"Why are they still alive?" a voice hissed a male voice from down the corridor. "I thought you said you got rid of them."

"I thought they were dead!" another male voice hissed back. "It was impossible to survive."

The voices grew louder. Alex grabbed me and pulled me behind the lobby desk. We silently listened to the two men continue their conversation. I turned the opal stone on my ring counter-clockwise.

"They're not ordinary kids," said the first voice. He sounded angry.

"You didn't tell me that before the job," the other said. Pathetic was the word for him.

"Oh, shut up. If you had slit their throats like I told you to, then we wouldn't be having this problem," Angry said.

"But I couldn't do that, not to kids. It's so cruel," Pathetic whined.

"You're weak and pathetic, Andres."

Andres? That name rang a bell. Where have I heard that name before?

"But, Tom, they're just kids."

"Kids?! Those kids will kill us tomorrow!"

Tom and Andres…the twins! But who were they talking about?

"Relax, Tom," Andres said. "We can take a couple of brats. No big deal."

"You moron! They're special agents. That girl is a sniper, and her marksmanship is almost legendary. Those 'brats' were trained by the CIA and MI6. We don't stand a chance."

They were talking about Alex and me.

"If you wanted them dead, why didn't you do the job yourself?" Andres asked, starting to get angry.

There was silence.

"Okay, if we want to stand a chance tomorrow, we have to get rid of those kids tonight. If we don't, we're definitely dead."

Footsteps faded down the corridor. Alex peered around the desk. He stood up and helped me stand up.

"We should go back to the banquet," he said. "We'll have to be careful tonight."

We came back to the dining hall just as the food was being served. We sat down at our places and began eating. I looked around, trying to find the twins, but I didn't see them anywhere. I couldn't find Rothman either. A little while later, I poked at my half-eaten food on my plate with my fork. Suddenly, I wasn't hungry anymore.

"Alex, I'm going back to my room. I'll meet you upstairs later," I said quietly.

"Alright. Be careful, okay?"

I nodded and left the dining hall. I made my way quickly to my room. I shut the door and locked it. Okay, what to do now, what to do? I had already set up security in my room, so I was safe. I had to keep an eye on Alex. I grabbed my laptop from my backpack and booted it up. While I waited, I changed into navy sweatpants and a black T-shirt. Then I started up a hacking program that I developed. While that loaded, I changed into socks and sneakers. I sat on the bed with the laptop on my lap. I tapped into Scorpia's mainframe computer, and I was prompted for a password. I typed it in and opened the video feeds from Malagosto. I put all the feeds of the dorm on my screen. Rothman was in her office. Alex was still in the dining hall. Where were Tom and Andres, thought? I opened video feeds of the dorm grounds. Ah ha! Found them! The two were wearing climbing gear and slowly walking down the wall of the dorm building. They stopped at a window and drew their guns from their hip holsters. Inside the window was a figure sitting on the bed. Her back was to the window. She was hunched over like she was working on something. I scratched my head with my left hand, confused because the figure kind of looked like me from the back. The girl moved her left hand and scratched her head at the same time. My heart stopped. I spun around and there they were – Tom and Andres staring at me through the window, guns poised. The second they fired, I rolled off the bed onto the floor, grabbing my cell phone and shoving it into my pocket as I landed. I hit the snooze button on the laptop and shoved it under the bed. I grabbed two guns, which I had taped to the underside. I reached up and fired three shots at the window, doing nothing more than breaking more glass. I used the distraction to unlock the door and escaped into the hallway. I slipped the locked gun into the waistband of my sweatpants and began running toward the stairs. I dashed down the stairs and into the lobby. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and sent Alex a text message. He messaged me back that he was on his way out of the dining hall. I went toward the dining hall and hid behind one of the large, decorative pillars by the entrance. The second I saw Alex, I grabbed his arm and pulled him aside.

"Cam, what's going on?"

"The twins – they're after us. They tried to shoot me through the window of my room."

"Just now?"

"Yeah." I took the other gun from my waistband and handed it to Alex.

"So what do we do?"

"I'm not sure yet."

Footsteps approached us from the lobby. Hushed voices reached our ears. Alex and I silently slipped into the next hallway.

"Have you seen the twins anywhere?" Rothman's voice asked.

"No, I haven't," replied Nile's voice. "I don't think they came to dinner. I haven't seen them since this morning."

Rothman swore. "Where are Alex and Camryn?"

"I haven't seen them either. Camryn left dinner early, and as far as I know, Alex is still in the dining hall."

Rothman swore again. "Nile, I want you to check out the dorm grounds. I want the twins in my office – alive if possible. If they resist, kill them."

"But what about the test tomorrow?"

"I don't want any harm to come to Camryn and Alex. If you see those two, take them to the bunker."

Why did Rothman want Alex and me alive and safe? Could we trust her? Alex made his own decision and quietly turned the corner toward Rothman.

"Alex, where are you going?" I whispered.

Alex signaled for me to stay where I was. I peered around the corner and watched as Alex approached Rothman. They spoke in hushed tones, so I couldn't hear. The only thing I heard was click. And then…

"Drop the gun. Move slowly."

I didn't move. One of the twins had found me. What do I do now? I slowly squatted down and placed my gun on the floor. Then I quickly spun in a half sweep. Tom or Andres, whoever it was, fell backward. I picked up my gun and ran toward Alex.

"Alex, we have to go!"

"Wait," Rothman ordered, pulling a gun and pointing it at my head. Oh, God, not again. As her finger squeezed the trigger, I shut my eyes. I let out a helpless yelp when I heard the gun fire. I waited, but nothing happened to me. I finally opened my eyes again. Rothman had lowered the gun, and she and Alex were hurrying towards me.

"I'm sorry I had to scare you like that," Rothman apologized. "I couldn't let Andres kill you."

I turned around. One of the twins, Andres, lay dead on the floor. His sightless eyes stared up in surprise. I shuddered and looked away.

"Mrs. Rothman said that we have to go to the bunker for a while," Alex told me, putting his arm around me and leading me toward the lobby.

"Camryn, can you drive?"

"Yes, but not legally."

"Good. There's a black car just outside. The key is in the ignition. Alex will tell you where to go. Hurry and be careful. I'll see you out to the car, then you're on your own."

The three of us ran out to the lobby and out the front doors. Indeed, there was a car parked just outside. I jumped into the driver's seat and turned the key in the ignition. Alex climbed into the passenger side. I stepped on the gas and sped away from the dorm. Alex directed me where to go until we reached the boat dock.

"Why are we here? Are you sure you have the right directions?" I asked.

"This is where Mrs. Rothman told me to go."

Hesitantly, I turned off the engine, and we got out of the car. The sun was just beginning to set. I looked around for the entrance to the underground bunker. There was nothing but the dock, two motorboats, the beach, and the dirt road.

"Alex…" I was starting to worry.

"I don't see it, Cam," Alex told me. "Mrs. Rothman said that I'd see it by the dock. She said it would be easy to find."

A bullet whizzed passed my ear and landed in the sand. I jumped and shrieked. Alex grabbed my hand and started running to the dock. More bullets came dangerously close to hitting us. We jumped onto one of the motorboats and untied it. I started the engine and the boat began heading into the open water. The bullets continued to fall into the water around us. Finally, one shot found its target. An excruciating pain shot through my left shoulder. I couldn't hold back a holler of pain. The boat, at last, reached full speed and left the island far behind. Once we were at a safe distance, Alex stopped the engine and took of his jacket and shirt. He tore his shirt into strips and bandaged my wounded shoulder. I bit my lip to avoid screaming in pain again. The pain blurred my vision and made me dizzy. Then it began to fade as I went into shock. My vision went back to normal again. I'm glad it did because…HOLY CRAP!! Alex looked SO FREAKING HOTshirtless! If you had seen this (girls), you'd be drooling like mad! Okay, so when I got over the distraction, I propped myself up against the side of the boat. Alex put his jacket back on.

"Are you okay, Cam?"

"I don't know. I think I'm in shock. I can't feel it," I replied shakily. I was scared. The worst injury I've ever had in my life was a minor concussion. Is this wound going to get infected? Am I ever going to be able to use my left arm again?

"Send a distress signal to MI6," Alex told me.

"Why?"

"Just do it." He was extremely edgy all of a sudden.

I turned the opal clockwise. Okay, so I guess we just wait for MI6 to save us from the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Alex's cell phone rang.

"This is Rider," he answered. There was a pause. "Yeah, it is…Camryn needs a doctor…yes…thanks, bye."

"What was that all about?"

"When MI6 gets a distress signal from us, they call me to make sure it's not a false alarm. They're sending a team to pick us up."

"What if Rothman doesn't find us at the bunker? She's going to know something's wrong."

"That doesn't matter right now," Alex said sternly. "You need a doctor to fix your arm."

I opened my mouth to argue, but then decided against it. As the sun disappeared and the sky grew dark a few hours later, the air became chilly. I drew my knees into my chest to stay warm. And so I sat there on the floor of the boat, waiting to be rescued. A cold breeze blew by, and I shivered. I felt a little light-headed since I had lost a good amount of blood. Alex took off his jacket again and draped it over my like a blanket. I was about to tell him to take it back, but he spoke first.

"You're shivering."

"What about you?"

"I'm fine."

I tossed the jacket onto his lap. "You're going to get cold and get sick."

"So are you, but you need it more than I do." Alex tired to put the jacket over me again, but I pushed it away.

"I don't need it; I'm fine."

"Why are you being so argumentative?!" Alex shouted angrily at me.

I cringed. I've never heard Alex yell before. This was the first time that he's ever been angry with me. He had always been very patient, but all of a sudden, he was having a really short, hot temper. Alex sighed and put the jacket back on. Then he scooted over to me and wrapped his arms around me, but there was nothing warm about his embrace.

"You feel really tense, Alex," I said softly.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm really worried is all."

I then realized that Alex cared about me in a way that I didn't understand. He loved me, and that was a feeling that I didn't know. The warmth of his body eventually put me to sleep.