it, causing him to slam, without anything to stop him, right into the ground. His head hit the marvel floor with a thud and even I winced for him. That seemed like it hurt really bad.

I let go of his leg and Warren didn't even try to get back up. He laid there on his side, groaning and wincing in pain. The fight was over as quickly as it started.

I flipped him on his stomach. On the back of his head, I could already see a huge lump forming. I felt myself feel a little bad for a second.

I looked around for something I could tie him up with. The only thing I found was a rainbow bracelet made of rubber bands. A rainbow loom bracelet. They were attached to practically every girl's backpack in LARGE quantities. Grabbing a few of those, I yanked Warren's hands behind his back and looped the bracelets around his wrists a few times. He didn't even protest. The bracelets were surprisingly more sturdy than I thought. Those girls were phenomenal at making them.

I dragged Warren to the wall and propped his head up. He avoided looking me in the eyes and didn't try to fight back.

I was surprised no one called security or even came out to see what was going on. We were yelling and using the entire hallway. But either no one was working around here or no one cared. That was good.

Erica and Ashely were still duking it out. I saw a small body fly through the air and hit the wall painfully. That didn't deter Ashley and she got up like nothing happened.

Ashley looked awfully beat up though. She was sporting a black eye and a bruised cheek. She had a black and blue shin and was limping a lot. Erica didn't back down. I noticed Erica as well. She was a bit beat up too, though not as bad as Ashely. She has scratches all over her face, some which were bleeding and was clutching her side. Other than that, she didn't look too bad.

Ashely launches herself at Erica. She actually jumped super high and wrapped her legs around Erica's neck and did some fancy move where she twisted her down and slammed Erica to the ground. I recoiled for a second. Yikes, that looked painful. I've gotta hand it to Ashley though, that move was impressive, especially on someone who was almost a foot taller.

Erica got up quickly. It didn't look like it hurt her, just pissed her off even more. Ashely was struggling and staggering towards Erica. The fight seemed to be almost over, with Erica clearly having the upper hand. Erica seemed to have it under control so I decided to not engage.

Erica launched a series of attacks at Ashley, which she blocked and launched her own. Erica deflected those. It was an endless loop, Erica attacking her and Ashley attacking back. I almost didn't notice but Erica was slowly pushing Ashley towards the wall. Erica was also exhausting Ashley. She was already weak from her injuries but Erica was keeping her on her toes and having her fight even more. When Erica had Ashley almost against the wall, with one final shove, slammed Ashley against the wall so hard she crumpled to the ground. Erica immediately ran to check her pulse. Luckily, she was alive, but unconscious. No one, despite how evil she may be, wanted her to die.

Erica let out a big deep breath. She looked a little beat up, but otherwise fine. I collected even more rainbow loom bracelets while Erica picked up Ashley's limp body and carried her over to Warren. I think Erica felt a bit guilty as she so badly beat up someone much smaller than her. Back in spy school, they were a little bit more evenly matched. Erica had the upper hand from the start. But you've gotta do what you've gotta do.

We propped Ashely up next to Warren and bound her hands behind her. Warren was more alert now and was glaring at us angrily.

Erica paid no attention to Warren, which just fueled his anger. Ashley lost her backpack in the fight as well. Erica and I lined all the backpacks up, kids included, into two neat lines. I was to go through the backpacks in the top row and Erica on the bottom row.

The kid's backpacks were uneventful. Their parents packed them amazing lunches too. I may or may not have eaten some chips from a boy's lunch and a sandwich from a girl's. Hey, it's not like they're getting these back anytime soon and I was hungry. I could feel Erica's judgemental eyes on me but I didn't care.

We finally reached Warren and Ashely's backpacks. We weren't expecting anything in the kids backpacks but definitely a bomb in the adult backpacks. We opened them to find... nothing.

Well nothing important. A bottle of water, lunch, some sunglasses but no bomb. Erica and I shared a confused and angry look. If the bomb wasn't in the backpack, it must mean they've set it already but they wouldn't have the time...

We dumped EVERYTHING out of those backpacks. We felt the interior for a secret pocket or anything. Nowadays, technology is so advanced that a bomb the size of a penny could blow up this entire building. Erica revealed a knife she was hiding and even cut open the backpacks. Our worry grew when we couldn't find anything.

Warren was sitting there with a passive look on his face.

Erica was angry now. We went through all of this trouble for absolutely nothing. And at this point, the meeting was already thirty minutes in. We had no idea when the supposed bomb was set to go off.

Erica approached Warren with a deadly look in her eyes. I could see the genuine fear in his eyes.

Erica pressed her knife to Warren's throat. He inhaled shakily.

"I'm going to ask you once," she said, deadly calm, "Where is the bomb?"

Confusion morphed onto his face, "Huh, what bomb?"

Erica grew angrier. It was terrifying to see.

She slapped him across the face, hard. "Don't play dumb with me. Your little gig is over. Where is it?"

"I don't know!" He cried out, looking scared.

She slapped him ever harder in the face. Erica shoved the knife harder against his neck, "I know you're both working for Joshua. I know he sent you here to bomb the union address. So where is it? I'm going to keep hitting you harder until you tell me."

Warren looked around frantically but there was no one to save him now that Ashely was unconscious.

"I- I don't know! I swear! Joshua hired me and Ashley to lead a group of kids through this building at this spot. It was super last minute and we didn't have time to question him." Warren was cracking very easily. In my opinion, he seemed to be telling the truth and he looked seriously terrified. Erica, however, didn't seem to think so.

She punched him this time, "I don't have anything against slitting a man's throat if they're going to try to overtake our government. Now tell me where you and Ashely hid the bomb to explode the capitol building and everyone in it. Reminder, you're in the building too. I know it's supposed to be in the backpack. So where is it?"

This time Warren seemed even more confused.

"What? Wait what are you talking about? Blowing up the building?? What?! What is going on?"

His terror and confusion seems very real to me. I saw this only made Erica even madder as she seemed to think Warren knew. I wouldn't be too sure though. Warren's an idiot and breaks very easily under pressure. If I were Joshua, I wouldn't tell him. I would tell Ashley and have her do it. But she's out cold and no help.

"Hey, I think he really doesn't kno-" I started to tell Erica but she ignored me.

"Where is it?!" She yelled at Warren as she punched him yet again. This time it was so hard that Warren quickly went unconscious.

I ran to check his pulse and yes he was alive, but very unconscious. I was a bit annoyed that Erica let her emotions get the best of her a little but there and lost our only lead. It seemed like Erica noticed that as well and was a bit pissed too.

We dragged them into this storage closet and locked the door from the outside. If this place was going down, they were sure going to go down with it.

Erica swore loudly, "Okay, well, I guess we have to search the basement ourselves. We have to hurry because we have no idea when this bomb is gonna blow. It could happen at any second."

With those comforting words, I followed her down a basement into the catacombs of this nation's capitol building.

When we got down the staircase, I was pleasantly surprised how clean it was for the most part. The hallways were wide and long and seemed to stretch forever. Luckily Erica knew how to navigate where to go based on the direction we were facing so that was good. We didn't know what we were looking for as the bomb could be disguised to look like anything these days. It could look like an iPhone and we wouldn't know the difference. It also could be super small, as small as a penny. It seemed like not many people went down here though so everything had a fine layer of dust on it. The only thing we were going off of was to look for something that seemed to be placed recently.

Because Ashley or Warren placed the bomb so quickly before the meeting, we knew it could be far from this area. It looked like they used this area as storage for the most part. There were old event signs for tours, events or meetings. They had rows and rows of old chairs lined against the wall. We searched that area for a half an hour, venturing further and farther from the area and finding nothing. It was really pissing us off. We were acutely aware of the time running out. The address would be over pretty soon and the bomb could go off at any second.

"Ugh where is it?" I complained.

Erica threw a box we looked through a thousand times in pure frustration, "I don't know, okay? We've searched this area over and over! Is it not here? I don't know what to do at this point."

I groaned and felt like giving up. I was tired and so done. I was just messing around and walked through this old security metal detector.

To my absolute shock, it beeped.

Erica turned around quickly, "What just happened?"

"This thing beeped," I said, pointing to the metal detector. It looked exactly like the ones in airports.

Erica came over and examined it.

"Huh, it's plugged in but there's a good layer of dust on it. Someone must have forgotten they plugged it in. The dust is undisturbed. It looks months old."

"Could this be the bomb?" I asked her, running my hands down the side.

"Maybe..." she said, trailing off. Suddenly, it looked like something occurred to her. She had a wary but alert look on her face.

"Ben, stand next to me," she instructed me. Confused, I did as I was told.

"Now walk through it," she told me. I did and the machine beeped again.

"Now walk back," she said. The security metal detector beeped once again as I passed through. It was obvious I was setting it off. But why? I had no metal on me.

"What's going on? I don't have any metal on me!" I asked her, super confused now.

Erica looked very thoughtful, "Are you sure? No buttons, no wallet, phone? Maybe you took something out of a kid's backpack, like that lunch you were stealing."

"Yes I'm sure!" I explained as I took another mental inventory of what I was wearing and what I had on me, "I specifically didn't wear anything metal because you told us not to before we left. I'm sure."

Erica looked at me with a grave expression.

"Darn it. I was hoping I was wrong, that you had something metal on you."

This made me really worried, "What's going on?"

Erica had a serious expression on her face, "Ben, I think you're the bomb."

It's almost over!! It saddens me so much to say this but it's true!! I think three more chapters AT THE MOST and probably two left! Thank you for this amazing journey!

Also I'm SO SORRY about that weird text/code thing. Trust me, I'm like the worst with technology and I emailed Wattpad and I will be sure to update you as it develops. Please let me know if it somehow happens to you or if you have any ideas. Thank you! Stay safe!