Hey! Thanks for getting to the second chapter, random reader! Sorry, no super spy action quite yet, but very soon! Thank you to everyone who has read/reviewed/followed so far! I love getting compliments, criticisms, and anything in between, so feel free to shoot me a message! (pun kind of intended) I'm still working on getting Ally Carter's style down to make this as authentic as possible, so I'm re-reading and re-writing over and over to try to get this stuff right! Tickgrey, out!

At the Gallagher Academy, we train to be spies, but as teenagers, we do normal girl stuff like gossip. So when I walked into the dining hall with Zach in hand, I instantly noticed the stares we got. Zach, as the only boy at Gallagher Academy, was used to it, but I still was not. Zach and I sat down next to each other at our normal table with Bex, Macey, and Liz. There was only a little time for chatter before Professor Buckingham stepped up to the headmistress' podium which made me miss my mom even more. I thought about the letter once again and hoped it wasn't urgent.

Professor Buckingham waited as the crowd silenced and stood. We recited the standard reunion words and motto of our school, but I wasn't really focused. My thoughts drifted to what could be in the small brown envelope now burning a hole through my pocket.

"Please, take a seat," Professor Buckingham announced. "I'm a very happy you all made it back to school in one piece! There are a few pressing announcements to get to. First, Headmistress Morgan will not be with us for the first few days of the semester, but she promises to return as soon as possible. Next, we are all very happy to welcome back our Cover Operations teacher, Mr. Solomon!"

I didn't know the hall could get so noisy. Everyone was thrilled to get our favorite (and hottest) teacher back, and I was sure by now that rumors about his exoneration and triple agent status had already spread throughout the entire student body. Mr. Solomon waved and smiled from his seat on the teachers' table. Professor Buckingham attempted to settle the crowd as she continued, "Yes, we are all very excited. And finally, I have been asked to remind all students that all school rules will be enforced and are to be followed. Thank you, and have a nice dinner."

When you go to the country's (and perhaps the world's) finest spy school, lectures about the rules aren't normally given. Good spies live life avoiding the rules, and the spies-in-training at the Gallagher Academy were the best and the brightest in the country (and England), so we tend to avoid breaking schools rules when possible. So I couldn't help but think there was something else inside that message meant for Liz, Bex, Macey, Zach, and I.

Liz was the first to speak, "What do you think that was about?"

I sat and poked at my mashed potatoes while Bex replied, "I think she knows we're planning something."

"But how could she? Operation Pasta hasn't even been planned yet!" Macey retorted.

"And it definitely hasn't been named yet either!" Bex joked.

Macey snapped, "I'm being serious here. We need to know if they're on to us."

Zach started to rattle off the vast list of things we knew they knew, "Well, they know we know the list. They also know that we know that Ambassador Winters is on there. They know that we are friends with Preston."

Macey sighed, "Okay, okay, they know pretty much everything we do and then some."

"We can still do this," Bex chimed.

Bex, Macey, and Zach began to muse while Liz pulled out some flashcards to study. I felt my pocket once more and couldn't help but want to read the letter. "I'll meet you guys back at the room."

Before they could say anything, I got up and walked towards the door. I made my way over to one of my favorite secret passageways which was internal, so it never got blocked off during the great secret passageway purge.

Once inside I carefully made my way to a section by a window so I had some light to read. I pulled the curious brown letter out and opened the envelope. The paper inside was meticulously folded.

Dear Cammie, There is something very important that you need to know. I can't write it in this letter in case it gets misplaced or intercepted, but as soon as I return, we will talk. It is critical that you stay at school. Please. You have rarely listened to me before about this, but please, Cammie, do not leave school grounds! –Mom

I fell against the wall thinking. Why would my mom send me such a cryptic message? My mom must have something really big to tell me because she normally would have just waited until she returned to tell me. Sending notes isn't exact good trade craft and can be very dangerous in the field. Of course, when the note says as little as my mother's did, it doesn't really matter.

When I finally got back to my room, Zach and my roommates were sitting in the bean bags (the ones that used to get their own corner until Macey arrived) already planning. Bex asked, "Hey, where have you been? I've been an hour since dinner, Cam!"

"Oh, uh, I had to go see someone…" I trailed off. I couldn't help but think back to the letter. Something was very off.

Bex didn't seem to believe me, but I sat down with them anyways and asked, "So what are we doing?"

Macey excitedly began, "So, I've got the private jet, right? So, we'll take that to France and then a train to Italy to throw them off for at least a bit.

"Then, we'll stay here," she pointed to a nondescript hotel on a map that was only a few blocks from the embassy. "We'll have to make the particulars of the jailbreak there because we don't have shifts or particulars, but we'll leave with enough time for that."

I sighed, "So what about leaving school? When are you guys thinking?"

Zach pulled out a calendar, "Well, we've coordinated dates with the school calendar, Buckingham's calendar, and what we could find of the maintenance staff shifts, and we think one week from today is our best window."

"Wait," I stopped, "I know why we want to rescue Preston, but why do you?"

Zach sighed, "You guys are going to go anyways, so you might as well have a good operative along."

"You're right, that's why we're taking Bex," Macey retorted.

"So, anyways, in a week, Professor Buckingham will be at Langley for the day," Zach explained.

I was a little confused, "She just leaves that kind of stuff in an unsecure calendar?"

"No, but Langley has it on their most secure data base," Liz smiled proudly.

Macey continued, "The maintenance schedule has a guard shift at 22:39 which will be the perfect time to sneak out."

"Mr. Solomon doesn't keep a calendar unsurprisingly, so he'll be the toss-up," Bex admitted.

When you go to a school for spies, you start to expect your friends to hack into secure data bases, but it amazed me how much better we got every year at sneaking out. I was almost disappointed that I had to let their hard work go to waste.

"There's just one problem," I began. "I can't go."