The Spies Next Door

Chapter One - Outed

CIA agents rarely had time to sit back and enjoy the moment except perhaps when a mission was accomplished. Even then the time allowed to relish in that moment hardly counted as more than just that, a moment. Joan had learned long ago to take full advantage of the rare days she had off. She never knew how far apart those days could be or how long she would have before a ringing phone signaled an impending calamity that would cut her time off short. It was best to simply enjoy it when she could.

Which was exactly what she was doing. Beautiful sunny days and time off rarely came hand in hand, but today she'd gotten lucky. Arthur might want to spend the day inside reading the paper, but she had every intention of taking in the sunshine. A chair outside, a magazine, and a pair of sandals she could easily kick off while she ran her toes through the grass were going to make for a wonderful day. She tipped her head back, closed her eyes, and let the warmth of the sun soak into her face. It felt absolutely wonderful. A smile danced across her lips as the peacefulness of the situation settled in. Their neighborhood was always peaceful. Quiet was one of the perks of living where they did. Personally Joan thought it would be worth every penny even if their home wasn't as nice as it actually was. Their jobs were chaotic enough. The last thing she wanted was to come home to the same thing. She may not get to be home very often, but when she was she wanted to enjoy it.

The sound of rustling caught her attention and she opened her eyes. It didn't take very long to identify where it was coming from. Based on the location she guessed it was the kids next door. There were two of them, both rather young, but they'd never caused problems. Joan heard them outside playing from time to time but that was about it. She and Arthur didn't cross paths with their neighbors often, but they knew a lot about them. A quick background had been done when they'd moved in. Theresea and John Hamlin had two children, Carter, 9, and Caroline, 7. They worked regular jobs for DC. John was a lawyer, and Theresea worked as a secretary in the business district. The family took regular trips to the Carolinas and enjoyed going out to eat. Nothing unusual. Joan was almost about to go back to enjoying the sunshine when the sound of whispering reached her. Habit had her listening in without really thinking about it.

"Our neighbors are spies."

Joan sat up straighter but focused down on her magazine. Her eyes might be there, but she was concentrated on the conversation happening in the next yard. If the children could see into her yard somehow and happened to look over she didn't want to look like she was listening to them. That would likely end their conversation immediately, and she needed to know more.

On the other side of the vegetation Carter and Caroline were crouched down and trying to stay hidden. It was the best place to talk without their parents hearing anything or seeing very much.

"Oh come on, Caroline."

"I'm serious!" Caroline returned indignantly.

Carter rolled his eyes. His sister wasn't usually someone to make things up, but she could think things were true that weren't. She still believed in the tooth fairy after all. He wouldn't put it past her to exaggerate a little bit either.

"Says who?"

"Says mom and dad." Carter's eyes rose in surprise, and Caroline grinned triumphantly. He couldn't say she was being ridiculous now. "They heard Mr. Campbell's name on TV. I heard them talking about it yesterday."

"That doesn't make him a spy, idiot."

"Yes it does! Mom and dad said he works for the CIA which means he's a spy."

That made Carter fall silent. He couldn't argue against that reasoning, especially since his parents had been the ones talking about it. But were his parents right? The Campbells didn't seem like spies to him. Then again, they weren't around much, and he didn't really know them.

"What about Mrs. Campbell? Is she a spy too?"

"I don't know."

Carter shifted to make himself more comfortable as he thought about it. There wasn't any real proof that she was a spy, and it didn't sound like the TV had mentioned anything about her, but it was still possible.

"Maybe. They go to work together. At least I think they do."

"Do you think mom and dad are right? Are they really spies?" she asked.

"Only one way to find out."

"How?"

"We watch them and see."

Caroline's mouth dropped open. He really wanted to spy on the spies? Wasn't that dangerous? If their neighbors found out they were being watched they could be really mad, and if they were mad enough they could tell mom and dad. That wouldn't be good. She would probably be grounded for pretty much ever. So would Carter.

"What if we get caught?"

"We're not going to."

"But what if we do?"

"They're not going to do anything, Caroline. It's not like there's anything wrong with just watching either. Not really."

She dropped her chin into her hand and rested the same elbow on her upturned knee as her other leg rocked back and forth. Spying on someone else still sounded wrong to her. Sort of. It wasn't like she was going to tattle about it or anything though. They were only going to watch and try to find out the truth. There wasn't anything wrong with finding out the truth, right?

"Okay… how do we know if they're actually spies though? They're not going to just tell us."

"So we look for things that spies would do."

"Like what?"

"Like spy stuff."

Caroline gave him a dark look. Spy stuff was not an answer at all! He was being annoying. Despite how frustrating his reply had been her mom would have been proud of her since she hadn't hit Carter in response.

"Like hiding things and being secretive and stuff," he added.

Okay, spies probably did that.

"That's not enough to prove it though."

"Well, what else do spies do?" Carter demanded.

"Mmm… carry a gun and dress in black so they can walk around at night."

"That should be easy to see."

Caroline nodded her head vigorously. Now that they had specific things to look for she was warming up to the idea of spying on her neighbors. It could be a lot of fun actually.

"What else do you think they do?" she asked.

"James Bond stuff, like speaking in code and using cool tools. I bet they can fight really well too."

"Who's James Bond?"

"A spy from the movies."

"Like the Spy Kids! Carmen and Juni! They were spies and they used all kinds of cool stuff. Hidden gadgets that just look like gum or a ring or something!"

"They aren't real, and that movie isn't based on real life. Everyone knows James Bond because his movies are more realistic."

"Then why have I never heard of him?"

"Because you're too young to see them, stupid."

That time she did kick him. He deserved it. Carter glared at her in return, but she just glared back at him. He'd started it. Caroline had never been one to give in, and she definitely wasn't going to this time either. Carter was the one who broke the silence first.

"Just make sure you get your homework done fast so we can watch them after school."

"I always get my homework done fast. You're the one that takes forever."

"I do not!"

"Yeah you do," Caroline taunted.

"Then I'll work really fast so we can watch for when they come home. Once they do we can keep an eye on them through the window or while we're outside. It'll be easy."

"Okay," she agreed.

"Then we'll start tomorrow. Just don't tell mom and dad."

Joan heard more rustling as the two kids extricated themselves from the plants and raced toward the door. She waited until they were inside before standing. They didn't need to know she'd heard their entire plan by going inside before they had. She slipped in the back door and went in search of her husband. Chances were he was right where she had left him: on the couch.