I watched her standing there, knapsack slumped against her high-heeled feet. One of her hands was hooked in the front pocket of her hip-hugger jeans, just below the edge of the leather jacket she wore. She looked so at ease, after everything that had gone on, even I was surprised.

"It's not that hard, you know." I was surprised, but really shouldn't have been that she knew I was there. After all, S had been lauded as the top agent in current active status, better than even my own mother at this game we played. I meandered to stand beside her, wondering what exactly she was heading off to do. And I wanted to know what she meant.

"When you've been in the game as long as I have, looking totally at ease no matter what becomes part of your cover. If there's one thing the bad guys look for when they're looking for you, it's someone acting way too uptight for normal circumstances. Well, that and someone who changes their appearance every three hours or so." I laughed a little, remembering the story she'd told us that first night Spectre had come to stay with us. My laugh died a little as I thought back to how long ago that day seemed, and the things that had happened since

"Hey." Her voice was soft and I looked up at her. S really wasn't that tall, but the heels she wore gave her a few inches over me. A half-smiled tugged at one side of her mouth as she moved her arms to hook both thumbs in her back pockets.

"Don't worry about it, Chameleon. In all my years playing the game – both pro and not –, you're one of the best I've seen in a long time. If you keep that team of yours together, and don't let anything come between you no matter what …" her hair waved slightly as she gave a knowing nod in my direction, "I think I might be out of a job in a few years." The implications of her words made me freeze for a second. I'd just helped the legendary Spectre on a mission I wasn't even supposed to know about, and here she was, commending me?

The distant squeal of tires against wet asphalt drew my attention, and we both turned to see a monster of a machine come tearing through the main gates. My eyes widened and I backed up as the thing geared straight for us, but S never moved. I glanced at her face, and saw that weird smile again. Of course, the answer was glaringly obvious when the black beast growled to a stop mere inches from S's feet, the passenger door sliding open with a hiss to reveal the grinning face of Zeal, totally at home in the sleek machine. I remained quiet as S picked up her stuff, leaning in to swing the bag into the space behind the seats.

"Hey, S?" She straightened up to look at me. All of a sudden I couldn't speak. I knew what I wanted to say, but for some reason I just couldn't get it out of my mouth. My brain was telling me not to, it was stupid to tell her something like that, but my heart wanted me to, to tell her exactly what meeting her had done to me, done for me. The hand that suddenly weighted my shoulder brought the inner conflict to a screeching halt as I looked up once more. This time, a full-on grin had given her a look I'd never seen on Spectre before.

"Actually, it's Es." Only someone who'd been trained to hear the miniscule differences in word pronunciation would have heard the difference. She smiled again, a little softer this time, as she removed her hand and slid into the car with Zeal. I stood still until the door had slid back into place, but when the window slid down and I could see her face again, I stepped up next to the car, my face mirroring the inner confusion I felt. Her face took on the spy look I knew so well on her, and she glanced at her partner before turning to me for what might have been the last time ever.

"It's a nickname I've had for years, long before I was a spy. It's part of my real name." My eyes got wide; not even my own mother knew Spectre's real name. If she told me, I would be privy to information I wasn't sure even the top office knew. My face suddenly transformed as Zeal revved the engine, and I saw S buckle her seatbelt. One last grin, a whispered word and the concept-car-that-only-spies-could-drive was spitting gravel and kicking up non-existent dust as it pealed around our immaculate drive, half-fishtailing as it spun out of the gates and onto the main road. I thought I could see – or did I only imagine - Spectre waving to me once before the car peeled out of sight and the roar of the souped-up engine soon faded away, leaving behind the songs of birds, the blowing wind, and the sounds of a school filled with girl spies just starting their day behind me. Why do the ends of my adventures always happen in the morning before classes? It only means I won't be able to concentrate the rest of the day, not to mention having every other girl in school eyeing me as if I were a time bomb … or an elusive mission objective.

I heard my name called, and knew my friends were waiting at the door. With a final glance at the Gallagher Academy gate – and the memory of a girl who had become a dear friend –, I turned away and went to join them.

"What did you guys talk about?" Liz was hopping from one foot to the other in anticipation. I knew she was hoping Spectre had divulged some super-top-secret secret that she could use for something or other.

"Yeah, did she leave you any parting advice?" Bex was a little more specific than Liz. Actually, she was a little more nosey; Liz was being polite. Macey didn't say anything, but the gleam in her eye was enough to tell me she was just as interested, despite her totally uninterested appearance as she leaned against the doorframe. I glanced over my shoulder, trying to ignore the attempts of other passing Gallagher Girls to not look at me, but I could still see the lingering glances out of the corner of their eyes. A quick mental calculation and I knew I had a 94.2 percent risk of being jumped and interrogated sometime before midnight.

"Yeah, she did say something." But not something I'm going to tell you, even though you guys are my best friends. Now Macey actually looked interested, as did the glaring attempts of near-proximity girls to slow down as much as possible to hear what I was about to say. A smile slid onto my mouth, and I like to think that I looked a little like Spectre herself as I said, "She said I'm the best pavement artist she's ever seen." The looks of hope crumbled as I laughed, grabbing Bex and Liz by the arm and trying to drag them with me as I started off for our first class.

"That's not something super-top-secret!"

"Yeah, we already knew that!"

"I was hoping for something more, well, top-secret."

"Psh, Bookworm, you just wanted a new way to hack through government firewalls."

"Do not! It's not like they've managed to stop me yet."

"This is true, Macey, they haven't stopped her yet. Aren't they still trying to buy that one hack off you, Liz?"

"I gave them the price. I think they're trying to come up with the funds, but I haven't heard anything yet. But that's beside the point! Cammie just had a one-on-one conversation with Spectre! I suppose that's something in itself."

"You have a point. Getting complimented by the top agent in active status has to mean something. Right?"

I tried not to laugh as I listened to my friends debating the value of a compliment from our friend as we continued walking. The way they said S's name, with the unconscious oooohing and ahhhing one gives the name of their hero, made me glow inside, just a little. Before we turned the corner, I gave one last discreet glance back. Yes, there really was a person behind the code name, a girl who had gone from our hero to a friend to a partner.

Good luck, Esmeralda.