Buckle Up! This is a long one!
The girls didn't have to eavesdrop twice, Macey shouts in my ear that she is off to find our sisters.
Zach and I already took off running for the school, seeking the safety within its walls, when Grant comes sprinting down the road.
"Zach!" He calls out and falls into pace beside us. "Did you see them? They're all here."
"All of them?" Zach specifies, never slowing down.
"All," He nods solemnly.
"Do you think…" Zach trailed off.
"Yes, that's exactly what I think," Grant answers the question that was never truly asked.
I'm at a loss for words. I'm not one to be left out of the loop, especially in times of crisis.
"What's going on? Who were those men and what do they have to do with Dr. Steve?" I rattle off everything plaguing my mind.
Zach turns to me, "Listen, Grant, Jonas and I found out that Dr. Steve is a rogue agent. We had our suspicions since his little bonding session, but when we tried to tell your mom we didn't have evidence, so she didn't believe us. Those men we saw are known members of Dr. Steve's circle."
I look at him skeptically, it's unlike the Gallagher Academy to not do background checks.
"What kind of rogue agent?" I question, my eyes going back and forth between him and Grant.
"A few seniors the other day told us that he… recruits… students to do missions. Missions those students would never willingly do," Zach words cautiously.
"At first we thought it was a prank you know? Because Dr. Steve is seriously dimwitted, he's the butt of all our jokes back at Blackthorne," Grant interjects, shaking his head.
"They also said that say he makes them do other things too," Grant cringes and looks downright terrified for the girls.
"How does he do this?" It takes al my strength not to fall with my head spinning the way it is.
"I don't think he's a normal doctor, Cam," Zach alludes vaguely.
"Are you saying he brainwashes them to commit acts not officially cleared?" I search for as much confirmation in his eyes as I can find while running.
"That's what we think they meant," Zach nods staring forward.
"Those men who were following us around, they were his scouts? Looking to see which ones of us to take?" I ask, piecing the gaps together.
"Maybe, or they could just be there to make sure we didn't make it back to the school," Zach offers.
Luckily men always underestimate girls, if they had treated us like the professionals-in-training we are, we would have had a much harder time getting away.
I'm glad Zach is giving explanations for once instead of just pointing to himself and saying spy. However, there are still too many things I don't know. Grant tries to enlighten me, but he doesn't do a very good job.
"Cammie, we can't let him take any of them," Grant warns. Like that isn't obvious.
"Do you think he will take the ones he had his goons tail?" I work his whole scheme out in my head.
"No, he usually goes for seniors, the more capable ones," Zach answers quickly.
That is not good news.
The seniors are the only ones that didn't come to town day, they had reportedly been planning the most epic movie night in Gallagher history (but my only source is Tina so). I then understand that we aren't heading to the school to cower behind the Code Black, itanium-wall lock down, we are running to conduct a rescue operation.
"Chameleon! We have everyone together, we're heading to Gallagher now!" Macey's use of my codename reminds me that the half strewn mission of being out on the town with Zach has turned into a real on.
"They girls are going to the school now," I inform Zach.
"They're not going to be fast enough," Grant warns.
Just then, a white van screachs to a halt in front of me, I immediately notice the "violence is not the answer" bumper sticker on the back and conclude that this car belongs to no one associated with anyone I know.
"Get in!" Jonas yells through the open window. There hasn't been a time where someone told me to get into a white van and I didn't, come to think of it.
Grant and Zach rip the doors open a pull themselves inside. I'm right behind them when I enter, but I more-or-less tumble in because Jonas didn't see the need to wait for us to be safely inside.
Zach pulls in me in close, stabling me in his arms. In the beginning, I thought the boys posed the biggest threat to Gallagher safety, the real threat was actually the unimposing, little man who insisted on being addressed by his first name.
We get to the gates in record speed (who knew there could be a more reckless driver then Bex?). The usual guards to let us in are not anywhere to be found. The windows are blocked by titanium shields, proving another Code Black is already in commence.
"We're going to have to climb over," Zach states, already launching out of the van.
"No, no, no! bad idea," I rush to stop them. "We shouldn't go in through the front- to many precautions are in place to prevent exactly that."
"Well how did you get out before?" Jonas turns to me. Did Zach tell him? Or did Zach get Jonas to hack my file? Whatever the reason, I glare at Zach before advising Jonas.
"Head to the left, all the way around to the West side. We'll go in through there."
"So, I got him to look at your file for me," Zach surrenders his hands to the air. "You can't tell me you didn't do the same with us."
The problem is you found something, and we didn't, I think grudgingly.
"Pull off to the side here," I command, and pause to add on. "Bex, go in through the West side when you get here."
"Rodger, Chameleon," She responds in affirmation.
The boys are waiting for the go ahead, "What are you waiting for? We have to save a whole class!"
I find the five-foot radius blind spot on the wall which I climbed out of last time, and am the first to scale up. Instantaneously, I am grateful for the fact that I am wearing jeans instead of a skirt.
The boys swing themselves over to the side with ease, which should totally scare the people in charge of security here.
I point to the side of the mansion that conceals the passageway that we will take to get in, "That's our gate."
"That's a wall," Jonas corrects me.
"As you may know," I press the red brick that is slightly darker than the rest and smirk. "Not everything is as it seems."
Pushing through cobwebs and dust, I have enough common sense to close my mouth, but Grant doesn't- as expressed from the hacking I hear behind me.
It only takes a minute at sprint speed to reach the exit.
"Where would the seniors be?" Zach looks up and down the dark hallway, unsure which way to go.
"Just keep on following me," I run off. Does them having to rely on me to save a whole bunch of valuable people count as settling the score? I'm certainly getting pleasure from there dependency.
The senior common room is on the third floor; we take the stairs two-by-two. Around the corner we should hear something-anything from laughs to shouts-but there is nothing. I throw open the doors that the seniors should be behind, praying that we're not too late.
In front of me, the sight of nothing would have been more comforting than the sight of my teachers on the ground, lying in their own pools of blood. Dabney, Buckingham, Fibbs, even Solomon; I count seven.
I resist the urge to step off to the side and gag.
Unfazed, the boys start checking for pulses. Blood is still actively spilling so it couldn't have been long after the attack.
"Dr. Steve couldn't have done all of this," I gasp doubtfully.
"He didn't," A small voice replies. Everyone stops what there doing and follows the hollow sound back to Madame Dabney.
"Madame Dabney! What happened?" I need to know what we're up against before we rush off to fight a blind battle.
"The others?" She selflessly responds.
"They're gone, Madame," Grant shakes his head.
"Madame Dabney, you need to help us now. How many are there? Do you know where they went?" Zach urges her on.
"I heard commotion up here and came to scold the girls when I saw the quarrel," She slips in and out of consciousness. "There had to be at least 20… I… I don't know. Our own had already come in to help, everything was so chaotic."
"Stay with us, do you know where they went?" I press, but she is too far gone to be coherent. I turn to the boys instead, and usher them out of the room, not willing to stand a moment longer inside.
"You know the doctor, where would he go? Blackthorne?" Now is my turn to rely on them.
"Too far away, and there are no airports around here," Zach shakes his head.
The sound of fifteen pairs of feet blunder up the stairs. Simultaneously, all four of us turn around at to see my class ready to square up.
"We're too late, they're gone- the seniors and the teachers," I make eye contact with all of them, seeing the loss I feel reflect back at me.
"Where's your mom, Cammie?" Kim asks like she'll certainly have the solution for everything.
"Dr. Steve would have never gotten this far if she was here," Anna points out, probably correct.
"The more important question right now is where not who, guys," Zach stresses.
"There's too many to leave the state with without going unnoticed by somebody," Bex notes. "So where would he go where he knows he can hide safely and wait for a medium to exit?"
"A safe house, a close one is his best bet," I reach, certain it's the only option.
"Where would he find that?" Macey askes, still not familiar with the grounds.
"A mile north," Liz answers. "Gallagher bought a factory a mile North, definitely enough room to hold 20 hostages. There's also a clearing for a plane to land."
"Let's go! Back to the passageway," Courtney spins.
Zach is pushing me through the crowd with a hand on the small of my back, "Cam, you lead."
He keeps his hand on me the whole time where in the walls.
When we got out, the sunlight had significantly decreased, it wouldn't be long before complete darkness set in.
To be as efficient as possible, we compromise to send nine in the car as team A, led by me, and ten on foot as team B, lead by Bex. When team A arrives on scene, team B should only be three minutes behind, according to Liz and Jonas' calculations.
Zach is on the team A with me, and I'm relieved to have him by my side- or more appropriately said underneath me. The van was made to only hold seven, so when Anna said four would have to share a seat, Zach was more than happy to pull me onto his lap. He was solid, and his arms held me in places on the bumpy backroad we were taking at fifty mph.
I'm not saying I wasn't enjoying this moment, I'm just saying I think Zach was much more pleased than I was. He had leaned forward, and his chin rested on my shoulder. His breath was hot on my neck and the fresh scent of his hair clouded my thoughts.
"Turn the lights off, Jonas" Zach's chest vibrates against my back.
The factory had come into view and a van was parked off to the side. Jonas stops the car, knowing its smarter to finish the distance on foot. I take Zach's arms off me, to much of his dismay, and follow the others out.
We rush behind the nearest wall when the coast is clear.
"I think our tails are still in town," Eva whispers and the others nod. "Do we know how many are here?"
"Madame Dabney said twenty, but that's give or take," I answer. "Everyone put on your emergency comms and be ready to separate."
"Three groups of three, now split," Courtney commands.
Zach grabs my hand, and Liz takes the other. The others pair up accordingly.
"We'll take the roof and be your eyes," I point towards the fire escape ladder.
Light suddenly fills the concrete space around us and we all shrink smaller behind our wall. Anna, the lookout, peers around it.
"He's keeping all of them in the main building-tied up, four guards at the door and six inside- it looks like they're rotating now."
The light goes away, meaning the doors are closed.
"That means ten are left, split and deal with the patrollers first and the guards last," I suggest.
"Good strategy, Move!" Grant heads west with his team and the other is lead south by Courtney.
I try to make my way unseen to the ladder, but Zach stops me, "Wait. Liz, maybe you should go stay in that forklift."
Little does he know that is the same forklift that almost killed Solomon. Liz smiles mischievously, clearly out of her comfort zone with this whole operation and happy that Zach and I are leaving together-alone. Once she is safely inside, Zach and I climb up to the roof noiselessly and unseen.
A search light swivels around to scream "Hey! You have company!" but we're to quick for that. Zach pushes me to the ground, falling on top of me himself.
"So, Gallagher girl," He whispers into my ear. "What do you think of our first date?"
"Eventful," Is all I can make out with his full weight on top of me. I roll out from under him, sucking in a breath.
"Watch out!" I warn as a man advanced towards us. I push my hands behind me and kick up with my right leg, timing it perfectly to hit him square in the jaw. My momentum neatly carries me into some kind of back handspring roundoff.
My kick knocks the man forward, Zach places himself behind him and pushes him, intending to send him off the roof.
"Wait!" I pull the man back from the edge, and almost certain critical injury. "We can't cause a scene."
I grab a Napotine patch from my back pocket (I don't usually carry them around, I just didn't know if this date was going to take a wrong turn). The man goes out cold when I slap it on his forehead.
"Smart idea, Gallagher girl," Zach admires, and I blush.
From the corner of my eye I see team B arriving, already noticing the weaknesses in the defense and taking shelter in them. They talk for a second before forming groups and leaving to cover the premises.
"Two around your corner, Grant" Zach spots. His team ambushes them, successfully taking them out.
"Two coming in from the North of the ally, one from the South, Duchess" I assist. They never stood a chance against her and Macey.
"That's five," I report into the comms. "Fifteen to go."
I hear the spinning blades far away in the night sky, but I know there are no routes in this area, meaning only one thing.
"Liz was right, he's leaving by air," Zach confirms.
It doesn't matter how far away the plane is, surely it will land and leave with the hostages in less than two minutes.
"Time to make our presence known, ladies. Draw them out and take them out, no one leaves," Liz of all people command.
I hear only one word in my ear, "Charge!" Every team barks. All teams storm the main doors, I'm eager to join them.
There's a cable running along are roof, sloping down slightly to the top of the main building. Zach stands up and takes his belt from around his waist. He loops the it over, and looks at me.
"Time to go, Chameleon," He holds out his hand. I'm a pretty smart person, and that's why I hesitate to repel twenty feet in the air with only Zach to hold me.
"You go," I try to make my way to the much safer option. "I'll go down the escape route."
Zach smirks and shakes his head, looping his arm around my waist, pulling me in tight. It's official, he likes doing that way too much.
"No time for that, Gallagher girl," Zach's eyes gleam as he steps to the ledge. "Besides, haven't you heard about the art of surprise?"
And then he jumps, taking me with him. Theoretically, this maneuver should have been completely impossible. Holding one hand on a belt swinging downward with the combined weight of two people- that should pop an arm out of it's socket. We actually debunked something similar in Solomon's class.
However, Zach chooses to deny human limits for the moment as we glide smoothly to our endpoint. All I can do is hold on to him for dear life, for sure cutting off circulation to the lower half of his body.
We approach the doors, the other teams already handled the guards, but more than ten came out to take their place. This should be a breeze now that we outnumber (and outpower) them two-to-one. Everyone else thinks so too as they confidently handle their respected opponent.
"I'm going to let go now, okay?" Zach looks down at me, seeking my consent. I push down the fear of the twelve-foot fall and nod weakly.
My stomach drops, and I am free falling for .375 of a second. I hit the ground hard, but by rolling forward I soften the blow to my joints slightly.
Another one of Dr. Steve's henchmen is coming at me now, clearly shocked by the presence of raining Gallagher girls. During my roll, I had grabbed a Napotine patch just for this scenario. I tear it from its packaging in the second that it takes the man to reach me.
The man swings his arm out towards me and I grab it, ducking under and allowing his weight to pull me behind him and in turn swing my own arm with the patch onto his neck, he crumbles to the ground as I let go.
Everyone is so preoccupied with there own issues to notice Dr. Steve stealthily make his way to the plane that landed, the doors already inviting him in. He didn't make an effort to grab a single girl on his way out; I guess that's one less problem to deal with.
"Bex, go to the opposite side of the plane," I tell her since she's the only one not struggling to kick ass (like usual).
I set a course for the doctor, "Stop! You're not going anywhere!"
Dr. Steve expression is a mixture of surprise and anger, maybe he assumed his plans wouldn't have fallen apart so easily. Never the less, he still inches towards the fold-down doors.
"I don't even have any of the seniors, how about I just leave now and never return? That would make everyone happy!" He pleas in a nasally voice.
I grimace, "Except no it wouldn't. You committed murder!" I stall as Bex ducks behind the stairs and approaches him. "Don't tell me you already forgot about my teachers?"
"Oh, my dear, I'm sure those positions are quite competitive, surely you'll find new ones." Like that makes anything better.
With deep, growing hatred of the man, I flick my hand at Bex. She takes a step forward and encircles her arm around the man's meaty neck, giving him a proper Baxter Choke Hold.
"That's not how it works here," Bex squeezes his neck a little tighter.
Even though Dr. Steve definitely couldn't breathe right now, I could swear I saw him mouth the word "excellent", which, in my opinion, was not the best descriptive word for being the subject of Bex's choke hold.
"You can tap out now, Dr. Steve," Mr. Solomon's voice rang clear now that all the grunts from the fighting had stopped. It couldn't have been clearer, but it shouldn't have been- He should be dead!
"Bex honey, that means stop," My mother appeared by his side. Where had she been when we needed her?
Bex reluctantly let go and stepped away, Dr. Steve gulped down the precious air.
"What do you say, Joe? You think they passed?" My mom smiled at everyone, taking in her surroundings.
"By far the best cooperation I have ever seen," Mr. Solomon nods. Solomon never gives compliments, so even though I felt cheated, I couldn't help feeling like I was on cloud 9.
It was a test, exactly like last year. This year we had passed with a perfect score by the sound of it.
The girls (and guys) around me started complaining, which my mom does not stand for.
"ladies and gentlemen, our job is to prepare you for life," She pauses to let it sink in. "And that is exactly what we have done. So, don't pretend like we aren't exercising our duties as teachers to teach you when we give you a test like this."
Zach comes to stand by my side and address her, "Ms. Morgan, you came up with this idea then? The whole "Dr. Steve kidnaps the seniors" thing?"
"Actually, we had another similar idea, but Dr. Steve thought this was a fun idea and the seniors very much wanted to participate," She corrects.
Zach makes eye contact with Jonas and Grant wearingly before saying, "And did you hear what we were saying in town?"
"Yes, we heard everything," Solomon is now the one to look confused. "Why do you ask?"
"Ms. Morgan, we weren't lying when we said Dr. Steve brainwashes people into doing what he wants them to. I don't think he wanted this night to be a test, I think he wanted to actually take your students," Zach finishes.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Dr. Steve make an attempt to bound up the stairs of the plane, but he gets pulled back down by Bex. Did he honestly think that would work? If he wasn't suspicious before, he has a lot of explaining to do now.
Mr. Solomon and my mom consider this for a short moment, "Take him in for questioning. Do not let go, Bex honey," My mom adds.
Zach breathes a sigh of relief, thankful for Dr. Steve's most likely demise.
"Originally, it was planned for you boys to go home after our test," Mr. Solomon works through. "But I don't think you can be cleared to leave until we have this whole thing settled."
Zach inches a little closer, "Did you hear that Gallagher girl, you get a few more days with me," He smirks like it's the greatest gift ever given.
"Lucky me," I suppress a smile, and roll my eyes instead. The cloud 9 feeling returns, but there is no way I would let him know.
"Students, go back to the school now, we'll handle this from here," My mom finally gives us a break.
All fall out, some stumbling, some supporting the stumblers. Zach holds me to him, and I really hope my mom isn't watching right now.
"We make a great team," Zach tells me.
"Yeah, we should do that more often," I semi-joke.
Zach laughs, no worries to weigh him down, just a relaxed future. And for the next couple of days of that future, he'll be sharing it with me.
There's the twist!
I tried to end it, but I just made it reaalllyyy long. Whoops. And psych when I said this chapter would be the end! I mean, it totally could, but there is still some unfinished business to take care of- unless I let you leave it up to imagination. As always, readers choice! Hope you enjoyed this one!