Chapter One – Cammie
When I wake, I don't panic. My wrists and ankles are bound to a cold metal chair with a thick rope. The cellar is fifteen feet long and fifteen feet wide. There is a set of stairs that lead to a metal door. "Think, Cammie, Think," I tell myself. How did I get here? Where is Zach? Who is holding me? I try to remember. The last thing that I remember is introducing myself to Hakim Ketab. That's right, Zach and I were undercover.
I can dwell on that later but I need to get out of here. I notice they took all my weapons and my jacket. Amateurs. I click the left heel of my shoes twice on the hard ground and a short, sharp blade pops out. Thank you, Liz and Macey, for blending fashion and spy gear together. I am able to use my feet and the blade to start cutting the knot out. It takes me a good ten minutes, but they are free.
As soon as I kick the rope off my feet, the door opens. Light pours into the room, and I see a man appear. Profile him. Black male, 5'11", about 180 pounds. Not seeming to notice I am halfway free, he casually walks down the steps and says. "Bonjour, Mademoiselle." From his accent, I can tell he lives in the French Maghreb, so Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, or Mauritania. I reply, "Bonjour…"
"Monsieur Djaout," he finished my sentence with his name.
"Ah, Bonjour Monsieur Djaout. Pouvez-vous me dire pourquoi je suis ici?" I ask him why I am here.
"Je suis désolé, je ne peux vous dire que maintenant." He tells me he's sorry but he can't. Liar.
"Non, Je suis désolé." No, I am sorry. At that moment, I stood up and rammed my chair into him, slamming him into the wall. He falls to the ground, and I bring my right foot toward his face and yell, "Vogue!" Gotta love Macey for that one. A mist sprays out of the ball of my foot, and before the man man can react he's fallen helpless to the newest version of Napotine.
I run up the steps and open the door, ready to make a run for it. I find myself in a small home built out of sand and mud and look out the window. Desert. There are two guards outside the building, so I quietly tiptoe to the other side of the room and grab my jacket and handgun. I reach into the pocket of my jacket and grab what looks like a tube of lipstick. I twist the top, sending a signal out to Liz of my location. I sneak up behind the two guards and slap two napotine patches on the back of their necks simultaneously. Easy. Now I just have to wait.
