Zach POV
Cam just stared back at me, her eyes wide. I could feel her heart rate speed up ever so slightly. Her pupils dilated. She bit her lip and...
We were interrupted by a cough. I fought the urge to tell whoever it was to fuck off whilst keeping a hold of Cammie, drinking up the look in her eyes she was giving me. I released her, but still maintained eye contact.
'Am I interrupting?' Nick asked
'No' Cammie reluctantly drew her eyes away from me to look at Nick. 'Have you got it?'
'Yeah, this way' He exited the room. Cam followed after Nick, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear along the way.
I held back for a moment, trying to work out why I'd just reacted in the way that I did. There's something about Cammie, that makes me lose focus at times. I'm not sure if that's a bad or a good thing.
I followed after Cammie, seeing her leaning over Nick's shoulder, her hair falling softly down her side.
'Okay, so what do you want to find out?' He asked
'I need you to cross reference Interpol's database with the information on this drive' Cammie handed him a small USB.
'Are you going to tell me what's on it?' Nick asked. Cammie shot him a look. 'Right. Classified. Got ya'
He took the thumb drive and placed it into the computer. Nick began to type away. With Cam hovering over him, I decided to look around the office. It was virtually empty, no art on the wall, minimal furniture and barely any clutter.
'You move around a lot?' I asked. Nick nodded.
'My mum gets relocated every few months'
'Your dad?'
'Killed in action' Nick's voice was hard, his eyes glazed a little. Cam's expression softened. I remained where I was, looking over at the only bit of clutter, it was a piece of card poking out of a notebook. I opened the page, it was an invitation to the grand reopening of the Henley Museum, in the corner of the page, was a small inscription. 8:45pm the Monet. Interesting.
'Got it' Nick said. 'Looks like you're looking for a Mr E. Townsend' Nick looked up at Cam 'Isn't tha-'
'Yeah, it is' now it was Cammie's turn to have a hard voice.
'Who is this guy?' I asked
'He's um…' Nick said, throwing Cammie another cautious look.
'Edward Townsend. MI6' Cammie said, matter of factly, 'I've known him for a while. We first met when he interrogated us 10 years ago'
'That was the worst interrogation of my life' Nick gave a little shiver. I looked at Cam, her eyes were cast down and slightly glazed. I take it Nick didn't know what kind of interrogation Cam had to deal with. Her eyes lifted slightly up and connected with mine. She looked away quickly, slipping a mask back over her face.
'Has Amelia been in contact with him at all?' She asked.
'Not that I know of, but then again, she doesn't really talk to me about work anymore. The less I know, the less in danger I am, you know?'
There was a knock at the door. We turned to see Marcus, standing tall and proper.
'Forgive me for interrupting, but Miss Bishop has requested your presence immediately, Master Smith'
'Thank you Marcus. Tell her that I'll be on my way shortly' Marcus nodded and left as swiftly and as silently as he came in. He'd make a good pavement artist.
'Duty calls' Nick stood up and we all promptly left the room.
'It was nice meeting you' Nick offered his hand.
'You too' I shook it.
'And Cameron' He gave a goofy grin to Cam 'It's always a pleasure to see you'
'Likewise' Cammie gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek 'Thank you for everything, Nick. Take care and please be careful. Stay in touch, but if you end up in a Serbian prison for stealing a rare artifact, you're on your own'
He chuckled, pulling Cam back into another hug.
'You know you'd rescue me in a heartbeat' He teased 'And next time you ambush me, bring Bex, God I miss her' He said, Cammie chuckled in his arms, a light laugh I hadn't heard her make yet
'I'll let her know. I'm sure she feels the same' They pulled away, both still smiling.
'Is she here?' Nick asked
'Yeah, she's back at the hotel'
'Oh cool. Is your aunt there too?'
Cam froze.
'Abby?' Her voice cracked
'Yeah... I overheard my mum on the phone saying that she was going to go and check on Abby. Did you not know she was here?'
'When was this?' Cam asked
'A few days ago...Why? What's happened?'
Cammie looked at me, her eyes wide and a little worried.
'Cam, what's going on?' Nick asked
'Nick, it's best that you don't know' Cam said bluntly 'What's your mum's number?'
…
Cam was staring out of the window the whole journey. She was fiddling with her necklace absentmindedly.
'Nick's dad…' I began 'What happened?'
Cam turned to me, dropping her necklace. She signed heavily.
'He was a Blackthorne Boy. My dad, Joe and him were a unit. They went on a mission and it went wrong. His dad took a bullet and bled out before help could arrive. That Christmas, we all came to London and…you know the rest'
We were silent for a moment.
'You were ten' I said, still not being able to wrap my head around it. Cam gave a weak smile
'Thankfully I don't remember much of it'
'But…'
She rolled her eyes.
'But I remember the look in his eyes. Right before I…' Cam shook her head 'I don't know. It's probably stupid. Forget it' Cam turned towards the window
'What?' I asked, my interest sparked. Cammie bit her lip. She reluctantly turned back to me.
'They say that right before you die, your life flashes before your eyes. Right?'
I nodded
'Well that guy...his eyes were almost challenging. Like he wanted me to kill him...almost as if it was a test' She stared at my blank expression 'Crazy, right?'
'Honestly, I don't think anything in our lives is crazy'
She gave me a small smile. I gave her one back
'I better give the others a heads up' Cam pulled out her phone and dialled.
…
Cam POV
Zach and I didn't speak for the rest of the journey. I could sense that he wanted to say much more, part of me wanted him to but the other half of me was scared that he was getting close.
'Hey guys' Bex opened the door to us 'How's Nicky?'
'Misses you terribly' I gave her a hug
'Of course' She flipped her hair and came back into the room. Grant and Macey were busy stripping and cleaning the equipment. Jonas and Liz were on their computers talking in gibberish.
'How's it going?' I asked.
'I called my parents, two things. Firstly they aren't happy that we're in London and didn't tell them. Secondly, they can't give me information about Agent Townsend without raising alarms' Bex said.
'Okay. Bookworm, anything?'
'I'm decrypting Amelia's phone right now. It was actually very complicated. Jonas suggested a algorithm that uses the coding similar to-'
'Liz' I said sweetly 'I love you but we're kind of on a time crunch'
'Right sorry. Anyway, Amelia's been making several phone calls over the last few weeks to one particular number which seems to be a burner phone. It could be Abby, it could be Agent Townsend or it could be someone completely different. I don't know. The best I can do is try to triangulate the signal but if that fails, then I've got nothing' Liz scrunched up her face, disgusted that failure is even an option.
'I was able to access her network' Jonas added 'I found in her calendar that she's blocked off this evening for an event tonight at The Henley'
Bex and I looked at each other with the exact same expression.
I resisted the urge to groan. The Henley...why did it have to be the Henley.
'Did you say The Henley?' Zach said. Bex and I whirled on Zach.
'What do you know about The Henley?' Bex asked ferociously
'You first' Zach quipped.
'Listen buddy…' Bex stepped forward. I put an arm out to stop her. I looked at Zach.
'What do you know?' I asked calmly. Zach turned slightly to address me.
'Whilst you and Nick were decoding, I noticed there was an invitation for a meeting at 8:30pm at the Monet. Now, your turn'
Bex looked at me, raising an eyebrow as if to say, go for it.
'A few years ago, several paintings were stolen from The Henley pretty much in broad daylight...and Nick was part of the crew'
'He took the fall' Bex added 'And his mom nearly lost her job'
'You know a group of thieves?' Grant asked.
'Not quite. I know Nick, who knows them and well...we have them on our radar' I smirked. Grant whistled
'Damn'
'So I guess we're going to The Henley tonight?' Macey said, her eyes gleaming with outfit choices.
'Is there a we?' I looked at Zach. He narrowed his eyes.
'What's that supposed to mean?'
'I'm just saying' I held my hands up 'If we are working together, you're doing it our way, which means no killing'
'Oh come on!' Grant whined 'That's the best part'
EVERYONE glared at him.
'Chill. I'm just joking' He muttered.
'Alright. Only on one condition' Zach had a smirk tugging on his lips again
'What?'
'I have point. I lead this operation'
A short laugh blurted out from the girls. I gave them a side-eye and then looked back at Zach.
'Alright then. So...what's the plan?'
Author's note: Hello everyone! So they crew have a plan in action. And Abby was mentioned, is she around? Why was she gone for so long? And the mini crossover continues with a little trip to the Henley...And there might be a little more Zammie to come. Sorry that I didn't unload on Tuesday, I've been super crazy busy. So next upload will be next Friday xxx
XOMaggieWrites: Thank you so much! Zach really does see Cammie more than he thinks he does xxx
Archer5210: Same! The Heist Society series is absolutely brilliant, I've tried to write two stories (one still going on) and it's a lot harder than I had thought. There are so many characters in that series, it's a lot of plates to spin. I completely understand. It's very plausible for Nick to be associated with Gallagher, that's why I've used him as a character in my other GG stories. You may just be right about Zach... Catherine won't be making an appearance for a while, but she's in the shadows, waiting. xxx
covertoperatives456: Be all those things! Scared, suspicious, intrigued & ecstatic! Cammie keeping secrets never works out well, but what do you think she'll do when the one person she tried to protect herself from is slowly breaking down her walls. It is her fatal flaw indeed! Well put! Cammie revealed what happened when she was ten to Zach, and I think it's something that she hasn't even mentioned to Liz or Macey before. Zach seems to play a very important part in breaking down Cammie's barriers. Thank you so much again! xxx
AllyCarterFan101: Ally Carter doing the cross over short stories was a massive help to make their worlds collide, I don't think I would have been able to do that, or any of this, without her. Cammie & Nick's friendship will be explored more at some point, but that's a long, long, LONG time away. Thank you so much! xxx
Em03590: Aw that makes me feel so happy! I love the Heist Series, I wish Ally would write more for them xxx
Smiles180: Thank you, thank you! I'm glad that people are still loving my stories after all this time. Zammie coming soon! xxx
GallagherGirlzRule: Aww thank you! I'm glad that you are enjoying this story. Zammie will be coming soon! Next chapter! xxx
Guest: Thank you! xxx
Fanfix2.0: Bless ya so much, I'm super excited with what's to come & thank you again for saying that this story is fun to read. MADE MY DAY! xxx
BugheadHastings: THANK YOU! Zach and Cammie, even when they first met at the beach in this story, were able to talk casually and not be spies for once. They're always able to break down each other's walls. I think for the first time in her life, Cammie was speechless. I would highly recommend the HS series. LOVE IT! I can't wait to share with you what happens next! xxx
Gymnast1150: AHH I'm so glad that you loved it! That's exactly what I wanted to try and do! I didn't want Cammie to be like 'Oh, he's my friend' and do everything too obvious, partly because that's just not her style. and then Nick's banter back to her. Their friendship is amazing & I've got plans to show it again in a super cute way. Cam needs all the friends she can get. Thank you as always my love! I think since telling Zach about the Convent, she's been cautious of what she shares with people, but there's just something about Zach that she trusts and eventually tells him the truth. THE QUICK FLICK DOWN TO HER LIPS KILLED ME TOO! I think I have the cliche's of 'You have secrets' in all of my stories but they all hit a little different (at least I hope they do). Thank you so so so so so much for all of your comments! I'm jealous of YOUR talent! I am in awe of every chapter you write. (Please give me more soon. I need it. Please) xxxx
