I do not own the Gallagher Girls series. That belongs to the amazing Ally Carter. I however, own the storyline. It's a fan fiction for the love of—! God, these disclaimers are so pointless. Honestly, I don't even—... O_O

Summary: When Macey is kidnapped by the Circle while defending Cammie, can they rescue her in time? Or better yet, will Macey survive the ordeal?

Author's note: Unless otherwise mentioned, this story will take place from Cammie's POV.

Chapter 1

"Fateful Encounter"

It was supposed to be a simple CoveOps rooftop surveillance mission, and there was no doubt in my mind we'd be able to pull it off. While the rest of our class was on street level, blending in with the Saturday afternoon crowd that had gathered to watch the Roseville Day Parade that weaved its way through the small town, Mr. Solomon had decided that my roommates, Liz, Bex, and Macey, and I ought to experience CoveOps from a different perspective (thanks to our oh-so-spontaneous surveillance projects we'd thrown together over the years—outside of class, that is). That perspective being from the rooftops that bordered the town square, where a large crowd was gathering for the festivities of the day. It was our job to take note of our classmates' positions as well as the target's they were tailing, which is a lot harder than it sounds.

I might be nicknamed Cammie the Chameleon, but my eyes sure didn't go in different directions. It would probably help, though. We'd been split into groups of two and positioned ourselves on opposite sides of the square, so as to get all angles.

"Ms. McHenry," Mr. Solomon's voice blared through my comms unit. "The hotel next to the building your on has four rooms on the north side who's curtains are closed. Name them."

Standing next to me in the shadows of a billboard, Macey rambled them off, not missing a beat. Her sharp blue eyes scanned the crowds below, as did mine. Even without makeup and in a plain white t-shirt and jeans—the most casual and nondescript clothing available to pavement artists—she looked like a supermodel.

"Try not to get distracted by Josh this time, eh, Chameleon?" Bex said. I could practically feel her smile from across the square.

"Hardy-har-har, Duchess," I replied. Bex just laughed.

Above us, the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Confetti and streamers floated through the air below us. My classmates were in control of the situation and Mr. Solomon was directing them from the sidelines. For once, everything seemed alright; a Chameleon in her natural habitat, blending into the shadows and seeming to disappear from the world.

But we're not girls; we're spies. And I knew too well that peace can only last so long before reality brings you crashing back to earth.

Literally.

Next to me I saw Macey move in my peripheral vision and turned just in time for her to barrel into me, knocking us both to the ground just as there was a flash of silver that streaked centimeters from where my head had been just a second ago. The bullet buried itself in the billboard with a loud thunk. My eyes followed Macey's and I finally saw what she'd seen that had caused her to suddenly tackle me to the ground. The end of a sniper rifle pocked out of an open window at least two hundred meters across the square, concealed by curtains that waved in the breeze. The leather gloved hand was what really caught my eye though, on which a very familiar-looking ring gleamed in the sunlight.

Time seemed to slow and my heart beat heavy in my ears. I heard Macey curse in Farsi as her eyes met mine.

"The Circle," Macey and I mouthed at exactly the same time.

There was no time to think. We'd been trained not to think—just to act. Macey and I scrambled under the billboard and to a concealed ladder that dropped fifty feet to the ground (did I mention the building we were on was pretty tall?). Macey pushed me ahead of her, and I quickly climbed over the side. I wrapped my knees around the sides of the ladder and slid down, feeling the heat of friction through my jeans before my feet touched the ground of the alleyway.

I yelled into my comms unit. "Mr. Solomon! The Circle. They're—"

I didn't get to finish as I turned and saw seven black-clad Circle operatives closing in. Fast. And in case you didn't know, seven-on-two is hardly fair. If they were untrained, normal everyday people, it wouldn't be so much of a problem.

My mind was racing, running a mile a minute. How had they gotten here? How had my classmates or Mr. Solomon not noticed them? Or even Bex and Liz? I heard Mr. Solomon say something in my ear but I couldn't concentrate on what anyone was saying as I dodged a fist that sailed way too close to my ear for comfort, and launched myself at my attacker, spinning and planting a hard, roundhouse kick in his chest. He skidded on his back for a good five feet or so before more of them were on me. After that, it was like a movie, a bunch of superimposed images that hardly seemed real as my mind slowed down and my reflexes sped up. My back was to the side of the building. Crap. One of the worst possible positions to be in is where you have to fight your way through your enemies if you wanted to run away. Which, right now, I kind of wanted to.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Macey holding her own against a man and a woman, flipping and dodging and trading parries and kicks. I landed another blow, then one of the masked men punched me so hard that my head snapped around and I felt a burst of blood in my mouth. I leaped toward him, only to be grabbed by behind. Two of them pinned my arms behind my back. Another leaned forward, blazing white teeth shone behind the mask, and my mind flashed back to Boston.

Get her.

Get me.

He pulled back his hand and curled it into a fist. Then he brought it in hard, punching me in the stomach. An unbelievable pain exploded inside me, and I doubled over, dropping like a stone. One of my colored contacts fell onto the pavement.

Dimly, I heard the sound of a solid kick landing and a loud grunt.

Get up! I told myself, trying to suck in air. Get up!

We were badly outnumbered. We were dog meat. I struggled to my hands and knees, trying not to retch. Two of the men lay groaning near me. Then slender arms wrapped themselves under my armpits and hauled me to my feet. I was about to lash out with my elbows when the arms released me and shoved me in the opposite direction, toward the alley's exit.

"Run!" Macey shouted at me. "It's you they want!"

I stole a glance back at her over my shoulder as I took off. Macey was still upright, but one eye was already swelling shut. Her blue eyes were blazing and fierce. Behind her, one of the men was struggling to his feet. Three lay unconscious.

One of the cardinal rules of a Gallagher Girl was to never leave your sister behind. Ever. So when one of you runs, the other is right on her heels. Or in this case, my heels.

I dashed from alley to alley, swerving around corners, changing direction, trying to be as unpredictable as possible. Anything to lose them. My breathing was coming in wheezing gasps as I sprinted as fast as my legs could take me, my footsteps echoing in the emptiness. I left the shadows of the looming alley and ran straight through the crowded street before dashing into the alley on the opposite side. The side Bex and Liz were supposed to be on. My comms unit had been torn from my ear in the chaos. I rounded five more corners, not caring which direction I went in. My only thoughts were to get away. As I rounded another corner, coming to a dark and narrow alleyway that was only the width of two of me, I finally ran into my roommates.

And for the second time today, I meant it literally.

"Whoa!" Bex gave a start as I nearly knocked her over. I tried to slow down, but it was too late and I crashed into her. She regained her balance before gripping my shoulders and leading me further into the shadows of a dead end, pushing me into a corner. She stared me straight in the eyes. "What. Happened?" Over her shoulder I saw Liz talking fast into her comm, her eyes glued to the direction I had come from.

But I couldn't reply. My head swam and black spots danced on my vision. I didn't know if it was from lack of oxygen or from the blow I'd taken, but my knees buckled and the ground rushed up to meet me.

"Cammie!"

And then everything went black.

Whew, first chapter and things are already off to a rocky start, huh? I'll try and post a chapter every week or two, each around 1500 words or so (not too short, and not too long to where you feel like you're spending your life on the computer [or at least that's the length I prefer them]). Feel free to write a review or add to your alerts. I'll try and reply to each and every review!

I still don't know exactly how many chapters this'll turn out to be, but I promise you I'm working my best in my [rare] spare time to make it the best I possibly can. I hope this story will be on-going for a long time! :-)