Chapter Three

Cammie's POV

Run. Faster. Faster, faster! Why wouldn't my legs let me quicken my pace? Why did I feel like I was suffocating? I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. Everything was closing in around me. I tried desperately to scream for help, but all I could do was open my mouth. Not a single sound escaped my lips. They were coming!

Closer.

Closer.

CLOSER!

I couldn't handle it, I thrashed around with all the force I could gather to escape from my bonds. I couldn't let them take me. I heard a gun- shot pierce the night sky. It terrified me. They had already killed my father, they couldn't get me.

Get me.

Get me.

Get her.

Get her. Boston. The roof. Zach's mom. I tried to fight again but it was useless.I was trapped. Hopeless. Helpless.

I felt a sharp pain slide across my face. Then nothing.

"Did you really have to smack her?"

"Well I told you to get her and you didn't."

Suddenly I saw a blinding light. I squinted my eyes to let them adjust then slowly surveyed my surroundings.

Crap.

I looked up and saw three pairs of eyes hovering over me.

"Cammie! What the bl–''

"BEX!" Liz cut her off.

I looked up at them. "What happened? I- I was being chased….Zach's mom…the gun.."

Macey rolled her eyes and slipped her sleeping mask back on. "Cam, It was a nightmare. Go to sleep, NOW."

"But I was suffocating!" I argued. "I know I couldn't breathe!"

Liz twirled a strand of hair around her finger.

"Yeah, Bex put a pillow over your face then sat on you…"

"BEX!" I yelled out of disbelief.

"Well, you wouldn't stop screaming or flailing around in your bed." Bex replied nonchalantly.

"Was it really necessary to smack me?" I asked and crossed my arms.

"You wouldn't wake up." Bex said as she inspected her nails.

"But the gun…." I couldn't figure it out. "You didn't really.." My voice trailed off.

Bex pointed to the floor as Liz crawled back in her bed.

I looked down and saw that I had knocked off my bedside lamp, an alarm clock, and a journal.

"Oh." I got up and knelt down to pick up everything and Bex did the same. I moved my hand to the journal but she got to it before I could. She closed it but not before the evapopaper note from Zach fell out.

"Cam!" She whispered. "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked after reading it.

I shrugged. Luckily, that was the truth. I didn't really know.

"I don't know..I just found it yesterday."

Bex nodded and we went back to bed.

The first few classes were nothing out of the ordinary. COW with Professor Smith, (Well actually, he got off on a random tangent about underground nuclear tunnels in China, Bosnian food, and an incident that occurred in Colombia involving an old farm truck, an envelope, and a banana.) Culture and Assimilation with Madame Dabney, (where she politely criticized Bex's choice to leave her elbows on the table, Liz's crossing of her legs, and my lack of actual make up use for cosmetic purposes…Macey agreed with that one, though.) and Protection and Enforcement. (Where Bex sufficiently annihilated me for the nightmare incident at 3 AM.) Then it was Covert Operations, Senior year (aka CovOps 3)… without Mr. Solomon. After P&E, Macey, Liz, Bex, and I walked back into the building. We looked at each other and gave a sad smile. This was it. Macey was just entering CovOps 2 after a very intense summer session of catching up, Liz was going down to the lab for Advanced Invention, Research, and Technical Backup, and Bex and I were heading to CovOps 3… In a new Sublevel that none of us had ever experienced. After a few goodbyes and see you laters, Bex and I headed off to Sublevel three. After full body scans, two rounds of ten questions fired at us in multiple languages, and three P&E tests against dummies, we walked into the sterile, metal room that was labeled,

"Covert Operations III"

Professor Joseph Solomon

We looked at each other and sighed. Things just wouldn't be the same. Bex walked in ahead of me and plopped down in front of Tina Walters and Anna Fetterman. (Yeah, you heard me right, ANNA is in CovOps 3!) I slid in beside her and Tina instantly started blabbing away.

"My sources have told me that Mr. Solomon will be here but because he was arrested last semester then practically killed, he'll be in heavy disguise."

Bex and I just rolled our eyes. No one would ever know what really happened in the tombs of Blackthorne- no one except myself, Zach, Bex, Liz, Macey, and Mrs. Goode. I shuddered at the thought of his mother. Bex must have noticed because she looked at me with concern. Our attention came back to the real world when a tall, mysterious, James Bond-esque figure stepped into the room.

"Who is the current President of Albania?" He asked in Swahili.

"Bamir Topi." Bex answered.

"Miss Walters, without looking, what color are my eyes?" He fired again in Mandarin Chinese.

"Grey." She replied without blinking.

"Who am I?" He asked in English after turning around to face us.

The silence was dreadful. No one moved. He went to raise his eyebrows when I interrupted.

"John Smith."

I saw a smile begin to form on his face but he quickly hid it, maintaining his stoic demeanor.

"Very good, Miss…"

"Cammie.." I added. "Cammie Morgan."

He nodded, but his attention was quickly turned to a giggling Kim Lee and Mick Morrison. He looked at them and motioned for them to tell the class.

"Well..It's just…" Kim giggled again.

"John Smith?" Mick cut in.

Mr. Smith nodded. "Yes? That's my name."

Courtney Bauers grinned, "With a name like that, you kinda have to work for the CIA!"

Eva Alvarez smirked and asked, "Who's your wife? Jane Doe?"

That comment earned a laugh from the entire class and a grin from Mr. Smith.

"No, actually, That would be my sister." He winked then added, "I'm not married."

"Are you dating?" Bex questioned.

He grinned. "Classified."

CovOps 3 came and went after the initial excitement of having a teacher even hotter than Mr. Solomon. Bex and I raced back to our room in anticipation of a few free minutes before lunch and then Advanced Encryption and Decoding II.

"Hey, I need to slip down to my mom's office and grab a book I left in there when I was studying." I said.

"Oh, okay, I'll be in here." Bex replied without looking up from the mirror in the bathroom.

I walked out and closed the door behind me before walking down the hallway to my mom's office. I was about to place my hand on the doorknob to go in when I heard voices talking inside.

"How did it go today, John?" My mom asked.

"Pretty well I guess… They don't hate me yet." Mr. Smith said.

"How did she handle it?"

"She's excellent- more impressive than half of the spies at Langley right now."

"And does she feel comfortable around you?"

"I don't know yet, but I'm working on it.

"Thanks, John… And I'm sure you'll get used to teaching. It's not as exciting as field work, but it has its perks."

"Yeah, I like this perks that come with this job."

I couldn't handle it anymore. With that last response, I could practically see him drooling over my mom.

Ew.

I opened the door and startled my mom. (Her skills are wearing off…she's getting old…)

"Cammie dear! Goodness, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

Okay, just for the record, she only says 'Cammie dear' when she's trying to hide something.

I looked between her and Mr. Smith and acted confused.

"I just came here to get my book…"

"Oh, okay, sweetie. It's over there." She motioned to the couch where I was sitting earlier. "John, this is my daughter Cameron."

"Cammie." I corrected. "It's Cammie."

Mr. Smith nodded politely. "Yes, you're uh, in my Covert Operations 3 class, right?"

He was lying. He knew exactly who I was. He's a seasoned field operative that could quote a three hour movie after only watching it once. This man was not stupid enough to forget someone's name who he met fifteen minutes prior to that. But of course I nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, that's me." I added as I picked up my book.

He looked at it and said, "The Beginnings and History of the Circle of Cavan." He hid a smile and added. "That's an interesting choice."

I shrugged.

My mom gave him a half of a death glare. (Which actually would have been deadly if he had been the Prime Minister of a European nation that you don't have the clearance to know about!)

I suppressed a laugh and half smiled.

"I guess I'll be going now." I said as I walked towards the door.

"Bye, sweetie." Mom said as I shut her heavily armored door.

I stood outside for a moment and waited for them to say something again.

"Do you think she's figured it out yet?" I heard my mom ask.

"Nah, it's impossible. Even for a girl of her capability." He said.

I heard my mom sigh. "Good. It's not time for her to know yet."

Thank you for all the reviews and story favorites and alerts! I love getting all your insights and comments! Okay, a few things:

1) What do you think Cammie isn't supposed to know? {Ps, this has already been decided so your guesses won't change it:}

2) Do you think John Smith is good or evil? {This has also already been decided.}

3) How does Zach get all his information and deliver it to Cammie, unnoticed?

4) What would you like to see happen in this story?

Please answer in the review section along with your comments about this chapter!

Thanks!

(By the way, I will try and post a chapter tomorrow. (Friday, Dec. 2, but I have to take the SAT on Saturday so there probably won't be a new chapter until Sunday. Sorry!)