Chapter 4

Disclaimer.

Right then. After the seriousnessseseesssssesss (damn it, how do you stop spelling that?) of last time, we're back to the silly-soddery of usual. See this 'ere story? MINE, I tells ya, all MINE! See them thar characters of Diane Armstrong, Micky Cox and Danny Smith? Yup, they's MINE too. See the whole Numb3rs thing?

Not mine.

Bugger.

If it was, you can be DAMN sure you'd be getting all 22 episodes of season six and a season seven, that's for certain. But seeing as I don't have any stocks in CBS and can't kick their arses as a stakeholder, this is as close to giving them the finger (Insert me flicking CBS the finger here) as yer gonna get. Your NUTS, Nina Tassler, you know that? Seriously nuts. Getting rid of your highest Friday night ratings puller? Televisual suicide, sweetheart… (See previous chapter for details!)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyhoo…

A two-part POV here, so allow for time differences between LA and Greece and you'll kinda get the drift of things. Run with it, or risk developing a nasty headache trying to work out who's doing what, where and when...

Usual 'you've been warned' thingy about violence, swearing, unintelligible Cockney rhyming slang and a nasty Nikki Bedacourt/Diane Armstrong face-off (Ah, the beginings of a beautiful friendship...NOT)...

Roll Credits…


"Hello Don."

Don looked up into two of the most intense green eyes he'd ever seen. He knew them immediately – they had exactly the same burning passion and hard-edged professionalism behind them as Colby's. Diane Armstrong stared straight back at Don and gave him a small smile. "Been a while."

Behind the hardness of those emerald-green eyes Don could see something else he'd hardly expected from a woman he'd always assumed kept her emotions deeply buried – an aching sadness. He guessed that Colby and Diane had said their goodbyes and by now Granger was on a plane to some god-forsaken destination. It was obvious that the separation had cut her to the core, but there was something even deeper behind her sorrow – something that only she and Colby knew about… Still smarting at losing the one man he'd relied on at the start of this investigation, the presence of Diane was some small comfort. He knew she was every bit as capable as Colby – an expert in her field, a superb intelligence officer and an anti-terrorism specialist. Despite his reluctance to accept the woman as anything other than a psychotic ex-SAS Captain with a habit of causing chaos wherever she went, he was relieved to have her on the team. He smiled warmly at her and stood up, offering her a hand. She shook it firmly, her grip as strong as any mans…

"Hey Dee. Waddya say?"

"You've been briefed?" Her soft London accent was all business, repelling any questions Don might have about her goodbyes with Colby.

Don nodded. "In a round about sort of way. Coffee?" He nodded towards the break room and she fell into step alongside him.

"Who made it?"

"Colby. Just before he…" Don stopped and looked at Diane apologetically.

"He hasn't died, Don. He's just…taking care of business. That's all." Diane gave him a small, reassuring smile. But behind it Don could see the worry in her eyes…

Taking care of business. He'd heard that euphemism before. Colby had explained that it meant active service, usually covert operations, but had refused to go into details. He nodded and opened the door to the break room, holding it open to allow the tall, powerfully built Englishwoman to walk through. "Yeah. I know. Guess we're both just a little edgy about the whole thing, huh?" He closed the door softly behind him and went to the coffee machine. Diane sat on the edge of a table, watching the man.

"I won't say it wasn't a shock, Don. But it's something we have to live with. I'm in the same position as he is. If London decides it needs my services, I can be recalled on zero hours notice." She shrugged. "We live in very unstable times, old son. I suppose we just have to get on with things as best we can." Don didn't miss the quiet resignation in her voice. It was exactly the same as Colby's when he told Don there was nothing he could do about the situation. Orders were orders. To reject those orders was to go against everything these dedicated soldiers believed in. Don realised that people like Colby and Diane were every bit as committed to the safety and security of innocent people as he was. They just took it to a whole new level…

"Glad to have you here, Diane. Colby's recall's left me seriously short-handed."

"Call me Dee. Diane's so formal, don't you think? And happy to help. We're all on the same side here, right?" Don turned and looked at the woman, who smiled unexpectedly. The smile transformed her normally stern, hard features into a much softer version of the same woman. He suddenly saw what Colby saw – a highly capable and deeply complex woman who cared as passionately about right and wrong as he did. Don chuckled quietly, and Diane's smile faded instantly. "Something funny?"

"No." He held out a coffee and she took it graciously, nodding her thanks. "Just that I couldn't imagine us having this conversation a year ago, Dee."

"Never judge a book by its cover, Don."

"Oh, don't worry. I learned that from Colby a long time ago. You and him are very similar."

"In what way?"

"You want a list?" Don raised an eyebrow at the woman and she suddenly laughed.

"Yeah, fair point, Don. I expect that a year ago all you wanted to do was get shot of me."

"Actually? A year ago I would have willingly shot at you. But that was then."

"Not tempted any more?"

Don smiled. "Start blowing LA up again like last time and I might just change my mind!" He sat on the edge of a table opposite Diane and took a mouthful of coffee, wincing as he tasted just how bitter it was. "Seriously. You people drink your Java like this all the time?"

"Well, Col's coffee is legendary for being poisonously strong, but it all depends how long you want to stay awake for. Two cups of this and yer on bloody hyperdrive for a damn week." Diane grinned and toasted her new partner.

Don grinned back and returned the toast. He fell silent for a moment and studied the woman. Diane raised an eyebrow. "Something on your mind, Eppes?"

"What are we looking at here, Dee? Seriously?"

"Is that your way of trying to get me to tell you what Colby's doing?"

"I'm that transparent, huh?"

"You know I can't go into details."

"Then just give me a rough outline."

Diane nodded and drained the last of the coffee. "Colby's with some of my lads. They're looking at a lead in Europe and we're hoping they'll bring us back a few key answers. Any more than that..."

"And you'd have to kill me, right?" Don grinned.

Diane returned the grin. "I can assure you it would be nothing personal."

"Granted."

Anyhoo. This end, we've had a lot of chatter from a few targets we've been keeping a close eye on over the past couple of months. Emails, jpegs of random houses that we think have been subject to steganography but with a key that so far we've been unable to crack. I'm damn sure that there's secondary images behind the initial pictures, but until Micky figures out a way to unlock them, we're stuck."

Don frowned. "Charlie might be able to help you with that. A couple of years ago we had a paedophile case where a guy had encrypted pornographic pictures of his daughter underneath a random picture. Charlie managed to untangle that."

Diane looked disgusted. "His daughter? Jesus Christ!" She shook her head. "Just, for my own peace of mind, tell me you got the bastard."

"Damn right we did." Don nodded. "Give me a copy of the pictures and I'll see what Charlie can do with them."

"Micky'll be bringing them with him. Anyway, from what we have managed to unpick so far, it's definate that we have a cell operating in LA. At the moment they're dormant. But the increase in chatter suggests that they're at the planning stage, and I'd like to nip it in the bud as early as possible. The hit at Irwin was hinted at, but our people didn't pick up on it in time. That was our mistake, Don, and not one I'm happy about."

"You mean you knew that something like this was gonna happen?"

"Don, it's not that clear cut. You know what intelligence assessment can be like. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you don't. This time? We didn't."

"So what did you think was gonna go down?"

Diane frowned. "Honestly? We weren't sure. But I'm damn sure that Fort Irwin wasn't the primary target. That was a means to an end, I'm sure of that. No, Don, there's definately at least two parts to our cell's plans. They've been talking about weddings, christenings and other crap, but the last couple have mentioned a big family get together with, as they put it, our extended family in Europe. So to answer your question in a roundabout sort of way Don, that's what Colby's doing. He's finding out who the European family members are and what they're doing." She paused and studied Don.

Don grinned. "Sizing up whether you should kill me or not now?"

Diane let out a short laugh of genuine amusement. "That transparent, huh?"

Don returned the laugh. "Lucky I know when you're joking."

"I don't always joke, Don."

"I know." He scratched idly at his head. "I'd really like to see those emails, Dee. I'm pretty sure Charlie can help us out big time on this one."

"Agreed. Micky's flying in this afternoon from DC with the latest updates."

"Micky Cox?" Don grinned. "So I'm gonna have two Brits on my team?"

"This is an all-agencies, my friend. CTC believes that LA is ground zero because of the Fort Irwin event. DC has more respect for your team than anyone else in the neighbourhood. You get results, ergo, you get the resources. I take it you don't have a problem with working with us Brits?"

Don laughed. "As long as you control your urges to blow shit up, I'm cool! Hands across the ocean and all that, right?"

It was Diane's turn to laugh quietly to herself. "So, as you colonials say, we're good here?"

Don returned the smile. "What, having two ex-SAS intelligence experts on the team? Hell yes, we're good!" He grinned and raised the coffee cup in salute.

"I'm glad. Despite our past differences, I like working with your team. They've got their heads screwed on right."

Don laughed. "Not all of them, well, not yet, anyway." He nodded towards the glass window of the break room and out into the bullpen. "Newest member."

Nikki Bedacourt stood barking into a phone, her hand on her hip in a posture of impatient frustration and her wild, curly hair bobbing furiously with each snapped part of the conversation she was having with an unfortunate recipient at Fort Irwin. Diane raised an eyebrow and turned back, barely concealed mirth twitching at the corners of her mouth.

"Ah, so that's Nikki."

"Colby's told you about her?"

"We do talk to each other, Don. You'd be surprised how much I know about your little team!" She stared blankly at Don but again, there were those twitches of mirth at the corners of her mouth again. So similar to Colby's dry wit…

"David's on his way back from hostage negotiation training. He'll be with us tomorrow morning at the latest."

"Right then. Well in the meantime I guess I better bring you up to speed on what we've got." Diane pushed herself off the corner of the table and stood up. "Got a comp I can hook up to?"

"Use Colby's desk. I'm pretty sure he won't mind." Don walked to the door with Diane, noticing how smoothly she walked; cat like, on the balls of her feet and looking as if she was ready to break into a flat run any second. Exactly the same as Colby…"I'll introduce you to Nikki."

Diane gave Don a blank look. "I can't wait."

Don chuckled at the heavy cynicism in her voice and led the way out. Diane followed Don out into the chaos of the pen and they approached an obviously irate Nikki. As they approached the frowning woman, they could hear her snapping a sharp command into the phone.

"I don't give a crap! We're the ones investigating this as a possible terrorist threat, so how about a little inter-departmental co-operation here? Thank you!" Nikki slammed the phone down and scowled furiously at Don. "Seriously. What is it with these goddamn military spooks?" Don's eyes crinkled in amusement and he couldn't help himself – he grinned broadly at Dee. Nikki looked at the tall, red haired woman and glanced back at Don, finally noticing the amusement on his face. "What?"

"Nikki? Meet Captain Diane Armstrong. Ex British military spook and now working for our people."

"Oh. Great. Another one." Nikki sighed. "Perhaps you can have more luck than I'm getting with these dumbasses." She thrust a file out towards Diane. Diane's perfectly arched eyebrow raised in amusement and she took the file from Nikki. "And where in the hell is Colby, Don?" Nikki's voice was sharp – she was obviously having a very bad day… "Don't tell me. He's off doing something uber covert, right? Usual spy shit?"

"Nikki, you wanna stop talking for a nanosecond?" Don's amusement at the first meeting between two explosive women he knew were going to clash head on had worn thin. Nikki still had to learn when to stop talking and start listening.

"Colby is dealing with other business for a few days. I'm his, for want of a better word, replacement." Diane glanced up from the file at Nikki.

"Right. So wadda I call ya? Captain Armstrong? Agent Armstrong? What?"

Diane went back to studying the contents of the file, rifling through the pages and seeming to ignore Nikki's question. As Nikki opened her mouth to speak again, without returning her gaze to the younger woman, Diane spoke quietly. "How about ma'am?" She let this sink in and eventually looked up again, folding the file shut and turning her attention utterly towards Nikki, her face completely blank. Nikki hadn't learned yet about the English sense of humour, or how to read micro-expressions. Don turned away, covering his amusement as best he could but almost failing to hold in the laugh that threatened to break free…

Nikki didn't know whether the woman was joking, or if she was actually serious. The Englishwoman's expression was unreadable. It put Nikki completely on the back foot. It was like trying to argue with a statue…"Seriously…ma'am? You're kidding me, right?" Her voice was a mixture of indignant outrage and sheer confusion.

Diane gave Nikki a humourless smile. "Really? You think?"

Don gave in. He chuckled to himself and shook his head. "Dee…"

Diane suddenly broke into a broad grin and laughed sharply. "I think you better explain to Nikki about the English sense of humour, Don, before she takes real offence." The red headed woman laughed quietly again and gave Nikki a softer look. "Yes, I am only kidding, Agent Bedacourt. Diane will do fine."

Nikki's hackles went up – she was a tough, no nonsense sort of girl, straight talking and both book and street smart. Or that's how she liked to portray herself to the outside world. It was really an act that disguised the deep anxiety she was still feeling as she tried to prove to one of the best units in the FBI that she was good enough to be a part of the team. She knew full well that she had been trying too hard. And that had damn near got her and Granger killed. Right now? The last thing she needed was another blow to an already fragile confidence in the form of a woman who was in a completely different league to her. She fought back in the only way she knew how. Her subconscious kicked in and went into full-defensive mode…"So how come Don's callin' ya Dee?"

Diane looked at her sharply and frowned. "I'm sorry?"

"What, you don't think I'm worthy enough to call you Dee?"

"I can revert back to ma'am very easily, Nikki..."

"That's Agent Bedacourt to you!"

There was a moment's silence...

Diane looked quizzically at Don. "Is she always like this, or does she 'ave a day off sometimes, Don?" Although the humour was still there, Don noticed a sharp edge to Diane's rhetorical question, emphasised by the hardening of the normally soft East London accent.

"Um, excuse me? She happens to be stood right here!" Nikki scowled furiously at Diane.

Diane looked blankly at her. "So I see." The words were perfectly polite, but delivered in a voice that was shot through with solid steel...Don could sense the dangerous undertones. Diane was becoming impatient with the headstrong young woman…

"Nikki, you wanna go find out whether the autopsy is in for King yet?" Don needed to nip this first somewhat hostile encounter between the two women in the bud. Nikki was way out of her depth and although he knew that currently, Diane regarded Nikki in the same way as an irritating, buzzing fly, that could change in a heartbeat if the hot-headed young FBI agent overstepped the mark. He could also tell that Diane's patience was rapidly wearing thin…

"Good idea. I'd also like to see everything you have on O'Neils. I have information that should correlate with yours and I'd like to get an analysis started of any connections they have with the chatter we've got." Diane picked up on Don's technique of defusing a potentially explosive situation with Nikki and gave her a small, reassuring but chilly smile. She had commanded plenty of teams in her time and knew how to handle people. The young woman was putting on a brave front, but Diane knew she felt intimidated. But if Don had brought her onto the team, then Diane realised that Nikki must have some modicum of ability, otherwise she wouldn't be here. And although she wasn't out to make friends with Nikki, Diane didn't need the aggravation of personality clashes. They had bigger fish to fry right now, and she didn't have time to babysit newbies. She zoned Nikki out, even though the woman was standing only inches from her. "How quickly can we bring your brother on board?"

"Charlie's in Pasadena for a couple of days at a conference, but I'll give him a call and see if he can take a look at what you've got." Don had also chosen to ignore Nikki, deeply embarrassed by the young woman's outburst in front of a senior and highly decorated British army officer with 13 years experience. He would be having words with her later...

The young woman stood watching the exchange between Don and Diane. She felt like a naughty child being excluded from grown-ups talk. It made her feel worthless…

"I'll…I'll go get the autopsy report, then, shall I?" She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder and hesitated, waiting to be dismissed by her boss… The dismissal didn't come. Don and Diane had already moved away towards Colby's empty desk and had completely forgotten about her. She glanced forlornly around the office, where she felt like a very small cog in a very big machine. "Oookay then…" She walked towards the elevator, thinking back over a not very good first impression. Nikki felt completely alone again…

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Colby walked out into the blistering heat and choking smog of Athens. The continuous cacophony of car horns blasted out an urban overture in the afternoon heat haze that made the skyline shimmer. He saw the Land Rover and walked quickly towards it, scanning around him for anyone who may be more interested in his arrival in Greece than he would like. The crowd swirled and swarmed like confused ants, but his powerful build and sheer presence cleared a small 'personal' space around him as he walked. He reached the black Land Rover and pulled open the passenger door. Danny Smith smiled warmly at Colby as he climbed into the basic but comfortable cab. "Captain Granger. Always a pleasure, mate." Danny beamed and shook Colby's hand firmly. Good flight?"

"Great flight. But the landing?" Colby shrugged and grinned back at his British friend. "Man, I'm still tryin' to work out if we did actually land or if some son of a bitch shot us down!"

Danny laughed heartily. "Sounds you had the same fucking pilot as we did last week!" He started the engine and Colby immediately recognised the deep growl of a V8 engine. This wasn't just an ordinary Land Rover. He whistled softly.

"You guys been playing under the hood with this baby?" He grinned at Danny. "'Cause the last Land Rover I rode in sure as hell didn't sound that sweet!"

"Yeah. It's the SAS version of Pimp my Ride, mate. Instead of alloys, we have little red buttons that you do not press unless you really, really need to." Danny grinned and pointed at a red button that Colby now longed to press.

"Dude! Nitrous? Seriously?"

"No point in going out to play if you ain't got any bleedin' toys, old son!" Danny laughed again, and carefully pulled out into the chaotic Greek traffic. "As they made their way through the Athens maelstrom, Danny chatted casually. "Sorry about having to take the scenic route, guv. But we thought it best to avoid any interest from unfriendlies."

"You don't need to call me guv, Danny."

Danny shot Colby a serious look. "Yes. I do. As far as we're concerned, you're the guv on this mission." He focused his attention back onto the deadly jostling for position on one of Athens's busiest roads. "Besides. You outrank me. And we're on active, so…" Danny shrugged and left the rest of the sentence unsaid. They both knew what was at stake…Danny's demeanour changed again. "Bugger, where are my manners? Introductions. Guv, the short, fat hairy one is Marcus Bowen. He's our tech. Marcus, This is Captain Colby Granger. Delta Force, FBI, CIA, CTC and fuck knows what else. Bloke's got more fucking letters after his name than a college professor. All of them dodgy, and all of them deeply sneaky. Marcus old son, meet the sneakiest fucking Yank bastard and the best fucking intelligence officer you'll ever encounter on God's sweet green earth!"

Colby looked taken aback for a second before breaking into a shout of laugher. "Yeah, thanks for that, Danny!"

Danny grinned. "Welcome, guv."

Colby twisted in his seat and offered a hand to Marcus. The man was stocky and powerfully built, with cropped hair and a mischievous twinkle in deep brown eyes. "A real pleasure to meet you, sir. Your reputation precedes you. And you call me fat one more time, Smithy, and I'll rip yer fuckin' ears off, you Cockney bastard!" Marcus grinned; his heavy northern accent had a gentle lilt to it. Colby grinned back.

"And the other ner'do'well sitting there looking like one o'clock half struck is Andy Thompson. He's our explosives specialist. Loves blowing shit up. Blew the latrines up at the base in Kandahar just for a laugh last month. Trouble is, the CO was sitting on the bog at the time!"

"How the hell was I supposed to know he was in the middle of his ablutions?" Andy grinned and shook Colby's hand. "I can assure you guv, I'm not in the habit of blowing up commanding officers. Least of all sneaky fuckers like yourself. With respect. Guv."

"Well, that's reassuring!" Colby grinned back. Andy was a tall man, well over six foot and well spoken. He was clearly an educated man, with an easy going nature and an open, friendly face. Colby relaxed a little. He knew he was in the company of equals, men he could completely trust. He sat back in his seat and watched the ancient city of Athens speed past the windows. "How long before we get to our target?"

"Is that your way of saying are we nearly there yet?" Marcus quipped from the back seat. "Because I've been asking Smithy that for the last hundred miles."

Danny frowned furiously into the driver's mirror at Marcus and put on a mock, high pitched nagging tone like a mother scorning a child. "Yeah, and if you ask me one more time, Bowen, so help me I'll turn this damn Landy around and nobody's going to the party!" Danny laughed and glanced at Colby. "Seriously guv, he's been driving me nuts! I reckon we've got about 17 hours to do and I swear to God," Danny threw a mock threatening look into the mirror at Marcus, "we're gonna be a team member down by then if someone doesn't stop flapping their lips about!"

"Bollocks, you Cockney wanker! Marcus grinned broadly.

"Fuck you, Bowen, you northern git!"

"Seriously? Seventeen fucking hours of this?" Colby shook his head, pleased to be back amongst men he regarded as good friends. The constant bickering between the men was actually a characteristic of the complete professionalism of the regiment and their bond as a team. They trusted each other utterly and every single one of them knew when to let off steam...and when to get deadly serious. The banter instantly died, set to reappear again when appropriate. It was also a mark of the respect the three British soldiers had for Colby. As Danny had said, he was the guv on this mission...

Danny swerved a wildly wobbling moped that carried two adults and at least three children along a meandering path in the middle of the road. He swore colourfully at the hapless Greek family. Focusing back on the road, he spoke quickly and calmly. The banter gave way to a briefing. "Target's a village called Prestivno. Suspect camp is about three miles outside the old town walls."

"I had a look at the aerial recon photos on the way over. Ingress is gonna be a bitch. From what I could see, we've got open ground on three sides and the village on the other. I guess they've got a watch posted on that side, right?"

Marcus reached forward and passed a file to Colby containing photographs and maps. "You're right there, guv, but aerial recon only shows up what's on the ground."

Colby twisted back and looked at Marcus. "Meaning?"

Marcus grinned. "Meaning god bless the medieval town planners for being big on plumbing! There's an old underground sewer pipe that runs from the walls of the town to about fifty yards outside the camp perimeter. We're on a silent running order from the powers that be. Intel only, right? So, that sewer pipe is the best way to get up close and personal with our marks."

Colby grinned broadly, remembering a previous 'gofer' mission with Diane – the attack on Aranamov's stronghold. "I like."

"Thought you might." Andy laughed.

Colby grinned again and nodded. The smile faded and he became serious again. "What's the latest?"

"Latest is that your countrymen are still at the base. The base is run by a Serbian named Mohammed Moshiv. The bugger enjoyed himself a little too much in the Bosnian war, taking what he said was revenge against the war crimes of the Croats. Truth is, he's just a bloodthirsty bastard who enjoys killing people. When the whole mess in Yugoslavia finished, he disappeared off the radar. He's wanted in the Hague for war crimes, but the fucker slipped the net and vanished into Pakistan with Al Q'eda. He's ex military and knows how to run a camp. Got trained up by Osama's people and set up home back in Kosovo training the next generation of Gap Vest bombers." Andy passed a grainy, black and white photo of Moshiv. "That's the most recent picture we have of him."

"What about the home-grown boys?" Colby studied the picture, memorising the features of Moshiv.

"No positive id's on them yet. That's part of the mission. But we know there's four of them and they've been doing a shit load of weapon's training." Another picture was passed across and four dark, blobby figures could be seen on the ground aiming guns at what appeared to be mannequins. Colby frowned, peering closely at the picture.

"Are they using dummies as targets?" He looked up at Andy, who had lost all trace of humour in his face. "Because they look real lifelike…"

"No, guv. Those are real people."

"What?"

"The report we have from the village is that anyone who wanders too close to the camp gets tied to a post and used as target practice. Plus a lot of locals have gone missing recently. Not enough to draw the attention of the local plod, but as they say, you do the math. Moshiv is one of those commanders who believes that nothing can prepare a soldier for battle better than actually killing a real human being. He believes in keeping it real." Andy scowled in disgust. "Shame this isn't a take and hold."

Colby's eyes flashed darkly. "I know, Andy." He handed the photo back. "But as much as it sickens me to say this, we're on a intel gathering only. We get creative, no matter how justified we believe it to be, the repercussions could be far worse. Our mission is to find out who the Americans are, what they're doing and what they're planning. Once we do that, we get out. Once we're out, I'm sure I can organise another team'll to go in and…clean up." He stared hard at Andy. "That's a promise."

Andy and Marcus both smiled lazily and nodded. "Yes, guv." Colby nodded back and settled back into the passenger seat, sighing as he shifted to get comfortable for the long drive ahead. Danny glanced at him and spoke quietly, preventing the other two men from hearing their conversation.

"You okay, guv?"

"Yeah, just a long flight, is all."

"Dee okay?"

"She's good. She's working with my boss to try and unpick this whole sorry mess from the LA end."

"That's not what I meant." Danny looked hard at Colby for a moment. "I was one of the team that got you out last time, guv. I know how you feel about the place."

Colby didn't answer. He wasn't in the mood to face those particular demons just yet.

"Guv?"

"I'm fine, Danny." The words didn't invite a response. Danny merely nodded and concentrated on getting them out of the chaos of Athens in one piece. Eventually the urban sprawl gave way to olive groves and citrus trees. The warm scent of lemons and oranges drifted through the cab of the Land Rover, refreshing after the stench of the smog of Athens. Colby settled back and closed his eyes, zoning the surroundings out. They had a long drive ahead of them – best to catch up on some much-needed rest while he could. But behind his closed eyes, his mind went over what Danny had told him about Moshiv using live targets for sniper practice. It sickened him to his stomach and, despite his orders to avoid getting 'creative', he was determined to complete a second mission above his primary orders. And he knew that the three men in the Land Rover would back him all the way. A furious anger boiled deep inside his gut. That kind of sickening, cold blooded murder disgusted him more than anything else. The murder of innocents was totally unacceptable to the deeply principled man. A dark plan began to form in his mind. He wasn't just going in to get intel.

He was going to close Moshiv's sick little camp down…

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Diane sat at Colby's desk, staring intently at the computer screen. She was scanning the latest intelligence reports emailed through to her from Micky Cox. The attack at the base had been hinted at, but in such almost unintelligible terms as to make it practically impossible to pinpoint the exact information, even with the benefit of hindsight. She sat back and rubbed her eyes, shielding them from the glare of the fluorescent lights for a moment. But she knew that no amount of rubbing would remove the latest report from the screen or from worming its way into her analytical mind. She knew what the chatter was hinting at. And it worried her deeply…Frustration lines crinkled her normally smooth forehead and she ran her hand through her short red hair.

A cup of coffee appeared in front of her, held by a slim hand. Diane glanced up into the deep brown eyes of Nikki Bedacourt, who gave her a small smile. "Kinda a peace offering. Ya know. For us getting off on the wrong foot and all."

Diane took the coffee and nodded in thanks. "Apologies aren't needed, Nikki."

"Yeah, well, I kinda have a habit of making a pretty awful first impression." Nikki sighed and perched, uninvited, on the edge of Colby's desk. Diane raised an eyebrow in amusement and chuckled quietly.

"Nikki, can I be honest?"

"From what Col's said about you, I wouldn't expect anything else."

"You're trying too hard." Diane sat forward and looked up at the younger woman. "Trust me, I know how you feel. My first few weeks in the regiment, I busted my arse trying to prove I was worthy of being in the 22nd. And believe me, the SAS are far more demanding than this place!" Diane laughed again. "My second day there, we were out on a run and this bloody farmer took umbrage at a load of squaddies trotting across his fields. Comes at us with a bleedin' twelve bore fully loaded and starts waving it about. One of the lads told me to go and sort it out, figuring that the daft bastard would be less inclined to shoot a woman in the backside. So over I trotted, talked the old bumpkin down and ended up charming the fucker so much that he gave me a dozen eggs and a promise of a warm bed should I ever get cold in the barracks!" Diane grimaced at the memory. "Trouble is, I had to finish a 15 mile yomp holding on to twelve still warm and chicken-shit covered eggs that my CO decided would make a welcome addition to breakfast!" Diane laughed again. "And if I dropped any, it was down to me to run ten miles back to the fucking farm to get replacements!"

"I don't see the point…" Nikki frowned.

"The point is, love, if you try to impress people too hard, you can end up making it a damn sight worse for yourself. Don's decided you're good enough for this team, and knowing Don that's a pretty big compliment. So have a little bit more faith in yourself, Nikki. If he does, so should you."

Nikki sat back, her arms folded across her chest, and studied the Englishwoman. Diane took a mouthful of coffee and returned the stare.

"What?"

"You ain't what I expected."

"Really? And what did you expect, Nikki?"

"I…I dunno, but you ain't her!"

Diane laughed again. "Sweetheart, you're exactly what I expected!"

Nikki's hackles went up again…"Oh yeah? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Damn, you're pricklier than a fucking hedgehog, girl! Enough with the defensiveness already!" Diane drained the coffee and tossed the cup into a bin without even looking. "Here's the thing. Right now, that little pep talk is the only one you're going to get from me. You're part of a superb team, and I expect you to be as good as any of the old timers in here at your job, clear? You fuck up, I'll come down on you like a ton of bricks. You do well, you'll get the acknowledgement and praise you deserve. You cross swords with me and I'll fucking crucify you, crystal?" Diane suddenly stood up, her face level with Nikki's and absolutely no hint of humour in the hard, green eyes.

Nikki stood up and matched her stare, the walls around her fragile confidence slamming back into place. "Yeah. Crystal." She turned on her heels and walked defiantly back to her desk, desperately hoping that the sharp-eyed Englishwoman wouldn't see the tension in her shoulders that belied her nervousness of the second confrontation in the space of an hour with the ex-SAS officer.

Diane watched Nikki walk back to her desk and shook her head. She glanced up, straight into the eyes of Don and sighed. "Good lord. She really is like that twenty-four seven, isn't she?"

Don smiled broadly. "She's rough around the edges, Dee. But there's the makings of a good agent in there."

"Really? Where, exactly?"

"Cut her some slack, Dee."

"Any other time and I'd agree with you but this time? Sorry Don. There's no room for passengers on this one. Take a look." Diane pointed at the screen.

"What am I looking at?"

Diane looked up at him, her face utterly serious. "Worst case scenario, Don. That's what we're looking at…"

TBC…