hey guys! ive have been swamped with school work, but im trying to write whenever i can. much love, and enjoy!

Chapter 20

Walking out of the bus, the group gathered in front of the doors with Soloman in the middle. He started to hand out folders that contained a single sheet of paper.

"Inside these folders will be your cover. You are someone else today ladies and gentlemen. Let's just hope you have enough training to not get caught. You will be tailing, or catching tails. These are current agents, they will not hesitate to make a move. You have one minute to memorize everything in your folders. Give them back to me when time is up. Good luck, and start now," he said in a brisk manner.

Cammie started reading her sheet of paper. Her new name was Cecelia Black, a fashion student at a nearby college. Cecelia had black hair, striking green eyes, and gorgeous clothes. She was a vegetarian, and could also speak French. For once, Cammie was glad that Macey had grabbed the clothes instead of Liz or Bex. Continuing to read her file, she saw that she was engaged to a certain green-eyed boy by the name of Alexander James. He had brown hair, and was taller than her. They had met in Italy, while touring a museum, and some could call what they had love at first sight. He went to the same college as her, but was a pre-med major. He was vegetarian as well, they had decided to start the diet together. Cecelia and Alexander lived in an apartment about 10 minutes walking distance from the Mall. Every week they would walk to a nearby coffee shop to get breakfast. Her favorite food is waffles, and her favorite drink is hot cocoa. Cammie could feel another weight at the bottom of the folder, and reached in to find an engagement ring. It was a silver band with a stunning aquamarine gem. The cut was a drop, and it sparkled alluringly. On the side of the gem were two small diamonds, shining bright. Cammie slipped it on her ring finger, admiring how it glimmered in the sun. As she was looking at it, Soloman came around and gathered the papers. Once he had collected all of them, he cleared his throat to regain everyone's attention.

"Now that you've all memorized your personas, I'm going to let you go free. Remember to meet back at the Lincoln Memorial at 9 pm sharp. Good luck," Soloman said, and walked back to the bus to drive away. Cammie walked over to her fiancée, who just so happened to be named Zach Goode.

"I definitely picked out a good ring, huh babe?" Zach said, admiring the ring on her finger. He bent down to whisper his next message directly into her ear. "I can't wait until we're engaged for real," he said.

Cammie turned beet red at the statement, and started to twist the jewelry around her finger. Zach laughed at her reaction, grabbing her hand to start walking.

"Wait! I have to go to Macey and grab all the clothes and other things I'll need. I'll be right back okay?" Cammie said, already starting to move away.

"But I wanna come too," Zach said, his face starting to turn into puppy dog eyes. Cammie sighed, and pulled him along with her.

"Hey Mace, can I grab my bag from you? I have to go change into my identity," Cammie said. Macey nodded and gave her the bag.

"Good luck Cam! Or should I say, Cecelia," Macey added with a wink. Cammie laughed, and waved goodbye to Macey. She lead the way to the nearest bathroom.

"I'll wait outside for you. Unless of course you want me to come in. Many people think I'm irresistible," Zach said, leaning against the wall smirking.

"Unfortunately for you, I'm not one of them," Cammie laughed, and turned into the bathroom. She could hear Zach outside the door trying to ask her why he wasn't irresistible, but chose to ignore it. Looking through the clothes Macey packed, Cammie pieced together an outfit worthy of a fashion student. She paired together a sage green pair of straight leg pants with a white corset bodysuit. Putting in her colored contacts, her eyes went from blue to Zach's shade, and the wig looked just like her own hair. Touching up her makeup, 'Cecelia' finished getting dressed and walked outside the door.

"Finally! My beautiful fiancee arrives from the shadows. Has anyone told you that you look ravishing today darling? But you were gone for so long I almost thought you were missing," Zach said dramatically, a hand over his heart.

"Oh get over yourself Alexander," Cammie said, using his code name. While he laughed, Zach let out a subtle nod to the code name, showing that he understood the new switch.

"Shall we head out to brunch?" he asked. Cammie put her arm around his.

"We shall," Cammie said, and they began to walk down the avenue.

As they neared the brunch cafe, Cammie saw a flicker of movement from behind them. As she moved Zach's collar aside (He had managed to change into a pair of nice jeans with a collared sweatshirt), she snuck a peek at the man walking down the sidewalk near them. He just so happened to have changed his shirt in the time it took the duo to walk to the shop. Taking out a cellphone to make her talking seem normal, Cammie whispered the mans' description into her comms. A response was heard, and it seemed as though the man had heard it too. He flashed her a thumbs-up, then walked away. One done, however many more to go, Cammie thought. Zach led her to a booth, that had a perfect concealed view of the outside window. A waitress came by, dropped off menus, and left to take another persons' order. Cammie browsed through the brunch items, finally settling on a Belgian waffle. Zach had chosen pancakes.

"Cecelia I just don't understand why you don't like pancakes. They're so good. Just the right amount of fluff and crisp," Zach said. "I must really love you if you think that waffles are better," he said calmly.

Cammie began to flush at the mention of the ´L-word´. Zach seemed oblivious to her discomfort, and continued to eat his pancakes. Once done, he paid and they gathered their things to leave. As they were walking out, Zach noticed a woman who didn't take her eyes off them as Cammie and Zach walked by. Bending down as if to give Cammie a kiss, he quickly whispered the woman's' description into Cammie's comms unit. When Cammie gave a subtle nod, he knew he had gotten her. The couple walked out of the cafe, and decided to take a walk around the Tidal Basin. The cherry trees weren't in bloom, but it was still a beautiful day. It was colder than expected, so Zach brought out his spare sweatshirt for Cammie to wear. It even went with her outfit, which was interesting. She nestled into it, the soft underside feeling amazing. After she put it on, Zach entwined his hand with hers, lightly swinging them as they walked around the Basin. A slight breeze had started, making leaves slowly fall off trees and twirl into piles on the grass. After walking for about 45 minutes, and routinely checking their tails, it was nearing 4 o'clock. The short walk they had taken managed to net them six more tails, who were all effectively called out into the comms units. Zach led the way to a bench facing out, nearly straight across from the Lincoln Memorial. He sat down, pulling Cammie down with him. She giggled as she landed on the bench, and snuggled into his side to keep warm. Zach slid his arm around her shoulder, bringing her in closer still. His other hand had started to mess with the ring on her finger. Zach lifted her hand up to his face, and kissed it very lightly. Cammie blushed, the pink vibrant against the cold background. She put her head on his shoulder, looking out to the various memorials and monuments that lay scattered around the space.

"Would you ever want to live here?" Zach asked, his question disrupting the peaceful silence that had fallen.

"Why do you ask?" Cammie said, turning to look up at him. He shrugged.

"Just wondering. Trying to get to know more about my amazing fiancee," he said, looking back down at the ring. "I think I would want to live here. It would be so fun to wake up and see all of the structures, and see the blossoms bloom."

"Well when you put it like that, it does sound amazing," Cammie said, laughing a little. "Maybe I would want to live here."

"Wanna do a roommate situation? Of course, being your boyfriend, I offer more than the original roommate package-"

The rest was cut off by an elbow to the stomach. "You are so gross sometimes. You know that right?"

"Yeah, but you still like me," he said, reaching down to kiss her. She met him halfway, twisting her hands around the back of his neck. His hands slid down her torso until he reached her waist, where they lay for awhile. Zach's hands ran up and down her back, causing Cammie to shiver. This continued, until they were rudely interrupted. A man walked up to them, holding a map in his hands.

"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt you two lovebirds, but I have gotten a bit lost. Would you mind pointing me towards the Washington Monument?" he asked, reaching out his map.

"You're pretty close, just walk about two blocks until you reach Third Street, then go left. You should see it pretty clearly," Zach said, indicating the different points on the man's map.

"Thank you guys! Enjoy your evening," the man said, and rolled up his sleeves, turning away. Before he had full rotated, Cammie caught a glimpse of a marking on his arm. It looked to be two C's entwined together, in bright red ink. Something didn't seem right to Cammie. She could have sworn she saw that tattoo or that symbol before. The vivid red ink, the curls of the letters mocking her, because she couldn't figure out where she had seen it from. He walked away, acting like nothing had happened, but a sudden drop of his shoulders let Cammie know that a sigh of relief escaped him. She whispered into her comms a description of the man, and was shocked to hear Soloman's reply.

"That's not an agent Miss Morgan. No one at the agencies has that marking either. Where did you say you were again?" Soloman asked, keeping his voice perfectly controlled.

"Alexander and I are west of the Lincoln Memorial, the man said he was heading to the Washington Monument," Cammie said, relaying information as quick as she could. Zach was listening in to his unit, holding Cammie's hand and rubbing his thumb along it. She gave off a couple more verbatim lines, exactly what the man said to her and Zach.

"Mr. Goode, please escort Miss Morgan away from that area. Try and get far away from the monument as you can. I need to check something," Soloman said, and disconnected his comms. Cammie looked at Zach weirdly.

"What's going on?" she asked, but Zach was already on the move. He gathered all their things, and pulled Cammie hard away from the bench. Her hip managed to just catch the edge of the seat, and she let out a grunt of pain. Zach turned back to look at her, but after seeing she wasn't seriously hurt, he kept pulling her along with him. Zach acted like it was a race, trying to go as fast as possible while looking around him for incoming threats. So this was Zach in mission mode, Cammie thought. Kinda hot.

They reached a bathroom, and Zach ushered both of them into it. "You have to change. If he saw you in this disguise, there's a good chance he told people he saw. Change," Zach said, and handed her the backpack of clothes.

"Who is he? Why do I have to change?" Cammie asked, refusing to take the bag. Zach let out a frustrated sigh.

"Now isn't the time Gallagher Girl. Can you just do it please?" he asked, putting his forehead in his hands.

"Yeah, just look the other way you perv," Cammie said laughing. Zach was chuckling as he turned to face the other way. "You're not looking right?"

"No ma'am. I swear it," Zach said. Cammie rolled her eyes, and grabbed new clothes out of the bag. Loose-fitting jeans and an oversized t-shirt were the first things she saw. Quickly slipping them on, she began the transformation on her face. "Can I look now?"

"Ugh, yes you can. Just don't distract me," Cammie said, taking out her contacts. Her blue eyes were returned, and the black wig came off and was replaced by blonde hair. She brushed through it as fast as she could, reapplying some chapstick and putting Zach's sweater back on. She laced up her shoes, and then turned to leave the room. "Come on Zach, it's almost 9, and we have to be at Lincoln."

"I'm coming Gallagher Girl, there's no need to rush," Zach said, fixing his hair in the mirror. Cammie rolled her eyes.

"Really? You were literally dragging me to get here, so why are you suddenly so relaxed?" she asked.

"Uh yeah. Calm is cool and cool is hot and hot is sexy. Duh," Zach winked. he gave himself one more once-over in the mirror, and then walked over to Cammie and kissed her. "We can go now," he added, with an angelic smile on his face.

"I cannot believe I'm dating you. Lead the way then, sexy," Cammie said sarcastically. Zach pretended to do a hair flip, and took Cammie's hand in his, opening the door for her. She walked out, Zach right behind her. The walk to the Lincoln Memorial took just over 15 minutes, and the couple arrived at 8:55. Of course, not a single tail was following them. Once everyone arrived, Soloman appeared out of the shadows, and led the students towards the bus. As they were filing in, he pulled aside Zach and Cammie.

"The man you two both saw was a COC operative. This could mean one of two things, he either knows something about you, or he was looking for something you know. You're going to have to be extremely careful the next months at Blackthorne. Zach, do your best to keep her safe. I have a feeling it has to do with you, Cammie," Soloman said, and walked back to the drivers side of the van.

"See Gallagher Girl, it appears as though I am your guardian angel. Isn't that so lovely?" Zach said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Sure Zach, whatever you say," Cammie said. She hadn't been paying much attention after Mr. Soloman mentioned the COC and her in the same sentence. Zach could tell something was off, but decided to avoid the topic. He walked her down the aisle of the bus, making sure to have her sit down with her seatbelt already on. Macey and Bex came up, noticing that Cammie didn't seem 100%. Zach waved off their questions, mentioning that she was just tired. They seemed suspicious of the excuse, but let it go. The ride was about fifteen minutes, the drive ending as they pulled up to a hotel. Cammie had stayed quiet the entire time, leaning into Zach until she fell asleep. Soloman entered the first row of the bus, starting to announce rules for staying at the hotel. They were to be up and downstairs at 10 am for breakfast, and be ready to leave at 11. Curfew was midnight, since it was already nearing 11 pm. Everyone nodded along, listening while gathering their things. Soloman also gave out room arrangements, with about four people to a room. The four girls were placed together fortunately. While Soloman was ushering people off the bus, Zach put his and Cammie's bags on his chest, and lifted her onto his back. They were pulled aside as they tried to exit the bus.

"Zach, I'm giving you permission to stay with the four girls tonight. This is just incase of an emergency. Try and keep an eye over Cammie, okay? She won't always talk about her feelings out loud, so just watch for any changes, okay?" Soloman said. Zach nodded, and readjusted Cammie on his back.

"I'll make sure nothing happens tonight. Do you want me to do a sweep of the room as soon as we get in?" he asked.

"Sure, I think the others will have already done it, but use your own training to perform a more thorough check," Joe said, referring to when Zach was trained by his mother. He watched Zach wince. "I know you don't like talking about it, but this can help save her life."

"I know. I just hate hearing about her." Zach said, his brow furrowing.

"Just try your best. I'm proud of you Zach," Soloman said, patting Zach on his shoulder. Zach let a smile slip out.

"Thank you," he said, and walked down the stairs towards the hotel. The lobby of the hotel was covered in rich furnishings, with complimentary colors of cream and beige. The attendants gave Zach two keys, one for him and Cammie. He walked towards the elevator, pressing the fifth floor button. As the elevator was going upstairs, he felt Cammie moving around on his back.

"Where are we?" she whispered, rubbing her eyes.

"We're staying in a hotel tonight, and we're heading home tomorrow, remember?" Zach said. "Want me to put you down?" She nodded, and he put her down, still holding onto her hand.

"Are you staying with me or are you going to your own room?" Cammie asked, looking up at him. He started to smirk reflexively.

"I got special permission from Soloman to stay with you tonight just in case something happens," Zach said, leaning down and kissing her hairline. She smiled.

"Where's Bex and Macey and Liz?" she asked.

"They're already in the room. I think the other guys are right next door too," Zach said, and at that moment the elevator opened up onto the fifth floor. He led the way, walking down the hallway towards their rooms. Zach scanned the card on the door, and opened it up to the room. Macey and Liz were lying on one of the beds together, watching the TV in the room. He quickly did a scan around the room, and was satisfied with his findings.

"Where's Bex, Mace?" Cammie asked, looking around the room.

"She's showering right now, and was planning on staying with Grant tonight," Macey said, wiggling her eyebrows. Cammie laughed in response.

"Soloman gave Zach permission to stay with us tonight, so is that okay with everyone?" Cammie asked, moving to sit down on the other bed with Zach in tow.

"Yeah, as long as you don't snore Zachary," Macey said. "I need my beauty sleep you know," she said, twirling her hair. He rolled his eyes, mocking Macey's expression.

"How about if you don't snore McHenry?" he said, moving the pillows away from the bed. She gasped, and threw a pillow at him, and hit him square in the face.

"You deserved it Goode," Macey said, going to grab her pajamas. She walked out into the bathroom, locking the door. Liz had already passed out. Cammie walked over to her own bag, grabbing her own sleepwear. Zach walked into the attached room, getting his own backpack from the shelf. They changed into their various clothes, and met back up in the room. Macey was already lying down in her bed, her noise-cancelling and eye-mask on. Cammie and Zach walked into the bathroom, and started to wash their faces and brush teeth. Once the night routines were over, Cammie led Zach back to the main room. She turned off the extra lamps and the tv, then took off the sheets and got into the bed. Zach walked to the side, turned off the final lamp, and moved back his side of the sheets. He pulled Cammie closer by her waist, wrapping it around her. Cammie nestled into him, pulling up the sheets to stay warm.

¨Good night, Gallagher Girl,¨ he whispered, and kissed her forehead. She whispered goodnight back, and closed her eyes, falling into her own world of dreams. Zach stayed awake a little longer, feeling her chest move up and down with his. Within a matter of minutes, he had fallen asleep as well.