Zach POV
I stood absolutely frozen by Cameron's words. No one knew about my mother, not even the guys knew about her.
'How do you know my mother?' I asked. Cam looked up at me, her eyes glassy with sleep and truth serum. I shouldn't be asking her questions, she was not in her normal state, but I just had to know what she knew about my mother.
'She was so angry with me' Cam whispered, her voice laced with fear 'and she wouldn't stop. She just kept me in pain. There was so much pain.' Tears began to fall from her eyes.
'Cam, stop' I snapped. Her brows furrowed and the glassy look in her eyes vanished. For a moment she seemed like her usual self.
'Kill me' Cam said
'What?'
'Kill me, please. I don't want to give up anymore information, and once they know the names, they're going to kill me anyway! Please just do it'
'I'm not going to kill you, Cam'
'They're not going to stop!' She screamed at me 'This isn't going to stop until they break me. So put me out of my misery and kill me!'
'No' I said.
Cam dropped her gaze, sighing with a heavy heart.
'Max, he...he has a tell' Cam said 'When he's caught in a lie, he touches his left ring finger. It's a guilt trip. That's how he operates'
Cam looked up at me, her eyes the clearest I've ever seen them.
'Don't trust him' She whispered
Before I could respond, the door opened and in marched Joe...I mean Max.
He walked over to Cammie and smacked her across the face with such force, the sound of the connection echoed around the room.
He stood back, breathing heavily. His gaze landed on Cam's leg, noticing the blood.
'Impressive' He said to me, smiling 'I'm proud of you Zachary'
'Where's my mother?' I asked him. Max's smile dropped.
'I don't know' He replied. I watched as his thumb trailed across to touch his ring finger. I glanced at Cam and saw she was looking at me, waiting for my next move.
'You're lying' I said bluntly. Max raised an eyebrow at me.
'I don't know where your mother is' He said more assertively. Cam chuckled from her chair.
'He knows the truth' She said in a singsong voice. I wasn't sure if she was talking about me or talking about Max.
Max, clearly annoyed at Cammie's behaviour, pressed his button causing Cam to scream out in pain. And now that I knew the truth, hearing her scream hurt me ten times more.
'Stop' I sneered at Max. He didn't. He continued to hold the button down.
'Stop' I said again, this time pulling out my gun from my back and pointing it at him. 'I said stop'
Max glanced over at me, noticing the gun.
'I wouldn't do that if I were you' He warned me.
'Let go of the button' I snapped. Cammie's screams were beginning to die down as she began to succumb to the pain, drifting into unconsciousness.
The gun in my hand shook. Whether or not this man had lied to me, he had trained me, pulled me from a dark place and made me the man I am today...and I was going to have to shoot him.
'You're not going to shoot me, Zach' He said as if reading my mind. He let go of the button, Cam's screams finally stopped. Her body slumped down and she wasn't moving. Was she breathing? Is she dead?
'You're not going to shoot me because I'm more valuable to you and Miss Morgan alive' I knew he was right and I didn't want to admit it.
The doors opened and a few guards entered, their faces covered, all of them carrying their guns.
'Put your gun down' Max said slowly, he didn't seem angry, nor did he seem worried; he just seemed disappointed. And the disappointment hurt a side of me more.
I lowered the gun, putting it on the floor and holding my hands up.
'Take them both to the cell' Max ordered.
Two guards came and restrained me, holding a very tight grip on my arms.
The other guards untied Cammie, her body still slumped over, not moving. They dragged her body out of the room with me following suit.
They took us down several corridors until they opened another door, shoving both Cammie and I inside.
I glanced back as the guards shut the door, wanting to look them in the eyes as they did so.
Cam remained on the floor in front of me completely still.
'Gallagher Girl' I shook her shoulder, checking her pulse and her airways. She was still breathing which was a relief.
'She'll be okay' A voice in the dark room startled me. I looked up to see a man that looked a little like Max. He was a similar height, similar colour hair, and similar energy around him. He looked like a leader, a man who could control the room with a single look.
He made his way over to Cammie, stroking her hair back from her face in a way that made my stomach turn.
'Are you Joe?' I asked. He nodded, his eyes still trained on Cammie.
'You've heard of me?' He asked, his voice calm and steady.
'It seems that I know nothing and everything about you at the same time' I admitted. For the first time he looked up at me, his eyes studying me carefully. I felt intimidated just being in his presence.
'Help me with this' He said, ripping off the end of his shirt sleeve and began to wrap it around Cam's shoulder to bandage her wound. I helped him, doing the same with my shirt to wrap around her leg tying it with a double knot. A wound that I had created and will always regret.
I could feel Joe's gaze burning into me as we looked after Cam, pulling her into a recovery position so she could rest.
'What did they do to her?' He asked. I swallowed, not sure whether to admit my part in the whole interrogation or not.
'Shock torture' I said. Joe nodded slowly.
'She wasn't giving up'
'It pissed Max off' I admitted. Joe chuckled.
'Good for her. Did she give up any information?'
I gritted my teeth together.
'She didn't want to...but he gave her truth serum'
Joe sighed heavily.
'She gave up three names' I added. Joe didn't say anything, he glanced at Cam's sleeping figure.
'She didn't want to give them up' I said quickly, feeling as though I needed to defend her.
'I'm sure she didn't,' He said. He then turned to me. 'What were you doing in the room?'
I was caught off guard by his question.
'I...how did you know I was in the room?'
'There's blood on your hands'
'I...I...'
His gaze flickered down to my fingers and the small traces of blood smeared across them.
I looked away from him trying to look at anything else but my eyes ended up drifting towards Cam.
Even after everything that she went through, her face was calm, somewhat peaceful.
'I didn't mean to hurt her' I whispered. I could still hear her screams ringing in my ears. 'It's just that everything I knew or thought I knew got flipped on its head in a matter of moments and I…'
'You saw red' He finished for me. 'It happens to all operatives at some point. Even to the best of us'
'She was telling me the truth and I didn't want to listen' I chewed the inside of my mouth 'I didn't want to admit that the man I looked up to, the man who taught me everything was a lie'
'Not everything' Joe said. I looked up at him. 'You pulled the knife out, didn't you? You wanted to protect her. Blackthorne Boys, we...we don't get taught mercy'
'I'm not a Blackthorne Boy' I felt ashamed to admit it aloud. The truth bomb finally exploded and shattered all of my reality.
'You are' Joe said 'Being a Blackthorne Boy isn't just about training. It's about honour and integrity. I can see the look in your eyes. It's of a man with a purpose. A man who will do anything to get the job done'
'And look where that got me' I cut him off. Joe remained focused on me.
'You also have compassion. Something that Max has lost' He said 'You're not like him' Joe added 'Whatever Max taught you and whoever you think you are isn't the final version of you'
I turned away from him, not liking the idea of being seen, stripped of all my barriers and laid bare. Perhaps Cammie was right in saying you can judge a person in a minute, because right now, I think Joe had worked me out and I had worked him out too.
'Cam spoke highly of you. You trained her well' I said, changing the subject. Joe smiled.
'Cameron didn't need a lot of training. She is one of the most gifted spies I have ever come across'
'Yeah, she's pretty amazing'
.
Cammie POV
I woke up slowly, my eyelids felt heavy and every fibre in my being felt as though I was being weighed down. I tried to move but couldn't.
My eyes opened a fraction, it took a while to adjust to my surroundings. My initial thought was that I would wake up back in the chair and the whole cycle of torture would begin again, as if I'd blacked out for a moment. And yet, here I was on the cold floor of my cell wondering what had happened.
I began to move my head when someone stopped me.
'Take it easy, Cammie' Joe's voice was steady, soothing, breaking through the barrier.
'H...how long?' My throat was dry and the words came out scratchy.
'Only a day' He told me. I tried to push myself up into a sitting position but my arms were too weak. Joe, of course, caught me.
'You don't listen, do you?' He said in a half-joke tone.
'Nope' I gritted my teeth, and with Joe as support, I pushed my body up into a sitting position, resting with my back against the wall.
'Drink' Joe ordered, holding up a small cup of water. I took several sips but found that the liquid was hard to swallow. I closed my eyes, allowing my body to regain it's senses.
After a moment, I opened my eyes and looked straight at Zach.
'What is he doing here?' I hissed. Zach's eyes softened with sadness.
'He tried to help you' Joe said
'When did he decide to do that? After pointing a gun at me? Stabbing me? Watching me get tortured?'
'I'm sorry' Zach said quietly
'So am I' I said bluntly. Zach stared at me for a moment with big pleading eyes, he then looked away from me, probably ashamed.
'Ydych chi'n ymddiried ynddo?' I muttered to Joe in Welsh: Do you trust him?
'Gwnaeth gamgymeraid' Joe replied: He made a mistake.
'Ydych chi'n ymddiried ynddo?' I asked again
Joe paused for a moment.
'Mae'n rhy faun i farnu' It's too soon to judge
'Stopio bod yn ddiduedd' Stop being impartial.
Joe sighed.
'Hyfforddodd Max ef. Gallai hyn fod yn gamp ai peidio. Y naill ffordd neu'r llall, mae'n gresynu at yr hyn a ddigwyddodd' Max trained him. This could be a trick or not. Either way, he regrets what happened.
I chewed on Joe's words.
'Safodd yno a gwylio. Fe ollyngodd fe aeth ymlaen ac ni wnaeth unrhyw beth nes iddo gael atebion yr oedd eu heisiau. Ni allaf faddau hynny' He stood there and watched. He let it go on and didn't do anything until he got answers that he wanted. I can't forgive that.
I looked at Joe.
'I'm sorry' I said. Joe's expression softened.
'You didn't do anything wrong, Cam' He said 'You fought, and you fought hard'
'Not hard enough' I sighed 'I gave up three names'
'How did you know the names?' He asked.
'I don't know. Apparently I saw the list of names when Dad took me to the fair. I'm guessing it was some sort of dead drop and I was caught in it.'
Joe furrowed his brows.
'You didn't know about this?' I asked, reading the thoughts in his eyes.
'No. Your father never mentioned a list. What names are on there?'
'Charles Dubois, Samuel P. Winters and Gideon Maxwell' I said 'Though I don't know who they are, who else is on the list, and why they're important'
Joe thought for a moment. His brow furrowed.
'What is it?' I asked
'They are some of the founding Circle members'
'The ones that Gillian Gallagher tried to stop? Why are they back?' I asked
'It appears that they never went away' He said.
'Why did Dad want these names?'
'I have no idea, Cameron. I didn't think your father had secrets from anyone...but it appears that he did' Joe leant his head against the stone wall. Closing his eyes. With the hard expression on his face, I realised that whilst Joe has been here, his world to has been flipped on his head.
The two men that he considered to be brothers both lied to him in some way. Max faking his own death and my father keeping secrets. Secrets that he was willing to die for.
'Why didn't he tell you?' I found myself asking. Joe sighed, he rolled his head to the side and opened his eyes, looking at me.
'I've been thinking about that too. Perhaps keeping the secrets to himself was for protecting all of us. Especially you'
'But they didn't. I wasn't meant to see the list, but I did somehow. He didn't factor in that I would be watching'
Something crossed Joe's eyes.
'Or maybe he did…' Joe whispered, pondering.
'What are you saying?'
'Perhaps this was all part of your father's plan, and maybe you're the one to complete the mission'
'But I don't know what the mission is!' I exclaimed in a hushed whisper so that Zach, on the other side of the room wouldn't hear.
'Or maybe you do...'
I furrowed my brows but before we could continue the conversation, the cell door opened suddenly causing all three of us to jump.
But the strangest thing then occurred…
'Where are the guards?' I asked, pulling myself up.
Zach, being the closest to the door poked his head round. He looked both ways.
'There's no one there' He said
'Is this one of your tricks?' I asked. Zach glared at me. For a fleeting moment, I wanted to take all those words back. I didn't though. I wanted him to hurt for a while.
Joe approached the door too. He looked around the door and then stepped out into the corridor.
'The cameras have been disabled' He said. Joe moved down the hallway, disappearing from my view. I followed after him, pausing in the doorway waiting for Zach to move.
'Ladies first' he said
'Traitors first' I quipped back. Zach narrowed his eyes, opened his mouth to say something but decided against it.
Zach left, following after Joe. I hovered back, checking my surroundings, looking up at the camera. Joe was right, the cameras were off, the red light was not blinking; though I had a sneaky suspicion that we were still being watched.
We made it down several identical corridors following Joe's instinct. At every corner and at every turn we saw no one. We even made it out into the open air, a compound that I last saw as a hive of activity was bare.
The air was still. Every movement we made, the crunching of leaves under our footsteps seemed to be amplified.
'Where the hell is everyone?' I asked, scanning the area.
'It appears that this isn't a rescue effort' Joe raised an eyebrow at me.
'No…' I began 'This is another trap' My gaze instantly fell on Zach.
'I don't know what's going on' He said. I wanted to believe him, so badly I wanted to believe him, but after everything recently, I knew that my heart should not dictate my actions but my head.
'Let's keep moving, but keep your eyes open' Joe ordered. Zach and I both nodded. We continued to move around the open space, the frosty air nipping at my skin. Although everything was still, there was something faint being carried by the wind.
I spun around, scanning the area whilst my ears pricked up.
And that's when I heard it. So quiet that it disappeared and reappeared in between the wind.
Music.
'Wait!' I exclaimed forcing Joe and Zach to stop dead in their tracks. I signalled for them to be quiet, to listen for the music.
I continued to look around to try and place the noise. My eyes landed on another building, about 100 metres away.
'That way' I pointed. I began to walk towards the door. The music seemed clearer and louder the closer I got to it.
It was the same piece that I had heard at the Henley and again in my dream. It reminded me of a classical piece but not quite, there was something about it that I couldn't put my finger on.
I opened the door, greeting me in darkness and the smell of damp, I turned on my flashlight. There was a spiral staircase leading straight down into the abyss. I could feel Joe and Zach behind me. I headed down the stairs, the music getting louder and louder with every step.
'Where is that coming from?' I said.
'What are you talking about?' Zach asked. I paused and looked at him.
'Can't you hear the music?' I asked. Zach furrowed his brows confused.
'I can't hear anything'
I looked past him at Joe.
'Joe…' I whispered. Joe too was staring at me with confusion but also a degree of concern.
'Cameron, there is no music'
I turned away, not wanting him to see the fear in my eyes. I continued down the stairs, the temperature dropped the further we got down.
'I think we're heading back into the tombs, ' Zach said.
'You know about the tombs?' Joe asked. Zach nodded. Whilst the two of them drifted into easy conversation, talking as if they were old friends in another life, I couldn't help ignore the pounding in my head as the music got astronomically loud.
I reached the bottom of the staircase, the metal bars felt slimy and cold. The strangest thing then happened, the moment my foot landed on the ground, squelching into a small puddle, the music stopped and the silence was deafening.
Once Joe and Zach got down the stairs their torches scanned the space, we were in some sort of cave, the dampness a clear sign that water would be near. And when there's water...there's a way out.
But that's not what I was thinking about. All I could think about was the image of the woods from my dream became blurry; rough ground being replaced by cold water on my bare feet, my hands clawing at the trees became stone and the sound of twigs snapping became the clicking of heels on the metal staircase getting closer.
'Cammie?' I turned my head in the direction of the voice, Joe was looking at me, a worried expression across his face. 'You remember this place' It wasn't a question, it was a fact.
It was then that I realised my hands were shaking, the torchlight flickering against the wall.
I nodded. Joe stepped forward, delicately taking my torch out of my hand.
'Go' He whispered, and that's all I needed. I began to move, my body taking over. My lungs felt heavy, with every breath it felt as though razor blades were digging into my sides.
I kept going. Stumbling slightly and tripping as flashes of memories crossed my vision.
Get her.
I closed my eyes, the pain excruciating.
I continued to move on, every fibre in my body bringing a phantom pain.
I kept my eyes closed, powering forward.
Get her!
I had to breathe, I had to release all of the pain. I had to-
The wind was knocked out of me as I was pushed to the ground.
'What the fuck were you thinking?' Zach hissed in my face. I opened my eyes to see him pinning me to the ground. His grip on my wrists was tight.
'What happened?' I asked. Zach's gaze softened, his grip loosened and he rolled off of me.
'You were about to jump' He told me. I looked the other way to see that we were out of the cave, at a little clearing behind the waterfall. Blackthorne's greatest defense had a secret passage.
'I didn't jump in the woods' I admitted to Zach. The phantom pain had drained me, leaving me physically and mentally weak. 'I remembered it wrong. I jumped here'
'Are you sure?'
I tilted my head and closed my eyes; the spray from the water was refreshing.
'Positive'
There was a clang not too far away that drew my attention. It was Joe excavating a metal box out of a tiny crack in the wall.
'What is that?' I asked.
'We hid grappling gear here in case we had to climb down' He began to pull out rope and other equipment.
'Do you know your way back to the others?' He asked. Both Zach and I nodded. 'Brilliant. Let's get a move on'
Zach and I stood up, and gathered what we needed, we both listened to Joe, taking note of the advice he was giving us.
'I'll go first, make sure there are no surprises waiting for us' Joe said right before heading over the edge, we watched him descend down, his body becoming smaller and blending in with the mist.
After a few minutes, there was two tugs on the rope (Joe's signal for the next person to go down)
'Do you want to go next?' Zach asked.
'I'd rather you go. Means you can't escape'
Zach's jaw tensed.
Without a word, he got himself ready and descended down the rock face, leaving me alone.
Once again, after a few minutes, two tugs came.
I prepared myself, ready to push off the wall when I heard whistling. It was as clear as day...and it was coming from the cave.
I wanted to move but couldn't, my body was frozen.
As the whistling grew louder I realised it was the same melody, the same piece of music, I had heard before; though this time, it was not in my head.
I watched the cave entrance, waiting for something to happen.
And it did.
A figure emerged from the darkness. Their hair, their smile and their eyes permanently engraved on my brain.
'You' I whispered. They smiled...no...smirked at me.
They took a step towards me and my body reacted on instinct, I released my clasp descending down the rope far faster than I should have, but I had to get away, I had to let go of the rope, my arms stretched either side of me as I began to fall faster and faster, the white mist engulfing me, clouding my vision until I crashed against the surface of the water. The inky blue surrounding me, and for the first time in a while, I could breathe.
Author's note: A very long chapter for you all today! Hope you enjoy it! So Cammie, Zach and Joe are finally out of Blackthorne, but who was the figure that Cammie saw? EEEEkkkk! I'm so happy to finally share this chapter, I've been reading it over and over again just waiting to share it with all of you and here it is! Also, I can't believe that it's been 5 years since I created my profile and nearly 5 years since my first story was uploaded. Holy shit, thank you all so much, from those that have been there from the beginning, to those that have jointed me on the way and those that have just joined. Thank you all so so SO much! See you all next Saturday xxx
gymnast1150: Zach really doesn't want to hurt Cammie, but inevitably he has...will she ever trust him again? GIRL! If it brought you pain, how do you think I felt when writing it! I hate hurting Cammie but it had to be done. I feel honoured to know that I've surprised you (and I hope to continue to do so). Zach seems to be believing Cammie more, but it might just be too late...Zach might just be able to redeem himself. I know that it's hard to believe that right now...but I have a few tricks up my sleeve...mwhahahah! Catherine is very much alive, do you think she was the figure that Cam saw at the end before she fell? Thank you so much lovely! I'm glad that you are enjoying this story as much as I have loved writing it. xxx
Bball101: Gideon Maxwell was one of the founding members of The Circle and in the books Cammie & the others try to find the founding members descendants...and one of them has a connection to a character (or two) in this story. Max Edwards is a character from the books. Thank you so much xxx
Blue: Yay! I'm glad that you are enjoying the story and it's cliffhangers! Cammie won't die...yet...I'm joking...maybe...xxx
AllyCarterFan101: Zach's revelation of the truth was a real shock for him, but I think finding out about his mother being alive shocked him even more. I don't think Zach meant to hurt Cammie, it was more of an irritated reflex and he just snapped. I'm not planning on doing any POV's apart from Cam & Zach's for this story. Usually I would show other people's POV's but at the moment I'm keeping it between Zammie. Hope that's okay! Thank you so much xxx
Alecks454: Dear old Max may have just had that very revelation...but what will he do with that information? Catherine is alive, and will be back soon... xxx
GallagherGirlzRule: Thank you! Gideon Maxwell isn't Max's dad, but they are connected somehow (I don't want to spoil it just yet). I can't believe you're 12! Oh God, I better watch my language around you young ones :). Zach has realised it, but will Cammie forgive him? Catherine is back in the story, but Max is NOT Zach's dad. That's for sure. There are endless possibilities! Your unanswered question will be answered soon! I promise! Hahah I hope you don't get into any trouble by daydreaming about my story! Make sure you stay focused in school! xxx
Guest: Thank you so much! You might need some tissues for the next few chapters too! xxx
TkdGirl: It's always been a plan to return to 2 days a week, but at the moment, I'm doing a few small projects which are keeping me busy. You never know, I might just drop a chapter randomly...thank you so much! xxx
Ms. CammieMorgan: Hello! Welcome to my story and I hope that you have been enjoying it! Your review was so sweet, and like I told GallagherGirlzRule, I hope you both don't get in trouble for daydreaming about my story! (And I need to watch my language too! Lol). Zach is going through a lot of emotions at the moment and he just got angry. He acted on impulse without thinking (which is something Cammie sometimes does too). I'm so glad that you are loving this story - it's taken me a lot of time and energy to plot this through (and there's even some parts I don't know what will happen in!) I'm not too sure how many chapters - maybe into the 60s/70s? There's a lot I have planned for this one! Thank you so much once again xxx
BugheadHastings: Hello again! I appreciate you taking time to review whilst dealing with school work. I completely understand! Catherine, like in the books, is unpredictable, she will do whatever she can to get what she wants...and you never quite know what side she falls onto...Thank you again xxx
