105
" Every place sounded charming, but also a little bit quirky: Notgrove, Uckington, Oddington, Guilting Power, Bourton-on-the-Hill, Mourton-in-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold, and the unfortunately named Upper and Lower Slaughter. Catherine insisted both Slaughters were quite delightful, but I felt we should steer clear of them just to be safe. "
― Stuart Gibbs , Spy School British Invasion (Spy School #7)
106
" Meanwhile, Murray and Alexander each required additional goosing to get out of bed. Erica deftly picked the locks on both their rooms so we could wake them. Alexander had slept through the four separate alarms he had set for himself, swatting each one off in his sleep. (Somehow he’d even managed to toss the hotel’s alarm clock in the toilet without waking up.) He was dreaming when we roused him, murmuring, “Don’t worry, Princess Daphne. This isn’t the first nuclear bomb I’ve defused.” When we roused him, he snapped awake, startled and disoriented, and promptly fell out of bed, tangled in his sheets. But at least he got up. Murray, on the other hand, did everything he could to stay in bed. He cocooned himself in his blankets, buried his head under his pillows, and groaned, “Can’t you guys infiltrate this place without me? I’m only borderline competent anyhow. I’ll probably screw everything up.” Normally, that would have been a decent argument, but we knew we couldn’t let Murray out of our sight. Rather than debate the point, Erica simply went to the bathroom, filled a cup with frigid water, and upended it over Murray’s head. "
― Stuart Gibbs , Spy School British Invasion (Spy School #7)
112
" Murray nodded knowingly. “CRUSH and SKORPION have never liked SPYDER much, though I’d put my money on ITGA. They’re about as evil as people get.” “ITGA?” Alexander asked curiously. “Yes. The International Tulip Growers Association.” “Um… ,” Mike said. “That doesn’t sound very evil.” “That’s the whole point,” Murray said. “It’s a front. If they called themselves the International Association of Evil People Who Commit Crimes for a Living, the good guys would have caught on right away.” Alexander gasped in shock. “Are you telling me that every tulip grower in the world is part of an international criminal consortium?” “No,” Murray explained patiently. “The legit growers are part of ITFA, the International Tulip Farming Association. From what I understand, they’re a lovely group of people, mostly Dutch. Although I wouldn’t mess with the International Daisy Farmers Association if I were you.” “Are they also a front for evil?” I asked. “No,” Murray said. “Daisy farmers are just jerks. "
― Stuart Gibbs , Spy School British Invasion (Spy School #7)