Author's Note: Little celebration as this is the 500th chapter I've written on FF!
Cammie POV
I gasped as I broke through the water's surface. The cold rush of water brought me back to my senses. The waterfall was overpowering, the sprays from the water hitting the surface made me squint. I looked up, fearing that the figure would follow me, but thankfully they didn't.
'Cameron!' I turned to see Joe and Zach standing at the edge of the bank - both of them completely dry. I swam over to them, taking Joe's outstretched hand as I clambered onto the rocks.
'You didn't fancy doing it properly?' Joe raised an eyebrow at me.
'It was quicker that way' I shrugged. Joe looked as though he wanted to tell me off but shook his head instead, a small smile on his lips.
'Just like your father' He muttered as he took off his jacket, and wrapped it over my shoulders. 'Come on, it's best that we get as far away from here as possible'
I nodded, taking one last glance up to where I fell from, but I couldn't see anything through the mist.
'You're lucky you didn't hit the rocks' Zach grumbled. I looked at him. 'Do you know how stupid that was to just jump!'
'I had my reasons' I said
'What? To get yourself killed?'
'Perhaps that was the plan' I muttered. Zach's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before they narrowed in disgust. He muttered something under his breath before turning away, following on after Joe.
I sighed.
Although we had just rescued Joe, I felt I was a million miles away from getting the answers I need.
…
Going through the woods, none of us spoke. Zach led the way, navigating us swiftly back towards the safe house. Joe was walking next to me, silently but supportive.
His presence, though usually calming, was no use to me. Every small noise made me turn and stare, just waiting for something to happen.
'What's wrong?' Joe asked. I chewed my lip, not wanting to tell him the actual truth. Instead, I asked the other question that was on my mind.
'Did you honestly not hear the music?' Joe stopped, which caused me to stop. There was something in Joe's eyes that bothered him, and me.
'I didn't'
'But…' I prompted
'But it could explain your memory loss. It's a technique, a barbaric one, that wipes your memory but implants triggers. Like hearing the music and your nightmares. ' He said. 'Although you should be careful, some of the things you dream or remember could be false memories, placed in your sub-conscience to trick you'
'How do you know about my nightmares?' I shot him a look. Joe didn't say anything but I knew who had told him, and he was walking in front of us.
'Jez, you two have become awfully buddy all of a sudden' I muttered, turning away from Joe. But Joe grabbed my arm, stopping me once again.
'Cameron-'
'Joe-'
'-You are a better spy than to let your emotions and personal feelings cloud your judgements. When you look at him, what do you see?'
'A traitor' I answered. Joe arched an eyebrow at me. I slumped my shoulders and looked over at Zach. He was still walking probably 25 metres away, his shoulders broad and his steps confident.
'He's a good spy. He was trained well' I noted
'Trained in such a way that from what I've observed, his skill set is matched almost identically to another spy' Joe said. I looked up at Joe waiting for him to elaborate. But Joe was looking at me, waiting for me to realise what he said, waiting for the penny to drop.
I turned back to Zach, trying to see him in a different way.
All my interaction with him came flooding back; the ease of the conversation, the way he sized me up causing alarm bells to ring in my head, the way he found me, me the chameleon, in a red dress, the way he matched me blow for blow - the times he could have killed me but didn't. The way he knew how I ticked, how I acted and how to distract me. And the way he kissed me, teased me, pulled me in and knew exactly what buttons to push and when.
A horrible chill ran over me, my knees went weak and for the second time today, I found it hard to breathe.
'He's been trained to match me' I whispered. 'How did you-'
'It takes a minute to work someone out, Cameron.' He reminded me
'But how did you know? What gave him away?'
'The knots' Joe gestured to my bandaged shoulder and my bandaged leg.
'They're different' I realised. One was a traditional knot that pretty much every spy I know from every agency uses, the other was the knot I like to use, it's similar to the traditional knot but with a double knot at the back - it makes it tighter which can hurt, but it means that if you're on the run, you don't have to change the bandage that often. Plus it's easy to conceal (especially under Gallagher's skirts). It was one of the first knots I had learnt to tie and I remember one evening when I was 8 or 9 arguing with my dad & Max about why tying a knot my way was the superior way.
Joe nodded slowly.
'Maybe it's just a coincidence' I offered, trying to find some sort of reasoning to all the madness.
'Cammie, you know-'
'I know' I turned to look back at Zach. My heart was breaking all over again. There's no such thing as coincidences.
…
Zach POV
I knew that the dynamic between me and Cammie had changed forever. There were actions and words spoken between us that neither of us will be able to take back.
When I saw her fall, crashing into the water, I thought she was hurt. I thought something terrible had happened. For a fleeting moment, I remembered Cammie's I can't swim comment once I pushed her into the pool and when she didn't come to the surface right away, I readied myself to dive into the water after her. Joe pulled his arm out, stopping me.
'Just wait' He said, his eyes trained on the water
'Are you serious?' I snapped 'She could be hurt'
'Just. Wait'
A moment later, Cammie broke through the surface, gasping for air. I released the breath I had been holding in.
'Cameron!' Joe called to her, getting her attention. She swam over to us and Joe helped her out. They exchanged a few words before Joe walked away. Cammie looked up at where she had just fallen from as if waiting for the mist to clear.
'You're lucky you didn't hit the rocks' I said, hoping that she could see how insane she was acting. Cam looked at me, well, she wasn't really looking at me, just staring in my direction. 'Do you know how stupid that was to just jump!'
'I had my reasons' She muttered
'What? To get yourself killed?'
'Perhaps that was the plan' She replied. I was shocked, I knew that earlier she had wanted me to kill her but that was because she was being interrogated. Now she was in the clear, she was free and wanted to kill herself? It didn't make sense. I narrowed my eyes, hating the person that she was becoming.
I swore in farsi under my breath and walked away.
Now we were in the woods, Cammie and Joe trailing behind whilst I navigated us back to the cabin. I'm sure that they had a lot to catch up on, but I had a sneaky feeling that they were talking about me.
.
Cam POV
We could finally see the cabin in the distance, around 300 yards away. Part of me didn't want to go down there, knowing that reality was already beginning to set in and repercussions for our actions would have to be taken.
As we neared, a few figures emerged from the back door. Staring at us on the porch. One of the figures went inside whilst the other two came running towards us.
'Bloody hell!' Bex exclaimed, slamming into me at full speed and grappling me into a hug. It's a miracle that she didn't knock me over.
'Are you okay?' She asked, pulling back.
'It's good to see you mate' I turned to see Grant giving Zach a brotherly hug.
'Cam?' Bex asked. I opened my mouth to speak.
'Miss Baxter, I think it's best that we get inside' Joe said calmly. Bex smiled at him.
'It's good to see you, Sir'
'Likewise Miss Baxter' He replied with a small smile.
'Who the fuck is this guy?' Grant asked. Bex looked at me, and so did Zach.
'There's no time to explain, everybody get into the house' Joe ordered. Bex shot me a look that said what-the-hell-is-going-on?! But I ignored it as we raced back inside.
'Cammie!' Liz threw her arms around me the moment I stepped through the door. 'I'm so glad you're safe. We were so worried and we thought-'
'Liz' I interrupted. 'The escape plan. We're using it'
'But I thought-'
'We're using it' I ordered, unwrapping myself from her.
'What the hell is going on?' Bex muttered. I ignored her once again and grabbed the vacant gun on the table, aiming it at Jonas, Grant and Zach who were standing to one side.
'What the fuck do you think you're playing at?' Grant barked, drawing his own gun out. This led to everyone in the room (including Liz) to draw out a gun and aim it at one another….everyone apart from Zach and Joe.
'Put it down' Bex hissed at Grant
'Not until Crazy Cam puts hers down first!'
'Watch your tongue, Blackthorne Boy' Bex warned. As the words Blackthorne Boy left her mouth, there was a shift between Zach, Joe and I. Zach looked at me and I looked at him.
'Do you want to tell them, or should I?' I said. Zach's jaw was tense. He dropped his gaze.
'Put your guns down' He told Jonas and Grant.
'Dude, what the fuck?' Grant snared
'I said, put them down' Zach said through gritted teeth. Jonas was the first to put his gun down, kicking it over to Macey. With Jonas doing this, Grant seemed to tighten his grip.
'Just do it' Jonas whispered. Reluctantly, Grant lowered his weapon, kicking it over to Bex.
'And the rest of them' I ordered. The guys sighed as they took off all of their hidden weapons.
Once I was satisfied that they were unarmed, I lowered my gun
'They are not allowed to leave this room, and if they do...shoot them' I snapped. I saw in my peripheral view Macey and Bex sharing a concerned look.
'Will you tell us why you're doing this to us?' Grant mocked. I shot a look at Zach who was avoiding my gaze.
'Ask him' I spat before turning away from him, shoving the gun into Joe's outstretched hand and leaving the room.
.
I paced back and forth across my room, trying to process exactly what had happened over the last few days.
'If you walk any more you're going to burn a hole in the floor' Bex said from the doorway.
'I take it he you know the truth'
'I do. Zach told us everything he knew and Joe filled in the rest' Bex tilted her head 'How are you feeling?' She asked
'Like an absolute fool' I said, sinking onto my bed. 'I got played'
'We got played. Those boys...they're smart'
'But we're meant to be smarter! We should have known'
'And there were times that we did' Bex sat next to me 'You had doubts, I had doubts. We just got too close'
'You mean I got too close' I looked at her 'I'm waiting for my I told you so'
'Nah. I'm saving that for another time' She nudged my shoulder, she gave me a small smile. We drifted into a short silence.
'There's something I don't get' Bex voiced after a while.
'What?'
'Why did Max just let you go?'
'I don't think he did'
'And why would you say that?' Bex tilted her head, studying me. I paused allowing my thoughts to settle.
'I think this is all part of a bigger plan. All of us, our pasts, our families, our schools, our training, all of it is tied into something somehow, with me and Zach in the middle of it'
'So what's going to happen now?'
'Honestly, I don't know. But whatever is going on, this is just the beginning'
Author's Note: Many revelations happened in this chapter. Cam has realised that Zach's special training is for one purpose and one purpose only, to defeat Cam...but how will Zach react? And now their friends will soon realise that the saying 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' is exactly what they've been doing. What do you think will happen next? Will Cam tell them about the figure she saw? The next chapter is a pretty intense one for Zach and Cammie...and there is the return of some familiar faces. See you all next week xxx
Blue: You should always be worried, you never know what I'm going to do next. Was it Catherine? Cam and Zach are about to have an intense conversation which won't end well for either of them...Like I said, you should be worried...was it a trap? Were they freed? And by who? Thank you so much! Glad you are enjoying this story xxx
Guest: No clones in this story and I also can't guarantee a happy ending either. Hope you like this chapter!
Covertoperative456: Glad that you're back! Reading your reviews as you caught up made me smiles, especially your review on chapter 32. Bless you. Thank you so much. Is it obviously Catherine? I could be sending you a curve ball...or not...you never know! :) xxx
Alecks454: You might just be shocked...xxx
Ms. CammieMorgan: Thank you so much! I'm glad that you are loving this story (and the fact that this is the only thing you talk about makes me smile beyond belief - truly that means so much to me!) xxx
Allycarterfan101: The person who stepped out of the cave is going to be a little mystery (well, that depends if Cammie is going to say anything to the others). I love these kind of gripping, complex stories. Truthfully I don't know how I do it - I think it's all the spy & crime dramas I watched growing up - lol. Thank you so much for all your support over the years. I can never thank you enough xxx
Smiles180: If you think those last few chapters were intense, wait for the next few! I think even Zach was surprised that he threw the knife! Cammie being tortured are always the hardest chapters to write. It might be Catherine, but like you said, that's too obvious...or is it...mwhahaha. Everyone has reunited and the dynamic has forever changed, what will happen now? xxx
Guest: Here it is! xxx
GallagherGirlzRule: Yay! You were able to review! No pressure if you can't, I don't want you getting into trouble. Cammie is a lot tougher than she seems. Amy will be making an appearance soon! I promise not to watch my language around you ;) xxx
Guest: Here it is! xxx
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH: Thank you! Here it is! xxx
