That following afternoon there was a dead drop in the fireplace.

A simple, general message was written on it:

'Hey Squirt. Saw you around. Meet me at the last place you saw me.'

It was a message from Abby.

I wasn't surprised that she sent me a message.

No, that wasn't it.

I was surprised that she knew where we were staying.

Zach seemed to be caught a little off-guard as well as we sat in the car and headed to the alleyway near the police station we'd staked.

And the surprises seemed to keep coming when a familiar black Camaro pulled into the alleyway and my aunt stepped out.

With Joe Solomon.

It had been months since I'd seen him last. Of course, the last time I'd seen him he'd been standing in the courtyard of the Gallagher Academy, marrying my mother.

That was 6 months ago.

But he hadn't changed at all in those six months. He was still the collected, serious-natured Cove-Ops teacher I remembered him to be. His scars had all faded away, except for a small line that ran across his left forearm.

He was healthy.

He was back to his caliber.

And he was here in Kabul, staring straight at Zach and I.

"Cameron, Zach," he said in Farsi as we got out the car and slowly approached him.

Like I said earlier, it had been months since I'd seen him last, and the last time I saw him, he was marrying my mother. After that, spying pretty much took up most of my time. Which meant I hadn't had any time to figure out how to address my new step-father/old Cove-Ops teacher.

So as I stood there, trying to figure out how to respond to his greeting, my mind only settled on the one I'd been saying for years:

"Mr. Solomon." I replied, and saw Zach glance at me from the corner of my eye.

If he felt any disappointment from me failing to call him a fatherly title, he didn't show it. Instead he nodded towards Zach, who had just responded to his greeting with a simple "Joe," not missing a beat like the trained operative I knew him to be.

Abby walked closer towards us and I felt an uncomfortable feeling rising in my stomach.

Watching her felt reminiscent of the flashback in my dream, but now I didn't doubt her intentions, and that was the cause of my discomfort.

I no longer felt suspicion towards her.

I felt guilt.

"Hey squirt," she said as she came over and pat my head. "I had a feeling I'd see you here."

"What are you doing here?" I asked, her mischievous gaze meeting my serious one.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm on a mission. You're not the only one who was sent to Kabul," she said, walking over to Mr. Solomon and putting her arm on his right shoulder. "Me and the brother-in-law are tracking down the prisoner your subject is working with."

"He's in the jail 11 miles from here." Zach stated, and Mr. Solomon leveled a stare at him.

"He escaped yesterday."

Abby removed her arm from Mr. Solomon and closed the space between she and I with a few steps.

"And that's where you two come into play." she said as she looked between Zach and I. "We know you two are tailing the subject. What update do you have on him?" she asked.

I felt dumbfounded.

"We don't have anything so far besides his record." I started, feeling like I barely had anything to offer. "The last we saw him was after he shot at you in the car."

Abby looked a little disappointed as she took a step back from me.

"Who is the prisoner?" Zach asked, and Abby turned her attention to him.

"He's an arms smuggler from Bahrain." she said easily, as if she'd said 'he's a candy shop owner from Canada'. And I guess to her, there wasn't really that much of a difference.

"He was caught selling guns and ammunition without a license to your subject a few months ago, and when the police raided his house, they found pounds of chemicals that are only used for nuclear weapons."

"Turns out when the guy's record was checked, he was already charged with attempted terrorism and was given some years without trial or bail. But he escaped and fled his country, then got caught here and was put in jail."

"And now he's out." I finished for her, and she turned and winked at me.

"Bingo."

"Sounds typical." Zach said, crossing his arms and leaning against the hard tiled wall.

"Oh, make no mistake agents," Mr. Solomon said, taking a step towards us, "this is not your average enemy."

"He is trained indeed and capable of much damage as you'd expect, but he is also one of the longest known members of Blackthorne." he said, and I saw Zach shift off of the wall and stand upright.

"As you know, Blackthorne is capable of many different lethal and diabolical methods." he continued, "and although he was not a member of the Circle, he might as well should be. He's remained in the school from early teenage years until 20, so have no doubt that he is very dangerous indeed."

He stared straight at me as I stood there, listening to his every word as if I was back in Gallagher, preparing for another assignment.

"So please proceed with caution Cameron. Zachary."

He finished, and the sound of my full name coming out of his mouth was one I don't think I'd ever get used to.

"Let us know if you find anything." Abby said as she hugged me before turning back to the Camaro. Mr. Solomon walked over to Zach and held his shoulder for a brief moment before he came to me and hugged me. (Which let me tell you, has never, ever, ever happened.)

Then he turned and got in the car, and for the second time that week, I saw my aunt's eyes meet mine in her rearview mirror as she drove off.

Zach and I stood there, Mr. Solomon's words sinking into our heads. I turned towards him, and his eyes stayed trained on where the car drove off from, almost as if he were willing it to come back.

"Come on, let's get out of here." I said, reaching for his hand. He didn't say a word, and kept his eyes focused straight in front of him.

It was only when I turned to look at what he was seeing that I saw the familiar figure of Eli coming down the alley towards us.

It seemed too calculated that he would appear right after Abby and Mr. Solomon left; almost as if he were around the corner, listening to the entire conversation.

And that seemed plausible, especially when he opened his mouth and said, "Agent Cameron, Agent Zach. I knew I'd be seeing you two around."

Yeah. Definitely plausible.

Zach pivoted to shield my body from Eli as he reached his hand in his pocket.

"I'm not going to kill you two so stop worrying." he said, and pulled out a piece of Evapopaper. "I want your help." he said, balling up the piece of paper and throwing it at the floor near us.

"And why would we help you?" I asked, and Zach moved to block me further.

"Because I don't mean any harm." he said, kicking the ground with his shoe.

"I was buying weapons from an arms man until I found out he was selling them illegally. Then I stopped. But since I was involved in illegal activity the CIA cut its ties off with me. And now the guy is out of jail and I'm pretty sure he's not too happy with my abrupt leave. He probably even thinks I ratted him out." he mumbled, and turned his attention away from his shoe to us.

"So you want us to protect you?" Zach asked, almost chuckling at the thought.

"Why would we protect you?" I asked him. "You shot at two people two days ago. You're a rogue. Your story doesn't match up."

"They weren't just anyone my dear, they were two very dangerous people." he lied.

"They were two CIA agents." I countered.

Something shifted in his demeanor, so briefly that if I had blinked, there's no doubt I would have missed it.

In a split second his facade disappeared and a glint of rage sparked.

"Smart girl." he said, a menacing smile forming on his face as he took a step closer to us. "I wouldn't expect any less from a Gallagher Girl."

I felt surprised that he knew I was a Gallagher Girl, but I didn't show it.

Zach on the other hand had no problem saying how he felt.

"Your arms man is from Blackthorne, and he was found with components for nuclear weapons." he stated, leveling a glare at Eli. "And you no doubt have information on what's done at Blackthorne and know that your arms man is an attempted terrorist. Yet you teamed up with him."

"Oh, and the same thing can be said of you Zachary. And your friend Joe Solomon. You're both from Blackthorne. You know better than all of us the things that you do. And your little girlfriend behind you is no different. She knows your mother is part of the Circle yet she still works with you. The CIA knows what kind of person you are, what you've done in your past at Blackthorne as well, and yet, they still work with you." Eli countered, taking another step towards us.

"You can't trust anyone in this business. Anyone could be a double or even a triple agent. As for me… I'll let you figure out who I am."

I felt Zach's muscles tense as I stood behind him, and I knew he was feeling the same way I was feeling.

"You don't have to decide if you're going to help me now.." he said, taking a step away from us before he turned his back and started walking away.

"But just think about it. I'm not the bad guy. I want what you're fighting for."

And just like that, he turned the corner and was gone.

I bent down to pick up the piece of Evapopaper and stick it in my pocket until we were back to the safehouse. Zach moved away from me and walked to our car, not saying a word as he got in. I followed, and we drove back to the house, sitting in uncomfortable silence.

We'd heard enough for the day.