A man with wild, white hair and an equally strange mustache stood in the male bathroom, gazing at his reflection. His eyes were dark and tired. His mouth was a straight line, like he knew something bad was going to happen. He reached up as if to stroke his mustache but instead, he jerked his hand and tore off the strip of white hair. Then his hand went behind his head and pulled- his white hair came off like a hood. The 'close to thirty something' man was transformed into a sixteen year old. He stared into the mirror again and he was staring at…me.

I had already ditched my Secret Service black tux and exchanged it for a pair of comfy sneakers, an navy Armani Exchange button up shirt and a warm jacket. Not flashy but still fitted in.

It was election night- 7.20pm. Showtime.

"Hawk, turn around. Turn around." An excited voice sounded in my ear. I did as I was told, casually shifting my position to look like I was studying the map of America on the wall.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is." Mom drawled in my ear. "Cammie Morgan, I live and breathe." What? WHAT? Why was Cammie here? She had absolutely no business being at the presidential watch party.

But sure enough, she was standing in the middle of the crowd, talking to Preston Winters. And Mom had seen her. I cursed in my head, was Satan out to get me today?

"Change of plans. Cut to the chase- let's get her. Hawk, you know what do to." Mom sounded like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Copy that." I muttered, not caring if my comms unit picked it up.

Two minutes until impact.

Cammie's back was facing me. She was talking with Bex, Liz and Macey. Macey glanced behind Cammie's shoulder. I saw a glint in her eyes and I read her lips, "What's new with Zach?"

Cammie said something and Macey shrugged, "It happens."

Then Liz protested in a loud voice, "No, Cam! Maybe he's just…"

"Well, now's your chance to find out." Macey said, pointed in my direction and Cammie turned around.

"I heard someone's playing hooky," I teased as Cammie walked up to me.

"There's a boy in my life," she said sarcastically. "He's a very bad influence."

I nodded. "Bad boys have a way of doing that. But they're worth it."

Then I leaned close and said, "Can I talk to you?" She nodded and I took her hand. I glanced back for a second and caught Bex's eye. I mouthed to her, 'Follow us in a minute.' Bex frowned but gave me the slightest of nods. Then I started to lead Cammie towards the side door. Every muscle in me was screaming to let go, to take her in the opposite direction and protect her from the cold voice in my ear that was saying, "Dr. Steve, stand by."

One minute until impact.

We stepped outside and frigid air blew around us in the dark. Cammie wrapped her arms around her chest. I took off my jacket and draped it around Cammie's shoulders. My hands rested on her warm shoulders a moment longer than I intended to because I was afraid that she would dissolve into the wind before my eyes.

But the jacket around her shoulders weren't because Cammie was feeling cold. It was a signal to the Circle- this is the target. Get her.

Cammie turned around and asked, "Why were you in Boston?"

I stepped back, shook my head and looked down the ground- the truth would kill her. "There are things I can't tell you, Gallagher Girl."

"Can't? Or won't?" She said sharply.

I didn't answer and just looked into her eyes. What's the difference?

"Tell me." Cammie's voice was almost lost in the wind.

I stood there, keeping my face as emotionless as possible. "There are some things that you don't want to know." Don't make me say it, Cammie. Don't make me say anything.

Then I heard Macey yell from behind me, "Cam!"

Zero hour.

Lights out.

The streetlamps flickered once and went out. The three buildings around to us immediately disappeared into the dark.

Incoming.

I could hear the van's tires crunching on the asphalt and Cammie shouting, "Macey!"

She ran towards her friend as Macey stood in the van's way, standing frozen like a deer caught in headlights. Literally.

"Run!" Cammie screamed but it was too late. The van had spun ninety degrees, the doors were already open and I could see familiar shapes of agents leaning out. I could her see her outline in the dark- so small, so alone, so fragile. I swore I could catch a small flash of her brown eyes before the van turned and she disappeared.

"Cammie!" I yelled. And I don't think any amount of description could fit the terror I felt.

"Cammie!" Bex yelled again as we skirted the van to reach her.

"Macey!" I don't think I'd ever forget Cammie's voice that night. It sounded like it was tortured. "Save Macey." Then we saw her, or at least we saw a man grabbing her from behind and shoving a rag into her mouth. Liz and Bex launched themselves at the man, kicking and scratching while Macey was blocking blows from another agent.

I reached down to take the rag out of Cammie's mouth. I was about to take her hand and run when a foot flew close to my ear. I ducked just in time and spun around, doing a strong back kick. But to my dismay, I had hit empty air. The man had reacted with fantastic speed, bending his body in a way that seemed impossible. He tried to give me a savage punch to the gut and I blocked it with my arm. His moves were familiar, almost predictable for me. Of course, I had trained beside him. I swung around again, putting all my strength into it and kicked him squarely in his solar plexus. He doubled back and I lunged forward to knock him out in the sweet spot above his eye where the skull was thinnest. And he crumpled to the ground.

I turned around, expecting another attacker but instead, I saw evil in another form- it was Devereux. I could recognize him from his shoulders and his long chin. He was holding a 9mm Browning, commando style and was aiming it at a running figure. The figure seemed to be running too quickly in the dark to get hit. It was near impossible that a bullet could be fired accurately at her but Devereux was an instructor at the Blackthorne Institute. He never missed. And the crisp gunshot split the freezing air.

"No!" Cammie screamed but the figure had already fallen.

Abby.

Abby had fallen to the pavement, Macey had also dropped by her side, tears streaking down her face. Cammie was lying on the ground, half curled up, her eyes roaming around without focusing on anything. Her whole frame was shaking from heavy breathing. Against the frost-covered pavement, I don't think she could've looked tinier and vulnerable than she did then.

"Get her out of here!" Joe suddenly appeared out of the dark with the headmistress.

"Now!" Rachel Morgan yelled and I knew the words were meant for me.

I reached for Cammie's arm but she jerked it out of my grasp and aimed a front kick at me.

She tried to yell, "Get…" Her whole body was swaying, maybe from the drug-soaked rag or maybe from the shock.

"Gallagher Girl." I said firmly and held my hands towards her. Cammie stopped moving and seemed to remember where was she. I felt her hand find mine's and I pulled her to her feet.

"Run." I said desperately.

But Cammie kept pulling against me, "Abby." I didn't let her go, though. I kept leading her to the hotel door that was had come through. Beyond that, there would be backup, there would be paramedics and we would be safe. But before that…a face. A face that I had seen during the breaks. A face that had seen me training with the Circle. A face that had seen me with my mother. He was just…standing there with a gun, in front of the way to safety. I stopped and I felt Cammie bump into my shoulder. I instinctively stood one step in front of Cammie, trying to shield her if the man decided to kill any of us on the spot.

The masked man seemed to relax his position but his eyes still couldn't believe what he saw, "You?"

I held my gaze against his and my message was clear- Let us go. Leave.

Then the man fled into the night. And the rest of us did too. The time slot was over earlier than we expected. The Secret Service were quickly surrounding the area. The van doors slammed shut and sped away. The Circle agents melted into the dark. I let go of Cammie and she was immediately in her mother's arms. No one's focused on me so I backed into the shadows as well. Before I turned to run, I caught a glimpse of Devereux slinking into the bushes next to me. I slammed my knee into his back, pushing him onto the asphalt. I rammed the heel of my palm into the back of his head and I felt him go limp. With one last burst of energy, I shoved him towards the Secret Service agents and I stumbled back into the cold November night.

"Overall, it was unsuccessful mission." Mom said coldly. "Maybe we were outnumbered. Or maybe someone tipped the Secret Service off. Or maybe they were better than we expected. We need to rethink, retrain and reanalyze. We are against people who shouldn't be underestimated." Her icy gaze swept over everyone in the dimly lit space. "Dismissed." The agents got up to leave. I stood up as well and started to walk away.

"Zach, stay back for a minute." Mom called and I turned.

"Yes?" I said stiffly.

She leaned in close and whispered, "Professor Devereux was caught by the Secret Service. Do you know what happened to him?"

"No." I lied.

"He was a very good operative." Mom lifted her chin and said in a hard undertone. "He wouldn't have gotten caught."

I shrugged, "You can't always get lucky."

Mom studied me for a moment longer and said, "Remember, there's a call-in a week before Christmas."

"Is it training?" I asked.

"No, it's a proper gathering. The whole cell will be there." She answered. She smiled humorlessly, "Christmas dinner for us, I suppose."

I nodded and walked away. But it turns out that I wasn't the only one who stayed behind.

"We have to do something." Joe said after Mom was out of earshot, falling in step beside me. "Devereux might talk and…"

"He saw us." I finished.

Joe nodded, "Me, at least. He wouldn't dare give you out. You're Catherine's son." I cringed. "Sorry. I didn't mean it that way."

"Doesn't matter. What's the plan?" I asked.

Joe took a deep breath and tilted his head upwards like he was thinking about something in the past, "Matthew. Matthew had something…" He trailed off, lost in thought.

"Cammie's dad?" I glanced up at Joe.

"Yeah…him." Joe said softly. Then he seemed to snap back from the past and continued. "Speaking of Cammie, she's going to London for Christmas with the Baxters."

I furrowed my brow. "Why do I need to know that?"

"Just in case." Joe half-smiled and he was swallowed by the dark.

Abby looked unusually pale against the white blankets of the Inova Fairfax Hospital. Her entire right side was wrapped in white bandages. Tubes and wires were taped to her body to a familiar machine that bleeped rhythmically next to her. I sighed heavily and sat down in the hard plastic chair next to her bed.

"I'm sorry." My voice cracked. "I knew something was going to happen to you but…" I buried my head in my hands. "If I saw the bullet coming, I…I would've took it and…" I couldn't even seem to form full sentences. "I should've stopped it…"

I looked up and continued, "They caught him. They've gotten Devereux. He's in CIA custody now. That was the least I could do." I stood up and I spotted a familiar jacket folded neatly at the foot of her bed. I reached into my pocket and took out a scrap of paper and a pen. I wrote 'Have fun in London. –Z' and slipped it into one of the pockets.

But before I left Abby's room, I took out my fake, white mustache and placed it on top of the jacket.

I smiled and said softly, "You know what to do."

A/N: And...that's a wrap for 'Ten Of Diamonds'. I have to say, despite the shortness of this fic, it was the hardest to write yet. I think I was really pushing way beyond my abilities so... I hope I've done well on this. Overall, it was quite amazing to write it and see all the reviews/alerts/subscriptions. :) But most of all, I think I've matured while writing this fic. Maybe because I took a deeper look into humanity. Maybe because I'm spending so much time with a guy that's four years older than me. Or maybe because the guy in questions just has a huge influence on my life. ;)

Once again, I don't know how to thank everyone who has read/reviewed/favorited (especially the ones who have stuck with me since 'Zach In Shining Armor') because you guys...one word: SPECTACULAR! Every time I get an email saying I have a review/favorite, I just read the message over and over again because sometimes, I feel like it's really too good to be true. *Wipes away a happy tear*

Good news: Zach POV of Only the Good Spy Young will be out soon (hopefully)! It's going to be a lot longer (probably) and more action (maybe...)! It's going to be called 'Wolf Moon'. It sounds very Native American, right? But try to guess what it means before reading the whole fic. (PM me your guesses or write it in a review, if you want.)

The bad news is...I might be going on holiday soon and I have a medical appointment for my eyes so erm, you may have to wait for a teensy while before 'Wolf Moon' comes out. Sorry!

Cheers (and hugs and butterbeers),

AwesomePP