Erica Hale

"*I'm studying to be a spy. It's my job to know things.*"
—Erica Hale in almost every book
Defusing

**Erica Daisy Hale** is a 16-year-old, but an extremely talented spy-in-training, having a legacy related to the great Nathan Hale, the founder of the CIA Academy of Espionage. She always works closely with Ben Ripley on his missions and is a powerful and crucial asset to the team.

### **Biography**

Erica has been training to be a spy since childhood. Her grandfather and mother taught her everything about espionage, and she proved to be naturally adept. At age three, there was a rumor that Erica thwarted a trio of bank robbers with only a slinky and juice box. Additionally, she thinks a kid who can't speak five languages, defuse a nuclear bomb, beat up ten people, use a mortar, a howitzer, and a grappling hook is weird.

When she was a toddler, she loved to dress up as a princess (although she vehemently denies this) and owned a doll named Fifi Frimsy-Popp and a stuffed bear named FooFoo BinkyBum. The stuffed bear's body has a secret compartment so that Erica can twist off the head to reveal a space to slip private messages, as seen in *Spy School Revolution*. Ben describes it as "a furry thermos."

## Appearance & Personality

Erica is cold, distant, but gorgeous, earning the nickname of "Ice Queen" from Zoe Zibbell. Erica has icy blue eyes, a trait that runs in the Hale family, and is said by Ben Ripley to have raven black hair and flawless skin with sculpted cheekbones. Erica is described by Ben (and probably numerous other characters) as the most beautiful girl he has ever met.

She is almost always independent, and her connections are limited only to her grandfather Cyrus, her mother Catherine, and Ben Ripley (the only student with whom she trusts and works with), whereas her father doesn't even have her actual phone number. Erica is known to be very sneaky and nosy and knows almost everything about everyone.

Erica almost always smells like lilac and gunpowder, and according to Ben, her feet are the only part of her body that doesn't smell fantastic.

## Skills & Abilities

Erica is by far one of the most competent spies-in-training in the Academy, and is possibly the best spy-in-training after Joshua's betrayal. She excels in almost everything (although skiing, in *Spy Ski School*, was quite tricky for her). She is the one who does most of the fighting and was trained by her grandfather at a young age. The only people who have ever beaten Erica in a fight are Ashley Sparks (although later Erica seems to have beaten her in another fight) and Joshua Hallal.

Also, Erica is beautiful, which gives her seductive skills such as flirting, romance, and alliance. In *Spy Ski School*, Jawa had claimed that she couldn't get a boy that easily, but she flirts with him a little, and he agrees to talk to her in private notably eagerly. This proves how easily she can win a boy over.

Erica speaks many languages fluently, including Russian and Chinese in both Mandarin and Wu dialects. Surprisingly, she doesn't know Spanish (whereas Ben does). She can do almost anything blindfolded. She once beat Ben in a fight while reading a book and can infiltrate nearly every place.

## Missions

Erica has participated in every mission in the *Spy School* series, and she is always a crucial asset to help defeat and thwart SPYDER's and Croatoan's schemes.

* Operation Creeping Badger
* Operation Angry Jackal
* Operation Bedbug
* Operation Snow Bunny
* Operation Pungent Muskrat
* Operation Tiger Shark
* Operation Screaming Vengeance
* Operation Sneaky Monkey
* Operation Deadly Manatee

## Relationships

### **Hale Family**

Erica has many relatives in the *Spy School* series, including but not limited to Alexander Hale (her father), who made his first appearance in *Spy School*; Cyrus Hale (her grandfather), who made his first appearance in *Spy Camp**;* Catherine Hale (her mother), who made her first appearance in *Spy School Secret Service**;* and Trixie Hale (her younger sister), who made her first appearance in *Spy School Revolution**.* She also has a grandmother, Mary Hale, who made their first appearance in Spy School; Project X.

### **Benjamin Ripley**

Check out this page for an in-depth look at Erica and Ben's relationship.

### **Joshua Hallal**

It is apparent Erica respected and even had some feelings for Joshua when he was still in school. This is evident as he was able to surprise her and knock her out in *Spy Camp*. After he turned evil, she became very cold towards him. In *Spy School Goes South*, it is revealed he knows about Erica's mother, Catherine, showing that he and Catherine talked at one point or Erica had mentioned her to Joshua before. It is also revealed from Trixie Hale that Erica had mentioned Joshua twice, which was quite much for someone as secretive as Erica.

### **Mike Brezinski**

Mike first saw Erica in *Spy School* and said she looked "smoking hot." In *Spy Ski School**,* Mike was hitting on with Jessica, ruining the plan, so to divert his attention, Erica started flirting heavily with him. It worked almost too well. Afterward, during lunch, she mentioned that Mike was "not that bad," which means a lot, coming from Erica. Later, on a ski lift, Zoe asked Erica if she liked Mike, and she replied, "Kind of." In *Spy School Secret Service*, Erica compliments Mike twice about his innovative thinking, once about dealing with the bomb diffusion and another after running around the obstacle course. She also smiled at him, which made Ben considerably jealous. Later in the book, Erica states that she doesn't have a crush on Mike and merely likes him as a friend.

### **Zoe Zibbell**

Though at a slow rate, Erica starts to develop a friendship with Zoe. Despite having a severe crush on Benjamin, Zoe encourages Erica to open up about her feelings for Ben in *Spy Ski School*. When Erica is in her sedated state, Zoe asks Erica (who is honest because of the drug) if they were friends, and Erica replies yes to Zoe's delight.

However, due to recent events in *Spy School Goes South* and *Spy School British Invasion*, Zoe appears to see Erica as a rival since Ben continues to have feelings for the latter. In *Spy School Revolution*, Zoe thought Erica was working for the enemy and laughed when Ben thought she and Erica were friends. Their current friendship status is unknown, as Erica was proven innocent.

## Trivia

* Her birthday is somewhere between December and early January.
* She has a baby-blue comforter.
* It seems like she likes blue.
* She is half British and half American.
* She knows the location of all 1,672 cameras on campus.
* She has infiltrated The Box, the most secure room on campus, several times.
* She likes kitten posters (and kittens) and throws pillows, and both are in her dorm room.
* She takes serious offense at people insulting kittens, as seen by Murray Hill when she tripped him for doing so.
* On her third birthday, she asked for trail mix instead of cake.
* At lunch, she sits alone, reading books and eating.
* Ben thinks she could get an Oscar for undercover work.
* She has terrible social/people skills.
* She hates show tunes.
* She enjoys drinking tea.
* The camera roll on her phone is mainly surveillance photos.
* She never posts online.
* She hates her middle name, Daisy.
* According to author Stuart Gibbs, she is named after the United States of America.
* According to Cyrus, she skis like a wounded cow.
* She hates Murray Hill's yodeling and thinks the Geneva Conventions should outlaw it.
* She somewhat hates her father.