Seriously, college is crazy. And it's only the fourth week.
Sorry it took me so long to update. Hopefully it'll be more frequent, but I make no promises.
For this story, because of my crazy schedule, whether or not I continue it will depend on the amount of interest. So, if you guys love it, please review and favorite. Life is crazy at the moment.
I hope you like it.
Townsend smiled apologetically. The sight of it sent Cammie's stomach plummeting. Nothing good ever came of his smiles, but that wasn't what put her on edge. It was the apology. "Oh, I wasn't talking to you."
There was a sudden shuffling noise behind Cammie. She whipped around in her chair and her heart froze in its place, much like it had almost five years ago.
"I was talking to him."
At that moment, Cammie didn't even care that she hadn't noticed anyone enter the room. Because the man who was leaning against the wall, smirking at her, wasn't supposed to be here.
This wasn't Zach Goode. It couldn't be.
Zach Goode was dead.
-:-:-:-
All of the rules and guidelines, handbooks and manuals. None of them had covered this. There wasn't a section on what to do if your best friend came back from the dead.
Cammie stared at him in shock. Her eyes were beginning to burn from the strain, but she found it impossible to blink. If she blinked, there was always the chance that he would disappear.
If Zach had ever had a baby face, it was definitely gone. His eyes and the strong curve of his jaw were the only things that hadn't changed. That, and his stupid smirk. He had buffed up, more rugged now than he had been before. Back when he was a teenage spy/assassin.
Zach's smirk disappeared as slowly as she stood up, completely gone by the time she was upright. All thoughts of Townsend standing behind her vanished entirely as she stood less than four feet away from a dead man.
It was only Townsend's next sentence that brought her back to the present.
"Your mission begins in 12 hours."
Cammie's head whipped back towards the senior agent, her eyes widening in surprise. "What?" She mentally winced. This was a great time to seem unprepared.
Townsend gave her a look, a steel reprimand with underlying sympathy.
He didn't have to say anything. Yes, she should have been listening. But honestly, did she not get any slack considering the circumstances?
This was Townsend. Of course she didn't.
Townsend slid two files across his wooden desk. Cammie tensed almost unnoticeably as Zach walked closer and grabbed the thick file with his name on it. As soon as her body had relaxed, Cammie did the same. She sank back down into her seat and opened it.
The case file had a few character profiles in it, her face gracing the top of one of them.
"Several cases of kidnappings have been reported, the most recent ones being within the past two weeks. The first one was seven years ago."
"Seven years? Why haven't we heard of this before now?" Zach's voice floated from behind her, moving closer as he sat down in the padded chair that sat opposite hers.
"The authorities who took care of the case looked into it. There was little to no evidence, nothing to suggest that anything had happened. It was eventually forgotten. However, within the past 12 months, it has begun happening again and again.
"Every case has taken place in the woods. Families go camping, or visit a cabin in the woods over a period of at least four days. In the middle of the first night, a letter is carved into the ground outside the tent or cabin. By the fourth night there, a child is missing from the cabin, and the only evidence left is the word 'LOST' on the ground outside."
Cammie's eyebrows flew upward. This was more serious than she had originally thought.
"You'll be leaving in one of AEGIS3's more…understated planes. And then you will leave for Nevada. We've gotten intel from a few connections near there. The plane will land in Carson City, and you'll travel by car from there to the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness. It is a federal area, and also the same general spot where each of the kidnappings took place."
"They all happened in the same spot?" Zach asked.
"The Carson-Iceberg Wilderness encompasses over 160,000 acres," was Townsend's reply. "You'll be staying in tents. The equipment you need will be on the plane, as usual. The rest of the necessary information is in the folders."
The note of finality in his voice rang loud and clear.
Cammie closed the folder and stood up, automatically moving towards the door. She headed down the hall, barely stopping to grab her coat and bag before she headed out the front doors of the non-descript building.
It did not go unnoticed that a certain dead ex-partner did not follow her.
-:-:-:-
People only have five senses. It was a well-known fact, according to most civilians. And the internet. Which was perfect proof that the internet was wrong. While most people (read: civilians) only had senses, perfect genetics and years with a spy mom at the Gallagher Academy had perfectly formed Cammie's sixth sense until it was flawless.
Which is exactly how she knew that she was being followed. While it wasn't Zach (she had already made sure of that, and she hadn't even needed to look) it was definitely someone who wasn't a stranger to the spy game (which, if you think about it, isn't too much different than the child's game of cops and robbers, just with a little more blood and bullets.)
Cammie took a quick right into the nearest alley, one she knew would lead her through the rougher parts of town before depositing her by a subway. She kept it cool, giving away no indication that she was being followed.
Moments later, Cammie whirled around and lashed out at the stalker, catching him/her with her well trained foot in the person's gut. A breathy wheeze escaped from her small pursuer. It was definitely a female. Cammie slammed her forearm into the woman's chest and pushed her against the brick wall.
Today was so not a good day to tick her off.
"So," Cammie's tone was cool, calm. Dangerous. But only if you knew her. "Care to explain why you were following me?"
"Dang, girl," the familiar voice spoke up. Bex pried Cammie's arm off of her person and stepped away from the wall. "You need a vacation." Bex eyed Cammie up and down. "What exactly have you been doing while I was gone?"
Bex had been on an extremely sensitive mission in Iran the past few weeks. She normally walked home with Cammie, but the past few weeks Cammie had gotten used to taking the trek alone.
Cammie stared ahead, avoiding Bex's gaze. "I've been busy."
Bex's face took on a troubled look. "Cammie, this isn't healthy. I know it was hard, but-" she stuttered to a stop. Something wasn't right. Cammie always interrupted her when she spoke of what happened all those years ago. "What is going on?"
Cammie turned and continued walking the long path to her apartment. Or at least the subway that led to her apartment. Their apartment.
She wasn't ready for this. This was not in the plan. No, the plan was to continue working as many jobs as she could, and then someday…stop. Whether it was from old age and incompetency or from being killed in the line of duty. Although, if she was being honest, the second one was preferred. She didn't want to outlive her usefulness.
Her plan had been working. The adrenaline kept her alive, kept her moving.
Until it was oh-so-simply ripped into dozens of shredded pieces twenty minutes ago.
No. Cammie shook her head resolutely. No, this didn't change anything. Yes, it was unexpected, but he couldn't just show up after all this time and expect things to go back the way they were before. She wouldn't forgive him that easily.
Her plan was fine. Her life was fine. Slightly shaken, but fine.
Cammie paused her train of thought long enough to realize that Bex was following her like a shadow, albeit a more noticeable one now.
"Bex, go home." The steel in her voice was not missed.
Bex didn't even flinch. One, because she was Bex, but also because this was normal.
"I am," was all she said.
-:-:-:-
It took Cammie another 10 hours before she finally told her best friend. Only two hours left before she had to catch a plane. Only one hour that Bex could use to yell at her in heavily accented English.
Cammie walked into the living room and sat down on the large couch that Bex was currently sprawled across. She sat for a moment, knowing that Bex was fully aware of why she had come in there.
"He's back."
It only took two seemingly innocent words to render Bex speechless. A new record.
"He?" Bex's accent was heavy, her eyes flashing.
Cammie nodded. She braced herself for the inevitable, however, what happened next was completely unexpected.
Bex blinked. Her mouth opened and shut again, giving off the impression of a dazed fish, one that wasn't quite sure where the worm on a hook had come from, or why it was currently above water.
"Cam-"
"It's not going to change anything."
Bex's eyebrows flew up. "It's not?"
Cammie shook her head. "He's dead to me."
"Cammie, maybe you should hear him out. You don't even know what happened."
"What possible excuse could there be?" Cammie shook her head. "I don't know. I just want to get through the next few days. I have to be at the tarmac in 40 minutes. Townsend assigned us to the same assignment."
Bex straightened up indignantly. "What?"
"It's business. It's my job. It won't be personal." Cammie stood up and dragged her dad's old army bag from the hall closet. She never had been much of a packer. Her eyes drifted past the brand new luggage in the back, and she braced herself for the rush of emotion, but none came. The lack of emotion wasn't as startling as it should have been. Was she even feeling anymore?
Cammie slammed the door shut, on both the closet, and the memories, and went to go pack.
She would be fine. She was fine.
Let me know what you think :)
