Zach POV

Everyone had managed to go off to sleep at various points during the evening. Exhaustion, both mental and physical was beginning to take its toll on people.

I stayed up, mulling over the memories of my childhood with a glass of whisky. Not the most sophisticated drink, but one that was taking the edge off of the images flashing through my mind.

That's when I heard the floorboards creak. I glanced up to see Cammie, moving in the dark. I sighed. She was probably sleepwalking. Best not to wake her.

Cam slipped on her boots and headed towards the door, opening it as quietly as possible and then sneaking out.

I downed my drink, slipped on my own shoes, grabbed a coat and my gun, then followed her into the cold.

Considering that Cam was sleepwalking, she was actually moving pretty fast through the woods, her feet delicately stepping over all the obstacles in her path.

I knew where she was heading and I knew that when she eventually woke up, the pain would be brought right back and she'd grieve all over again. I had to prepare myself to help her through it.

Eventually, she came to a stop, right by her father's grave. The dirt had been disturbed slightly by Liz and Jonas so that they could get some sort of DNA sample, but tried to be as respectful and as inconspicuous as possible.

'You didn't have to follow me' She said, glancing over her shoulder at me. Her eyes are vibrant and very much awake.

'I thought you were sleepwalking'

'You have to fall asleep first for that to happen' She muttered turning back to the small clearing. She stared at it for a moment.

'I was here' her icy breath carried by the wind. 'My dad and I. When I went missing, we somehow found each other. We came here for a mission and he...he knew he wouldn't make it out alive'

I stepped forward, placing my hand lightly on her arm.

'We should get you back. It's cold out here' I tugged on her arm a little. Cam shrugged me off. She continued to stare in front of her.

'Two thousand, eight hundred and four' She muttered

'What's that?' I asked. Cammie turned to me.

'That's how many steps there are until we make it to an entrance'

'Are you serious?'

'Deadly' Cam's eyes seemed to sparkle in the light; gone were the tears of grief and now replaced by a new fire of hope.

'Come on' Cam began to walk north-west.

I grabbed her hand.

'I don't think this is a good idea, Gallagher Girl. We're going in blind'

'Do you have your gun?'

'Yes'

'Then we're not going in blind. We're going in armed' She pulled away from me again. I grabbed her hand one more.

'Gallagher Girl...this is risky. We don't know what could be there. We should wait for backup'

'You can wait for backup. I am going' She ripped her hand away from me once more, speeding off ahead.

I stood, numb for a few moments. Not sure what to do.

I cursed in Farsi before bolting off after Cammie.

She was once again quick and nimble on her feet. Darting through, counting under her breath.

'Gallagher Girl, this isn't a good idea.'

'Like I said, you can wait for the others. I'm going to find my family before they all end up like my dad' She walked away from me again.

'Cam, stop'

'What is your problem?' She whirled on me. 'Why are you so insistent on stopping me?'

'I think that we're walking into a trap. Going in without backup is foolish'

'Then let me be foolish' She said

'No' I tugged on her arm tighter. 'The creepy woods, the unmarked grave, the girl with memory loss who suddenly remembers where an entrance is. All of that has the marking of a not good idea'

'We could be close to finding answers, Zach. We could be close to finding Joe.' She tried to reason with me 'If that was your mother's grave, you would want to find answers'

'That's where you and I are different, Gallagher Girl' I said 'If that was my mother's grave, I'd turn the other way and get the hell away from here'

Cammie tilted her head to the side, studying me carefully.

'I'm going to find answers, Zach. You don't have to follow me, but you sure as hell need to stay out of my way'

She turned again, resuming to count. I ran my fingers through my hair and down my face.

This girl was going to be the death of me.

Cammie POV

My blood was boiling with how persistent Zach was being in trying to stop me. Sure he was trying to reason with me, but with everything that's happened so far, all of us have just taken on a lead and rolled with it. Taking the risks as they came.

Eventually Zach caught up to me, walking silently in sync, like a child sulking.

Maybe he had a point that we were going in blind or maybe that this is a trap. However, I needed to know what my gut was telling me. If it was nothing, then so be it. But if it was something…I had to know.

I finished counting and stopped at another cave entrance.

'Are you sure about this?' Zach asked. 'It's not too late to call for backup'

I looked at Zach quickly before moving into the darkness.

I pulled out my torch, to illuminate the cave space. There was no indication that anyone had been here recently.

We continued to walk further into the cave when the strangest thing happened. The rocky floor gave way to metal floors.

Zach and I both paused looking at it.

'What is this?' I asked. I turned to Zach, seeing his eyes wide and the colour drain from his face.

'Zach?'

He seemed to snap back to reality. He turned to me, his hands cupped my face tightly and urgently. He pulled me against him, kissing me longer and deeper than he ever had before.

I pulled away. In the faint traces of light, I saw his eyes perhaps more clearly than I ever had.

Zach saw me.

Zach knew me.

And Zach was vulnerable.

'Stay here,' he whispered. I felt the words brush across my skin. 'Please, Gallagher Girl, just stay here'

'Why?'

I wanted to pull away, to remind him that I was a big girl, a highly trained operative, a spy - that I'd been training for this mission my entire life, and I wasn't going to be left on the sidelines again.

Zach dropped his hands. He looked into the darkness.

'Down there...it's dangerous. Joe called them the tombs'

'Liz didn't mention anything like that on the database'

'It's not in the database' Zach cut in 'Like your underground school, the tombs are our secret' Zach flashed his torch down the cave a little more. He turned back to me.

'You need to stay here...please' He begged.

'Not going to happen.' I got on my tiptoes and kissed him delicately.

'Are you sure about this?'

'It's the only choice I have' I replied. Zach nodded.

'Alright then. Watch your step' was his answer.

We began to walk further and further into the somewhat belly of the beast. It didn't feel as though we were going underground, but rather going straight through the mountains that were Blackthorne's first and perhaps best line of defence.

'The Native Americans indigenous to this area used to bury their dead in caves like this,' Zach offered out of the blue 'That's why they call them the tombs. The army used this whole area for weapons testing and training in World War Two. After the war, they found another use for it. So watch your steps. There could be explosives still around'

'My dad and Joe never mentioned this to me'

'Maybe they didn't tell you so that you wouldn't go nosing around' He quipped. I stopped.

'If that's the case, then how did I know where the entrance was?'

Zach stopped, he shone his torch in my direction so he could see me. His mouth was in a thin line. He didn't say anything. Neither of us did. Both of us not wanting to know the answer.

We continued to walk for what felt like hours, disabling several booby traps and dodging surveillance cameras.

'How far do they go? I asked, diverting the conversation.

'Far' Zach replied eventually.

'How many branches and offshoots are there?'

'A lot'

'Maybe we should split up' I suggested.

'You stay with me' Zach said like it wasn't really up for debate.

The passageway was taller than the ones at the Gallagher Academy. The concrete walls felt more modern. It was a next-generation tunnel, to be sure, but it wasn't new or nice. There was a regimental feeling to it. Something that had been planned.

Zach POV

It took another hour to reach the next part. Twice we found the tunnels blocked by a cave-in, a hundred tons of stone standing in our way. We had to backtrack a few times. There were also a few occasions where Cammie and I argued about which way to turn, eventually, I sided with Cam, her gut telling her where to go.

Soon we reached a point where the cave walls gave way to structure. Metal support beams hanging overhead.

We waited to see if we could hear anything but we couldn't. Once it was safe to move, we headed down a small ladder.

Me, being a gentleman decided to go first. I helped Cammie down on the other end, my hands wrapping around her waist to help her down.

'What now?' She asked

'By my calculations, we're in block seven. Here was where we did interrogations'

Just as Zach had said those words, we heard a loud crash.

We froze. Holding our breaths and waiting to see what happened.

We pulled out our guns, keeping them at our side.

We crept along the small hallway, keeping as close to the wall as we possibly could. We came to a large room, with a small table in the middle.

Once the coast was clear, Cammie and I entered. Checking our surroundings before looking at the table.

'Coffee's fresh. Someone will be back soon' I said

'Something's not right' Cam was looking at the walls, the floor, the ceilings, everything.

'What's wrong?' I asked

'I've think I've been in this room before' She furrowed her brows, trying to remember.

'Indeed you have, Miss Morgan' Cam and I both turned, raising our guns at a figure on the other side of the room.

'Show yourself' I hissed. The figure walked forward, their hands raised in surrender. They stepped out of the shadows and once I saw their face, I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

'Joe!' I exclaimed, rushing forward to give him a hug.

'It's good to see you again, Zachary' He patted me on the shoulder 'I knew I could count on you'

'Why did you disappear?' I asked 'What happened?'

'It's a long story...' He paused, looking over the top of my head at Cammie.

I turn around to see Cammie pointing her gun at Joe.

'What are you doing?' I asked her 'Gallagher Girl, it's Joe'

Cammie's gaze flickered to me. Anger and pain thundered through her eyes.

'That's not Joe'

Author's Note: DUN DUN DUN! If that wasn't Joe...then who was it?! Happy New Year everyone! I hope that 2021 is better than this year, full of prospects, promises, growth and adventures. See you all soon! xxxx

FanFix2.0: Thank you so much xxx

Alecks454: Book 5, it's where Cammie is trying to get her memory back xxx

gymnast1150: I know! Cammie is just being hit with everything from all different directions, and it's only going to get worse for a while before it can get (marginally) better. In that moment, I think Cam shut everything down, and looking into Zach's eyes...did it bring back some sort of recollection...hmmmm...Nick will be back at some point, don't worry I have that planned out. But the person coming back is a face from the books that we haven't seen yet. Matthew's goodbye was hard. So it seems that Rachel, Joe, Abby and Matthew went missing - Cammie then went looking for them (and went missing herself) - In the time she was missing, she reunited with Matthew and then lost him again...and now he's dead...Hope you had a good Christmas, and happy new year! xxx

Smiles180: She is close to finding someone but it might not be the person you would expect. Blackthorne will play a key part in the next few chapters. xxx

covertoperative456: I'm sorry *offers a tissue* xxx

MaryS: Thank you! I am planning on continuing this story for a very long time (I think it might be my longest story thus far). I haven't heard of it, but I'll check it out! I'm always on the lookout for a new story xxx

moodreaderkc: I really like Matthew's character, even from the little snippets we got from the book. I want to write more about his character in the future...we'll see...Glad you like this chapter xxx