I'm baaaaack! Did you miss me? I missed me. Anyways, long story short, my life got both incredibly busy and depressing all in one run, but I'm doing a lot better now, and my life is back on track. So, the real GG6 came out in September which I happily devoured. It was good, but I'd still like to get my version out there in its entirety, so my goal is to finish this up by the new year so I can get busy on some new projects I've been salivating at. (Maybe I'll even finish it sooner than than.)

So, it was a pretty big challenge to jump right back in where I left off. I had to reread the whole thing several times (okay, so I actually didn't, I just skimmed some parts but I'm lazy like that,) and I had to go back through my old notes (actually, no, because some of my ideas were remarkably similar to what happened in United We Spy, but I wanted to make mine completely different so I changed a lot,) and perhaps most importantly, I read though a lot of your reviews that I never had the chance to read earlier in the year when you guys left them. I'm touched by all of them. :)

To my old readers, thanks for coming back and reading this chapter (and all future ones.) It means a lot that you'd come back after all this time. To any new readers, I hope you're enjoying what you're reading! :)

Thanks for reading this and thanks for waiting patiently all this time!

Buckets filled to the brim with love, Tickgrey

Two weeks later I was in a familiar situation- sitting in a black armored car on my way back home. Only, it didn't feel like home this time. The old, stone walls of my school would never again be home, not without my mom. Home is nothing without the people who make it so. All I could do was sit and stare at the walls, wishing something had changed since I left.

After idling at the gates for a solid fifteen minutes, the guards were satisfied that we weren't attacking the school, so the car was allowed to roll forawrd into the school lot. I glanced to my right where Townsend sat patiently. He motioned towards the door, but before I got out, I just had ask, "Do they know?"

'They?' I didn't even know what I meant by 'they.' Was it my teachers? Professor Buckingham and Mr. Smith and Mr. Solomon? Or was it all of my classmates and friends? I wasn't sure who I was more embarrassed to face now.

"No one knows a thing," Townsend replied.

I slowly turned to face him, "What will you tell them, then?"

He shrugged, "I'm not even getting out here. The rest is up to you."

Up to me. I sighed, "Well, thanks."

He nodded. As I stepped onto my school grounds once again, I couldn't help but want to leave immediately. I turned and watched his car drive off into the distance. The metal gates shut behind him like a prison: it was almost ironic.

Now came the hard part.

It was still dark outside, and I had no idea what time it was, but I figured it was probably around 5 or maybe 6 in the morning. Just before dawn. I didn't need the light to find my way to the wooden doors I once strolled through daily as though I owned the whole school. As though I owned the whole world. The door pushed open easily, after all, the guards would have told Professor Buckingham that I was coming. I had no element of surprise now. All I had was the truth and how much of it I was going to give up.

The main hall was exactly how I left it, but it felt completely different- I was the one who had changed. I was nothing like the bright-eyed first year who stumbled through the halls pushing her way into every secret passageway I could find. I wasn't the kid who needed classes on spying anymore; I was a trained operative who wanted nothing more than revenge.

"Ms. Morgan."

My revenge would have to wait as I was stopped dead in my tracks by Mr. Solomon who had somehow managed to sneak up on me from behind. I did my best not to leap, but I probably did give away some expression of shock.

"Sneaking back in, are we?" he asked coyly.

I shook my head, "I knew the guards would have let you know I was coming. I'm just thinking a little."

He came closer and asked, "About what?"

For once I didn't want to lie or deceive him anymore. I just let the truth come out, "Revenge."

"Revenge is a tricky game, Ms. Morgan," he began. I was expecting a CoveOps like lesson on how emotions can cloud our judgments, on how a good operative never seeks revenge only the truth. But it didn't come. "You can go to the ends of the Earth getting your revenge. You can kill anyone and everyone who ever had a hand in this, but what then? What if it doesn't make you feel any better? It certainly won't bring her back. You won't find what you're looking for at the end of a gun."

"I won't know unless I do it," I snapped back and clenched my fists. "Then I'll decide for myself whether it makes me feel better or not. I owe it to her. To him. To all of them."

"You don't owe them anything," he tried to reason with me. "They died fighting for what they believed in. There's nothing you could have done to prevent their deaths, and there's nothing you can do now to bring them back.

"Don't throw your life away pining for theirs," he warned.

I shook my head, "I'm not. I'm completing their mission. It's what they would have wanted."

"No, it's not," he sighed, defeated. "Just promise me you'll stay safe. I know by now I can't change your mind when you've got a mission to complete, but I can offer my advice when you need it. You don't have to do this alone."

I nodded. A thousand thoughts streamed through my head then, but perhaps the most important was the fact that Mr. Solomon had a point. I didn't really have to do this. Other (real) operatives where working on the same thing. They had more experience, they had resources, and they could do this instead of me. But at the same time, I couldn't let my parents die in vain. "I'll try."

"Well," he continued awkwardly, "I'm glad you're back."

"I'm not staying. Not for long," I warned him. He deserved to know that much.

He turned and began walking away, only stopping to call back, "I know. Good night, Cammie."

I was left standing there in the hall thinking for quite some time. I didn't need to sit or even pace- I just needed some time alone to think. My parents were dead. The Circle was responsible. Mr. Solomon was completely and entirely right. And I was unsure of which one made me more afraid. The Circle, I could fight. Mr. Solomon, I could ignore. But I couldn't escape the pain that came from the loss of my parents.

"Cameron Morgan!" I knew that bark anywhere. I turned to see Professor Buckingham standing at the top of the stairs, and she was making a beeline path straight for me.

"Hello, professor," I cordially replied. Maybe the innocent, yet polite route would work here.

She didn't fall for it, "Do you know how many times you have run away from school this semester alone?"

I decided to try the humor route, "No, but I think you're about to tell me."

"You aren't getting out of this mess with some humor!" She snapped back. She didn't just look concerned for my safety, she was genuinely angry. "Do you have any regard for what happens every time you or your friends decide to run off?"

I shook my head. Perhaps the best strategy was to just take what was coming. Professor Buckingham continued, "We have to search. We have then spend every second of free time calling contacts, looking for signs, tracking down possible whereabouts. And then, out of the blue, you just arrive back at school in an armored car with Agent Townsend and expect to just saunter back into school?"

"I'm sorry, professor," I admitted, "I've just been, a little off lately. I needed to do this."

Professor Buckingham responded remarkably well to the direct route; she calmed down slightly as she said, "Before your mother left on her operation, I made her two very important promises. The first was to keep the students of this school safe. The second was to keep you safe. I intend to keep both of those promises if it kills me."

I nodded, "I really am sorry."

"I know," she sighed. "I don't know what you were doing with Agent Townsend, but for now, I don't need to know. Go upstairs and get a few hours of sleep now. You can miss your first few classes."

"Not a chance, professor," I called to her as I started to scurry up the stairs, happy that I got away unscathed.

"Oh, and Cameron? Please, stay at school until graduation?" she asked hopefully.

I nodded. At that moment, I fully intended to keep that promise.