A/N Hello guys! Sorry I haven't updated in forever! I've literally had most of the documents I'm about to update, plus a bunch of one-shots, in my documents folder. This one, however, didn't want to save, so I had to write it over again! Anyway, enjoy chapter 3

~Alex

Oh, twin, you read my mind! (Plus, I may sound like an egotistical person, but since Sam and I are twins, I have the right to appear!)

"I remember years ago, someone told me I should take

caution when it comes to love."

~Shontelle (Impossible)

Lauren POV

"Sam?" I said quietly, waiting to hear the response of one of my best friends, whom kicked butt just as much as her twin, although I went to this one because…well…this was the more sensible twin. Plus, when all other options fail, you go to her. Sam's twin was…a very…enthusiastic Gallagher Girl. Like Megan, maybe? Yeah, like Megan.

I waited in silence, then suddenly, a voice behind me said, "Laur, you're getting sloppy." And spy skills or not, I jumped up, then turned to face Samantha, who was grinning at me. How she is such a good spy, I have no idea.

She's my age! No, actually I think she's like…a day younger than me or something. And that's considering my birthday isn't until August, making me the second-youngest sophomore.

"Gosh, you freaked me out."

"That's why I'm in this business, Lauren dear," she said in a pleasant, spot-on British accent. I rolled my eyes a little, I had to admit.

"Anyway, I need your help."

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Once we were settled in Sam's suite, making sure there were no bugs that someone may have "accidentally left" as Sam put it (There were three).

"So, what's the deal?" she asked as we were settled on her bed, and I took a deep breath. "I need to know more about Michael J. Ashton."

"Michael J. Ashton? Sounds…familiar..." Sam began, then looked toward me for confirmation. I nodded.

"He's the founder of the Ring of Ashton…like…the sister group of the Circle of Cavan," I explained, and Sam nodded a little, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place.

"But…wasn't the Circle brought down like 20 years ago? By your mom, may I add?"

"Well…yes…but…let me just explain. The Ring and the Circle were two sister groups. Michael J. Ashton was friends with Ioseph Cavan, and they both liked power and dominance. Yet, they both wanted control of an organization. So they made two terrorist groups. The Ring and the Circle. You see, their names kind of go together," I took a deep breath, and let Sam process the information in that genius brain of hers that I lacked.

Sam nodded for me to continue, so I did," Anyway, Ashton's organization became powerful, but Cavan's dominated much more. Eventually, all of the Ring's power depended on the Circle. So when the Circle got taken down, the Ring broke. But they regained power, unlike the Circle…and…apparently they're after me."

"No. Way. Why?"

"I'm Michael J. Ashton's great-great-great granddaughter," I finished, and Sam said again, "No way!"

"Have I ever lied to you, Sam?"

"Well, in fourth grade you promised you'd give me your cupcake if I carried your back pack on the way home…"

"Something serious, Sam."

Just then Alex appeared at the door. And she had heard everything we'd said.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

You always have to be careful of who's eavesdropping on you while you talk about top-secret spy stuff in the suite of one of your best friends.

Even if the eavesdropper is none other than the aforementioned friends' twin.

Alex said, "And I'm not invited to help out? Because, I heard everything, you know. And it must suck being related to him," she turned to me, but it was actually an honest opinion.

I couldn't help but smile. "Fine. But what exactly are you gonna help out with?"

Then it was her turn to smirk. She leaned against the door frame and said, "Well, I could find double-agents, track the dude, stake him out, the usual," she smirked again and continued, "Besides, I wouldn't possibly have you get caught by anyone while you're staking out, unlike your roommates."

Gosh, sometimes I hate it when she does that.

"Fine."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Oreo, you there?" I whispered into the comms unit as I waited for Alex's response—totally not expecting her to say, "I wanted Cookie, remember? Oreo is too specific."

"Fine, Cookie."

"Mist, Trojan Horse and I gained access to a ventilation shaft, and we disabled all the security measures, so we can proceed," came Sam's voice through the comms unit.

"Thanks, S'more, and Trojan Horse."

"Cookie and Goddess have rejoined with S'more and Trojan Horse," came Megan's voice quietly. She's a very good operative, I had to admit. And she knew not to blow it on this mission—this mission wasn't just a little dare to bug Grandma's room.

Kylie was with me, and we silently made our way to their coordinates—Ruby and Sam had invented a very handy device that tracked our movements—not the standard version though. This one tracked the security measures that could potentially be harmful to an ally—or if you were an enemy, you could turn on more security measures. In this case, we were looking for the former.

We met up with Alex, Megan, Ruby and Sam and with sign language (It was way too risky to talk when we were all in the same spot), we agreed that I would go first, followed by Alex, Sam, Megan, Kylie and Ruby.

I inched slowly along the shaft, considering it couldn't have been more than about two feet tall, and, hearing voices ahead, I quietly told Alex to pass on to everyone to not make a sound. Our little group froze, silent, as we heard a voice say, "When is the right time to attack the girls?"

"Not anytime, soon. We have sources telling us that their grandparents and parents suspect something's up."

"The younger one will be easy. The other two, though, will be difficult."

"You really suggest that their parents don't suspect a thing?"

"They might not suspect what we'll be doing, but they probably guess that we're ready to strike at any given time."

"Hey, Arnold, I hear something."

"You know, so do I, Ivanov."

"Oh, relax, you two, these defenses can't be broken by anyone."

Ruby made the hand sign for 'Let's get the heck out of here,' and let me tell you, you will never see any other Gallagher Girls move as fast as we did.

We all trampled behind one another as quietly as we could (Well, as quietly as six girls can be when they're about to be caught by hostile operatives that won't be as lenient as your CoveOps professor and your Culture & Assimilation teacher are when they give you a week's worth of extra homework), then when we stepped outside we heard quiet whispers, and freaked.

We thought it was the security guards.

But we were wrong.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Megan Grace Newman, what the bloody hell are you doing here?"

"Ruby Elizabeth Anderson. I expected better of you."

"Kaylie Marie Winters! You know better than this!"

"Lauren Ann Goode, what do you think you're doing here?"

We were busted. By our parents.

I saw my mother, Aunty Bex, Liz, and Macey. Not to mention my dad (which meant I was most definitely busted), but also Uncles Grant and Jonas. But the main reactions were from our mothers.

Then Uncle Grant leaned closer, a very serious and livid look on his face as he said, "Tell me girls, what is the tenth rule of being an operative?"

Kaylie, Ruby, Megan, Sam, Alex and I all answered immediately, "Always recruit backup before engaging in a possible hostile encounter in deep cover while in hostile territory."

"Exactly. Now, what were you six doing sneaking out of school?"

We all looked down guiltily at the floor until Ruby said, "Just…something to test my new project with a golf cart." Ruby nodded to the golf car that was only supposed to carry three people…until Ruby made adjustments.

While Ruby Elizabeth Anderson may possibly be the smartest teenage girl I have ever meant (Not to mention maybe a future cancer curer), she's also the worst liar.

So none of our parents bought it. We didn't expect them to.

"Honestly girls, don't you think finding the plans of an terror group isn't exactly the way you want to spend your educational time at the Gallagher Academy?" My mother's voice was sharp, yet even. And I know as being her daughter, I shouldn't be afraid of my mother when she's mad. But honestly, being Cameron Ann Goode's fifteen-year-old daughter isn't exactly the easiest job on the planet.

"Really, Laur, I thought you were better than that," said a familiar voice from the shadows. I looked in shock as my older sister (Not to mention the person I totally want to be like when I graduate. Apart from my parents, of course) stepped out from the darkness.

"Nicole?"

"Hey," she said cheerfully, then called out again to the darkness, "You can come out now."

Then stepped four more people from the darkness. I recognized them as Kaylie's two older sisters, Kaitlyn and Kristine, Ruby's older brother, James, and one of Megan's older brothers—aka Nick.

My reactions were the same as my best friends.

"What are you—what are you guys doing here?!" exclaimed Ruby, stuttering a little. James grinned at little Ruby—he was smart, but he was actually more physical than brains, unlike his parents, Ruby, and their little sister Myriah.

He ruffled her blond hair, to which Ruby looked slightly annoyed, but then he replied, "The question is…what are six Gallagher Girls doing fifty miles away from school on a Saturday, when they're just 'testing a new golf cart'?"

Dang. He had us there. We couldn't answer, not even Sam, who is usually the best excuse maker on the planet. Not to mention the sensible one in our group.

So I finally spoke up a little, "We were looking for some clues as to which…" I trailed off, not really wanting to give away what we were doing.

But I didn't have to, because suddenly a burly guard yelled, "Hey, you all there!"

Guards came at us faster than Ruby when she's almost late for a class. Instantly we were on them, kicks flying, punches landing. I felt Megan stumble backwards from the force of a punch besides me. Kaylie, Nicole and James were fighting five guards in one cluster.

The adults, Ruby, and Kristine were with a cluster of like twenty guards. Kaitlyn, Nick, Megan and I were fighting six guards, and I kicked the one who punched Megan in a place guys do not liked being kicked in.

He fell to the floor, groaning in pain. I helped Megan up, seeing that she had a purple bruise and a cut on her left cheek on her usually flawless face.

Kaitlyn and Nick slammed one guard to the floor, Napotine patches out. A good operative always has them, just in case. I dug a pack of them out of my black flats, then handed some to Megan, who didn't really need them—she had a way larger amount that I did, having dug them out of her bra (That girl is smarter than some people give her credit for) then we ran full force at the guards, finishing them off, then went to help all our parents.

Sam was trying to disable the guard intercom, and all the security measures, while Alex, soon joined by Megan and I, fought off the guards trying to stop wonderful Sam from doing what she needed to.

"Got it!" she yelled out, and the lights that I hadn't even noticed turning on, stopped flashing. The sirens stopped screaming. It all went quiet, but then I heard more voices—knowing that this was far from being finished.

"Well, now, who are these precious beauties?" said a voice, even, flat, cold and British. I recognized him as one of the men whom we'd heard talking in the warehouse. He stepped into the little moonlight there was, so I saw his sharp features. Hazel eyes tinted with yellow—almost like a cat's.

Watchful. Silent. Deadly.

He had a neat pinstriped suit, graying hair in a neat part—he could pass for a bank manager, and not even be close to a spy.

He looked at me and my best friends—from the trace of dirt on Ruby's cheek, to Megan's scrapes, to cut on my eye, and to the mud on Kaylie's cheekbone. He smirked and said, "So, CIA's sending fifteen-year-old teenage Gallagher Girls to do the dirty work for them?" He shook his head and added, with another smirk, "CIA's getting worse than it used to be."

No one moved. No one made a sound. Then the man, quick as lightning, reached out and grabbed Ruby's thin wrist, pulled her so hard toward him I thought he'd break her tiny wrist, and set her besides him.

James lunged forward, grabbed the man's arm, twisted it, then tried to perform a Tythariam Maneuver on the man, but he easily countered it. James managed to push his little sister out of the way though, and he kicked the man's chest, then bloodied up his nose while he doubled over in pain.

Big spy mistake number one.

The man recovered fairly quickly, then looked up into James eyes. "So, defending your girlfriend?"

Idiot.

"She's my little sister, for your—" (James said a really bad word in French) "information. Next time you try attacking my little sister, get your facts straight."

"Oh, a rebel, those always are so much fun to deal with," said the man sarcastically, and I could have sworn he looked at my mother then.

Turns out she wasn't the only one he looked at.

He set his gaze on Kaylie, Kaitlyn and Kristine. "Oh, these are the President's daughters aren't they?" He smiled a cold smile, then continued, "I could take them and fetch quite a bit money, don't you think dears'?" he touched Kaylie's cheek and she shook with disgust.

"Don't touch me," she snapped, her voice perfect.

"Well, looks like your parents taught you how to be bratty little teenagers. You did quite well, my dear."

This man was crazy. I was guessing that he was calling in reinforcements, and trying to keep us distracted, and apparently I wasn't the only one who thought so because my dad said, "Girls, get in the car."

He wasn't talking to Nicole, or Kaityln or Kristine. No, he was talking to the six fifteen-year-old Gallagher Girls that were going to be busted as soon as they got back to the Gallagher Academy.

If they got back to the Gallagher Academy.

We didn't argue, as much as Megan and Kaylie—and even me—looked like they wanted to. We just walked silently to the van everyone had come in. Then I noticed a car with about six seats, which I'm guessing the teenagers came in.

"Megan, time to initiate Plan Hot-Wheels," I told her, and she looked where I was pointing.

"But…we're in enough trouble!" exclaimed Ruby. "No, Megan, just don't."

"But it sounds like a good idea," Megan countered, a desperate look in her cocoa eyes. She didn't wait for Ruby's approval—Megan jumped into the drivers' seat (Luckily, she didn't have Aunty Bex's driving skills—or lack thereof) and drove straight at the man, almost running him over, then Sam and Alex knocked him out with a blow to the head, and looked at the adults triumphantly.

Kaylie, Megan and I joined them, while Ruby stayed with her face buried in her arms. The adults' reactions were first shock, a ½ second flash of happiness, then total and utter anger.

We. Were. Dead.

"Megan Grace Newman!" snapped Aunty Bex, glaring at Megan.

"You were about to be attacked," was all that Megan said.

"We did just stop you guys from getting attacked by about fifty guards," I added, coming up besides Megan to take my place on that land of shame.

Mom, Dad, Aunty Bex, and Uncle Grant stared at us for a second. I tried to read their eyes. But our parents' are the best spies ever. That makes it impossible to see what they're thinking.

"You may or may not have a point, Megan," started Aunty Bex and since I guess Mom and Aunty Bex have a weird mind-reading-best-friend-connection (Kind of like me and Sam do…and I guess Alex and Sam…) Mom finished, "But that doesn't mean you two are entirely off the hook. We'll discuss this…back at school, Lauren,"she said when I opened my mouth.

"But, Mom—"

"Laur…"

"Like Megan said we saw—"

"Lauren Ann Goode!" That shut me up. Like I've mentioned before, it's hard being Cameron Goode's daughter. Especially when she calls you by your full name.

Megan, Sam, Alex and me were stuck with the adults while Kylie and Ruby went with Nicole, James, Nick, Kristine, Kaitlyn, and Aunt Liz and Uncle Jonas.

At least we got something out of that experience.

(A/N I was thinking of ending it here, then I realized I owe you guys a long chapter for not updating in forever!)

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When we got back to the Gallagher Academy, it was raining, so we drove under a sky that matched my mood.

We trekked inside, making sure not to get mud inside, or else Madame Dabney would have an absolute fit (So would the housekeeping staff, to be fair), then followed our parents to Grandma and Grandpa's office.

The adults leaned against the wall, while we sat down, looking at our shoes.

"So, girls I hear you took a golf cart for a 'test drive' fifty miles away?" asked Grandpa Joe, striding in, then taking a seat and looking at us expectantly.

Ruby turned red at that, remembering her awful lie. It was completely silent for a moment until Kylie spoke up. "No, actually, we were doing exactly what our assignment was, Mr. Solomon," she said innocently.

Megan and I caught on. "Yes, remember the assignment you gave us last week? Enter hostile territory and gain information of potential threats?" I spoke up.

"Well, we decided Roseville was boring, since there's no one good around,"—I could have sworn Grandpa cracked a small smile, proud at us noticing—"So we decided to go somewhere more…covert."

"Well then girls, your 'assignment' interrupted a live op," said Mom calmly, leaning against the wall, the perfect epitome of a top CIA spy.

"It was a live op?" asked Ruby quietly. Aunt Macey nodded. "You girls could have ruined the op—you almost did, if it hadn't been for 'Operation Hot-Wheels," she said, glancing at Megan and I, but I saw a spark of playfulness in her blue eyes.

"You were supposed to know!" snapped Aunt Bex.

"Well, no one ever tells us anything!" I said defiantly. "It's all that pretty talk, Oh, you don't need to know…It isn't important…No one ever tells us anything!"

"It's need to know, Lauren," warned Mom, but I didn't stop. "Then we shouldn't be blamed for almost ruining the op!"

Mom is the best person to argue with ever. Really, I say anything, she'll counter it in a flash. She just rested her head against the wall and said, "Really, Lauren, then tell me, why were you talking to that boy in town? Why did you sneak out on the night of the Code Black? Why did you show the girls' that sign?" She had us there, but she continued, "I'm sure it wasn't a coincidence you were at the warehouse when you had all those clues about the Ring. I think you were planning to do the same as we were. So tell me is that true?"

She said it so calmly, it scared me. So I stayed quiet, looking at my shoes. Mom straightened up, and told us in a sharp voice, "Girls, you do not need to be involved in this, understand? This is too dangerous for fifteen-year-old girls. You may be exceptional, but you don't have the clearance or the training to take part in this, understand?"

We all nodded, and silently shuffled out of the room, our parents following us. I filed out with everyone else, and all my aunts and uncles followed my best friends, and Sam and Alex.

But my mother pulled me aside. "Mom?" I realized Dad was besides her, and I didn't realize what was going on.

"Lauren, even though I'm not happy with what you did, I do have to let you know to…to watch yourself, sweetie, okay?"

"Okay…"

"Don't ever go anywhere without backup, don't trust people other than the girls, and the adults, okay?"

"Okay."

"And sweetie…stay strong."

Then the cold meaning behind her words hit me like a bucket of ice cold water. "You're going on a mission, aren't you?"

My mother nodded. "And…Laur, it's not going to be an easy mission. So in case…in case anything happens, do what we say, okay?"

I nodded numbly, and my mother hugged me, and my dad kissed my forehead. "We love you, Lauren," Mom said, then they turned and disappeared.

A/N Phew. I've actually been getting this in about two weeks, in between time and all that. Not that I have much time, but I did my best. So, how is it? I'm trying to really have a lot going on at the moment!

P.S. For Christmas, I'm getting SO MUCH CIMORELLI STUFF! Since they opened a merchandise store…I'm getting a hoodie, a beanie cap…and yeah…sorry to bore you!

P.S.S. Luv you twin!

~Alex

And they say age is just a number

But we're not getting any younger

~Cimorelli (Made in America)