Sorry, guys. Really short chapter here. I wanted this chapter to have more, but I couldn't quite get it done tonight, so I'm making that stuff its own chapter for tomorrow. So, here's a snip it, I hope you enjoy! -Tickgrey :)

It wasn't until after dinner that Macey, Zach, Bex, Liz, and I had a moment alone to finally talk. Macy started, "What do you think is going to happen to Preston?"

I shrugged, "I've got no idea."

"I mean, he's only got a semester of school before he graduates high school. Then he can go to college away from his parents," Macey figured through.

"Yeah, but where's it going to be safe for him to finish school?" Liz asked. It was a pretty reasonable question. Preston couldn't just go to a normal school without some kind of protection which couldn't be provided by the CIA because they didn't know why Preston was in danger. "And he's not trained at all like Zach was, so he can't just come to school here."

Zach stared off out the window not really listening to our thoughts on Preston. He finally said, "I can't believe the mission was compromised. I thought for sure I covered all the critical points. I should have listened to my first instincts."

I totally understood why he was feeling bad. It was his job to make sure everything was clear, and he told the team everything was clear. I tried to calm him, "They're good. Really good. And you saw them initially which is good. Macey and Preston got to the hotel safe, so you did do something right."

He faked a smile. "Thanks for trying."

Liz shuddered, "When we lost contact with you guys, I was terrified."

I nodded, "All I could think of was the Mr. Smith mission from sophomore year."

"I did too," Bex admitted. "When the comms unit blew out, I thought I was dead for sure."

I'd never seen Bex quite like this before. She was quiet and reserved. I think she was still reeling from the mission. It made sense to me because it must have been really unsettling to know that you were minutes away from being captured by the world's most dangerous criminal organization.

We didn't hear anything about Preston for over a week. None of us saw him around the halls, so we all figured he was sent to some secret safe house or even Langley for questioning. Bex suggested that Professor Buckingham sent him back to the embassy because it was technically kidnapping, but that seemed unlikely to me. There's no way they'd give up an heir to the Circle. Macey just couldn't wait any longer, so she one day, she sought out Professor Buckingham.

"Professor?" Macey asked innocently when we found her in the hallways.

Professor Buckingham turned and saw us approaching her. She must have known exactly what we were about to ask because she just said, "Follow me."

We walked past the labs to the mostly unused classrooms in the back (which I was beginning to realize were used a lot more than I realized.) She opened one of the doors, and to my surprise, Preston was sitting there with a laptop.

"Preston!" Macey exclaimed.

He looked up and smiled, "Hey, Mace!"

"But, what?" Liz asked Professor Buckingham.

"Mr. Winters will be spending the rest of the semester here taking classes online so he can graduate on time in the spring," she explained. "He already knows about the school's secrets, so there's not much harm in allowing him to stay here for a few months."