.oO Clear Mornings Oo.

Cammie POV

The next morning was strange, saying the least. I had hoped that things would be clearer after we all got some sleep, and they were- to an extent. The shock of hearing about Zach's past had worn off, and I was ready to talk to Zach without strangling him. But when I had time to think about the events of the night before, I realized how much there still must have been that Zach hadn't told us. There was still a lot I wanted to know. How much had he kept back?

I understood that I hadn't been in the best state to hear any more than the basics the previous night, but after my mind calmed down, I wanted to know the details. Why was his sister so mad he left? What exactly did his sister do when he left? What did Zach himself do? How exactly were the other girls captured and locked up? What were the reasons and circumstances Zach left his sister under? Why didn't Alyson go with Zach when he left?

There was still so much to talk to Zach about. And who knew how much time we had until Alyson contacted again?

Of course, Zach had never been very open about his past before, but this felt like he was keeping things from me. I accepted the fact that we couldn't always talk about what we did considering our lifestyle, but this wasn't about work or national security. Zach and I had always been open with each other after the Circle was taken down. It was something I had grown used to. Even now, in the little time after I'd woken up I'd wanted to talk through this with him. I just wanted him to be open with me and tell me what happened between him and his sister. Was it wrong of me to want him to spill everything of his past?

There was also the possibility that Zach would tell me more when he was ready. Maybe he would start telling us more now that we knew the basics. We might just have to be patient. I needed to talk the girls so we could figure out what to do next.

When I left my room, dressed and ready, I found Macey and Liz talking in the kitchen area and Bex lying on the sofa.

My friends all looked at me as they heard the door open. They studied my movements as I walked to the fridge and got a glass of orange juice like they were waiting for me to snap or crash or something. I sat on the counter and took a sip. They were still staring at me like I had just suggested we rob the Louvre.

I sighed, running my fingers through my hair, then blew out a puff of air. "So is there a bomb on my back or something?" I asked. My question snapped my friends out of whatever trance they were in. Macey rolled her eyes; Bex stretched out on the sofa, and Liz went back to eating her cereal. The room went into an awkward silence for a few minutes. I found it ridiculous. What was wrong with them? They were acting weird.

Clearing my throat, I turned to Liz. "So based on the new information, what do we know?"

Liz slid a notebook across the small counter. "Well, after Zach's story last night I went through everything we know about the Circle, and everything matches- the time frame, the information about Catherine, I can't find a lie."

I nodded. Of course he wouldn't lie about something like this. No, he would rather not say anything at all. Looking at the notebook, I went through Liz's notes from the night before. We needed to figure out what to do about Zach. He had withheld important information; and he had a close relation to a potential enemy. According to our training, we were supposed to treat him like a threat and turn him in. But we all knew Zach wasn't a threat. He was just someone who had a lot of secrets and slow to let them out. If we made him feel like he was being treated like the enemy to get more details, it meant becoming all business with him. Distance. Manipulation. Interrogation. Personal or not. That wasn't what I wanted to do or what we needed to do, but it was what we were trained to do. But that was in the state of national security. This was not a matter of the Agency. This whole thing was about me and Zach.

I continued looking through the notes for a few minutes until Bex's voice cut through my concentration.

"So we know who his sister is, and we know why she and her merry band of psychos are messing with us," she said, sitting up. "What we don't know is what the bloody hell she plans on doing."

Macey nodded. "I say we interrogate Goode and get every bit of info we can."

I inwardly winced. Zach wasn't a subject- well he was, but he wasn't guilty of anything but keeping personal information from us- which he had every right to do, even if we didn't like it. I reminded myself again that Joe had known about Zach's sister. I was sure there were other people who knew too, and there was no way Mr. Solomon would keep that information from anyone who needed to know if he believed it was a matter important enough. Of course, I had come to the conclusion that Joe must have believed Zach's sister to be dead; he wouldn't have kept quiet if he believed we were in danger. And really no one except me was. I could handle this however I wanted. There was no need to involve anyone else.

Zach's sister was not targeting anyone but me- attacking Bianca had only been an act to gain attention. There was no way Langley didn't know about Alyson, and Evelyn and Clara had been in Youngblood. Most likely Zach had requested the information would not be passed along to us. I was positive if Liz hacked her way into Langley's files that needed higher clearance levels to legally be accessed, she would find the info.

Even if she didn't, I didn't need to be a professional agent about this. The Circle of Caven had been taken down by us going under the radar and not involving the Agency. It had been a personal task.

ACE had attacked Bianca to get attention. Their real threats weren't to anyone but me. This wasn't a job for the CIA.

This was personal.

I tossed the notebook onto the counter. "No."

My friends looked up at me again.

"No?" Macey asked, incredulous.

"No. Zach doesn't deserve that. He believed his sister was dead. He hasn't done anything to be a threat, and he's not a random subject, Macey. It's Zach." It was Zach, my Zach. I knew Zach; I knew him better than most. It was Zach who annoyed me with the world's most insufferable smirk. Zach who didn't tell me who his mother was because he was scared it would change the way I saw him. Zach who held me when I killed a man without even remembering it. Zach who protected me and betrayed his whole upbringing to help me.

"We all know Zach wouldn't do anything to endanger anyone," Liz agreed.

"Besides leaving his sister to the mercy of the Circle, which he just admitted to doing."

"Oh please, Macey, you saw them. They were anything but helpless. Zach even said they were assassins for the Circle," Bex said.

I nodded. That's another thing I had given a lot of thought the night before. It was Zach who thought his sister was dead and hadn't told me about her because he knew he left them. After going over everything that had happened the night before- even days before, I realized something that had made my anger all but disappear. Zach must have blamed himself for their deaths when he thought they were dead. Getting into his mind, I guessed that he had felt guilty for leaving them, then to think that they were dead must have been terrible. If I really considered reasons Zach wouldn't have told me about all of this, I could honestly say I could understand why he kept quiet.

I could understand. I wouldn't be mad at Zach. I wouldn't overreact. Zach would talk to me when he was ready. I had to trust him to do that. But I also needed assurance he had my back- and that he would tell me anything I needed to know.

Getting up from the counter, I pulled my hair into a sloppy ponytail as I walked to the door. "We're going to go talk to the guys; we're not going to attack or interrogate them, and we're going to handle this like we normally would- working with them as a team," I said. My friends looked at me. All we had to do then was find out what ACE's next move was going to be. We had to talk to the guys again, but this time I wanted assurance we would talk to one another before the skeletons in our closet came out to haunt us. No more hiding things. I wanted- I needed my Zach back.

Zach POV

"Zachery Goode, you are under arrest for threats to national security."

The lamp made a quiet thud as it hit the carpet. I tensed, then rolled my eyes. "Ha ha, very funny," I muttered as I bent to pick up the lamp I knocked over. Jonas and I had been waiting for the girls since we woke up, and to say I was tense was an understatement. I needed to know what Cammie wanted to do. Not telling her about my mother was a risky move when we were younger. She hadn't even wanted to see me for a while. What was she thinking now that she had heard my full story? Would she still trust me? Would she hate me? I needed to know what she was thinking.

That's why I may have been watching the door a bit excessively. The morning was spent mostly by me pacing and trying to figure out what Cammie- and Alyson- were going to do next. Grant was avoiding me and brooding in his room; Jonas had been doing something on the laptop, trying to talk to me. After a while, Jonas had resorted to annoying me to try to take my mind off of everything.

While I appreciated his efforts, I didn't appreciate the mocking.

Jonas had already tried to get me to calm down, but I couldn't. How could anyone expect me to be calm? Not only had I found my sister, cousin, and best friend after thinking they were dead, but I learned they wanted to kill my girlfriend.

If she still was my girlfriend. Cammie still hadn't talked to me since last night. I was getting jumpy. What was she going to want to do?

Of course, there was another girl to worry about too, but I couldn't even bring myself to deal with the emotions that not only seeing my sister, but reliving my abandoning them, and hearing Grant yell the truth in my face had brought to the surface. I say the truth because that's what it was- maybe not all of it, and maybe I never saw it when I was younger, but there was truth in Grant's accusations. I had left my sister. I had left them with the Circle for Cammie, and now I see how selfish it was- even if Alyson had been insistent on staying. Leaving them, then acting like they were dead when I knew the possibility they weren't was there was wrong. But If they were dead, I wouldn't have had to face the guilt so much. I could say it was all her fault because she chose to stay and no one would be there to say otherwise.

I, unlike my sister, had never wanted to be in the Circle- I didn't want to be like my mother; and I was willing to leave Alyson, Clara, and Evelyn to be free of them and her. What kind of brother does that? Then again, what kind of sister tells her brother she doesn't need him for years then gets mad when he leaves? Or what kind of girl knows their brother wants to leave, helps him sneak out, knows he may not come back but insists on staying behind, then claims he abandoned her?

My and Alyson's lives were anything but normal, and our relationship had never been simple. It wasn't all any one person's fault. But that didn't really matter now- ACE on a mission was a dangerous thing; I had to find Ally before she did something extreme.

I needed to know what Cammie and Alyson were thinking, and yet neither girl was making any contact. I wished they would do something.

Be careful what you wish for.

As I paced around the room again, the door swung open with a bang. Jonas' laptop crashed to the ground as he jumped about a foot in the air.

"Alright, Zachary-" A voice started.

"Bex, stop. Was that really necessary?"

I turned around to see the girls. Bex had evidently kicked the door open, and the others were rolling their eyes. They walked in, and I watched, frozen, as Cammie stood in front of me.

She looked serious. Her posture was professional, and her eyes and tone made it clear she was in business mode. "Zach, I'm sick of guessing games," she said. Before I could respond, she continued, "From now on, if we ask each other a question we either answer, or we give an adequate reason for not answering. I'm pretty sure we're all tired of walking around wondering what the other person is thinking- correct?"

I nodded slowly.

There was a pause in which Cammie sighed, and her tense shoulders relaxed. She melted back into her normal posture. After a moment I realized I was staring at her and wringing my hands like a schoolboy. Shaking my hands out I glanced at Cam again.

"Cammie, I'm sorry I never told you about-."

I cut off as when she took a quick step closer to me. I expected to be yelled at, or ignored, or slapped, or anything her leaning closer and kissing me.

It was quick, and she stepped back as soon as it was over, and I just stood there for a minute staring at her like an idiot. (Which is so not like me, but hey, I was out of it those few days.)

When I did snap out of it, I think I just nodded and made a cool, collected comment like, "Oh um..." Then after a few seconds, I got my head back and smirked.

Cammie rolled her eyes. "I figure it's hard holding that load of secrets, and even harder to put it down. But do me a favor and try? I want to be able to talk to you again."

I nodded again, feeling a weight lift off my chest. Cammie and I were still okay. The relief was amazing, and I was so happy I forgot everything else for a second and kissed Cammie again. This one was sweeter and happier- for the few seconds before Macey coughed into her fist.

"Crazy sister on the loose."

Sighing, I stepped away from Cammie and looked to her friends, getting back into business mode. Jonas and Liz seemed to be talking about something over the laptop. Bex had helped herself to the fridge and was eating an apple, and Macey was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, watching us. Of course, Grant still hadn't come out of his room. He was being ridiculous, but if he wanted to stay in his room all day like a child, I wasn't going to stop him.

Looking to Cammie, I gestured for her to take the lead.

She nodded. "We still trust you. I don't believe you would do anything to betray that. What we need to do is track down your sister before she hurts someone."

I let out a breath. "Okay then," I said, looking at the others. "Knowing my sister, she has her next move planned out. Actually, she probably has an entire plan for the next few days- not that we're going to let her play out her fantasies."

Jonas nodded. "Alyson has always had a knack for getting her point across in the most dramatic way possible. Evelyn too."

Macey rolled her eyes. "I noticed."

Cammie started pacing like I had been doing all morning. "So how do we find her before she starts 'phase two' of this plan of hers?"

I shook my head. "That part I still have no idea about. Though I'm sure we won't be the ones making the fist move."

Jonas sat up. "Zach?"

"Yeah?"

He nodded to the door to Grant's room. "Shouldn't we get..." he trailed off. There was a knock at the door. We all looked up; it was probably the maids or something. Macey went to check.

Tuning back to Jonas, I muttered, "Fine. I'm not getting him though."

Jonas nodded and went to get Grant.

"Cam, Zach, you guys should see this," Macey called from the door.

Cammie and I shared a glance and went to see what Macey was talking about. She held out a small piece of paper to me. Taking it, I saw that it was a note written in elegant, curly cursive.

You should see the view.

I would know Clara's handwriting anywhere. I passed the paper to Cammie and started walking to the window. I knew for a fact the view our room had was one of the worst in the hotel. It was half covered by a large sign for the city zoo- the same one ACE had raided to send us a note. As I pulled back the curtain, I saw the normal snake from the reptile house ad- right next to the other note taped to the window from the outside, written in Alyson's wavy half-cursive.

Had enough time to talk, Zachy? Good.
Now it's time for the fun.
We think since you gave up last time, and we won our turn,
it's the least you can do to play just one more round of hide-and-seek.
What do you say? Oh, wait- you don't have a choice. The game starts at 14:00 hrs.
You're it.

The others read over my shoulder. I turned to see their reactions. Macey was pacing. Liz seemed to be analyzing the entire note and the one Clara wrote. Bex was looking down, probably trying to see where Clara could have climbed to put the note there. I didn't give it much thought; I knew what Clara was capable of. She put the best acrobats, climbers, and hiders to shame.

I turned to see what Cammie was doing and found her going over the note again. She turned to me. "What does hide-and-seek mean to you?"

"It was Ally and my favorite game growing up. It was also our favorite training exercise. She's most likely testing if I can still find her if I try; since I gave up when the Circle fell." It felt strange saying it, but it was true. I had looked for her, but not as much as I could have. Then again, she could have come out or told me she was alive, or she could have at least given a hint. She could have told me to meet her- to help her. But no- she still has to be so independent- and stubborn.

Cammie looked like she was going to say something, but Jonas came running out of Grant's room. I had almost forgotten he was supposed to be getting him.

"Grant's gone!"

"What?" Everyone turned to him.

Jonas shook his head. "The water was running so I thought he was in the shower, but then I tried calling him and got no response. So I checked, and he's gone. He left the water running and ditched us!"

I groaned. Great. That's just what we needed. I didn't have time to mess with Grant at the moment.

"Any idea where he went?" Cam asked.

I shrugged. "Most likely he's just avoiding me. We've never seen eye to eye on the ACE situation. He'll probably just tail us as soon as we leave. Let's just focus on the note."

We caught Jonas up on what happened. After a few minutes, Macey asked, "They gave us the time, but where are we supposed to look?"

I glanced at Jonas as we both said, "The Zoo."

Our quick statement was met with confused stares.

"The note was placed right next to the zoo sign- placement is never a coincidence with ACE, plus the zoo used to be the girl's favorite place to train," Jonas explained.

The others nodded.

"Okay, so what now?" Liz asked.

"Now, we go to the zoo and play hide and seek at two pm. We find my sister and take care of her before she does something crazy," I told her. Everyone nodded and started getting ready.

Cammie caught my attention. She was looking at me with a question in her eyes- was I okay? I nodded. I was more okay than I had been in weeks. My conscience was lighter now that I wasn't keeping things from Cammie, I didn't have to worry about what anyone was thinking anymore, and I had the people I trusted most with me.

I was ready to find my sister.