recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Armistead Dormitories

"*The top floor was basically an attic that had been haphazardly divided into cramped little rooms. Our dog got more space when we put him in kennels.*"
—Benjamin Ripley in *Spy School*
Defusing

The **Armistead Dormitories**, or more commonly called the dorms, is the only student dormitory in the CIA Academy of Espionage. There are a few common areas where students often do homework. The rooms are said to be cramped and claustrophobic, with army-like furniture. The dorms are one of the few locations that appear in almost every book. According to Mike, there is a foosball table at the dorm, but all the legs are different sizes, the players barely spin, and a raccoon got in once and ate all the foosball balls that were used to play. There are study tables in parts of the dorms.

## The Bathrooms

Since the dorms don’t have private bathrooms, every student has to share the bathrooms, which are somewhere near the dorms, although it is not sure where. This isn’t very pleasant. The toilets back up often, and the shower only has limited hot water, which usually turns off when you're all lathered up (according to Ben).

* Ben's Room
* Erica's Room
* Tina's room

Ben's room is on the top floor, and is described to be as big as a closet. Its walls are thin enough to hear through and the ceiling is so slanted that one can stand upright only in half the room. He has a "DO NOT DISTURB" sign posted on his door, which is very often ignored.

Erica's room is a floor below Ben's, and has threats posted on her door, which promise bodily harm to anyone who bothers her. The inside, surprisingly, is decorated with kitten posters and a plethora of throw pillows, plus a baby-blue comforter on the bed. She even has a tea set. Ben is possibly the only student to have ever seen the inside of her room, much less enter it.

Tina's room is described as warm and friendly, just like her. It contains several pictures of her and her family (all framed). The room has several stuffed animals in it. However, there is also a gun, which is seen briefly.

## Known Residents

* Benjamin Ripley
* Mike Brezinski
* Zoe Zibbell
* Erica Hale
* Chip Schacter
* Jawaharlal O'Shea
* Warren Reeves (formerly)
* Murray Hill (formerly)
* Joshua Hallal (formerly)
* Tina Cuevo (formerly)
* Nate Mackey
* Greg Hauser
* Hank Schacter (formerly)
* Adam Zarembok
* Kirsten Stubbs
* "Bulls-eye" Bailey
Kirsten Stubbs

**Kirsten Stubbs** appears in *Spy School*, when she is accompanying Chip to the cafeteria after being shocked by Murray in the dorms.

## Appearance & Personality

In *Spy School,* Kirsten is described by Murray to be big and mean, but not very smart. He explains to Ben that the CIA needs some people that are flat out dumb, so they don't question the authorities' orders. Kirsten sports a crew cut similar to Greg Hauser and Chip.
Harold Rafferty

**Harold Rafferty** is a field agent for the CIA.

In *Evil Spy School,* Rafferty is tasked to capture Ben, Erica, Cyrus, and Alexander at the missile silo in Sandy Hook. When he and his platoon of agents ambush them, Cyrus insults him, saying that Harold is stupid for believing SPYDER's ploy to make the CIA believe they defected to the enemy side. This leads to Rafferty antagonizing Cyrus, as seen at the end of the book, when Ben spots Rafferty scowling at Cyrus while his fellow agents thank him and Alexander for saving New York. It is unknown if Harold and Cyrus made up after the mission's success.

## Appearance & Personality

Rafferty is described by Ben to be middle-aged and pear-shaped when they first encounter. Cyrus continually comments about him, claiming that he is stupid for falling for SPYDER's ploy.
Kimmy Dimsdale

**Kimmy Dimsdale** is a tour guide at The White House. She leads Benjamin Ripley and Jason Stern on a tour of the White House while speaking many facts along the way.

## Appearance & Personality

Dimsdale is a woman likely in her twenties or thirties. She is very enthusiastic about her work and absolutely loves trivia on the subject of the White House. Ben describes her voice as "sweet and high-pitched, like that of a Disney princess." She is also very sweet, as Ben thought she would "scooch a cockroach out of the doorway instead of stepping on it."
Claire Hutchins

**Claire Hutchins** is a spy-in-training at MI6. She appears as an exchange student in *Spy Camp*, and confronts Catherine, Erica, Ben, and Mike in London in *Spy School British Invasion* after they are accused of traitors to the country.

## Appearance & Personality

Claire is ambitious, confident, and cocky. In *Spy Camp*, she is one of the few people that is skeptical about Alexander Hale being a legendary spy. Like her fellow classmates, she thinks that CIA spies-in-training are weak and have a lack of discipline. For this reason, she criticizes spies-in-training who are not MI6 students. Claire does not seem to like America.

## Relationships

### **Hank Schacter**

At the end of *Spy Camp*, Chip reveals that Claire and Hank are dating. Hank then asks how Chip knows, saying that they had been trying to keep it a secret. Chip explains that it was obvious because Hank always took her side in an argument. Their relationship is said to have ended in *Spy Ski School*.
Mr. Seabrook

**Mr. Seabrook** was the professor of Advanced Weaponry at Evil Spy School. Benjamin Ripley describes him as mean, tough, tightly wound, and constantly annoyed with Ben's weaponry skills. Mr. Seabrook keeps a massive number of weapons in his office. His fate is unknown, however he may have been killed in the missile blast at the end of *Evil Spy School*.
El Diablo

**El Diablo** is a drug dealer based somewhere off the coast of northern Costa Rica. Unlike your stereotypical kingpin, he is kind and loves to help protect the environment. He is a part-time criminal who found Ben and Mike off the coast of his island and rescued them during Operation Deadly Manatee. He knows Murray somewhat well.
Miss Farnsworth

**Miss Farnsworth** is the professor of Psychological Warfare at the CIA Academy of Espionage. It is likely that she is a very accomplished spy and professor in her career field. According to Murray Hill, she has halitosis (bad breath). She is mentioned in *Spy School* when Murray is talking about each class and their teachers.
Mrs. Henderson

**Mrs. Henderson** is a professor at Evil Spy School. She teaches math, science, and bomb construction. She may have been killed in the missile blast at the end of *Evil Spy School*, as she has not been mentioned since.

While at Evil Spy School, Ben notes how Mrs. Henderson tries to insert scenarios about blowing up bridges with missiles into math problems. Later in *Evil Spy School*, Ben realizes his calculations for her class are meant to blow up actual bridges and tunnels as part of SPYDER's plot.

## Appearance & Personality

Ben describes Mrs. Henderson as a "doting, motherly woman." He also states that she often cooks dinner for the Evil Spy School students.
Lydia Greenwald-Smith

**Lydia Greenwald-Smith** was a professor of counterespionage (thwarting spying by an enemy) at the CIA Academy of Espionage. She kept her personal life as secret as possible. Sometime during the book series, she deflected to SPYDER, as is revealed in Spy School British Invasion. It is unknown if she has been captured.

## Trivia

* She is one of the thirteen people who approved Benjamin Ripley's recruitment.
* According to Ben's friends, there are slime molds with more personality than her.
* Zoe loved Dr. Greenwald-Smith's classes, but Mike claims he suspected she was evil, as she once gave him a D on his counterespionage exam.
* She makes a minor appearance in Evil Spy School where she gives some words of encouragement to a defeated student during the SACSA exams.
Brandi Russell

**Brandi Russell** is an employee at the Apple Valley Reformation Camp for Delinquent Teens. Her exterior personality is described by Ben as "*so chipper, I half expected an animated bluebird land on her shoulder.*" Similar to Kit Karoo, her cheerful persona was diminished when an ambush set on Ben, Erica, and Alexander causes them to trash the place, and scrape the "freshly stained, imported teak" floors. She also likes the color bright pink, as seen when she wears a matching bright pink pantsuit and heels during her encounter.
Woodchuck

**"Woodchuck" Wallace** is the survival course instructor at Spy Camp. Private lessons from him are rare and usually reserved for the best students, except when he is needed to protect a student from danger. He often stays in the wild for long periods of time, making his own clothes and food. In *Spy Ski School*, he participates in Operation Snow Bunny, posing as the ski teacher for Ben, the spies, and Jessica Shang.

## Appearance & Personality

"*He was probably the healthiest-looking person I'd ever seen, tall and muscular without an ounce of fat on him. This was extremely evident to me, as he was wearing only a loincloth.*"
—Benjamin Ripley describing Woodchuck Wallace in  *Spy Camp*
DefusingWoodchuck has piercing green eyes and a closely cropped beard. He is darkly tanned and smells like pine needles. His typical wilderness attire consists of a bearskin cloak, homemade moccasins, and a buckskin loincloth. He likes anything to do with wilderness, almost too much, as he first appeared in *Spy Camp* wearing a loincloth while holding a dried piece of opossum meat. He believes that phones are useless. He also occasionally jumps off porches and swings on branches like a monkey. According to Ben, Woodchuck would normaly just wear a loin cloth or his other unorthodox clothing.

## Skills & Abilities

Woodchuck is superb at anything to do with outdoor survival. According to Ben in *Spy School Secret Service*, it takes Woodchuck five minutes to start a fire, although Ben, despite having a lot of wilderness training from Woodchuck, takes 45 minutes to start a fire. Woodchuck seems to be prepared for anything relating to nature, as in *Spy Ski School*, he knows how to swim in icy water and how to avoid hypothermia while doing it. Also in *Spy Ski School,* we see that he is a great skier while giving lessons to the kids.

## Missions

Woodchuck has operated in two missions over the course of the *Spy School* series:

* Operation Angry Jackal
* Operation Snow Bunny (chaperone agent)

## Trivia

* In *Spy Camp*, he threw a six-inch hunting knife and pins a mosquito by the wings on a wooden post from forty feet away.
* He has graduated from Spy School.
* He may have worked with Nathan Kagan, the Academy's survival skills professor, before.
* He wrote a report on the Climax Mine when he was at Spy School.
Bjorn Turok

**Bjorn Turok** is a former employee of Shayla Shang. He is the first cousin to Dane Brammage. Unlike Dane, he is kind and serves merely as a body guard, rather than a criminal like Dane. He aids the spies throughout *Spy School at Sea,* and at the end, he assists in capturing Captain Steinberg, Dane Brammage, and Murray Hill.

## Appearance & Personality

Bjorn looks like the twin of his cousin Dane. In fact, Ben mistook Bjorn for Dane while boarding the *Emperor of the Seas*. However he is much more cheerful the Dane.
Lucas Crandall

**Lucas Crandall** teaches Introduction to Self-Preservation at the CIA Academy of Espionage. His television screen can display what is being caught on the school's security cameras. In the first book, he is the only one besides Erica Hale and Benjamin Ripley that knows Alexander Hale is a fraud. Crandall, along with Cyrus, is a Cold War veteran. Crandall thinks Chip Schacter is a moron, but after the first book, he admits that Chip has potential spy material.

## Appearance & Personality

According to Ben, Crandall has wrinkly skin and eyebrows that look like they were in a tornado. He has a fake personality, which makes him look like a senile old man to throw off his enemies, although he really is quite smart and notices everything that goes on around Spy School.
Mr. Garabindian

**Mr. Garabindian**, or **Mr. G**, is a professor at Evil Spy School. According to Ben, he is "supportive, cheerful, and friendly," even when teaching the students things as brutal as how to kill someone with his bare hands. He goes by Mr. G since his name is hard to pronounce. He teaches martial arts, counter-counterespionage, and Lying Low 101. It is possible he was killed in the missile strike.
All Settings

## All Real and Fictional Locations Featured or Mentioned in the Series

* Major Settings
* Minor Settings
* Landmarks

Landmarks
SSSS

## Gallery

Lionshead VillageQuintana RooThe PentagonThe White HouseMount VernonParis CatacombsSandy Hook and the New York SkylineThe British Embassy (Parking Lot)British National History MuseumThe London BridgeNational Gallery of ArtThe Eiffel TowerThe Smithsonian MuseumThe Statue of LibertyThe Washington Monument
Paul Lee

**Paul Lee** is one of the most successful international arms dealers in the world (along with Vladimir Gorsky) and has worked with SPYDER multiple times.

He supplies his clients with everything from bombs and torpedoes to rocket launchers and tanks. It's likely he provided SPYDER with the Russian missiles they used in *Spy Camp* and *Evil Spy School*. He even sold a nuclear bomb to Leo Shang in *Spy Ski School*. Despite his resources, he is a weak and incompetent person, causing SPYDER to take advantage of him and scam him out of billions of dollars and many, many weapons. According to Murray Hill, when SPYDER asked for two nuclear warheads, he shipped them thirteen ground to air missiles. He is only successful because his family is a legacy in the arms dealing business. He has a Swiss bank account that got robbed by SPYDER, and it is unknown if he ever got his money back from them.

## Appearance & Personality

"*That's right! I've only been, er...mostly useless. Oh.*"
—Paul Lee in *Spy School Goes South*
Defusing

Despite being one of the world's most ruthless arms dealers, Paul Lee is actually a "wretched milquetoast." He is bumbling and high-strung, especially when threatened. He lacks in coherent speech and dental hygiene (his teeth are crooked and brownish). He wears thick glasses. He has hair, but the color is unknown. According to Ben, he is said to have a slight British Accent. Erica Hale describes Paul as a "blithering idiot." Most people think of him as stupid. He is so stupid that SPYDER stole two billion dollars out of his bank account without him noticing. He tends to stutter and is quite incompetent.
Editing Guidelines

**This wiki uses American English spelling.**

 Page link
 Italic
Spy School (the actual school). Abbreviations (SS, ESS) can be used in infoboxes.
 Heading
example "Missions" or "Appearance"
 Sub-heading 1 bolded

## Page layouts

* Characters
* Settings
* Organizations

## Full name of character

### Talent:

Talent (not to be confused with strengths)

### Vulnerabilities:

Vulnerabilities (not to be confused with weaknesses)

### Last episode:

Book of last appearance (link)

"*Quote from a book*"
—Person who said this quote in *full name of book*
Defusing

(To use italics in quotes, put two ' on each side. Leave no space in between the apostrophes)

**Character name** is...

Summary of the character and their role in the story.

### **Biography**

Brief biography of the character's life PRIOR to the beginning of the series (eg: Ms E's backstory as a CIA analyst) Character summary is in present tense, for example, but Biography is in past.

## Appearance & Personality

More detailed description of their appearance.

In-depth analysis of their personality.

## Skills & Abilities

List and describe their skills, strengths, and abilities.

## Missions

* list the missions they participated in, and link to the book
* example: Operation Snow Bunny

## (Series History)

Only if there is no Missions header, such as for villain characters.

### **Book Title**

Briefly describe how the character participated in this book. Keep it relevant to the character's contributions, avoid a retelling of the entire book. Add a collapsible header for each book in which the character is present. Use font=3

## Relationships

### **Character (link)**

Write the relationship between the character and whoever is listed here.

## Trivia

* list miscellaneous facts and trivia that can't be incorporated in previous sections

## Description

**Setting name** is...Description of the setting, geographical location, etc.

## Locations

* List of specific locations featured within the setting.

Official map or suitable image.

## Trivia

* Trivia is present on basically every page lol

**Organization name** is...description.
Image of logo if there is one.
Jawaharlal O'Shea

"*Oh boy, I know I'm going to mess this one up...Jawhortlelal?"
 "Jawaharlal," corrected Jawa. "But you can just call me Jawa.*"
—Vail Ski School manager to Jawa in *Spy Ski School*
Defusing
**Jawaharlal O'Shea** is one of the more promising spies-in-training at the CIA Academy. He is part Indian, Irish, Nicaraguan, Kenyan, Indonesian, Chinese, and likely more ethnicities. He is good friends with Ben Ripley, Chip Schacter, and Zoe Zibbell. He is also friends with Nate Mackey despite their polar opposite capabilities. Because of the difficulty to pronounce his name, his friends just call him Jawa.

## Appearance & Personality

Not much information is given on Jawa's appearance, but due to his mixed ethnicity, he is assumed to have darker colored skin. Back at his old school he was a class topper, just like he is at Spy School. Jawa is an exceptionally diligent student, being both very smart and a great athlete. He would be the top student if not for Erica. In *Spy School Revolution*, he and Chip are smitten by Catherine Hale, Erica's mother.

## Skills & Abilities

He does yoga and has been skiing since he was young. He is incredibly fit and was once regarded as "a freak of nature" by Hank Schacter for not breaking a sweat after running through Spy Camp's forest for six miles.

## Missions

Jawa has never been the main agent on any missions so far, but he has been very helpful as a supporting agent on others' missions:

* Operation Angry Jackal
* Operation Snow Bunny
* Operation Pungent Muskrat
* Operation Sneaky Monkey

## Trivia

* He has read *Agent Percival Perry's Manual to Seducing Women in the Field* a hundred times and has memorised the Red Rose Rendezvous Ruse.
* He is the captain of the chess and fencing teams at Spy School.
* At his old school, he partook in many extra-curricular activities such as Jujitsu.
Anjan Sarkar

**Anjan Sarkar** is the illustrator for the upcoming books *Spy School: the Graphic Novel* and *Spy Camp: the Graphic Novel*. He illustrates children's books, animation, and advertising. He was born in the UK with an Indian family.. He has worked for F.S.G/Macmillan, Little Bee Books, Stripes Publishing, Capstone Publishing, Holiday House, Oxford University Press and Scholastic. He works in a little studio in Sheffield, England, where he lives with his wife and two kids. More information is displayed on his website.

Information on the graphic novel can be found here on Stuart Gibbs' blog.
Adam Zarembok

**Adam Zarembok** is a 6th-year student who was framed by Murray Hill in an attempt to prove his turning against SPYDER. Thirty-six highly classified documents had been hidden in his room to sell the point, but after it was revealed that Adam was merely a patsy, he was reinstated in the Academy. He has a work-study job at the CIA administration.

## Skills and Abilities

Adam isn’t very good at fighting or self-defense. However, he still has high grades and is a very respected student at the academy.

## Trivia

* The name Adam Zarembok is listed in the acknowledgments as part of Stuart Gibbs' "main support crew."
* He is president of his class at the Academy.
* According to Zoe Zibbell, he can't even fight a mosquito.
Catherine Hale

**Catherine Hale** is Erica and Trixie Hale's mother, Alexander Hale's ex-wife, and a spy for MI6. Her first appearance is in *Spy School Secret Service* when she helps Erica and Ben in a tricky situation. Her cover is being a museum curator, but she does take pleasure in the viewing of ancient artifacts. According to Spy School British Invasion, she has a delightful accent and enjoys partaking in tea. Appearance & Personality

Catherine is similar to her daughter in looks, but with an opposite personality. She is not explicitly described (eyes & hair color), but she probably has dark hair and blue eyes. She comes off as a chipper, enthusiastic, and un-spy-like soccer mom, but knows her strengths and weaknesses.

## Skills & Abilities

Catherine is described by Ben as the best fighter he has ever seen, even better than Erica. She is lithe and athletic, yet still graceful. In *Spy School British Invasion*, Catherine beats up three thugs outside a bar and later managed to defeat Dane Brammage.

## Missions

* Operation Pungent Muskrat
* Operation Tiger Shark
* Operation Screaming Vengeance
* Operation Sneaky Monkey
* Operation Deadly Manatee

## Relationships

### **Alexander Hale**

Catherine met Alexander on a mission of hers and was easily entranced by his charming ways. They got married but parted ways ten years later because of the stress from their jobs. Though they are divorced, she oddly keeps her last name as Hale, and many people refer to her as Ms. Hale.

She seems to still have slight feelings for Alexander, as she defends him when Erica deliberately starts putting him down as she always does. When Erica states that he was a terrible father and an even more lousy husband, Catherine does not answer but avoids the question by slamming on the brakes, as they were in a situation.

### **Erica Hale**

Catherine is one of the few people who can bring the normal teenager out of her daughter, and as stated by her herself, was the one who raised Erica for most of her life, not Alexander. This is likely why Erica has a stronger bond with her mother, despite them having opposite personalities. She also knows quite a lot about Erica that other people don't.

## Trivia

* She bakes delicious blueberry muffins.
* She loves tea and biscuits.
* She knows Claire Hutchins from MI6 Academy.
* She claims once defeated a splinter cell of a radical terrorist group with only a slingshot and a bag of marbles, although it is likely true.
* Her parents weren't spies, but it is implied that her lineage had been involved in intelligence work in the past.
* She once worked with a man called Winnifred Von Tootlepants.
* Her grandfather told her about London Bridges facility, meaning he is likely involved in espionage.
Lacey

**Lacey** is a Belgian Malinois sniffer dog. She works for the Secret Service to smell explosives on visitors at the White House, along with Cagney. Lacey's handler is Agent Fry, who orders her in Dutch, since the dogs are trained in that language. This also gives the Secret Service an advantage because many people cannot understand Dutch. In *Spy School Secret Service*, Lacey is able to detect explosives on Ben; as a result, she becomes extremely aggressive towards him, and the agents have to calm her down. She is not present during the manhunt for Ben later on.
Orion

"*Looks like I used a Snodgrass encryption system with a hexidecimal Watusi overgrid.*"
—Orion to Benjamin Ripley and others in *Spy School British Invasion*
Defusing

**Orion** is a reclusive genius coder who resides in England. He became very rich, thanks to mostly legal work, such as encryption for corporations and banks but has also made more illegal technology deals with SPYDER. He tags along with Ben and the fellow spies during the course of *Spy School British Invasion*.

## Personality & Appearance

Orion is unlike the geeky, awkward computer nerd typically depicted in movies; instead, he appears as a handsome, athletic guy. According to Ben, he looks to be a few years out of college. He put himself in self-imposed exile due to the danger of his line of work, which has made him quite lonely. Because of this, he craves friends and action. His mansion is usually covered in trash and rogue pizza boxes, as he does not allow people to work or clean up for him. He also has three dogs which Mike uses to get Orion’s help. He wears Chewbacca slippers.

## Properties

The encryption business pays well, especially for geniuses like Orion. He owns a multitude of things:

* A gigantic Wickham Palace
* Honus Wagner baseball card (bought for 2.5 million)
* Russian Yukutsk 260 (helicopter)
* A private submarine
* A minor league baseball team
* Some beanbag chairs
* 40% of Madagascar
* A chateau in the French/Switzerland countryside
* A pool table
* A couple thousand frozen waffles
* A makeshift basketball court
* At least 2 kitchens

## Relationships

### **Catherine Hale**

In *Spy School British Invasion*, Orion thinks that Catherine Hale is pretty, although Catherine tells him she is old enough to be his "young aunt." Catherine also shows a bit of a flirtatious attitude towards Orion during the mission, and she claims that she would go out with him if she was his age. According to her, all of this is just an act, and most likely, she is only trying to muse Orion into working faster and helping them decode a USB drive.
Mount Vernon

**Mount Vernon** was the home of the United States of America's first president, George Washington. The estate is on the banks of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia, near Alexandria, across from Prince George's County, Maryland.

In *Spy School Revolution*, Catherine Hale, Mike Brezinski, and Ben Ripley break into Mount Vernon to find a clue to Croatoan's whereabouts. Upon searching Washington's office, Catherine and Ben find a coded letter inside a secret compartment above the fireplace. However, the Croatoan began shooting at the house and the spies have to make a run for it across the yard. Mike ends up stealing a horse and carriage from the stables as a getaway from the Croatoan agents.

## Gallery

A map of the estate.The Eastern Facade faces the Potomac River.The outside of George Washington's tomb.The Gardens at Mount Vernon.A historical photo of the plantation.
Apple Valley Reformation Camp

"*Thanks to my reconnaissance last night, however, I learned that this place actually has a security level of negative three.*"
—Erica Hale to Benjamin Ripley about Apple Valley in *Spy Camp*
Defusing

**Apple Valley Reformation Camp for Delinquent Teens**, or **Apple Valley**, is a juvenile rehabilitation facility. In *Spy Camp*, Murray Hill is assigned to stay at Apple Valley for the crimes he committed in *Spy School*. Rather than being set up like a prison, it is actually a luxurious center that gives inmates plenty of freedom and activities. The facility claims to believe in "Reformation through Contemplation" and aims to change children with love.

Inmates spend their time doing activities such as playing soccer and football. They also participate in meditation, yoga, sculpting, tai chi, and other classes. According to Brandi Russell, the students take an annual trip to Six Flags. The employees are laid-back and friendly, and the security is below par. The only guard seen was the one assigned to guard Murray's room. Because the facility is so low-security, nobody checked to confirm that the real Murray Hill had actually been delivered, so SPYDER's decoy was easily inserted in Murray's place.

## Description

For a reformation center, Apple Valley is extremely luxurious. It is set in a beautiful valley with modern, white buildings, a perfectly manicured lawn, and well-tended gardens. It is extremely unprotected, with only a nonelectrified, chain-link fence without razor wire around the perimeter. The main entrance has a fountain and an edible garden. The buildings are big and open with lots of light through the windows and long hallways. The walls are freshly painted and the floor is made of imported teak. Outside are zen gardens where some students can be seen doing yoga and meditating. Additionally, the center has gardens, tennis courts, croquet courts, pools, and a polo field. Ben compares being sent here to being sent to a spa for five years. The inmates are free to run around in the yard.

Murray's room is described as "a rich kid's rec room." Ben says there are "lots of plush chairs, shelves full of games and books, foosball, air hockey, and a pool table."

As Alexander, Erica, and Ben run from SPYDER's attack, they are taken down long hallways and stairs and led into a basement that is dark, dreary, and full of machinery. The room is crowded with pipes and various machines, and the whole place is very unappealing.

## Members

 Unnamed man
 Not-Murray
Vladimir Gorsky

"*I have a bone to pick with SPYDER, all right? [...] They destroyed my business when they didn't pay me. Nobody does that to Vladimir Gorsky. So I tracked them down here, and I'm going to get my revenge.*"
—Vladimir Gorsky in *Spy School Goes South*
Defusing**Vladimir Gorsky** is Russian and one of the world's most successful illegal arms dealers (along with Paul Lee). Cyrus Hale suspects he might be a front-man for the latter. In *Spy School Secret Service*, SPYDER buys weapons from him but subsequently attempts to kill him while he is visiting the White House. Looking for revenge, Vladimir chases after Joshua and his splinter group to the Aquarius Resort. He has already been confronted by Catherine Hale.

## Appearance & Personality

"*He's lost some weight, dyed his hair, grown a beard, and gotten a tan. Also, he was wearing sunglasses and the most horrid Hawaiian shirt.*"
—Catherine Hale in *Spy School Goes South*
Defusing

During his visit to the White House, Vladimir was described as a "sketchy businessman." Later, he disguised himself to track down SPYDER in the Aquarius Resort.

Vladimir is far more smarter and more competent than Paul Lee, and he is able to handle himself decently well in stressful situations. He speaks perfect English with a subtle Russian accent, although his Italian is his weakness.

## Trivia

* SPYDER destroyed his business.
* He has a dreadful singing voice.
* He has many fake identities, most of them being Italian which, according to Catherine Hale, he thinks it makes him look/sound good.
* He has a house in the Bahamas, and he was worried about it getting destroyed.
Cheney Center For Information Acquisition

The **Cheney Center For the Acquisition of Information** is part of the CIA Academy of Espionage. It is located somewhere in the underground labyrinth of tunnels below the school. Along with information-extraction rooms, there is also the Sessions Center for Juvenile Incarceration, which functions as a maximum security juvenile hall.

Torture is not allowed, but standard procedure for prisoners who refuse to cooperate consists of reduced sleeping hours, no television or perks, and only vitamin-enhanced gruel and water to eat. Giving information will have rewards, such as a shorter prison sentence and more sleeping hours. Very specific classes are sometimes taught here, such as *Why You Should Defect from SPYDER and Help Us Defeat Them* and *Informing on the Enemy 101*. They are not effective. Currently, many SPYDER agents live there.

## Description

The entrance door is marked with "C414." The center is designed to be calming, rather than frightening. The reception area resembles that of a spa, with comfortable chairs, bamboo screens, a Zen fountain, and a sisal carpet. Hidden speakers softly play new age music. According to CIA research, this is the better way to coerce people into spilling their guts.

The recently remodeled Sessions Center for Juvenile Incarceration consists of two jail cells, side by side, and a long, narrow corridor for visitors. Each cell contains an army surplus cot, a cheap desk, and a metal toilet with extremely little privacy. Nefarious Jones had also been given a large television and gaming console as a reward for good behavior.

## Residents

The center has housed criminals like Murray Hill, Ashley Sparks, and Nefarious Jones. However, there is a high possibility that it houses more SPYDER and Croatoan agents that we do not know of.

Inmates
 Murray Hill | escaped
Mary Hale

Mary Hale is Erica's grandmother. Unlike Alexander, Cyrus, and Catherine, she is an analyst, rather than a field operative. In SSPX, Erica arranges for Mary to meet Ben, Mike, Erica, and Zoe at the northern terminus of the secret tunnel in Benjamin Franklin's print shop. Upon revealing herself, she greets Ben with a perfect Whirling Dervish move after he attacks her. Mary, like the other Hales, has various emergency supplies ranging from pepper spray to dynamite, although she carries them in a purse, rather than a utility belt.

## Appearance & Personality

We're assuming Mary has blue eyes like the rest of the Hales.

## Skills & Abilities

Though she is a CIA analyst rather than a field agent, Mary is skilled at combat, having helped to take down many enemies while protecting Ben (and Ben himself when he initially tries to sneak attack her).

Mary is talented with technology due to being a desk agent. She has friends and connections that are useful with recovering classified information, which proves to be useful in the search for Murray.

## Missions

Mary's only mission in the series has been Project X, though she has participated in others outside the books.

## Relationships

### Cyrus Hale

Cyrus is Mary's husband. They have worked on various operations together. Though they clearly love each other, Mary holds Cyrus accountable for his faults, as shown when she and Catherine duct tape his mouth shut for not being able to say anything nice to their fellow spies.

### Alexander Hale

Alexander is Mary's son. She cares about him, which is shown when she and Catherine stop him from talking and discouraging Alexander.

## Trivia

* The name "Mary Hale" reversed sounds much like the expression "hail mary," a phrase used when describing a last ditch attempt at salvation.
* "Mary Hale" also, ironically, sounds a lot like Murray Hill.
Tina Cuevo

**Tina Cuevo** is Ben's resident advisor in his first year at Spy School who graduates at the end of that year. In *Spy School*, Ben briefly thinks that she is a mole for SPYDER when he sees her delivering a package for Murray Hill. In *Spy Camp,* she goes to work in Vancouver, Canada, one of the least dangerous cities in the world. The reason behind this is because she was used as a patsy by Murray in *Spy School*, and the CIA thinks that she is a "washout" after. Tina is very peeved at this, as seen in *Spy Camp*. She eventually became apart of the International Wildlife Anti-Smuggling Taskforce which she loves working for. She worked around Alaska and Canada stopping wildlife smugglers and checking on Murray.

## Appearance & Personality

She is tall and beautiful, with jet-black hair and dark skin. Tina, unlike the school administration, is very approachable and competent when helping students.

## Skills & Abilities

Tina has from graduated the CIA Academy and is a very skilled agent, having ranked third in her class. She can also fly a helicopter and perform field surgery; she was the only student capable of doing those at the time.

## Trivia

* In Mr. E’s headquarters, there is a post-it note on her desk about a certain Tina's birthday. This may show that she knows Tina somehow. However, this may be purely a coincidence.
* Tina is a fan of sushi.
* She is thinking about returning to the USA. She likely has to attend the University of Espionage.
* Murray Hill leads people to believe that Tina and Chip Schacter are dating in *Spy School*. However, this is a lie he creates to make Tina look guilty of sharing Ben's classified information with Chip, the believed mole.
* She likes Vermont.
Lizette

"*My Stars. Is this Princess Buttercup, all grown up?*"
—Lizette to Erica Hale in *Spy School British Invasion*
Defusing

Lizette is an extra character in *Spy School British Invasion*. She is an acquaintance of the Hale family, specifically Catherine, and works as a guard at the British Museum.

During *Spy School British Invasion*, Lizette only appears once to check in the participants of Operation Screaming Vengeance so they can enter the British Museum. When she spots Erica, she embarrasses her by bringing up the fact that Erica used to like to wear dresses and have dolls.
After that, when she spots Catherine and Alexander together, she assumes that they have rekindled their marriage, which they have not. Without checking the group over for any dangerous materials, she lets them through.

### **Biography**

Lizette knew the Hale Family before the *Spy School* series began. Therefore, she knows many embarrassing secrets about Erica's childhood and opinions about Catherine and Alexander. She appears to have knowledge that Erica was called Princess Buttercup.

## Appearance & Personality

Lizette is a suspected middle-aged woman with a chipper personality, a blind spot when it comes to friends and security, and no problem with revealing potentially embarrassing secrets. She and Catherine share many traits.
Lucy Ruth Cummins

**Lucy Ruth Cummins** is the illustrator of the *Spy School* series, as well as other Stuart Gibbs' series (*FunJungle, Moon Base Alpha, The Last Musketeer*). She works for Simon & Schuster as the executive art director. Cummins is also an author, and typically writes for younger audiences. More information is displayed on her website.
EMP

In *Spy School British Invasion*, Ben, Erica, and Catherine have to destroy an **EMP** (**Electromagnetic pulse**) placed by SPYDER in the Eiffel Tower in an attempt to destroy a large chunk of Western civilization's machines and cellular network. SPYDER installed the EMP in the Eiffel Tower inside a mannequin of Gustav Eiffel. The spies destroy the EMP by throwing it down the side of the tower.

## Description

An EMP, or Electromagnetic pulse, is a pulse that releases a large amount of electromagnetic energy, which is relations between electrically charged particles. It can be human made or as several different kinds of fields including radiated, electric, or magnetic. Electric and magnetic tend to travel shorter distances, while the radiated one travels longer distances. Its light frequencies are infrared, visible, ultraviolet, and gamma rays. It is normally destructive and damaging to electronic equipment.

Examples of man-made EMPs are electric motors, car engine ignition, and power line surges. Militaries use nuclear EMP and a few non-nuclear weapons which include vircators and microwave generators. Nuclear charges are much more powerful than non-nuclear, so the EMP in *Spy School British Invasion* is most likely a nuclear one. EMP has also been used in long range missiles and nuclear bombs. Effects include frying computer drives and other electronics, which was SPYDER's intent.

Official efforts have been made by the U.S.A. to correct the mistakes that several public sources have conceived about the effects of an EMP. Whether Stuart Gibbs is mistaken about it is unknown.

## Gallery

A Russian EMP tank.An EMP weapon that could be used to take out a media grid.
Nora Taco

"*I'd like to be able to go out for Mexican food and not be accused of cannibalism!*"
—Nora Taco ranting about her name in *Spy School Revolution*
Defusing

**Nora Taco** is an agent for the CIA and first appears in *Spy School Revolution*. She is the founder of the Double Agent Detection Division (D.A.D.D). She initially tried to recruit Ben Ripley to this division, but later recruited Zoe Zibbell instead. She has a gift for anagramming, which is how she figured out her name was an anagram of Croatoan.

## Appearance & Personality

Agent Taco is physically very thin, with severe features. Next to her former colleague Agent Durkee, they apparently look like the human version of the number 10.

She often speaks in a sharp and curt tone, as if she is perpetually annoyed.

## Trivia

* The taco (food) was named after her family, for her ancestor Don Diego Taco invented it.
* Her name is an anagram of "Croatoan". This is most likely a coincidence.
* She does not like people talking about her last name, because many people mock it.
* She rejected Agent Durkee's name suggestion "The Mole Patrol" for the D.A.D.D.
Ivan Shumovsky

Ivan Shumovsky is a Russian intelligence operative and former NKVD agent obsessed with the idea that America stole Alaska in operation Hornswaddle. In Spy School Goes North he kidnaps Cyrus Hale and attempts to take Erica hostage. He threatens that if they don’t find evidence for the existence of the operation he will blow up Alaska’s nature reserve. Eventually he decides against this because of the fear of losing his daughter Svetlana Shumovsky.
Nathan Hale

**Nathan Hale** is the first known descendant of the Hale family who worked in espionage. He was a highly respected member of the Central Intelligence Agency in real life. Although he is a role model to many people, he wasn’t exactly the best spy. In *Spy School Revolution,* Catherine Hale points out that the reason everyone knows about him is because he got caught. However, his brother, Elias Hale, never got caught, thus making Elias significantly less known, but the better spy. Nathan Hale is also the founder of the CIA Academy of Espionage.

In reality, Nathan Hale had many siblings (unnamed), but none of them were called Elias, making this part a fictional detail added by the author.

Information on the real Nathan Hale can be found here.

## Trivia

* The Administration Building at the CIA Academy of Espionage is named after Nathan.
* According to Catherine, he was a bad spy but his brother, Elias, was a good and competent spy.
* His body was never found.
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International Tulip Growers Association

"*CRUSH and SKORPION have never liked SPYDER much, though I'd put my money on ITGA. They're about as evil as people get.*"
—Murray Hill in *Spy School British Invasion*
Defusing

The **International Tulip Growers Association**, or **ITGA** for short, is mentioned in *Spy School British Invasion* by Murray. It is a rival criminal organization to SPYDER. Calling themselves "The International Association of Evil People Who Commit Crimes for a Living" would have raised too many eyebrows of law enforcement. Virtually nothing about this evil organization is known. The actual, non-evil tulip growers are part of the ITFA, or the International Tulip Farming Association, according to Murray Hill. It is unknown if Murray was lying or if he was telling the truth about this evil organization.

As of *Spy School At Sea*, it is confirmed that the ITGA doesn't exist. It was only a plot to lure Ben, Catherine, Mike, and Erica into a trap, leading to Ben getting thrown overboard the *Emperor of the Seas. Murray made it up entirely along with CRUSH.*
Coach Macauley

**Coach Macauley** is the physical education trainer at the CIA Academy of Espionage. He enjoys watching his students suffer through his workouts and long obstacle courses while nailing them with paintballs.

## Series History

### **Spy School Secret Service**

In *Spy School Secret Service*, he builds an obstacle course rigged with extreme challenges such as greased balance beams that are three inches wide, mud pits, swinging pendulums, rock walls, and more. Erica Hale is the only known student who has been able to traverse the whole course unharmed. Mike Brezinski also gets to the end of the whole course unharmed, but this is because he ran around the area rather than going through the course itself. Coach Macauley did not like that Mike avoided facing the obstacle course. Later, Macauley is seen helping the academy track down Erica, Ben, Zoe, and Mike, in which he succeeds in their capture.
Barnabus Sidebottom

"*Glowering at me behind the world's most horrendous hairpiece. It looked like a raccoon had died on his head. And then been run over by a truck.*"
—Benjamin Ripley describing the principal's toupee in *Spy Ski School*
Defusing**Barnabus Sidebottom** is the principal of the CIA Academy of Espionage, although, for being an employee of an intelligence agency, he doesn't often display much intelligence. Sidebottom also holds a large grudge against Ben for multiple reasons. In *Spy School*, Erica instructs Ben to insult the principal to gain access to his email. The principal takes major offense to Ben's insults and becomes increasingly enraged with him. Eventually, Sidebottom sends Ben to stay in the Box, despite the fact he is already living in it. In *Evil Spy School*, Ben inadvertently blows up the principal's office (due to Warren putting in a live mortar round), and even though it isn't his fault, the principal still holds Ben responsible and expels him soon after. In *Spy Ski School*, when Ben is assigned his mission in Colorado, the principal appears pleased with the possibility of Ben dying in a mission.

### **Biography**

Sidebottom has been in the field before, but he was a very bad spy. He foiled every single mission and was caught on several occasions. He was even tortured once on a mission. As a result, he was given the job of being the principal of the CIA Academy, since nobody else wanted to do the tedious paperwork.

## Appearance & Personality

The principal is a large, stocky, middle-aged man. He is bald but wears a wig, which isn't always the best looking. When he was first described in Spy School, he had food stains on his suit. He is quite irascible where Ben is concerned, and his face almost changes colors when he gets furious. He also has a tic, a twitch in his left eye.

## Skills & Abilities

The principal has been shown to be very incompetent on several occasions. In *Spy Ski School*, he attempts to use the PA system to call Ben to his office, but has a hard time figuring out how to turn it on and use it. During a relatively important trial in *Spy School Secret Service*, the principal keeps playing a mobile game called Flapjack Frenzy. He is not good at remembering codes. The password to the principal's office was once "12345678."

## Trivia

* Zoe's nickname for him is "The Idiot."
* One of his toupees got shot off by Murray Hill (with a dummy bullet) during his final combat simulation.
* Another of his toupees got fried when his office got blown up by a mortar in *Evil Spy School*.
* After his office got destroyed, the principal had to transfer into a closet. The sign on the closet says "Pirncipal," indicating that it was written by the principal himself.
* He once got lost for two days in the subterranean levels of the Academy.
Mr. Godfrey

**Mr. Godfrey** is the teacher of American History at Robert E. Lee Junior High. However, for being a history teacher, he is not smart in that area at all. According to Ben, Mr. Godfrey does not even know when the War of 1812 occurred. Ben describes him as dumber then dirt, along with the other faculty in the school.