Gallagher Girls

Chapter 1

It'd been 6 months. 6 months since it all ended. 6 months since I finished looking for the members of the circle. 6 months since Zach chose Gallagher Girls over his own mother. 6 months since I left the Gallagher Academy and entered the world beyond the doors of my home. I missed it. I missed it all. I missed the Sunday meals I'd have with my mom, and occasionally Aunt Abby when she was around. I missed the Creme Brulè our chef would make when he was in a good mood. I missed our oldest yet most awesome faculty member who fought to protect me when men came to take me away. I missed our secret covert missions my friends and I would go on to find information of some sort. I missed my classmates and their gossip. I missed Mr Moskowitz, the one clumsy teacher we'd never thought would fool us. I missed Mr Smith, and anticipating which new face his plastic surgeons would give him every year. And I especially missed Mr Solomon and his epic lessons. But most of all, I missed my home. I shook my head. The Gallagher Academy was behind me. I mean, it was still a part of me that's for sure and I'm still a Gallagher girl through and through. That was something that I knew wasn't going to change. I'd always miss it. But I couldn't help but think about my 3 best friends in the world. Bex, Liz and Macey. We weren't together anymore. Zach and I had joined Townsend in the CIA. Bex had joined MI6, following her parents footsteps, not to make them proud, but because that's what she wanted. It's what she always wanted. Macey had joined to secret service after Aunt Abby had protected her with her own life and had shown Macey the true meaning of protection. And as for our last genius of an ex roomie, I could imagine what was happening in her life at that exact moment: a sleep deprived Liz sitting in an office surrounded by a hot chocolate and several computers, probably screaming into an earpiece. Why am I reminding you of my old life? Because it called me - literally. I received a call one morning from Townsend. He didn't say who it was or what they wanted, he just said, and I quote,"Ms Morgan, wake UP. You have an interesting caller insisting on speaking with you, and when I say insisting, I mean demanding. Don't take too long, I'll need you down in the office in 15 minutes. ON TIME please. That is all. I'm not repeating what I said Ms Morgan, so I'm hoping that you were listening. I'll see you in 15," and the line went dead. I tried to fit in something really mature like,"Mmmmmhhhhmmm," but he hung up. I forced my eyes open and groaned. I sat up stretching and looked at the clock that sat on the bedside table. 8:45. Annoyed at the fact that Townsend had woken me too early in the morning and slightly curious as to who was on the other end of the phone, I grabbed the phone Zach had insisted on buying me and answered the call Townsend had sent to me. I lifted the phone to my ear and answered with a croaky,"Hello?" I cleared my throat. "Hello?" I said again, more clearly now. I heard a faint scream and a sequel and then suddenly a loud,"Oh my gosh, Cammie!" On the other end of the line. I winced, I had just woken up and the voice was high and loud. I couldn't help it, I smiled,"Liz?" I couldn't believe she'd phoned. But what surprised me more was that Townsend had actually allowed this call, he must've been feeling really cheerful and was in a good mood, or he was just letting this one pass because he knew Liz and he knew we were best friends and we hadn't seen each other since school. My guess was the latter.
"I didn't actually think you'd answer, what with you being a," her voice suddenly dropped to a whisper,"part of the CIA and all."
I laughed. It was good to have her back, even if it was over the phone for a few minutes.
"Liz, I'll always have time for you. How could I not? You're my best friend. Anyway, how are you? WHERE are you? And, not that I don't miss you or anything, I DO miss you, I miss you a lot actually, but, erm, WHY exactly are you calling? And at 8:45 in the morning?"
"Well because you're coming home, of course! And as for the time, well, I've of been up all night and I'm running on hot creamy chocolate." I blinked. What was she talking about?
"Erm Liz. What are you talking about? The no sleep part, I get because you're Liz. But...coming home...where exactly?"
"To the...Gallagher...Academy. Wait, you didn't know?"
"Know what?"
"It's one mission. Probably the only time they're doing it." She was talking like that. The way she talked when we did our own missions back in school, when she talked to you as if you already knew what she was talking about. "Lizzie, WHAT are you talking about? Don't start talking in riddles. Just say it. In plan English. What mission and who is 'they'?"
I heard her take a deep breath. "Everyone. Interpol, MI6, CIA. Okay, well I guess that isn't everyone but...there's a mission and their best agents are...elsewhere"
"Elsewhere?" I asked.
"It'll be explained to you. Probably by Townsend and...Zach. I wanted to talk to you about other stuff but I had to mention it and now the fifteen minutes Townsend promised me are a third over and it takes you the other two thirds to get half ready, so I'm going to go and I'll see you soon. It was so good to talk to you, Cammie! It actually reminds me of how we talked in school, you know, because most of our conversations were about things we shouldn't really be talking about. Oh, and if you're wondering, this line is secure, I checked. Oh no, I've just used up two minutes. I've got to let you change as you've only got 8 minutes left! Sorry!" She was blurting like she usually did. She took a deep breath. "Oh, one more thing. Shower, and make sure your hair is shampooed and conditioned carefully." She instructed.
I didn't want to hang up. Even thought she'd just told me a bunch of stuff that confused me, I didn't think about that. Partly because I was used to it. At Gallagher, there was so much that was hidden from me to protect me. And partly because I was just so glad to hear her voice in so long. I mean she called, they all did in the beginning. But then work caught on and we never really had time. The last time we spoke was 2 months ago. It felt like longer. I sighed. "Okay -"
I was cut off,"No, don't talk. Go get changed! I'll see you soon enough! Bye!" I heard one more squeal and I heard the beep of the line when she hung up. I put down the phone and walked into the bathroom of the suite. We'd been moving around a lot lately. We'd gone from Roseville to several different bases in California to New York, to Brazil and now, to Rome. Where I'd come to find answers about the mission my dad died trying to complete. Where I'd lost a summer full of memories and where I was to tortured.
I stood in front of the sink and looked at myself. My dishwater blonde hair was a birds' nest. My eyes were wild and alert from the phone call I'd gotten from Liz. I washed my face and brushed my teeth. I dragged a brush through my hair and stepped into the shower. I closed my eyes and let the hot water pour over my body and relax my muscles. I shampooed and conditioned just as Liz told me too and poured shower gel on my arms and legs because I loved the smell of it. I quickly changed and blow dried my hair - something i only started doing after Macey had popped in a little after Liz had called and nearly deafened everyone walking St Earls Street as she had a LOUD go at me for not looking after my hair properly. I tied my hair into a pony tail and put on a pair of socks and half ran down the hall of Hotel Jilo, forgetting to close the door to my only to remember that I forgot my phone and my trainers. Something I did not do usually. I ran back, slid into my trainers and picked up the phone I was reluctant to accept. I only did accept it because Zach used the excuse of failing a mission because he wouldn't be able to contact me. I looked around for anything I'd missed and noticed my key card. I didn't know what was wrong with me until I noticed my hands shaking with excitement.