After much work, procrastination, and constipation just posting this, may I present my SS Olympics entry.

The life of a spy is not an easy one. Every day, they must risk their lives for what they believe is the greater good, AKA the whims of the politicians for which they work. They commit unspeakable acts- thievery, treachery, and yes, sometimes even murder- all to aid their government and to feed their families. The latter is not an easy task, for despite the horrors which they undergo a spy is paid as little as a common soldier. There is also the very real and undeniable possibility every waking moment of their lives that they will be caught and executed or worse.

All of this adds up to one simple question, a question that even the hardiest of agents of espionage finds himself asking: Is it really worth it?

Toa Velox began asking that question of himself the second he left the Admin'ss Palace.

Why the Karzahni am I doing this? He thought to himself as he walked down the main street of General Discussion. All around him, dozens of members hurried about their business, unaware of Velox and the crimes he was committing with every step he took.

The war between BZ-Metru and the Bionicle Zone Republic has not been kind to Velox. Being a forum mentor meant that he would instantly become an officer in the BZ-Metru army- but thanks to a small technicality in his health record, he had been rejected and sent to the library to work with his longtime mentor, Hahli Husky.

But even that had failed him. Due to a misunderstanding of the rules, he was fired by Hahli Husky and forced to live on the streets. However, Velox was a resolute man. His head was full of ideas of fame and glory, as all of us dream of when we are young, and was determined to make something of himself. He would not confine himself and his family to a life of poverty.

So he took what he thought was the best route available: He went to work as a spy for Ninjo, head administrator of the Bionicle Zone Republic. The salary was meager, but at that point he was not about to complain. After all, shortly after, he took a second job which paid more than his current job.

He began moonlighting as a spy for Black Six.

He spent the last month of his life, shuttling information between Ninjo and Six, each of whom believed that Velox was truly faithful to him. He was living what could truly be called a double life: He was an illegal citizen of the BZR, because he was also a citizen, also illegal for the same reason, of BZ-Metru. And while Ninjo had not yet expressed any suspicion of his activities as a double agent, Black Six had. Which leads us to where we find Velox, walking down the street of General Discussion.

It's just a simple info swap, there's nothing to be afraid of, he reassured himself. You've done stuff like this a million times.

And yet the young man could not shake the awful feeling inside himself that he was being set up. Black Six had personally requested that Velox go to the BZR's island prison off the coast of sets to get information from another agent already stationed there.

The whole thing reeked of suspicion to Velox. Never before had he been asked to travel that far into the depths of BZR territory, and there were several other agents who had. Why pick Velox? But then again, who was he to complain? For all he knew, this was a simple test of his competence, a promotion and raise waiting for a completed job.

He reached the "official" border crossing with relative ease- a government id will get you onto any bus or subway you want for free. The next step was to cross. Ninjo had not been nearly as strict as Six had about border security, thus BZR patrols were rare compared to BZ-Metru's guards. He slipped into the BZR controlled outskirts of GD unnoticed.

When the boundaries between BZ-Metru and the BZR had been hastily drawn up, a curious addition to the BZR had been made. Whether the pen slipped on the official map, or whether it was intentional, no one knew; but a small sliver of the ring shaped forum had been granted to the BZR.

The difference was immediately noticeable and very obvious- compared to the rest of GD, and the rest of the BZR, it was a slum. Some rather undesirable characters had made their home there, which kept Velox on alert. Once again, however, he passed through with little trouble.

Then came his first problem.

To get to his destination, the best route was to go south through Lego General Discussion. Unfortunately for him, LGD was one of the less popular forums, and as such consisted mostly of vast, open grassland. There was a small city situated towards the north, but it was out of Velox's way. It would take him at least two days to walk.

So there he stood, weighing his options: He could walk, and risk missing his contact at the prison; he could go south through Completely Off Topic, which would be much more risky in terms of secrecy; or he could hijack a passing car and use that.

He chose the third option, for at that moment an old pickup truck came barreling up the road toward where Velox stood. He stuck out his thumb, formulating a plan as the truck slowed to a halt in front of him.

"Need a lift, mate?" asked the driver. He spoke with a heavy Australian accent.

"Erm, yeah, I'm headed in toward LGD, and my car broke down a while back," lied Velox.

"Oh yes, I thought I saw a broken down car... well, I'm headed toward LGD myself, hop in."

Velox climbed into the old truck, which was at least thirty years old. As he closed the side door he casually put his hand in his coat pocket and clutched at the handle of a knife which he had stashed there.

"So, why you headed to LGD?"

"Um Bohrok Mason society meeting."

"Really? Well I'll be, I didn't know they was having a meeting there... what's your rank?

Velox froze for a second. "2nd class."

The driver cast a suspicious glance toward Velox. "Oh... well, then you must know the head second classman... what was his name again?"

Velox understood that the jig was up and that he had to act fast. He pulled the knife out of his pocket and in one smooth move transferred it from his right to left hand, while held it under the driver's neck.

"Okay, listen- you're going to pull over to the side of the road and get out. Youre going to lie down on the grass and wait till I'm gone before you get up."

"But-"

Velox pushed the knife in closer.

"Geez, alright."

The truck motored to a stop. Cautiously the driver exited the truck, and Velox did the same. Unlike Velox, who started walking down the grassy knoll on the side of the hill, the driver ran toward the poorly paved road, trying to flag down a passing car for help.

Velox reacted quickly, running up behind him and clubbing him on the back with the knife handle. The drive crumpled to the ground out cold.

"You didn't listen," said Velox as he rolled the driver down the hill. He fished through his jacket pockets, taking out an ID, cell phone, and half a sandwich. One look at the ID told Velox that he had just stolen the car of Apollo, a forum assistant.

He got back into the truck and started it up. The drive would take several hours, but at least he now had a few things going for him: He was posing as a BZR forum assistant, he had transportation, and he had lunch. He took a bite of the sandwich.

Only one thing now stood between Velox and the prison that was his goal: the ocean.

He had made it to Sets, passing through checkpoints using the fake ID badge and making quick getaways. He knew that by now, almost a day and a half later, Apollo had raised some sort of alarm about Velox. He didn't have much time.

Velox stood, staring out across the open sea, knowing that somewhere on the dark blue waters was the BZR Maximum Security Prison. He ran over his options in his mind: He could swim and soon after drown. He could somehow get caught and taken there. He could steal a boat. Or maybe

He decided on his actions and acted quickly. He walked to the local marina and, using the stolen ID, 'confiscated' a boat. He sped off into the ocean, heading in what he thought to be the general direction of the prison.

Velox's one hope came true: A patrol boat. He sped up the boat, directing it toward the patrol, until he was almost crashed into it- and he slammed on the brakes seconds before a collision.

The two members in the boat look confused, flash the alarm lights quickly, then one of them stood up and jumped over to Velox's boat.

"You know how fast you were going, bud?"

"I was hoping you could tell me."

The man's face turned a slight shade of purple. "You were going 40. Limit's 20. You almost crashed into a federal vehicle."

"Sorry, I do that sometimes."

"You lookin for trouble, buddy?"

"Yeah, I was actually."

"That's it, you're under arrest. Let me see your ID."

Velox fished Apollo's ID out of his coat pocket. The officer looked at it and smiled.

"Who'd you think you're trying to fool? Heh, your loss, just another charge. Come on, we're taking you back to the main land."

Velox's eyes widened as he let the officer place a set of handcuffs on his hands. The officer pulled him- quite roughly- into the other boat.

"Wait! My... my real ID is in the left pocket."

The officers looked at each other. The one who had arrest Velox pulled the real ID out of Velox's pocket. After he showed it to his partner, they looked at each other, both understanding.

"He's a spy. Take him to the island."

The boat sped off in the opposite direction of the mainland. Unbeknownst to the two officers, Velox smiled.

The second the three men stepped onto the land where the prison was, Velox acted. He shifted all of his weight to the left, knocking the left guard into the ground. As the right guard came careening toward him, Velox spun out of the way and, while the guard's back was turned, put his handcuffs over his neck.

You're going to take out the keys and take these off me. Youre going to wait three minutes before you some inside."

The guard reached down to his belt for the keys. Velox slackened his arms. The guard realized his opportunity and pulled a gun out of its holster. He tried to spin around to aim at Velox, who recognized the action and grabbed the gun arm. The struggled, the gun pointed in the air, neither man able to gain an advantage-

A single shot rang through the air. Time seemed to freeze.

A sickened look crept across the guards face. His grip on Velox's arms slackened, and he crumpled to the ground.

Velox's eyes widened. Murder. He knew that he had to get the job done, but...

The unconscious guard on the ground twitched. Velox realized that he could risk staying there. He stuck the gun in his pocket and ran off up the path into the woods. He had seen a castle far off in the distance, which he judged to be the prison.

Through the woods he ran, knowing that behind him somewhere was the other guard who by now had discovered the murder. He didnt know what he would do when he got to the prison, only that somehow he needed to get inside.

He soon came to a pair of massive wooden doors. Velox stared up at them, wondering how he was supposed to get through them. Then the solution came to them.

"OPEN UP!" he yelled, pounding on them, "NINJO IS DEAD!"

Silence. Slowly the right door crept open enough for the head of a man to peer through.

"...Dead?" he whispered.

"Yes. I bring orders for the warden."

"But Nikira didn't say anything about... I... come in."

The door opened further and Velox stepped inside. He started to progress down the hall toward a flight of steps-

"Wait. I need to see your ID first."

Velox winced. He didn't want things to get messier than they already were, but if it were necessary...

"No you can't. But, you can take me to Xander004."

Velox spun around slowly, taking the gun out of his pocket and aiming it at the man. The man's eyes widened.

"What- I- who are you?"

"That doesn't matter. Take me to Xander004."

Silently they marched down the hall and then down the steps, each weary of each other. Velox nervously kept the gun aimed at the guard's back the whole way down. They finally stopped their descent and entered a long, narrow hall. It was poorly lit. Arriving at an old wooden door, the man cautiously opened it and ushered Velox in.

"No. You first."

The guard gave a small sigh and entered. Velox followed. What he saw made him nearly drop the gun: Nikira, and her aide Arch-Angel, sitting at a desk staring at him.

"Velox?" asked Nikira, slightly confused. "What are you doing here?"

Velox whimpered inaudibly. Nikira was one of the few who knew Velox was a spy for the BZR... or at least that he was supposed to be. And here he was, holding a gun to one of her guard's head.

"I... I'm on a mission from Ninjo. He has commanded me to inspect the prison."

As soon as the words left his mouth Velox realized his mistake. The guard spoke: "But you just said Ninjo was dead!"

Velox rammed himself into the guard, both of them crashing into the door frame. The gun still in Velox's hand exploded with a shot as the two were leaning against each other. Velox felt a sharp pain in his left arm and stumbled back. His left sleeve was now starting to turn a horrid shade of red.

He pushed himself away from the fallen guard and ran into the hall. Behind him he could hear someone yell "Raise the alarm! Lock the gates!" Velox didn't hesitate. He careened up the steps without stopping. When he reached the top hallway with the gate, he raced past the gate- now heavily guarded- he didn't stop and continued until he reached another stairway leading up. The guards in front of the gate raced after him, firing shots that just missed Velox's head.

Velox ran up the step until he could run no more: Not only because the awful pain in his arm was causing him to lose feeling, but because he ran out of steps. He burst through a wooden door to find himself at the top of the tallest tower of the castle, looking out over the raging ocean.

As he peered out over the stone turrets, he barely heard the door crashing open behind him nor the shouts of guards. He was too fixated on the several hundred foot drop, and what he could possibly do to escape.

Slowly he turned, fearing what he would see. It was Arch Angel, behind whom were about a dozen guards.

"Toa Velox, you are under arrest for impersonating a BZR staff member, carjacking, conspiracy to act against Ninjo, murder, and assaulting a BZR employee. What do you have to say?"

Velox took one slow, long look behind him. Why the Karzahni am I doing this?]

He stared Arch Angel straight in the eye.

"See you in ######."

With those final words, he let himself fall backwards, plummeting end over end, before disappearing into the murky depths.