#gallagher:plotdropa2

[gallagherhqs]

APRIL 30, 2021 5:15 AM

A grey sky looms during the early hours of Friday morning, sunrise hidden behind rain-filled clouds and a dewey fog misting through the orchards and gardens of Gallagher’s campus. This mid-spring ordinariness contrasts the day’s peculiarity as the infamous five Caledonia agents are herded back to the academy. Led by a small group of their underclassmen peers, the agents enter the office of President Laura Sutton a quarter after five in the morning. There’s no layer of ease despite the familiarity of being in a place most consider synonymous with home; instead, their movements are stiff as Cole Conner, Evangeline Astor, Cecilia Casiraghi, Christian Torres, and Carmichael Davis each take a seat, avoiding eye contact with the red-haired woman who sits before them.

They’ve already gotten a brief glimpse into the truth behind the nefarious mission of the Caledonia Institute — and President Sutton intends to confirm what might have sounded absurd only hours before. So she does just that. She runs them through the facts, divulging everything they need to know from government intel on Lanai Code, to the fact that she’s been aware of their presence as double agents since the moment they were enrolled. She does not spare time for questions, for she knows they need to move quickly to ensure the integrity of their next mission. Laura Sutton plans to take down Caledonia once and for all — and she expects the five double agents to do it with her.

“I am inviting you to join myself, the CIA, MI6, and a select group of exceptional third and fourth year students on a mission to expose the Caledonia Institute and its leader, Mr. Clancy Stewart. I hope that by offering this opportunity, it can allow you to feel some closure as you begin to exit this chapter of your life.” Her words are eloquent, carefully crafted yet brazen all at once. Though there’s a new wrinkle on her forehead from the past week alone, Laura Sutton has never wavered in her deliberate poise.

“Our flight will be departing for Oxford promptly at 6:00 a.m. this morning. If you do not choose to partake in this mission, I will be forced to work under the assumption that your loyalties still lie with Mr. Stewart and Caledonia, and you will be processed by CIA agents for the crimes you have committed against this academy and its students.”

She does not try to gauge if the expressions of the five weary agents in front of her are skeptical, instead letting a learned maternal instinct stir as blue eyes flutter past Cole Conner, in particular. Of course she sympathizes with the agents. They are not evil — but still nearly children. The redhead has been in this industry for far too long, and is no longer simple-minded enough to reduce the world to black and white. It’s as grey as the clouded sky outside her window, and even the best-trained spies were naive at some point in their life; whether by choice or because it’s what’s organic. She’s less calculated as she speaks, this time.

“I know this is a lot to digest, and I do not take pleasure in treating you like criminals. Mr. Stewart is manipulative. He’s trained to paint a portrait, and when you’re young, that’s enough. This error in judgement does not belittle the facts — you’re all brilliant young spies. But you’re also human.” Her tone is fervent, intentional, earnest. Though this notion is so simple, it’s easy to forget when you’re told you’re exceptional your whole life.

“What happens next is in your hands, and I trust that each of you will make the correct decision.” She does her best to offer a comforting expression, eyes filled with an understanding she hopes is mutual. “Now, try to get some rest and gather your belongings. I look forward to seeing you on the landing for takeoff. You are dismissed.”

One by one, the agents file out of President Sutton’s office. They cannot flee, they cannot run… and she doesn’t think they’ll try to, either. Perhaps this makes her a fool, but Laura Sutton knows to trust her intuition — it hasn’t failed her yet.

APRIL 30, 2021 5:45 AM

President Sutton isn’t one to act self-congratulatory, but she’s not particularly surprised to find the five Caledonia agents among the first few to arrive at the landing just off campus. Laura was not lacking in sincerity when she offered her empathy — but she didn’t play it lightly with her threats either. The CIA is involved, after all.

The remaining third and fourth year students make their way onto the jet well before 6:00 a.m. hits, and President Sutton does not waste anyone’s time with elaborate pleasantries or coffee hour. A seven hour flight is long, but she won’t spend it coddling students she’s confident are ready.

“Good morning, everyone. I want to thank you for your promptness in meeting here today. This weekend is going to be long; exciting, as you’ll gain unprecedented field experience that will most certainly accentuate your professional resumes — but it’s going to be arduous, too. Our flight offers time to rest and prepare, but do not take it for granted.”

She warned them — this mission was not created for the faint of heart, nor for those wavering in their confidence in spy techniques and strategies.

With that, President Sutton begins to run through the mission’s itinerary, detailing everything from the moment they’ll reach the UK and forward. The most integral information lies in each student’s role.

“We’ll be splitting into two groups for this mission. Half of you, Team A, will be targeting the institute’s top secret laboratory located in a small county in Wales, while the other half, Team B, will be infiltrating the Caledonia Institute in Oxford. We will stay in touch using camouflaged earpieces, and when each team has completed their tasks, you’ll send over a designated signal. The CIA and MI6 will then take over, raiding each location and making arrests as outlined in your mission documents.”

“Thomas Black, Elliot Chase, Andrew Leung, Fallon Sur, Christian Torres, Cole Conner, Regine Ren, and Levi Madden — the eight of you make up Team A. Your mission is to dismantle the laboratory’s security, find a way in, and locate hostages and key personnel.” President Sutton pauses, shuffling a small stack of papers in her grasp before continuing. “Faith Rush, Evangeline Astor, Aziza O’Connor, Maia Curfman, Carmichael Davis, Rafael Delgado, Cecilia Casiraghi, and Aidan Black — you will make up Team B. You will disguise yourselves as Caledonia students and track down additional personnel, while hacking the institute’s computer systems to search for specific files and private intel.”

“Each of you can find your individual tasks outlined in your file. I expect each team to sit together for the duration of the flight to coordinate as a unit.” Though it’s an unspoken warning, there’s an understanding that President Sutton expects her students to act cordially despite the dense tension filling even the smallest crevices of the plane.

When the clock finally strikes 6:00 a.m., the plane’s passengers are buckled into their seats as takeoff begins. Their ascension into the clouds is swift, and before they know it, their laptops are out, and preparations have begun. Naturally, none of the agents can manage slumber. Anxiety is high, and with President Sutton overseeing their actions in such close corners, there’s a real pressure to go above and beyond.

Regine Ren and Aziza O’Connor are tasked with hacking the laboratory and institute’s security systems, respectively. They tackle everything from cameras, to gate combinations, to necessary passcodes and identification. The advanced encryption duo works vigorously, transferring electronic badges necessary to move from room to room within each location’s building to the student’s smartphones.

At the same time, Evangeline Astor and Cecilia Casiraghi assist their team with studying blueprints of Caledonia, highlighting key spots on campus and conveying the do’s and dont’s of the average student’s habits. If they’re going to pull this off — they need to fit in. Everything from following dress code to knowing their way around the building must be in line, and what better way to learn than from students who have walked those halls a thousand times over?

While the four of them spend their seven hours getting to work, the rest of their teammates review their files, attempting to get in sync while still in the air.

For Team A, it’s outlined that Elliot Chase, Levi Madden, Fallon Sur, and Regine Ren comprise the team who will locate Caledonia's spy hostages, while Thomas Black, Andrew Leung, and Chrsitian Torres will track down principle scientists to bring into custody. As one of Caledonia’s most trusted prodigies, it’s only natural Cole Conner falls into the role of tracking down and confronting Mr. Stewart. He’s meant to lull the man into a false sense of security so he does not escape or notice anything is up. What President Sutton and the rest of Team A do not know is that Cole Conner has come prepared.

Perhaps it’s this year that’s turned him into a bit of a pessimist, or maybe it’s always been in his code. But he understands the heightened risk of confronting Mr. Stewart alone — Mr. Stewart, who felt so indecisive in his trust toward Cole Conner that he sent a secret double agent to keep tabs on the boy. Cole all but expects their confrontation to go south, and despite his intrinsic longing to never have to use it, he’s armed himself with a loaded gun as a precaution. The only thing he cannot come prepared with is certainty in his ability to pull the trigger if the time does come.

Donning Caledonia student uniforms, Team B’s tasks lightly resemble their peers’. Cecilia Casiraghi and Evangeline Astor are tasked with scanning students into the institute using their old Caledonia I.D. badges before joining Aidan Black and Rafael Delgado in tracking notable professors and students to bring into custody. Meanwhile, Maia Curfman, Aziza O’Connor and Faith Rush will distract security and bring the institute’s administration into custody. With regard to his familiarity of Caledonia’s computer systems and interface, Carmichael Davis will hack into the institute to search for files and intel necessary to build a case against Caledonia and its players, before it can be destroyed.

By the time the jet lands in Oxford, it’s 6:00 p.m. in the UK. Everything is squared away, and the students reach their hotels for a room service dinner and restless sleep — they’ll need as much as they can get.

MAY 1, 2021 7:00 AM — WALES, UK.

Saturday morning comes too fast, and it’s undoubtedly the chip on everyone’s shoulder as they rise from their bedsheets like zombies from tombstones. Each team boards a van and departs for their destination several hours after sunrise. Though there’s an ominous cloud shadowing over each student, it doesn’t stop them. It doesn’t inhibit their abilities. And everything goes perfectly according to plan.

Until it doesn’t.

That tension from before? It’s easy to ignore when there’s planning to be done, or when you’re too busy thinking about how President Sutton’s gaze may or may not land on your laptop while doing said planning. But things build, and for some of the students on this mission, animosity has been constructing itself for much longer than since the day Cole Conner confessed to his double agent secret identity.

For some, tension has been months in the making — poisoning a friendship that’s twenty four years too old and seemingly beyond its expiration date. And how can you work on a team with someone you can’t trust? How do you rely on them? How can you coexist with a person you can’t even look at?

At least, that’s the battle Thomas Black is facing, forged against one Christian Torres — one of the boy’s oldest best friends, and the current bane of his existence. Perhaps President Sutton should have considered her group assignments a bit more carefully, for it’s nearly impossible to act civilly with someone who’s been deceiving and making a fool of you for longer than you even want to fathom.

It started out alright — strictly business, nothing more. But somewhere along the way, Drew veered off down a hallway in an opposite direction, and the two men were left to themselves and their own devices. All it takes is the wrong breath, the wrong glance, the wrong word. They’re in a remote area of the laboratory, and even that’s easy to forget when you’re faced with the person who’s cut you the deepest. Christian’s acting much too poised for Tommy’s liking, perhaps overcompensating for the fact that he doesn’t want to push his old friend when this isn’t the time or place. But Tommy is already unhappy about having to work with the man, let alone listen to the overwhelming niceties when it’s evident there’s so much that’s wrong — and he snaps, a little bit.

“Do you understand how stupid I feel, knowing how long you’ve been lying to me?” Tommy’s words are coarse, but his voice conveys an ache he’s been working hard to avoid. It’s uncharacteristic of the boy to let his personal life bleed into his professional work like this, but between the leaked burn book, his father’s betrayal, and having to act as an anchor as he’s watched his brother unravel — well, the passivity isn’t helping, and it’s Tommy’s turn to let some of his frustration out.

“I’m sorry, Tommy. I had no choice.” It’s all Chrstian can offer right now, though it’s already too late. The word has lost its meaning. Tommy wants answers. Explanation. Something tangible.

“That’s a bloody cop out, mate — you aren’t sorry.”

“I never wanted to lie to you.”

“But you did, again, and you haven’t only hurt me this time.” Of course he thinks of Stella. Tommy’s intense feelings for the girl are no secret, and the thought of Christian being with her was already too much to wrap his head around, let alone watching him cause her more pain when she’s already dealing with so much. Perhaps it’d be useless if Christian had only been deceitful to Tommy, but that isn’t the case, and the thought only makes him grow more angry.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t do this right now,” Christian utters, and though Tommy’s too hurt to see it, Christian is trying his best. He feels bad for his friend — the last thing he wants is to argue with him. He doesn’t want Tommy to think he’s being dismissive, but the alternative of hashing things out while on a time-sensitive, high-risk mission is dangerous.

Tension has a funny way of manifesting itself anyway. Though never forgotten, it’s much too simple to ease yourself into a comfort of walking on bullet casings and tiptoeing around minefields. It disappears for a brief moment, until everything comes crashing down. Unfortunately for Tommy, his breaking point comes in the form of a punch to the jaw of his once best friend. But what’s even worse is that this altercation catches the attention of a Caledonia scientist rounding the corner. Between not recognizing the two foreign men, and witnessing the spectacle they’ve caused in a high-security location — the scientist is quick to recognize they’re trespassers, shouting for security and reaching for a buzzer on his badge to signal an alarm.

It’s pure luck that Drew happens to show up again just as the scientist is reaching for his badge, and Drew delivers a swift blow from behind, not allowing the man a chance to call for more backup than he already has.

“What’s going on here?” he questions, staring back at his teammates with furrowed brows. There’s no time to answer before three brutish, armed security guards rush over to the boys, menacing expressions on their faces as they charge the trio with intent to eliminate the threat they pose.

In this moment, Tommy’s only thankful he’s got Skylar Knight and Satomi Miyamoto on his roster of friendships, for they’d gifted him two knives prior to his flight only a day earlier — and though he didn’t expect the weapons to come into use, he’s grateful for it now as the group is in a predicament where they’re fiercely unarmed, in need of self defense, and about to risk wrecking the integrity of a mission whose purpose stretches beyond a mere course assignment.

The interaction is quick. The guards don’t register Christian as a threat, for he’s been injured too, so Tommy tosses the extra knife to Drew. The two men match the guards’ force before they have a chance to really hurt them, Tommy’s knife finding the gut of one of Mr. Stewart’s henchmen, and Drew’s meeting another guard’s side. Christian joins in with his own punch, and with a bit of roughhousing, the boys have soon got three unconscious bodies, bloodied up and making them all too aware of how rapidly their window to get the job done is closing. They must be quick from here forward.

Meeting back up with Elliot Chase, Levi Madden, Fallon Sur, and Regine Ren, it’s nearly a miracle as they learn of the group’s success in locating Caledonia’s hostages. As Cole Conner saunters back to the team, Elliot sends a signal to President Sutton, noting their work at the laboratory is complete. Except, the news Cole bears isn’t so favorable.

“Stewart wasn’t here,” he remarks, lips pressed into a thin line as he gets straight to the point. “His office was empty.”

Little does the team realize, the scientist wasn’t the only one with an alarm to sound, and one of the guards had a chance to silently trigger it before being taken out. This alert is sent to none other than Clancy Stewart, who warns both the laboratory and the institute that something is up, though he doesn’t know what. Mr. Stewart does not wait to find out either — secretly removing himself from his office at the laboratory and fleeing to an undisclosed location nearby.

MAY 1, 2021 7:00 AM — OXFORD, UK.

Meanwhile, at the Caledonia Institute, Team B is in its own predicament. Things go smoothly enough, Cecilia Casiraghi and Evangeline Astor mingling with students and chatting their way into the information they seek to obtain, while Maia Curfman, Aziza O’Connor, and Faith Rush seamlessly track down administration’s headquarters. The institution is not quite as vast as Gallagher, and when you’re used to an academy of that size and you’ve had a seven hour flight to study the corridors of Caledonia, locating an office is the least of your concerns. Their disguises aid them, and the fact that it’s a Saturday means it isn’t strange for the students to be wandering around campus instead of sitting idly in classes.

Trouble finds Aidan Black and Rafael Delgado, however, as news of the alert signaled from the laboratory reaches the institute. They stick out while snooping around a high-security lounge meant only for faculty, and it isn’t long before two guards realize the boys are involved in whatever stunt has unnerved Mr. Stewart enough to put Caledonia’s security team on high alert watch.

A larger guard tackles Rafael first, the blond-haired boy putting up a fight with a sharp blow to his gut. This throws Aidan off for a note too long, the second guard pinning him to the ground in his moment of surprise. None of it’s enough — they’re overpowered, the security guards dodging every punch and throwing back another ten times harder. Lacking proper sleep, and fearful having learned what Caledonia is capable of, the boys are spent. They’re rendered helpless, the guards placing them in handcuffs before beginning to escort them from the lounge.

You’d think the universe is bent in the favor of Gilly Gallagher herself, however, for the secluded hallway they enter isn’t quite as deserted as the guards believed it to be. Maia Curfman is there, having deviated from her group in an attempt to kill time and refrain from loitering. And Maia Curfman? She can recognize her boyfriend from the sound of his footsteps alone. Her heart grows heavy at the sight of him locked up, the thought of not knowing how badly injured he is rattling her. It’s this adrenaline that carries her footsteps, quiet and nimble as she sneaks up behind the guards. She catches the larger man by surprise with a punch to his temple. It’s a move she picked up from bootcamp — a promised way to knock someone out with just one punch, and even more advantageous when the person doesn’t see it coming. It’s easier to take out the guard holding Aidan from then on, a swift knee to the groin and a kick to his jaw to ensure he’s truly out cold.

Reaching for the set of keys from the guard’s belts, Maia frees the two boys from their handcuffs, wrapping Rafael in a hug with a hasty kiss to his cheek.They waste no time locating a nearby utility closet, shoving the men’s bodies inside. They steal their badges for good measure, locking the door with its electronic key behind them.

In one of Caledonia’s smaller computer labs, Carmichael Davis is fast at work. With Faith and Regine in tow to act as lookout, the blue-eyed boy settles into the comfort of a familiar office chair, fingers working fast at his keyboard as he works on his assignment of transferring classified files and intel to a small harddrive given to him by President Sutton.

It’s easy to work past Caledonia’s interface, for he’s spent time in it before. Carmichael is all too familiar with the software their systems run on, and it doesn’t take him long to track down the information he’s prowling for. On his way out, there’s one folder in particular that intrigues him. A folder filled with secrets of Gallagher’s student body, and an investigation on the Cecilgate tapes he’d exposed only months prior.

It’s almost comical, the way the world works, for today Carmichael sits in a position of empowerment — a chance to correct the wrongs he’s incited on a student body that’s felt more like home than any house he’s lived in. It’s a giant fuck you to Allister Davis and Mr. Stewart as he erases every trace of his peers’ darkest secrets, crimes, and infractions. Though these systems will soon be CIA and MI6 property, he can hardly trust a government agency to not take action against the misconduct detailed within these files — and he reckons he’s caused enough harm to Gallagher Academy. He may as well do its students one last favor. He’s out within a half hour, the three agents circling back with the rest of their team. There’s an air of distress as Aziza alerts President Sutton that something has gone awry, but the students assure her they’ll keep a low profile until the CIA and MI6 arrive as backup.

MAY 1, 2021 4:35 PM

Some say the world will end in fire. Some say in ice. Others might argue it’s better to hold with those who root for meddling young adults and their annoying abundance of determination. At least, this is what brings the end of Caledonia.

Only, there’s still one loose thread, and it’s perhaps the most integral of them all.

Clancy Stewart is nowhere to be found.

Frustration’s feeding everyone’s expressions at the thought of the man gone missing, but one student appears to be particularly quiet out of the group. Thoughts stirring, searching, strategizing — but only a mere moment passes before Carmichael Davis looks up, thick scottish accent stark against the quiet chatter of the students surrounding him.

“I can help.” It’s a simple phrase, and not everyone would understand the weight it holds as the words drop from the boy’s lips. He doesn’t elaborate just yet, retrieving his laptop, a notebook, and a pen from a messenger bag. He signs on swiftly, booting up some software. He’s been posing as Allister Davis for a whole school year — and now, Carmichael is going to hack him.

The thing about brothers is there’s no set standard of quality to match or aim for. You can hope to be there for each other, to offer friendly competition inspiring growth, or to stay out of each other’s business, acting as nothing more than an acquaintance you happen to live with. But it’s always been different, with the Davis twins. Allister is many things — an assassin, for starters. An antagonizer. He’s cruel. He’s never been a fundamentally good brother, nor person, and he’s following in Mr. Stewart’s steps in a way that frightens Carmichael.

Though it’ll be a final blow to a relationship that’s been unraveling for months, Carmichael does not second guess his decision to hack into his brother’s chatlog. His loyalties lie elsewhere, now, and his team — the double agents — are what motivates him as he plugs various codes and script he knows from memory. It only takes minutes before he has the information he needs, tearing a page from his notebook. He scribbles the address of Mr. Stewart’s failsafe apartment — a recent investment, and the perfect place to escape the walls of Caledonia.

“This is Mr. Stewart’s location,” Carmichael’s tone is confident, his hand holding up the strip of paper.

“How can you be certain?” an agent pipes up.

“Because I’m telling you I am,” he retorts, repeating himself again. His voice moves slower this time. More deliberate. “This is Mr. Stewart’s location.”

He passes the small tear of paper to Cole.

It’s all up to him, now.

MAY 1, 2021 6:00 PM

Cole tries not to think of anything as he walks quietly into the belly of the beast. This man knows him too well, and if he lets any piece of his betrayal slip into his mind, he’ll be able to read him. So he doesn’t think, not of the way he has no home left, not of the way he has one shot to end this, not of how he’s about to betray the man who had made himself Cole’s father as he alone slips in through the door and they meet eyes for the first time since last August.

The scene plays out in the span of a handful of minutes, though those few minutes change the lives of both men in the room.

The boy puts one finger to his lips as he continues to move quietly. Carefully, Cole removes the comms unit in his ear, tossing it gently onto the floor before crushing it beneath the sole of his shoe. He won’t be able to hear the progress from the rest of the mission, but it’s necessary, a display that they won’t be able to hear the two of them anymore either. A show of trust.

“You know they’re coming for you,” Cole says finally, his voice low. He pauses, an innocent hand outstretched to his director, his mentor, his father, who makes quick work of reading the gesture and the look in his prodigy’s eyes. “I’m here to help.”

After a tense second, Stewart believes him and takes his hand like he’s greeting his son with some form of wary hope in his eyes. There are quick words of explanation, even an embrace that Cole does his best not to flinch at, and for a foolish moment as he coaxes him to lead the way to the exit he thinks he’s succeeded in earning his trust for long enough to see this through. But after the wreckage of the past week, after being forced to violently rip away his past facade at Gallagher, maybe it’s not so easy to put another one up again.

The air shifts for just a second when Stewart realizes it, recalling data from the files Carmichael had cracked, that Gallagher preferred to issue a specific type of Kevlar vest with a built-in mic, and Cole is wearing it. They are not alone. And almost a beat later, feeling the energy in the room still to a single moment, Cole knows it too.

It’s survival for the older man who swiftly locks the door and pulls out a gun almost instantly, and it’s instinct for the younger boy who’s been trained to do the same in return.

Afterwards, all that Gallagher, the CIA and MI6 will get is the microphone feed and the recounting from the survivors, but it will be enough to piece together what happened.

“Cole, put down the gun.”

“You know that I can’t.”

“Son, they’re using you, you have to understand that.”

“Don’t call me that. And don’t pretend you’re not the one who’s been using me since the day we met.”

There’s more as Stewart tries to manipulate him and get him in his grasp again, relying on what’s always worked, until finally the mic hears loud and clear as Cole shouts, “Enough!”

A long pause. Somehow, through the recording, the change in demeanor is audible. It’s almost tangible the way Stewart’s voice loses that air of false paternal care, and takes on a low, precise malice — worlds different as he realizes the game is over.

“You’d turn so easily, hm? On the man who raised you? The man who made you who you are?”

He digs in further, sinking fangs into what he knows will hurt the boy most, into what words will break him. But as Cole protests, it only becomes more and more clear that he’s lost him, that the boy he’s raised to be his perfect prodigy has turned, and no amount of manipulation will remedy that. Desperation mixes into the anger in Stewart’s voice.

“I made you! Before me, you were nothing. Without me, you’re nothing, Cole.”

“Before you, I was human, and I finally feel like I might be again.”

Things happen in a matter of seconds that seem to stretch beyond their places in time.

There’s no more talking as the sound of bodies lunging for a fight begins. A shot rings out, and the mic picks up a cry from a younger voice, followed by a dulled thud, and the sounds of a continued struggle. The clatter of one gun falling and skidding across the floor. More struggle, scuffs and kicks, pained gasps for air.

Finally, there’s another shot and the sound of a knife clanging noisily onto the hard floor, then one last louder, heavier thud.

Several long moments pass, until Cole speaks into the silence, voice hoarse, weak, and wavering as his gun falls out his hands too.

“I… It’s over… He— ...He’s dead. ...I’m sorry.”

It’s not clear whether he’s apologizing to the rest of the mission team for failing to bring in Clancy Stewart alive, or if he’s apologizing to the man before him — rather, the body of the man who had for over a decade, been the closest thing Cole Conner has had to a father. The man who, through his adoption, through his mentorship, through his manipulation, had ruined his life. Dead.

The mic doesn’t pick up the way Cole has shattered, or the agonizing clawed hand he feels ripping through his chest, or the pain throughout every inch of his body and soul. He’s alone in these first quiet moments, thinking of the way every decision he’s made in the last two years has led him to this particular despair.

When a part of the team breaks through the door, they stand before the dead body of the very man who’d begun this all— the man they were after— and the boy who he’d raised as his son kneeling before him. Three weapons scattered on the ground. Blood pooling between them.

Among the team, Evangeline Astor falters for only a moment at the body of her old mentor, who she used to think she’d be able to win over, who had manipulated her just the same, but she couldn't see past the innate need to be seen, to be the best, to be better than the boy frozen in place next to him. Against everything she used to know, she moves towards Cole instead. Her medical training forces her eyes to scan over him, moving past the small, bleeding cut above his clavicle, zeroing into the gunshot wound on his leg, and immediately calls for aid.

She grabs at him, shaking him from his stupor, willing him to try to lean on her. She’s surveying the damage further, explaining that he’s likely nicked the femoral artery and he needs to wait for the med-evac team to help him out before he loses too much blood.

“No,” he protests weakly, the first word anyone hears of him outside of the recording, begging her to understand. “I have to… I have to walk out of here on my own two feet.”

If it had been anyone else, they would have denied him, but she understands. For so long, Eva had wanted to be the one to push him over the edge, to send him to his demise and stand in his place as a better version. There’s a part of her that’s seeing what that might look like now, with that look of horror on his face and blood staining his clothes. But instead of a push, she’s extending a hand to Cole after fastening a tourniquet onto his leg to slow the bleeding.

There’s a silent thank you, no time for real words as he strains to use his bad leg. He has to make it out, he has to see this through to that end, at least.

When finally he sees a familiar, grey sky, a part of him eases. Frayed adrenaline rushes away and all the shock and pain drowns him as he succumbs to his injury and trauma.

He collapses only steps outside of the last door, trying to breathe in the peace of remembering that through all the misery, if this is the end, at least he’s done some of the work to right his wrongs. It can’t be for nothing, and Cole hopes that the people he still loves forgive him.

It’s over.

MAY 3, 2021 6:30 AM — DEPARTING THE UK.

“Thank you for meeting with me one last time before our flight. I am sure all of you are looking forward to getting back home, but there are several matters we must take care of before I can let you board the plane,” President Sutton starts, a neutral expression painting her features. She doesn’t pause before jumping into it — certainly the agents are used to this by now.

“While I am impressed by the loyalty you showed with your participation in this weekend’s mission, it unfortunately does not erase the myriad of problems and distress caused at the academy. While Caledonia is being officially processed and investigated by both the CIA and MI6, you will have to stay at Gallagher Academy through the rest of the term.” Their involvement with the institution is grand, after all, and things are never as simple as saving the day and being let off the hook. The five double agents will not be charged or treated like criminals, but they must cooperate in taking the proper steps forward.

“That being said, when we arrive back in Roseville, I hope Gallagher does not feel like foreign territory. This is your school as much as it is anyone else’s, and if you’re still interested in pursuing a career in spyhood, you’re more than welcome to complete the remainder of your degree at Gallagher. Consider this a formal invitation.” Laura’s voice is sweet, and she offers a smile at the sentiment.

Even under the pretense of their Caledonia mission assignments, she’s certain each of them has found something within the walls of Gallagher’s campus worth staying for. There’s also the notion that she’s never quite wavered in her willingness to trust the five agents, and no matter what happens to her after this, she believes they front a legacy worth investing in. Five unique minds with unique experiences, and an undeniable talent for their craft.

“You should not have to worry about reception from your peers. You have all proven yourselves today, and forgiveness is inevitable for those who deserve it. As for any fears of being targeted, I can assure you our administration is dedicated to protecting all its students from any threat of danger or ill will. I hope you will consider this offer, and know I’m here as a resource in case you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter.”

There’s an understanding in the gaze of each agent, the redheaded woman being the first to turn away from the group as she boards the plane. Though there’s dark circles under her eyes and an ache in her legs from the long weekend, for the first time in the past two years, Laura Sutton is filled with hope. A new air of optimism courses through her, and she cannot merely harp on the past when there’s so much to look forward to. Despite everything, she feels encouraged having witnessed first-hand the promise her students hold.

All at once, Gallagher Academy is the past, present, and future of spyhood; and though there’s still work to be done, Laura is certain things have never looked brighter. It’s this comfort that allows her to feel closure with this chapter in her life. Now, she reckons it’s time to listen to the advice her wife has been trying to give her for the past four years — she’s done all she can for Gallagher Academy.

Laura Sutton deserves to rest.

MAY 10, 2021 8:00 AM

There’s a balance that’s been tried and tested these past two years, and with every ounce of good news has come the foreboding of something more melancholic. A sunny spring morning on the tenth of May follows this same testament, a week passed from the conclusion of the school’s Caledonia mission. As students rear themselves for their Monday classes, their inboxes are greeted with a bittersweet email from President Laura Sutton.

Dear students, faculty, and staff:

I want to congratulate our students who so diligently completed the two-part Caledonia mission early last week. This is a triumph not only for our beloved Gallagher Academy, but for this industry and spyhood as a whole. The influence of your work does not go unnoticed, and I feel at ease knowing our future is in the hands of such sharp, young minds.

While I am sure many of you were taken by surprise in learning about the five Caledonia agents, I want to underscore the integral role they played in completing last week’s mission. Without their fervency, we may not have seen the success we’re grateful for today. Whether in their efforts to free agents held hostage by Caledonia, or in exposing Clancy Stewart after he fled his people and his institute — these five students stepped up and showed their true colors with respect to our code.

It is worth noting these students are still enrolled at Gallagher Academy through the rest of the academic term, and administration will not tolerate any bullying or threats pointed in their direction. The Gallagher community is one I strongly believe in, and I hope we can welcome these students with empathy and ease.

With that, I have mixed emotions as I write to share my decision to retire at the close of the 2020-21 academic year. After fourteen years of dedicated service to this academy leading an upheaval of its roots, mission, and values, I feel confident in the legacy I’m leaving behind in all of you.

Through every hardship and every tragedy, you have found a way to come out on the other end. To turn it into a learning experience with the understanding that while this industry is tough, it is not hopeless. You’ve worn our school’s emblem with pride, and have committed yourselves as true Gallagher scholars should.

In history, a Gallagher Girl was said to be guided by the motto, “Learn her skills, honor her sword, keep her secrets.” Though dating back to the days when Gillian Gallagher once walked these halls, you have not let this spirit die. You have carried this saying in the way Gillian intended her students to, and I have no doubt you will graduate into a world of opportunities with this same dedication as generations before you have.

Serving as your president has been the most rewarding experience of my lifetime. I will forever hold this academy close to my heart, and will feel proud when reflecting on our achievements as a community. This is just the beginning of a new start for our campus, and I know my successor will continue to support each one of you — with fresh ideas and a strategic plan allowing the academy to maintain its prestige.

Thank you for this journey. I look forward to finishing this term with all of you at my side.

United we spy.

Sincerely,

Laura Sutton Gallagher Academy President

OOC NOTES: we want to give a special thanks to strud for writing cole’s excerpt!! everyone is now free to react to this week’s string of plot drops with ic threads and paras. for anyone who had a muse attend the second mission, please dm us to let us know if you’d like your character to be injured — anyone from the second mission is free to do this, we just want to keep track. thank you so much!!!

[gallagherhqs]

“Attention students: Classes are canceled for the day. Please report to the auditorium for an assembly with President Laura Sutton at noon.”

APRIL 26, 2021 12:00 PM 

It’s been nearly a week since President Sutton’s been on campus — the longest she’s been away from the school in years — and the sight of the entire student body piled into the auditorium should provide her with comfort, make her feel at home. But there’s no ignoring the tension in the air, how lately school assemblies have only taken place after tragedies. She knows her students are angry, and wary, and (if the double agent breakout had taught her anything) are getting more rebellious by the day, but she’d rather have all of that than seeing them scared, or hurt, or mourning. There’s a file waiting for her at the podium, and Laura fidgets with it while she waits for the students to settle down.

“Good morning students.” Hundreds of pairs of eyes blink back at her, unimpressed. “I apologize for my absence over the past few days, during a particularly hard time for Gallagher. I’m grateful for Provost Weber and all she’s done in my absence, regarding the double agent security breach.” Other Gallagher administrators hang on the far left of the stage while President Sutton gives her speech. Notably absent is the Provost in mention, too busy packing up her office. 

Picking up a remote, President Sutton clicks a button, and on the board behind her, the faces of Cole Conner, Evangeline Astor, Carmichael Davis, Cecilia Casiraghi and Christian Torres stare back at the crowd. “As all of you may know, five former Gallagher students were confirmed to have been working for a foreign espionage agency, the Caledonia Institute. Cole Conner had been enrolled since fall of 2019, a third year transfer from the Caledonia Institute for Young People. In the fall of 2020, Cecilia Casiraghi, Christian Torres, and Carmichael Davis — undercover as his brother, Allister Davis — enrolled as first years, while Evangeline Astor enrolled as a third year transfer from Ellingham Institute. We’ve learned that all five students have previously studied at the Caledonia Institute, a small spy university in Oxford, England.” Sutton clicks the next slide, showing an overview of the campus. 

“On the surface, Caledonia appears to be very similar to Gallagher, only smaller, and less well known in the community. However, our intel has gathered that Caledonia is more than just a university: students are recruited, some as young as children, often tempted with visions of grandeur and much needed acceptance or recognition. There they spend several years training at the university, and once they’re deemed successful enough, they’re put onto Caledonia’s roster of agents. The five spies sent to Gallagher had all undergone years of training to be here. As I suppose you’ve all gathered, they weren’t here to train alongside the best and brightest,” Laura offers the crowd a thin smile. “They were sent here to learn about Gallagher’s culture and students. The computer security breach we detected back in March had been the work of one of these agents, Carmichael Davis, looking to access files on our students, faculty, and alumni. They had been successful,” Laura pauses for a moment, “but we had been anticipating a cyber attack for weeks, so we were able to block them from finding anything too severe — for example, the names and locations of Gallagher and Blackthorne’s alumnus.

“The most recent stunt of information being passed around by a gossip website, too, had been part of their doing. When turning himself in, Cole Conner had confessed to collecting and logging information on the student body during his time at Gallagher, digging into their personal information.” President Sutton has to pause for a moment, not realizing how tightly she’s clutching the remote in her hand. Somewhere in this auditorium, her youngest daughter’s sorrowful eyes stare back at her, and it hurts her heart to think about it. “We also believe they were on campus to recruit Gallagher students to the Caledonia Institute. One of the agents, Cecilia Casiraghi, had been turned in by one of your classmates after attempting to recruit them to Caledonia.”

Laura Sutton leans forward into the podium. When she had taken the position as President fourteen years ago, Gallagher Academy and Blackthorne Institute had been going through a blight, struggling with their finances and enrollment. It had been President Sutton herself who had built Gallagher up to where it is today, whereas Blackthorne was never given that push, eventually having to close down and combine the student body with Gallagher in the fall of 2019. The schools combining, however, had brought with it a slew of problems that no President would have been able to make sense of, and Laura knows it. It’s been a long fourteen years, but nothing has weighed as heavily on her shoulders as this moment right now. A few years ago, President Sutton may not have been known for being as stoic and serious as her reputation has preceded her, but there’s no denying the severity in her next words — a good thing, because she wants her students to know that she hears their year-long complaints.

“I’m aware the events of last year and this year have taken a toll on everyone here, myself included. First the Brotherhood infiltrated our halls, and now this. But I urge you to remember that these double agents had just been following their orders, like all of you will do in your future spy careers, and are very likely unaware of how much of a threat they hold. This is just an example of how working with the wrong agency or team can have very dire consequences. But remember, they are not our enemies.” From her spot on stage, she can hear a soft murmur take over the audience, no doubt from disbelief. 

If the double agents aren’t their enemies, then who are?

With another click, a man’s face appears on the screen behind President Sutton, so large that he appears to be looming down at everyone. “Clancy Stewart. Director of Caledonia. He’s the person behind the orders for the double agents to come to Gallagher, as well as a key player in a CIA operation known as Lanai Code — the investigation of Caledonia,” she tells the crowd. “For a long time, the CIA had reasons to believe that Caledonia was behind numerous agents going missing from unrelated assignments until presumed dead, but it wasn’t until recently that they’ve been able to confirm the connection. This man,” her eyes flicker up to the screen, “along with the rest of administrators at the Caledonia Institute, are responsible for the kidnapping and hostaging of at least nine known agents. We’ve also recently learned that they have been experimenting with drugs, working on a range of medicines to grant heightened senses and skill sets. They’ve been testing on their hostages,” she adds quietly, looking back at her students. 

“For those of you who are serious about a future in the spy field, it’s atrocities like these you’ll see every day. But rest assured, the CIA and Gallagher faculty members such as myself are doing all we can to bring the Caledonia Institute down for good. When Carmichael Davis had hacked into our system and sent what he found back to his superiors, we were able to intercept the coordinates of their location. The Caledonia Institute resides in Oxford, but the brunt of their organization — including where they keep their hostages, their laboratories, computer systems — reside in a small county in Wales, about a hundred and fifty miles east. I’ve been in London for the past week, working with MI6 and the CIA on a plan to bring Mr. Stewart into custody. Over the next few days, Caledonia will be infiltrated and taken down.

“It’s in our Code at Gallagher to expect the unexpected, which has been quite practiced in the past two years,” she flashes the student body a tired smile. “But our misfortune can also be an indispensable learning opportunity for those serious about their spy career. Classes will be canceled this week in lieu of everything, as we prepare for two related missions, one for underclassmen, and one for upperclassmen. The underclassmen will be assisting Gallagher faculty with locating the five double agents, because it seems a few students had helped them escape last night.” More chatter from the crowd, but President Sutton talks right over it. “Upperclassman will have the opportunity to fly with myself and other Gallagher faculty to the UK to work alongside the CIA and MI6 to take down Caledonia. If you’re interested in either mission, there will be a sign-up sheet outside the auditorium following this assembly. We will be selecting students based on interest and merit. 

“These are a little different from missions we’ve assigned in the past, so please keep in mind they are not for the faint of heart, or those who don’t feel completely confident in the field yet. I believe in the skills and strength of all of you, and I thank you for how understanding and flexible you’ve been through these hard times.” The smile on President Sutton’s lips is wistful, and were anybody close enough, they’d see a trace of sadness in her blue eyes. Behind her, Clancy Stewart’s face still menaces over the students, even as they pile out of the auditorium.

APRIL 26, 2021 10:12 AM 

Bea sat in the library, her nose buried in her Intro to Psych textbook as she prepared for a test she had the next day. The table in front of her was littered with loose sheets of notes, all covered in highlighter, and sticky from the sour candy she’d been eating all morning. This was the kind of thing she was good at: school, studying, tests. She never seemed to mind them as much as some of her peers, but anxiety still got the better of her sometimes, so she sat there clicking the back of her pen incessantly as she read information she already knew over and over again. 

She was so focused that she didn’t hear her name the first time it was called, but the second time it registered as she looked up to see President Sutton’s secretary standing beside her. “Beatrice Fitzsimmons?” the woman asked. Bea just nodded, suddenly too scared to speak. “President Sutton would like to see you in her office. Please gather your things and come with me.” Bea stood up and hastily shoved everything into her school bag before following the woman out of the library. 

Each step they took down the hall seemed to echo throughout the empty corridors as Bea tried to think over everything she’d done wrong, first in this past semester, and then in all her time at Gallagher, until finally she was trying to analyze every mistake she’d ever made. The only thing that made sense to her was something to do with hacking, but nothing she had done even came close to the video leak or the Burn Book. Maybe she shouldn’t have hacked government agencies using school computers, but she was certain that other students were doing that as well and she wasn’t sure why the school would suddenly have a problem with it now. It didn’t make sense and the buildup was excruciating. Her palms were sweaty and her stomach seemed to sink lower as her heart beat faster and faster. Bea was trying to gauge just how much trouble she was in by studying the face of the woman walking beside her, but her face was completely devoid of emotion. 

“Is everything alright?” Bea finally asked, her voice quiet and shaky. The woman looked at her as though this question was confusing and then continued walking. 

“Yes, Ms. Fitzsimmons. Everything is fine.” It wasn’t particularly convincing. She tried to walk more slowly, delaying the inevitable, but being tall had cursed her with long limbs and it was impossible to slow her pace without drawing attention to herself. Everything is fine, Bea began to repeat in her head. Everything is fine. Everything is fine. She hoped that if she said it enough times she would believe it, but it hadn’t started working by the time they reached the door to Sutton’s office. Bea had never been inside before and had no desire to change that. The woman stepped aside, finally offering Bea a smile. “You can go in now.” Bea just stared at her, hoping she would see the fear in her eyes and take pity on her, but the woman just gestured for her to go inside. 

Bea pulled the door open, looking to the spot behind the desk where the president would sit. She was preparing herself for the look in Sutton’s eyes — anger or maybe disappointment — but the chair was empty. The only other person in the room was sitting on the other side of the desk, facing away from the door. The glimmers of silver in her hair were new, but Bea would recognize the back of her head anywhere. Bea's head began to spin and she put her hand on the bookshelf beside her to steady herself but when the woman in the chair turned around she forgot how to breathe. The woman smiled, a smile Bea had seen thousands of times. A smile that felt like home. The woman seemed older than Bea recalled, as though the past couple of years had etched their way onto her face, but she was even more beautiful than Bea had remembered. Tears sprung from her eyes and began streaming down her face and the woman jumped up, rushing over to embrace Bea. “It’s okay, Bird, I'm right here,” she murmured. 

Bea was too shocked to speak, but as her head fell onto the woman’s shoulder she managed to utter one word: “Mum,” she cried, collapsing into the arms of her mother. 

Marama brought Bea over to a chair and helped her sit down, squeezing her hands as she sat in the chair beside her. It was hard for Bea to see through her tears, but she didn’t want to look away. She hadn’t seen her mother since Christmas of 2018, hadn’t held her hands, hadn’t smelled her perfume — the scent of orchids and linen and unconditional love. She took a deep, ragged breath in an attempt to calm herself but it did little to slow her tears. Her mother reached out to brush them off her cheek; she’d spent the past two years wishing she could be there to comfort her daughter and she worried that no amount of support and affection could make up for that, but this seemed like a start. Marama pulled her in for a hug and Bea rested her head on her shoulder, staying like that for a while. “It’s okay, sweetie. Everything is going to be okay,” she hummed into her ear. Bea wasn’t sure if she believed her, but hearing her mother’s voice and feeling the warmth of her skin was enough to slow her tears and steady her breathing.

“What happened? Where have you been?” Bea asked.

“Well, I’ve been working for the CIA—”

“That’s not possible,” Bea balked, pulling away to look at her mother. Her primary reason for coming to Gallagher had been to get access to the best computers she could get her hands on and to become a better hacker. She'd lost a lot of hope and hadn’t been searching in the past few months, but in her first year and a half at Gallagher she’d been looking constantly in any place she could possibly think of — including the CIA.

“Of course it’s possible, I’ve been working there for a long time—”

“No, no. I looked there, I looked through thousands of personnel files, I wrote programs to flag your name—”

“You hacked into the CIA?” Her tone was more frustrated than angry but Marama couldn’t hide her concern for her daughter.

“Everybody does it!”

“Conformity isn’t a good reason to break the law.”

“I was looking for you, I think that’s a pretty good reason. I don’t understand what I did, I don't understand how I missed this.You just can’t have been there.”

“I’m sorry, Bea. I'm grateful that you tried to look for me, but it’s my understanding that they expunged their digital records of me before I left. I think they must have a physical copy somewhere, but there’s nothing you could’ve hacked into. And even if you’d found me, there’s nothing you could’ve done.” Bea didn’t care, she knew there must be a trace of her that she’d missed and she’d been beating herself up for this for months. Maybe she wasn’t as good at this as she thought she was, but there was nothing she could do about it now. “They sent me to Oxford to get intel on a school, Caledonia—”

“That’s the one that sent the double agents?”

“Yes, that’s the one. My mission went south and I was captured. I was imprisoned there for over a year and a half.”

“That’s awful.”

“Well, yes. But now I'm here with you and I couldn't be happier.” Marama squeezed Bea’s hands and smiled nervously. There was one more piece of information she knew she needed to share but it wasn’t something she ever wanted to have to tell her daughter.

“What’s wrong?”

“I feel like I need to tell you that they had procured a handful of drugs they believed could enhance someone’s physical and mental capacity, and they tested that theory on their prisoners.”

“You were tested on?” Bea felt her stomach twisting in knots and some of the relief she had felt knowing her mother was home safe seemed to disappear.

“Yes, but I’m fine now. I was rescued by Gallagher agents and brought here. They've been monitoring me downstairs to make sure there were no long term effects. I’m fine, I promise.”

“You’ve been where?” Suddenly Bea was filled with anger and the sting of betrayal. Her eyes welled with tears again as she tried to process the thought that while she’d been grieving her mother, they had been under the same roof.

“In the sublevels, Bird, since December. I’m so sorry, I wish I could’ve contacted you sooner—”

“So why didn’t you?”

“It wasn’t safe. No one could know I was here, they wouldn’t have been able to protect me if the wrong people found out where I was. It killed me to not be able to talk to you, but it would’ve put you, us, in danger,” Marama explained. That made sense to Bea and she nodded. She didn’t like it, but she understood that this was much bigger than herself. “But Laura Sutton has kept me updated on you. I’ve heard about how well you’re doing in school—”

“None of that matters, none of that tells you how I’ve really been doing, and I’ve been doing terribly. I’ve been grieving you for two years and it has been miserable.” Her face crumpled, heavy with the weight of two years of pain.

“I’m so sorry, honey. I can’t begin to explain how much I've missed you, how much I've wanted to come home to you. I've thought of you every moment of every day. Nothing has been more important to me than getting home to you.”

“You don’t need to be sorry, I know this isn’t your fault. I’m just so glad to see you.” Bea hugged her mother again, squeezing her tightly. Her mother’s disappearance had left a large wound that would take some time to heal, but the anger, sadness, and confusion she felt was nothing compared to the joy of being in her mother’s arms. “I love you,” she whispered. 

“I love you too, Bird. we’re gonna be okay.” This time Bea did believe her and a smile spread across her face. For the first time in what felt like forever, they were going to be okay. 

MISSION ASSIGNMENTS:

Valeria Sutton, Parker Brandt, Skylar Knight, Martina Washington and Thalia Hall have been assigned to accompany Gallagher faculty on a mission to locate and retrieve Gallagher’s Caledonia double agents and bring them back to Gallagher’s campus.

Faith Rush, Thomas Black, Fallon Sur, Elliot Chase, Rafael Delgado, Levi Madden, Aziza O’Connor, Maia Curfman, Drew Leung, Aidan Black, and Regine Ren have been assigned to accompany President Laura Sutton and Gallagher faculty to Oxford, England on a mission to take down the Caledonia Institute.

[gallagherhqs]

APRIL 26, 2021 6:36 AM

President Laura Sutton is tired. It had been a long flight back, in a helicopter too small to be comfortable, unable to sleep without thinking about the shitstorm that awaits her back at Gallagher. It’s too early for any students to be around campus yet, and she’s accompanied by nothing but the sound of her heels clicking against the marble floors as Laura makes her way to the sublevel. She’s annoyed at the way things have been handled while she’s been gone, and she’s far too tired to mask it when Provost Angelina Weber steps in front of the elevator, blocking her path. 

Because of President Sutton’s mission, she’s had only minimal communication with Gallagher and Angelina, but she’s been able to piece enough together to know what had happened: Angelina had taken the opportunity while Laura was away to ignore her orders and continue her personal investigation on the Burn Book, leading her to Owen Musa, and then Cole Conner. She had disobeyed strict orders Laura had left for her, and now Project Lanai Code has been compromised. 

The sublevels had been Laura’s first stop as soon as she arrived on campus, not even bothering to stop and drop her things off in her office, or to check on her heartbroken daughter. So Angelina standing in her way makes Laura’s jaw set. 

“What is it?” Laura hasn’t had nearly enough sleep to attempt pleasantries, and she can tell by the way the woman in front of her hesitates that something’s wrong.

This school year, Angelina Weber had been incredibly vocal about the changes she believed needed to take place at Gallagher, how she didn’t think President Sutton was making the right decisions for the university and its students. It’s why Laura hadn’t informed her on Lanai Code, or about there being double agents under Gallagher’s roof when she had first learned of it nearly a year ago. And it’s because it’s so uncharacteristic of Angelina to have nothing to say that Laura can feel the hairs on the back of her neck rise. 

“The double agents are gone.” 

Laura Sutton’s cell phone drops out of her hand. It’s not even seven in the morning on a Monday morning, and already somebody’s going to be getting fired.

APRIL 26, 2021 2:00 AM

It was Owen who had organized them all together. 

Emir Yilmaz, Nico Casiraghi, Tilly Longfellow and Ting Zhao are four very different Gallagher students, with only one shared interest: the spies locked in Gallagher’s sublevel, waiting for President Sutton to arrive back on campus and be dealt with. Most of Gallagher viewed the spies who were behind the Burn Book and leaked footage of Cecil Lefebvre’s last hours as enemies to their school and peers, but if Owen was going to figure out a way to help them escape, he couldn’t do it alone.

The team is created only after almost two days of the double agents being imprisoned, when it’s clear that President Sutton won’t be returning for at least a few more days. Unfortunately, time still isn’t a luxury they can afford, and have to act fast. 

Owen is the recruiter of this operation, but the plan is a joint decision between the five of them. Still, Owen offers himself to do arguably the most risky move, and if it has anything to do with the scene he and Cole Conner had displayed in the halls of Berkshire floor on Wednesday night, nobody asks. To use the sublevel elevator, they’ll need faculty access, and it’d be far too obvious for Tilly Longfellow to steal her mother’s badge for the occasion. So Owen swipes a badge from an unsuspecting Gallagher professor right before they leave the campus that Friday evening, who thankfully won’t even notice it’s gone until they try to get into the building come Monday.

On Tuesday afternoon, during the time most security guards take their lunch break, Tilly Longfellow and Nico Casiraghi break into the security office. Tilly plays the eyes and ears (and distraction, one with Level 5 clearance, which could be in handy) while Nico sets a timer to temporarily disable the security cameras from 2:00am to 2:20am that night, replacing it with looped footage from the night before. Despite not being an encryption student, it’s all too easy for Nico to find his way around the computer system -- and the similarities between this mission and the Gallagher sanctioned DC mission he had assisted with a few months ago certainly doesn’t hurt. 

Rumors had been circulating earlier that day that President Sutton would be returning from her trip the following morning, so there’s a weight on all their shoulders when the team of five meet at the entrance of the sublevel early Monday morning, aware they only have one shot at this. Video surveillance Nico had found while in the security office had warned them that there’d be two guards stationed below in the sublevel, so they send Emir Yilmaz and Ting Zhao in first. The air is thick with anxiety and tension as the others wait for their signal, and Nico can’t stop checking his watch, watching time tick away. Every second feels too long, but only a few minutes pass before they’re given the signal. Nico, Tilly and Owen step over the bodies of the guards  (breathing, but won’t be happy when they wake up) as they make their way deeper into the sublevel.

Helping himself to a knocked out guard’s badge, Owen opens the electronic metal door to the double agent’s single cell. The Caledonia students are groggy from being woken up to the sound of combat, but the sight of that door opening is more joy than they’ve felt in days. Unfortunately there’s no time for more than quick pleasantries between the groups, because the clock is still ticking -- and, well, the Gallagher students don’t have a plan beyond getting that cell door open. 

But who would Cole Conner be if he didn’t have a plan cooking already? Dating the President’s daughter may have been a drawback when his cover was blown and half the school had come to chew him out, but there had been plenty of advantages as well --- for instance, learning all the secret passageways around campus.

 And it’s through those secret passageways that the Caledonia agents go, but not without heartfelt goodbyes to perhaps the only allies they’ve made and kept during their time at Gallagher. Cole leads his four other teammates through the Gallagher passageway that is said to lead them two miles off campus, where they’ll only have a few hours to devise their next plan, before President Laura Sutton finds out about their disappearance.

[gallagherhqs]

Several moments flash through Cole Conner’s mind on repeat from where he sits, face in his hands as fingers curl into dirty blond locks, a long, rugged sigh falling off of tired lips. They dance in his memory, never fading despite shutting his eyes tight.

Cold London air in his lungs with the view of the beach before him; the sight of a scarlet dress and like-colored hair framing Val’s face as she stood on a stone balcony; sore hands and bloody knuckles after training in Oxford, proving his place as prodigy; the look on Owen’s otherwise kind face when he’d finally broken his trust; the way scenes around Gallagher always felt out of place to him, not quite home as much as he’s wanted it to be; the feel of Mary’s arm in his as they walked the streets of Berlin.

There’s a barely contained panic buzzing underneath the surface of his skin, and while outwardly, he feels like his whole body is on fire, inside he feels some odd sense of peace… Maybe it’s because he’s felt this awful turmoil for the better part of two years, and felt it slowly and surely rise with each new disaster thrown his way until he’d found himself drowning. That terrible, unnerving, claustrophobic panic had become a part of him somehow, had become so familiar that as it kicks into overdrive now, it feels right. It feels like he was always meant to end up this way. What was it he had told Val only a handful of months ago, Virginian winter air breezing past them as midnight struck on Gallagher’s soft green grounds?

Inevitable.

         April 21st, 2021: 7:02. P.M.

Cole can feel something stirring in him that day. He feels like he’s supposed to do something, supposed to try and pry part of this encompassing sadness off of him for once. He can’t keep living like this, can’t keep walking through his days just praying that each midnight would somehow bring him enough of a reset to allow air into his lungs again. The act is too much, the pressure seeming to cave in on all sides.

He knows, at least, that seeing Val and Mary soon will bring him some relief, that their accepting friendship and earnest love do some sort of magic to him that he doesn’t deserve, but will breathe in for as long as they’ll allow him. It feels strange to think it— strange to know it— that they are the reason he’s able to keep going.

Just as he’s about to leave his dorm to meet them, another face walks in, and he’s reminded that he still has so much to fix as Owen makes his way to his side of the room. It’s not lost on him that the two still don’t greet each other— in fact it kills him every time. It kills him, too, that he can tell they both want to try, and never do.

He has to fix this, he has to find a way to make it right again, even if it means lying to him again. Cole’s supposed to be trained for this, he’s sure he can figure out a story tidy enough for his friend, especially if he swallows his guilt and uses the skills he was taught to truly make him believe it. He has to, it has to be better than this. Maybe he can live with more lies if it helps to fix that sadness around his heart.

But as soon as he opens his mouth, he gets whatever new lie he might have molded ripped away from him.

Hard, fast knocks sound on the door of their dorm room, and the two boys exchange a look for only a moment before faculty open the door and storm in.

In a fateful second, Cole feels dread wash over him as quickly as the break of a bone, feels the familiar sense of danger rise in his being. This is it, it’s over. Find a new lie. Adapt, overcome, do everything you were taught to do for this moment.

But as much as spies can try to train and drill and prepare, they know some things will never happen the way you plan them to. Cole realizes just that in the next second, as the faculty don’t move toward him, but Owen, and everything he’d planned for, everything he feels goes out the window, replaced by a cold shock.

“What’s going on?” he breathes, asking the question at the same time Owen does, who has every right to be confused— he’s not the one who’s spent countless nights wondering how this exact situation might play out, he’s not the one who’s been lying to everyone for nearly two years.

One of the two faculty members— both of whom Cole is too confused to even recollect names for— only spares the blond a sideways glance before turning back to Owen and explaining themselves.

“Owen Musa, we have reason to believe you are behind the recent leak of confidential student and alumni histories.”

This can’t be happening.

Things move so fast, too fast for Cole to really understand as another piece of the world seems to fall out from under him, and the faculty explain in voices that seem too far away that they’d traced some part of the leak back to this dorm room, that Owen’s name being missing from the leak only further proved his involvement.

“Wait— You can’t— Wait!” Cole starts, obviously frantic, trying to keep them in the room. “Where is President Sutton?” She should be here for this, he thinks, he might be able to convince her, he hopes.

“Off campus,” comes the gruff response, pushing past his and Owen’s protests, seeming to fall on deaf ears.

Panic rises in his chest, and he tries so desperately to come up with a plan, with some sort of ruse or trick that can solve this, but even as his mind runs a mile a minute through scenario after scenario, the feeling prevails that the list of right things to do is very short. Is there a lie that keeps both boys in the room? Can he save himself if it leaves Owen to pay for him? Maybe it’s all caught up to him now, and maybe Cole’s been pushed too close to his breaking point— enough to let it happen and watch, let every piece of the mirage come crashing down, see how it feels to really lose.

“Stop! Stop—” Cole starts, his voice hoarse as he rushes to put himself in front of the open door, refusing to let anyone move an inch further. A clarity falls over him, clarity he feels like he hasn’t had in years.

He’s only peripherally aware of the way the commotion has caused students to stir from the common-room and their dorms, crowding in the hallway. What does it matter now? Cole knows there is no going back from this moment, there is no stopping what he has to do. He only wishes he had more time to fix it, that he could have planned a better way to do this. He has just a brief moment to think about the way his team is going to kill him, or the way he has other people in his heart he never wanted to betray. Too late.

“It’s not him. It’s me. I’m the double.”

It’s hard to focus on any one thing— not the look on Owen’s face, not the attempts of the faculty to work through this and believe him, not the quick whispers behind him of those who’ve gathered in the hallway of the Berkshire floor, not the hollow feeling of letting go of the only thing he’s really, truly had since stepping in this school. It’s over.

However, the faculty don’t even get a chance to process it before Owen speaks up again and, to the surprise of everyone, says, “He’s lying… He’s lying— he’s covering for me, it’s not him.”

That does the job of pulling Cole’s focus, and his gaze instantly lands on the other boy, eyes searching his to know just what the hell he must be thinking, head shaking just slightly.

The grips on Owen’s arms loosens slightly, but he doesn’t give it up, no matter how much Cole looks at him with bewilderment and pleads with his eyes to stop, until finally he has to say something just to try to understand.

“What are you doing?” Cole directs to him, ignoring the faculty in order to get an answer from his roommate. His eyes are wild, almost furious as he tries to wrap his head around Owen’s actions. Owen should know, he should understand now. All those dodgy responses, the black eye, the way Cole would never give him all of his friendship, the unanswered questions left between them, the way he couldn’t just apologize for that day in the forest, he should get it all now.

Cole Conner has never really been Cole Conner, he’s been lying to everyone in his life, fabricating a story that he couldn’t ever fully tell. He’s a liar, a traitor, a double. Owen should get that all now, put the pieces together himself, so why is he lying now, throwing it all to the wayside… to protect someone like him?

“It’s me,” Cole repeats, this time more sure, his voice finding fervor in finally being able to tell the truth.

“He’s lying,” Owen insists again, tone also picking up volume to try and direct attention back unto himself, and every time he speaks Cole becomes more pained and more sure at the same time, knowing he has to keep going in order to prove himself.

“I was sent here on a mission in September of twenty-nineteen as a double agent to pose as a student and collect information on the population of Gallagher,” Cole explains, no grit or malice, simply stating the facts as simply as he could— though getting these words out for the first this way feels like opening a wound.

“That’s not true, he’s—”

“I befriended a handful of students with the direct intent to dig deeper into the personal network and lives of Gallagher.”

“He’s covering—”

“I kept a written log on a vast number of students and alumni, complete with ages, occupations, majors, career paths, family, and notable histories, which I stored in this dorm room; you’ll find the lockbox I kept it in hidden in my desk, though it’s empty now. The book is gone.”

“He’s…”

Owen’s lost his fervor, words falling flat as everyone in the room knows there is only one truth now, and Owen Musa is innocent. He’s silent now, staring at his roommate, his friend, with an expression Cole can’t quite read, and for some reason that bothers him more than it should.

But Cole brings his attention back to the faculty who have let go of Owen, meeting their gaze head on with a stilled fire in his eyes.

“I’ll tell you who sent me and the full parameters of my assignment and success, if you’d kindly take me quietly, please. Alone,” Cole insists, absolution in his words. Even admitting his guilt, the Brit still tries to make his own demands, end on his own terms.

And just like that, they believe him, and suddenly their stern grips are on his arms and Cole feels the finality of it all, wonders if he’ll ever see this room again. Just like that, it feels like a part of his life is gone, ripped away from him. The feeling is familiar, and he remembers the way he went from son to orphan just as quickly. From nobody to prodigy. From to spy to human again only by the grace of the people in this school who’d shown him love.

But he’d betrayed them all the moment he’d stepped foot in Gallagher.

It’s confusing, that last look on Owen’s face. Cole can’t say he had known to expect any of this, so he can’t have known just how his roommate might have reacted to this news. But as he’s led out of the room, he could have sworn it wasn’t betrayal in Owen’s features.

No, that’s instead reserved for the two faces waiting at the end of hall, and as he lifts his head up again, feeling weightless enough to drift away, his gazes focuses enough to see where ahead of him, Val and Mary stand, with looks he feels he could have expected, something he knows in his heart he deserves, something that cuts him to the deepest core, wounds open so that panic, dread, and remorse can slip back in again to their familiar home at the sight of raw betrayal in their eyes. It’s enough to ruin him, to feel a cold hand wrap around his heart and crush it, to make him regret any and every decision he’s ever made that resulted in hurting them this way. He only has enough time to open his mouth before the faculty make a sharp right, dragging him between them, ripping the best people he’s ever known from view, and leaving his unspoken words hanging in the air behind him. I’m so sorry.

Maybe it’s better that way, that he doesn’t get a chance to explain himself, that all he gets after they bring him down to the sublevels, after they lock him in a cold cell with nothing but a single chair, is silence as he waits to be questioned. He’d lied again earlier anyway, he knows he’s not about to give up anything else that could lead to further harm for his team. Cole needs time to think, even as his nerves begin to fray at the edge, even as he shuts his eyes and sees those memories play out in his mind, as it settles on him that the persona, the mask, the lie he’s put on for twenty long months, is gone. Cole Conner, the innocent student, is done.

It’s over.

Well, not quite. As he sits alone in that room, Cole knows he’s waiting to see what four other minds will do next.

---------

There’s a certain chill in the air that hangs around Gallagher after finding out that golden child Cole Conner, the boyfriend of President Sutton’s youngest daughter, has been at the school for nearly two years as a double agent, something most students had only studied about in class. And like a perfectly lined set of dominos, when the first one falls, it doesn’t take long before the others to follow:

The morning after Cole turns himself in, Allister Davis and Evangeline Astor can be found in an empty classroom, arguing about whether he should turn himself in or not. Despite her disapproval, it’s something he decides to do a few hours later anyway, only as one Carmichael Davis, not Allister. Eva had made it clear she had no interest in doing the same, plans already in motion to leave campus and not look back, but the conversation wasn’t completely confidential. From outside the door Steven Park overhears it all, and later confronts Eva and threatens to turn her in if she doesn’t do it first. Eva soon joins Cole and Carmichael in the sublevel prison.

Carmichael had mentioned the name Caledonia while turning himself in, and that piece of information had caught the attention of the student body, spreading like wildfire. With three students posing as double agents, who else could be involved?

By the time Emir Yilmaz comes forward with information regarding Cecilia Casiraghi as being part of the double agent group, exactly twenty-four hours have passed since the confrontation with Cole and Owen outside of Room 309. It’s not a light accusation, but after trying to poach him for the agency by offering to help kill his parents, the Provost --  who sat in President Sutton’s place while she’s off campus on a business trip -- can’t ignore it. Cecilia doesn’t go down to the sublevels without a fight, and not without blowing the cover of the final member of the Caledonia team: Christian Torres. According to her, he’s the reason for the burn book being leaked in the first place.

The Provost of Gallagher informs its students that the students behind the Burn Book have been found and will be punished, awaiting President Sutton’s return before being properly dealt with. But during the height of one of the biggest scandals on Gallagher’s campus, where is President Sutton?

MORE INFORMATION:

By the morning of April 23rd, all five double agents are being held in a shared barred cell down in the sublevel, surrounded by guards and high-tech security, where they will stay until President Sutton is set to return. It’s not character knowledge, but she’ll be returning April 26th, giving students three days to visit the imprisoned agents, should they wish. Visitors will be allowed one at a time, with no privacy (the other double agents  will be only feet away, listening to every word they say).  Feel free to write these threads out!

HUGE thanks to Strud for writing Cole’s section of the plot drop!

[gallagherhqs]

                                                MIDDLE

                                                               4.28.21 

valeria  sutton  taught  cole  conner  everything  he  knows  about  the  building  of  gallagher  and  town  of  roseville  ,   she'll  take  the  shame  and  potential  pride  of  being  that  support  .   here's  the  thing  about  being  spies:  ATTACHMENTS ARE NO GOOD.  but  the  heart  is  a  fickle  thing  and  even  if  words  of  hatred  are  being  shot  out  towards  groups  of  people  ,  the  heart  will  always  come  out  with  the  truth  sooner  rather  than  later  .  

the  truth  is  this :  the  double  agents  were  found  out  ,   given  too  lame  a  punishment  ,   let  off  with  too  much  ,  and  now  the  students  of  gallagher  were  off  to  fix  the  mistakes  .  again  .   gallagher  academy  had  gone  from  a  prestigious  school  for  training  to  spies  ,   to  a  clean  up  crew  for  a  bunch  of  foreign  spies  that  wouldn't  know  something  healthy  for  themselves  if  there  was  a  flashing  neon  arrow  pointing  at  it  .   so  there's  that  .  

there's  also  that  this  is  personal  ,   now  .   from  the  president's  daughter  being  heart  broken  and  dragged  ,   the  president  being  taken  away  from  her  mission  ,   the  way  that  all  of  these  double  agents  are  pulling  at  heartstrings  .   it  seems  that  gallagher  has  a  type :   the  type  they  think  they  can  fix  .   owen ,  emir  ,  nico  ,  tilly  ,  and  ting  ;   five  all  vastly  different  types  of  people  ,   yet  their  savior  complex  is  what  seems  to  be  bringing  them  together  .   then  there's  faith,  thomas,  fallon  ,  elliot  ,  rafael  ,  levi  ,  aziza  ,  maia  , drew  ,  aidan  ,  and regine :   all  students  that  seem  to  have  something  to  prove  ,   they  too  affected  by  the  double  agents  ,   yet  it  looks  like  they're  doing  this  to  make  up  for  a  lack  of  something  .  and  lastly  ,   there's  the  rescue  team  .   a  lowly  amount  of  students  who  are  perhaps  too  soft  ,   or  too  much  ,   but  one  thing  is  for  sure :   something  about  each  of  these  students  is  that  they're  liabilities  .  

valeria  sutton  is  still  in  love  with  cole  conner  ,   parker  brandt  has  been  with  cecilia  casiraghi  ,   skylar  knight  has  a  betrayed  sister  and  best  friend  ,   thalia  hall  is  unhinged  ,   and  martina  washington  is  here  to  represent  her  family .   and  then  there's  mary  sakamoto  ,   in  which  valeria  sutton  didn't  think  she  was  strong  enough  to  do  this  alone  ,   so  of  course  she  would  be  inviting  her  best  friend  along  on  this  mission   (  against  gallagher’s  wishes  )    .  this  group  of  people  was  a  mix  ,   but  it  was  all  personal  to  them  one  way  or  another  .  and  with  martina's  lack  of  experience  ,  thalia's  impulsive  tendencies  ,  and  the  other's  personal  attachments ?  the  mission  could  either  go  really  well  ,  or  really  ,  really  bad  .  

martina  is  put  on  research  ,   searching  all  databases  for  any  signs  of  disruption  in  roseville's  government  .   she  spends  hours  on  hours  in  the  computer  lab  ,   searching  and  reading  everything  on  the  area  within  500  miles   (  because  it's  better  to  be  safe  than  sorry  )  ,   on  the  type  of  buildings  and  landscapes  ,   on  what  type  of  people  lived  in  each  town  .   she  looks  for  places  where  people  could  disappear  to  ,   spends  even  more  hours  on  the  phone  asking  about  odd  and  new  characters  to  town  traveling  in  a  group  .  

valeria  and  mary  are  tasked  with  wandering  around  roseville  ,   to  attempt  to  follow  the  footsteps  of  where  the  double  agents  could  have  gone  ;   after  all  ,   roseville  is  the  only  place  for  miles  where  they  could  gear  up  for  a  long  ,   unless  they  want  to  be  on  the  go  on  the  road  with  no  supplies  at  all  .   they're  in  charge  to  make  sure  that  every  place  within  50  miles  of  gallagher  has  no  stone  unturned  ,   to  talk  to  every  working  human  about  those  who  pass  through  ,   to  ask  around  with  pictures  if  people  have  seen  this  group  of  kids  .  they  do  most  of  this  holding  hands  .  

parker  is  calling  up  his  contacts  ,   asking  for  security  footage  and  family  friends  to  keep  a  look  out  for  kids  .   he  uses  his  rich  boy  pull  ,   calling  on  all  the  people  that  he  knows  ,   making  sure  that  everyone  is  on  the  look  out  .  in  his  free  time  ,  he  tags  along  with  valeria  and  mary  ;  for  moral  support  ,   they  both  remind  him  a  bit  of  his  youngest  sister  ,   the  version  of  her  that  was  before  she  reinvented  herself  .  

skylar  and  thalia  try  to  keep  under  the  wraps  how  they  plan  to  show  no  mercy  ,   that  if  the  double  agents  try  to  escape  their  grasp  again  ,   they'll  simply  strike  first  .   parker  catches  skylar  and  thalia  whispering  about  it  ,   and  he  finds  himself  onboard  with  the  girls  .   the  three  of  them  will  straight  up  knock  out  the  double  agents  if  they  have  to  ,  anything  to  get  them  back  to  gallagher  .  this  is  their  mission  and  they  will  not  fail  .  

                                               BEGINNING

                                                                    4.26.21

cole  conner  finds  himself  going  down  memory  lane  as  owen  and  them  break  his  team  out  ,  and  cole  takes  the  lead  of  what  has  been  shown  to  him  by  his  girlfriend  ;   for  technically  ,   they  never  broke  up  .   but  also  technically :  it's  over  .   she's  never  going  to  be  able  to  forgive  him  ,   even  if  they  both  so  desperately  wanted  it  .   he  doesn't  even  know  if  she  has  the  ability  to  forgive  him  ,  doesn't  know  if  he  deserves  it   (  kidding  ,  he  knows  he  doesn't  deserve  it  )  .  in  fact  ,   he  and  his  team  barely  deserve  to  get  out  of  there  .   but  when  owen  breaks  him  out  ,  he  remembers :  if  he  gets  out  ,  he  can  get  to  mr.  stewart  ,  and  wasn't  the  man  truly  the  root  of  all  the  issues  this  year ?  

so  he  walks  through  the  passages  ,   the  group  quiet  enough  for  them  to  not  be  heard  ,  but  whispers  buzzing  through  as  they  plan  their  next  step  .   one  can't  ignore  how  distracted  cole  is  ,   his  fingers  brushing  against  the  dirty  walls  as  he  leads  them  out  and  through  the  school  ,   all  being  unnoticed  through  the  secret  passages  .   thank  you  ,   valeria  sutton  ;   though  it's  more  of  a  screw you  ,   valeria  sutton  .  

they  make  it  out  ,   because  of  course  they  do  ,  why  would  they  ever  give  laura  sutton  a  break ? owen  gets  his  hands  on  a  truck  ,   a  way  out  for  the  double  agents  -  and  of  course  they  take  it  .   

they're  about  one  hour  into  the  drive  when  cole  finally  speaks  again.

"i don't think mr. stewart is who we think he is." his voice is quiet  ,  almost  hesitant  as  he  quietly  speaks.   "  my  time  at  gallagher  …  our  time  at  gallagher  ,   doesn't  it  make  you  curious  about  our  own  upbringings  at  caledonia?  "  he  asks  the  rest  ,   the  others  are  eerily  silent .  they  don't  fully  trust  cole  ,   after  all  ,  but  he  got  them  out  of  gallagher  ,  so  they  hear  him  out  at  the  very  least.

four  hours  later,  and  they  arrive  at  the  building  that  used  to  be  blackthorne  academy.  the  double  agents  gingerly  step  around  the  abandoned  building  and  christian  makes  an  offhanded  comment  on  how  he  can  see  why  the  place  was  closed  down  .  the  place  looks  like  it's  been  aging  and  falling  apart  for  50  years  ,  not  the  two  years  since  it  was  officially  closed  down  .  they  settle  in  for  the  night  .   what  they  don't  expect  is  to  find  skylar  and  thalia  kicking  down  the  doors  into  blackthorne  .   because  they ?   they're  the  bad  bitches  of  the  bunch  anyways  .  

and  then  cole  conner  sees  valeria  sutton's  face  and  mary  sakamoto  holding  hands  ,   and  it  damn  near  breaks  him  again  .

                                                    END

                                                               4.28.21

valeria  sutton  doesn't  know  why  she's  so  surprised  how  quick  they  find  them  .   of  course  ,   it  takes  more  than  24  hours  to  find  the  group  of  double  agents  -  but  they  DO  find  these  already  trained  spies  ,   and  if  that  says  anything  about  gallagher  ,   it's  that  they  train  their  students  fairly  well  .  they  look  like  deers  caught  in  headlights  ,   and  if  val  had  the  ability  to  laugh  ,  she  would  .  but  she's  far  too  distracted  by  that boy  that  took  up  so  much  of  her  last  two  years  ,   that  she  can't  find  humor  in  anything  right  now  .

"  let's  just  get  this  over  with  before  bash  gets  all  antsy  again  -  "  val  says  to  no  one  on  her  team  ;   no  ,   she  wants  COLE  to  hear  this  .   she  wants  him  to  think  she's  fine  ,   he  couldn't  break  her  ,   that  if  he  never  cared  -  that's  fine  ,  she  should  probably  move  on  .  

to  the  naked  ear  ,   it's  perhaps  nothing  .   she  knows  her  mission  teammates  won't  hear  the  double  meaning  in  her  words  ,   everyone  knows  bash  and  her  are  good  friends  .   but  if  she  wanted  to  talk  about  good  friends  ,   but  mary's  here  and  she'd  mention  kass  ,   blair  ,   even  levi  or  mira  .   but  no  ,   the  person  chosen  was  another  boy  ,   one  that  perhaps  …  she'd  had  this  habit  of  being  too  close  to  .  

or  at  least  ,   that's  what  she  wants  cole  to  hear  with  her  words  right  now  .  

it's  skylar  who  makes  the  first  move  ,   because  this  blonde  knows  how  to  command  attention  and  attention  is  what's  needed  right  now  .   "  you  guys  have  no  idea  what  you're  involved  with  -  "   she  starts  with  ,   a  venom  in  her  voice  as  she  speaks  .    " and  i'd  listen  to  her !  "   thalia  yells  out  loud  ,   voice  shrill  enough  to  make  even  cecilia  flinch  when  she  does  .  

"  caledonia ?   they're  playing  you  more  than  you've  been  playing  us  .  "    skylar  is  going  off  ,   telling  them  as  much  as  she  can  as  president  sutton  relayed  in  the  last  assembly  .   that  the  least  caledonia  was  doing  was  sending  their  agents  to  recruit  from  their  school  ;   no  ,   skylar  lays  out  that  caledonia  was  run  by  clancy  stewart  ,   and  he's  almost  the  white  devil  himself  .   that  not  only  have  they  been  collecting  personal  secrets  and  information  about  all  of  gallagher  ,   but  that  they've  been  taking  agents  ;   some  ex-gallagher  ,   others  random  field  agents  .  

"  god  only  knows  how  many  of  your  people  he's  taken  to  experiment  on  as  well  .  "   the  double  agents  don't  need  elaboration  to  know  what  martina  is  talking  about  .

"  you  guys  are  just  little  pawns  who'll  cling  to  any  father  figure  ,   talk  about  daddy  issues  -  "   mary  comments  offhandedly  ,   and  martina  has  to  stop  herself  from  laughing  out  loud  .   it's  then  that  val  takes  a  step  forward  ,   knows  it's  her  time  .   

"  my  mom  sent  us  here  with  two  options  for  you  all  -  "  she  says  ,   and  parker  whistles  a  ' damn  ,  valeria . '  in  the  background  .   "  but  they  both  end  up  with  you  coming  back  to  gallagher  .  "

"  yeah  ,  don't  forget  that  three  out  of  five  of  us  are  threat  elimination  -  and  valeria  has  a  lot  of  anger  issues  to  work  out !  "  parker  says  loudly  ,   voice  a  low  growl  as  his  words  echo  on  the  campus  of  the  empty  school  .   and  it  breaks  into  an  argument  before  valeria  yells  a  :  

                                               "  STOP  IT  RIGHT  NOW !  "

she'll  take  a  deep  breath  and  step  forward  ,   the  moonlight  from  the  shattered  windows  shining  upon  her  strawberry  blonde  hair  .   she'll  avoid  looking  cole  in  the  eye  ,   head  tilting  up  just  a  bit  .   eye  contact  with  any  other  of  the  double  agents  only  last  fleeting  seconds  .  

"  you  can  come  back  with  us  and  help  bring  caledonia  down  ,   or  you  can  come  back  with  us  and  rot  in  the  dungeon  .   i  really  don't  care  .  "  she  pauses  ,   this  time  looking  each  double  agent  in  the  eye  ,   ending  on  cole  last  .   "  either  way  ,  you're  coming  with  us  -  whether  that  be  by  force  or  by  choice  .  "

she  nods  to  her  other  team  members  ,   tearing  her  eyes  away  from  cole  .   now's  not  the  time  to  dwell  on  the  boy  . "  i'll  be  in  front  as  lookout  -  "  she  tells  the  rest  of  her  team  ,   finally  taking  her  three  steps  out  of  the  light  field  .   "  i  just  need  some  fresh  air  ,   yell  if  you  need  me  to  take  someone  out  -  "  and  she  waves  a  tranquilizer  gun  around  ,  brow  raising  before  heading  out  . 

[gallagherhqs]

FRIDAY, APRIL 16

Zane Wancosh hadn’t left his room since the information from the gossip blog had dropped three days ago. He hadn’t slept, ate or showered in those two days. He didn’t feel like talking to people, or maybe it was that people didn’t feel like talking to him. It was probably for the best like that. It was why he was so stuck in his head when the alarm sounded, not registering any sound coming from the walls around him. 

CODE RED. CODE RED. CODE RED.  

The announcement had shocked Landon, who was sitting in class for the first time all week. It had been days since he had left his room, having only attended this class because it was his one with Grey. Grey’s presence had helped him somewhat get over some of the consequences of the burn book’s release. He had felt the gazes of his peers on his back from where he sat in the classroom, and Landon had tried his best to focus on the information being presented by his instructor, but now it was fruitless. When the alarm stopped sounding, the instructor told the class that everything was fine and they’d continue the lecture.

Not long after, Zane’s heart stopped when he heard a harsh knock on the door of his room. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination going insane or not when a loud voice echoed into his room.  “Zane Wancosh? Open the door.“  It wasn’t a familiar tone, one that made all his awful worries come true.

He didn’t waste a second to grab his phone and text Landon -- maybe he’d be able to bounce in time. He was pretty good at that.  There’s cops.  It was the only words he was able to press send on when the door opened and a man in a uniform stood there waiting, causing him to drop his phone. Zane hadn’t taken the police into account, but he wasn’t surprised either. It was what he deserved. This was justice.

For once, Landon had been too busy focusing on the class instead of his phone, so he didn’t see the warning text from Zane. It wasn’t until he saw policemen open the door that he knew what was going on; Sutton wouldn’t have been able to ignore their entries in the burn book, not after the different deaths that had occurred on Gallagher’s campus. He wondered if they had already picked up Zane or if he was the first, but either way he knew they were here for him. He quickly did a once over, noticing they didn’t have their handcuffs at the ready, so he figured that was a good sign. “Landon Bennett,” he heard one of them say, and he honestly felt like time was frozen for a moment. But he got over it, not even asking questions. He grabbed his backpack and left, not glancing at any of his peers as he left the classroom. 

Landon could still hear the shock of the student of Gallagher’s voices, the looks they gave him as he walked out of the school with the police behind him, just his beat up backpack over his shoulder. He felt his stomach twisting as he sat in the back of the patrol car, feeling a little lucky that they didn’t handcuff either of them. He wasn’t able to freak out for his own sake, but after looking at Zane, a wave of guilt and concern for his friend washed over him. “We’re gonna be okay,” Landon said to him in a hushed tone. He knew it was a lie, there was no coming back from this but he’d try his best to make himself believe it. Maybe then Zane would start to believe it too. But beside him Zane kept a blank face, not even acknowledging what the other was saying. Landon wished he was able to tell Zane what to say when he got to the station and they questioned him, but he looked to the police officers in front of them and knew it wasn’t worth the risk. He just had to hope that Zane wouldn’t crack under the pressure as they went on their way to the police station. 

Zane, meanwhile, couldn’t get his classmates' faces from when the cop grabbed him out of his head, unsure of how bad his sentence would be now. He had a criminal record; he knew he was fucked. There was no going back. For some reason he wasn’t as upset about the way things turned out as much as he probably should be. He had been to jail before, and he would have felt worse if he stayed at Gallagher, needing to deal with all the judgement and losing one friend after another. At least, if he needed to deal with his sentence he could start fresh, let go of the past him. He was going to look at this as a chance or an opportunity. 

Probably not the best mindset to go into this when all they were going to be was questioned. As far as they knew, there was no proof besides the gossip. But Zane wasn’t very good under pressure, especially not when only 0.3% of his brain was working under the harsh conditions he had been putting himself under. His ears were ringing and his mind was spinning; it was a surprise he didn’t faint on the way here.

Zane probably looked suspicious the second he and Landon were pulled inside to be questioned because now, instead of that emptiness that had spread through his body, nervousness took its place. This was real. This was too real. His mother was going to be so disappointed in him. He wasn’t sure if the police had already been sick of his behavior the second they noticed he was acting weird because they grabbed him first to interrogate. His mind was running at a thousand miles per hour, unable for him to make any kind of decision as the really scary guy in front of him began asking questions. While it started simple with the two officers asking his name, it pretty much only went down from there. Already starting when they asked him if he knew Cyrus Diaz. Noah’s words repeated themselves in his head. He was disrespecting the dead, a former student, a human being by keeping everything to himself. Cyrus didn’t deserve this. 

“I killed him,” the male simply admitted, wanting to do the right thing and put the blame on him. In that moment, he thought of those cool police shows where some convicts could just say they wanted a lawyer and they wouldn’t have to talk anymore after that. He was tired though. He wanted it to be over. A few questions later, they let him return - probably because he was having a complete breakdown in that little room. He did the right thing.

He was barely able to form coherent sentences as he sat down next to his best friend, hands in his lap as he cried uncontrollably. He just felt so awful but at least Landon would get a chance. “I told them it was me,” he told Landon after a few seconds had passed and the officers had left to prepare to question Landon. 

“You did what?” Landon asked, and despite trying to keep his facial expression in check, he felt his face drain of color, the room almost starting to feel like it was spinning. He should have known, with the guilt that Zane had been feeling that he would have cracked. Landon wasn’t angry, if anything he was angrier at himself than anyone else for putting one of his closest friends in this position. 

Zane’s hands wiped away the tears strolling down his face. “It’s fine... I missed a few buds in jail anyway.” He probably wouldn’t be transferred to the one in New York, but he was trying to keep a positive mind.  “Just say I did it and you’ll be fine.” In the meantime, he was already thinking about how he would decorate his cell.

Landon gulped, nodding his head as he tried to pull himself together, even if it felt like everything was falling apart. When it was his turn to go into the questioning room, he sat across from the detective, and it was an unwelcome familiar feeling. The detective brought a file with him, one he was sure had the many crimes and events that Landon had been a part of before attending Gallagher. He had been here too many times before, and knew the routine. But the one difference this time was that he wasn’t going to try to save his own ass like the times before. The words of some of his closest friends came back, the look on their faces when they realized that Landon was behind it. The officer asked him about Cyrus, and he knew that it would be too easy to let Zane take the fall. 

“I did it,” he began, barely even prompted by the other man. “It wasn’t Zane.” Landon saw the look of annoyance on the officer’s face, obviously not amused by their conflicting stories. The officer asked him again to tell the truth, knowing that there was something amiss. He warned about the fact that both of them would face the consequences if Landon didn’t tell the truth, and Landon told the story again, making it seem like it was him that left the drink out and everything. The officer sighed, looking over to Landon before leaving the room and having Landon escorted back to the room with Zane. “Do you think they’ll let us be cell mates?” Landon asked, a small joke when Landon probably shouldn’t be joking, but it was the only thing preventing him from crying in the moment. Now they just had to wait to hear the next steps. 

OOC INFORMATION:

Landon and Zane don’t return to Gallagher until Sunday, April 18, after being booked and standing in front of a judge, and getting bailed out by their old friend Emmett Blackthorne. A trial is set for this summer for the murder of Cyrus Diaz.

On Friday, April 16, while Code Red is going on, the Gossip Blog is taken down -- the Burn Book along with it. (You can still find it here for reference, but the students no longer have access to reading it!)

Huge thanks to Bonnie & Sarah for writing this!!!

[gallagherhqs]

Evangeline Astor has spent her entire life in competition. Whether it was with the ghost of her deceased sister or the trust fund kids at her New England private school, there has always been this rift between her and other people, a reason that she’d have to claw her way up to stand next to them. To be deserving of things, she would always have to prove her worth. So, when Caledonia recruited Eva, things felt…different for her. Someone had been watching her; someone had noticed all of her hard work without her having to fight tooth and nail to prove herself to them. But the relief had only lasted until she met him:  Cole Conner.

He was introduced to her as Mr. Stewart’s “most promising” pupil, the top of the class and the PRIDE of Caledonia, their golden boy. He was an average-looking white man, tall and thin with an awkward sort of charm that he didn’t seem to recognize that he had. Eva couldn’t tell what was so special about him, but naturally, he was a man, and he would always walk two steps ahead of her. “Nice to meet you,” she’d said, delivering what was probably the coldest handshake of her life, but his smile was warm in response as if her immediate resentment didn’t even register. But he was Cole Conner; he already had everyone else’s favor…why would he need to concern himself with hers? And so, Eva’s hatred grew.

And over the past year, it only festered, Cole’s ignorance of even the fact that competition existed made every wayward glance feel like he was picking at a scab, and by April, Eva was dealing with an open wound. The latest security breach left all of the agents feeling VULNERABLE. Therefore she didn’t think much when Christian texted her.

MARCH 14, 2021

Christian: meet me in the forest tonight its important Eva: is this a booty call? you’re not very subtle x

She knew it wasn’t, but he didn’t even match her playful tone when she meets him later. He didn’t hesitate to cut to the chase when he stands in the cover of the trees, didn’t give her the chance to say hello before he blurted, “So, did Allister do it?“ 

Eva was silent for a while before she answered him, trying to wrap her head around what Christian knew and why. She couldn’t resist the sarcasm in her reply, glad that she at least knew ONE thing that he hadn’t been briefed on :  “Well, technically, it was Carmichael.“ 

They spend the rest of the night rehashing details about Caledonia, where Eva learned that Christian is a double double agent, spying on Cecilia, Cole, Allister, and Eva for Mr. Stewart. He’s been watching this whole time and reporting back on all of their actions. He also gave insight into the real reason that Mr. Stewart demoted Cole this semester:  THE BURN BOOK. 

It’s Cole’s personal record, containing nearly two years of research on their fellow students that he hasn’t reported back to Mr. Stewart or anyone else, a diary full of secrets on everyone in Gallagher academy. Christian discovered it last semester. Eva’s pretty sure she’d kill a man ( she’d stab Christian dead in the cover of the forest, certainly )  to get her hands on Cole’s private notebook. Honestly, the moment is better than any sex she’s ever had – to know that Cole Conner is a dirty liar just like she expected, that she was RIGHT not to trust him, and now, Eva’s got the keys in her hands to get the better of him, just like she’s always wanted from the moment she shook his hand in the halls of Caledonia. 

From there, it’s not hard to convince Christian that they should get their hands on it together. It seems like his burning resentment toward Mr. Stewart and Caledonia has him desiring the same means to an end, and he promises to help her get her hands on the book. “We should do it next time there’s an event,” he says, “I bet there’ll be one soon enough. The school seems to love those.” 

And sure enough, a couple of weeks later, Gallagher Academy’s ever-consistent party-planning committee announces THE TAKAYAMA SPRING FESTIVAL.

APRIL 9, 2021

November 26, 2020. That was the first time Christian Torres broke into Cole Conner’s room to see what he had saved in a lockbox. He didn’t have much time to look through the book that day, but he had gotten a good enough clue about its contents. To this day, the book’s contents shocked him, given the number of SECRETS that Cole had found. But he had a mission and a job to do, so he had taken pictures of a few pages and sent them to Mr. Stewart. Since then, Mr. Stewart had tasked Christian with obtaining the entire book and delivering it to him – a task Christian was not looking forward to. The dread only increased after finding out Mr. Stewart had lied to them. Christian had been growing suspicious of the man’s aims and intentions for a while. Did any of the Caledonia agents know why they were really here?  The secrecy and the mysteriousness left an unsettling feeling within him. Unfortunately, he had a job to do because Mr. Stewart would continuously ensure his family’s safety. However, he and Eva decided they could hold on to the book for a while before sending it eventually. Mr. Stewart could wait. It was only fair after lying to them. 

On the day of the Takayama Spring Festival, Christian doesn’t drink much because he and Eva planned to steal the book. It was the perfect time, with everyone in one place. When it was time to head to Cole’s room, his eyes scanned the venue, pinpointing Cole and pinpointing the roommates, Owen, Eden, and Dana. He then looked at Eva and tipped his head to the side, a silent gesture of time to move. 

They left the party, making their way toward Cole’s room. Christian would be the one to break in since he’d done this before, while Eva would be the one to keep watch. He effortlessly and successfully picked the lock. Mere seconds later, the door opened. They stayed quiet throughout – they’ve gone through the plan multiple times before. 

He walked inside, closing the door behind him. It felt like yesterday he’d done this, but no, it had been five long months. He hurried over to the desk drawer, rummaging through it until he found the familiar lockbox. He was lucky this time because he had already cracked the password:  DAHL. Cole’s real last name. Christian wondered for a moment if any of the other Caledonia agents knew about it. If they didn’t, he wouldn’t be surprised, as it was evident Mr. Stewart was full of shit.

Just like that, the lockbox opened and inside was the infamous book. Christian immediately took it out, closed the lockbox, and put everything back in its place so they wouldn’t leave behind any reason for suspicion. Either way, it wouldn’t be long before Cole opened the lock box and found it empty. But Christian couldn’t be bothered to care about Cole’s reaction. Wasn’t he the reason the agents were even here? Because he didn’t know how to do his job?

With that, Christian made his way back outside, letting out a sigh of relief that he’d gotten out of the damn room. He never wanted to set foot inside ever again. 

“I got it,” he told Eva quietly.

They agreed that Christian would hold on to it, keep it somewhere safe and secure and meet up later to read through its contents until they could meet in the library. They went their separate ways, and Christian headed back to his room to hide the book and smoke a joint to calm his nerves. He doesn’t even look through it; he knows what to anticipate. 

Christian considers never giving the book to Mr. Stewart, considers burning and discarding it and informing him that he couldn’t find the book when he went to retrieve it again. That way, he can’t be blamed. Except he saw the look on Eva’s face when he told her about it – like she finally got her chance to get ahead of Cole Conner and expose him to Mr. Stewart. She’d probably never agree to it. 

To say there was an INFLUX of thoughts coming to Christian’s mind in a single second would be an understatement, and he wants – no, needs – it to stop. So, after he properly hides the book, he lights a joint and allows himself to chill. He’ll stress about this when it’s time.

APRIL 12, 2021

“You don’t have any friends here. All you do is lie.”

Sixteen-year-old Lucy Prescott said that right before her classmate Evangeline Astor pushed her down the side of a hill. Eva still remembers the echo of her scream, the chill of the breeze in the air. She has always taken comfort in being alone, and since then, she’s learned how to take Lucy’s words as a compliment. Lies have helped her keep her distance, and she likes to do most things alone. That is the way she prefers to peruse Cole’s book, too, without Christian looking over her shoulder. She doesn’t work well in pairs, but the only thing that motivates her to be cooperative is the idea of pushing Cole Conner down the side of a proverbial hill ; she has dreams about the look on his face when he loses his balance. 

Eva doesn’t like the idea of letting Christian hold on to the book – honestly, letting it out of her sight makes her apprehensive. Sure, she doesn’t totally trust him; it’s hard to know that he’s been spying on her all semester because Mr. Stewart has been dangling his family’s safety over his head. Anyone can be bought. But also, she can’t wait to get her hands on it, to flip through the pages and find out everything that Cole has been hiding from the rest of them for the entirety of the year, what people he is trying to protect. So, she’s early to meet Christian in the library, even if she already knows Christian well enough to anticipate that he’ll be late. 

They meet on the cusp of the restricted section when they meet, Christian’s usual air of casual nonchalance when he meets Eva. They both smell of cigarettes and deception, and her smile is soft but urgent when she beckons him toward the table in the back. 

“Have you looked at it?” Eva asks him, just a bit curious. She figures who he’d look up, the usual suspects: Tommy, Emir, anyone else of interest to Christian. However, Christian shakes his head, “Not yet.” It is characteristic of him to not care enough to take a deep dive, but Eva suspects that he must have looked at some of it. She would’ve perused it like the Holy Bible if it were kept in her possession, swore oaths over it. 

“God, this would be so dangerous in the wrong hands,” she says breathlessly, turning the pages. 

“You can say that again.” It was Christian’s exact thought the first time he looked through the book in November, and it’s the same thought again right now.

And naturally, the first names that Eva wants to look up are not of self-interest, not the names of people she supposedly cares about, but she’s quickly flipping to the names of people close to Cole. She checks Valeria Sutton first, naturally, but as she’s looking through the names of people in Cole’s life, Eva notices that one very important entry is missing. 

“Wait. Where is…” she trails off as Christian looks at her, flipping through the book again. She can’t understand why this person wouldn’t be in the book due to their proximity to Cole. Eva’s about to flip through again when a familiar face passes by. 

“Eva, Christian, hello! Have you met Thursday yet?” It’s Rizo Guinto and his AI, stopping Eva mid-investigation. 

“Thursday? That’s the project you’ve been working on, right?” Eva asks, leaning forward to cover what she and Christian are up to. “I don’t think so! What does it do?” Naturally, Rizo approaches the table when invited, and Christian is quick to move the evidence, placing the book carefully on the shelf behind them so that they can come back to it when Rizo leaves their table. Luckily, the library seems fairly empty because Rizo can talk for what feels like hours about his latest technological endeavor. By the time he finally leaves, the light of the sky outside the library windows is fading.

“Shit luck. Thought he’d never leave,” Christian remarks. Under most circumstances, the conversation probably would’ve been fun, but with their deception looming over their heads, it was hard to focus on anything Rizo was saying. 

“Are you hungry? I kind of want to stay here, keep going through the book,” Eva says. She’s not sure Christian will leave her alone with it. Despite their history, she finds it doubtful that he trusts her.  

“About that…” Christian trails off, and Eva turns to see him looking through the books on the shelf. “Uh – it’s gone.” His voice and expression are neutral. The mess they’re in hasn’t properly sunk in yet for him.

Eva looks at him with bloody murder. 

“What do you mean, it’s gone?” she asks, standing up to look through the books on the shelf.

“I put it right here, and it’s gone,” he says. He stands there, watching Eva. He’s already looked through the shelf. Christian realizes there’s not much they can do if the burn book is gone. They’re not going to look for it in the entire school, of course. If the book is gone, then it’s gone. However, at the same time, the heat rises to his ears as he recalls both him and Eva discussing how this book is dangerous even if it ends up in the wrong hands. 

“How is that possible? No one else came through here,” Eva says, utterly confused as she starts taking books off the shelf, looking for Cole’s lost diary. Christian only helps her for a bit before he characteristically gives up, not knowing what else to do in the moment. If it were still on these shelves, they’d have found it by now. 

Eva feels like she’s been pushed off the hill herself, like there was retribution in her literal grasp and one second of careless panic, and it’s completely GONE. She feels an ache in her chest like she’s slipping. Christian probably looks at her like she’s lost her mind as she reorganizes the shelf multiple times, frantically searching for the most volatile book of secrets that Gallagher has ever known.

She will not find it. Amid their earlier conversation with Rizo, a student perused the shelves behind them and noticed the book, hastily shoved between two others. They couldn’t see any of the bindings from the back where they were standing, but they reached their arm around to take it off for a better look. Upon first glance, it does just look like someone’s diary, notes and things, but further inspection showed secrets of practically every student in the school. They’re quiet as they look up the students they’re anxious to know more about. Sebastian Castillo’s page is just as boring as they predicted; they almost close the thing and put it back entirely – however, Ria Flicke’s entry brings them to a pause, realizing that this is much more than just someone’s diary. There are explosive secrets in this book, secrets that would be dangerous if they were to fall into the wrong hands.

And Thalia Hall is the wrong hands. 

Thalia tucks the book into her bag quickly, not wanting to stick around where she found it in case someone were to come back. Then, she takes off towards her dorm to decide what exactly to do with the rest.

TO BE CONTINUED…

ooc note: we want to say a massive thank you to jia & kati for writing this plot drop!! we truly appreciate everyone’s hard work with these last few plot drops <3 

[gallagherhqs]

FEBRUARY 4, 2021:  09:00 HOURS

if there’s one thing gallagher students can rely on, it’s their university always being on time. they had been told on monday that the buses for washington dc would leave at exactly nine, and on the dot, an army of coach buses parade out of gallagher’s gates, as faculty members on each bus take attendance. unsurprisingly, students know better than to miss the first mission of the semester. the faculty member goes down the aisle, handing students their designated assignment envelopes. they’ll have the rest of the hour and change bus ride to consider these assignments and mentally prepare for what’s to come.

for five students -- yara gale, rowan endsley, nico casiraghi, maria flicke & satomi miyamoto -- their assignments look a little different. their note reads:

Meet your team and faculty advisor at 4820 Massachusetts Ave NW at 12:00 for your mission assignment. Keep this confidential.

FEBRUARY 4, 2021:  12:00 HOURS

the students come to find that the location given to them is nothing more than a starbucks. professor zhou convinces each of them to buy themselves a drink, because they’ll be going for a walk. their destination isn’t far ;   the department of homeland security is right up the street, and professor zhou leads them to it. walking the students up to the building, she explains a little bit of the history of homeland security, and the role it plays in the government -- which, of course, they all already know. 

with the five students in their gallagher uniforms, they appear like any other school tour around the nation’s capital. but not all professors would then tell their students,  “ tomorrow, you are going to be breaking into here. ”

FEBRUARY 5, 2021:   6:30 HOURS

after showing the students their target, professor zhou had taken the students back to a reserved classroom at georgetown university, where they had spent the remainder of the day planning their mission. and unfortunately for the students, whose classmates would be spending their first night in dc going out and enjoying the time away from campus, their mission began bright and early the next morning. the shift change for the custodial staff at dhs headquarters is at seven am sharp, so by six-thirty everyone is at their post. professor zhou’s camouflaged van sits in front of the starbucks they had met at yesterday. as faculty for a school sanctioned mission, she’s sitting this one out, sipping coffee while she watches nico behind the computers in the back of the van hack into the dhs security system.  ( naturally, the professor is the team member who works best with nico. )    it’s not an easy task for any student, but yesterday an encryption professor had walked him through the way to bypass the government security -- and by the time the clock strikes seven, they’re in.

meanwhile, satomi miyamoto and yara gale are stationed near the service entrance, watching and waiting for two unsuspecting arriving custodials employees who are ready for an exciting start to their day. yara distracts them while satomi sneaks up from behind and knocks them out clean. in the nearby alley the two students steal their poor victims' uniforms and id badges  ( but don’t worry, they leave them with warm blankets, so they don’t get cold ! ) .   with a swipe of their new badges, they’re in. the previous day had been spent memorizing the layout of the building, but the spies have a few hours to get used to the layout of the building, blending in and finding their target :   the office of international engagement.

FEBRUARY 5, 2021:   10:00 HOURS

eight-thirty is the approximate start time for agents working in the building, but it’s at ten when the first tour group is welcomed into the building. rowan endsley and maria flicke blend in well with other college students who have come from all over to see the dhs for themselves, two mock trial clubs from two different universities. nobody thinks twice about not recognizing them, and rowan is quick to make friends with two of the only girls on one team, laughing along with them throughout most of the tour. 

unsurprisingly, school tours only scratch the service of a government building, but the gallagher students had already known the route the tour would take them -- and really, it gets them through the door, which is the real goal. the tour includes two floors of the building :   the first and third. ria waits until the tour moves between floors, and with rowan’s help of creating a diversion by bombarding the guide with questions, she’s able to slip away from the group unnoticed. a fake building id had been made to swing from her side as she walks, standing tall and confidently  ( like she belongs there, which as far as anyone is concerned, she does ) .   of course, the id is just for show, a pawn to use so when the director of the office of international engagement finally shows her face on the floor, ria is able to smoothly bump into her and switch their id badges. after a summer of interning in a government office, ria knows just how to play the apologetic and nervous intern. the director doesn’t even flinch.

once the director’s id badge has been secured, ria heads to the ladies room, walking into the middle stall and… well, certainly not sitting down. thankfully nobody’s there except for a woman in the stall to the left of her, yara. careful not to touch anything in the bathroom   ( because ew ) ,   she slips yara the badge. there’s no other exchange between the two women, only a toilet flush in confirmation before yara comes out of the stall. the janitor uniform has been removed and hidden behind the toilet ;   sporting a sleek black suit and brunette bobbed wig, anyone passing her by in the hall will definitely mistake her for the director, matching her new id.

it’s that fancy new id that gets her up to the top floor, where all the records are held. janitor satomi is already waiting up there for her, and in the van nico is careful to follow her every move, making sure every camera that records her doesn’t catch a glimpse of her face. they’ve memorized the layout of the building so much that yara could find the right room with her eyes closed, but they’re very much open and alert right now -- and even if they weren’t, that’s what satomi’s for. satomi stations themselves at the end of the hallway, the camera’s single blindspot, despite nico already having a loop of an empty hallway playing for the security guards watching from their cushy post. they watch as yara finds the right room, holding their breath as yara swipes the id card to open the door. the monitor beeps, asking for a fingerprint, and yara’s heart begins to pound. she knew they would ask for it, but her hands still shakes slightly as she takes out the little piece of plastic with the director’s fingerprint imprinted on it. extracting a fingerprint from the id wasn’t hard, but the chances that the fingerprint was the director’s and not someone else’s ?   low, but not low enough. but the light soon flashes green and yara exhales a breath, quickly slipping into the room.

she’s searching for a file, but the room is full of filing cabinets. perhaps yara’s been burdened with the hardest task of the mission, finding a needle in a haystack in record time. satomi can only guard the hallway for so long, and the file has to be found before ria and rowan’s tour finishes. so she sets to work, naturally starting alphabetically. this is the only part of the mission they couldn’t have planned for, but it only takes yara twelve minutes  ( which feels like an hour for everyone involved )  to find the correct file :   LANAI CODE.  

it’s a miracle there aren’t anymore knocked out employees at satomi’s feet when yara exits the room, because that would have certainly been hard to explain, even without the cameras on. with the target acquired, the rest of the mission is now simple -- get the hell out. the files are slipped to satomi so yara can change back into the janitor uniform and return the id card. ria had returned to the tour group with no problem, but it’s at the very end of the tour that rowan asks to use the restroom. thankfully nobody’s around in the ladies room to witness the janitor handing a touring college student confidential government files. rowan waits in the bathroom stall until she hears satomi exit the bathroom, files resting in her lap. 

lanai code…

the curiosity is overwhelming, and thankfully nobody’s around in the ladies room to witness rowan endsley sneak a peek at the file. it’s for the best anyway, considering when the team meets back at the van -- now ironically parked in front of the international spy museum -- the file will be given to professor zhou, and all she will say is a thank you and that they’ve all passed, without sharing what the file was even for. it’s not unlike gallagher to keep secrets, because it’s not unlike spies to keep secrets. but curiosity kills the cat.

lanai code, as rowan discovers through page flipping and speed reading, isn’t a code but a long-term mission launched by the cia. there’s no specific information about what the mission entails, but rowan can see why it was so heavily guarded :  each page holds the profile of a different american spy who was tied to the mission, and has since been deemed missing or presumed dead. rowan’s reading the page of a woman named marama ng, the most recent missing spy from nearly two years ago  ( and had she read on, she would’ve noticed that her daughter is a current gallagher student ) , when she hears someone walk into the bathroom. quickly shutting the file, rowan stuffs it into her backpack. hopefully the tour group hasn’t left without her. 

MISSION: COMPLETE.

[gallagherhqs]

MARCH 16, 2021

It was supposed to be his moment of lime light, his one moment where he could be proud of himself for actually achieving something big. He hacked into Gallagher’s systems, something that others could never do, what all fourth years dreamt of doing. They had four years to try and achieve this, he achieved it in seven months. 

A proud moment, right? Especially for a first year. Pride had wrapped around him like the tail of a snake, blinding the oldest twin in the moment where he should’ve been extremely careful. So quick to wrap up his task, he didn’t take the time to truly retrace and redo his steps. All it took was one slip up at the very end for his whole world to come crumbling down. 

An email that made his heart drop. His team all worried and disappointed in him. A friend’s words that sent a shock wave throughout his entire body. And his brother’s message reading ‘ i told u so ‘ that flashed in his face. 

Carmichael Davis felt sick and wanted nothing more than to fix everything. 

He just didn’t know how. 

BELENUS: u gotta tell arawn 

BELENUS: theyll know what to do 

Codename for Mr. Stewart. He didn’t want to tell Mr. Stewart, not wanting to disappoint the older man after just making him proud. After he just proved himself to be worthy just like Allister Davis. And as soon as he reveals this problem, he’s sure that the other would continue to push him to the side and into the shadow belonging to his younger brother.

And he doesn’t want that, he really doesn’t but… The mission means more than his fragile pride. 

Which brings him to his room later that night, all of the lights out except for the dimmed light coming from his laptop. He sits on his bed, back leaning up against the wall that the bunk beds rest up against. His roommates are all sleeping soundly, he can tell by their soft breathing and light snoring. He hopes that just like them, he’ll be able to sleep peacefully after this. 

The private chat room that he has with his brother is up, the two brothers waiting for Mr. Stewart to enter the chat. And as soon as he did, he’s all business. 

                    ARAWN has entered the chat. 

CERNUNNOS: Hello Arawn, thank you for joining our chat room. 

BELENUS: hey arwan! 

ARAWN: Thank you, Cernunnos, Belenus. May I ask why I am here? 

He breathes in, then breathes out before typing out. His fingers are shaking, he doesn’t like that one bit. 

CERNUNNOS: Unfortunately, due to my own carelessness, Gallagher has become aware that I’ve gotten into their private files. I unknowingly left behind a trace and because of that, the institution sent out an email about it to everyone so that they’re aware of the situation. 

CERNUNNOS: I’m unsure on what to do next or how to go about this. Should I just leave it alone and wait for everyone to forget about this matter? But that would only stop the student body, the administration would continue to conduct a search and find out my identity. Or should I focus my attention on stopping the administration? 

There’s a moment of silence, no messages from Mr. Stewart or Allister Davis. The anticipation only makes him more nauseous, his fingers clenching and unclenching, waiting for either of them to say something. Anything. 

When a message does finally come, the contents of it is to be expected. 

ARAWN: That is a problem and I would like to express my deep disappointment in you, Cernunnos. While you were able to gain access into Gallagher’s private files and send it off, you still left behind a trace. A trace that could be easily led back to you and cause this entire mission to go sideways. 

The disappointments, everyone is just disappointed in him. Cole, Eva, Cecilia, Allister Davis, himself, and now Mr. Stewart. His one moment of success, that should’ve been filled with cheers and applause, now only hold side eyes and murmurs. 

A failure and a disappointment, that is what makes up Carmichael Davis. 

ARAWN: To handle both situations, we’re going to need something that will divert all attention away from you all. Have either of you taken a look at any of the private files? 

CERNUNNOS: Not completely but I did notice that there are files on all Gallagher alumni, even the few Blackthorne alumni that came to Gallagher last year. We could spread around private information about those individuals to the students. From what I’ve gathered, most of the students had a close relation with the alumni from last year. One of them even works here as a professor.

ARAWN: That could possibly work. What else is there? 

BELENUS: !!!!! 

BELENUS: why not one of the videos??? 

BELENUS: theres a lot of those kept hidden annnnnnd 1 of them is really funny to watch :) 

He narrows his eyes at his brother's message. He knows his brother better than anyone else so he’s aware of when the younger of the two is up to no good. And even while so many miles away, he can tell from the overuse of punctuation that Allister Davis is about to suggest something that will make his older brother want to throw up. 

ARAWN: I saw that. It seems that President Sutton is a very watchful individual. Which video did you enjoy, Belenus? 

A few seconds later, Allister Davis drops the video into the chat. Carmichael Davis realizes that it’s the video from the 14th that his brother sent him, the same video that he never had a chance to watch. What’s so funny about this? He thinks to himself. It doesn’t look that interesting…

BELENUS: watch it! youll both enjoy i promise <3 

It feels like a set up, that he wouldn’t enjoy it at all. But he’s a curious individual, just as much as Allister Davis, so with his headphones connected to his laptop, he presses play on the video. It starts off slow, where he’s just staring at a tied up man behind a cell, the individual unfamiliar to him. He’s not a professor and he’s definitely not a student, but there’s something about him… that makes Carmichael Davis want to know him. As if he’s supposed to know him but he’s not sure where or why. It’s only ten more seconds into the video that he realizes the importance of this video. 

He sees them, students, people who he has seen at least once or twice since he’s been here. Most of their faces don’t stand out to him, only their actions done in the video left an imprint, it’s the two familiar faces that stand out to him. Caden Lucca and Mary Sakamoto. Caden, the guy who’s dating his roommate and Mary, who is Cole’s friend. 

And also the person who allowed him to cry and rant about his problems to her. 

He almost bolts out of his bed and to the bathroom, just to get rid of whatever is sitting in the pit of his stomach. But he’s not sure if it’s the food that he ate for dinner hours ago or the guilt of watching a video that he shouldn’t be watching. 

BELENUS: crazy right??? who knew that such a pristine and clean school like gallagher had students like this~ 

BELENUS: and i bet prez sutt is vvv aware of this and i BET she didnt do anything to punish the students :) 

BELENUS: isnt that crazy???? Lol

ARAWN: I’m not sure if it’s crazy but it surely is interesting. It’s also the perfect diversion. Cernunnos, send this video out to everyone. From this, it’ll cause an uproar among the students but it will also cause the administration to also take care of this mess of the video getting leaked. It’ll also cause President Sutton to focus more on this issue at hand than anything else. Do you understand? 

Carmichael Davis doesn’t respond right away, still so focusing on Mary as she lunged forward, attacking the tied up man. How Caden picked her up and how another student took her blade from her hand. He heard her cry out loud, her voice sending shivers throughout his entire body. 

He doesn’t like it, he doesn’t like this one bit. 

ARAWN: Cernunnos. Do I make myself clear? 

CERNUNNOS: Yes, Arawn. I apologize, I was finishing up the video still. 

ARAWN: That is fine. Just make sure that you send out the video to everyone, understood? 

CERNUNNOS: Of course. 

ARAWN: Perfect. Is that all or do you two need anything else from me? 

BELENUS: nope thats it!! imma kick you out now but if we need you again, ill just invite ya 

ARAWN: Excellent. Until next time, Belenus. Cernunnos. 

CERNUNNOS: Until next time, Arawn. 

BELENUS: PEACE!!!! 

And he’s gone, thus leaving the twins alone with this second part of the mission. Carmichael Davis has no say in whether or not he should send it out, no judgement in whether it's just or not. 

Because what about him is just? He hacked into Gallagher’s private system, sending off their private files to Mr. Stewart so that the man could use the information for whatever reason. He infiltrated the school under a name that isn’t even his, parading around as someone he’s not. If anything, he is the villain in this story, the antagonist that is meant to start problems within the walls of Gallagher. A person whom they’ll hate. 

But when Mary looked at him that day and listened to his soft cries and his words that expressed how much of a failure he sees himself as, he remembers a girl who didn’t see him as a villain. Just a boy who’s lonely and deserves better. She was so soft with him, so gentle and so kind. 

She doesn’t deserve what is to come her way because of his own careless mistake. The embarrassment that might follow the videos, having others see what she and others had done that night. How her eyes, that were filled with light that day, would cloud over and no longer shine so brightly. 

The idea of clouded eyes filled him with guilt, the angel on his shoulder telling him not to do it, that this wasn’t right. That there was a way to protect himself, his teammates, and those in the video. That there was a just solution to all of this. 

However, Carmichael Davis couldn’t stand by that. He wasn’t the main character in a series that was powered by friendship. He wasn’t a character that could stand proudly with a puffed chest, claiming that he could save everyone. He was human, a boy who could only do so much. 

He could either save five individuals whom he didn’t even know and who didn’t know him, or he could protect his three friends. While they started off strangers and those who couldn’t work as a team, he still found himself growing close to them. A boy who only had one friend, now had three more. 

And he’ll do anything to protect them. 

BELENUS: so 

BELENUS: are you really going to send it or do i need to? 

His hands have stopped shaking but his stomach continues to churn. 

CERNUNNOS: No need, I’m going to do it. This is my mission after all, I don’t need your help. 

BELENUS: okay fine

BELENUS: just dont fuck it up for a second time 

BELUNUS: or else ill have to step in and clean up your mess. 

Carmichael Davis doesn’t send another message, clicking out of the chat room and instead, preparing for the email to be sent out at a scheduled time. He apologizes to Mary and Caden but he has three other people on his mind who has to protect. 

He’ll be the villain in Gallagher’s eyes, just as long he’s the hero in theirs.

MORE INFORMATION:

on march 17, gallagher students receive an email at exactly 7am from an anonymous source, with the subject HE’S DEAD. there’s no message in the email, just a video file -- and when you click it, you’re shown the security camera footage of the sublevel on april 27, 2020 :   the night five students broke in and assaulted ex-gallagher alum and brotherhood member cecil lefebvre. 

do with that what you will.

also a side note, but a HUGE thank you to kashia for writing the past two plot drops !

[gallagherhqs]

MARCH 14, 2021

Five. Carmichael Davis (currently parading around campus as his twin brother, Allister Davis) hates that number with a burning passion. It’s a number that has such negative connotations attached to it. A number that reminds him that he’ll never beat Him. Always five seconds too late, five steps behind, and five years too early before he’s able to beat Allister Davis. Carmichael Davis lives in the shadow of his younger brother and he hates it. The same way he hates the number five.

For so long, he has grown to believe that he’ll never beat the other boy. That no matter what he does or tries to accomplish, his brother will always be better than him. Such deep and strong insecurities that followed him like a dark cloud, like a plague that he’ll never find the cure to. That one day, it’ll be the cause of his death.

Five, five, five. How he hates that number.

But it’s a number that he lives by. He hates that he wakes up at 6:45 AM each day, he hates that he arrives five minutes early to all of his classes, he hates that he takes five minute study breaks, and he hates that he plans to accomplish his mission at 5:00 PM EST.

The number five, while so negative, runs his life, controlling him like the puppet that he is. But not anymore, he’s deliberate this time with the number. Because this will be the last time that the number will ever run and influence his entire life.

This moment will signify the first step of doing better for himself.

He breathes in and then out, steading his ever so rapid heartbeat and hands that shake uncontrollably. His phone sits beside his laptop, buzzing with life as he receives a text message.

Martina Washington: running a little late but i promise that im going to be there soon!!!

A smile appears on his face as he texts her back, telling her that it’s alright and for her to take her time. He does feel bad though. He sits here, promising to help her find her biological father, a simple and easy task for him. But just before she is to arrive, he needs to complete his actual mission at hand.

Five, five, five, it’s now five. The time changes and he begins. Carmichael Davis differs from Allister Davis. The younger of the two goes head first into everything he does, fear doesn’t reside within him, only arrogance that motivates and pushes him forward. It’s Carmichael Davis who carefully plans everything out. Each move that he makes has a purpose, each action that he does throughout the day holds a meaning behind it is. He’s not just moving just to move, he is moving to stay ahead. To win.

Every day since arriving at Gallagher, he’s been trying to figure out a way to hack into the school’s system. He collects data, information on the security that they have up to protect themselves. Like any large and famous school, Gallagher has the best of the best create a perfect and hard to crack security system. With a school full of talented hackers, it was made so that none of them could easily get in and see what information the school had.

It was during the Autumn Gala that this wouldn’t have been an easy mission. As if it was just that easy, all of the school’s hackers were able to access the school’s database to find information on whomever they were looking for. It took most of them no more than a few minutes to find the information, giving them the peace of mind to enjoy the rest of the dance. None of them thought twice about it, about how easy that was. But Carmichael Davis did and it made him angry.

It felt like the school was taunting them, him specifically, as if it was saying that this wouldn’t be easy. That the school controlled what they all would find and see of each other. All of it was precise and perfectly crafted to protect the school in whatever way they wanted to. And for someone like him who needed to prove himself worthy, he wouldn’t allow a school like Gallagher to stop him.

Communicating with his brother last semester, the two boys would try to figure out what the school was using as protection. Suggestions were given, ideas were thrown into the trash, and the plan to have other hackers from Gallagher help them was brought up. Too risky, too many people who would ask him questions. It’s thrown into the trash with their other ideas. But now, as he clicks rapidly at his keyboard, not letting up anytime soon, he thinks that having others would’ve been a good idea. The thought doesn’t last long, it can’t, not when he’s doing this and trying to be quick.

Who knows when Martina would arrive, he has to be quick.

Five, five, 5:02 PM. Three minutes ‘till 5:05 PM, until it’s another five. Five minutes. God, he really does hate that number. It’s like a stopwatch, testing to see how long it takes for him to access the needed information. A reminder that he’ll always be five seconds too late, or better yet, five minutes too slow.

Carmichael Davis index fingers jabs down hard on his “ O “ key, his frustration seeping through for a second. He quickly pulls him in. He can’t lose himself here, not when he already set his plan into motion, not when the others were counting on him. Eva, Cole, Cecilia, himself. There’s no time for him to feel sorry and beat himself up, he hasn’t lost. No, he won’t lose. Not to Gallagher, not to Allister Davis, not to the number five.

Because he’s Carmichael Davis and goddamnit, he can do anything he puts his mind to.

The clacking of fingers to keys filled his ears, this time with such calmness and fierceness that it surprises himself. He doesn’t look down at the clock, not giving into its taunts and the cloud that follows it. Five, five, five, fuck you five. He refuses to let the number, no matter how much he hates it, to swallow him up and consume him, not this time, not ever.

He finally sees it, the light at the end of the tunnel. A way in, a weak spot in their firewall. Carmichael Davis moves in, squeezing his way through the little hole as if he’s a bug sneaking into someone’s home. There’s this instant moment of relief, of green eyes that grow wide at this because he was in. The first part had been cleared.

Now is where the easy part comes in. As fast as lightning, Carmichael Davis is sweeping the entire system for a file. The file that holds it all, the information that Gallagher is keeping to themselves. Information that only the administration is aware of, information that could probably break someone.

And he finds it in the form of Laura Sutton’s personal files, everything just sitting there, away from everyone except the President’s eyes. The files were in alphabetical order by last names. Starting with Accola, Corrine and ending with Zhao, Ting; each Gallagher student has their own personal file. But as he scrolled more, to see and find familiar names, he realizes that this doesn’t just have current students. The information is more than just that. Files for past students are still here, the names of some of the previous fourth years catches his eyes.

Blackthorne, Emmett. Berkshire, Grayson. Hill, Alec. Orlov, Dimitri. Redgrave, Louis. Torres, Vida. Their files still sit there, among many others. Files on the faculty are also there, ranging from professors and down to the hired bodyguards. Information about other alumni, including the ones who came to Gallagher a year ago. There’s even a folder dedicated to videos recorded by the many school cameras that were scattered across the campus.

Is she the fucking big brother, he thinks to himself, as he pulls up the chat room with his brother. Always watching, even when you’re gone.

CERNUNNOS : : Information is being sent your way.

There isn’t an immediate reply but he knows that the other has read it. Even if they’re still in the middle of a fight, this mission is still important to both of them, pettiness aside, they had a job to complete. A copy of the information that he finds is sent over to Allister Davis, the other would then send it off to Mr. Stewart.

He’s too curious, and a bit prideful, to stop himself from looking down at his clock. He has to know how long it took him to get there and to find the information. And time he sees should’ve made him nauseous and disappointed in himself but all it did is make him grin widely and laugh. As if this is the biggest and best joke that he has seen all day.

Five, five, five, 5:07 PM EST. Seven minutes, it took him seven minutes to worm his way into Laura Sutton’s database and send the information to Mr. Stewart. It took him seven months to even get to this point. Seven months for him to finally complete his mission. It’s too funny and too good to be true.

He laughs as he quickly leaves from the database, making sure to cover his tracks so that no one is aware that he got in and stole information. He wanted to be careful and take his time with sweeping up after himself but he couldn’t, not when he spotted his client making her way towards him. In both of her hands are two cups of coffee and a huge grin on her face. So happy, so full of life, and so extremely late to their meeting.

Just before she’s able to sit down, he’s out of the database, exiting from it entirely. He’s glad for this distraction, also closing out of the chat room with his brother. That can wait for later, right now he needs to play it cool and just relax. “Ready to find out who your old man is?”

Martina nods her head, sliding the cup of coffee in front of him. “Where do we start?”

Carmichael Davis goes on from there, the weight on his shoulders having been lifted. It took him seven months to get here and seven minutes to hack into the system. Two minutes after five but who gave a fuck about fives? Fives reminded him of the fact that he’ll never be better than Allister Davis, but sevens… sevens are lucky. A new connotation of change for the better, just for him and only for him.

Seven, seven, seven. He’s grateful for sevens.

So wrapped up in his talk with Martina and the new light that sevens shined down on him, Carmichael Davis is completely unaware of two things. He’s unaware of the trace, while so small and faint, that has been left behind during his rush to close everything out. Signaling Gallagher’s cybersecurity team that someone has hacked into their database, able to break through their tight nit security system. They’ve been got, not good at all.

And Carmichael Davis is unaware of the chat room message and a video that Allister Davis sends him.

BELENUS : : well well well look at what we have here!!! ig gallagher has some secrets of their own!!! take a look at this video when youre alone

Seven, seven, seven. Are you really lucky or is that only in stories? None of us will ever know.

                                   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

March 15, 2021 at 7:00am 

To: Gallagher Students From: President Laura Sutton

Dear Gallagher students,

It has come to our attention that yesterday evening, Gallagher’s servers had been hacked by an anonymous source. We’re still trying to assess the damage and figure out where the attack had come from, but we assure you that our team is doing the utmost to maintain Gallagher’s cyber security and protection for all our students and alumni. If anyone has any information related to the attack, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. 

We will provide an update as the investigation continues.

Thank you.

President Laura Sutton

OOC INFORMATION: 

all gallagher students received the email above from laura sutton letting them know about the hacking. all encryption students should know how difficult it is to get into all of gallagher’s servers, and an email like this has never been sent around before – just an idea to let you know how serious this is. it’s common information that gallagher’s system holds information about all their students, families, alumni, faculty, etc. feel free for your muses to react to this accordingly !

[gallagherhqs]

DECEMBER 23, 2020

IT HAD ONLY BEEN TWO AND A HALF WEEKS since the Caledonia agents had sent their notes -- through high security and heavily coded -- back to Mr. Stewart and Caledonia’s Oxford home base, knowing with these notes more direction will be given regarding their mission assignments. Anxiety is high in December, though there’s many reasons why: awaiting their assignments, finals, the holidays, and of course the tragedy that had plagued the last Friday of the fall semester, something even a professional wouldn’t have been able to anticipate. 

Winter break could not come soon enough, but it hasn’t begun yet. On the very last day of the semester, the five agents each received a letter in the mail from a different “family member,” assumed to be writing to them or sending them money before the holidays. But instead of Christmas cards, each of the double agents -- Cole Conner, Evangeline Astor, Allister Davis, Cecilia Casiraghi, and Christian Torres -- had received a single piece of paper in their envelopes, note coded and succinct.

------

Cole Conner,

You have been reassigned to seek out information regarding the death that had taken place on campus on December 18, including how it had happened and if anyone had been involved. Judging from Gallagher’s reputation, we expect foul play to have played a part in it.

------

Evangeline Astor, Continue your preliminary assignment regarding collecting information on notable students and their families, specifically targeting the following students:

Maria Flicke

Charles Eaton

Rizo Guinto

Fallon Sur

Tilly Longfellow

Maddox Discanio

Mary Sakamoto

Luc Montagnier 

Trinity Ibarra

Dana Kristiansen

------

Allister Davis,

Continue your preliminary assignment regarding finding a way to bypass the firewall and run this program to try and find what kind of encryption they got going to get into the database where the files are stored. If necessary, use the following students for help, without compromising your mission: 

Calypso Marshall

Ophelia Spencer

Arin Callister

Miray Tabak

Kassandra Sutton

------

Cecilia Casiraghi,

After careful consideration regarding your notes for potential recruits for the agency, your assignment is to recruit the following students, while using the utmost discretion:

Danny Ishida

Ting Zhao

Conor Edwards

Beatrice Fitzsimmons

Thalia Hall

Julian Eaton

Ace Rockefeller

Maria Flicke

------

Christian Torres,

Continue your preliminary assignment with monitoring our agents in the field. After receiving your notes on their progress, your assignment is to also monitor the following students closest to our field agents, assuring these relationships won’t compromise our mission or their productivity. 

Nico Casiraghi

Anya Casiraghi

Natasha Volkov

Ricky Alonso

Marifer Valverde

Valeria Sutton

Kassandra Sutton

Mary Sakamoto

Rizo Guinto

Owen Musa

Tilly Longfellow

Maddox Discanio

Georgia Brandt

We’re also interested in seeing the rest of Cole Conner’s notes he hasn’t shared with us. Obtain the rest of his files and send them as soon as possible.

------

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2020

IT’S DANGEROUS FOR THEM TO ALL BE MEETING AT ONCE, and Cecilia Casiraghi can feel that danger in her chest, heart thumping on adrenaline and anxiety, as she makes her way through the forest in the middle of the night. She lets the flashlight on her phone and the light of the moon guide her towards their designated meeting spot, under the tree with the tire swing right beside Lac Forestier.  Cecilia feels a pang of annoyance when she realizes she’s the last to arrive.   “I got a little lost,”  she tells them with a huff, not sounding very at all sorry about it.   “I didn’t realize this is the furthest possible point from the campus.”  It’s not, but it practically feels like it.   “Will this take long?  It’s chilly out here.”

"And she finally arrives," Allister Davis says, pushing himself onto his feet to smile warmly at the other. "Was getting worried there, we thought that Gilly had got a hold of you." Even with his frustrations and desire to be inside, Allister still tries to joke around and keep up the act that everything was great and that nothing was wrong. 

Cole Conner does a good job of masking it-- because, well, it's his entire job-- but he is always keeping a healthy level of panic at bay. He knows what happens here will inform the way the future can either go very well or very poorly for him, so his mind can't stop turning over possibilities and variables even as he pretends to be composed and quiet. "It's fine, just turn the flashlight off. It'll take as long as we need, so I hope none of you have plans." It's not a glare per say, but the look Cecilia gives Cole isn't particularly warm, though she does listen and shuts off her flashlight.

“You're the one most likely to have plans, Mr. Popular," Evangeline Astor pipes up, a not-so-subtle dig as she glances in Cole's direction, mainly irritated at the way he seems to self-dub himself the leader at these things. "So, I guess we should all state what things we plan to include in our report? And see where we overlap, or...maybe where we can contribute to each other's work," she points out.

"I'm mostly finished with my report,"  Cecilia throws it out there, making sure everyone knows that she's doing what she has to.  "I have a list of students that I think he'll be interested in, and really, whether they're on your lists or not doesn't really matter, does it?  Though I tried to stay away from encryption students,"  she adds, glancing over at Allister for a moment.

"Well, I think Evangeline is right,” Cole adds. “If we've doubled up anywhere we might be able to provide more insight for one another before we draw up a full report for Stewart. And, Allister, if you have any update on where you are with encryption, that'd be helpful as well."

"Of course she's right, that's my captain for you!" Allister says with a wide grin, referring to Eva and their last conversation with each other. "Me? Oh, I have nothing. Haven't done anything since we've been here," Allister tells the group with a straight face. It doesn't last as he chuckles to himself, making sure not to be too loud. "I'm kidding, obviously. I have some names, working on getting more. I don't remember them all off the top of my head, I have them saved on my computer." Cecilia elbows Allister lightly in the ribs.

"Thanks, Allister," Eva gives a slight shake of her head, because he's ridiculous. "You don't remember any of them?”

"Okay, maybe I remember like two or three but! I'm not sure if Blaire, Rocky, and Stacy are even their real names." The three girls who run the gossip blog. Call him ridiculous or a dumbass but he has his reason to seek out these three. 

"You don't know their...real names? I think we're going to need a touch more detail than that," Eva says, unable to keep the condescension out of her voice. “A lot of my initial work is fairly obvious, I'll admit, the biggest legacy names on campus – though I'm sure Cole has a lot he could contribute regarding the Sutton family. Aren't you joining them for Thanksgiving dinner?" Her tone is almost mocking, she can't help herself.

"I'm afraid your job might be the most difficult of us all," Cole tells the other boy. "Breaking through without getting caught, I mean." As Evangeline speaks, Cole is about to agree with her until she brings up the Suttons, and he has to hold back the instinct to tense up. "It's expected of me, yes.” 

"It's a shame you wasted a year dating Val, when I'm sure I could get just about any information you have on her from being her roommate this year,"  Cecilia sends a shrug in his direction, and Cole doesn't bother in taking too much care to hide the slight annoyance on his face as he brings a hand to his temple. 

"I'm very sure, Miss Casiraghi. And while I am genuinely glad you all get to come to a Gallagher while there's no threat, last year was a much different story."

"Oh yeah, didn't someone die last semester?" Nex to him, Cecilia rolls her eyes at Allister.

"Yes, two girls died last semester, in the old mill...due to the Brotherhood? Allister, this is basic Gallagher knowledge,” Eva reminds him. “That said, Brotherhood or otherwise, nothing should be able to stop us from completing our mission. If anything, it should keep us alert that we're not the only people trying to infiltrate Gallagher's walls. And don't worry, Cole," she flashes him a smile this time, "this year, you have us for support next time you can't hold it together when faced with an obstacle. But speaking of getting sloppy..." she trails off, opening her notes, "you know Rizo Guinto, correct?" 

Cole is calm, polite, and demure as he simply replies, "I'm glad you're here," with a gentle smile on his face, despite his own anger beginning to rise. And then she mentions Rizo. To his credit, Cole doesn't falter, but inside he does steel himself. "I know him, yes. What have you got Evangeline?" he asks.

Leaning into Cecilia's personal bubble, Allister whispers, "how much you wanna bet that she's gonna deck him before we leave tonight?"

"My money is on Eva,"  she whispers back, though not nearly quiet enough for the others not to hear.  "Also if you find out who actually runs the gossip blog, let me know."

"I'm glad we can help," Eva assures Cole, "and hopefully we don't run into any similar hangups – a threat to Gallagher's reputation could be good, but never at such a cost. It's more about...what he's got," she frowns slightly, "he's very interested in you, Cole. To the point where he's done quite a bit of research on your interests and background. I don't know whether he's a threat, but we should be keeping an eye on him. It's a bit suspicious. I know I shouldn't have to tell you this, but...be careful." 

Cecilia’s head whips back to where Eva is when she talks about Rizo, lips curving into a surprised smile.  "Aw, does someone have a crush on him? Cole, you dog. That's adorable. Nobody tell Valeria." 

“You should ask him about it," Cole tells her point blank. "I'm sure the information he has will be very useful to you. Now, should we get back to the matter at hand? And viable leads, Miss Astor?" he goes on, after giving Cecilia a very pointed look for her annoying remarks.

"I'm just saying...you're Mr. Popular around here," Eva notes, because dating the president's daughter certainly comes with an amount of recognition, "there are risks with that." She grimaces at the way everyone keeps asking her what she's got while continuing to offer up nothing for themselves, but fine, it's like they're begging to know why she's better than them and she'll oblige. "I think it makes sense to look into the students with the highest clearance. The Suttons, Mira, Kass, and Val, and then Maddox and Tilly, Irene Bradford's children. There's family secrets, yes, but I'm sure the school itself has secrets we haven't yet uncovered."

"I personally have a nice, long list to send to Mr. Stewart,”  Cecilia pipes up unprompted, not bothering hiding the smugness from her tone, because she's proud of what she's accomplished so far. "I mentioned her to you already, Eva, but Maria Flicke and I are good friends, and she strikes me as the type completely suited for Caledonia. Danny Ishida, too, though he's a bit more reserved. Also first year, Ting Zhao." Cecilia glances over at Cole. "Am I saying anybody that sounds completely out of line?"

Cole holds back a sigh from Eva's comment, because it certainly hadn't been his intention, but she's right anyhow. Initially Val had been a good lead because she was the quieter of the Sutton girls, a first year without as much of a stamp on the school as Kass. "I'll be fine. Do you think the twins have secrets?" he asks, a genuine question. Because aside from their parents, who the whole school already knows about, he can't imagine anything else lurking in their past. "Danny Ishida. That might be a good one," Cole agrees, because he has an inkling that it might actually not be. 

"Wait, are you going for all of the Suttons or just the main three? Ting would be perfect for Caledonia!" Allister adds. A friend from Gallagher would be nice to have, especially when he goes back to being himself. "Okay, let's see... I got Calypso Marshall.... Arin Callistor and.... Miray Tabak."

"Right, you mentioned Ria to me. I've been looking into her family, I'll let you know if I find anything," Eva says to Cecilia, though she's definitely bitter that it's Cole that Cecilia looks to for approval. "I highly doubt there's much about the twins, their parents are what I'm more interested in. No one knows what exactly Irene was doing all summer, just that she wasn't here and her correspondence was limited, and she's known Laura since she was a teen, they seem...close. And their father's completely off the grid again...it's worth looking into. I think all of the Suttons are worth at least basic investigation. We're looking for information on the school and they're at the center." 

"Is anyone looking into the Brandts?  Since I doubt what Allister is doing with Gigi counts,"  Cecilia sends a pointed look in his direction.  "It seems odd all three siblings are at a spy uni when their family isn't in the business."  

"There's already the ordeal of Valeria and Kassandra’s father," Cole offers, if only so Eva will maybe back down even a little bit. "That's common knowledge, of course, but I'm working on more. I'm also looking into the Blacks, Alonsos, and Reign Tech. Results varying," Cole adds, and he hopes throwing some more darts on the board will help spread their resources than needling on just the Suttons. "Georgia seems to have... something going on, and getting close to her that way might actually bear fruit.”

“Just be careful with the Suttons,” Allister warns. “Apparently one of them is a Japanese Princess.” Chills run down his spine at the thought of Suzume. “Compared to her older siblings, Gigi is the best person to get information out of. Parker and Max are difficult to pry information from, but Gigi? A true clipmalabor! I’m sure the two of you have figured that out,” he says to Eva and Cecilia.

Eva glances towards the Scottish boy. "Well, Allister – you've spent so much time with Gigi, have you discovered anything useful? I think it's possible, however Parker and Maxine likely have more access to their family's accounts, they probably know things Gigi doesn't, even as a true...clipmalabor, not to mention that Steve Park is hovering over her shoulder at all times. If you haven't gotten anything useful out of her by now, we might be wasting time – a look through Maxine's email accounts and correspondence is probably worth the effort." 

"I've been friends with Gigi since the first day of school,” Cecilia comments, “ and all she's told me is where all her family's houses are. If you ask me, her needing a bodyguard in a spy school is ridiculous, but that probably shows how useless she is. You'd have better luck with her siblings." She's not the one looking for information, so she doesn't feel the need to disclose her relationship with Parker -- it's not exactly relevant.  

“Did you guys know that Gigi died when she was younger but came back to life? Now she can speak to the dead! Not just any bodyguard, he’s a Park. That name means a lot around here.” Though, there’s not much that he’s gotten out of Steve so just like Gigi, Allister is useless for this mission. “You want me to hack into Maxine’s email accounts? Easy enough. I can also check out Parker’s, I’m sure he’s hiding something as well.”

"Right, very useful, Allister, thank you," Eva deadpans. "You'd think someone in need of a bodyguard wouldn't be giving out all of her personal addresses...which sort of leads me to believe that she's probably not involved with whatever her family is hiding. Yeah, I think that's a good start, since they're both involved with the family business, if there's anything there, that could be a way in.”

 "The Brandts aside, I think we'd all do well to either focus on current leads or find new avenues. I trust you're all blending in as well as Cecilia is?" Cole asks sarcastically, knowing that Cecilia was making friends with practically everyone (and maybe even more than that). "I'm sure I don't need to tell you, but stay alert. We should keep each other posted on anything that might be trouble."

Eva gives a short nod. "It's true, we all have our own work to do, but we should be looking out for each other. This was...not extremely productive, but it was good to talk, I guess." 

 "We didn't come all this way just for this, did we?" Cecilia huffs, and she'd agree with Eva that this doesn't feel very productive.  

"It's necessary, nonetheless," Cole replies plainly, and he's hardly concerned about how annoying he may come off to any of them. "We'll have more to do after we hear back from him."

[gallagherhqs]

𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟖 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄: 𝟐:𝟏𝟎 𝐏𝐌

          After class ended, Cyrus thought it would be a good idea to surprise Jai in his dorm. They both had been so busy with school, they’d barely had time for each other. He’d gotten him a cupcake to celebrate the end of classes and everything!  In the midst of cleaning up his room for him, he noticed three cups. One empty, and two with purple liquid that he assumed was butterfly pea tea. Cyrus gave it a sniff to check if it was old. He looked around to see if anyone would see what he was doing, and, when he didn’t see anyone, he chugged, and finished the cold tea. It was only when he began feeling the tingling on his tongue that he began to wonder what it was exactly that he’d drank. Maybe he was allergic to it. 

And then a tightness in his chest, and his eyes widened, the room spinning as he tried to keep himself steady on the table the cups had originally been on, only to knock down the one with the other liquid. No way was he drinking that now anyway!  Who knows what could be in it!  He looked around, trying to find the spot where he rested his phone to text someone for help. The room spun even more, and his lungs felt as though cobwebs had made their home there. He sat on the ground, hoping the feeling would pass, though it only got worse. and as every second passed, he believed that Jai would walk through that door. That he would see him, and he would save him in time. With all of his being, he believed it. 

Maybe he was allergic to butterfly pea tea and he didn’t know. 

As things began to get a bit lighter, as the room came out of focus and all he could hear was the sound of his own wheezing as his airways seemed to close more and more, he couldn’t help but start to lose hope, to think about all of the things he had to do still. Marrying Jai, having a job, watching his friends grow up, having kids. Oh god, his moms. How would they survive without him? And his sister? Would Jai die if he did? What about his friends? His eyes filled with tears as he tried to scream for help, but no words came out. He tried to crawl in the direction of where he thought he left his phone, where he thought he heard the ding of a ringtone, but he’d lost all of his energy. 

That was when the door opened. and Jai ran through, and Cyrus looked up at him to try to keep his eyes open. He clung to him as best as he could. “I really messed up this time,” he managed to croak out, the fear and panic evident in his eyes. And as he laid there, clinging to him, waiting for help to come, he also felt himself drifting away. His eyes never broke from looking up at Jai, picturing the life they could have had together. He had to be at peace knowing that they weren’t meant to be in this life, which only made more tears fall as he slowly drifted away. Until no air could travel through his lungs. Until his heart gave out. Until he passed on with the rest of the souls Gallagher claimed as her own. The last thing on his mind were all of the people who loved him, and how terrified he was for them. 

more information: 

rumors had started swirling from the spectacle jai caused, but at the end of the day on friday, president laura sutton called an assembly in the auditorium and informed the school on the death of cyrus diaz. with only three days of finals left she couldn’t cancel them, but she assured the students there is already an investigation underway regarding his death, and the school counselors are available 24/7. there will be a memorial service for him on wednesday, following the last final.

on saturday night, the black dahlias and amethyst nightshades both send out notes to their prospecting members, canceling their initiation ritual until further notice. with the investigation of cyrus’ death having ties to secret societies, they’ll wait until spring semester to plan their next moves.

[gallagherhqs]

𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟔

Christian Torres had figured an easy way to get closer to Cole Conner was to set study sessions. It's not out of character for Christian to need some help with other classes, because focusing doesn’t come easy for him when he’s so uninterested in the material. 

During most of the study sessions, Christian doesn’t notice anything of the ordinary. The study sessions pass smoothly. There’s one specific day where he had luckily shown up early to Cole’s dorm room (uncharacteristic of the Torres, as well) and had seen Cole put away a notebook in a lockbox and stash it in one of the desk drawers, causing his curiosity and interest to peak. Christian had known he needed to find a way to get a hold of the notebook and whatever could be inside. He had waited for Thanksgiving break, a time where he knew a lot of students would be leaving campus, making sure to note which of Cole’s roommates would be around or not. He decides the best time to go would be when everyone’s busy at the feast.

Christian’s lucky he knows how to pick a lock; it’s a skill he had learned years back while being on the road, coming in handy with illegal racing. So breaking into Cole’s room is the easy part. Is Christian nervous? Yes. The whole deal about being Mr. Stewart’s eyes and ears doesn’t come too easy for him. But he has to do it for his family’s safety. He’d never live with himself if he were the reason they got killed.  Mr. Stewart ensured their protection for a price.

The moment he’s in, Christian closes the door behind him and locks it, hurrying over to the desk drawer and rummaging through it until he finds the lockbox. Of course Cole has a password. He knows Cole isn’t stupid, which is why Christian had prepared a potential list of passwords the day before, all from information Mr. Stewart had shared with the other’s background and life, some random things he had discovered about Cole over the past few months. His birthday, his family’s names, Cole’s real last name, Valeria’s name, etc etc. He sincerely hopes that one of these potentials would be it, because he really doesn’t want to have to come in here again for this. One time is hard enough.

He doesn’t have much time, but he maintains composure as he tries out the passwords, because he has to be calm. Allowing himself to stress over this would mess with his focus, and he needs every single brain cell he has to do its job.  But he gets one password wrong after the other, and slowly, he can’t help but start to stress, sweat forming on his forehead. He looks at the time to see how much he has left; he doesn’t have long until there’s potential for any of the roommates to come in.

Finally, one password works: DAHL, Cole’s real last name. “Fucking hell. Cole, you son of a bitch,” he lets out, followed by a relieved breath, and immediately opens the lockbox, taking the notebook out and skimming through it. It’s essentially a burn book, full of random and personal information about the students in Gallagher. Some of the information Christian imagines are secrets, destructive if they were to ever come out. Some of the stuff in there has Christian’s eyes widening. But it is Cole’s job: get information on the students of Gallagher. “Fuck…” It’s another reminder why Christian had quit this life after prep school.

… rumors of a murdered ex… … actual ex-assassin… … on the run and hiding from mob family… … police reports on father for violence...

Christian takes out his phone and take as many pictures as he can from the notebook, in order to send the information to Mr. Stewart when it is time. He contemplates tearing a few pages, but he knows Cole would notice, and that is the last thing he needs.

Christian’s almost out of time. He doesn’t get to take pictures of the entire book, but he takes just enough to give Mr. Stewart a clear image of what’s going on. The screenshots contain information on Elisa Caspar, Sebastian Castillo, Aylin Kaleli, Kassandra Sutton, Leo Lefebvre and Mary Sakamoto. He doesn’t have much time to properly read through the notes yet, but from what he gathers, it’s basic information about their ages, year, background, including family, personal lives and personalities. He’ll have to check more in depth when he’s out of here.

He rushes as he returns the notebook into the box and back into the drawer, making sure to return things as they were, and practically rushes out of the dorm room. He lets out a deep breath as he walks out, the stress beginning to subside. The entire experience had not been something he ever expected he’d have to go through -- but then again, being the eyes and ears of Mr. Stewart demands that he put himself through shit like this, and he had accepted the harsh reality he was in months ago. What other choice did he have?

[gallagherhqs]

𝑺𝑻𝑼𝑫𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑺 𝑨𝑹𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑳𝑳 𝑷𝑬𝑬𝑳𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑶𝑼𝑻 𝑶𝑭 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑩𝑨𝑳𝑳𝑹𝑶𝑶𝑴  when the clock strikes ten to midnight, heading back to their dorms with tales of successful missions completed or going to continue the party in the common areas for awhile longer. but for some students, their nights are just beginning, ducking out early in order to make the invitation that had been sent to them days prior. two groups congregate on different ends of campus under the moonlight of the autumn equinox ;   twenty masked students hover along the edge of lac forestier with black dahlias in their hand, while twenty more masked students gather in the tombs each holding nightshade.  none of them have any idea what they’re in for, or WHO they’re waiting for, or who the faces in the crowd even are.  some are more recognizable than others in masks and formal attire, and few easily notice one or two of their friends there as well, though most are strangers to one another.  only the best of the best have been invited to the formation of the two secret society groups -- the order of the black dahlia and the order of the amethyst nightshade -- though not all of them will last.

at exactly midnight the leaders arrive at their sanctioned meeting locations, and the difference between them and the pledges are obvious in their matching robes   ( black for the nightshades, white for the dahlias )   and plain black masks, given out by the party planning committee at the earlier event. landon and enzo and natasha and aria have been prepped by last semester’s alumni connections to the groups on how to run these meetings, and the words have been practiced and polished for weeks on end, since before invitations had even been sent out.

“ welcome to the first meeting of the order of the black dahlias. ”   natasha’s voice rings out to the crowd of masked students, though her gaze slips past them and focuses on the lake behind them.

it’s landon who takes charge at the tombs, a hint of a smile on his lips as he starts.  “ you’ve been brought here tonight by the order of the amethyst nightshade, an organization that had started its roots at blackthorne academy for generations. ” 

“ gilly’s niece started the organization ten years after gallagher itself opened, as a celebration to its school and her aunt, a sisterhood. to become a black dahlia is a prestigious honor, following the footsteps of world-renowned female spies that are stationed all over the globe. wherever your career aspirations are in life, the chances of a black dahlia being there is high. ”  

“ the nightshades were for the best of the best, rooted in tradition and secrets, named after the poisonous nightshade native to blackthorne’s grounds. it was disbanded in the early 2000s following an incident, but this year it has returned. ” 

“ we’re excited for black dahlias to be returning to gallagher’s gardens, after an incident at blackthorne unrelated to our group banned us from being on campus. ”   a brief pause, and a flicker of uncertainty reaches her face for a moment.   “ it’s important to follow the tradition of keeping the group a secret.  any discussion outside of us regarding the group will result in immediate removal. ”

“ you’re not to speak of this group with anyone outside of this circle. if you do, we will know. ”

“ now begins your first step of the initiation process. by arriving here tonight, you’ve confirmed your interest in being considered for the black dahlias. in front of us stands twenty pledges, but only twelve will be welcomed into the group at the end of the semester. ”

“ not all of you will be making it past initiation. if you want to be in the group, you’re going to have to prove you have what it takes to be a member. ” 

“ each of you will be given one task to be completed in order to claim your spot as a black dahlias. the tasks will be tailored to each of you specifically, and we’ll be asking for proof of completion. if you’re unable to complete your task, you will no longer be considered for the group. ”

“ all amethyst nightshade members dating back to harrison blackthorne’s founding group have gone through the same hazing you will have in the next few weeks. some of you will be pitted against each other to test who would be better suited for the organization, while others will have their own assignments to complete. those left standing will be officially initiated into the society at the end of the semester. ”

“ we’re excited for a new age at gallagher, to form a sisterhood during a time where gallagher girls need each other more than anything. ”   natasha flashes a smile to the crowd, and it’s hard NOT to want in on this, after being narrowed down from all other students on campus. 

the tone of the nightshades is a tad rougher than the dahlias, but it’s hard to be intimidated when landon’s grin is so bright, it’s impossible to not know it’s him.   “ don’t come to us regarding hazing -- trust me, we’ll be coming to you. until then, keep the secret to yourself and try not to do anything to ruin your shot. ”

both meetings don’t last long, and by half-past twelve the students are safely back inside the building, awkwardly mumbling their goodbyes to each other before heading back to their rooms, somehow with more questions in their head than when they started.

[gallagherhqs]

𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐆𝐎, 𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐆𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓. but this wasn’t a secret kept solely from the outside world, it was a secret that most of the student body only heard vague rumors about. secret societies exist in all top tier colleges, so why would gallagher be any different? or, for that matter, blackthorne. but when a fatal accident led to the termination of blackthorne’s chapter, gallagher was dragged down with them. both societies have laid dormant for years, the lakes they used to meet at were left empty, with no prospective students knowing enough to start the societies anew.

enter hal hardy and naomi powell-king. neither knew what the other was doing, but they each pulled aside two students and entrusted them to once again bring the secret societies back to gallagher -- or, in the case of blackthorne, finally integrate a piece of the old school into its new home.

hal spoke to his nephew enzo cavanagh and landon bennet, a student his roommate was mentoring. naomi chose to approach aria beck and natasha volkov, two students who were different enough to reach a broad spectrum of members. and quietly as they had ended, the secret societies slowly breathed back to life.

but that’s an american story. let’s get back to berlin. we’ll check in on our secret societies next semester.