Logan hadn't honestly expected Maddie to agree with him, but he was incredibly relieved that she did. Maybe she was finally starting to understand what it was like to live like an animal in a zoo, with people feeding you bits and pieces of information on a need to know basis.

Logan was tired of waiting for his destiny to find him. He knew he had to do something, with or without Maddie's help. And history had proven he made better decisions with Maddie by his side.

The plan was relatively straightforward. Whoever had been following Logan had some knowledge of the Gallagher Academy's schedule and access points. They had been watching the secret passageways. They had been lying in wait in Roseville. All Logan and Maddie had to do was give them a reason to surface, and be on the offensive.

The first step was to arrange a school outing, somehow, even in the midst of the current climate. Maddie actually thought this might be the hardest part. The Gallagher Academy had felt like it was one incident away from entering full lockdown since Logan's mishap during CoveOps.

Once a field trip was authorized, Maddie would recruit someone to dress as Logan and draw out the would-be kidnapper. Logan would stay safely hidden at the Mansion, until the operative had been neutralized.

Logan had to admit that he didn't love the plan. He would much rather have been out in the field, working on his own behalf. But Maddie had insisted that his presence would only make the mission more dangerous for everyone else involved, and so he had accepted that history would look upon him as a coward. That he would look upon himself as a coward. But it was better than knowing he had put Maddie at increased risk, again.

There was an Easter craft fair coming up at Roseville Presbyterian in just a few weeks, and Logan and Maddie decided it was the perfect opportunity.

Maddie approached Alice with a portion of the plan. Alice approached Headmistress Morgan and asked for a school-sanctioned field trip. After all, they could all use some retail therapy before finals. Headmistress Morgan had reportedly been very hesitant to permit such a trip, but when Alice informed her that under no circumstances would Logan be leaving the mansion, she calmed slightly. When Alice casually threatened to tell her mother who happened to sit on the board of trustees that since Logan's arrival at the school, the Gallagher Academy had become something of a police state, Rachel Morgan relented. Although she did vehemently deny the police state allegations. Alice was the only person Maddie knew who had enough clout to pull off the first part of the plan, and was also relatively trustworthy.

Other pieces of the plan were falling into place, although Logan and Maddie were careful to tell each participant only what they absolutely needed to know.

Upon hearing of Alice's role, Tiffany offered her services to tail Casey the night of the craft fair. Maddie had no choice but to accept.

But all of Maddie's planning might have been for naught because a week out from the festival, she still hadn't located an appropriate Logan doppelganger.

Despite Maddie's assurances, Logan had been more concerned about this part of the plan than any other. The Gallagher Academy was an all-girls school, and the only other males for miles were faculty members. Logan hardly expected Joe Solomon or Professor Smith to go along with the plan. Passing off balding, middle aged men as a seventeen years old Logan was also bound to be difficult, even with Maddie's makeup skills.

But Maddie seemed unconcerned, and Logan trusted that she had everything well in hand. A few nights before the craft fair, Maddie looked at Logan knowingly, and said confidently, "That's the last piece."

Logan rose and slid in next to Maddie on the sofa so he could see her thoroughly hidden computer screen, and indicated for her to show him. Maddie opened a confidential chat tab on the unauthorized intranet, and revealed a conversation with a user whose screen name was "ZK Fine."

MadCheeta: I need a favor, no questions.

ZK Fine: That's a big ask.

MadCheeta: Are you in or not?

ZK Fine: Yes.

MadCheeta: 36. Tell no one.

It took Logan approximately 45 seconds before he connected the screen name on Maddie's chat to the dark-haired, mysterious young man who had stood in his room just a few weeks earlier.

"How do you know that's really him?" Logan asked, skeptical. Maddie rolled her eyes.

"First, I'm a girl. Second, I'm a spy," she responded. "Do you need me to go on?"

Logan shook his head. He knew better than to argue with Maddie's intuition, either the girl kind or the spy kind, and definitely not the girl-spy kind.

The final 36 hours before their op went so slowly to Logan that it felt like a week. There was very little Logan could do to help prepare. Maddie was waiting to provide final briefings to her team at the last possible moment, to avoid giving anyone the opportunity to share or discover them. And even though Logan knew he shouldn't be thinking it, he couldn't help but appreciate how sexy Maddie was when she was in secret agent mode.

A scraggly but still ruggedly handsome Zachary Goode appeared in the doorway of Logan's room at 7pm the night before their mission. He glanced around briefly, looking for Maddie, and was clearly surprised when he didn't see her.

"Do you know where I might find Ms. Manchester?" He asked carefully.

"I do," Logan nodded. "But she would like you to wait here."

Zach nodded, and stepped across the room to stare out the window at the grounds. "I just got back from a job in Chicago, so I thought I would stop by and visit Joe for a few days."

Zach sighed. "I swear, no matter how long it's been, if I stand in this spot and look out at the grounds, I'm always seventeen again."

Logan studied Zach carefully for a moment, considering. Zach did have a tendency of showing up every time someone came after Logan. And he certainly knew the ins and outs of the Gallagher Academy as well as anyone. But Maddie trusts him, Logan thought to himself. So he forced himself to push his suspicions aside.

"The famous Zach Goode," Maddie said brightly, rounding the corner. "What a nice surprise." She paused for a moment, studying Zach, and cocked her head. "Is there a reason you haven't shaved in at least . . ." she trailed off, her brain making the connection.

"Three days?" Zach chuckled. "You said no questions, Manchester," he shrugged. "I wasn't sure what you'd need."

Maddie surprised both of them by leaning in and wrapping her arms around Zach in a friendly hug. "Thank you for coming," she said.

Zach looked as surprised as Logan felt, but he smiled and looked down at Maddie affectionately, like one might a younger sister. "It's nothing," he said. "Glad I can help. What do you need?"

Maddie took two steps back and closed the door to Logan's room behind her. "For starters, I need you to stand next to Logan." Zach did as he was told, and Maddie studied the two of them together. Zach was almost three inches shorter than Logan, and his hair was almost four shades darker, but they had the same lanky, fit build. Maddie nodded, pleased with herself.

"I can make it work," Maddie said confidently. Zach glanced at Logan, and understanding dawned on his face.

"No. . ." he started. "I can't impersonate a hoity toity politician's son with no. . . "

"Goode," Maddie snapped, a warning in her tone. "No questions, you agreed." Zach rolled his eyes, but Maddie leveled a glare at him. "Also, you are such a liar."

"Spy," Zach pointed to himself and shrugged. "You're lucky I like you, Manchester."

"Yeah about that," Maddie said calmly. "Why?"

Zach stared at her, puzzled. "Are you . . .interrogating me about why I like you?"

"Yeah," Maddie said firmly. "It's honestly super suspicious and I can't believe I hadn't considered you as a potential suspect before, which, I'll admit, I probably should have done before I invited you into a room with the target."

Zach bit back a smile, and said seriously, "Frankly, I expected better spy-craft from you, Manchester. I mean, I thought an impulsive sixteen-year-old boy would be an easy mark, but you basically just invited me over to grab him."

Logan blinked, and when he opened his eyes, Zach was in a headlock on the ground, with Maddie's 120-pound body anchoring his to the floor. But Zach didn't look like a supervillian whose plot had just been foiled. In fact, he let out a laugh, which Logan figured must be difficult with someone standing on your chest.

"There's your answer," Zach choked out. "That's why I like you."

"Because I'm half your size and can still kick your ass?" Maddie asked.

"Because you remind me of some truly formidable women I studied with during my time here," Zach wheezed. "Including one I'm still very much in love with." Maddie loosened her grip just enough to allow Zach to breathe normally, but not enough to allow him to get up. "Besides," he continued. "I'm sure you've researched me. I'm sure you know where I've been. Who I've been. And I'm sure you know that I'm never going back. Otherwise, Maddie," he said, and Logan could hear the respect in his voice. "You wouldn't have asked me here."

"There is one other sticking point," Maddie said calmly. "You're awfully chummy with the higher-ups. Headmistress Morgan and Joe Solomon are practically your adoptive parents slash in-laws. How do I know you won't let them know what we're planning?"

Zach considered carefully before answering.

"I probably should," he said finally. "But I haven't yet."

Maddie raised her eyebrows. Zach met her gaze.

"I can't promise that I won't," Zach said.

Logan watched Maddie's face, inscrutable, as she considered her options. She thought for almost thirty seconds, motionless. Finally, she nodded. She lifted her body off of Zach's. She grabbed Zach's arm and pulled him onto his feet, it seemed, Logan thought, just to show him she could.

"Ok," Maddie said, with more intensity in her eyes than any sixteen-year-old should be able to muster. "I'm ready to brief you on the plan."