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Sometimes Emily was glad to have such protective friends. Tonight was not one of those nights. She'd had to argue with them for fifteen minutes before they'd reluctantly agreed to let her go by herself. As she sits in her car at the designated meeting area, she starts to wish that she hadn't turned them down. Both Aria and Hanna had offered to accompany her – discreetly of course, since they didn't want Mona knowing that they knew – so they could keep an eye on things, but Emily hadn't wanted to put them in danger.

She looks around. This is a fairly public place – bright streetlights, a diner on the corner with some people sitting outside. If Mona wanted to hurt her, she wouldn't do it in such an open place. Would she? She shivers, trying to suppress the anxiety that's building up inside her. What she wouldn't give to have Hanna's hand in hers, so she could feel that electricity, that energy that thrummed through her when they were together.

In preparation for whatever's to come, she closes her eyes and allows herself to relax for a few minutes. She relives that first kiss with Hanna, and then all the moments after. Each memory leaves her feeling warm, and even though Hanna's not here she's only a phone call or a text message away. That will have to be enough for her.

Emily is so lost in her thoughts that when someone knocks softly on the car window she jumps. Her limbs jerk in shock and she ends up whacking her arm on the steering wheel. Rubbing it, she gets out of the car and follows Mona to a bench. To her surprise, Mona is wearing her black A-Team hoodie. It's a bold move, and it makes Emily uneasy.

"Having a good night?" Mona questions.

Emily realizes that the dreamy, Hanna-inspired smile hasn't quite faded yet, so she quickly forces it from her face. She doesn't want Mona knowing about this; like she even needs another thing to use against them.

"Mona -" she starts.

"I see," Mona interrupts, discerning from her tone of voice that Emily, as usual, isn't in the mood for games. "Straight to business then."

"Of course it's straight to business," Emily says, not bothering to hide the disdain in her voice. "You and I aren't friends, Mona. We don't talk aside from when we need to. And even then we make it quick. Understood?"

Normally Mona would make some kind of snarky comment about patience or some fake-sympathetic aside, but tonight she lets it slide. "You have a new mission," she says without preamble. "Since you performed the last one so well, this one will be more difficult."

Lucky me, Emily thinks, but she knows better than to say it aloud.

"Normally I wouldn't ask something so big of someone so new, but I'm a little desperate," she goes on, giving Emily a measured look. "I haven't been able to contact Lucas in a while. Do you know where he might be?"

Emily freezes, automatically opting for silence as her best defence.

"I thought as much," Mona says, and Emily has the horrible feeling that she knows she was a part of it. "I would have liked for you to work in tandem with someone on this project, but that doesn't seem like an option."

Emily stays silent. As long as she doesn't say anything incriminating, she may be able to get out of this unscathed. She just might make it back to Hanna in one piece.

"I did ask Paige, but she seemed… reluctant to work with you," Mona says, giving Emily a look of feigned sympathy. "Did you two have a fight?"

"It's none of your business, Mona," Emily says, wondering how much Paige told her.

Mona shrugs. "I guess not," she says airily. "So, your mission will be solo, if you can handle that. Jason has been dating Aria, as I'm sure you're aware."

Emily nods warily. Where is this going?

"It's no longer useful to us to have him in that position," she explains. "We need a way to… extricate him, without suspicion."

Emily stares at her. "You want me to find a way to break Aria and Jason up?"

"In layman's terms, yes." Mona is giving her a searching look, as if she's testing her for weakness or disloyalty. "Preferably it would involve Aria breaking up with him, so that he'll be able to leave without her questioning it."

"Uh huh." She's not sure what else to say.

"The sooner the better," Mona adds. "In fact, I've made sure he's free tonight, so if you can come up with a plan in time, we could be finished by tomorrow."

When Emily doesn't respond, Mona leans forward, elbows on her knees, and looks at the ground. Then she shoots a sly sideways glance at her. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

"No." Emily's response is too quick, and she draws in a sharp breath. Has she given herself away?

But Mona doesn't question it. She seems distracted, like this is just a pit stop on the way to something much more important. If Emily weren't so scared, she'd almost be offended.

"Great." Mona stands abruptly. "Let me know when it's finished."

Before Emily can say another word, something along the lines of 'Hey, would you quit walking off already', Mona has disappeared around the corner. She lets out a sigh. She hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath, but after the fallout following her first mission she'd been apprehensive about being given a new one. But this one might work to her advantage.

As she gets into her car and drives away, checking the backseat and then the rear-view mirror just to make sure she's alone and not being followed, she feels the start of a plan arranging itself in her mind. By the time she pulls up outside Hanna's house the plan is – well, if not cemented, it's at least starting to set. And she's running out of time, so it will have to do.

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What do you think her plan will be?