3.
*Joe*
I'd cried only once before I met Katelyn. It was when my best friend, Matt, died. Sure, he was about seven years older than me, but we developed a bond that grew into a very strong friendship. And then, we lost him, and I cried that night before I went to tell Rachel.
And then I'd cried when I lost Katelyn and I'd cried twice since. I cried over the summer, when I'd been looking for her under the cover story that I'd been tracking leads on the Circle. I'd been in Paris, tracking a lead, and I'd gotten frustrated because it turned out to be nothing. So, I'd cried.
And then I cried after that first day of class because maybe somewhere inside I'd had the vain hope that she would be waiting in Sublevel Three, ready for whatever life threw at her. Somewhere in my subconscious mind, I had pictured her at a desk, talking and laughing with Leah, her best friend. I could see her smirk when she answered a question right and the way that she would sit up straighter when she knew I was about to ask a question.
But she was really gone.
And I didn't want to be doing this. But, I walked down the hall anyways, carrying a short stack of Winters-McHenry T-shirts for the junior class. I didn't want to be doing security surveillance, but I was going to anyway. Because I was still a teacher and actually, being a teacher at Gallagher gave me access to resources that I could use to try and find Katelyn.
I met the girls at the entrance to Sublevel Two and simply said, "Let's go."
The helicopter ride was short, and I stared out the window the whole time, thinking about Katelyn. I remembered riding in a helicopter with her before, when we'd been on our way to the woods. She'd picked up the tracks so quickly and even though I knew it'd be her that would find it, she still impressed me. And her grace and beauty when she'd been running…
"Security threats come in how many forms, Ms. Alvarez?" I asked because if I didn't ask something to distract myself, I would never be able to pull out of my Katelyn daydreams.
"Five," Eva answered.
"And who can tell me what they are?" I asked. We hadn't covered that chapter yet; I didn't really expect anyone to know all five off the top of their head.
But Bex Baxter answered. "Long range, short range, suicide, static…"
"That's four," I stated.
"Internal," Cammie said softly.
"That's right," I said, glancing at her. "And that's the big one. You're going to see a lot of things today, ladies. Seasoned operatives working in the field with one primary objective. It's not about intel, and it's not about ops. It's about protection today, pure and simple."
I could see all of them trying to work this out in their heads, but none of them tilted their heads slightly to the left and narrowed their eyes like Katelyn would have done. Instead, Bex asked, "What's our mission?"
"It's a hard one," I warned and then forced a smile. They would never know how much I was hurting on the inside. "Just watch. Just listen. Just learn." And then, I handed out comms units. "These are tuned in with the Secret Service frequency. Ladies, I do not want any of you to act today. We'll just take a look at how the pros do it."
And then, the helicopter landed and I smiled at them all. "Good luck."
And then I was gone.
*Katelyn*
I sat outside on a fallen log and looked out across the water. The house was beautiful and I loved the surrounding area, but sometimes I missed Gallagher Academy, my old school. I had left because my parents really needed to move for their job, but sometimes I wished that I could go back. I knew that I had roommates there that I had really liked – Leah and Laura and Alicia. Sometimes I wondered what they were up to. And the professors were really good, too – my favorite being paranoid Mr. Smith.
"Are you okay?" my mom asked form behind me.
I had heard her coming, of course. She may have been good, but I would almost bet money that I was better. After all, she'd had a hand in training me. "Yeah; I'm fine."
"Weddings can be stressful," she said. "We don't have to invite a lot of people." She sat down next to me.
I didn't tell her that it wasn't the wedding that drove me out to the water. It was Rider. I didn't understand why, but I kept having these thoughts that told me not to marry him and it was just really confusing me. I'd known him my whole life and he was a great guy. So why didn't part of me want to marry him?
"Okay," I said. "That'd be good."
She put an arm around my shoulders. "I'm proud of you, Sweetie. I know it can be hard to share your life with someone and I'm proud of you for realizing that Rider's the right person."
But he's not. There went my thoughts again, confusing me. I forced a smile and nodded. "Yeah, me too. And I'm glad that you and Dad approve."
She smiled. "Of course we do. And Rider was very sweet about the whole thing; asking your father for permission and getting my help with the ring. You like it, don't you?"
I looked down at my three-stone ring. Actually, what I really wanted was a solitaire, but I didn't tell her that. "Yeah; I love it."
"Good." She patted my arm. "Come on; we need to get the house ready. Rider's parents are coming in later tonight."
I nodded and got up to follow her inside. As I did, I felt the wind blow and I shivered. Something came over me, then. I remembered the scent of cologne…but it was different from Rider's….
Shaking my head, I figured it was probably my dad's and I followed my mom inside.