The tunnel is dark, and musty, and full of cobwebs as I trail my classmates down the passageway from a safe distance. This had better be worth it, I think to myself, picking a long strand of spider web out of my hair. But when the tunnel before me begins to lighten, I see what I came for. Their silhouettes stand out against the outside light, the shapes of their bodies molding into one, as they embrace.
They haven't seen me following them, of course. It's amazing, really, how few people ever see me, even when they should. Logan and Maddie really should have seen me.
I watch, pressed into a wall 200 feet back, as they settle onto the ground and begin to talk. This is good. This is all part of the plan.
It's counterintuitive, but my target isn't the kind of person you can simply pull a snatch and grab on. Not unless you want to be dead immediately afterward. And I have no intention of dying. I will complete this mission. I really have a choice. And then I'll run. I'll become someone new, and leave this place, and everyone in it, as far behind me as I can.
A small rustle in the trees outside catches my attention. There's a flash, an inadvertent glint off a reflective surface. I roll my eyes. How am I supposed to do my job with this kind of interference?
Sure enough, my classmates have seen it too. They're standing now, and walking back down the tunnel toward me. I press myself into the wall as hard as possible, hoping the small variation in the wall and the dim lighting will be enough to conceal me from view.
It works, somehow, and Logan and Maddie walk right past, without even a glance in my direction. Even though they really should have glanced in my direction.
I wait until they round a bend in the tunnel, and then start for the exit.
By the time I reach the opening, she has already come to stand at the edge of the trees.
"You shouldn't be here," I snarl at her, angrily placing my hands on my hips, and drawing myself up to my full height.
The woman laughs. "Can you blame me for wanting a peak? They've grown up so nicely since I last saw them."
"You're going to blow this entire operation if you keep this up," I practically spit at her. "I am doing my part. But you have to do yours. Stay the hell out of my way."
She just shrugs. "I don't answer to you, my dear."
"You should." I snap. And then I turn on my heel and start back down the tunnel toward the Gallagher Academy.
