CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR Only the Good Spy Young.
For the past year, I had been counting. I counted the minutes until classes were over and I could spend my free time actually learning something. I counted the different ways I could have gotten out of Timmons Academy, with or without a disguise, closed toed shoes, and a very good replica of the Napotine patches used by Gallagher Girls. I even counted the simple things, like the number of times Leslie Bowden smoothed her hair down in one period (it got rather frizzy, with all the rain London gets).
So naturally, I counted my steps as I ran along my usual trail in the park. I say usual, but it wasn't. Nothing was usual anymore, and actually, that was usual. I didn't get to go home after Christmas. The Circle got close to Cammie, and my "parents" freaked out. Understandable, because it was here in London, not in the States. I didn't hear anything from Zach, or Cammie, or Bex, all of whom were here. Zach didn't even come by for Christmas, but then again, I wasn't even sure he was here at all. When I asked, I was told that it was classified. Now it was summer, I hadn't heard anything from anyone in months, and was seriously starting to worry.
I'd like to say what happened next was a result of excellent training and a vast improvement on my part as far as the whole spy thing goes. Really, though, I think it was just because I was thinking about her already. Whatever the case, I didn't even have to do a double take at the girl in jeans and a t-shirt in the middle of the park to know that Cammie had come to visit. I made eye contact with her, but didn't slow down as I passed her. I did, however, keep my eye out for her backup. After ten minutes, all I knew was that I didn't have a tail, and Cammie didn't have backup. The next thing I knew, she was on the path running towards me, and pulled off the best impromptu brush in history (or, my history, at least). I kept running, and managed to get the note out and read it quickly and without anyone seeing, and then it was gone. I'd gotten used to the constant dampness to the point where I wasn't even surprised that it reacted with the Evapopaper.
Per her request, I met her back by the park bench she had been hovering over before. She was already there, and I could see that the shirt was reversible. Cam caught me looking and grinned.
"Helps when I need to lose a tail," she said. I nodded. "So what do you know?"
I shook my head. "Absolutely nothing." Cammie's smile faded.
"Val, really. Have you talked to Zach?"
"Nope. He said he'd be here for Christmas but he never showed. I heard that you and Bex were here, but after a close call, I had no chance of meeting up with you guys."
Cammie sighed. "We need to talk. Actually, I need to talk, and you need to listen." Almost as an afterthought, she added "And give me answers."
I nodded, and we stood up. We used every trick in the book (a fact that Liz would have verified if she had been here with said book) to make it to what I assumed was Cammie's safe house. I suggested we go back to my house, but she declined that before the words were even out of my mouth. Finally, when we sat down at the little table, I dared to ask.
"Cam, what do you know?"
"Val, listen. I can't go to your house. I'm willing to bet that now it's not even safe for you to go back to your house." I opened my mouth, and she cut me off. "It's a really long story, but you need to know. I'm here alone. Now I'm with you, if you want. Actually you're with me, but you get the picture. Do you want in?"
"Definitely. I need to get out of here."
"Great." She paused. "Are you and Zach really twins?"
I blinked. "Yes? I mean, yes. Not a question. Why?"
"Because you know how the Circle tried to get me?" I nodded. "Well… Zach's mom was the women in charge. She was in Boston, and at election night, and… And she was the one torturing Mr. Soloman in the tombs at Blackthorne. So if she's his mom, she's your mom too."
"What the bloody he-"
"Zach knew." I just looked at her. "He knew that she was his mom. He knew. The Circle recruits at Blackthorne. Zach was at Boston. He could have warned us. I don't know why he didn't. She," Cammie spat the word out like it tasted bad, which, given some of the technology I had heard of, was actually possible. "Was a Gallagher Girl. There's no hiding from the Circle. You were the only person I could think of that had managed to avoid them, and you're related to one." She gave a sharp laugh. "So I had to find you."
"That's why we left." It came out in a whisper. "That's why Zach got to stay and I didn't. He knew, so they couldn't protect him. He would just lead them to me too. That's probably why I didn't go to Gallagher in seventh grade either." I shook my head. Everything I knew about my family had been steady, until I got involved in the whole spy thing. Then, it was turned upside-down and shaken, and now, after it had finally managed to settle, was being flipped over again, taking my brother with it. "Cam?" She raised her eyebrows in acknowledgement. "We have to beat them." She grinned, and I kept going. "We have to find out who they are, where they are, what they want, and what they've done and to who. And," I added as an afterthought, "get back to Gallagher in time for class."
"So you're in?"
"I'm in."
"Great. Then there's something you need to see." She pulled out a sketch and a photo. "I drew the sketch from the memory of the tombs, that's why it's kind of odd looking. The photo was pulled from the newsfeed of the incident in Boston. They're both her."
I had never seen this woman in my life. However, I had seen her in a picture. She was my mom.
Cammie read my face like a book. "So it's true."
"We have a few pictures. Actually they're pulled from the hospital security cameras. She's in a wheelchair and very pregnant." I looked up and closed my eyes. "The people I'm living with aren't my parents. Zach told me that when I was at Blackthorne."
"That wasn't Blackthorne…" Cammie said quickly.
"Good point. Well, when we were at their fake little school, Zach told me that our parents had gone on a mission when we were little, and didn't come back. Mom smelled different. But she wasn't this woman. They said that she just looked different because she lost all the baby weight. I thought that was kind of an extreme change but I trusted them." I rubbed my eyes. "I don't know what happened to her at the hospital. The system went down twenty minutes after she went in, and was down until the next day. I tried looking into an off-site system, but it was disabled that week for repairs."
"Another dead end," Cam shrugged. "We're just getting started."
"Wait. You saw Zach, right?" Cam nodded. "How was he?"
"Under the circumstances, not too bad. He finished the semester at Gallagher. My mom said that he didn't have anywhere safe to go. I wonder what she knows about you…" she shook her head. "Anyway. I have a plan, and it does actually involve you going back to your house to get your stuff, and leaving without giving your parents a reason to look for you."
I had my doubts. I really did. But as I got in the limo alone, waving to my "parents", I couldn't believe just how smart Cammie was. The whole goal was to keep me safe, right? Well, what could be better that a CIA/MI6 training summer camp? It was wonderfully documented, with the right signatures and conformation phone calls from the right people. I was packed and stocked up on spy stuff and money, and ready to leave within the week. I don't know how she did it.
The limo dropped me off at the airport, where I caught a taxi to the train station. I took it to a couple blocks from the park and walked. I should mention that even though I was packed for a summer camp, all I really had was a backpack and purse. Cam had a backpack too, but she wasn't alone. There was some old guy with her, and I was immediately on guard. Cammie wouldn't socialize with a random stranger. Before I could do anything, she waved me over.
"This is Derrick. He was telling me about this kidnapping attempt in the States. It was in like, Flowerville, Virginia."
"Roseville," the man corrected.
"Yeah, that. Freaky, huh?"
"Definitely!"
We said our goodbyes and walked away, still processing the information. Cammie told me that she told him she was Liz, and he told her the story. Gallagher had been sent into a Code Black, but no one had been caught. I found it odd, since no one was at the school, but apparently the news didn't know that. Macey was still big news, since her mother had just written a book, and everyone assumed that she was the target. Ten minutes later, Cammie and I realized that we had a bigger problem.
The safe house was no longer safe.
(A/N: So here's chapter one. I'll look up all the GG terms tomorrow to make sure they're spelled right, because I'm lazy and sleepy right now. It's good to be back. YJHTL is out, but some of the stuff about Timmons is the same. Like her uber cool schedule.
For those of you that have been with me for a while, I have a new theatre teacher. She's great, but I still talk to my old one. I went to Nationals for BPA and we placed 7th in Team. I was Puck in AMND One Act. It was awesome. I'm a senior! Anywho, I'm going to bed. Reviews would make my day. –cass)
