In the streets of Islamabad, outside the Haqqani compound in Rawalpindi, Carrie Mathison stood rigid, her sidearm in her hand, her nerves as frayed as a 100 year old Persian rug. Aasar Khan had just stopped her from shooting at Hassaim Haqqani, number four on the International terrorist kill list, and by doing so, he had also prevented her from committing suicide. She was a reasonable shot, if a little bit rusty, but with her personal semiautomatic -the weapon most often practiced with - the kill shot would have been all but a certainty. Haqqani had gotten up on top the jeep, for fuck's sake, had stood up to take a bow, like a rock star or an astronaut going on a ticker-tape parade. No doubt, in this crowd of Haqqani sympathizers, she would have been clubbed to death a moment after the pistol went off, regardless of her accuracy, or the event's outcome.
Realizing her chance had been missed, Carrie relaxed her arms, slumped back into Khan's chest, and almost lost her footing. "Look," Khan said insistently into her ear. "Look who's in the car, Carrie."
She squinted in the sunlight, and in the backseat of Haqqani's jeep, was able to make out a partially bald male figure that looked familiar. Dar fucking Adal. What could he possibly be doing in the car with a known terrorist? Behind her, Khan breathed rapidly in and out, catching his breath, and rather than releasing her as her opportunity slid away through the throng, he tightened his grip on her body.
Quinn had cursed her, had literally damned her to hell. At that moment, she felt like she was already in hell - Quinn was not dead yet, but he was still a loose cannon. If he hadn't believed her, heard the care and concern in her voice, he'd just be off to try to find another opportunity to kill Haqqani, even if it cost him his own life. There were so many troops lining the streets, she doubted that even he, a skilled covert operative, could escape the situation. He'd have to crawl through the fucking sewers. She had no idea where he was going next, and had never seen him like this before - an elemental robo-Quinn who was intent only on one objective. She gasped out a pained breath, and finally came to herself as the procession moved away, Abruptly shaking off Khan's arms, she sheathed her weapon in its holster, glaring at Aasar.
"What the fuck," she yelped.
"Come with me," Khan said, pulling at her arm. The urgency of the near riot situation had brought him to Rawalpindi in his street clothes, and when he arrived, he had come to the front of the line, supervising the Pakistani troops as they attempted to contain the outburst. For some reason he didn't understand, Carrie had climbed to the top of a parked box truck, stood on it, and removed her cover, her golden hair like a flame in the sun. His stomach dropped at the sight of her. When she got back down, he started to weave through the crowd towards her, finally separated only by Haqqani's jeep, retrieving her from her impetuous, inadvisable assassination attempt at the last possible moment.
Taking her arm, he hurried her to his jeep, and dismissing the driver, took off with her in the direction of the Diplomatic Enclave. Carrie was looking down at her iPhone, sending a text. She pressed send, then put the phone away, as Khan gave her a sidelong glance. "Have you lost your mind?" he asked.
"Fuck," was all she said, by way of explanation. She shook her head, "I could have had him."
"You would have died," Khan said intently.
Apparently finally a shaken by her actions, Carrie said, "Yeah, well... I wasn't thinking about that."
"What on earth were you doing down here, anyway?" he asked. He snuck a peek at her face, but she was looking down at her hands. She said nothing as he turned onto a main highway. She used the headscarf to wipe her eyes, staring straight ahead. Again, a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, as he made the connection.
"It's Quinn, isn't it? " he surmised aloud. "What was he going to do?"
Carrie didn't answer for a moment, then said, "I'm not sure. But I think I just stopped him. At least for now."
They didn't speak again until they reached the American Embassy, which was a bustle of activity, troops, transports and American citizens, all hell-bent on getting out of Pakistan as soon as possible. Khan pulled up next to the embassy dropoff, and put the car in park. As the car came to a stop, Carrie and Khan turned to look at each other. She pulled her cover off, and sat there, head down and dejected.
"Well," he said. "If you're sure you're not going to go off the deep end..."
"No, no. I'll be ok," she said. She got up out of the jeep and stood next to it, searching for a few words. Unsentimental to the end, she was. Khan had hoped for some kind of significant statement, a goodbye, at least. Following an impulse of his own, he spoke to her again, hoping to delay her departure, even for a moment.
"Carrie, this is probably the last time I'll ever see you."
She looked at him, studying his face for a moment. There was so much confusion, so much stress, so much to do. But this man's eyes - they were wells of quietude. At one time, he had asked her to trust him, and she had. After today, especially. Good God.
He waited, watching her, his eyes sorrowful. She got back into the jeep, considering what to do or say next. Finally, she reached over and put her hand on Aasar's shoulder. "Thank you," she said, "for saving my life." Then, leaning over, Carrie put her hands on Khan's face, and pulled him to her. She studied him for one long moment, then kissed him.
He initially recoiled, but then reached up, and grabbed her hands, hard, pressing them into his cheeks, moaning briefly. He reached for her and pulled her closer, cradling her in his arms, deepening the kiss. The sweet farewell she started to give turned demanding and hot. Their tongues met, and with eyes closed, they both lost track of time, place, the ugliness of the day. He finally broke away, releasing her, and they both leaned back and apart. After a few stunned seconds, she got out of the jeep again.
"Goodbye, Aasar," Carrie said. She gave him a last sober look, and turned to walk up the Embassy stairs. She didn't turn around again, but Khan watched her until she disappeared into the building through security, then, with his heart thumping painfully in his chest, he pulled away.