Only The Goode Spy Forever

Chapter 86: Hot on The Trail

  ("Jesus replied, 'You do not understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.'" -John 13:7)

  Zach and I continued our search for Bree. Zach had thought like his mother (which he reminded me daily that he was not proud of) and lead us to Australia. The forests were so thick. We hardly covered any ground each day. We didn't even know if we were on the right path.
  I was in shorts, hiking boots, and a tight tank top. My hair was wrapped in a high pony. I had to admit that I was looking pretty cute. Sadly, I smelled of bug spray, which Zach did not find very attractive.
  He was searching in bushes. I rolled my eyes. "Don't you think they'd be in some building or something?" I asked Zach. I thought looking in the bushes was a stupid idea. All he was doing was cutting his hands on thorns.
  "Secret Passageways, Gallagher Girl. I thought you were familiar with them," he said. I still thought he was stupid, but I didn't say so. I jerked my head up and took a strong whiff of the air.
  "Do you smell that?" I asked. Zach eyed me.
  "Hate to break it to you, but it's hot out here. You're sweating. It's probably your arm pits," Zach said. I smacked his arm.
  "No! You really don't smell that? It smells like... corn dogs?" I said, recognizing the scent. Zach looked at me, biting back a smile and holding his breath. He must have given up because he burst out laughing.
  "You've actually gone crazy this time. It's a miracle you stayed sane for so long," he laughed. I glared at him.
  "I'm serious, Zach," I said.
  "You're just hungry," he said. He continued walking through the jungle until he stopped short. I hadn't been paying attention so I ran right into his back.
"Oof," I grunted. I glared at the frozen Zach. "Why did you-"
"Shh!" He hissed, cutting me off. My mouth dropped open.
"Well excuse me, that's no way to talk to me," I started.
"Gallagher Girl, I love you, but please shut up!" Zach persisted. I huffed, but stayed quiet. I listened. At first, I heard nothing. Then, I heard the faint sound of music. I closed my eyes and took it in.
I hummed the music until it got to the last line. I sang it quietly. "The knights rose up and killed the kings and it all burned down."
"Cammie," Zach started. He was looking at me with wide eyes. "Do you know what this means?" I thought for a minute. I realized that I really didn't know what it meant.
"That someone is playing that music?" I offered. Zach looked at me like I was stupid, which believe me, I'm not.
"In the middle of the jungle, Cammie? Yes, that's exactly what it means," he said sarcastically.
"Why would your mom play that music in the middle of the jungle?" I questioned back.
"Because she sings it to every poor soul that she traps. Maybe Bree is getting ready for a nap," Zach replied. His eyebrows were high on his face.
  The realization dawned on me and I spun on my heels. I barreled through the jungle. Zach was hot on my heels. I noticed how his hand clutched the gun tucked in his waist band. He had never been one to carry a gun. Getting shot had changed him.
  The music grew louder. Zach covered his ears. I saw a gap between 2 trees and darted into it. Zach cursed in Farsi as he realized the music was coming from a radio.
  "She knows we're close. She's trying to lead us away," he said. I nodded. I tried to turn down the music, but I accidentally turned it up. Zach shouted and crushed the music box. I couldn't blame him, his mother had been terrible to him.
  "But Zach, we're close. I think we just pin pointed a barrier for where Catherine's location has to be. We can do this. We're going to find her. Call Bex and Grant. We're going to need all the muscle we can get," I soothed.
  "I'll tell them to bring their twins. It's nice to have 2 new agents that we can trust in the field," Zach added. I nodded. If I'm being honest, I was scared. I wasn't sure that I could handle the power of the 4 Newman's. I was glad that Peyton wasn't going to join them. All 5 of them would truly be terrifying.
  "I'll call Macey and Preston. They're in Peru. Morgan and Matthew were searching in Afghanistan. I feel awful for Morgan. She blames herself," I said. Zach sighed.
  "Funny, because last time I checked you were the one blaming yourself," he said. I shrugged. He wasn't wrong. I was the one who let Bree come with us. Zach cut his eyes near the brush. "What's that?"
  I moved the brush and picked up the item he was talking about. I gasped. It was a black converse. The same converse that Bree had worn the day she was taken. She had been here. We were close. We would find her.
  "I'm calling my mom. We found something, Zach! We're going to bring her home."
"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. She's been with Catherine for a few months. We don't know who we're bringing back," Zach said calmly. Anger rushed through me and I tried not to slap him.
"You lived with her, Zach! For years! Your mom had me! Do you know who I am?" I snapped. "Bree is very important to your son. I thought you would care more." Zach looked like I had slapped him in the face. He was dumbfounded.
  "Cam that's not what I meant!" Zach protested. "Are you sure you're not hangry." I huffed and walked towards our tent.
  "Let's get some sleep. We've got a long day tomorrow," I said. Zach followed closely behind. Deep down I knew that Bree was right under my nose. I swore that I was going to bring her home.