Cammie
As Zach and I strode into the ballroom, arm in arm, I couldn't help but mutter "Wow…" under my breath. Despite the fact that it was five times the size, Louis Je'Repa's ballroom was not that different from the La 'Rue's. His floor was white marble, instead of black, but the three walls that didn't connect to his house were glass windows. His five story high ceiling was painted with an intricate pattern that I would've loved to have studied all night, but I think others would find it odd for my head to be staring at the ceiling for a long period of time. I wore the silver dress tonight, it being the only one I haven't worn. I nervously fingered to metallic fabric.
"This is Firewall," Jonas's voice crackled over the Comms. "Bookworm and I have entered the room."
"This is Duchess. Position: over by the refreshment table." Bex said, sounding slightly annoyed. "Greek God can't stop eating the party food." I caught a glimpse of her, standing where she said she was. Her dress was a beautiful one shoulder, red silk dress that floated to her mid-thigh.
"Greek God? Really Grant?" Macey scoffed. She was just walking through the door in a floor length, blue silk one shoulder dress that made her look even more like a super model than ever, one of Zach's friends named Nick looking pleased beside her. "Egotistical much? Anyway, this is Shadow and Peacock, entering."
I saw Liz and Jonas out of the corner of my eye attempting to dance, but they both have to be the least coordinated spies in existence. Liz was in a simple lavender gown, made of a softer material with a tie on the side. It came to a smooth stop at her knees. Liz was never one for dressing up.
"Hey, if you got, you got it." Grant shot at Macey.
"And you obviously don't." she quipped smoothly.
"Guys!" Zach whisper-yelled into the Comms. "We aren't here to bicker. Has anyone spotted The Subject?"
"Well, Cryptic," I said to Zach, "If they had, they would have told us, and if they hadn't been bickering, they would have been looking. So everybody go mingle and keep an eye out. Once we find him, we'll basically follow him around until he notices us and we decide to do business." I tried to sound more in-control than I was. At this moment, I was the closest to taking out the Circle I had been since… well, ever. "Now, mingle." I said again and broke away from Zach.
I went around, talked to many different people, danced with men, and accepted offers to get me a drink. I kept up a routine, always watching until after hours of keeping this up, a voice in my ear whispered. "Subject spotted."
It was Zach who had seen Louis.
"Where?" I questioned.
"East corner, sitting four tables back."
"Alone?"
"Alone." He confirmed.
"Meet me at the refreshments table, and then we'll go over there together."
"No, I'll do it by myself." He said. I froze.
"You'll do what now?" I hissed.
"It might be dangerous. I'll do it." Was he serious? Did he think I needed him to protect me?
"Look, Zach." I took a deep breath. "I have fought thirteen agents from the Circle on the edge of a cliff that was over a pool filled with piranha in one of the most remote places of the world, I can handle this. It's not your place to tell me what to do. You can tell me to stay here but I'll go over there with you whether or not you tell me to stay here. No matter what, and if you try to stop me you'll be on the ground so quickly you won't know what hit you. Any questions?" I ended and there was a silence on the Comms.
I looked to see the table where Louis Je'Repa was sitting, but Zach wasn't moving towards him. The silence was broken, of course, by Grant with a bone headed comment. "Got a feisty one there, Cryptic." And then I heard several different chuckles.
"So we go in together, Cryptic. Are we clear?" there was a pause.
"We're clear." Was the quiet reply.
"Alright. Refreshments table." I said and headed over there, where Zach was standing, looking like he couldn't decide whether to be angry or impressed. "Let's go" I said cheerily. He took my arm without a word.
"Hello, Monsieur." Zach greeted smoothly. He looked up, surprised.
"Ah, welcome, welcome. You look magnificent this evening, as always." Louis responded quickly, obviously distracted.
"You as well, Monsieur." I replied, trying to get his attention. "Shall we do business here or shall we move to a more… private space?" his eyes finally seemed to focus on us.
"Oh, yes, yes. That is right. Business to do, so much to do." His voice gave a nervous quiver that worried me. His eyes darted around the ballroom as if expecting an attack at any moment. His dark hair was disheveled and his suit coat was skewed on his body. He looked like a nervous wreck. It made me extremely wary. Zach met my eyes and we agreed, something was very wrong.
As he led us to a small and cozy room I searched carefully. I found exactly 13 bugs (the listening kind) and 7 cameras in the room. Paranoid much? I whispered my findings to Liz over the Comms.
"Twist the gem on your ring." She told me. "I modified all of our jewelry as a precaution." She sounded sheepish. "But anyway, that should disable all other… unfriendly bit of technology within a fifty foot radius."
"Genius, Lizzie!" Bex exclaimed. Zach gave a slight nod acknowledging the conversation. I twisted the gem and noted that one of the bugs sparked slightly, then fell limp in its position. The corners of my mouth curled up as we sat down across from Louis. I was cautious of the reason he was so on edge but I had to keep up the performance of a socialite.
"Well, Louis… you sure know how to throw a party." I leaned back in the velvet chair and crossed my legs. "But we both know that not why we're here. We have your codes," Zach pulled the flash drive with Leonardo's codes, of which we had already sent a copy of to the Agency. "and you have ours. I hope you find no trouble with the exchange this time." Louis tugged at his collar.
"You have done me a great service, to which I thank you dearly, and of course there is no trouble with the exchange…" he pulled a flash drive from his own pocket, but this wasn't what we were looking for, or the microchip from our meeting at the La'Rue's party.
"I'm sorry, Monsieur, but that isn't the right one." something was wrong here.
"Oh, yes, apologies. I have another client here tonight and that is theirs." He said quickly, and then pulled out the microchip. "Here. Here's the right one." He handed it over with shaky hands, and we handed over the flashdrive.
"From what I'm hearing, get out of there as quickly as possible. Worst case scenario, they've found out who you are and are ready to kill you at a moment's notice." Bex said calmly over the Comms. Classic Bex.
"Thank you Monsieur, we look forward to doing business with you in the future." Zach said, then we stood up, and before Louis could put in a word, we had left the room and disappeared into the crowd.
"Split up and blend in. We leave in three minutes. I have escape routes being programmed." Liz said. "Girls, you can see it on the back side of the charm on your bracelet, guys on your cufflink."
"Nice Lizzie. Though how you got our suits to make these modifications, I have no idea."
I broke away from Zach and looked at the charm, memorizing my way out. I couldn't see any of the others from the team, but I took that as a good thing. All of a sudden, I had a weird feeling in my gut, like when Louis pulled out the flash drive, like something was really wrong, but I ignored it. What could go wrong when I only had to wait for Liz to give the signal that we could leave? What could possibly screw up a meticulously created escape?
I was answered by the windows shattering, sending shards of broken glass everywhere. Men dressed in all black flooded the room, and the next thing I knew, I was in for the fight of my life.
Zach
The party immediately turned chaotic. People screamed and ran for the nearest exit. The men dressed in black swarmed the gigantic ballroom, holding at least four civilians hostage at this point. Over the Comms I could hear grunts and screams. I could see mine and Cammie's friends fighting for their lives against at least two dozen men each, but they were quickly being overpowered. I wanted to help them, but these people were obviously from the Circle. That meant Cammie was in trouble, and that couldn't wait.
"Cammie!" I yelled frantically, running through hoards of terrified people. A few men went for me, but they were quickly unconscious. "CAMMIE!" I ran, pushing past party-goers, pulling an eight inch silver knife I had kept concealed in my suit jacket.
"Oh, Zachary, Dear." Her sickly sweet voice rang out above the din. Not Cammie's. My mother's. "Is it Cameron you're looking for? I'm afraid she's a bit… preoccupied at the moment… I can certainly take a message, though." She appeared through the massive throng a people still rushing to find a way out in tight-fitting black clothing and combat boots.
"Where is she?" I yell, running up to her and forcing the edge of my blade against her throat. She didn't even flinch away. "WHERE!"
"Now, Zachy…" She cooed, giving me a venomous smile and making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. "Let's not make any rash decisions… We wouldn't want your precious little angel getting hurt, now would we? Noah!" she motioned behind her. "Bring her over here so my little Zachary can say goodbye…" She patted my cheek, disregarding the knife that threatened to take her life at any moment. Probably because I almost dropped it when I saw Cammie.
A large, burly man with more hair on his lip than on his head drug Cammie over, one massive (And extremely hairy) arm was wrapped around her neck. The left side of her face was swollen and purple. Her right arm was bent at an awkward angle and hung uselessly from her shoulder. Her silver dress was stained with blood and cut raggedly off just below her thighs. Her hair was matted and caked in blood. I wasn't sure if it was her own or someone else's. The man, Noah, chuckled as he was dragging her along, her legs flailing slightly, as if they wanted to protest, but they'd just lost the energy (or the will) to do so.
"Got ourselves a feisty one here." He said with a smug grin. It was too similar to what Grant had said earlier. Before, it had been a joke, this time, it made my skin crawl. "Took down five squads of highly-trained operatives before I pinned her." He looked down at Cammie with a disgusting gleam in his eye. "I like feisty." But as much as his words or her appearance, or even the entire situation affected me, none of it stopped me in my tracks as much as the gun-a small black, modest pistol. It was of a powerful and easily concealable make, but what unsettled me was the fact that it was pressed tightly to Cammie's temple. I made a strangled noise down in my throat, like a wounded animal. Cammie's eyes, before defiantly glaring at Noah, glanced in my direction. She seemed to be apologizing with her eyes, but I wouldn't stand for that. I wouldn't give up. Not on her. Not on Cammie.
"Z-Zach…" she coughed, "Don't…" I only pressed the knife deeper into my mother's throat.
"Let. Her. Go." I hissed through clenched teeth. My voice was as sharp and deadly as the knife I held in my hand, but my mother seemed unconcerned. Cammie was shaking her head.
"How naïve, Zachy…. I can't just let her go. Why don't you take that pretty little blade away from dear old Mommy's neck now, okay?" She smiled, but to me, it looked like a lion baring its teeth.
"I don't think you heard me correctly. Let her go, or you die." I snapped.
"Oh but Zachary… I think you've forgotten who has the upper hand here." She laughed. The guy holding Cammie cocked the gun and then pressed it harder into the side of his head, finger threatening to squeeze the trigger. "Now cooperate. Give me the microchip, and she might just live." Cammie's eyelashes fluttered as if she were fighting just to stay conscious.
"Zach." She said weakly. "Zach, don't so it. Don't give her what she wants. Don—" She fell limp, the light from the enormous chandelier hanging from a single chain glinting softly off the Napotine patch the was just placed on Cammie's neck.
"Now, Zach… Give me what I want." She said, smirking. I thought about what Cammie had said.
"Never." I spat at her, beads of blood forming where the edge of my knife met skin.
"Fine." My mother grinned. "You brought this upon yourself." She nodded to someone behind me. Before I could react, an arm held my arms in place while they were bound, the other arm wrapping around my neck. I looked at Cammie, limp, bloody, broken, beautiful. And the image was forevermore burned into the back of my mind as a blindfold was slipped over my eyes, blocking my view of her.
`Then there was the worst moment of my life. The air seemed to chill over, turning my blood into ice. The earth seemed to tilt, making my knees give out for a second. Because right then, my mother's voice carried around the room. In my ears it sounded like a never ending echo of two simple words.
"Kill her."
"NO!" I screamed, surging against my bonds, but they held tightly. Being helpless, I counted the seconds. One. Two. Thr-. A bang rang out through the high-ceilinged room. "CAMMIE!" my knees collapsed completely, no longer being able to support my wait. There was a high, cold laughter.
"Goodbye, Zachary." My mother murmured into my ear, but this barely registered in my mind. No, Cammie couldn't be dead. She just couldn't be.
That was the last thought I had before I felt a pressure on my neck and the familiar feel of a Napotine patch. I fell unconscious then, the bang that ended Cammie Morgan's life still ringing in my ears.
