Two updates for the price of one today :) Just because I love you guys. (And because the second one is really short). And no, I am not majoring in writing.

I dropped to the ground instinctively and felt Zach crouch down beside me. I could almost feel the tension coursing through him as he tried to find a plan, as he searched frantically for a way out. But the chopper was coming down fast, a special model of the agency's that had knife like blades enabling it to land anywhere, even in the middle of a forest.

And I felt the fear grip me, because the chopper was on the ground now, and we had very few options. We could run, but we wouldn't get very far, we could stay hidden, but they would find us. We could try to fight, but that would only call more attention to our identities. This time, there was no way out.

But Zach stayed calm, so I pulled myself together and mirrored his expression. And then the blades stopped spinning. And three far too familiar figures climbed out of the helicopter.

I felt Zach's hand grip my shoulder, reminding me that even though these were my best friends, we were still in a dangerous situation. So I met his eyes and nodded, then slunk through the bushes in their direction.

I waited until I was directly behind Liz before I let them see me, then I stood up, slapped a hand over Liz's mouth because I knew she would scream, and waited for them to recognize me. But Bex had me on the ground and in a headlock before that could happen.

"Bex," I whispered as best I could (she was cutting off my air, after all). "It's Cammie. Chill."

Her hold loosened slightly and she craned her head around to look at me. Then she met my eyes with a glare and hauled me to my feet. And then she got angry.

"What the bloody hell did you think you were doing?"

"Rebecca, if you're a little louder, they'll hear you in DC, and then our entire operation will be blown," Zach said, coming to stand behind me, his hand resting on the small of my back. "So if you want the Circle to get Cammie, by all means, keep it up."

"I'll deal with you later," she snarled, her voice a whisper but no less fierce.

"I call next," Macey added, in a way that was far more threatening than I knew she was capable of. But I knew we weren't safe, that their helicopter would have attracted attention, so I tried to explain.

"I knew if I told you, you would stop me or try to follow and I didn't want any of you getting hurt, so I just left because I knew that if I stayed I'd spend another summer being protected and not getting any closer to making it stop and I need to know the truth." I'd gotten it all out in one breath because I'd expected that they would cut me off if I hesitated, so I was incredibly alarmed when I finished my giant run-on sentence and no one spoke. Not for a solid five seconds.

"You could have said 'Goodbye'," Liz whispered, breaking the eerie stillness. "I mean what if…"

A tear slipped from the corner of her eye, and I pulled away from Zach and hugged her. "I know," I said, swallowing hard. "But if I'd said goodbye, you wouldn't have let me leave."

Zach cleared his throat. "Umm…I hate to interrupt you, ladies, but we need to move. I'd guess that the government's probably noticed that Rebecca stole a trial helicopter, and while her flying was commendable…"

"Shut it, Goode," Bex snapped. "We didn't steal it, we were testing it."

"And since when do they let teenagers test million dollar machines?" Zach asked skeptically.

"Since Liz was able to get the van up to 300 mpg and they hired her to make their super secret choppers more fuel efficient." Her eyes met Zach's with a look that clearly said, 'Take that and stuff it somewhere.'

"I'm sorry," I whispered back, looking at the others over Liz's head.

"I'm sorry we made you feel as though we wouldn't respect your plan," Macey said. "I know what it's like having people second guess you all the time. It's your life Cam. If you said you needed to do this alone, we should have been willing to believe you."

"Can I just ask one thing," Bex said, narrowing her eyes. "If you wanted to do this alone, why is he here?"

"I forced myself on her," Zach said with a shrug. "Much as you would have done if you'd had a chance."

I rolled my eyes. If he was looking for a fight, sooner or later, Bex was going to give it to him. "Zach knows more about the Circle than any of us do," I offered, trying to calm the waters. "And we're the two people they need something from, the two people they'll think twice about killing."

But then I looked around at the five of us and I knew it couldn't stay like this. Two people could disappear together with a little effort, but five? It would be impossible. So I told them.

"Guys, you can't stay with us," I said slowly, each word cutting me like a knife. "It would be too dangerous."

Macey nodded. "We know," she said. "That's why we brought these." She tossed me a nylon sack that contained two round electronic devices. "Tell them, Liz."

For the first time since she'd arrived, Liz smiled. Then she started speaking in science jargon. And I may be fluent in several languages, but Science isn't one of them.

"Sorry," she apologized when I asked her to pick a language I could understand. "I invented these special communication devices that operate on their own highly encrypted network and can't be traced by anyone who doesn't have one. They make a secure line, but you can't talk on them, you can only text. I'm working on that," she frowned, " but this is only my 43rd prototype."

"So you can still communicate with us and we can still help you but no one will know that we're helping you or where any one of us is," Bex chimed in.

"Speaking of," Zach started. "How did you find us tonight?"

"When you break into the third level of security in the database it starts a trace sequence," Liz smiled. "It sends all those notifications to me, as system administrator."

"And it just happened that we were at a base nearby when one of you triggered the alarm."

Zach rolled his eyes at me. "Good going, Gallagher Girl."

"Shut up, Zach."

"Well from now on, you won't have to hack the database, Cam," Liz said, excited. "I can do it for you!"

"We should go," Bex said, glancing at the others and failing to meet my eyes. They'll be wondering where we are back at base."

"So if Liz is the scientist, that would make you two what?" Zach asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"Her bodyguards and pilot," Macey answered, her voice cool. "The helicopter would be attractive to many nations and terrorist groups around the world."

"Bye Cam!" Liz said, hugging me.

"Be careful," I pleaded. And then I leaned close and breathed her first assignment into her ear. "Alex Goode." She nodded and climbed back onto the waiting chopper.

"See ya, Cam," Macey said, with an apologetic look.

Bex nodded vaguely in my direction, then climbed into the chopper and brought the engine to life without a word. And as I stood there in the dark, watching the blades grow faster and the helicopter move farther away, I wondered if there was any way the knowledge I might gain would be worth as much as the person I'd lost. Somehow, I didn't think so.