Hey, here is the next Chapter! Enjoy!

The next 2 weeks flew by, and we started to settle in. Well, as much as any Blackthorne Boy can. We had always been taught to never get to comfortable- you never know when you will need to pack up and hit the road again. It took a whole week for us to unpack our suitcases into our drawers, despite Dr. Steve's assurances that we were staying here for a while. We kept our necessity packs under our beds, ready for any middle of the night get-aways.

Grant loved our dorm and common room, and would never get out of bed it I didn't threaten to force feed him highly toxic chemicals. Grant would always shoot out of bed and lumber to the bathroom, never remembering that I didn't have access to any toxic chemicals- yet.

I don't think Jonas would come back from the labs if we didn't force him. Yea, he liked the Gallagher Labs, but a certain Liz Sutton could also be found in the labs 9 times out of 10. He was infatuated with her, almost as much as Grant was with Bex, who he had nicknamed British Bombshell. After watching her sparring with a senior, I agreed with him. That girl was dangerous.

As for me, I had been swamped by swooning girls for the first few days, but I had caught several girls whispering and looking between me and Cam when I walked into Breakfast one morning. The girls who had been on the mission had been watching Cammie and me a lot as well. I didn't get it.

Cammie didn't like me. Hell, she could stand me. She showed me around the first 2 days, being polite and guide-like, and then… nothing. She avoided me, two weeks straight.

Now, I was hard to shake off, but somehow she managed it. I waited for her by the doorway, and walked just in front of her in hallways. I didn't know she was that mad about the mission, and I became determined to get her to like me. Just a bit, like she would willingly have a conversation with me without looking for an escape route.

It had been two weeks exactly when I overheard Mr. Solomon's conversation with Ms. Morgan. I had been walking through the passageway that passes behind her office on my way to the dorms when I heard his voice.

"…I think it's time we did another mission in Roseville. The girls need to get out of the mansion and work with the boys for a bit. The girls haven't been to town in forever, not since the Josh incident." Said Mr. Solomon's voice, drifting through the metal grate above my head.

Ms. Morgan sighed. "Do you think it's really time for that? I mean, Cam could run into him, and she isn't ready for that… I don't know. Can you make sure that she has back up if you go? And it has to be at a time when there are very few people on the streets." Mr. Solomon grunted in response. "Good. Permission granted."

With that, I heard a rustling of papers and a door closing. I waited, ear pressed to the wall. I heard the headmistress sigh, and turn on the coffee maker.

I turned back to the passageway, and jumped. Mr. Solomon stood there, his face in shadow. I heard the click of a flashlight and wiped my face of any traces of surprise. His flashlight passed over my face and back to his. He grinned crookedly at me, the light of the flashlight playing across his features eerily.

"We need to talk."

…...

We went slowly made our way down the hallways, slowly making our way down the great staircase.

Mr. Solomon had told me about a mission last semester, where the girls had to tail Mr. Smith into town. He said that she had been compromised by a civilian, named Josh Abrams. I really didn't understand why he was telling me this, but let him continue. He briefed me on Cammie's actions that semester: Sneaking out, lying, and dating him for almost a whole semester. He was almost finished when we reached the doorway to the dinning room.

We stood in the doorway, watching the students go about their normal breakfast rituals. Grant was flirting with a couple girls near the buffet table, while Jonas was leaning over a waffle iron, looking down the table at Liz, who was getting oatmeal. I wondered whether or not he noticed that his tie was on fire.

Cammie sat at her normal table, talking with her friends about who knows what. And I didn't care either. She was just some mediocre spy who thinks that she is perfect. I sighed, leaning against the door frame. Alright, I just lied. I would give anything to know what they were talking about. You can't blame me. When the one girl you want to talk to avoids you for 2 weeks strait, you get a bit bitter. And she is far from mediocre. And she is perfect.

I saw Mr. Solomon looking at me out of the corner of his eye, a small grin on his face. "What about Cameron has you so interested, Goode?" I shrugged, playing it cool.

"She's been avoiding me for 2 weeks. She hasn't forgotten about D.C." I said musing. We walked to the waffle bar in silence, and Joe seemed to be in deep thought. I leaned over to pick up a plate when he broke the silence.

"Zach, you are extremely good at thinking on your feet, are you not?" I nodded slowly in agreement, not quite sure what he was talking about. "Zach," he said. "I know that you overheard the conversation in the headmistress's office, and you know that we are going on a mission into town today. I would like you to stay with Cammie, and keep her out of trouble. You are more experienced than her, and apparently you two have some problems that you two need to work out. Agreed?"

"Agreed." What else could I say? He wasn't really giving me a choice, and he was right- this would be a perfect opportunity to talk to her and she wouldn't be able to get out of it. It was perfect.

A sudden feeling of being watched washed over me- a feeling that I had learned to trust over the years. I turned in the direction of Cammie's table, searching. Solomon turned as well, watching them intently. It took me a few seconds to realize that they were all looking at me, silent. A girl- Tina, I think- was leaning across the table to talk to Cam, who was the only one not looking at me.

Tina nodded in my direction, an exited smile on her face as if to say "Yes, there he is! He's looking at you!" I saw Cammie's Head jerk a bit, and I saw her glance at me in the reflection of the Orange Juice pitcher. She was good. I thought, staring straight back.

Cam turned her head a bit, and I could see her lips moving, as well as Tina's. They were only 15 feet away, and lip reading would be a piece of cake. I kept on watching them as everyone's gazes were redirected at Cammie and Tina.

"So," said Tina, "do you like him?" I can't say that I wasn't slightly eager to hear Cam's answer. Cammie's eyes ran up and down the table and she gaped at Tina. She didn't answer. Tina leaned in closer, excited. "Because, according to my research, you technically have dibs on Zach, since you talked to him first. If you want him."

Wow. I did not know that Cammie had dibs on me of any sort, but I was pretty sure that rule did not exist. At least, not among guys. You see a girl, you want her, and you try as hard as you can to get her. It was pretty simple. The disturbing this is that I didn't mind that Cammie had dibs on me- not in the slightest. I banished my feelings to the side and concentrated on my eavesdropping.

"Tina," Cammie said as she leaned over the table, pronouncing each word carefully. "I officially relinquish my claim to Zach." At that point, I turned my back on the table, turning to face Mr. Solomon. His eyebrows were raised- a silent question.

"Yea, I'll be her partner today." I said easily, and he nodded slightly, turning towards the head table. Somehow I got some food and found Grant and Jonas. I plunked down next to them, feeling tired already. This was going to be a long day, and I don't know how much more of this school I could take. Not much seemed to be going my way today.

"Don't let them get to you." Said Jonas, a comforting smile on his face. I gave him a weak smile in return.

"How did you know about that?"

"Know what?" asked Grant. He looked slightly confused, but patted me on the back all the same.

"That Cammie kind of just said that she didn't like me in any way to her friends, and now I have to be her partner on a mission today." I said dejectedly, looking through the large windows at lake that glistened outside. "Today is not my day."

Grant nodded and tried to comfort me. Then he realized that I had said the words "today" and "mission" in the same sentence. He proceeded to interrogate me about everything I knew about the mission. And when Jonas threw a spoonful of oatmeal in his face to shut him up, I couldn't help laughing. Somehow, my friends knew exactly how to make me feel better- distract me, and give Grant a 1st degree burn.

After breakfast was finished, Grant and I left to get to our first class- CoveOps. It was my favorite class of the day. Mr. Solomon was a natural teacher, and the girls all loved him. Cammie always came into the classroom smiling, so I guess it was her favorite class too.

We never got to the classroom, though. Mr. Solomon intercepted us on the way to the elevators, and took us out side. We entered one of the red shuttle vans with the Gallagher crest on the side, and were ordered to wait for him.

We talked aimlessly, from Bex to the P&E class yesterday. Neither one of us noticed the figure approaching the van until he knocked on the window next to Grant's head, eliciting a high scream from Grant. By the time I had regained my hearing, Dr. Steve had hopped into the driver's seat.

"Don't think that you should drive, Dr. Steve-" Started Grant, but the door opened once again, and Mr. Solomon entered, sitting between Grant and I. The girls followed, with Cam leading them. She looked around the van cautiously, and selected a seat that was possibly as far away from me as she could get.

The rest of the girls filed in, with Bex sitting next to Cammie, and the rest of the girls trying to get the seats nearest to me and Grant. No fights broke out, but Tina dug her nails into Mick Morrison's shoulder in order to get the seat next to me. She didn't turn all girly on me, because Mr. Solomon was on the other side of me, and we were on a mission, after all.

Cammie covertly studied me, no doubt taking in my indifferent expression. I kept my emotions in check, but I was dreading the next 45 minutes. Dr. Steve was driving and talking to Mr. Solomon, slowly driving my favorite teacher insane. I was ready to take the wheel if Mr. Solomon gave in to his temptation to throw Dr. Steve out of the car.

We passed the gates and turned onto the road that led to town- also known as Roseville, a quaint little town where the rich girls of Gallagher were hated by all for being spoiled brats. I guess they have their cover, we have ours. But their cover is a lot more comfy.

Mr. Solomon spoke up as we passed through the gates. "Today is about the basics, ladies and gentlemen." He cleared his throat, a signal that Grant start listening and stop drawing pictures in the fogged up glass. "I want to watch you move; see you work together. Pay attention to your surroundings, and remember- half of your success in this business comes from looking like you belong, so today your cover is that you're a bunch of private-school students enjoying a trip to town."

The girl's straightened up, and nodded silently. I could see little Anna Fetterman look slightly scared, but Bex put a hand on her shoulder. Cammie looked down at her uniform, like she was memorizing it, and might forget if she wasn't careful. When she looked up, her gaze had hardened- she seemed stronger, like nothing would dare to ruin her day. She met my gaze across the van, but only for a second.

It was silent for a minute, waiting. Bex broke the silence. "What are we really?" she asked, and the whole van leaned forward, waiting for the answer. Mr. Solomon grinned at me for a millisecond- so fast that you would have missed it if you weren't… me.

"A bunch of spies"- Mr. Solomon pulled a quarter from his pocket and gave it a flip-"playing tag." A smirk played across my features. This was going to be one interesting day in town. The quarter landed in his palm, heads up. But I knew where he was going with this, and it had nothing to do with George Washington.

"Brush pass, Ms. Baxter," Mr. Solomon said. "Define it."

"The act of covertly passing an object between two agents." It sounded like Bex had swallowed a text book. In Blackthorne we didn't learn what something like this was by reading a text book or in a lecture- we learned them by doing it on missions, and if we did it wrong it was our own fault and we would have to take the consequences. It was as simple as that.

"Correct." Said Mr. Solomon. "Little things can get away from you, ladies and gentlemen. The little things matter." I completely agreed. Hell, brush passes had saved Grant and I when we were on the Golden Gate Bridge when my mom- nope, not thinking about that. Not today, when things might just turn in my favor. Not today.

A voice from the front seat startled me. "So right you are, Mr. Solomon. As I was telling Headmistress Morgan just this-" Said Dr. Steve, who was cut off by Mr. Solomon as if he was invisible.

"It's just you and the street today," said Mr. Solomon. "Today's test might be low tech, but this is trade craft at its most essential." He pulled a box out from under his seat, placing it on his lap and removing the lid. Inside were comms units of many different variations, although few of them were manly. There were an abundance of earrings and necklaces, pins, and –thankfully- tie clips.

He started passing them out, giving a tie clip each to Grant and me. Cammie traded her silver cross necklace to Courtney Bauer with a grim expression on her face. Her new earrings were sterling silver studs with a tiny diamond in each. I knew that they were really just high-tech comms units, but they really were pretty.

The van had stopped, and Mr. Solomon had returned to his seat, tucking the box away neatly. "Watch. Listen." He said, looking each student in the eye. "Remember to communicate. Observe."

Kim Lee was having trouble with pinning on her American flag pin/camera onto her coat, and grant smoothly offered her his help. She swooned slightly as he helped her. I sighed. How does he do it?

"Pair off," said Mr. Solomon, continuing his instructions as he unlocked the van doors. "Blend in, and remember, we'll be watching." He shot me a look, as if saying that I should get going with Cam.

She had already started towards the doors with Bex, and I threw a frantic look at Mr. Solomon, asking for help. He sighed and called to her. "Oh no, Ms. Morgan, I believe you already have a partner."

Alright, am I the only one who kind of thinks that the Gallagher Academy looks like Hogwarts in the Harry Potter books? When I was writing this, it was all that I could think about. Anyway, I think if I read this copy of CMHHS one more time the binding is going to fall off, so goodnight!

Ciao!