Only the Good Spy Young (Gallagher Girls) by Ally Carter

brought back after break, but this one, I knew, was true.
    “He was sixteen?” I watched Liz plug that number into some formula in her mind, then shake her head as if it didn’t compute. “No, he couldn’t have been bad. I mean he can’t be. He is... I mean, he was...”
    “Our age,” Macey finished for her.
    One of the downsides of going to a school where they teach you that you’re capable of anything is that eventually you start to believe it. But none of us had ever thought ourselves capable of that.
    “How does someone our age end up working for the Circle?” Macey asked in disbelief.
    “Blackthorne,” I said simply. “The Circle recruits at Blackthorne.”
    “Cammie, no,” Liz started, already knowing where my thoughts had gone. “Zach can’t be . . .”
    “But he might be. These are the facts: We know the Circle recruits at Blackthorne. We know Zach was in London. And D.C. And Boston. Zach knew the Circle wanted me before we even knew the Circle existed.” I looked down at my hands. “And we know Zach’s always been close to Mr. Solomon. They’ve both always known too much.”
    “Cam, no,” Macey ordered. “Stop it. Even if Mr. Solomon is a double agent or whatever, that doesn’t mean Zach is too.”
    “Bex’s mom said that having someone at the Gallagher Academy—having someone close to me—would be a high priority.” I laughed sadly. “And Zach got pretty close.”
    “Cam, that doesn’t mean anything.” Liz rushed toward me. “Maybe Mr. Solomon used to work for the Circle, but now—”
    “He’s the good guy?” I guessed.
    “Yeah,” Liz said.
    “Good guys don’t jump into rivers in the middle of winter to get away from the other good guys,” I answered. “Besides, I don’t think the Circle really offers early retirement.”
    “Okay, so Joe Solomon’s a traitor. . . .” Macey said as simply as if she’d said “So Joe Solomon looks good in turtlenecks.” “Do you really think he’d be stupid , too?” She stepped closer. “Think about it, Cammie. Why was Mr. Solomon there?”
    “He said I had to follow the pigeons.”
    “Follow the what?” Liz asked.
    “He was talking crazy, okay?” I took a deep breath. “One second he was telling me to run, and then . . . you know.”
    “So you’re saying that one of the CIA’s best undercover operatives—not to mention one of the most wanted men in the world—walked through an MI6 surveillance detail just to tell you to follow the pigeons?” Macey didn’t try to hide her disbelief.
    “Yeah,” I said. “He said he had to see me before I got back to school. And he said when I got back to school I had to fol low the pigeons .”
    “Tell me this, Cam.” Macey placed her arm around my shoulder. She seemed so much taller than me then. “Do you believe Mr. Solomon is working for the Circle?”
    “Abby and the Baxters say he is.”
    “What do you say?” Macey asked.
    “It’s true,” Bex answered for me, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. “My mum and dad have been taking me on missions since before I could walk. They’ve never lied to me before. They wouldn’t start lying to me about this.” She turned and looked right at me. “Abby would never lie to you about this.”
    Sometimes I hate it when my friends are right. Unfortunately, it happens a lot.
    “But, Bex, your parents weren’t there on election night,” Macey countered. “Abby was there, but she was half dead. Cam, you were drugged and practically knocked unconscious, so you won’t remember either—but I do.” She shivered a little.
    “I remember everything. Everyone was worried that night, but Mr. Solomon was terrified. He was as worried about you as your mother was.”
    “Mr. Solomon’s been working for the Circle since he was sixteen! He’s pretty good at faking things,” Bex challenged.
    Macey shook her head. “He wasn’t faking.”
    “You can’t know that,” Bex said.
    Macey laughed softly. “I know fake love when I see