My One and ONLY Disclaimer: No, I don't own it. Yes, I wish I did. No, I'm not Ally Carter. Yes, I wish I could write as well as she can. No, Zachary Goode and a number of other Blackthorne Boys are NOT at my disposal... But I think they should be :]
Enjoy!
"Argh!" I grunted as Bex tackled me to the ground, effectively pinning me to the mat to end P&E for the day. I was just about to head up to my dorm to change when Mr. Moskowitz intercepted me.
"Miss Morgan! Your mother needs to see you in her office immediately." Bex and I shared a confused glance when he prompted, "Now, Cameron. She said you were to go straight to her office, so it looks like you won't be changing back into your uniform, sorry."
I wondered what I could have done to have Mr. Moskowitz sent after me. Even I've never been in so much trouble that a teacher is sent to find me and escort me back to mom's office.
We walked down the Hall of History and just as I was about to knock on the door to my mother's office, Mr. Moskowitz side-stepped me and opened it, ushering me in. I quickly walked over to my mom sitting behind her desk, "Mom, I swear whatever happened I did NOT do it! I couldn't have done it, I've been in class all morning… unless this is about the missing rappel-o-chords, because you know perfectly well that I-" I was cut off by the sound of my Covert Operations teacher chuckling behind me. When did he get here? Was he here this whole time? How did I miss him?... Oh well, back to the matter at hand!
My mom shushed me and told me that I wasn't in trouble, but that she would "talk to me later about those rappel-o-chords I mentioned." I felt a slight blush creep up to my cheeks when Mr. Solomon chimed in, "Miss Morgan, have I taught you nothing?" I looked at him with a confused expression on my face, prompting him to elaborate, "Just promise me you'll never walk into an interrogation offering up information again."
I slapped my hand to my forehead when I realized how ridiculous I sounded a minute ago.
Just then mom spoke up, "Kiddo, sit down, we need to talk." Oh boy. This doesn't sound good. "Honey, don't look so scared!" Mr. Solomon was right, I really need to work on this whole "interrogation" thing!
All of a sudden the meeting was one big blur. Madame Dabney came in and started making my hair more presentable, some lady I didn't know was holding clothes up next to me, putting some into a suitcase, throwing others onto my mother's couch, and Mr. Solomon handed me a manila folder that looked suspiciously like the one holding our covers on the night of the ball.
My mother started speaking at this point, "The CIA has given us intel on an arms dealer who is going to be in Auburn, New York for the next couple of weeks. The mission is supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission, no contact with the target at all. The director thought it would be a good learning experience for a couple of students if they took point on the case, and we've selected you."
"So, basically, what you're saying… is that I'm going to be taking point on an actual CIA mission? It's not going to end up being a test, and by doing my job I will actually affect the outcome of a CIA case." My mother stared at me with an expression that said, "Was I speaking Spanish?" Only that wouldn't have been a good excuse, seeing as I'm fluent in 14 different languages and all. She nodded her head and continued on to tell me that I will be leaving Gallagher as soon as possible.
The random clothes lady I didn't know was all but carrying me out the door of mom's office by the time I cried, "WAIT A SECOND!" Everyone stopped chattering and moving, all just staring at me as if to say, "WELL?"
"Okay, I'm going to Auburn. Will I be working with someone? Is there going to be an actual agent from the CIA there in case something happens? Do I get to change? How am I getting to New York? Did this lady just pack clothes for me? Who is this lady? I NEED ANSWERS, PEOPLE!"
The adults started laughing. "You'll be going by helicopter, you'll find everything out on the ride," a smiling Solomon told me.
When I hadn't resumed moving out to the helicopter my mom put and hand on my shoulder and told everyone to meet us at the helicopter, she just needed to cover a few things with me quickly.
"Sweetie, I'm so incredibly proud of you, I know you'll do an amazing job! I don't want you to worry about a thing, though. You have my number you can call me if you ever need anything." She smiled and then seemed to remember something else, "Oh! Here's a phone so you actually can call me," she laughed, "and to answer your questions, that lady works with the CIA, her name is Leslie. You can't change now, we need to get you to Blackthorne as soon as you can, but you are allowed to change once you get there."
Satisfied, I cracked a smile and hugged her. She stepped back, taking my hand so we could walk out the front door together, only to be stopped in our tracks by three very angry sophomores. "You were going to leave without saying goodbye?" Bex screeched before grabbing me into a very tight group hug with Liz and Macey.
We each said our goodbyes and I hugged them each one more time, saving my mom for last so I could tell her I love her. Mr. Solomon chose that moment to show up and drag me to the helicopter so we could get in the air. As we were walking, though, I thought I heard my mom ask the girls how they got out of class… It figures they wouldn't ask for permission to see me off.
I sat down and strapped into my seat getting ready for the 3 hour ride to New York.
Mr. Solomon had just given the "okay" for liftoff when I made a realization I should have made ten minutes ago.
With wide eyes I arched an eyebrow, looked at Solomon and simply asked, "Blackthorne?" He chuckled and nodded in confirmation: We were flying to Blackthorne. AND to Blackthorne Boys.
"You may want to look over your cover profile; it has some helpful information in it." I took Solomon's advice and opened the thick manila folder to start reading about me. (Huh, that sounds kind of funny, doesn't it?)
AGENT: CAMERON ANN MORGAN
CODENAME: CHAMELEON
COVER: CASSANDRA ANNA MONROE aka CASSIE; CAS
AGE: 16
OCCUPATION: STUDENT
SCHOOL: WINWOOD ACADEMY OF EXCELLENCE
TOWN: FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA
STATUS: IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH GREGORY NEWMAN
REASON FOR VISIT: VISITING BOYFRIEND OVER SPRING BREAK
"Mr. Solomon?" I inquired, "We don't have spring break at Gallagher… Or Blackthorne for that matter."
He explained that since it was around the time when most schools are off on spring break, my cover would also be on spring break. The people in Auburn believed that some students at Blackthorne lived at school year-round, and it would be the only way I could visit my boyfriend.
I looked through the other items in the folder, including: a school id, two hundred dollars to spend on food and anything related to the mission (there was a note attached saying that the CIA took note of the serial numbers on the money, so they would know if I spent it anywhere else), and files on the other agents involved with the mission.
I looked hopefully at the last little stack of papers, hoping it would tell me who I was working with.
AGENT: GRANT
CODENAME: DREAMER
COVER: GREGORY JAMES NEWMAN
AGE: 17
OCCUPATION: STUDENT
SCHOOL: BLACKTHORNE INSTITUTE FOR BOYS
TOWN: AUBURN, NY
STATUS: IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH CASSANDRA MONROE
REASON FOR VISIT: SPENDING TIME WITH GIRLFRIEND OVER SPRING BREAK
My heart fell. I had to be Grant's girlfriend? Don't get me wrong, Grant is awesome! But I still saw quite a few issues with this: 1. Bex liked him! How could I pretend to be in love with the person my best friend was actually in love with? That's just not right! 2. I had been secretly hoping it would be Zach. 3. If Bex ever finds out I will die. Literally. 4. I really wanted it to be Zach.
Mr. Solomon obviously knew what was going through my head, because he started talking to me. "Cammie," whoa. Mr. Solomon only calls me Cammie when he's about to get all godfathery on me, "In the world of spies, you won't always get to work with the person you want to. You may even end up with someone you don't want to work with, but as a CIA operative, you have to get used to it. You were picked because you have an amazing talent as a pavement artist, but also because you make the most out of any situation, which is a skill many have to work very hard at." He wrapped an arm around me at this point and pulled me in for a hug (I know. THE Joe Solomon hugged me. It doesn't happen every day, but he is my godfather, so I guess I'm allowed to see the softer side of him.)
"Okay," I whispered in reply. If he said it, it had to be for a good reason.
I looked at the next page of information, and I was shocked. I stared at the paper for a good minute before the contents actually sunk in.
OPERATION: CABBAGE PATCH
STUDENT OPERATIVE AGENTS: CAMERON "CHAMELEON" MORGAN, GRANT "DREAMER"
CIA MISSION HANDLERS: ABIGAIL "IMPUSE" CAMERON, JOE "CHARMER" SOLOMON
CIA TECHNICAL OPERATIONS: RACHEL MORGAN
OBJECTIVE: RECONNAISSANCE: TRACK SUBJECT DIMITRI MOLDOV IN ORDER TO DETERMINE CONTACTS, POSSIBLE PARTNERS, AND POSSIBLE BUYERS. IF GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY, SET UP EYES AND EARS IN SUBJECT'S RESIDENCE WITH PERMISSION FROM HANDERS. DO NOT CONTACT SUBJECT. THERE ARE TO BE NO VERBAL OR PHYSICAL ALTERCATIONS.
Shocked at first, a wave of relief quickly washed over me as I voiced my feelings. I could feel the smile as I said, "You're coming, too?"
He scoffed. "You think I would let my goddaughter go into her first actual CIA sanctioned mission and not be there to keep her safe? I'm offended!" We laughed together; we both knew that it took a whole helluva lot more than that to actually offend Joe Solomon.
"So you and Aunt Abby and Mom are all on the mission? That's awesome! But I have more questions! Where am I staying? Do I have to stay there alone? How long am I staying? How am I supposed to keep up with my schoolwork? Do we get comms? Do I-" Rambling. I always ramble when I get excited. Of course I was cut off by Mr. Solomon clamping a hand over my mouth, not-so-politely telling me to "put a sock in it."
"You REALLY need to work on the rambling!" As a teenage girl, it was my duty at that point to pout at his comment. "So let's see…" He feigned like he actually had to think about what I said, almost as if he didn't have a photographic memory and could quote my ramble verbatim. "Yes, we requested to be on this mission for obvious reasons. You'll be staying with Abby at her apartment for the first week and on weekends, but other than that you'll be at Blackthorne."
The look I gave him must have been a mix of surprise, excitement and terror, because he stopped to elaborate rather than just giving me more information. "You have to keep up with classes, so it would make sense for you to take them at Blackthorne." I gave a little "uh-huh" for him to continue his elaboration. "For appearances, though, you need to seem like you're on spring break, so for the first week you'll stay at Abby's and you won't go to class so you can be out during the day. It'll be three or four weeks that you're here-"
"WOW!" I practically screeched. "That's a really long time to be here."
He thought for a moment, mulling over the length of time. Mr. Solomon chose his words carefully, "This is an actual, planned-out CIA mission, so it will be longer than the other ones back at Gallagher. And just so you know, reconnaissance missions tend to take about a month to complete on a normal basis."
A tiny, "Oh," was all I could muster in response.
"You'll both be given selected days where you won't go to class, also to keep up with your covers. You can stay with Abby on those days, too, if you want to."
"Well, I guess it's not so bad." I considered it for a minute, and then grasped something. "Will I get to video chat with the girls?" If he said no, SOMEONE was going to have the Sukahara Maneuver "practiced" all over them…
"At Blackthorne on their encrypted computers."
I let out an audible "whew" and allowed him to continue. "Now, I PROMISE, anything else you'll need to know you'll find out when we get to Blackthorne, okay?" I eyed him cautiously, and finally nodded. I trusted the man with my life, so obviously I trusted that he wasn't lying to me.
Our lovely chat ate up about an hour of the ride, so I took the opportunity to take a quick nap before arriving at Blackthorne. (Okay, MAYBE I wanted to be rested for seeing the boys.) (OKAY! JUST MAYBE it's one Blackthorne Boy in particular!)
With that I fell asleep on my godfather's shoulder in sleepy anticipation of my arrival in Auburn, New York.
Okay, you know the drill! There's a little button down there, and you must kill it! Kill it with your clicks! The only way for it to actually die is for you to write a review! Doit. Por favor y gracias.
I know I still have P&E Exam to work on, but right now this is muddling up my brain. So at this point, until I finish this, nothing else is happening. (That is... if you WANT me to finish. I won't know if you don't tell me!)
Please enjoy this, but I'm warning you now, I will probably end up updating every two weeks or so. (But who knows. With some very convincing reviews, I could feel so inspired to pump something out for you ;])
And before I finish my obnoxiously long-ass author's note, I'm just gonna tell you that I'm gonna try to not put up obnoxiously long author's notes anymore (hehehe).
LOVEYOUALL!
happily, the godsister