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"This is not a required course, ladies You no longer have to be here" Mr Soloreen eyes bore into us, and at that moment Joe Solomon wasn't just our hottest teacher, he was also our scariest "Six of your classmates have already chosen a relatively safe life on the research and operations track of study If you can't ree you to join them"

He turned back to the board and continued writing "Your memory is your first and best weapon, ladies Learn to use it"

I sat there for a long ti that he was right Our memories are the only weapons we take with us no ht about the second part of his stateht about what I'd overheard the night before The look in , quiet ride home And finally…Josh And then I realized that s I could forget

Chapter Four

Su the "least-intrusive means possible" model of covert operations, The Operatives were able to ascertain the following:

According to soines, "black thorn" is a cous, but does not appear to be a code naovernment conspiracy theories

There are approximately 1,947 people in the United States na to the IRS, none of them have listed their profession as Spy, Spook, Ghoul, Assassin, Hitter, Pro, Freelancer, Black Bag Man (or wo through the door to the East Wing wasn't possible, because, despite rules had not passed beyond the prototype phase (Which also explained why he earing that eye patch)

A good thing about going to spy school is that you have genius friends with incredible abilities who are able to help you with any "special projects" that et into those "projects" Way into theot to be in here so onto hard wood as she dropped voluh the Centuries onto the library table

I looked around the quiet roo for so of wood in the fireplace and the sigh of a girl who, after spending every spareto lose faith in books (And Liz is the girl who actually slept with a copy of Advanced Encryption and You during finals week of our eighth grade year!)

Macey tossed aside The Chronicles of Chemical Warfare that lay on her lap "Maybe it's not in the library," Macey said, and I seriously thought Liz was going to hyperventilate or sos and asked, "So what does that osh! I can't believe we hadn't asked that question before--that sootten one of the basic rules of covert operations: everything nificant wasof all

"Do you kno current so has to be not to be in these books?" Liz asked, backing away, sounding slightly terrified and a little bit giddy She looked at the voluht explode (which is silly, since everyone knows the so-top-secret-they'll-explode-if-you-read-them-without-clearance books are stored in Sublevel Three)

"So black thornat me

"Classified," I finished "Really classified"

Spies keep secrets--it's e do So we sat in silence while the fire crackled and the truth washed over us: If Blackthorne was that Top Secret, then I was sure we'd never find it

"You know, Ca on an ordinary girl, but on a girl with Bex's special talents it's downright terrifying, "there is one place we haven't looked" She tapped a finger against her chin in a gesture that, even for Bex, was especially dramatic "Noho do we knoho has access to the headht and began stacking and restacking books "No No No I cannot spy on my mom!"

"Why not?" Bex asked as if I'd just told her I couldn't pull off wearing red lipstick (which, by the way, I can't)

"Because…she'sto hide the duh in my voice "And she's one of the CIA's very best operatives And…she's my mom!"

"Exactly! She would never suspect"--Bex paused for effect--"her own daughter" And then Bex, Liz, and Macey looked at me as if this were the best plan ever Which it wasn't At all Ihelped n a Trojan horse-type scenario to infiltrate a former Soviet nuclear missile silo that had been taken over by terrorists when I was seven And this was not a good plan!

"Bex!" I cried "I don't want to do this It--"

But before I could finish, the library door swung open and I heard Macey say, "Hello, Ms Morgan"

Even though I'd been sitting relatively still for forty-five minutes, my heart felt like I'd just run a uese translation of 101 Classic Covers and the Spies Who've Used The in the library on a sunny day like this?"

"COW extra credit," we all said, citing the cover story we'd agreed on before we left the room

But still,any rules I hadn't really told any lies (Mr Sned extra credit, after all) Technically, I hadn't broken"I'll see you tonight, Cam"

I felt Bex's eyes onto be spending the evening with my mother In her office What kind of operative would I be if I didn't take advantage of the situation?

But then I thought about hter I would be if I did

Things I've Done That I'an

One ti conditioner and refilled the bottle with