Well here goes chapter 9! You could say it's in the books! (*ba dum chhh*) As you may have noticed, I like bad puns. A lot. Anyways, I really hope you guys are enjoying my story! I'm enjoying writing these for sure. I'm definitely in a super-spy mood after watching Skyfall with the family last night (and I highly recomend it. The movie that is, not watching it with your family because if your family is anything like mine, you'll have to listen to your mom sing 'Let the skyfaaaaaall' every five minutes.) I do need to get more written each day, but I'm enjoying doing nothing during this vacation way too much. So, happy reading! Tickgrey

As I walked to Professor Buckingham's office the next day, I was practically on autopilot. My feet knew the way to go, and I had no strength to tell them any differently. That was pretty much how it had been lately. I just stumbled through my classes. I barely ate, and I rarely talked to people when I didn't have to.

The atmosphere in the Professor Buckingham's office was surprisingly tense when I arrived. Though I had heard raised voices and even a few shouts while I was walking up to the room, Mr. Solomon, Abby, and Professor Buckingham stopped their heated conversation far too abruptly when I got there.

"Welcome, Cameron! We were waiting for you," Professor Buckingham said. Her tone led me to believe that she was hiding something, but she was too good of a spy for me to be able to gather anything else. I let it slide for now.

"Here I am," I managed to muster. My normal sarcasm was completely gone as if drained as soon as I had heard about my mom.

Abby sent me a worried glance, but let Professor Buckingham continue. "We thought that you'd like to know that we've received the demands for your mother's return earlier today."

Mr. Solomon explained, "Just know that we're not going to comply, but we will be doing everything to get her back nevertheless."

I nodded, "So what are they?"

Professor Buckingham swallowed hard before saying, "They would like us to hand both you and Preston Winters over."

My heart sank. It wasn't even a hard choice. My mom would do it for me any day of the week. If she died and I had the chance to save her, I'd never forgive myself. "I don't know about Preston, but I'll go."

Abby stopped me before I could say anything else. "No. They're not planning on torturing you; they want to kill you."

I nodded. "I know."

"You're not going," Aunt Abby said sternly. She looked like she'd been crying. I didn't want to argue with her because she was having the same horrible experience that I was. "It's not up for debate. Besides, they asked for both you and Preston."

I'd almost forgotten that Preston was in the building. I was so worried about my mom that I never thought about him again after seeing him in the classroom that day. I really hoped that they weren't planning on telling Preston about the demand.

Mr. Solomon added, "There's no guarantee that they would release her either. The Circle isn't exactly known for keeping up their ends of bargains."

"Isn't it worth a try? Can't we plan some kind of double cross?" I pleaded. I would have given anything to come up with some fail-safe plan to get my mom back.

Mr. Solomon shook his head. "It's far too risky."

"So why I am in here then, if we're not even going to consider it?" I asked annoyed. It was beginning to be obvious that I was willing to risk far more than any of them if it meant my mom would be safe. Did they even care anymore?

Professor Buckingham became even more serious than I'd ever seen her. She said gravely, "To ask you not to try anything stupid."

"What can I do then?" I begged.

Mr. Solomon shook his head, "Nothing. Just stay here and keep your head down."

Judging by the looks they gave me, they knew as well as I did that it would be almost impossible for me to sit here and do nothing. So I nodded and pretended to head their advice.

What to do when your mom is being held by a terrorist organization but you can't do anything:

(A list by Cameron Ann Morgan)

1. Cry. A lot. Because it feels good for awhile.

2. Drink water because in order to cry, you have to have some fluid in you.

3. Make ridiculous rescue plans because even though you can't actually implement them, it feels better to think that you're trying.

4. Attempt to concentrate on schoolwork because you're going to be a field operative in a matter of months, and you've got to get prepared.

5. Give up on that schoolwork because there's not a chance on Earth you can concentrate with your mom in the hands of a terrorist Organization

5. Eventually decide that you can't save your mom from the inside of your school.

And so it just happened. Without a significant (or even practical) plan or much (or any) preparation, that night I found myself sneaking out. It might sound odd, but sneaking out of school was almost second nature to me now. I practically slipped out once a week sophomore year, and junior year had me sneaking out even with almost all of the passages sealed up. This time was different. I really didn't have a choice. It wasn't to see a boy or to go on a stupid one-person crusade for the truth. This time, it was for mom.

I grabbed my backpack which I had filled with a meager rationing of supplies. All I needed was the essentials: some dried food, a comms unit (just incase), and an assortment of gadgets I'd accumulated throughout the years. As I slipped out of the room, someone stopped me from behind. "Going somewhere?"

I turned to see Bex. Her hands were on her hips in the most dramatic fashion possible. I could almost feel her determination, so I replied in an equally head strong way, "Yeah, I am."

Bex sighed, "Cammie, eventually you're going to have to tell us what's up. We can't just sit here while you starve yourself or forget about all of your homework or just cry all the time!"

"I know," I muttered. I don't know why, but I felt like I had to tell her. "Bex, she's gone." I felt a wave of relief wash over me. It felt good to pass my burden off to someone else, to let someone else fret and worry for once. In a twisted way, I was glad that Bex would now have to suffer with me.

"What? Who?"

I sighed, "My mom. The Circle has her."

And with that, I took off. I didn't want to face Bex anymore. I was ready to take the world on but just not Bex. Facing the Circle was scary, but having to face my closest friend would have been impossible then.