3 MONTHS LATER
The water was still as we walked beside it. A single rower sliced through the channel like an arrow shooting out to sea, and I couldn't help but stare after him, more than a little jealous.
'Do you have an interest in rowing?' asked the man in the tweed cap and brown trench coat who was accompanying us. He looked like an ad for London Fog. Either that or a Sherlock Holmes impersonator. Or a bigwig British academic. And, of course, I knew that the last one was correct.
'Oh. Yes. Sure. Rowing looks...fun' I replied.
'Did you row at your school?'
He sounded interested. He looked interested. But I've been trained to hear what people don't say - to see the things that are better kept hidden - so I knew that Dr Holt was simply trying his best to be nice.
'No. We did...other things'
'Well-' he pushed his horn-rimmed glasses up on his nose - 'Cambridge is a very well-rounded university. Whatever activities you enjoy, I'm sure we have them here'
Oh, I highly doubt it.
I looked around.
'Would it be possible for me to look around alone? I'm sure you're far too busy to drag little old me around'
'Well, I-'
'How about I meet you in the quad in an hour? That way if I have any more questions you'll be on hand?' I smiled at him sweetly. I saw his body sigh in relief.
'Of course, of course. Have fun' I smiled once again before turning back the way he came, heading around the corner of a grand old building. There was an arbour covered with ivy. A statue of someone whose name I didn't know. The air was moist and cool around me. I felt alone as I walked between two buildings and found myself staring down at the river again. Another single rower slid across the water, looking backwards, moving forward. It seemed to go against all logic, but the man kept pushing on against the current, and I wondered how he made it appear so easy.
I continued to walk alone until I reached Crawley Hall. It did not take much effort to pick the lock. But once inside, it seemed empty. My footsteps echoed in the corridor. I passed heavy wooden arches and stained-glass windows. It felt more like a museum than a school, and not for the first time in my life I walked down the hallowed halls of education, totally breaking the rules.
Thirty seconds later, I was standing at the entrance of the largest library I had ever seen. Old oak tables filled the centre of the room. Bookshelves thirty feet high stretched along every wall. I didn't have time to admire the first editions of Thackeray and Forster that sat behind protective glass when a voice came.
'Stop!' A man cried 'Who are you? What are you doing here? I'm calling security' He spoke rapid-fire, barely breathing in between demands, certainly not giving me enough time to answer.
'Put your hands up. Up! Put them up' He shouted even though he didn't hold a weapon. His hair was overgrown and grey. He wore a dirty, wrinkled suit and looked like he hadn't showered in days.
'Mr Knight?' I asked, inching closer 'Sir Walter Knight?'
'This area is restricted,' he shouted again. 'The campus is closed. You aren't supposed to be here'
'I'm not supposed to be a lot of things,' I said 'My name is Cammie Morgan.' As soon as I said the words, a shadow crossed his face. It was like he was staring at a ghost.
Me.
He was staring at me.
I wasn't supposed to be alive. But I was.
'You know why I'm here, don't you?' I said, stepping even closer 'Elias Crane the sixth is dead. You probably heard about his car accident. I bet that drove you crazy, wondering if it really was an accident. I mean, it's possible he'd just had too much to drink when he drove his BMW off that cliff. But when Charlene Dubois went missing while driving her kids to school…' I took another step forward 'That you couldn't chalk up to coincidence. So you went on the run...and you came here.'
'I don't know what you're talking about!' He shouted desperately.
'Yes, you do. Why else would you be sleeping on the sofa in an office that's supposed to be abandoned, instead of at your London flat? Or your French villa? Or even your Swiss chalet? I have to say, this was a pretty smart decision. Squatting in a library. Clever. I bet a lot of people don't even know that Cambridge sees it as a feather in their cap for a former British Prime Minister to have an honorary office here. It's nice. It took us a while to track you down. But we did track you down, of course. And we won't be the only ones' I waited for my words to sink in, for the realisation of everything to dawn on him.
'The first rule of running' I told him 'Never go anyplace familiar'
He shook his head 'No. No. You have the wrong man'
'You are Walter Knight, son of Avery Knight, great-great-great-grandson of Thomas Avery McKnight. Tell me, did your great-grandfather change the family name because it made it easier for an Irish boy to rise to power in the British government at the time? Or was it because of the Circle?'
'Get out!' He barked
'You won't be safe here, Walter. They're coming for you' I said, watching the words land, the realisation sweeping him, causing his knees to buckle slightly.
'Are you working for the CIA? Is that what this is? Sending a little girl to do their dirty work these days'
Without hesitation, I threw the knife I was holding at his feet, watching him jump back as it landed centimetres from his shoes.
'Your former...associate...Catherine Goode. She killed Crane. You know that, right? And Charlene Dubois didn't just go for a drive and forget to come home'
'I'm not in the Circle of Cavan' He spat
'We both know that's a lie'
'I'm not! I'm not part of that any more'
'It's not the Boy Scouts. They don't let you walk away'
'Watch me' He snapped
Walter turned around, sprinting towards one of the doors only to be greeted by another figure who punched Walter across the face causing him to stumble back & fall to the ground.
I strolled over to him, after picking up my knife. Walter sat up, wiping the blood from his nose.
'You're welcome' Grant said to me, shaking out his fist.
'I had it under control' I said. Grant scoffed.
'Yeah it looked it'
'This is your fault, you bitch!' Walter scoffed from the floor 'You should have had the decency to die when we needed you to'
'Sorry,' I admitted 'I've been going through a bit of a rebellious streak. I swear it's almost over'
'So you're here to kidnap me?' He asked, looking between Grant & me.
'You say kidnap. We say hold in a secure facility until it's safe to turn you over to the proper authorities. But you know, each to their own'
He didn't argue with us, Walter allowed Grant to pick him up, handcuff him and haul him away.
'Duchess' I whispered into my comms 'We got him'
'Great work Chameleon.' Bex's voice hummed in my ear 'Meet you at the extraction point'
'Copy that' I followed after Grant and Walter, making sure all our tracks were covered.
As we were about halfway across the grassy area in front of the building, there came a massive explosion. One that knocked all of us to our feet.
'Chameleon. Newman. Come in. What happened?' Bex's voice was full of urgency.
'Change of plan. Peacock, Duchess, on my position; we're extracting on the move. Bookworm, can you find somewhere?'
'On it' Liz replied.
I looked over at Grant.
'You good?' I asked. He nodded, turning back to the building.
'Would have been a short-range. They won't be far' He said. I nodded.
'We need to find cover' I looked around, finding a dark alleyway within running distance.
'Over there!'
I stood up, hauling Walter up with me. I gripped his arm tightly as we ran for cover. Grant checked our surroundings as we moved.
As we ran down the alleyway, a figure appeared at the other end blocking our path. I began to pull back, hiding Walter when Grant raised his gun, firing at the figure. The figure dove out of the way just in time.
'What the hell?' I snapped, pushing Grant's arm & the gun down. 'That could have been a civilian'
'Or it could have been a Circle member. Once again, you're welcome' As he pushed past me I grabbed his arm.
'We do not shoot first and ask questions later. We need to be smart; not to draw attention
Suddenly the figure reemerged around the corner, this time with a gun in hand. Grant pushed me back, firing a single shot immobilising the figure.
He turned back to me with a pointed look.
'Thank you.' I said. Grant gave a single nod. He stepped forward, checking that the coast was clear.
Luckily we didn't come face to face with any more threats. We shoved Walter into the back of our awaiting car when my phone rang.
Blocked number.
'Bookworm…'
'On it' Liz's voice hummed through the comms as I answered the call.
'I would say I've missed your voice but I'd be lying'
'You sound a lot healthier since we last spoke' Catherine's voice sliced through the air. 'Although I do not doubt that you're tired Cameron...perhaps you should take a little break. Let the grownups do their job'
'And miss out on a chance to kick your ass? Not way' I scanned the area subtly, wondering if she was watching me at this very moment.
'You're running out of time, dear. I'm already ahead of you. You'll probably receive a phone call soon about a tragic explosion at Cambridge resulting in the poor body of Walter Knight being discovered' I could hear the smirk in her voice.
'That would be a pretty funny story considering I have him in custody right now' I quipped. I waited for some reaction from Catherine but there was utter silence on the other end.
It was my turn to smirk.
'What's wrong, Catherine? Did I mess your plan? Perhaps you should take a little break-'
She hung up on me.
I took a deep breath.
'Bookworm?' I asked
'Nothing' Liz said deflated 'Two seconds and I would have had her'
'Damn it!' I snapped
'Don't worry about it' Bex said, opening the car door 'It seems that finally, you've got into her head'
'Maybe. But she's been living rent-free in mine for too long. We need to find the others, now'
Zach POV
'That little bitch!' Catherine threw her phone against the wall, smashing it to pieces. 'How did she find him?' She hissed 'How did she get to him first!' She screamed.
'Perhaps Walter reached out to her? He might have been scared. You weren't subtle with getting rid of the others' Dr Steve added.
'Or because she's smart' I quipped, filling up my glass of whiskey. Alcohol seemed to be the only thing that gets me through day to day life around my mother.
Catherine glared at me for a moment before her scowl faded into a sickly smirk. I knew whatever was going to come out of her mouth next would be pure venom intended to hurt me.
'You are still wearing that little bracelet' She noted. 'It's pathetic that you have hope she'll find you. Face it, Zachary. She's forgotten about you'
'Shut up!' I snapped
'It's the truth. She's in England probably cosying up to your best friend...what's his name?' She steps towards me, taking my drink from my hand 'Grant, isn't it?' She took a sip 'I'm sure they make a lovely pair on and off missions'
I grabbed the glass, hurling it across the room. My chest rising and falling in anger. Catherine remained completely composed, staring at me.
'Have I touched a nerve?'
I didn't reply to her. I grabbed a big bottle of whiskey and headed out of the room, slamming the door behind me.
Author's note: Hello everyone! A lot of this chapter has been taken right from Book 5 - all credit to Ally Carter. I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to update this story. I've been really busy with work and other projects so time has drifted away from me a little bit. And because of this, there might be a delay in the next chapter too. But here is the time jump! Things are getting more into a cat'n'mouse chase between Catherine, Cammie & the truth. Zammie reunion soon xxx
Guest: Next chapter is here! Sorry for the delay xxx
Guest: It seems that Grant & Cammie are beginning to have an unconventional friendship which I quite like. Zach is stuck working for his mother all to protect Cammie. I just feel bad that Catherine is trying to get into Zach's head and stop him from trusting Cam. xxx
covertoperative456: Thank you! I'm excited too! xxx
Smiles180: Cammie still hasn't acknowledged the bracelet...but Catherine has and is trying to manipulate Zach. There are more missions with the GallagherGirls & Blackthorne Boys working together coming up which is exciting! xxx
Alecks454: Thank you! Cammie seems to have begun to trust Grant but it will be a while for him to completely trust her xxx
GallagherGirlzRule: It's so good to have you back! It's been a while! Thank you so much! I won't stop writing, or I will once I get uninspired which I don't think will happen for a while. Zach won't die in the end, neither will Cammie. That I can promise you...maybe...xxx
