Chris Jameson was surprised to see DCI Tetazoo had requested an urgent meeting with Cyber Command's Director as they had only recently had a review with the CIA. He mentioned the fact to Lillian and her eyes narrowed in concentration.

'The CIA has just closed down a wing of the Lashkar-e-Tabai perhaps he wants to share his good news with us. Lillian knew that the CIA had invested a lot of time and effort into that particular project and she also knew that their deep cover agent on the Lashkar was none other than Amelia Vaughn. 'The Pakistan government is reeling from the evidence presented to them of the complicity of the ISI and are concerned that U.S. funding to the country will be stopped. The Agency's good work has also given The Secretary of State a lot of bargaining power when it comes to encouraging Pakistan to be more forceful with certain parties. Presidential approval is flowing their way currently so we will have to offer our congratulations; it was a fine piece of work.'

'If they had such good inside information why wasn't the base at Bawri Tani protected? Senator Barnet was killed; we had over fifty injured or dead, that was hardly a good result for the CIA.' Jameson understood the agencies couldn't always cover every eventuality but that incident seemed at odds with the CIA's current success.

Collateral damage I suspect, Lillian thought with regret but she didn't voice her concern. 'Perhaps their informant wasn't in a position to reveal that information. I may be able to provide more detail on the subject later or I may not,' she added in a dry tone. 'Whatever the situation turns out to be get out the good china,' she raised her eyebrows humorously.

Gabriel nudged Riley as DCI Tetazoo entered the offices and was greeted by Director Strand. 'Something's going down,' he growled in her ear. 'We just saw them off the premises not ten days ago and they're back. You don't think the DCI has a twinkle in his eye for Lillian and he's here to ask her to dinner?'

'And they say women gossip,' Riley mocked him. 'Maybe they want to use your special skills Agent Vaughn; although I think you make them feel a little uncomfortable… Riley wished she'd bitten her tongue as Gabriel got that cynical look on his face she hated.

'Yeah I'm like a toy they don't have and if every agency can't have one then they'd like Lillian to just throw me away or switch me off, whatever. You know what? It might be better if they made a few more chip heads of course the failure rate makes them feel a little bit uncomfortable and it makes it hard to sell to potential volunteers.' He ran a hand over his short hair almost protectively.

'I don't think they could make one exactly like you,' Riley responded rising to the challenge of diverting Gabriel from too much introspection. 'And they might end up with a few more Mei Chen's so the psychological profiling needs work.' She smiled at him with that I'm a good girl expression he hated. 'Also I think they might like someone who follows orders in a less innovative way.' She saw his mouth twitch at that, Gabriel's sense of humour was one of the things she liked about him. 'It might be about something that doesn't concern us at all,' she added hopefully although she had a bad feeling about it. She'd heard snippets on the grapevine about the Lashkar success and even the evening news had covered the drones going in on selected targets. The Lashkar had links with Amelia and the intelligence gathered must have been in part from her or about her so she had good reason to be concerned about her protective charge.

Gabriel was too smart not to have picked up on any of the gossip going round and he had all the international news media available to him and could understand Urdu with a little help from his app. He routinely monitored anything that might be related to Amelia even though he'd witnessed her death; it had become a habit with him so he was an expert on the different factions in that part of the world.

'CIA's tails are up after the Lashkar were taken down; don't you listen to the news Agent Neal?' He knew Riley tried to protect him from more than bullets she had his emotional well-being at heart as well as his physical. 'I think there's a good chance this has something to do with that and therefore something to do with my wife because she was working with the Lashkar if you remember?' His tone was deeply sarcastic as he didn't like anyone trying to wrap him in cotton wool.

'I remember Gabriel,' she responded in an even tone. Her blue eyes searched his and she tried not to let her anxiety show. She wondered if Gabriel still blamed her for her actions to save him and she also wondered if Amelia was alive what his wife would have done if she hadn't pushed Gabriel out of that window. It was a problem that nagged at her constantly. Was Amelia protecting her cover; would she have protected her cover at the expense of Gabriel's life. Would she have sacrificed her husband? Riley couldn't imagine the decisions Amelia Vaughn must have had to make; the choices that faced her every day in her line of work. It made protecting Gabriel Vaughn and the chip seem relatively simple.

'It will be interesting to see which side the dime falls; terrorist or heroine. If they ask me to accept a medal for anything I might find it hard to muster enthusiasm,' he drawled. 'After all I got the chip and didn't get my wife back which was the reason I volunteered so you could say my expectations weren't met. I need coffee,' he headed for the restaurant.

Riley followed with a backwards glance over at the Director's office. Lillian Strand was always difficult to read so it was hard to get anything from her body language all Riley could tell was that she was concentrating intensely on what was being said. She followed Gabriel with a heavy heart. She had a bad feeling about this.

Riley wasn't entirely surprised to get a summons from Lillian Strand later that evening. Gabriel had been in her office already so Riley guessed he'd been briefed. She was surprised they weren't briefed together and she was a little irked when he went off with Jameson subsequently. She entered Lillian's office and sat down when offered a seat.

'I expect you're wondering what the DCI's visit was about,' Lillian's piercing blue eyes held Riley's steady gaze. 'It has a major impact on your work and your relationship with Agent Vaughn. I'm well aware that you kept your relationship with Gabriel at a professional level; I imagine you botched the seduction scene and therefore left yourself with a free conscience which of course means that Gabriel trusts you to watch his back as was always my intention.'

Riley's eyebrows shot skywards. 'You expected me to fail?' She asked in a surprised tone. 'Why ask me to seduce Gabriel if you expected me to fail at the task?' Her professional pride was somewhat dented by Lillian's admission and she didn't like being played by the Director.

'Agent Neal you're a woman of principle but I'm quite sure if you had to seduce someone in order to save Gabriel's life you would do it. What you wouldn't do is break his trust. He's a fine man; he's a hero and he thinks well of you. I just gave you a little push that helped prove your worth to him and I'm sure it brought you closer. He's going to need a friend in the coming weeks and I'm glad I assigned you for that reason.'

'I'm not sure I feel comfortable with those methods,' Agent Neal responded somewhat affronted by the Director's actions but also secretly relieved that Lillian Strand hadn't expected her to cynically seduce Gabriel.

'I didn't ask,' the Director responded in a clipped tone. 'Amelia is alive as I suspected and she's back in the folds of the CIA with a big promotion in her lap. In fact she's giving up field work in order to become the Director of Field Work for the Agency and she is certainly a most accomplished and dedicated agent. Gabriel's gone to meet her and Jameson is providing protection in this instance.'

'I see, so she completed her mission,' Riley concluded simply. Poor Gabriel was what she secretly thought. He deserved someone who would care about him and what he'd been through in the last six years. Did Amelia appreciate the pain of not knowing whether your loved one was alive or dead; the loneliness and the grief endured; the risk Gabriel had taken when he'd volunteered for the chip to find her, to help her. Riley couldn't help think that if she had been in Amelia's place; in the place of a wife who supposedly loved him she would have found some way to contact her husband.

'Yes,' the Director agreed dryly. 'They threw away the mould when they made Amelia Vaughn; I'm sure Gabriel will be relieved that she's alive and he was right about her allegiance. Amelia has a desk job now so she won't be off on another mission of the same duration so in some ways that must be a relief.'

The two women stared at each other and neither of them said what they wanted to say. Gabriel Vaughn was a strong man and he had a big heart but they both wondered how he would equate Amelia's dedication to her mission against his willing sacrifice of his life to find and help her.