Ally Carter

“Because death is the only thing that could have ever kept him from you.”

“to know a piece of grass, you’ve got to see the ground that grew it. Maybe that’s why I remember every detail of that night, every inch of ground we covered, as I followed Zach to the place that had made him, seeing them both with fresh eyes.”

“real strength is not hitting when what you most want to do is kill.”

“Or maybe crying is like everything else we do- it's best if you don't get caught.”

“Sitting there that day, I knew that the only thing I could do was keep putting one foot in front of the other, hoping none of the secrets on my shoulders would make me lose my balance.”

“You're late." Kat said as soon as Hale put the phone to his ear. She wasn't the kind of girl to wait for hello."What can I say? Macey McHenry has been throwing herself at me...""See, that's the kind of thing that would make me jealous if she weren't way out of your league.""You know, if I had feelings, that might have hurt them.”

“They were both totally laughing, and he was twirling her, and her hair was flying around like she was in a shampoo commercial. Seriously. She could have sold conditioner to a bald man the way she looked out there.”

“You should always trust the instincts of children.”

“Enemies are nothing compared to traitors, after all. It's the people you hold closest who have the most power to make you bleed.”

“What about a Princess Bride?""Where are we gonna find a six-fingered man on such short notice?”

“Quietly, Macey went through her options. Even though the masked men were asking for cell phones, the gunmen were making so much noise that she was sure someone had already called 911. The obvious exits were blocked, and the elevators had no doubt been disabled. The men moved with confidence and order, but they weren’t trying to be quiet. There was nothing covert at all about this operation.Unlike the boy beside her.”

“That's for me to know, and for you to find out.”

“I wanted to pull away, remind him that I was a big girl, a highly trained operative, a spy - that I'd been training for this mission my entire life, and I wasn't going to be left on the sidelines. But in the dim space with Zach pressed tightly against me, only one thought came to mind. I kissed him - longer and deeper than I ever had before. The school was not watching us this time. There was nothing playful in the tone. We were just two people kissing as if for the first time, as if it might be the last. And then I broke away. "So," I asked, as if I got kissed like that all the time (which, believe me, I don't), "where is it you're taking me again?" "The tombs.”

“It is a little-known fact about covert operations that you will spend a lot of time with people you can’t really trust. They may be traitors and liars. We call them assets or informants. But mostly, in those days, I called him Zach.”

“Waffles. Im craving waffles."Bex rolled onto her side. "Tell your waffles hi for me.”

“When Zach said, "Im going to kill Dr. Steve." It wasn't the angered threat of a worried boy; it was the calm, cool statement of an operative trained to do exactly that. And that, I think, is why it scared me.But it wasn't as terrifying as the look in Bex's eyes when she said, "Not if I find him first.”

“Waiting. Like it or not, it's a skill all spies have to master eventually.”

“He was beside me then, his arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly."I'm not crazy," I whispered."I know."Believe it or not, that's the most romantic thing Zachary Goode ever told me.And I kind of loved him for it.”

“As Buckingham talked, I couldn't help but remember that there's a reason they call us Gallagher Girls. It's not just because the youngest of us are twelve. It's also because our founder was under twenty. From the very beginning we have been discounted and discredited, underestimated and undervalued. And, for the most part, we wouldn't have it any other way.”

“There are six reasons anyone does anything: Love. Faith. Greed. Boredom. Fear..." he said, ticking them off on his fingers; but he lingered on the last, drawing a deep breath before he said, "Revenge.”

“How sweet is that? I know I'm no boy expert, but I have heard entire lectures on reading body language, and I have to say that assuming that a person will have forgotten your name is way high on my "indicators of humbleness" list (not that I have one, but I totally have a starting point now).”

“Did you say something Macey?' I asked, but she cut me a look that could kill. She reached into her bag, ripped off a sliver of Evapopaper, and scribbled:'Can we study tonight? (Tell anyone, and I'll kill you in you sleep!)”

“i drink caffeine" she said calmly "lot's of it gives you pep”

“Hamish smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Sure we can. What do you say? Pigs in a Blanket?" He leaned over the cool counter and raised his eyebrows at Gabrielle. "The only way I'll get under a blanket with you is if both of us are on fire," she told him.”

“Angus looked at Hamish. "I hate it when Mom and Dad fight."Hamish smoothed his brother's messy hair. "Me too.”

“I came back, Uncle Eddie. Last year, after the Henley, I could have gone to any school in the world -- I could have done anything, but I came back." "You ran away, Katarina." "And now I'm back." "You're still running.”

“His hands are off," Gabrielle pointed out. "Posture's wrong," Kat said. "He's still ... hot," Gabrielle said, as if it were the greatest insult in the world. "I feel so objectified. So ... cheap," Hale told them.”

“I could have lied. I could have fought. But desperate times call for desperate measures, so I took a chance and called upon a Gallagher Girl's weapon of last resort. I flirted”

“She thought she was only seeing him because she wanted to see him... It's a by-product of very dramatic kissing.”

“The older I got, the smarter my teachers became.”

“I also packed explosives."-Liz”

“Covert Operations ReportAt approximately 0900 hours on Saturday, October 14, Operative Morgan was given a stern lecture by Agent Townsend, a tracking device by Agent Cameron, and a very scary look from Operative Goode. (She also got a tip that her bra strap was showing from Operative McHenry.)The Operative then undertook a basic reconnaissance mission inside a potentially hostile location. (But it wasn't as hostile as Operative Baxter was going to be if everything didn't go according to plan.)”

“Don’t mind me,” I said. “I’m just the person who tried to rob the place last July.”“No, you diddn’t,” Abby said, appearing on the roof. She was wearing a trim suit and tall black boots. Her hair was pulled into a sleek ponytail at the nape of her neck, and either i was imagining things or Townsend wasn’t quite as good a spy as I thought, because I could have sworn I saw him drool a little.Note to self: your aunt is a hottie.”

“So you're Zach." Townsend didn't even try to hide the judgement in his voice as he looked Zach up and down in some sort of silent but dangerous examination.Zach huffed but smiled. "so you're Townsend."The two of them stared for a long time, wordless. It felt like I was watching a documentary on the Nature Channel, something about alpha males in the wild.”

“You get some sleep, Abigail," Townsend told her. "I'll keep watch.""That's very gracious of you, but being that we're on an airplane..."Even after the plane took off, they kept debating security perimeters and protocols. I'm pretty sure they argued for forty-five minutes about where the best place for cappuccino was near the Colosseum.”

“It's not Cam's fault," Bex told her. "We rigged her bed so that if she gets up, I get an electric shock.""Liz designed it," Macey said, and Bex shrugged."We told you we were taking precautions."Of course. Because at Gallagher Academy, "precautions" usually equals "voluntary shock therapy".”

“You might think being the target of an international terrorist organization, an amnesiac, and a girl with hair dyed in the middle of the night by Macey McHenry would make people stare at you. Well, try walking into the Grand Hall with seriously puffy eyes while holding hands. With a boy.”

“You are back, Cam. Which means for the first time since you left, it's okay for us to be mad at you for leaving. - Macey”

“W.W. Hale the Forth bought the car for Headmaster Franklin, or didn’t they mention that? Granted it was to make up for the fire that W.W. Hale allegedly started in the eighth grade before they suggested that all current and future W.W. Hales continue their education elsewhere- which worked out just as well since I’m at the Knightsbury Institute now.”“I’ve never heard of it”“My father got a letter just this week telling him I have become a model student”“Congratulations”…“Yeah, well, I’m the only student.”… “Of course the downside of attending a fictional school is that our lacrosse team sucks.”

“I'm fine I said for the 2,467th time this semester. (I know. I was keeping count)”

“Don't let two men fall in love with you, girls. It's not the sort of thing that ends well."-Uncle Charles”

“I mean she's Cleopatra... shouldn't she and Antony have known better? They were so different...""Variety is the spice of life""And from a thousand miles apart""Absence makes the heart grow fonder”

“Fear is a weakness. It makes a person lose her nerve and her cool. It makes people jumpy and organizations nervous, and when that happens, there is always a chance to take advantage.”

“Hale!' Kat cried, but the boy only stared at her. 'Fine,' she conceded. 'I love your boat.''Ship.''Ship ... Your ship is beautiful.”

“Denying the undeniable just makes you sound like a fool as well as a liar.”

“Yes, of course. But ... how?"Kat felt her crew around her: Hamish's arm hung around Simon's shoulders; Gabrielle's delicate hands draped through the arms of Angus and Nick. Kat's own hand found Hale's, then, fingers interlacing, palms pressing together so tightly that Kat knew nothing could come between them. Nothing. She looked at him. No one."It's easy," Kat said, "when you don't have to do it alone.”

“Your memory is your first and best weapon, ladies. Learn to use it.”

“I don't want tea, I want justice!”

“Kat looked down at her lemonade. 'Do you think he betrayed the love of his life...because of us?''She used the name Romani, Kat,' was Gabrielle's answer. 'And besides...' She let the words draw out. Her gaze went to the distance, and there was a sense of peace in the way she said, 'WE'RE the love of his life.' She raised her glass again. 'To family.”

“...there was no such thing as curses. People make and break their own fortunes -they are the masters of their own fate.”