Well, this is the last part of the A Thorned Rose Series. I'd like to give thanks to my little brother, Sam, for listening to me, and helping with ideas. Also, to LilMickey2008 for letting me re-write his original, and continue writing a series that he was going to not continue. And finally, to HalfJaw101 for being an awesome reviewer and FanFic friend :)

With that, let us begin.

A ROSE GONE ROGUE

CHAPTER 1:

BANG

In mere seconds, the huge bullet erupted out of the massive Barrett .50 Cal's barrel and hit the target with dead on accuracy. The body fell backwards by a good ten yards. Blood spurted out of all the orifices it could, painting the nearby faded green Humvee bright red. The shooter felt as if it had happened in complete slow-motion; she was able to practically watch the bullet enter the man's body, watching it move through the air. She slowly regained her senses, and steadily stood up; overlooking the area she had just sniped. Five men lay dead in the field, one of which had once been her husband.

Jennifer Mui felt numb. She couldn't feel any emotions. Not sadness, not grief, not even guilt. She packed up her things, got into the ancient Ford truck, and drove down to the valley where five bodies were lying in the desert sand. She had to get the photographic evidence for Saladin, and then she would get paid. She quickly took the pictures of the men. She walked over to the Humvee. The blood had already started to dry on the metal sides. Jen however couldn't find James' corpse. She figured the force had blown it back somewhere in the bushes. She couldn't bring herself to take a picture of him, so she flipped one of the other soldiers over as she dragged him to the truck. The photos looked like two different men. She then set a charge of C4 on the truck, and drove away in hers. She clicked down hard on the red button, exploding the truck and the remnants of the soldiers. She looked back in her rear-view for s few seconds, watching black smoke spiral into the air. She felt no remorse.

Three hours later, she arrived at the Saudi Arabian base. It was dark out but she wanted to get her pay. She strolled in to Saladin's office. She was let in, and she set the camera down on Saladin's desk. He started going through each one, casually glancing at the dead bodies.

"Good." He pulled out the cheque and began writing in the information. "Now, with jizya taxation on you, it's down to one hundred million..."

"What?" Jennifer yelled. "I thought jizya was only used on non-Muslim citizens ?"

"According to our laws, any one who is affiliated with our military and armed conflicts and is not a Muslim, are applicable. This also includes non-Muslim mercenaries." Saladin grinned evilly. Jen clenched her fists.

"Unbelievable." She growled.

"It's in the contract that you signed Mui." He showed her the piece of paper. She scanned it, and when she got to the fine print, she realised that he was right. It was a thirty percent tax on anything that she had to pay for or she had received. Jen scowled. She had basically committed homicide of her husband, and she wasn't even going to get the full amount of money she had thought she was getting.

She looked at Saladin who was grinning still. She snatched the cheque out of his hand.

"For that, I'm keeping the truck." She said as she put on her boots.

"Fine, keep that piece of American trash! I had found it lying here in the first place."

"Whatever." Jen mumbled, walking out the door. It was now pitch black. Not even the moon was out. She struggled into the truck, fighting with it to get it started. The old engine gurgled and finally roared back to life. She stomped down on the clutch, threw it into gear, and drove towards the middle of the desert.

"Sir! Major Garrett! Sir! We just got word that another one of our patrols was attacked!"
"Any survivors this time around?" Garrett asked. So far, no one had been found, alive, after one of these attacks.

"I don't know that much sir. With all the attacks recently, I honestly don't think there could be. Whoever's behind it must be pretty damn lethal." The private avoided Garrett's eyes.

"Well, go out there, and see if you can find anyone, anyone who can tell us who did this."

"Sir, yes sir!"