Basically set during United We Spy, but does not coincide with the events of UWS.

The most difficult task in a spy's life is not the grueling physical labor of a chase. It isn't sitting still and silent for hours at a time when snooping, nor is it the paperwork (no matter what Bex will have you believe). No, the hardest part of a spy's life is leaving his or her loved ones, not knowing for certain if he or she will come back alive.

Zach thought he'd have at least a few more months before he had to deal with that, but there he was, not even graduated and getting sent off on a super secret mission to help take down the Circle.

He understood why it had to be him, of course; Zach, unfortunately, was the only human being alive that the Circle would hesitate to kill. So it had to be him.

He still wasn't happy about it.

The girls hadn't taken the news well at all. Liz cried. Cammie managed to stay quiet, though Zach could see her panicked rage simmering underneath the surface. Macey focused on comforting Liz. Bex had the strongest reaction of them all. She screamed and screamed at Headmistress Morgan, telling her that she was sending Zach on a suicide mission. Her brilliant solution was to go with him. It was at that comment that Zach sort of snapped. He grabbed her by the arm and marched her out of the headmistress's office to his own room, where he gripped her shoulders and told her in a deathly whisper not to follow him.

"But Zach-"

"No. You are not running away for me." He turned to Cammie. "And neither are you. What she did to you last time was bad enough. I wouldn't be able to handle it if she got her hands on you now. You know she wouldn't hesitate to send a bullet through your brain."

Bex didn't give Cammie the chance to respond. "She'll send a bullet through yours if she gets frustrated enough. You haven't even graduated, Zach! You're not a field agent! They shouldn't be sending you on any missions, much less missions like this."

Zach sighed, anger deflating into sadness. "I hate this just as much as you do. I at least thought we'd have this semester. But I'd rather sacrifice this than have her after Cammie."

Cammie's eyes flashed and she stepped towards Zach. She was furious; borderline hostile. Zach was kind of afraid. "Zachary Goode, you will not sacrifice yourself for me."

"Cam-"

"No. Promise me. Now."

Zach was at a loss for words.

"Now, Zach. Promise you will not go on some kind of suicide mission just for my sake. You are going to take her down and come back without a scratch on you. There will be no sacrificing."

"Cammie-"

"Now, Zach!" She was on the verge of tears. Her hands shook as she grabbed Zach's. "Promise me. Please."

"I promise," Zach whispered.

"Good," Cammie sniffed. She released her almost painful grip on his hands, but immediately wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. Zach held her close and felt her entire body shake.

Liz was crying again. Zach could swear he could hear Bex sniffling, and when he looked up Macey had silent tears dripping from her nose.

No, Zach thought. The hardest part was not just leaving your loved ones, but lying to them in the process.

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