Only The Goode Spy Forever

Chapter 73: The Help

  Annalise Goode enjoyed her welcome back dinner. She noticed the googley eyes that Chase and Bree were making at each other. She noticed how her aunt grinned everytime she caught them staring at each other. This semester was going to be a good one, she could feel it.
  "Oh you guys," Caroline cried. Everyone turned to her. "This is Adalind and Amelia's last welcome back dinner!" Anna's mouth dropped open. Care was right. After the semester the girls were going to have to say goodbye to their best friends.
  "And next year we'll lose Bree," Diana added with the shake of her head. Caroline looked like she was going to cry.
  "We're all growing up and graduating! What happens when the 3 of us graduate? We'll never see each other again!" Caroline cried. Anna's aunt Morgan started laughing.
  "Caroline we'll all see each other again," Adalind said. Amelia nodded.
  "Ya, our mom stays in touch with her old roommates all the time. And now look, all of their daughters are friends," Amelia added as she shared smiles with Diana and Anna. Bree smiled to the girls. She reached out and grabbed their hands.
"Friendship is forever," Bree said with a confident nod. Anna looked to Chase. He was grinning wildly at Bree, no doubt silently making fun of her.
Anna finished her dinner and sat in her suite with her roommates. Her brother had been oddly quiet that night. She wondered if something was wrong.
Anna, Caroline, and Diana all continued unpacking their bags. Caroline was hanging up clothes while Anna folded them and Diana put them away.
"Hey Ann?" Caroline asked. Anna looked up. Caroline was looking at her with concern. "You haven't talked about Cason in a long time. Are you over him? Do you still think about him?" Anna was dumbfounded. No one ever asked her about him.
"There's a lot that's been going on. I don't really have time to think about him. I need to think about myself," Anna lied. Caroline quit hanging clothes up and turned around.
"It would be okay to still care. You know that, right? I'm sorry we haven't been checking up on you more. You can talk to us," Caroline said kindly.
"I don't want to talk," Anna snapped. She silently cursed herself. She knew that her friends were just trying to help. It wasn't their fault that she still cared about Cason. It wasn't their fault that she still hurt.
"Why?" Caroline asked, genuinely confused. Diana laughed.
"Because if she talks then she'll have to tell us the truth," Diana explained. "She'll have to tell us that she's too in love to let him go." Words had never hit so deep. Diana was right. Anna felt the pain in her chest that she felt whenever Cason was brought up and her feelings resurfaced.
"I'm okay," she lied. Diana shrugged.
"You will be," she said softly. The girls were so wrapped up in their conversation that they hadn't seen Chase enter the room. He cleared his throat and all of the girls jumped.
"Chase!" Anna hissed. "What are you doing here? You're not allowed on this side of the school." Chase shrugged like it was nothing.
"I need you girls' help," he said cooly. Caroline's eyes went huge. Anna's mouth dropped. Diana looked amazed as well.
"You need our help?" Diana asked in her amazement. Chase nodded like it was nothing. He clearly wasn't seeing how big of a deal it was. Chase rarely needed help. Especially not from his little sister and her friends.
"It's top secret. And I do mean top secret. As in, tell someone and you both die," Chase said. Annalise was ecstatic. She couldn't believe that they were being involved in something top secret.
"What is it?" Caroline asked anxiously.
"I'm looking for something- someone. Our parents and their old roommates are all working on it. Morgan is too. We're not supposed to know about it. No one is, but dad told me," Chase started.
"Why would Zach trust you with something that secretive?" Diana asked.
"Because Chase is dad's little prodigy," Anna said with the roll of her eyes.
"That's true," Chase chuckled. "But I didn't just hear about this search for someone from him. There were whispers about it at Blackthorne. It seems that everyone is anxious to get their hands on the descendant of Regina O'Dare."
"Who is that?" The girls asked. Chase shook his head like they were stupid.
"She was a monster. She drug children from their beds in their sleep and broke them. She made them into her little cadets. She had descendants. Regina had the key to the end of the world, but apparently her daughter hid it. Only a descendant of Regina O'Dare can retrieve it. You can see why people are anxious to get their hands on a descendant," Chase said.
"Why do you need us? Why don't you go get Bree to help you?" Diana asked.
"Morgan would obviously figure it out and I'm not supposed to know. I don't want Bree taking any risks, and this could be risky. I need girls who are good at working together and sneaking around. You fit the bill," Chase huffed.
  "We're just the girls for your mission," Anna said as she grinned her families trademark grin.
  "What exactly do you want us to do?" Caroline asked, needing all of the facts.
  "I need you to get me a Gallagher alumni list. Papa Ed was desperate to get his hands on it but grandma wouldn't budge. I also want you to sneak me off of campus," Chase said.
  "Chase getting the alumni list alone is a big risk. And the consequences could be awful. Sneaking you off of campus is too much. The risks are-" Anna was cut off.
  "You didn't seem to care about the risks of sneaking out when you were doing it to see your boyfriend," Chase interrupted. Anna pursed her lips. Chase was right.
  "Why do you need to get out?" Caroline asked. Chase ran his hands through his hair.
  "I think mom and dad are going on a mission," Chase said as he turned to Anna. "There were a lot of hushed phone calls over break. Dad always tells me what's going on, so either it's really good or..."
  "It's really bad," Anna finished.
  "Bingo," Chase said as he furrowed his brow. Anna looked to her roommates. They all shared different looks. Diana shrugged and nodded. Caroline shook her head no. 2 against 1.
  "We'll do it," Anna said finally. Chase clapped his hands.
  "Perfect, you're the best," he said and kissed Anna on the forehead. She smiled and watched her brother leave. She shut the door and turned to her roommates. They were grinning madly.
  "Alright," she said with a mischievous grin. "Let's go find what Chase is looking for."