Hey guys! This is my second Gallagher Girls fic, and it took a lot of work to get the idea. Some of you might know me from Gallagher Academy dot Ning dot com as Zarah. If not, go to the link at the bottom and join! I'll explain later. Anyways, hope you like it! This will undoubtetly be the longest chapter I've ever written. Keep writing! Peace!

~Eyes

Leaving

The world holds many secrets. Some, not even the best spy could ever dream to unlock. But there are some that we do know. Some are helpful. Some are meaningless, wasted time. Then there's the last type. The secrets that can save or end the world, make or break a life. The secrets that keep us safe at night. Ignorance is bliss. Because these are the most dangerous type.

I walked the halls of the huge mansion, and through the thick wooden doors to the library. Of course, they were reinforced with steel cores, but I liked thinking that it was just the polished, smooth oak to be a barrier between the chamber and the hallway. Thinking so just made it feel more normal. I ran my hands along the book bindings as I scanned the shelves, looking for something interesting to read. I wouldn't need to study, thank God, seeing as it was summer, but in two weeks school would be starting again. I had gotten back from Grandma and Grandpa Morgan's farm three days ago, and was back in the Gallagher Academy. It was like this every year. Spending the last few weeks of summer break in the mansion, looking for new passageways, wandering alone, reading new manuals on foreign languages. I didn't mind. It was routine. But then again, when is a spy's life ever routine?

My mom's voice called from the doorway, and I spun around quickly. She had a thick manila folder in her hands, and she looked dead serious. This obviously wasn't just asking me to go have lunch with her.

"Cameron," she called, and I began walking toward her. Using my full name confirmed my theory. This was serious. We walked down the halls, and into her soundproof office. I sat on the loveseat at the back of the room, and she sat on her desk. Mr. Solomon walked in.

"Cammie, we need to tell you something," she said. Oh gosh. Tell me they aren't getting married. Ever since Aunt Abby left, they've been…socializing together more. Or just dating, but I preferred socializing. It would be very hard to get used to calling Joe Solomon "Dad". Oh God.

"Cammie, the CIA has sent us a message," Mom continued. I exhaled a breath of relief. But then got nervous again as I thought of what they might want. Maybe they changed their mind about letting me off so easy on the whole "Josh" incident. Maybe they had news about the Circle of Cavan, the criminal group trying to kill me. Who knows.

"They want you to go on a mission-" Wait, what? A mission? Me? I was technically still in high school. They couldn't be serious.

"With Zach." That got my attention. Zach? What did he have to do with anything.

"…I'm a bit lost here," I said, confused. Mr. Solomon sighed, then sat in the chair behind my mother's desk. He took a heavy duty envelope out of the top drawer, and tossed it at me. I folded the little metal prongs up, and pulled out a single sheet of paper.

"They sent us a letter, Ms. Morgan, saying that they needed the two of you for a mission. You'll be spending the next five months in Europe, gathering enemy information. Mr. Goode should already be on a flight down here by now, so you'll need to start getting ready. Pack enough clothes for about a week, but you'll get a credit card for anything else once you leave. You'll have to do some work from class during the mission, but it shouldn't be enough to throw off your objective. That clear things up?" Mr. Solomon finished.

"When do I leave?" I asked.

"Three weeks." Good. That gave me a week to meet up with everyone and go to classes. But he said Zach was already on his way…

"Wait. You said Zach was already on a plane down here…" I trailed off.

"Yes. Because neither of you two have had a firearms lesson, and you'll be needing it. The class will take about three weeks, so you'll both need to start it as soon as possible." …firearms. So, as in, I'll have to use a gun? Oh, this should be interesting… I laughed when I thought of something.

"You'll have to let Bex in too, you know." They both looked at me skeptically.

"Do you really think she'll let me live if I get to handle guns and she doesn't? I might not be alive for the mission if she doesn't get in," I said, answering their faces. Mr. Solomon sighed. Mom rolled her eyes. I thought I heard helicopter blades chopping outside the window, but only faintly.

"He must be here already," Mom said, walking to the door. She exited the room, and I walked down the halls to my dorm. I didn't exactly want my mother to be there when Zach and I had out reunion, she'd probably freak out and get all…mother-y. So I decided to start to pack. I dug around in the closet, which still had some of Macey and Bex's clothes stocked up. I pulled out a black duffel bag, and started stuffing jeans and shirts in. I also threw in a few skirts, and then a week's worth of bras and panties. I finished filling the bag, and threw it to the back of the closet. Then I heard a knock on the door. I pulled it open, to reveal Zach.

"Hey, Gallagher Girl," he said, giving his signature smirk. I rolled my eyes, but walked up and hugged him. He hugged me back, but then it turned into a kiss. Like, a three minute long kiss. Luckily, Mom and Mr. Solomon didn't come. Until three seconds before we stopped. Then, they cleared their throats, and we split. Wow. Having your mother and/or CovOps teacher walk in on you and your spy boyfriend who you haven't seen in months kissing…joy, oh joy. My mother exhaled quickly, looking annoyed, and/or disgusted. I couldn't exactly tell. Mr. Solomon just looked kind of bored.

"Anyway, Zach, you can use the room you had when Blackthorne exchanged. It's been dusted and refurbished, should be ready. I'd go unpack," Mom said. I really hated her for a moment there. And I also hated the look on Zach's face, that pretty much said, "oh, hmm. That sucks. I thought I'd be sharing a room with Cammie". He nodded, and walked down the hall to the east wing. I turned quickly back into my own room, hoping for my mother to leave. Lucky me, she just followed. I walked back to the closet, and she sat lightly on the edge of my bed.

"Cammie," she said, sounding like this conversation was her last resort to something. I took a deep breath before turning around, facing her concerned face.

"Cameron, while you're on this mission, you can't let Zach…" I thought she might say something along the lines of charm. Take breath away. Seduce.

"Get the best of you." That was different. I bit my lip nervously.

"I know you haven't seen him in a few months, unless he snuck in without any of us realizing, or made a trip to your grandparents'," if only he had… "but don't let anything get in the way. This is a very dangerous assignment. You don't know how hard I tried to protest you going, but they aren't changing their minds. They're sending students because they don't want to lose adult agents." Then I saw the reason behind just how serious she was. We were the guinea pigs! We were the test rats, making sure it was safe enough that they wouldn't lose their oh-so-valuable agents in the mission. Ugh! The CIA can't be that stupid. No, I can't say stupid. More like cruel. Heartless. Brainless. Idiotic. Imbecilic. Okay, so it was stupid. Stupid, dangerous, careless, mean, disgusting…they need to come up with more adjectives. But I had no choice. I had to go.

I looked back at my mom. She looked close to tears.

"Mom…I'll be fine," I assured her. Well, attempted to assure. She smiled faintly.

"If you aren't the director will sure get it from me," she said, laughing. She got up, and walked away. I zipped up the duffel bag, and threw it to the back of the closet. I walked out the door, and down to the passage from the night of the ball last year. I needed some time to cry this over.

I heard a faint clicking sound, then what seemed like stone sliding against stone. Then footsteps approached down the narrow passage. I was too much in shock to wipe the tears away from my face when he came, so I just stood there, staring.

"What were you crying about?" Sometimes I really hate Zach Goode.

"Nothing," I murmured. Apparently not quiet enough.

"Really, so it's completely natural for spy girls to cry over nothing?" he mocked. I imagined him with his signature smirk, even though it was too dark to see. I glared across to where the wall was. He sat beside me.

"Seriously Cammie…" he said, trailing off. I felt my eyes water up again.

"They're using us as tests. The mission is too dangerous for them to risk real agents, so we're testing it. If we survive, they send in adults. If not…" I stopped when I realized that I didn't know what they'd do if we died. My voice had cracked after the first sentence, and now I was sobbing.

"Cammie, we'll be fine." That wasn't why I was crying.

"No, I know that. But…this is exactly the way my dad died." My voice was barely audible by the last three words. He leaned over and pulled me onto his lap. I kept crying, and he wrapped his arms around my shoulders, hugging me. I must've fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing I knew I was in my room, wrapped up in the sheets of my bed instead of Zach's arms. I groggily stood to the floor, and stretched out. I was still in my clothes from yesterday…luckily. It would just be very awkward if I woke in my pajamas, because one minute I was crying, hugging Zach…he had to be the one who would bring me back here…rethinking it, awkward was probably an understatement. I walked to the closet, and changed my clothes. Then I walked down to the Grand Hall for breakfast.

In summer, there's a different setup with the whole "meal" thing. The chef is always still on vacation, so it's pretty much just you go in the kitchen, and whip up whatever you can come up with. I usually settled for cereal. It took very little work. Today though, I figured I'd make some pancakes. I finished my food, and walked to the library. I pulled a random book out of the first shelf I saw. Something about photography incognito through the ages. Interesting…I guess. That got boring after…five minutes. I'm pretty sure I'd already read it in seventh grade. I put it away, and turned down the tall shelves, looking for something new. Poor Liz. If she were here right now, she'd never be able to find something new. She finished practically the whole library in just the first year here.

Hours of reread books later, Zach came in.

"So…how's the book?" he asked, gesturing to the book in my hands. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, they described the death of Hitler in a very gory, descriptive manner. And, it's really just great hearing about how one of Hitler's many wives was standing next to the murderer, crying her heart out, whilst her husband was massacred," I replied. He smirked. I rolled my eyes, and stood to put the book away. He followed me down the isle, running his hand along the spines, letting his eyes gaze over the titles quickly. I found the gap from where I took my book from, I squeezed it between a copy of a Latin book, and a biography of Frank Abagnale. Gotta reread that biography. I turned back to Zach, and raised my eyebrows.

"What exactly is it that you want, Zach?" He just smirked- again.

"Oh, nothing. Just becoming bored. Don't you have anything interesting to do in this mansion?" He was still smirking. I glared.

"Sure, why don't you go help Mr. Fibs test a new version of Napotine knockout patches. Or maybe you could help Madame Dabney organize the tea cabinet," I replied, smirking. I would sure love to see that. He laughed.

"Yeah, china, exciting."

"Yes, especially when said china once belonged to Mrs. Washington." Two could play at this game.

"Really, Cameron, it used to belong to you?" I was sixteen. He couldn't even use age insults. I stomped in his toes anyway. With the heel of my wedges. He winced, and I grinned, before walking out of the chamber. He followed, slightly limping. This truly was gold. I kept walking down the hall, stifling my laughter. We came up to the hall of history, and he had recovered. Supposedly. I went to my mom's office, and knocked on the door. She answered, and I walked in, Zach in tow.

"Hey Mom. Just wondering if you knew when Mr. Solomon was starting the lessons," I said, taking a piece of candy from the basket on her desk. I pulled the metallic wrapper off, and popped it into my mouth. Strawberry.

"I'm not really sure. Joe said probably tomorrow, or the day after. It'll definitely start before school begins," she finished. I nodded, and walked back to my room. Zach followed.

"Don't you have anything better to do then follow me around all day?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"Probably." Wow, I never saw the double meaning in that statement. Really. At all. I rolled my eyes.

"What, does my girlfriend not want me around?" he asked, in mock surprise. I rolled my eyes, once again.

"I'm bored. I feel like spying on Mr. Solomon," I stated, getting up, and walking through the halls until I found the passageway that led to his office. I pushed an exceptionally small brick in, and waited for the door to open. Then I walked in. Zach hesitated outside the entrance.

"Are you coming?" I asked.

"Solomon's good…" he said, looking confused.

"He hasn't caught me yet." I continued into the narrow hall, and heard Zach come in. I kept going, until I reached the vent, and listened in. I heard…a giggle. Specifically my Mom's. I froze. Zach heard it too.

"Was that-?"

"But it couldn't…"

"Oh God."

I peered through the gaps in the vent, and saw my mom…and Mr. Solomon…kissing. Well, no. making out would be a more accurate term. I felt my lunch start to come up, and Zach pushed me out of the way to get a view. Hell knows why he'd actually want to see that. He turned back, and I swear his face was white. I sprinted back down the hallway…well, sprinted as well as I could when I had to squeeze myself sideways through some of the more narrow sections of the tunnel. We finally emerged from the passage, and walked to my room.

"That was…" I said, falling onto my bed.

"Frightening? Sickening? Um, disturbing?" Zach suggested.

"I think I'm scarred for life." I was also kind of confused too, but like I would tell him that. Mainly because of what happened earlier that year…with the whole Abby thing…right when she left. Still haunted me. I just think Mr. Solomon needs to choose one of them…and I preferred my Aunt. I just could never imagine Mr. Solomon…as my dad. Or step dad, whatever. I mean…he was my excessively harsh, pop quizzes come daily CoveOps teacher.

"Well, you think your Mom has any extra memory modification tea, or should we use these photos to show your girls?" Photos? He seemed to sense my confusion, because he pulled out a mini-cam from inside his jacket. Of course.

"Well…I say option two, but I've probably broken enough rules with the school and government, I'd rather not start on my Mom's book. Getting involved in your parents' social lives is usually a no-no for all parents. And I'd prefer avoiding the Chinese water torture awaiting me," I said. He smirked.

"Chick-en. Chicken, chicken, chicken!" Zach said. I glared at him.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Uh-uh."

"Uh-huh."

"You weren't cornered on a roof in Boston, and had the Circle of Cavan attempt to kidnap you."

"So, you tragically fear a worldwide terrorist group, but you somehow fear your own family more?" He was good.

"Fine." I said, snatching the camera from him, and plugging it into Liz's laptop. The pictures popped up on the screen.

"Woah. Nice shots." The pictures were almost perfectly centered, and didn't catch any scraps of clothing on the edges. Just another talent of Zachary Goode. Photography. I spun around, and looked at him. He was acting kind of strange…

"What?" he asked. I shook my head.

"Nothing." He smirked, and I turned back to the computer, emailing them to every Gallagher Girl in the U.S., and Bex in England. I made Zach email it to the Blackthorne Boys. I wasn't taking the complete blame for this. Oh, Tina had to be loving that photo… My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a faint click on the window. I got up, and walked over. There was a rock on the windowsill, with a piece of paper attached. I opened the window. I pulled the paper off…it was…evapopaper? I opened it, and read the messy scrawl.

Cameron Morgan,

I know who you are. The school you go to. You though I didn't. But, you poor, naïve girl. Tea is only tasteful if the hostess knows how to serve it. We're coming. To Gallagher. So get ready to run. And lose someone.

~JA

What the…oh no. No, no NO! This can't be happening. What was this? Some sick joke from Blackthorne? Or…was this serious?

You like? Okay, I'm open for beta, and have a Gallagher Girls fansite. Please check it out! It's at (www) (.) (gallagheracademy) (.) (ning) (.) (com). Sorry, must edit the address, doesnt' allow outside links, etc etc. Who do you think JA is? I'll update ASAP! Keep writing! Peace!

~Eyes for Eternity