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Chapter 4 : Old Friends & Tracking

Zach's POV

I stared expressionless at the dead man on the floor. It wasn't the first time I had seen a person dead. I heard Cammie gulp and noticed that she was trembling. Her eyes were wide, fixed on the sightless blue eyes of the dead agent. Her hands were shaking. I frowned and put my arm around her, turning her away from the gruesome sight. I held her trembling body against mine and stroked her hair, attempting to calm her down. It must have come as a shock to her, seeing a dead person for the first time. A few silent moments passed and Cammie finally calmed down. She pulled away, her hair hiding her face.

"Thanks…" she trailed off.

I smiled at her and touched her arm.

I cast another look around the ruined safe house, and decided we should disappear before something else happened. I took Cammie's hand and led her quietly down the stairs and out onto the dark alley. We blended into the people on the street. I went to another pay phone and called the director.

"The agent is dead," I told him quietly, and he was silent for a few seconds. But he quickly became businesslike.

"That package is of great importance to the CIA. I need you to get it back from whoever has it now."

"I understand."

"Go back to your hotel room. You'll find something useful." I could hear a smile in the director's voice.

I hung up the phone and stepped outside the booth, touching Cammie's arm briefly to tell her to follow me. We hailed another taxi and rode back to the hotel.

I slipped our room key into our suite and immediately sensed that something was out of place. The jacket I had left on the couch was in a slightly different position. I narrowed my eyes and pulled out my gun once more.

There was a loud crash from one of the bedrooms.

"Oopsie daisy!"

Cammie put a hand on my arm. She had a little smile on her lips.

"Put your gun down, that's Liz," she said, bouncing off towards the source of the crash.

We found Liz standing sheepishly in the middle of a broken vase. The minute she saw Cammie she squealed and ran towards her, little mess of fine blonde hair. Cammie had a slightly mollified look on her face.

Jonas walked out of the bathroom wearing a weird headpiece with an antenna that made him look like an alien. He was holding a little device in his hand, muttering to himself.

"Hey, Jonas," I said sarcastically, and he jumped about a mile, like he hadn't noticed we were here.

"Oh…hi," he said, nodding at us, before going back to whatever it is that aliens do.

"Jonas. What are you doing?" Cammie asked, her forehead scrunched up in a totally cute way.

Liz rolled her eyes.

"Well, he insisted on having to be the one to check this place for bugs. I have this device that's so much better looking, but he had to go with this-this antenna thing."

"Yeah, well, I couldn't be positive that your device actually worked."

"Hey, just because it's tiny doesn't mean it isn't good!"

Cammie and I exchanged a look. They were acting like third graders with a desperate need to be the best.

"My devices are always the best."

"I need to talk to you Cammie!" Liz said in a huff and dragged her out.

I gave a half smile to Jonas.

"What was that about?"

"I need to be better than her! I need to be the best, and the only person in the way is her," Jonas replied grumpily.

"Wow, what a nice way to win a woman's heart," I mused.

Cammie's POV

"Uh, is there a problem with you and Jonas? You guys got along fine when we were at Gallagher," I said, confused.

"Well, that was before I knew that in order to be the best, I had to be better than him. Now, he's just my competitor. Nothing more!" Liz said, her voice getting high at the end.

"Sure…"

"So! It's so good to see you Cam!" Liz cried, trying to change the subject. I narrowed my eyes but let her continue.

"Jonas and I are here to help you guys with the research part. Since the agent didn't show up, we need to find the package. Starting with the agent. We need to find out where he is," she rambled on.

"Liz. The agent's dead."

"Oh no…that's…"

"Yeah."

"Well then, we need to track the package. The director said there is a tracker on it that can be traced with the right skills."

"Okay, let's get started."

I tried to walk out of the room.

"Hey! Wait. What's up with you and Zach?" Liz asked, waggling her eyebrows, and ending up looking like Mr. Bean.

"Uh, nothing," I said in a squeaky voice, making a face like I didn't have a clue what she was talking about.

I quickly walked out of the room and made a beeline towards the guys. They shut up as I came into proximity of them. I shot them a suspicious glance before telling Jonas that we should probably get started on tracking the package.

Liz and Jonas started setting up this elaborate, high-tech um, thing, with loads of wires and electronic devices, which were no doubt invented by either of them.

"That wire goes there."

"No, it's white, it should go here."

"No, it has to be next to the black line, it's there."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is!"

"Just shut up and do your job," Zach snapped at them, and they both looked down, looking a little ashamed.

A few minutes later, their new base camp was set up and running. Liz was typing furiously into one laptop, while Jonas was messing with another one. I took a look at their screens and they showed the same thing.

"Is it better if you guys both try to trace it at once?" I asked.

"Shh. I'm trying to beat him," Liz muttered at me.

I made a face and leaned back, exchanging a glance with Zach. He shrugged.

"Yes! I'm done!" they both shouted together. Then they shot daggers at the other.

"Will you please set aside the competition for a moment?"

"Ok…well, we need to get to an old warehouse on Georgetown Street. In an alley."

We set out, with Jonas tracking the package with a handheld device. We caught a taxi, and I ended up being squished in between Liz and Zach. Zach's leg pressed against mine. When I tried to move, he subtly pressed harder, looking nonchalantly out the window. I blinked at him. Does he like me? Or was it just a coincidence?

We got out of the taxi from about a block away. Very carefully, we made our way to the warehouse. It was big and old, with crumbling, once-red, now black brick walls. The door was half open. Knowing that Liz was prone to another "Oopsie daisy" moment, I told her and Jonas to wait outside. Zach and I stepped in and…

Nothing.

Well, except for dust and a teensy bit of sunlight.

I stared at Zach, bewildered, but he wasn't looking at me. I instantly put my guard on, and raked the warehouse again for anybody hiding.

No one.

I frowned, walking around, my footsteps making loud noises in the hollow building. A gold object caught my eye. It was a pin, in the shape of a 'C'. I examined it, before putting it in my pocket. Suddenly, Zach was at my side, touching my hand. We froze, listening. My head whirled towards the side door, where we heard light footsteps. In a flash, we both threw ourselves out the door as a dark figure threw a bomb into the warehouse. The impact of the explosion threw me hard onto the ground. I groaned and got up to see Zach already racing towards the dark figure, who was running away from us. I recognized him as the guy I had seen at the Trevi Fountain.

I raced after Zach, until something turned my blood cold.

There was a ear deafening noise as the dark figure twisted his body and shot at Zach. I could see the glint of the gun. I could almost hear the sound of the bullet whizzing by Zach. I ran and ran, trying to get closer to him.

"Cammie, get away!" I faintly heard Zach yelling, but I ignored him. I should leave him there, save my own life. But my legs weren't letting me. I could only move forward, towards where Zach was.

Another crack was heard as another bullet left a gun. This time, Zach was shooting. He fired a few more shots. The dark figure twisted around once more to shoot a final shot. I watched in horror as the bullet flew towards Zach and grazed his upper arm.

"Zach!" I heard someone scream. Maybe it was me.

Zach staggered, gripping his arm. The dark figure darted around the corner and disappeared. I finally reached Zach and took his arm, looking at the wound. Luckily, it wasn't too deep. I sighed in relief, hugging him. Zach tensed, and I blushed, quickly pulling away. I fiddled with my hair, looking anywhere but at Zach.

Liz and Jonas caught up with us, with grave expressions on their faces.

"You okay, man?" Jonas asked.

"Yeah. Just a graze."

"I have a first aid kit somewhere," Liz mumbled, digging in her backpack.

She pulled it out and handed it to me. I carefully disinfected the wound and put bandages on it. I let out the breath that I hadn't known I had been holding.

"Come on. Let's follow the new signal."

We decided to rent a car, under a fake name, of course. We set out, Zach driving, when I noticed a black K7 behind us. I had seen a few minutes ago.

"Uh, I think someone's tailing us," Jonas said, beating me to the line.

Zach took a look in the rearview mirror and kept driving calmly. At a four way, Zach took a sudden left turn. I looked in the mirror, but the car was still there. Zach's eyes narrowed and he stepped on the gas, turning unexpectedly, doing U-turns, and making my stomach get queasy. He made a few more turns and we couldn't see the black car anymore. Zach gave a satisfied grin and said,

"Am I great or what?"

The rest of us groaned.

Zach's POV

We got to our next destination with no tail, thanks to my awesome driving. I got out of the rental car, wincing slightly at the pain in my arm. There was another rundown building with a dark alleyway. We stepped into the alley, guns at the ready, and saw no one. It was completely empty. Not even a piece of trash on the damn floor.

"Forget about the package. Go home." A voice boomed out from around us. Instantly alert, I tried to search for the person saying it.

But there was no one to be found.

How was it? More action? Or more Zammie?

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