Hey guys, sorry about the long wait, I was on temporary leave from internet aha because I was in spain for a bit and just recently got back from Paris and my dad confiscated my laptop 'cause he said I was being anti-social ugh. Oh well, can't change your family. So again, really really sorry for the wait, it was so bad and I'll try not to do this again. Love you guys!
Cammie POV
My shoulder was being nudged lightly. I wished it would stop.
"Cam." A voice whispered. "Cammie, c'mon it's time to get up. We're here." Jace. That was him. But I didn't want to get up. I moaned and rolled over, so I was facing away from him.
"Leave me alone." I mumbled. The nudging continued and my eyelids fluttered open drowsily.
"Stop it." I protested with a slight pout.
"I'll stop if you get up." Was the reply. Ugh. I crossed my arms and shut my eyelids again. I faintly heard the irritated taxi driver talking to Jace about getting me out of his car. A smirk spread across my face. He deserved what he was getting now. I was just about to fall asleep now, almost there...almost...
"Is that a Ben & Jerry's ice cream store I spy?" Jace questioned seemingly no one.
I sat straight upright and jumped out of the cab.
"Where?" I asked, looking around frantically. "Where is it?" As my eyes adjusted to the light I looked around and realised two things: one, we had arrived in Roseville, and more importantly two, there was no Ben & Jerry's. Just a small street with a few houses, a bakery, a vintage store and a records shop.
I spun around a whacked Jace on the arm. And head. Multiple times. "You know how I feel about Ben & Jerry's, Jace. It was not fair to get my hopes up like that." I ended with my hands on my hips, positive I looked like an angry mother.
His eyes seemed to laugh at me, which caused me to hit him again. "Hey, hey." He said, raising his arms up in surrender. "I'm so sorry, Cammie, I promise it will never happen again, and would you please be so amazing as to try to forgive me, your kind and loving boyfriend?" As he said all of this he was moving closer and closer. His arms wrapped around my waist and he brushed a strand of hair off my face. Whoa.
"Don't you try to work your charm on me, Jace Anthony Adams. I am immune. Immune I tell you."
"Well you mustn't be completely immune. I did manage to trick you into being my girlfriend, after all." He said with a wink. I shook my head at him and then looked around. The taxi driver seemed to have left somewhere in between me waking up, hitting Jace, and his so-called charm.
"So how do we get to Gallagher from here?" I asked, looking for any kind of directions around me.
"Well," said Jace knowingly, "If you'd be so kind as to look over here for one second, I think you'll find a map of Roseville in my hands. Look who's prepared now." he said with a smirk.
I gave it to him; I had to. A small smile tugged on my lips as I looked over his shoulder at the map. If it was right, then Gallagher was about 1 mile to the south-east of where we were standing.
I spun myself round like a compass so I was pointing in the right direction and pointed and arm forwards. "Onwards we go, to Gallagher, hey ho." I said, with a pathetic attempt of rhyming.
Jace cracked a small smile and slung his arm around my shoulder. "Let's go." He said, and off we went.
You'd think that as assassins-in-training, we'd be just a little bit better a navigating than we really were, but if all truth were told, we were pretty awful. While the trip was supposed to take us ten or so minutes, we ended up taking thirty, having taken about seven unnecessary detours that Jace claimed were "shortcuts". Yeah. Right.
When the castle I recognised to be Gallagher finally came into sight, it was the evening before the exchanges from Blackthorne were due to come.
We stood one hundred meters away from the main gates where the cars would come in, just staring at it. I knew we were thinking the same thing. We usually were.
If we were with the rest of the COC now, in this same position, then we'd be hacking their systems, finding ways in, drugging guards, crashing through glass roofs. However we didn't need to do any of that. We simply had to walk in.
It was strange. What was stranger: knowing that I would be staying with future CIA operatives. The enemy. Concealed within them.
We must've stood there for about five minutes before I spoke.
"Should we go in?" I looked sideways at him, but he was still staring at Gallagher. "Jace." I said a little bit harsher. Slowly his eyes and focused. He slowly turned his head left to meet my gaze, and said, "I suppose so."
We walked towards the set of main doors, and pushed them open. Inside I found myself pretty stunned. The whole place seriously looked like a medieval castle. I know it looked like that from the outside, but this wasn't exactly what I expected from a spy school. I guess I just wasn't used to it–the Circle had gone for the more...sterilized look, with all the plain white, black and titanium. I knew not to judge by appearances, though. Everywhere had a cover, especially here of all places.
As I looked more, I noticed more and more. There were out-of-place bumps on walls, bricks that were irregularly shaped, symbols on the floor, walls and ceilings, and small indentations here and there. This place was simply crawling in secret passageways. And the best past was all of the small defections than gave them away were covered in a thick layer of dust, a sure indication they hadn't been used in some time.
How ironic, that in a school full of spies, none of them had found these passageways, when it had taken me seconds to notice more than twenty. Some spies they were. I made a mental note to talk about what Joe had been teaching them if anything at all later, I mean – Joe. I choked up just a little bit.
A clicking of heels on the stone floors snapped me out of my trance. I looked up and saw a plump figure of a woman heading our way. I smoothed down my top, and put a happy smile on my face. And the cover begins...
"Hello there." The lady said with an air of courtesy about her. I instantly recognised her from the CIA databases I hacked about five years back. What? It's not exactly like I had a normal childhood; I was an assassin even when I was 11 and I knew it. Besides, the CIA became an extremely personal interest of mine when I found out it was them who killed my parents. Before I even had a chance to know them. It just wasn't fair. So I guess you could say I had some background knowledge of everyone in the CIA. Before me stood Patricia Buckingham, retired field agent of MI6, currently a teacher and headmistress at Gallagher, owner of a cat named Onyx. Yeah, the databases really cover it all once you get them hacked. I guess I left out the part that I had a photographic memory, huh?
"I'm Professor Buckingham," she said, as if I didn't already know that, "And I am the headmistress here at Gallagher Academy. It is such a wonderful opportunity to have two transfer students with us for the year, and I hope you feel welcome here. Please make yourself at home."
I smiled warmly at her, and saw Jace beside me fake an identical smile. "It's so nice of you to take us, it's really going to be nice not to move around for a year. We've both been on the move all around the world ever since we were born. Staying at one place will be...refreshing." Man, I am a good liar, even I would've believed me. Well almost, I'm too well trained for that, but Professor Buckingham didn't look like her senses were quite as sharp as they used to be, so I saw her take it all in.
"Well let's get you settled down then." She said, ushering us down the hallway and through the stoned hallways. "You two will have to share a room in the teacher's housing for tonight, just so no one realises you're here, and then we'll introduce you at dinner tomorrow night, once the exchange has started. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience, but–"
I cut in on her, because although she was the enemy (and don't you dare think I'm going soft on them) she was still an old lady who was fussing over us, and for once it felt nice. "Don't worry about us." I said, "I'm sure it'll be fine, right Jace?" I turned my head to his.
He nodded. "Yeah don't worry about it. We'll be fine for the night." He smirked at me, but somehow he seemed a bit distant, and I could tell under all of the cover, he was worried...or anxious, maybe? I just don't know what about. I made a mental note to ask him about it later, and then zoned back into whatever Professor Buckingham had been saying.
"...Moved into the student area tomorrow night. Cameron, you will be rooming with three other girls from your year, and Jace, there will be a bit of a squeeze in your room, as you'll be rooming with four, but I'm sure it will work out. Here is your room, and the key." We stopped at the top of the staircase in front of a door, and she dropped a key into Jace's hand. "Until tomorrow, we would appreciate it if you could stay out of the way of the students. We don't want anyone knowing you're here before they're supposed to, do we?"
I simply nodded at her, and we thanked her again, and then watched her leave us in front of our door.
Jace put the key into the lock and opened up our room. It was nice. Really nice. I guess they don't half-do their cover of rich heiresses here at Gallagher. I took a quick look around the room, my trained eyes picking up every last detail. Jace and I simultaneously stopped, and stood very still. My ears strained to hear the familiar buzz and hum that was present in the air around us. I let out a sigh. I guess they knew something then.
There were bugs. Everywhere. Literally everywhere. I started picking them off walls and lampshades with my fingers, but I knew that wouldn't be enough. I picked up my suitcase and dumped it on one of the beds, opening it up. I had a top of the range bug detector with me, courtesy of the Weaponary back at base. I stuck it on the wall, and flicked the switch on.
I smiled an evil smile as bugs came raining down on us from everywhere in the room. The Circle: 1, The CIA: 0. Ah, the sweet smell of victory. I looked over at Jace and saw the expression I'm sure was on my face mirrored onto his. We high fived each other like two year olds then jumped onto our beds.
I let out a sigh as I sunk into the mattress and relaxed my body. "Could've been worse." I stated, slightly sarcastically. Jace cracked a smile, rolled of his mattress and jumped onto me on my bed.
"Hey, get your own!" I complained, but when he started kissing my neck, I found my complaints oddly hushed in the back of my throat.
"I'm making my mark." He stated, in between sucking and biting on my neck. "So that when all those boys try to make a move on you tomorrow, they'll know you're taken." I laughed lightly at his possessiveness and then decided to have some fun and play with him.
"Well if that's the case, then there are sure going to be lots of girls around you. And I can't have that, can I? It's only fair I make my mark too." I smiled at him seductively. He growled into the base of my throat, and I flipped us over, so that I was the one on top, and I was the one giving him a hickey.
I sucked, bit and kissed until there was a telltale red mark on the side of his neck, visible to all the stupid Gallagher girls who would try to pounce on him.
Then I worked my lips back up to his, and before we knew it we were in a full-blown make out session. I grinded my body against his, and he let out a low groan, then flipped us again so he was on top. I wriggled my hand under his top and felt his hard six pack beneath my hand. He ran his fingers down my spine, and his fingers played with the hem of my shirt, and I couldn't help but let out a small moan. He laughed against my mouth and we both opened our eyes. His eyes flicked past mine, just to the side of my head, and suddenly his whole body went rigid.
"Jace." I said worriedly, the fingers that had been playing with his hair coming to a halt. "What's up?" I asked again, and spun my head round, following his gaze to the suitcase that lay open at the bottom of my bed.
"What is it?" I pushed against him when he still wouldn't respond.
"Why do you have those?" He asked me.
I stared up into his eyes, confused. "Have what? Jace. Jace! Snap out of it and talk to me– have what?"
He jerked his head towards my suitcase. "Our files, Cam. The ones from the director's office." I was pretty sure the confused expression was still on my face as I rolled off of him.
"I don't know… there just seemed to be more to them, don't you think? All those blank pages…"
"Exactly, Cammie." He cut me off. "They're just blank pages, waiting to be filled. This is our first real mission after all." Something about the tone of his voice, and the way he was looking at me–as if he were trying to convince me or something. It just didn't add up. Wait, what was I doing? Doubting Jace. Jace. As in best friend, boyfriend Jace. Whoa, I hadn't even met the spies yet, and this place was already messing with my head.
"You're probably right, they're probably nothing. I was just going with my gut feeling and all." I told him. And right now, my gut feeling was saying that something was up. Screw my gut feeling, this is Jace.
"At least the director won't notice they're gone; if they're still all at base, then they'll just think the CIA agents took them." He just nodded and smiled at me.
"Let's just forget about them, 'kay? They're not important right now. Right now, what's important is staying out of sight till tomorrow. You think you can manage that?" He asked me mockingly.
I nudge him and laugh. "I am the Chameleon after all." I said with a wink.
Eventually darkness descended, and Jace and I decided to get some shut-eye. I knew I should be thinking about the mission, about what happened to those at base, about where Joe was, but as I felt my eyelids droop shut, all I could see in my head were those two blank files. A feeling of disease settled in my stomach, but before I could question it, the darkness overcame me and I was out like a light bulb.
***100TH PERSON TO REVIEW GET'S A SHOUTOUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER***
So its the end of half term for me here in London, but I'll try my best to update whenever I can. Thanks for reading guys, and remember to review, it actually does motivate me to update faster. Love you all,
–honor xoxo