Suddenly, their laptop screens go completely white, and then it fades out into their desktop.
And on that desktop is a file.
And in that file?
In that file is the information we need to defeat the Circle, once and for all.
Cammie's POV
"This is it," Liz whispered.
Everybody in the room was so quiet – the only noise was the sound of our breaths.
"Well, go on then," Bex said gruffly. "Open it!"
Jonas hesitantly reached out a hand and placed his hands on the mouse. He slowly moved over to the file, the little white clicker hovering over the file, and looked at us. We all took a deep breath.
"Go," I said.
He double-clicked it.
And it opened.
And inside the file were millions of letters, numbers, codes...files inside of files...
"Oh my god," Tristan muttered.
"Try to find anything with Matthew Morgan," Zach said. "Cam's dad was the only one who knew how to take down the circle."
Liz reached over and typed something into the keyboard, and the random letters and numbers turned into words. It was a list of names and places and locations – placed in alphabetical order.
"Convenient," I muttered. We scrolled down to the M's and saw found a Morgan, Matthew.
"We don't have much time," Liz said. "Sooner or later they're going to get through our layer of protection we put up, and they'll know it's us. We have to hurry, and then ditch our laptops in a lake somewhere."
She double-clicked my father's name, and a file opened. More codes. Jonas typed in something again, and they slowly transformed into sentences.
And we read.
Matthew Morgan. CIA thinks MIA. DOD: June 5, 2006. Age: 48. Daughter: Cameron Morgan. Wife: Rachel Morgan. Best friend: Joe Solomon. Eye color: Hazel. Hair color: Dirty blonde. Height: 6'2. Weight: 176 pounds.
Morgan was one of CIA's best agents. Was killed on a mission in Newport. The cause of death was multiple bullets in his chest. Body location is unknown – dumped into the ocean. Knew how to take us down – had created a code that would completely wipe out our system and let the CIA control everything technology-wise in all Circle bases. Would have taken all Circle files and transferred them permanently to his computer. Code still unknown to Circle – only person who knows is Cameron Morgan, his daughter.
I finished reading, my eyes wide. So simple, yet so complicated.
"Is that true, Cam?" Grant asked. "Do you know the code?"
"I...I don't!" I stammered. "I mean...I don't think I do!"
Had my father somehow lodged it inside my brain when I was younger? Did he somehow find a way to tell me without me remembering – but something could trigger that memory so the code wasn't lost forever?
I took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling.
I need to remember...I need to remember.
I sat down and closed my eyes, rubbing my temples.
"Are you okay, Gallagher Girl?" Zach sat down by me and pulled me into his lap.
"I need to remember..." I said out loud this time. He soothingly rubbed my back and muttered encouraging words into my ear.
I barely had any memories of my father. He was always on a mission, or doing paperwork in his office. Not that he was a bad dad – he was a great dad. The best. But being a spy isn't an easy job, and sometimes it just doesn't give you time to play with your baby girl.
I only had about five memories of my father. I guess I would start with those.
One was when me and him and Mom were at the park. He was pushing me on the swings while he laughed with my mother, over the sounds of my delighted squeals. Nothing else had happened that day – other than me falling off the swing and crying.
Not that one.
The other ones were pretty much the same – a day at the beach, a birthday party, a game of hide and seek, and one time when he was teaching me how to roundhouse kick a guy in the jaw.
Wait...my birthday party.
My birthday party.
My eyes were closed, hands hanging onto Zach's for dear life. I heard everyone in the background trying to memorize or write down everything there was on the file before it disappeared.
But I blocked them out and focused on my heartbeat, and the warmth of Zach's breath on my cheek, and his musky scent enveloping me. I slowed my heartbeat down and calmed my breathing, and suddenly, thanks to my photographic child-spy memory, I was there.
I was wearing a purple ruffled tank top with a pair of denim shorts, and neon yellow flip-flops. My hair was in two braids, and I was missing a tooth in front. A few of my old friends from the neighborhood were there, and we were at the park.
We were gathered around the picnic table, and I had just blown out my candles. The cake was strawberry, and there was a Happy Birthday Cammie-bear! Written on it in red cursive.
It was time to open my presents. When I got down to my dad's, he handed it to me. It was a large box, and I remember it contained a gigantic teddy bear. The wrapping paper was a gorgeous, glittery gold color, so I had peeled it off without ripping or tearing anything. I remember I had smoothed it out under my hands, and flipped it over, hoping that the glitter would be on that side, too.
But it wasn't. Instead, there were a bunch of letters. And numbers.
It was the code.
In my memory, little-me shrugged and turned it back over, but I had seen it long enough. I back-tracked in my mind and paused at when I flipped it over.
My eyes still closed, I got off of Zach and leaned against the wall.
"Get me paper. Now," I said. I heard a rush of feet for a pen and a notebook, and I took it from whoever gave it to me.
I wrote down the code quickly before the memory faded, my hand starting to cramp. I barely felt it when I ran out of paper and someone snatched the notebook from me and turned the page.
I don't know how long I was writing. The tiny little numbers and words and letters on the back of my glittery paper was written in such small fonts I could barely make it out. I was just grateful that I was a spy – a civilian wouldn't be able to do this.
I guess little-me had memorized the code, but didn't realize it.
Once I was done, I had filled up three pieces of lined paper, front and back. Symbols and odd shapes filled the page, and the side of my hand was smeared with blue ink.
"Cammie...how did you find it?" Zach asked, staring wide-eyed at the paper. I dropped the pen and cracked my knuckles.
"I was trying to re-live the memories that I had of my father, and I remembered this one birthday party I had with him, my mom, and some neighborhood kids. He had gotten me a giant teddy bear in a box, and I think I loved the gold glittery wrapping paper he wrapped it in more than the bear. So I had gently peeled it off without ripping it, and I was petting the glitter, and I was curious to know if the other side had glitter, too. So I had flipped it over and saw the code – long enough for my to subconsciously memorize it, but not realize it. But I remember it now – I remembered it." I said in a rush.
"What happened to the wrapping paper?" Macey asked.
I shrugged. "I guess my dad knew I would flip it over and somehow memorize it. He probably burned it or something."
"Well, now that we have the code, there's no time to waste. The file is gone from the computer – we've been hacked back. We have to move now," Jonas said.
I nodded, and Zach helped me up from the floor.
"It's time," I said.
We all jogged out from the building, trying to conserve our energy while not wasting time. It was 7:00 P.M., and most normal families would be having dinner right now.
But not us.
We were just out to destroy one of the world's top terrorist organizations.
No big deal.
We 'borrowed' a sleek-looking black car, and Tristan was driving. He floored it and we sped off to the placed that Zach and I had once been; the one where we were hiding behind the two-way mirrors. Jonas and Liz had found a blue print of all of the Circle bases, and this one was one of the biggest, with the biggest command center.
The plan was simple enough.
We all had coms units in. The girls and I tied our hair up into tight buns, so our hair wouldn't distract us. Liz and Jonas would deactivate the cameras and bugs around the base for six minutes. In that time, we would get in and find the command center, knocking out as many people as we could. Our pants and shirts and pockets and boots were stuffed with napotine patches. Once we found it, Grant, Zach and I would knock out the people working in the command center and drag them into a closet that was nearby, while Macey, Tristan, and Bex played look-out. Jonas and Liz would start typing in the code as Grant, Bex, Zach and I went to find Cassandra Goode.
Tristan and Macey would still be guarding the doors to the command center, to knock out anybody who came to try and stop Jonas and Liz.
Once they typed in the code and transferred all the files to their laptops, the Circle's database would be empty. But we would have names of all of the Circle's agents, whereabouts, locations, the agents' locations, the agents' families – every important detail about them we could have possibly dreamed for.
Once the cameras and bugs turned back on, it would be okay, because the people in the command center would be knocked out cold laying in a closet somewhere.
The hope for this mission was to kill as little people as possible – we were spies, but still humans – and to finally defeat the Circle.
We got there in ten minutes flat, and we looked at each other, knowing that some of us may be seriously injured or even...die on this mission. But we were willing to risk it.
It's what spies did – risk their own lives for the sake of others.
It didn't mean it was easy to do, but it was necessary.
"I love you guys," I broke the silence. Tears were threatening to spill down my face and I choked on a sob chuckle thing.
"We love you too, Cams. We love each other. We're a family, and nothing could tear us apart," Grant smiled. Everyone nodded back, and we all squeezed hands.
"It's time to get going. Jonas, Liz...deactivate the bugs," Tristan whispered. They nodded, and ten seconds later...they looked up.
"Let's move," Jonas said. We got out of the car and quickly sprinted to the building, leaving the car there. Liz was carrying the blueprint to this base, and said that there was a supply closet that was hardly ever used in the back of the building that had a window.
We quietly ran around the building, and I was grateful that we didn't have to avoid any cameras. We found the window, and of course, it was locked.
But Grant was strong enough to just pop it off of its hinges, making no noise as he did so. We hoisted each other up, and fell gracefully on our feet in the dark closet.
I dropped to the floor once I got in, and checked under the door for peoples' feet.
Hey. Just because it was a technique we used in hide-and-seek didn't mean it wasn't effective. Nobody was there.
"Let's go," Bex whispered. We opened the door, and Zach looked left and right to confirm that nobody else was in the hallway. We had to go left down this one, then make a sharp right, go into the second double-doors on the left of that hallway, up some stairs, then go right, and at the end of that hallway would be the command center.
We sprinted down the hallway, Zach and I in the lead.
It didn't surprise me when the first few Circle members appeared the moment we turned right. It was easy enough to take care of them, and they were out cold within the first two minutes. We just continued going down hallways as if nothing had happened – there was no time to hide the bodies.
We got to the double doors and sprinted up the stairs, and we could hear footsteps and shouts behind us. We didn't care.
We needed to get Jonas and Liz into the command center. When we got there, we tried to fling open the doors, but they were locked. Macey was our best lock-picker, and she grabbed a bobby pin from her bun and picked it in three and a half seconds flat.
I grabbed the cold, metal door handle and yanked it open, only to see at least twenty Circle agents sitting in chairs surrounded by technological equipment.
There were way more people in here than we expected.
We didn't waste any time. I ran forward and grabbed a woman by the collar and yanked her off her chair, punching her square in the nose. I rammed her head into the wall and reached into my boot, tearing open the napotine patch adhesive with my teeth, and slammed it on her neck.
We battled it out for a long time, and Jonas and Liz had already gotten to the computers farthest away from the fight, plugged their laptops in, and started typing. A man was sprinting towards them, but I was faster. I went after him and roundhouse kicked the back of his head, making him trip and fall down.
But a sudden knife cut to the back of my thigh caused me to gasp and whirl around, looking into the sneering face of another large man.
"Asshole," I spat, clenching my fingers together to punch him in his private area. But he caught my hand and twisted it behind my back. I couldn't help but cry out in pain when he cut me again with his knife.
"Don't touch her!" I heard a sickening snap, and Zach yanked me away from my spot just in time to avoid the now-unconscious man from crushing me.
There was no time for thank-you's, as more people were coming. Half of the people were down, but more were coming into the command center, obviously having heard the commotion.
There was no time. We were outnumbered – badly. Until I remembered the extra ring Liz had slipped me before we went through the window.
A knock-out gas bomb.
I pulled out red pills from my right boot, and swallowed one. It would make us immune to the knock-out gas. I quickly shook out two for Jonas and Liz, and they swallowed it.
I turned around just as Zach was roundhouse kicking a man in the chest, and I just ran over and shoved it in his mouth.
He looked at me questioningly but swallowed it.
"Cover me," I said. He followed me as I weaved through the crowds of people, making sure nobody touched me or my pills. I found Bex next, and ducked under her punch, shoving the pill in her mouth.
Trust was a good and bad quality to have as a spy.
But we trusted each other with out lives. So she, like Zach, swallowed it without question. I found Tristan next, and put one in his mouth too.
Swallowed.
But then I heard Zach cry out in pain. I whirled around and saw a deep gash in his stomach.
I quickly snuck up behind the man who cut him and pulled out a knife of my own from my knife belt, and twirled it around my fingers once before stabbing him in the stomach.
"Yea, not so pleasant, is it?" I snapped as he fell down to the ground.
Zach's wound wasn't quite as deep as the man's, but whatever. He'll live. I found Grant next, and put one in his mouth. Last was Macey, and she swallowed it, too.
The desks and computers were set up in a large circle, and the center of the room, in the middle of the computers, was empty. I ran there and took my ring off, and chucked it as hard as I could onto the ground.
I heard it crack open and invisible gas started seeping out of it with a low whistle. I quickly got away from the spot and fought until they finally, finally all fell down.
We were bloody, sweaty, tattered, and tired. But it wasn't over yet.
"Grant, Bex, Zach. Let's go," I said.
There was no time to waste.
We already took too long in here, anyway. I threw Macey and Tristan the pills, in case they or Liz and Jonas needed more.
"We're halfway done!" Liz announced, fingers flying across the keyboard.
"Good. Let's go," Grant said. For once, his face was solemn, his easy grin not playing on his lips.
We ran out of the room. According to Liz's map, Mrs. Goode's office was near the command center. That was the best place to start.
My lungs felt like they were about to burst, and sweat was flowing down my back in a steady stream now. But I didn't stop, or slow down. None of us did. It was what we were trained to do.
We reached the office and I pulled out a bobby pin this time, and picked it in five and a half seconds.
A gun immediately was put to my head, the cold metal burning my temple.
"Don't move," a gruff voice said.
But I did move. I quickly jabbed a pressure point in his wrist, my hand moving so fast he could barely see it, and caught the gun when he dropped it.
"No," I said darkly. "You don't move."
He kept eye contact with me, but put his hands up. Cassandra Goode stood up from behind her desk. There were two other men in the room, and binders and papers and books were scattered around the desk. I also saw a file with my name on it, and a picture of all of us.
They must have been coming up with a strategy to capture us. One bad thing about soundproof walls and doors is you never know when there's a fight outside. Grant pulled a gun out from his belt, and Zach and Bex did the same.
To be honest, we didn't really like using guns. We found it unfair – cheating, in a way. But it was necessary. You had to fight firearms with firearms.
It was four on four. We each had a gun pointed to a person, and the silence in the room was deafening.
"What are you waiting for? Shoot. Shoot!" Mrs. Goode looked like she was suffering from extreme stress. I guess this whole capturing Cammie mission has worn her out, too. I almost felt bad for her. There were deep bags under her eyes, her skin was pale and clammy, her hair oily and stringy.
Nobody made a move. My fingers were shaking, but I moved it over the trigger anyway.
I swallowed thickly.
This had to be done...this had to be done.
Zach's gun was aimed at his mother, and Bex and Grant had the other two agents. Was he going to do this? Would he shoot his own mother? As much as he always refused to call her his mother, and no matter how much he despised her, there was a bond between a mother and her child that nothing could break.
But I guess we hesitated too long, because the man I was pointing my gun at suddenly ducked and literally swept me off my feet.
And not in a good way. I pounded the butt of the gun into his head, but that didn't even faze him. He got my gun and shot blindly, and I rolled over to the side.
But the bullet grazed my hip, and I screamed. Our guns only had one bullet each. The top of my pants were soaked through with blood now, but I didn't care. I struggled to get up, and being too weak to use physical force to knock him out, I quickly pretended a punch, and when he ducked, I jabbed my fingers into a pressure point on his neck, making him pass out.
Another shot rang out. I whirled around, making sure it wasn't one of my friends. It wasn't. Grant had shot one of the men, and he was dead on the floor.
Grant looked haunted – it was his first kill.
"It's alright. It had to be done," Bex whispered reassuringly. Then she took a shaky breath and pulled her trigger, killing her man too.
Only Zach's mom was left.
I don't know why she didn't move – why she didn't try and fight. She looked so worn down and tired and...old.
"Just do it, Zachary," she closed her eyes. "I'm tired of this. The Circle is dying tonight, and I'm dying with it. Congratulations. You won."
He had his mask on, and he was just staring at his mother, gun still raised.
"I said to shoot me, Zachary!" She suddenly screeched. "Please...just kill me. I'll join your father. I really did love him, Zachary. Please, for once, just listen to your mother."
With that, Zach pulled the trigger.
And Cassandra Goode fell down.