Chapter Three

Cammie's POV:

I landed lightly on my feet. Spies have to be light on their feet, kinda like cats. Our main objective is to blend, to stand out just enough that we aren't actually standing out. And to be silent. The room was dark. I didn't look for a light switch like a normal college girl might. Right now, the darkness was my friend. So instead I took out Liz's latest invention. Night vision contacts. Of course putting them in was a bit difficult, but it was worth it. I could then see everything. So I was in some sort of storage closet. Cans of paint, dusty brooms, and toilet paper rolls cluttered the shelves. Part of me wished I hadn't disconnected Grant so he could tell me what this building had been used for. But I couldn't stay in there forever, contemplating. So I let myself out very carefully. I was on a catwalk that ran around the length of a rectangular space. I walked slowly over to the railing and looked down. It ran the length of five stories below me and probably about nine above. It looked like this area was a transitional space to and from different part of the building. What had Bex said? Sectors? So the building was divided into sectors. Last I had heard, she was in sector C. So I had two options. I could team up with them and have some backup, or I could avoid them and not get into serious trouble with Rebecca Baxter. I chose the latter.

"Sector C." I whispered to myself and walked around my level, checking doors until I found Sector C's door. I specifically walked past that one and chose the one next to it, Sector D. I let myself into a long hallway with no doors or windows. Not the best situation, but I had knockout gas if needed.

"Zach!" I heard a voice call. I snapped my head around and saw the door I had just come through opening behind me. It was Bex. "Zach, I think this one will take us the center." I started to sprint. The end of the hallway was nowhere in sight and if Bex saw me, I was dead, whether she recognized me or she didn't.

"We have to hurry." I heard Zach's voice rang down the hallway. "I don't know how long the timer has, but it can't be long." Timer? Then it hit me. This wasn't a "Win Some Money Off Of Rich People" ransom situation. This was a "Ransom Rich People, Collect the Money, Lock the People Up and Run Off" situation. The direness of this hit me hard like a slap to the face. Innocent people were locked up somewhere in here and the person with the ransom money was probably already getting away. I came across a door, prayed it was open and when it was, I dove through it. But I didn't slow down. I cursed my pregnant body as I started to sweat and get a terrible side cramp. I stopped to catch my breath after I felt I was a safe distance away. But apparently stopping was a bad idea. I felt my body leave the ground and immediately my hands wrapped protectively around my stomach as I hurtled down a flight of stairs and busted through a metal grate. I was falling through open air. Instinctively I punch a button on the wrist of my suit and a cable shot out and connected to the nearest wall. Becoming friends with Liz was the best decision ever. The line pulled tight and I was jerked to a stop. I looked down and saw that I was hanging maybe fifteen feet above a group of people. There were maybe thirteen of them and each was in a chair with their hands and feet bound. The room must have been pitch black because none of them noticed me. I was surprised I hadn't made more sound when I took my not-so-graceful fall. I slowly began to lower myself into the room. I dropped cautiously down right behind a man that looked like he was asleep. But he jerked his head up when he heard me land.

"Who's there?" he called.

"Help." I spoke lowly.

"Someone's here!" a woman cried.

"Quiet." I ordered before more people could make noise.

"Looks like we have company." I heard Bex's voice right behind me. I jumped right as she swung her leg out to knock me off my feet. I could see the surprised look on her face when I dodged one of her harder moves that we had practiced in P&E. "And he's not that bad." She added as I threw a punch that she barely dodged.

"Where's the bomb?" I heard Zach call.

"A little busy." Bex grunted as kicked at her locked knee, making it buckle. "Sh-"

"Language." I stopped her. I used a low voice, just to make sure she still didn't recognize me.

"Pardon me." She growled and kicked me back and I ran into one of the chairs.

"Find the bomb!" she called to Zach.

"No, get the people!" Zach shouted back to her.

"Switch please!" Bex yelled and I watched her slide across the floor. I knew that neither were wearing night vision contacts because they seemed a little disoriented. But I knew they at least had some sort of light attached to their suits because it was a little harder for me to see. Suddenly Zach's arms were wrapped around me. Not in a romantic way though. He was squeezing.

"Hands off the goods!" I stomped hard on his foot.

"I think we have a lady." I heard him call as his arms flew off and he backed up and prepared to fight.

"Excellent." Bex was busy untying one of the ladies across the room.

"I don't want to hurt you." Zach was walking towards me slowly.

"I doubt you could." I smiled to myself. This was actually a little fun. I knew his moves. We had been sparring together for the past three years.

"Sassy. And a little too confident." He shook his head. "I could almost swear you're a-"

"Gallagher Girl?" I finished for him. I saw him jerk to attention.

"How did you-" but that uncertainty was all I needed to catch his arms and pull them tight behind his back. He grunted as I took my knee and put pressure right above his groin. "Bex?" he called.

"Zach, stop playing." She sighed.

"Fine." He huffed and before I knew it I was flat on my back and seeing stars.

"That sounded painful." Bex called. Zach had elbowed my jaw. It might've been broken. But I had been shot three times before and I didn't go down then. I wasn't going down now. I jumped back up.

"Not painful enough." I hissed. Then reality snapped back to mind. I needed to stop playing with Zach and find that bomb. "Gotta run." I said with a sweet tinge to my tone and dashed to the door that I had spotted to my left.

"Go after her!" I heard Bex yell. "She's probably working for them!" I heard Zach's footsteps pounding after me. I turned a corner.

"Cammie?" I heard static and then my name again, "Cammie?"

"Grant?" I asked. "Where are you?"

"Comms unit in your suit." He explained.

"I didn't know about that." I looked down at my suit while I ran, trying to find where his voice was coming from.

"Liz just installed it. Probably specifically knowing you would disconnect the original. Sort of like you just did." He sighed.

"I need to know-"

"Where the bomb is." He finished for me. "Yes, I know there's a bomb. You gave me a lot of time to figure some things out."

"So where is it?!" I cried.

"You're about to enter Sector E." he told me. "You're on GPS lock. The bomb is located in Sector A."

"Of course it is." I panted.

"Did you find the people?" he asked.

"I did, but Bex has them." I explained and turned another corner. "Tell me where I'm going!"

"Turn left up at the next hallway." He rattled off.

"And Zach is chasing me." I added.

"Chasing you?"

"He doesn't know it's me." I clarified.

"You like to play with him too much." Grant was laughing.

"He's cute when he fights. But he's also lousy. I countered almost all of his moves. Except for one. I think he might have broken my jaw." I felt the pain come back as I talked about it.

"Ok there's an elevator coming up. You'll need that." Grant warned. I stopped and pushed the "up" arrow. But it wasn't there.

"Grant, it's not here!" I was starting to panic. Then I heard Zach coming. "Not enough time." I pried the doors open and jumped into the shaft. I caught onto a cable and immediately my hands were covered in grease.

"Cammie, what are you doing?" Grant called.

"Going for a climb." My eyes locked above me and I saw a red blinking light twenty feet up. "The bomb isn't in Sector A. It's in the elevator to Sector A." I breathed.

"Cammie? Can you see it?" Grant asked.

"Yep." I groaned as I began to pull myself up the cable.

"Cammie, that's dangerous. You know where it is. Now get Zach and have him help." Grant sounded worried.

"There's not enough time." I really didn't know how much time there was, but I was assuming the worst.

"Cammie, that bomb is not some fireworks display. It's got chemical discharges in it. Even if you're not close to it, you'll be dead when it sweeps the building."

"Well then I have to stop it, now don't I?" I replied.

"Ok well good luck then." I heard Grant give up in his voice. "Now when you get there, there should be an abort button. Regulations state that there has to be one on every bomb. And since this is an amateur crime, I'm assuming that the button was not removed when put into place."

"Cool. So get to the bomb, find the button, and disable it. Botta bing, day saved." I laid out my plan.

"But hurry." He added. "Hurry."