Chapter Three - Everyone's Strapped in Tight, We'll Ride it Out

"Ed, why did you call us all here, again?" Molly asked, confused by her friend's behavior.

"Yeah, and why is Stuckeybowl closed? I thought Friday nights were your money makers." Mike said, sitting down beside his wife, Nancy.

Now Ed was really starting to raise suspicions. He was frantically running around the bowling alley, checking things -- but they didn't know what. Something was definitely up.

"Eddie, you're starting to freak us out here," Nancy said, her voice full of concern.

"Yeah," Carol started, sighing at her friend's display, "Ed, just sit down and tell us whatever you needed to tell us."

Ed apparently finished doing whatever he was doing and looked around one last time before sitting down. He was on edge. It was as if he was trying to make sure that no one was listening in on their conversation or something.

Who would spy on the Stuckeybowl?!

"Okay, you guys..." Ed began nervously. He was unsure as to how his friends would react after they heard the news.

"Ed, seriously, you're scaring us. Spit it out, man." Mike was really starting to get worried. He had never seen Ed so paranoid, and serious for that matter, in his life. This certainly wasn't Ed...

"I haven't been completely truthful with you all...Well, it's not that I haven't been truthful but I just haven't shared everything about my past, I guess you could say..."

"What are you talking about?" Carol asked, suspicious of what Ed had to say.

I just have to spit it out. SPIT. IT. OUT. Yes. You need their help. Mike needs their help. Ed urged himself strongly. It wasn't about him, at this point, it was about Mike and his agent. I know they're just coming to play it safe, but they need covers. And I need help in figuring this out. Let's just hope they'll be able to handle this...

"When I was in law school in New York...I was also enrolled in the CIA."

Silence followed Ed's words, then all of a sudden, the air of Stuckeybowl was thick with laughter.

"Yeah right! You?! Ed Stevens, the bowling alley lawyer, was a CIA agent. That's a good one!" Nancy said, practically falling to the floor in laughter.

Ed immediately looked up, shocked at his friends, who clearly found his life so incredibly amusing.

"What?!"

"Ed," Mike said, wiping the tears from his eyes, and standing up to put a hand on his shoulder, "there's no way we'd ever believe that. No way!"

"Yeah, Ed, he's definitely right. I don't know what you're trying to pull, but it is hilarious. I'll give that to you." Carol said, calming herself as she, too, wiped the tears from her eyes.

The laughing slowly died down as Mike, Molly, Carol and Nancy watched Ed's face take on an even more hardened expression.

He was serious.

"What?" Mike asked, suddenly sounding hurt as he sat back down. "You were CIA?"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Molly shot, angrily. "After all these years, why didn't you tell us?"

Carol and Nancy were in too much shock to talk, but they too looked betrayed and hurt. Ed sighed.

Maybe I could have gone about this in some other way...

"You guys, life in the CIA isn't like the real world. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone about what I'd done, and if I stayed, I wouldn't have been able to tell anyone about my real job."

"Why did you join to begin with?" Carol inquired, intrigued.

"And better yet, why did you quit?" Nancy finally picked her jaw up off the floor and was able to contribute to the conversation. Ed looked down at the ground, unsure if he should really reveal all the lies that had made up his family's life.

"I joined because my father wanted me to. He had a legacy at the CIA that he wanted me to carry through to the next generation."

"But you're Dad was a banker," Mike replied, confused, "wasn't he?"

Ed looked up to Mike and sadly shook his head. Mike looked genuinely shocked. The man who he always thought of as his best friend, the man he thought he knew everything about, was actually a fraud.

"My dad said he was a banker, but he was actually a field agent for the CIA. Do you remember how he was never around for anything when we were younger? How he was always on his business trips? That's why I quit the CIA. At first, I was dying for his approval, so I joined. I had fun...I actually considered going through with it. But towards the end of CST--"

"CST?" Molly asked.

"Clandestine Service Training," Ed answered, turning to Molly, "it's like a CIA agent training course. They teach you everything you need to know to pursue a life in the CIA or even espionage."

"Oh," Molly replied, barely above a whisper. Everyone was riveted by this new side of Ed that they were just learning about.

"Well, I quit because I knew what my life would be like. I saw it played out through my father. I saw how his relationships were strained with his friends, his family...everyone. I just didn't want a life like that. So I asked them if I could get out of it, and go through with law school. They cut me some slack because they held my Dad in high regards. Usually, they wouldn't let someone out so easily, but I guess I was just lucky..."

Mike now had his hands covering his face. This is unbelievable. Mike thought. How could he keep this from us for so long? But it really isn't his fault, is it? I know Ed. He's not the kind of guy who would keep this from his best friends. This must have been really serious...and there must be a reason why he's telling us this...

"Ed, why are you telling us this?" The words came out harsher than Mike wanted. He kept telling himself over and over that there really was no reason to be angry with Ed. None whatsoever. He had to do what he had to do...

Ed flinched at his best friend's tone.

This wound will take awhile to heal. Ed thought as he tried to figure out a way to make them understand.

"This isn't about me. I'm not telling you this just so you guys can feel angry and hurt and betrayed. I'm telling you this because I have a close friend who needs help. And the only way I can give it to him is by telling you guys. You guys are my best friends and I need your help here, but I don't want to go on if you're mad at me. I was in a situation where the things that I was taking part in were classified. I wasn't allowed to reveal anything. And I'm still not allowed. So, please don't speak a word of this outside this bowling alley. Or around anyone else for that matter."

"Of course, Ed." Nancy said, sympathetically.

"You know you can always trust us," Molly added, looking up at Ed with a sad smile. Carol just nodded her head, but Mike, on the other hand, kept his eyes on the ground.

"Mike?" Ed asked, praying that he wasn't too angry.

Mike looked up and nodded. No smile, just a nod. But that's all Ed needed. A grin quickly spread across Ed's face, and he sat down, relieved.

"Thank God," he breathed.

"So, wait, what about your friend that's in trouble?" Carol asked instantly.

"Well, here's the deal. In college, I had a good friend -- Michael Vaughn. He very well could have been my best friend in college, come to think of it. His dad was also a CIA agent. What are the chances, right? But yeah, we joined CST together and when I quit and he finished CST, he was transferred to LA. I keep in touch a little bit now, but not as much as we'd like. He called me this morning. He's a handler now--"

"What's a handler?" Molly asked, failing to mask her giddiness. Nothing this exciting had come to Stuckeyville in awhile. No, nothing this exciting had ever come to Stuckeyville.

"A handler is basically a guy who is in charge of another agent, a double agent in particular. Him and his double agent, Sydney Bristow, are working to infiltrate this organization called SD-6. They carry out extortion, weapons sales, and all that kind of stuff -- posing as the CIA. They've been working for a pretty long time at bringing this organization down, and apparently, something happened towards the end, and their covers were blown."

"What? How?!" Nancy wondered, also swept away by the secret spy world Ed was a tiny part of.

"I don't know how. All I know is that they are coming here because they need a place to lay low for a little while. Where SD-6 won't think about looking. They aren't really in danger -- this is all for precautionary reasons. So there's no reason to be worried."

"How do we fit into all of this?" Mike asked, interested.

"Excellent question, my good man. They're probably going to be around for a few weeks or so. They'll stay at my place at first, but I was hoping that we could help them find a place."

"Of course!" Nancy responded, eagerly.

"Awesome, awesome." Ed said as he got up and began to pace.

"Now they will also need some sort of cover. I was hoping Sydney could get a spot as a substitute teacher at Stuckeyville High," Ed added, pointing to Molly, "and that's where you, my dear Molly, come into the picture."

"Gotcha. I've got it covered." Molly replied with a smile.

"What about your friend?" Carol asked. "Michael...Vaughn was it?"

Ed laughed and shook his head.

"He can just hang out with me."

"Or, and this is just a suggestion, he could also sub, if you really wanted." Carol suggested.

"Yeah, I guess. But I'm not sure if he'll want to be at the same school as--"

Suddenly the door to Stuckeybowl flew open and a fairly tall man with short brown hair, wearing a neatly trimmed navy blue suit, white shirt, and a dark tie walked through the door. Carol, Molly and Nancy all gasped slightly as this wondrous specimen of man walked towards them. Following right behind him was who they presumed was Sydney Bristow. Ed turned around and smiled, nodding his head towards him.

"Ed Stevens," Vaughn said, shaking his head in wonder, "how've you been, buddy?"

Ed and Vaughn hugged each other briefly before Ed responded.

"I'm great! And you must be Sydney," Ed said, reaching his hand out to Syd, with a bright smile. Sydney returned the gesture and shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you. Vaughn's only said good things about you."

"Vaughn? Is that what their calling you these days?" Ed asked, jabbing Vaughn playfully.

Vaughn shook his head, laughing.

"That and 'Boy Scout'..."

"Ah! So it stuck around! Excellent!" Ed laughed, then led Sydney and Vaughn towards his friends.

"I guess I should introduce you to my friends...We're pretty much the life of Stuckeyville." Ed noted in a matter of fact tone.

"Of course," Vaughn replied knowingly.

"This is Nancy, Carol, Molly and Mike..."

END CHAPTER THREE