A week later, I sat in the living room of my uncle's old friend, Mrs. Jones. I didn't know her first name, and I could really care less. I had gone back to the States for two days for Uncle Jon's funeral. All of my friends were there for me. I wanted to stay in New York where I would have people around me to help me cope with losing my last living relative. But no. The wretched CIA shipped me back to London. I didn't understand why I couldn't stay home.

My cell phone rang and made me jump. Caller ID said it was Alex.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Camryn."

"Hey, Alex. What's up?"

"Just making sure you're okay. I'm really sorry about your uncle. I know how you feel." Alex lost both his parents and his uncle (his only relative) just as I have.

"I'm okay, I guess."

"You don't sound okay."

I knew I sounded like crap. "I can't help wondering why my uncle was killed by a sniper. There had to be a motive that I'm obviously missing."

"Camryn!" Mrs. Jones called. "I need to take you to meet someone. Hurry up and get changed."

"Okay!" I called back. I went into my room and pulled clothes out of my closet. "Alex, I have to go meet someone. I'll call you back later, okay?"

"Yeah, bye."

I hung up and changed my clothes. I climbed into the front passenger seat of Mrs. Jones' car.

"So, who am I meeting?" I asked.

"You'll find out soon."

I stared out the window at the crowded streets of London. A few months ago, I was so happy to be here. Now, I only wanted to go home to the States. A few minutes later, Mrs. Jones parked the car outside of a bank on Liverpool Street.

"What are we doing here?" I asked, quite perplexed.

"You'll find out soon."

"Is that all you can say?"

The woman didn't answer me. She took a peppermint from her purse and popped it into her mouth. I rolled my eyes. The woman ate a peppermint every ten minutes! Reluctantly, I followed Mrs. Jones into the bank. She led me to the back room. It was set up like a conference room. At one end of the table sat a middle-aged man with thick, black-rimmed, nerd glasses. Mrs. Jones sat down next to him. On his other side was Alex Rider.

"Alex? What are you doing here?" I asked in shock.

"You know each other?" the man asked.

Alex nodded, a surprise expression on his face. "We go to school together."

"Oh, good. Introductions will go a lot faster," the man said blankly. "I am Alan Blunt. I'm the director of the British MI6 Special Operations."

"Whoa, whoa, wait. The director of what?" I interrupted.

"MI6 Special Operations."

Mrs. Jones chimed in. "We need your help."

"What for? I'm just a kid."

"No, you're not. You're a CIA Special Agent."

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I was speechless. How did they find out? The only other person who knew was my uncle.

"We contacted the CIA a few months ago. We asked for a good undercover agent to aid one of our own. The CIA told us that they sent an agent over, but we never expected to receive a teenager," Alan Blunt explained.

"Is that a problem?" I challenged.

"I was hoping for someone with more experience," Mr. Blunt said coolly. "Well, anyway, I trust the CIA know what they're doing."

I could feel my temper rising as I realized why I was sent to London. The CIA didn't send me here for a break. I was here on an assignment. The government didn't care about me. It was using me, yet again.

"You've heard of Scorpia, haven't you?" Mr. Blunt asked.

"Of course." Scorpia was the biggest international terrorist organization that ever existed. For the past few years, Scorpia hasn't launched any major attacks.

"Scorpia is looking for new blood. They want younger members."

"How young?"

"Late teens to early twenties."

I finally sat down at the table beside Mrs. Jones. "What do you need me for?"

"Alex refuses to go to Scorpia alone, so you will go undercover with him. You are two secret agents who are tired of government work, and you are seeking revenge by joining Scorpia."

"That's going to be tough. The tests and training to get into Scorpia are almost impossible," I said.

"That's exactly why you and Alex are going together. You have some experience that he doesn't have."

By that, Mr. Blunt meant that I had the experience of killing. I looked at Alex. He gave me an uneasy look. Part of the test to get into Scorpia was to kill all the other competitors.

"I couldn't kill another human," Alex said shakily. "I just can't."

"No worries," Mr. Blunt said. "Camryn has experience with this sort of thing."

"That doesn't mean I'll do it," I said coldly. I refused to be used again. I have killed many times on missions. I've been in this business for almost a year, so it was nothing new to me. I hated to kill, but sometimes it was necessary. It was all part of the job. This time, it was a problem. I wasn't sure if I could do my job anymore.

"Why not, Miss Albright?"

"I don't think I can do it again," I said. "Not after what happened on my last assignment."

"I see. I read the report from your uncle on that," Mrs. Jones said.

"Think about it, Camryn," Mr. Blunt told me. "I need a definite answer by tomorrow." He stood up and left the room.

"If you decide to help," Mrs. Jones said, "we'll give you the details tomorrow. Alex, walk Camryn back to my apartment. I have some work to do before I leave."

Alex and I left the bank and began walking to Mrs. Jones' apartment. There was an awkward silence between the two of us.

"What happened on your last assignment?" Alex asked, finally breaking the silence.

I had never talked about that assignment to anyone. The only people who knew were my superiors and myself. Even Uncle Jon didn't know. "I really haven't talked to anyone about it."

"If you don't want to tell me, it's okay. I understand."

We fell back into silence again.

"I was on a sniper team to take out a serial killer from the U.K. that illegally came to the US. I had a perfect view and a clear shot. A little kid came into view at the second I fired the rifle. I was distracted. I accidentally hit the kid instead of the killer." I stopped myself before I began to cry.

"Camryn, if you don't want to do this, you don't have to. I can go to Scorpia alone. I don't want to, but I can."

"I'll do it," I decided. Maybe this was the only chance I had to redeem myself. I had to get up and move on. There would be no mistakes this time. Alex had been so great to me since I came to London. He helped me so much. Now, it was my turn to return the favor.

"You don't have to – really. If you don't want to do this-"

"I want to do it."

"Are you sure? Scorpia is dangerous."

"I know."

We fell silent again. This conversation couldn't get any more awkward.

"My dad used to work for Scorpia," Alex said after a few minutes.

Yeah, scratch what I just said about the awkwardness. This conversation could – and just did – get more awkward.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Apparently, he was the best assassin Scorpia ever had. That's why I'm scared to go to Scorpia alone. Everyone says how I'm so much like my dad. I don't want to turn out like him. I don't want to be a killer."

"You know you have to kill the competition to get into Scorpia."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"How about this: we'll enter as a double," I suggested.

"A team?"

"Yeah. We could work something out."

"I don't know if Scorpia will allow that."

"You said your father was their best assassin. They'll probably make an exception for his son."

"What if they don't?"

"Then we'll worry about it when it comes up."

"Okay." Alex sighed and ran his hand through his thick, dusty blonde hair. I just then noticed how attractive he really was. I turned my gaze away as the blush crept into my cheeks. A few minutes later, Alex and I walked into the apartment building and rode the elevator up to Mrs. Jones' apartment. I took out my key and opened the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Alex said as he turned to leave.

"Yeah, bye."