No one's POV

"Alright, everyone out. And Noah, be careful with the girl. She's lost blood and we don't want her dying before we've gotten what we want from her." Mrs. Goode ordered her people around hurriedly, before the police showed up.

"But, Ma'am… isn't she already dead? You had her shot in the head." Adam, the new recruit asked.

"No, you bumbling fool! After all the years we've been after Ms. Morgan, the idea of just killing her? Ha! No, she's much to valuable to the organization." She leaned down and took the small microchip from her son's pocket. " The gun wasn't loaded. Her friends have to think she's dead. Then there's no rescue teams that come anywhere near our bases. I don't doubt our ability to take them, we are more than capable, but there is no need to take chances here. Now let's go people, let's go!" And with that, the helicopters took them off into the darkness as flashing lights and sirens appeared outside the Mansion of Louis Je'Repa.

Zach

My head throbbed and my eyelids felt like lead. Not that I wanted to open them anymore. Not with Cammie being gone.

Gone.

It was hard to think of Cammie that way.

Gone. Disappeared. Out of reach. Vanished.

But that's what she was.

The police had showed up and taken us in for questioning, but we only told them what was allowed given their clearance level. They let us go pretty quickly when they learned we were CIA.

In the car ride back to the hotel, I felt miserable. My face was in my hands, fingers massaging the temples to try and stop the inevitable headache.

It's surreal, to be in the world when someone you love isn't. Yeah, Zachary Goode fell in love. Zachary Goode then fell. Hard.

The night up on the Eiffel tower is when I should've realized it. The moment was so perfect. I wished I could've stayed in that moment forever. But , unfortunately, Liz and Jonas said their time-travel prototypes were far from finished, much less working.

A million questions raced through my mind. Why did they keep us alive? Highly trained CIA agents. In fact, some of the most wanted agents in the organization, and they left us alive. And Cammie… they wanted information from her, but they killed her. It seemed all wrong.

"None of it makes any sense!' I groaned, barely noting the fact that we were pulling up to the hotel, or the six sad looks that were sent in my direction. I wanted to tune the rest of the world out, but that's one thing about being a spy… the spy in you never really turns off, so you notice everything and anything, whether you want to or not. I noticed the girl's feet shifting uncomfortably, contrasting to their calm demeanor.

"Look… Macey, Bex, Liz… your best friend since you were in school is—dead…." I choked out the last part. "How can you act like you don't care?" my voice was sad.

"Trust me Zachary Goode, the day you doubt the fact that I care about Cam is the day you die, so I'd suggest taking that back very quickly." Bex said, her voice quavering and her accent extremely strong. "And I'm sure we'll show emotion, but right now, as much as I hate it… we're still on a mission. A mission that for Cammie's sake we have to finish. We're in front of civilians right now, and civilians don't know the truth. It's best that they stay ignorant. Now I know you're grieving, bloody hell if the rest of us aren't, but you need to pull your bloody self together right now, before I bloody decide to let my bloody emotions out through you." She sat back against the leather seat until the door next to her was opened and one by one, we all stepped out, putting up a façade. As if there wasn't a huge hole gaping in the group, pulsing as if it felt the need to remind us that one of us was gone, and we couldn't get them back.

Joe Solomon always said time was the greatest spy. It snuck up on you, pulled the world from underneath your feet and let you fall. I fell. And when I fell, damn it, I fell hard.

We put on faces that resembled those of people who were rich tourists, exploring the globe, but my eyes wanted to defy me. My eyes wanted to do what I promised myself I would never do. But I wanted to, now. Because when the world is yanked out from underneath your feet and you fall, you might resort to things you'd promised yourself years ago you would never do.

I wanted to cry.

Sure, I hadn't known her long, but for what I had known her was amazing.

Time is also a great thief, it will steal and steal from you, and the worst part is time isn't something you can stop. It's not something you can reverse. It's not something you can fight. And when time takes someone from you, and hands them to death, you can't get them back.

We arrived up in the suite the agency had gotten for us. The news hadn't quite reached them yet. One of the greatest spies the world had ever known was dead. The greatest girl I had ever known was dead.

I finally understood what Bex meant in the car because the minute she put her stuff down, she dashed into the bathroom. A minute later I heard a muffled scream and something shattering against the wall. I almost wanted to go see if she was alright, but that was stupid. Of course she wasn't alright. The next moment I heard her crying. She was crying, and it was one of the most heart-wrenching sounds I had ever heard. I was the sound of pure sorrow.

It made me want to cry.

"UGH!" I yelled and kicked the wall. "Why can't any of it make sense?"

"Look, Zach, dude…" Grant said softly. "I know you're upset but try to understand—"

"That's the problem! I don't understand!" I yelled. "They have seven of the highest trained operatives in the world that oppose them in one room, compromised, and they don't do anything but give us a few bruises. Cammie, they wanted information from her. Information that only she had! And they killed her! Killed the only chance of success they had, and it. Just. Doesn't. make sense." Every word was followed by my fist slamming down on the desk pushed against a wall. I sat down and laid my head on my arm. That's when I realized that it was wet. My eyes were wet.

I cried.

"I don't know all the answers, Zach, but they're doing this for a reason. We have to figure out what that is." Jonas said. Macey and Liz were quiet. Bex had stopped sobbing in the bathroom and soft footsteps let me know she had come out.

"Guys." Even after crying, Bex's voice and eyes were strong and hard. "Cammie was sent here on a mission. That mission was to make sure the circle didn't get those codes. They have those codes. Now I don't know about you, but Cam never left a mission unfinished, so I think we've had enough rest. It's time to break into the circle headquarters."

Cammie

My entire body ached as I sat on the cold, hard stone floor. My hands, shackled to the walls, hung limply at my sides. My wrists and ankles were raw from rubbing against the metal cuffs.

It's been eight days since I'd woken up. Each and every one of them, they tried to get me to tell them where it was, but I would never tell.

I thought they'd learned that about me the first time. I don't cave in. I don't give up hope. I never quit.

Cave in, my body screamed after eight days of torture and starving. Give up, the logical part of my mind said. Quit, I wanted to tell myself. Eight days and no one had come for me. No one had contacted me. No one had even given the slightest hint that they'd found out I was here. But I would never quit, and the people I was dealing with were starting to realize that.

Each day the torture got worse, always bringing me closer to the brink of death, but I'd be given medical treatment, only to have it come closer the next day.

What I wore no longer resembled anything close to a dress. It was cut off just below my hips now, showing more than I would have liked, especially with male agents guarding and interrogating me. It was slashed to pieces as if I'd been attacked by a tiger. I felt like I'd been slashed to pieces by a tiger. But I wouldn't give in. I knew that for the sake of the world, I had to stay strong or let them kill me.

I was almost passed out when the alarms started flashing and sirens wailed throughout the building.

Then it was black.

Zach

"So, everyone understand the plan?" Bex asked again, and we all nodded, the small chopper, being operated by grant was quickly making its way to the COC headquarters in southern Germany.

It'd been eight days since she was killed. Each day felt like torture, but I was into the new plan. I'd finish this mission for Cammie, then maybe I'd quit the CIA. I'd get a legend and live in Europe for the rest of my life. The fact was, I wasn't sure I wanted to be a spy anymore. I'd seen to much, and it was destroying me.

"Alrighty, then. "Bex said, finishing the harness she was rappelling down with. "Let's get moving team. Everyone on Comms. On my mark, Lizzie. Come one guys." She motioned to the rest of us and we dropped onto the building's roof from our ropes, landing softly.

"Entering now. Bookworm, start the alarms." And with that command, ninety percent of the COC members in this base were clearing out, trying to find the person who'd tripped the sensor on the western edge of the property, even though it was just Liz tampering with the security system.

Macey opened the hatch in the roof and we all dropped down to the darkened corridor. Great. Phase two.

Liz had caused a black out so we could reach our target, completely unseen. We followed the path that we'd all memorized so many times that I could redo it backwards and upside down while wearing a blindfold, but I didn't dare get cocky. Not anymore. I'd seen what had happened when you got too comfortable. People end up dying.

Fortunately, we reached the core without anyone seeing us. I saw light coming from around the door, which was good. Liz said she'd leave the room alone until we got there, so they wouldn't get too suspicious, and we'd know what room when we got there.

"One… two…" and we barged in, slapping a Napotine patch on every single person, until it looked like we were in a room filled with dead bodies. I know, a bit morbid, but it was true. Jonas walked over to the main computer, typing in a sequence and before long, a small chip, the microchip we were looking for, popped out the side. Bex snatched it, we shut down the lights in here then left the room.

"Alright, Bookworm." I said "Start phase three." And with that she tripped another sensor on the other side of the building, sending the people running again.

"You have five minutes to get back to the roof, before they figure it out." Liz's voice crackled over the Comms.

"Whatever you say, Lizzie." Bex whispered and we started to turn a corner when I froze. It was her. Cammie. I couldn't see anything but her voice seemed to echo through my head. No one else noticed anything was different.

"Zach." She said. "Zach." Over and over and over again. Bex looked back at me.

"Come on, Zach! What are you waiting for?" She almost yelled.

"Cammie." I breathed.

"Look, Zach as much as I hate to say it. Cammie. Is. Dead. Now let's go." With that, she grabbed my arm, pulled me up to the roof and we flew away from the still panicking terrorist base. We had the chip, but that almost didn't matter anymore. Her voice kept haunting me.

"Zach." It would whisper. "Zach. Zach. Zach." getting more and more strained with each one, until it was no more than a whisper and it faded.

Cammie

Everyone was talking about a breach on the western side, so everyone, and I mean everyone went running, then the lights went out, and I knew something was wrong.

It wasn't too long after when I heard the voices.

"Whatever you say, Lizzie." It was Bex. Tears slipped down my cheeks. I tried to call out to her, but my voice wasn't even a whisper. It was so faint, I'm sure none of them heard it. Then I thought. Zach must be with them. I struggled against my bonds and yelled his name, but it barely came out louder than Bex's. A pair of footsteps stopped.

"Come one, Zach! What are you waiting for?" Bex asked strongly.

"Cammie." He breathed. His voice made the stream of tears down my face go even faster.

"Look, as much as I hate to say it, Zach. Cammie. Is. Dead. Now let's go." She jerked him forward and their footsteps faded.

They thought I was dead. That was the problem. I couldn't expect a rescue team anytime soon so I knew that I had to use the distraction to my advantage. I looked hard at where the chains were attached to the wall and the bolts are what my eyes were on. They were old rusted and almost frozen right now. Perfect. I braced my feet against the walls and pushed until the metal broke through my skin. I wanted to cry out, but if I hadn't during interrogation, I wouldn't during this. Two more tugs and my chains clattered to the floor. I was now able to reach the key (Foolishly kept on the desk) and unlocked myself. Following the others up through the roof hatch I saw a helicopter fly off in the distance and it took all my will to focus on the task at hand.

I looked west and there were still some people standing watch over there, while everyone else was checking on the eastern side. I decided I'd go north, find the next town, and then find the others. With that. I dropped from the roof and headed off north, careful to avoid tripping the sensors, and sending a mad chase after me.

I'll find you Zach. I will. I promise.