They reached the restaurant before noon, but a line was already snaking out the door. Arman went to inquire about the wait, while Matt scanned the area. He spoke quietly to Lee and Amanda. "I'm surprised we haven't seen any other members of this group, yet." He was nervous, wondering if it was a setup of some kind.

"Yeah. Let's keep our eyes and ears open." Lee kept his hand on the small of Amanda's back. He was happy to have the wire and GPS chip sewn into Matt's shirt. At least they could keep track of him if they were separated.

Arman was soon back. "The wait will be less than twenty minutes. Several tables are about to open up."

The monti was indeed delicious. Matt was hungry. Their typical Kazakh breakfast of hot grain porridge and boiled eggs had not been enough after his early morning workout. He hoped that Yana would not appear until he had polished off his serving.

Amanda watched Matt with amusement before turning to Arman. "The monti is very good. I can see why it is such a popular dish."

"Not all monti is as outstanding as this is. The cook must be native Kazakh. My mother always said that only we native Kazakhs could master monti."

"Yana's in the kitchen." Lee looked down at his plate so he would not be too obvious. "I wondered if she was going to show."

Matt sat up straight and reassessed his surroundings. The restaurant was less crowded than before. The exit leading to the alley was clear. He nodded to Arman, who quickly left the restaurant and headed to his car, which was parked in the alley. Lee went to pay the bill while Amanda checked her earpiece. Matt gave his microphone a tap, and she nodded in affirmation. She got up and left the restaurant with Lee.

Matt sat for a few minutes, nursing his soda. He felt, more than saw, Yana's presence before she spoke.

"I see you are left here alone with your Fanta." She pointed to his empty plate. "I told you the monti was good." Yana sat down next to Matt.

"Yes."

Yana took the opportunity to study Matt's face for a moment, since he was not wearing his sunglasses. He watched her as they talked about the weather and the meal he had just eaten. She seemed eager to engage him in conversation, and a few times she touched his hand or his leg as she spoke. She's flirting with me. He played along with her, trying to ignore the slightly fuzzy feeling in his head. Must be the jet lag. Wake up and play along with her.

"Your English is very good." He was exaggerating, but she blushed at his praise. The flirtation game was working. "How did you learn it?"

"Oh, we all have to learn in school. We also have American customers. People who live here. They like to speak English with someone, and it helps me." She smiled shyly at him.

He decided to make his move. Perhaps he could get her to leave the restaurant. He grinned back at her. "Are you working right now?"

"When we serve monti, I help in kitchen. My cousin send me home, but I wanted to see if you came." She looked in his eyes.

He quickly reached for his sunglasses and his jacket. "Let's go for a walk." As he got up, he almost grabbed his chair to steady himself. He felt dizzy, and his stomach was off. Granger, you shouldn't have eaten so fast. He headed towards the alley door.

As he expected, she followed him outside. The alley was deserted, but Matt knew they were being watched from Arman's car, parked fifty feet away. He took Yana by the arm and pulled her into the shadows. Trying not to think of Sarah, he prayed he could get away with only a light kiss or even just an embrace. Although he hoped Lee could not see them, he knew Amanda could hear everything. He pulled Yana close, ignoring his own discomfort.

Yana laughed nervously as Matt looked into her eyes, willing himself to send her a message he did not feel. "You American men. You move so fast." She reached up to touch his cheek and kept her hand there. "But you are beautiful American man."

He fought the urge to jerk away from her touch. She continued to stare into his eyes while his gaze drifted to her mouth. He moved as if to kiss her, but pretended he was resisting an urge to take advantage of her. Instead he took her hand and held it in his. "Perhaps we could go for a walk and talk. I won't be needed for a while." They stepped out into the open.

They continued to hold hands as they walked up the alley towards the street. He focused his thoughts on Yana and away from the signals he was getting from his body—something was off. He looked over at her. "So, is the restaurant a family business?"

"I have one brother who works here, and many cousins. Three cousins work in kitchen today. It is our busy day. They cook well, for men." Yana gazed intently at Matt, as if she was watching for something.

In the car, Lee stared at Matt from the front seat while they all listened in to the conversation on the equipment Amanda had set up. To the passerby, she looked like she was working on a laptop.

Amanda was frowning. "Three men, Lee. I don't know about this. What if she's setting him up?"

Lee started to placate Amanda, but stopped himself. "Take a look at Matt. Something's wrong with him." Having been an Army officer, Matt normally carried himself like one. Now, he was almost stumbling.

"Lee, he's not well."

Matt could not ignore the increasingly nauseous feeling that was forming in his stomach. This isn't nerves. He shook his head a little, trying to shake a wave a drowsiness that washed over him. Oh God, I've been drugged. I was an idiot to eat all that monti. Matt hung on tightly to Yana's hand, not letting her go, while he tapped the mike in his collar with the distress signal. The Mercedes engine down the alley roared to life. He looked for a trash can and dragged Yana over to it, hoping he would not get jumped before someone could help him. Leaning over, he used his free hand to gag himself and with his stomach already churning with nausea, promptly vomited up the monti.

Matt could hear voices, but his mind was not able to focus on them through the overwhelming dizziness and roaring in his ears. Yana jerked herself away, and a strong arm grabbed him around the waist. He tried to fight off his captor, but he was barely able to stand on his own.

"Stop, Matt. It's me, Lee." Matt took the handkerchief Lee handed him and wiped his mouth. He felt himself swaying on his feet, but Lee did not let him fall. "Come on." Lee dragged Matt to the waiting car and pushed him into the back seat, where Amanda was holding Yana at gunpoint. He could not stop his head from lolling as the car sped out of the alley.

Lee caught a glimpse of three men rushing from the back of the restaurant before Arman's sedan careened into the traffic on the street.

Matt recognized Amanda's voice, but it was growing faint as the roaring in his ears increased. "Yana, tell us what you gave him. He is very ill."

"He is not ill. It was to uh, relax, him." She gestured. "You see, it is working."

Lee turned around in his seat. He looked at Matt and swore under his breath. "Give me the gun, Amanda, and check his pulse."

She reached over Yana to take Matt's wrist. "I'm no doctor, Lee, but it seems slow." She checked it again. "Forty-eight."

"Let's hope that's normal for him. Whatever it was worked very quickly." He stashed the gun in its place under his seat. Yana could go nowhere easily and he could not risk it being seen if someone were to glance in their car.

He tried to see if Matt was breathing normally. It was hard to tell. The car swerved and Lee had to face forward in his seat. He looked at Arman. "He needs a hospital."

"Friend, we all know it will blow our cover and cause many issues with our government. I have a doctor friend who can help us. He knows how to be discreet, and he is very skilled—he was trained in London, but came back to help the Kazakh people. He is better than our hospital doctors."

"Call him and have him meet us at the hotel."

Arman pulled out his cell phone, while Lee helped with the steering wheel as they sped through traffic. Buses honked as they cut in front of them.

Amanda tried not to think about the traffic, grateful that Lee was in the front seat with Arman. She focused her attention on Yana and Matt.

Matt leaned heavily against Yana, and then back against the door as the car swerved along the busy streets. Yana was now alarmed. "Perhaps we give him too much. He seemed big." She looked at him closely. "He should not be like this."

"And that's after trying to retch up what he could." Lee ground out the words. "What were you intending to do with him?"

"We wanted to see if you were spies. We were going talk to him. Hopefully get you to meet us. This is bad. The drug worked too fast and I did not have time to tell anyone. I find out you are spies—but I don't know who you work for."

"What the hell? Do you think we'll tell you that after you gave our man an overdose of some drug, the likes of which we cannot even identify? What if he'd had a reaction? Hell, what if he IS having a reaction?"

"I'm sorry. But there is trouble with our people. I must know who you work for."

Amanda looked at Lee, before turning to the girl. "Yana, you must understand that we cannot give you that information. We know who you are. You just told us you planned to take our man hostage. That is very serious."

"You tell me who you are, I help your friend. The doctor will want to know what I gave him."

Realizing they were at an impasse, Lee focused on their most immediate need. "Arman, how are we going to get him to his room? I barely got him in the car. Now he's unconscious."

"Certainly there must be a wheelchair. We will pretend he is drunk."

The plan worked, although Lee and Arman had quite a struggle to get Matt from the car into the chair. Amanda kept Yana in the Mercedes until they were ready to go upstairs.

Once in the room, Lee paced back and forth between Matt's room and his, where Arman watched Yana. He stopped every minute or so to check Matt. He could see that Amanda was already anxious, so he did not say anything about Matt's breathing. It had slowed quite a bit. "Arman, how long until your friend comes?"

"He will be here soon. Try not to worry. For extra money, he takes care of rich patients at their homes. He has medical things he brings. He is very good."

Lee ran his hand through his hair and kept pacing.

Finally, a knock sounded and Arman ushered the physician, Dr. Dastanov, into the room. The native Kazakh doctor brought with him two heavy rolling suitcases. Lee hoped that he had the necessary equipment to take care of Matt.

Amanda went to her room to watch Yana while Arman positioned himself in the doorway. Lee hovered nearby, offering the doctor what little help he could. He forced himself to be patient while the doctor took Matt's vital signs and applied an oxygen mask. After they stripped off Matt's outer clothing, Dastanov checked Matt's reflexes before covering him with a sheet. He hung an IV bag on the headboard and started a drip into Matt's arm. Lee was thankful as he watched Dastanov use alcohol wipes and sterile supplies. Finally the doctor turned to address Lee.

"This young man is, how you say, deteriorating." Dastanov's accent was not as thick as Yana's, and he remembered his English medical jargon. "What drug was he given, and how much did he get?"

"The woman who can tell you that is in the next room. She refuses to talk."

Dr. Dastanov frowned. "I will speak with her."

Lee watched as Dastanov went into the next room and approached Yana with a stern expression on his face. They spoke fervently in Kazakh for a few minutes before Dastanov's mouth settled into a grim line and he rushed back into Matt's room. Yana sat silently, a look of defeat on her face.

Lee signaled for Amanda and Arman to join him in the doorway as he followed the doctor out of the room. He found him checking Matt's vital signs again. Once he finished, he spoke to Lee. "It is most urgent that we give treatment soon. She has given him a new drug, from China, to be used with what you call truth serum. It has not been tested well, and I must guess the prognosis. I can tell you that he may die if I don't give him a stimulant soon."

"A stimulant… Why don't you just pull one from your bag?"

"I can only guess what I will use—I know the drug family only. Like I said, maybe no research has been done on the drug. It is black market. I will check internet, but I can't take time. Maybe all the information will be in Mandarin. I don't speak Mandarin."

Arman spoke up. "Let me try." Dastanov gave Arman the western spelling of the drug name.

Amanda stood by anxiously while Lee put a comforting arm about her shoulders.

After several minutes of searching, Arman could only confirm the limited information Dastanov had already given him.

Dastanov was still grim as he looked at Lee. "Do I have your permission to give him the stimulant? If I do not do it soon, this man may die. But I don't know the effect. It may have a bad interaction…"

"Like what?"

"His heart would stop beating."

Lee looked at Amanda and ran his hand through his hair. She tried to keep her voice steady as she spoke. "Lee, we have no choice."

Lee nodded at Dastanov. "Please. Help him."

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Half a world away, Sarah awoke with a start. She picked up her phone, thinking she might have had a text. There was none, but she noted the time. Three-thirty. A feeling of dread came over her and she sat up in bed, hugging her arms about herself. The light emanating from her phone display gave the room an eery glow. She picked up the photo on the bedside table and looked at Matt. She felt almost as if he was looking back at her. Remembering her new resolution, she began to pray for him and her parents.

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Back in Almaty, Lee was pacing, while Amanda stood by, a frown of worry on her face. Seeing her, he stopped and took her in his arms.

"Why is it taking so long, Lee?"

Dastanov, who watched Matt from a chair near the bed, replied for him. "He has stabilized. But he is not improving yet. Please be patient. This takes time. I have to be careful. I have no history on Mr. Granger. This was more than overdose. He had a reaction to the drug."

Lee stood there holding Amanda and staring at Matt's still form. He was not a praying man, but he was desperate. Oh God, please help him.

A half an hour later, Dastanov checked Matt's vital signs again. "His breathing is better, and his heart rate is up. He may wake up soon."

Amanda moved toward the bed and took Matt's hand. She sat down carefully next to him. "Matt, it's time to wake up." Amanda continued speaking softly to Matt.

Lee moved to the bed and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Amanda."

Amanda glanced at Lee, a determined look on her face. "This worked for you, once." Lee stood by and did not say anything more as Amanda continued to try to rouse Matt. Finally, he stirred slightly and groaned.

"Sar…" He groaned again. His voiced was muffled through the oxygen mask.

Dastanov reached to check Matt's pulse once again.

Suddenly, Matt's eyes opened and he frantically tried to pull the mask from his face. Dastanov attempted to put the mask back, while Amanda leaned over Matt. "It's okay, Matt. You're with us."

He looked at Amanda for several moments, trying to focus on her, before he finally relaxed. He lifted his hand, calmly this time, and took off the mask again. His voice was slurred when he spoke. "What happened to me?"

Amanda looked at Dr. Dastanov, who spoke to Matt. "You were given a strong drug. We don't know all side effects, so I ask you to lie quietly and rest, please. You have I.V., and I want you to keep the oxygen mask on."

Matt started to put the mask back on, but stopped. "Why am I in my hotel room?"

Lee chuckled more out of relief than amusement. "Good question. We'll explain later."

Amanda put a hand on Dastanov's arm. "May I stay with him, doctor?"

"Yes. I am going to talk with the girl. I think you would call it 'reading her the riot act.' As for the men, I must ask them to leave Matt alone for a while. He needs to rest. He will need to sleep to get the medication out of his body."

"Thank you, doctor." Lee moved to put his hand on Amanda's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. When she looked up at him, he saw her eyes were glistening. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and went to the next room.

He stopped Dastanov and spoke quietly to him. "What did you say to Yana to get her to tell you the name of the drug, anyway?"

"I told her that I tell police she murdered Mr. Granger if she did not talk. She was a bit, uh, thick-headed, but she came around."

Lee gave a low, mirthless laugh. "Good for us she did not realize it would have been a bigger mess for us than for her if he had died. Well, I will leave you to 'read her the riot act,' as they say."

Amanda could see that Matt had not missed the exchange between her and Lee. Pulling a tissue from her pocket, she wiped her eyes. "You had us worried, Matt."

He lifted the mask again. "I'm sorry I was so foolish. I should have been more cautious. It was the monti, wasn't it? Yana did this?"

"Yes, she did. But she was the foolish one. She did not know what she was doing. We are holding her in the next room. I think you should know that you handled yourself well. You did not abandon your target—and you remembered your training. You even managed to get a little information out of Yana. It was not your fault they gave you an overdose." Amanda tried to move Matt's hand so the mask was back on his face, but he stopped her.

"I felt like I was betraying Sarah."

Amanda wasn't sure if was the effects of the drug or Matt's need for reassurance that had him opening up to her. She smiled at him. "I heard you on the wire, Matt. Like I said, you handled yourself well. Mr. Stetson feels the same way."

"At first I thought you were Sarah… I had a dream about her… The drugs were playing tricks with me."

She laughed lightly. "Well, people say we do look a lot alike, but she is much younger than me. Thank you for the compliment. Now, I need to let you sleep, or Dr. Dastanov will kick me out of here."

Oh, Sarah. I need to make sure I call her in the morning. "Just one more question. What time is it?"

"Four o'clock in the afternoon."

"My phone—I need to set the alarm. It was in my pants." He put the mask back over his face.

Knowing that Matt would not relax until she helped him, Amanda got up and brought his phone.

Seeing the look on his face, she said, "Don't worry. I was in the other room when they undressed you. Listen, I'll set the alarm for you. What time?"

"Seven a.m."

Matt blushed a little as she set the alarm on the phone and put it by his bedside. He didn't care if Lee and the doctor had seen him in his boxers, but it did not seem right to have his girlfriend's mother see him that way. He was relieved she had not.

Overwhelmed with drowsiness, he let his eyes close and was soon asleep.

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Amanda joined Arman and Lee at the small table in their room after checking on Matt once again. He had awakened long enough to eat some toast and porridge and was now sleeping again. Arman had spent some time trying to reassure Matt that the food was safe before he would touch it.

Dr. Dastanov, finally satisfied that Matt was on the way to a full recovery, had gathered his supplies and left. Arman had taken advantage of another one of his mysterious connections and rented the room on the other side of Lee and Amanda's. Lee and Amanda surmised that some unfortunate guest had probably been asked to move to another room. The three would take turns watching her during the night. For now, she lay on one of the beds, watching the television, which was on low. Lee had set up a camera and monitor so they could keep an eye on her.

Lee was all business. "Yana's story meshes with what we know about the arms coming here from the U.S., and I have confirmation from D.C. that the facts she gave us about Baikonur Cosmodrome and the U.S. astronaut are accurate. Francine is having two of our agents accompany us from Atyrau to the cosmodrome. If this plot to set off an explosion at the cosmodrome and possibly kill the American team is serious, we will need their help to stop it."

Amanda spoke up. "Yana's people had hoped simply to get the attention of the Russian government, but instead they will spark a much larger incident between Russia and the U.S."

"The Popovichs were foolish to enter into any agreement with those terrorists. Indeed, they were foolish to go against the Russians. These younger people do not remember the Soviet Union." Arman took a breath. "I have five tickets for the flight from here to Atyrau. We leave after midnight tomorrow and arrive a few hours later. It will do us well to stay up late tonight and sleep during the day tomorrow. We will need to be very awake once we arrive in Atyrau. Once we dispose of those guns and figure out how to fool the terrorists, we can fly to Baikonur."

Lee watched as Amanda looked at the open doorway to Matt's room. "Amanda, he's doing well. He should be fine by then. We need him on this operation. You know as well as I do that he has more recent experience with detonators than any of us. I wish we had a bomb squad, but Matt is the next best thing. He's had the training, and we haven't."

"I just wish we didn't have to keep throwing him in harm's way deliberately."

"We didn't know he'd be drugged."

"Overdosed…"

Lee put a hand on top of Amanda's and looked in her eyes. She relaxed. "Okay. Could we please finish up for tonight? I know I'm supposed to try to stay up, but I can hardly think straight."

Turning to Arman, Lee was decisive. "She's right, Arman. We can start pulling shifts watching Yana."

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Matt was awake before the alarm went off. His door was still open when he got out of bed and went to his suitcase, slipping on a pair of pajama bottoms over his boxers. When he went to close the door, he saw Lee sitting in the open doorway of the room beyond his. Lee motioned him over.

"Arman got us this extra room." Lee kept his voice low. "We've been keeping watch over Yana all night. She's sleeping now."

Matt looked over at the two beds. Arman slept on one, while Yana slept on the other. "Black widow," he muttered under his breath.

Lee stifled a chuckle at Matt's uncharacteristic comment, but grew sober. "Actually, she didn't mean to give you an overdose." He watched as Matt stared over at Yana, and then attempted to divert his attention. "Listen, go get a shower; do what you need to do. We'll need to brief you. We're leaving for Atyrau tonight. And oh," he stopped Matt with a hand on his arm. "Tell her hello for me. But don't tell her what happened."

Matt was briefly taken aback. I guess I shouldn't be surprised he'd know I was going to call Sarah. "I wasn't planning to tell her." He went back to his room and quietly closed his door.

Neither man saw that Yana was awake and listening.