APOV
My schedule was fairly simple. World of Weapons first, then Poisons and Antidotes, Languages 101, Lunch, Cove Ops, and P&E. Having a father as the headmaster has its quirks too. I had the same classes as Megan, Lauren, and Kat.
The only down- side to this exchange (besides being beat at my own game by a BOY) is that I have to have a freaking guide. As in I have to follow along behind some idiot like a loyal little puppy dog. My mother told the whole junior class about the guide thing the day before we left. I tried arguing with her on the pretense that I knew the school better than any student there, but she ended the argument telling me it was to "encourage unity between the two schools," whatever the hell that means. So I was now on my way to World of Weapons (seriously, who thinks of these names) along with my friends to meet my new guide.
BREAAK
When we got there, the boys were already in there waiting for the teacher and goofing off. The class was out in the fields at the shooting range. Us girls (there were 14 of us with the same schedule while the other girls have a slightly different one) just sat and talked about nothing in particular. Or, at least we did until we heard a gunshot go off. I slowly took out a concealed gun (it was designed to stun your attacker for about ten minutes giving you plenty of time to get away) but kept it hidden from everyone but my sisters. They made sure to keep it hidden from view while silently following my lead. We looked up to see 14 guns pointed our way. This was too simple. Catching the eye of my sisters, I pointed to my eye (the Gallagher code for three), then to my nose (two), then my mouth (one). As soon as my hand touched my chin (now!), 14 guns flew out of concealment and 14 thumps hit the ground. I smiled to myself. These poor boys didn't know what was coming.
We stood up and walked over to the stunned boys. Picking up the guns, we unloaded them and placed them on the ground just out of reach. Then I went around looking for a familiar face. I stopped on a group of four near the back. It was Newman and three of the boys who passed the Gallagher Test. One of them I recognized as Megan's twin brother. "Hey, Megan! Look who it is," I said, calling her over, "It's Michael. I guess the toothpaste finally washed out of his hair." We both grinned, remembering our successfully hilarious prank.
Slight stirrings alerted us that the boys were coming to. I squatted down next to Newman to get a closer look at him before he fully woke. He had Uncle Grant's dirty blonde hair and must have been given his "Greek God" gene (at least, that's what I heard from the girls on the way to our dorms after dinner. "Your capturer was sooo hot!" and "He looked like a god!"). He didn't have a single blemish on his face, which made me s little envious seeing as I had to use something Lauren gave me to make sure my forehead didn't break out. I stood up and walked over to where my sisters were standing when I realized all I was doing was making myself angrier at this kid for stupid reasons.
"I'd give them 1 minute and 27 seconds before the gas wears off," Megan said. It WAS her prototype we tested out on them after all. Exactly 1 minute and 27 seconds later the boys were rubbing their eyes and looking around.
"What the hell?" was heard from the back where I had left Newman and his friends. I smirked (so maybe I did pick that up from my dad...) knowing that the score was slowly evening out. When all of the boys were on their feet, I saw the teacher walk up. "Congratulations girls. Your handling of weaponry is superb. My name is Mr. Solomon and I will be your weapons instructor.
"Uncle Joe!" I screamed, unable to control myself. I mean, I had not seen him or Aunt Abby since two summers ago. I ran and threw my arms around him, making him chuckle. Patting me on the back, he told me, "We'll catch up after dinner." Nodding sheepishly, he turned back to the class acting like nothing happened. Following his lead, I casually walked back to my sisters, ignoring the confused looks from the boys. I caught a few whispered comments as I passed, "How does she know Mr. Solomon" being one of them.
Tuning back into what Uncle Joe was saying, I heard, "Each of you will be paired with a guide. For this class, I have set up a little capture the flag game, but instead of using a flag, we are using a list. It will be girls against boys. The boys will be guarding the list since they know the forest better (I thought I saw a ghost of a smile on his lips when he said that), and the girls will try to take it. The rules are simple. You have one hour to play this game. If the girls do take it before time runs out, boys, you make steal it back. Whoever has the list at the end of the hour wins. No maiming, killing, or other way permanently hurting each other. You may only use your hands and anything else you find in the forest as weapons. To ensure that this rule is followed, each of you will be forced to relinquish all hidden weapons. You may take prisoners. The 'jails' are at each of your bases. I highly recommend someone be on watch at each 'jail' 24/7. The flag must be visible at all times. As soon as I blow this whistle you will have 15 minutes to strategize, and I will blow it again to signal that an hour has started. Any questions?" Uncle Joe looked around at our group of students, separated by boys and girls. When no one stepped forward to ask a question, he continued, "Very well, please step forward to relinquish your weapons."
Each group turned to have their backs to the other group to give each other some privacy since we had weapons hidden in some rather sketchy spots (like I have a small pistol strapped to the inside of my thigh). When we had all finished, we turned back to face the boys, and I noticed a piled of twenty or so weapons by each (about the same as my sisters' piles). "Abigail, please continue to relinquish your weapons," Uncle Joe told me. I said a few choice words in Greek and walked up to him. He knew ne way too well, but I guess he would have to considering he showed me where to conceal most of my weapons. I took out a long knife from the sole of my left shoe, and a poison that could cause blindness, paralysis, and death depending on the dosage with its antidote from my right. I took out a dart gun fully loaded from my bra (hey, don't judge! What do you think they were made for?), and the pistol on the inside of my thigh. I took out a dagger from my sock and finally turned to look at Uncle Joe when I was sure I only had a couple weapons still on me. Out of all my sisters, my pile was the smallest since I tended to keep my weapons on me. You can never be too sure in this business so I always keep a couple. Joe nodded at me with a twinkle in his eye knowing full well that I still had weapons. It's not like I'm going to use them, it's just a safety precaution.
I turned back to my class to find that the boys were looking at me like I grew three heads. Uncle Joe put an end to that by blowing the whistle. The boys ran into the woods and us girls just huddled up. They all looked at me and my friends as if waiting to receive orders. I sighed inwardly thinking, Do I always have to everything? My friends and I looked at each other, debating with our eyes who would have to come up with this plan. I lost. I sighed out loud this time and broke out of the huddle into the middle of the group. Quickly I drew a small sketch of the paths and said, "Ok, listen up. Lauren, you take Sydney, Marissa, and Kaitlyn with you. Go around the backside of the woods by this path (I pointed to the one on the left) and wait for my signal. Kat, you are going to come in from the front. Take Phoebe, Helen, and Tyler (our three best fighters after Kathryn) with you. Megan, you, Trina, and Lindsay are going to stay here and guard the jail. Set up your best defense system you can with our limited resources. That just leaves me, Jordan, and Theresa (the fastest girls and also fellow pavement artists). We are going to come in from the side and run as fast as we can with the list. Lauren and Kathryn, I want you guys to create a distraction. We will execute the plan closer to the end of the hour so the boys won't have time to react. While going through the forest, disable as many booby traps as possible as capture as many unsuspecting boys as you can. If you need help just call through comms (luckily Solomon didn't make us give those up. We also have our napotine patches still). Good luck and don't get caught." We broke the huddle just as the whistle blew again. Let the fun begin.
WPOV
We made it through to our side of the forest in one minute and 30 seconds. Mr. Solomon left the list in a small clearing on the far side of the woods directly opposite from where the girls were right now. Taking charge like everyone always expects me to do I tell them the plan, "Okay, I want Jake and Trent to stay by the jail at all times. I'm not trying to say that you aren't good fighters, but I need you two to make the best security system possible with what we have. You two have the best brains of all of us. Nick, you take Jason, Charlie, and Stan and guard the flag. I'm going to take Jack, Mason, and Glenn and keep watch over the two paths. Mike, I need you, Brandon, Jared, and Ryan scout the forest. Be silent yet deadly and try to pick off as many girls as possible. The less girls, the easier it is. Call for backup if you need help via comms (we still have those and napotine patches), and whatever you do, don't underestimate these girls. Move out!" We all split up into our groups, Jake and Trent immediately going to work on reinforcing out jail. Mike and his crew started circling the flag, and Nick's men disappeared into the trees. Glenn and I started walking down the front path setting up booby traps while Jack and Mason did the same thing on the back trail. I hear the whistle to start blow a couple minutes later. I never said we would play fair now did I?
The comms unit buzzed to life in my ear.
"Hey guys, you all on?" I asked.
"Trojan Horse here," that was Jake.
"Hacker314 here," Trent.
"Two-Face here," Nick.
"Thorn here," Jason.
"Fang here," Charlie.
"Camaro here," Stan.
"Joker here," Jack.
"Falcon here," Mason.
"Skater here," Glenn.
"Fly here," Mike.
"Bulldog here," Brandon.
"Jaws here," Jared.
"Swindle here," Ryan.
"Hercules here," I said, "Alright guys, let's put this show on the road."
APOV (A/N: This was going to be part of the next chapter, but I felt bad for not updating.)
Jordan, Theresa and I were silently walking through the forest, keeping to the shadows and straining our ears for any out of place noises. It was 15 minutes into the mission, and so far, no one was having any trouble. I heard the sound of a twig snapping about ten feet away to my left. Jordan, Theresa, and I froze, scanning the trees. I motioned for us to split up; we could keep in touch via comms. I started running toward where I heard the noise, my feet making not a sound over the dry leaves.
"I hope you're finished with that security stuff, Mouse, Stitches, and Virus (Trina, Lindsay, and Megan) because I think Comet (Jordan), Eagle (Theresa), and I (codename: Ghost) will be bringing you some company," I whispered into the comms. I reached a clearing with four boys in it, looking for any disturbances in the scenery. I stayed perfectly still, watching as their eyes slid over me like people have done all my life. I waited until they had their backs to me, and then crept closer, staying in the shadows. Before I was in earshot of the boys, I whispered, "Comet and Eagle, four targets standing in clearing 23 paces from splitting point." I heard two assurances that help would be on the way, but I never took my eyes off of the four boys in front of me. I was in hearing distance now, and caught the last half of one's sentence, "-could be anywhere."
"Well keep looking. They can't be that hard to spot, Ryan. They're girls wearing red and black uniforms and white blouses. Maybe they didn't hear the twig snap," one of the boys I recognized as one of the ten to complete the Gallagher Test. There was another one there too, and it was him who said, "Jared, Will told us not to underestimate them, you are doing the exact opposite of what he said."
"I'm not underestimating them Nick, I just think that if they were anywhere near us, we would see them is all," Jared replied. Just then, I could feel the presence of my two sisters. I could tell they had heard that last comment from the stoic looks on their faces. With her hands, Jordan motioned us to circle around the clearing. Once we nodded and got into position, she stepped out into the clearing.
"Hello," she said in a slightly seductive voice. All three of us had left our sweaters at base to keep from suffocating in the heat, and Jordan had unbuttoned her top button to show a small amount of cleavage. I laughed quietly as the targets whipped around and openly stared at her. In my opinion, Jordan was really pretty, and I could tell the boys thought so too. She slowly walked up to Jared, who stood motionless with his mouth slightly open. Now that I saw him up close, I could tell him and Jordan would make a good match. I would have to ask her about that.
"What exactly did you say about us not being able to hide?" I was mentally laughing my ass off right now. Jared obviously didn't know how to handle Jordan. I could tell she was having fun with this by the way the corner of her mouth twitched ever so slightly. She purposely licked her lips, bringing Jared's eyes to her mouth. His mouth was still hanging slightly ajar. Jordan noticed this too, because she closed it, rising on her toes to stage whisper, "You don't want to catch flies now do we?" After saying this, she pulled a napotine patch out and stuck it to Jared's forehead, effectively knocking him out. Theresa and I jumped out of hiding, slapping patches on the other two victims standing there like idiots, watching Jordan. I noticed the guy called Nick must have slipped away while that little exchange was going on. Oh well, I'm sure he is going to report back to base to tell them just how dirty we play.
Jordan high- fived Theresa and me, and we each picked up a boy. They were freaking heavy! We made it to base and put them in jail. I noticed Jordan looking at Jared one last time before walking away. Ha! I knew she had a thing for him! We split up again to scout more of the area. It was already a half an hour into the mission. We had fifteen more minutes until we had to be in position. So far, those three were the only boys we had managed to capture.
"Winged Devil, what is your team's standing?" I asked Lauren. She responded with, "Two boys attacked from behind, taking out Titanic (Kaitlyn) and Mask (Marissa) before we could do anything. They ran back into the woods, and we gave chase, but we soon lost them when they went through a particularly thick part." That means we are one ahead right now. "Tiger, what about you?" I asked Kat. "There was an attack on us, but we fought them off and came out with only a few cuts and bruises and no losses," was the response. "Good," I told her, "Send one of yours to join Winged Devil, and we will start the plan." I heard a few shouts of approval from my sisters.
I was walking through the forest alone when I heard a thud. I whirled around only to come face to face with Newman. He must have jumped out of a tree or something because he definitely wasn't there to begin with. He smirked at me when I crouched down into a defensive stance and did the same. We circled each other for a short while until he spoke, "You know, for someone who was trying to hide her identity, you didn't do a very good job of it. I knew you were my hostage as soon as you spoke."
I could already feel my anger bubbling up and I replied coolly, "I believe my identity was and is being kept pretty damn nicely since you don't even know my last name." And then I pounced.
As he blocked my move, he replied, "I can figure out your last name just by process of elimination. Like the 'Uncle Joe' scene. Your family would have to be damn close to him to call him Uncle. (He twisted my arm behind my back. Again.) Or you might be related. (I twisted out of his grip and kicked his legs out from underneath him.) The way you talked to Headmaster Goode with a touch more gentleness than you should have suggests you have a close relationship with him. (We wrestled on the ground for a little longer until he pinned my arms over my head and sat with some of his weight not pushing down on my rib cage so I could breathe, for which I was grateful.) So that would make me conclude that... but that can't be possible! You can't be-"
"My name is Abigail, Abigail Goode." I could see the shock on his face. Welcome to the club, I thought bitterly. I used his moment of shock to shift my weight and roll us over so that I was the one sitting on his stomach with his arms pinned down. Unlike him, I rested my full weight on his stomach, it's not like he couldn't support it or anything.
"But- how could you- why would they- what did I," I doubt I would ever see Newman this flustered ever again. It was actually sorta cute, the way his eyes widened slightly, and his eyebrows drew closer together, and- Wait what? You can't think he's cute, you're not allowed to get into any kind of relationship with a guy! I mentally slapped myself. Besides, Newman was slowly starting to get his act together. He was starting to realize certain things, like the fact that I was the one pinning him down, not the other way around. He put a determined look on his face and said his first full sentence in a minute and 26 seconds, "We need to figure out WHY."
A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating sooner! I could give a whole bunch of half-hearted excuses but you're too good for that. Anyway, thanks for reading this. I made it about 1,000 words longer than normal as a way to say sorry. I won't be able to update until around August since I'm going out of town. Please review even though I don't deserve it please! Oh, and thank you anya for pointing out my mistake! Will is half black so his skin is olive colored, but he looks more like his dad. Thanks again!
~nothingevergoesasplanned