Page 138 of Veiled

“Each of you will plan a mission in which you’ll sneak into one of the Clowess military camps along the border. Once inside, you’ll need to find a way to get a map from the base commander's tent and get out undetected. This is a solo task, so we shouldn't hear any discussions.”

Immediately, the rustling of notebooks and pens hitting paper fills the room.

Matt mouths a quick “Good Luck” to me, and I stick my tongue out at him before creating my own outline.

Five hours later, our plans have been made, torn to pieces by our classmates, and finally rebuilt as a class with Lin and Halden guiding us. The downside to not having a set schedule for Ghost Walking is that we never know how late class will go.

We’ve had lessons that only lasted an hour, and others that took up an entire day—and that’s not including our missions that can take place any day of the week.

“Impressive plan today, Annalise. Other than a few minor things, you’d never know you haven’t had to plan a mission before,” Major Halden says, as he flips the chair in front of me around so he can sit facing Aiden and me.

“Thank you, Sir.”

He nods before signaling for Captain Lin to get to what she wanted to see us about.

“As we mentioned after your first mission, we were very impressed with your performance as a team in your roles. Something has come up, and we need you two to break out those aliases again.”

Aiden and I exchange a quick look, both excited to work together again, and curious.

“There was another couple you interacted with at the party that has raised some red flags. We’ve had other teams try to break into their security systems, but they are highly advanced and require more intimate tools for hacking, which is where you two come in…”

I’m not sure if it’s her pause or the pink tint that creeps into her cheeks, but butterflies are suddenly flapping around my stomach aggressively.

“They will be at a resort up north this weekend for one of their group events. Aiden, you will need to get Mrs. Blane’s retina scan, while Annalise, you will need to get Perry’s fingerprints, and a recording of his voice saying a specific set of words.”

Passing us each a file to look through, I choke when I read it over.

“You HAVE to be kidding!” My reaction has Aiden quickly scanning the page. “A swingers getaway?”

“Ana, look at this code phrase.” Then, looking back at Major Halden and Captain Lin, he asks, “How exactly is she supposed to get him to say this?”

Major Halden can’t seem to keep a straight face as he says, “She’ll definitely need to get creative with this mission.”

“Creative?” Aiden laughs bitterly.

“Only couples are invited in, and Mr. and Mrs. Blane tend to like slightly younger partners to swap spouses with.”

“Uh-huh” was all he said, which was still more than I could get out.

Captain Lin clears her throat. “Your mission will be next weekend, so you do have a few days to prepare before you have to leave on Saturday morning.

She passes us an envelope filled with the same forged documents from our last mission together before dismissing us.

“Oh, and Annalise? All of your classes have been cleared for Saturday. You two should leave early in the morning so you can get settled in before the kickoff pool party.”

Ignoring that last detail until I can fully read through the file, I thank her and leave as quickly as possible.

We’re barely out of the classroom before I’m laughing hysterically, Aiden looking at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“Ana?”

“Aiden. This can’t be real life! Pinch me or something because this has to be the craziest dream I’ve ever had.”

I’m trying to talk, trying to calm myself, but it feels as impossible as I would have thought getting an assignment like this would have been an hour ago.

He pulls me into his chest, and I inhale the faint scent of his lingering cologne.

“I really fucking wish this was just a dream, Sweetheart. But it’s not, and we have a lot to discuss.”