Chapter 29: Responsibility

September 21st 2010 1738 Hours

Bull Run Estates, Virginia

The season temperatures for the beginning of Fall were rather nice this year. The leaves would not be changing colors for the next two months but that didn't mean that they weren't going to fall off the trees eventually. Marcus knew he would have some lengthy yard work in the future once he came home from the office. His property line was where the woods began but he had several fully grown trees sporadically placed throughout his back and front yard. So needless to say that the leaves got everywhere. But he wouldn't need to worry about them yet as he sat on his back deck drinking a bottle of ale while he watched his company conversate on the deck. His brothers and their wives had made a surprise visit this afternoon so he had snuck out of work early.

His oldest brother was on his grill cooking pork chops, he then noticed that the silver in his temples had spread again but he was almost twenty years older than him so the clock obviously didn't stop. Even as Frank smiled while he was flipping the meat the frown lines in his face were chiseled in as if they were scars, with a square jaw and still athletic build for an old man it was a befitting form of who he was as a command sergeant major with twenty five years in the army as a scout in the cavalry. Of course the real scars were on his exposed arms, the look of burned flesh was still there as a permanent reminder of how close he was to getting killed in the jungles of Vietnam so long ago. While on patrol his platoon didn't check to make sure all of the NVA were dead and one of them threw a white phosphorous grenade at him. He shielded his face with his arms and got to cover at the last second but not before it blew. The doctors said it was a miracle that he didn't lose complete loss of function in his arms.

His second oldest sat across from him lighting up his next cigarette. Every time he said he would quit he would, for a while, and then get right back to it. This one however was a record at seven months. Stress was rather frequent in his line of work so nobody really had any authority to get him to stop. Being responsible to make sure either a person would live or die can do that to anybody. Unlike most of the men in the Andrushko family Eric had chosen early on to embrace medicine as his career, he just let the Navy pay for his med school and after finishing his single contract as a doctor on board the USS Enterprise and a surgeon at Norfolk he left and followed his true career. But just cause he was good at putting people back together again didn't mean he was an angel of mercy. He was one of the most vicious and durable amateur boxers in the US Navy when he was younger. By using the swarmer style he constantly kept up the punishment on his opponents by getting in close and not giving them a chance to breathe. If he did get hit, he just took the blows like they were nothing. It was a peculiar style to use since most swarmer's were smaller and had a shorter reach and he was the biggest of the three brothers at six foot three. He did however make it perfectly clear when got on the Navy's team he wanted no contracts to go professional. He always wanted to healer, which was ironic considering the amount of injuries he gave to other boxers and the occasional jackass who didn't watch his tone when he was on shore leave.

Frank had stopped by to celebrate because he had just become a grandfather, his eldest daughter had just given birth to a boy. Eric was there just because he wanted to score a free meal and raid his little brother's beer stockpile. The times that the three brothers were all together was rare since they lived in different states and didn't have enough time to do family vacations. Eric was the only one within driving distance since he lived in Pennsylvania but Frank wanted to make a quick stop to Marcus's home to let him know the good news in person since his flight wasn't going back to Texas till tomorrow afternoon. Many things kept going forward in the Andrushko family, but for Marcus it was a bit of a state of stagnation and loneliness. Frank and Eric knew of the tragedy that had consumed him to the point where both of them felt that they would lose the youngest of the three. They both made a promise to keep in touch with him as often as they could, no matter what the consequences would be or no matter where and what he was doing. They didn't give a damn about security clearances or the need to know basis, all that mattered was that he still had his family. But today would be a celebration to the birth of another to come into theirs, as Frank held up his beer in a toast.

"To my grandson, Clayton Eugene Bock!" The other two brothers raised their bottles in salute

"That's the name Ingrid and Ethan decided on?" Eric asked of his niece and her husband.

"I shit you not they only started to narrow down names when she went into labor." Frank said falling slightly back into his NCO days as he loaded up the meat on a plate.

"How'd dad and mom take the news when they found out they became great grandparents?" The General asked.

"Well you know our mother she just said 'Great, thanks for making feel even older.' And dad just gave his congratulations as if only something good happened today."

Marcus knew that the Andrushko family roots were deep in warfare and hard work but somewhere along the lines they fell into the crowd of normal people where the older you got the less you gave a fuck about things. The three of them decided to break that norm, which was something that was a trait in their family. They'd do something that was the opposite of what they grew up with and made it successful. Alexander Andrushko however almost made it where they would break up the family when Marcus left home without his or Tanya's permission to enlist. When Marcus met Lauren thought it was the last straw, but Tanya had given her husband the sternest yelling imaginable to not jump to conclusions unless he did something truly wrong.

"Somehow that sums up mom pretty good. But you tend to forget that she can make dad be happy whether he wants to be or not." Eric said putting out his cigarette as he saw the two wives coming from the deck door with the sides they were cooking inside.

"Which is why the men in this family are complete slaves to their wives. You said you would quit Eric! Give me the rest of them!" She demanded with her hand out.

"It's in celebration for my grandnephew Francine, chill out." He said wearily as he handed over the rest of the pack.

"Well I'm not picking ashes out of my food. What you and Franny make Kristina?" The eldest brother said to his wife.

"I baked some carrots in brown sugar and butter while Francine made fried potatoes." She said holding up both baking dishes with her hands covered in hot pads.

"I don't think you two weighed the options on my brother's health. You may have lowered his cancer risk but you increased his heart disease risk." The General said pointing to the doctor first and then to the food.

"He's a good doctor and he can deal with it." Francine said as all five of them sat down and began to dig in.

Dinners in Marcus's family were often silent. Not because of that there was nothing to say or everyone was distant but that the meal should be properly enjoyed and every flavor savored. If all of the children were there though, the food would be cold before anyone ate. It was however a little hard considering that for now going on the longest time that his big house in which he earned by climbing through the ranks from enlisted to officer was plagued with silence. He never truly recovered from when he lost Lauren but with the disappearance of Damien, the battle hardened personality he forged when he was a green beret was slowly crumbing. He had done a lot of thinking in the last few months and with the ever growing concern of the increase of unstable regions around the world, he figured his time was up. As he speared his next carrot with his fork he spoke before eating it.

"I'm thinking of putting in a request for early retirement from SOCOM when spring rolls around." He said bluntly while looking down at his plate.

The two brothers and their wives focused on him as he was the only one who continued to eat. They thought that he would never leave until he got all four stars on his shoulders. But with what happened two years ago, they could understand why he would want to be done. Kristina asked first on why he would make such a decision, she knew from her husband that there was a lot of stuff you never discussed in the world of black ops. It didn't matter if it was family or not, but Marcus was normally the one most likely to break the rules.

"I know you can't tell us everything Marcus but did Olsen and Mullen put pressure on you to do this?" She asked referring to SOCOM's CO and the Chairman of the JC.

"Of course not Kris, I made this decision myself. It may come as a shock but even spec ops operators have a shelf life. Some expire more quickly than others, I just figure I…pass the torch."

Eric then took his next swig of beer. "Looks like I'm gonna be the only one still working. Well hey you know, we'll always support you little bro. It don't matter if you outrank us but don't expect me to break out my old uniform for your retirement party. I never liked wearing the same damn thing every day. At least when I'm in my scrubs I got something nice on underneath."

With Eric's chiding it got the family back to eating but he thought of what was really going through his little brothers head.

I know you miss Damien man, I do too. But two and a half years is a long time, you have to accept the fact that he's gone. I know that in his case they're listed as missing in action but it's just a comforting form of telling a family that one of their members is dead. No parent should bury their own child but you can't let tragedy consume you. He got strong and went farther and faster than any of us ever did so don't forget that.

September 22nd 2010 0155 Hours

Silver Lion Pub, London, United Kingdom

Last call was made about five minutes ago and I decided to get a double for the road, not literally of course cause I was gonna walk back to the hotel at Heathrow. The endless amount of old pubs that were around London had a good feel of the old world. The oak wood floors, walls and beams that were over a hundred years old that had seen countless gatherings of either rowdy fun or nasty brawls. Lined with old and new pictures as well as game animals this place had history. Supposedly this used to be an old hang out for hunters that came and went on safari in the British colonies in Africa, you could get a decent amount of lager or ale for a whole afternoon or evening for a single pound sterling, hence the name Silver Lion. And it was one of the few places that didn't get terribly damaged by the German's in the Blitz.

I gently nipped on the whiskey as almost if not all the patrons had cleared out. The plane wasn't gonna take off to Budapest until ten tomorrow and I would have a decent night sleep until then. I just needed some time to myself and relax since it was back to normal work tomorrow. If gunfights, explosions, and pushing your luck of not getting killed was considered normal. The bar maid was washing the last of the beer mugs as she turned to me as the last of her customers left. She was acting a little flirty with me earlier for obvious reasons but bars were the same all over the world. The girl that pours the drinks is supposed to look pretty and get the men to fork over more money, but I was gonna take my time.

"As much as I like looking at a massive man that's also well-mannered for a yank can you please close out your tab so I can close up?" She said playfully while begging since she wanted to go home.

"I won't let good whiskey go to waste. Plus since I was out for longer than I was supposed to be for tonight I need something to numb me out since I have another lady that will probably be very angry at me when I get back to my hotel."

"Aww, lucky girl. I hope she's worth it."

She is, depending on her mood.

I was down to about three deep nips left when I heard the door creak open. I looked at the mirror on the bar shelf as I saw a much older man, possible in his fifties in a dark blue trench coat that wasn't buttoned up. I noticed he also wore a dark blue striped suit underneath it with a black tie.

"Sorry love. Bar's about to close." The bar maid said.

"Don't worry dear I know. I'm actually here for him. I'm his escort."

I turned around confused to get a better look at him. While he spoke American English I heard a slight accent underneath that gave away the fact that it wasn't his first language. The authority it carried though was heavy. It was one of one who knew he was in charge of whatever it was and no one could tell him otherwise. He had a light olive skin tone with a haircut consisting of a groomed politician that was silver white. He was also rather tall for an old man at around six foot even as he sat down next to me. But the one thing that seemed very familiar was his eyes, they were unnaturally blue and had a type of predatory look in them but not fully.

He can't be.

He then looked to me and extended his hand.

"Pleasure to finally meet you in person Damien. I'm Floyd Hekmatyar."

It was only after he said who he was that I saw images of Koko and Kasper flash in front of me in the same spot he was. Naturally I slightly hesitated as I took his hand and didn't shake it with the normal firmness I always used. Why was he here?

"No need to be alarmed or anything Damien nothing bad has happened. I'm actually making a trip to Sydney in a few days to check on Kasper's operations in the Pacific. London's just my first stop, so naturally Koko doesn't know I'm here. And if it's not too much of a problem please don't tell her I'm here talking to you."

"Why are you here talking to me anyway?" I asked still in shock by being in the presence of a man who owned a whole shipping fleet that delivered billions of dollars in weapons across the entire planet.

"I'll explain but not here. Come I will drive you back to the hotel."

He got up and left the bar, I stared at the door as it closed still wondering why the hell he was here. I gulped the last of the whiskey down, closed out my tab, put on my leather jacket, and followed him outside. He was sitting in the back of a black Rolls Royce with two of his bodyguards keeping eye out. Between the Rolls were two black Lincoln Continentals with more guards sitting inside them waiting on instructions. It looked like more along the lines for a security detail for a head of state rather than a business man. But I could tell from the posture of these guys all of them were ex-military, and most assuredly not regular forces. I entered the Rolls sitting next to him with a surprising amount of leg room. The guard closed the door and after he got in the front seat we rolled out.

"Even though she and I have not seen eye to eye on many things for years, I cannot deny my responsibilities as a father. I make it my business to know who my children work and associate with. With the nature of our business, it's logical that I'd be concerned given your…reputation." He said as we made the first turn.

I didn't really find it that surprising that he found out a lot of classified crap on me. Even though I had been working for HCLI for a while now. I wondered why it took this long for him and I to meet face to face.

"Well Mr. Hekmatyar if you've been keeping track of what your daughter has been doing this year, I'd be concerned as well. But if you must know I have done my job well. Despite the setbacks and unforeseen circumstances we have always come out with successful deals and your last rocket just went up without problems."

Except for the one that didn't have anything to do with it.

"I know, and I know that Koko will do what must be done in order to succeed. And I do know of the danger that she has been in more than I care to mention. But I ensured that she and my son would have the best protection, that's why I asked John and Anya to be their bodyguards."

Who the hell's Anya?

"As far as success goes, she's always been like that, even if she thinks that I only care that a product we have succeeds that I will only begin to acknowledge it. When you get to be my age in any type of business whether it be guns or butter, no pun intended, you must stay focused that what you built continues to remain strong. It is the same way with those that work for me, and you are no exception."

I knew Koko got here lessons in authority from somewhere but it most assuredly was not her father. Hers held concern for me and the crew. Floyds seemed to just be mostly for his company. I knew that the relationship between the two of them was strained but this was our first meeting. So I'd have to wait until we were done talking before I made any judgments.

"With respect Mr. Hekmatyar, I work for your daughter. Not you."

He looked and me and smiled slightly. "Hmm. Somehow I knew you would say that. Koko does like to think that all of HCLI is just her, her bodyguards, and her ship. While occasionally working with her brother. But she refuses to realize that she's a part of a much greater machine and she and Kasper will be controlling it someday. She may have far more authority and freedom than any other executive and distributor of HCLI merchandise but she still works for me. That being said I want her to continue to succeed."

"You didn't really show a whole lot of support when the last rocket was about to go up. That essentially meant that your logistics program was done. And from what I've found out, this cost HCLI a pretty penny."

He then looked out the window to the London city scape, still busy even at two in the morning.

"While legally it belongs to me it is and was her project. All I did was just give her the approval for her to start and the most difficult part is completed. She earned it, it was her success and I had nothing to do with it, so she alone should enjoy it."

"Can't you just tell her that?" I asked.

He turned back to me, leaned forward, and grouped his hands together.

"I take it that you believe Koko and I don't get along very well do you?"

"She does avoid mentioning you as much as she can, yes."

He kept his hands together but brought his right leg up and placed it on his left knee. Looks like I was in for another story.

"I know not where she harbors this anger towards me. No matter what happens I want to ensure that my children had a better life than I had. It is the responsibility of all good parents. I may have been successful with Kasper but I don't know where I went wrong with Koko."

"If it's not too much of a problem. You can skip the rags to riches part." I knew where he was going and I wanted to avoid it. It had a scary similarity from over two years ago.

"Quite the opposite in fact Mr. Andrushko. My family was one of the biggest produce merchants in Iran. Yes I started in the business of sales by selling fruit. Mostly citrus and dates to be specific."

I then sat up a bit straighter to let him know I was interested in what he was saying and he continued. I figured I'd humor him, and it looked like I figured out where Kasper got his knack of liking to hear himself talk.

"Granted we were not as well off as the Shah but as you can see now what is actually happening in my homeland today is just what it was underneath the cover of the Shah. While he had power, the only thing he was, was a British and American puppet. Needless to say this caused controversy with those that had national pride and especially those who practiced Islam. I don't feel that I need to tell you of rise of Islamic extremism has caused truly severe prejudices around the world. They didn't like the idea of western capitalism so naturally there was hatred towards my family. The biggest tragedy as well as change in responsibility in my life however came when I was only eighteen when the earthquake in Tabas happened, my whole family was among the 15,000 dead. With everyone gone I assumed the responsibility of owning a fairly lucrative business but I was on my own with no one to keep me safe in a nation with rising controversy. So I sold almost all of my possessions, land my family owned to other merchants, transferred all of my holdings and accounts into a Swiss bank and fled to France. Since my so called "company" was just me I merged myself with averaged sized freighter company called St. Elmo's Shipping. Its owner was a former French sailor and they primarily moved around machinery and equipment for the French military. It was where I made some of my first contacts in arms distributors and from there it grew. It was also during this time I had a crush on the owner's daughter."

"Koko's mom?" I asked already knowing the answer.

"Of course. Her name was Katrina Chevalier, and if you put her next to Koko you would swear that a mirror was right next to one of them. Only difference was that Katrina had green eyes. I'm glad that both Koko and Kasper look and act so much more like their mother than me. They both inherited her intelligence and charisma. Unfortunately her father didn't see us as a perfect couple. Even as a child he was rather controlling of her and almost never let her make her own decisions. So much to the point that he gave himself a stroke and died of heart failure. Since he was her only family and I had lost all of mine we grew very close and were almost never away from each other. It was then that we decided together to make a future for our children where neither of them would have no concept of national pride, collectivism, or influence of others, they would be themselves and no one else. It couldn't have come at a better time because the world was rapidly changing in ways that hadn't been seen since the end of the Second World War. Needless to say that the chains in which the East and West kept on their influenced countries began to rust and break. This caused a lot of conflict in different spots around the world and my distribution of equipment and machines was in decline. That's when me and my wife decided to go into distribution of arms and our contacts in the French military branched us out to other buyers. Since we couldn't use her father's old company name we bought it and reforged it to what it is now, Hekmatyar and Chevalier Logistics Incorporated. The amount of sales we made in small arms alone sky rocketed and we were constantly on the move. It didn't stop us from being a married couple though, it was around this time Kasper was born. He would be the first one as a true man of the world."

"Is that why both of them were born on one of your cargo ships and took them to work constantly? Not to be rude but this sounds like some sort of twisted social experiment. Koko did tell me a while ago that she never went to any kind of school in her life."

He then looked at me as if one of his executives were challenging him on one of his decisions, I held my posture of professionalism as an army officer.

"Legally speaking you are correct, any kind of credentials in education or even identification they have are fake. Because I paid out of my own pocket to ensure that my children were taught the knowledge of what they were supposed to know without the injections of preference, suggestion, and coercion. To know the facts first, and they then could make their own choices. Naturally I couldn't be there all the time and this was especially true when the Cold War ended. I had so many weapons orders come in requesting from both Eastern and Western names that I had to go because I didn't have enough employees at the time. But I would gave them the opportunity to choose to be whatever they wanted but it appeared that they found my line of work rather fascinating. It was however a shame that Katrina did not live to see it. She died of complications giving birth to Koko, since we were on a cargo ship the medical access we had was limited."

It was then that I realized I felt like I was mirroring Koko's life in some way. She lost her mother, her father wasn't around as much, and she ended up falling into the family business. Only difference was that she carried on with her life as normal, mine was pretty self-explanatory. It was right here though that I had truly learned a lot more about Koko's past and her origins more than she told me. This probably why she kept that aura of mystery about her, she wanted to close out the bad memories, maybe this had something to do with this new world she kept talking about with Professor Amada.

"Since we got the origin out of the way Mr. Hekmatyar. Are you going to tell me why you wanted to talk to me?" I asked getting back to our original conversation and he still held his pose of sitting with authority.

"Just because I'm not there with her doesn't mean I don't pay attention to what's happened. There have been more than a fair share of incidents that have happened to her this year alone. They started to increase steadily since my son first came across you in Myanmar. I also know that Koko likes to be rather close to you."

Don't tell me he's one of "those" father's.

"The reason why is because long ago I lost someone that drifted too far into the darkness and they never came back." He then looked at me with a very piercing stare. "I know of your reputation, and who you really are. But for some reason being around my daughter has changed you in a way, I can see it. I just want to know what you think of her."

Hekmatyar did raise a valid point. Being around Koko has changed me. But I wondered why I would bring her out of her grey area that she always stayed. How could that happen?

"There has never been anything going on between us other than being friends. I won't lie though, she's one of the most charming and beautiful women I've ever met, but I like someone else. What Koko sees in me I truly do not know, but I owe her everything for helping me turn my life around."

He then let out a light chuckle and stared ahead. The car was beginning to pull up to a stop, I saw that I was at the front of our hotel. Floyd then sat up straight with his arms crossed.

"I've known John and William for a long time and they've kept her safe for all these years but I think they will be looking for a replacement soon. I think you'll fit the bill quite well. I know she thinks highly of all of you, but Koko is still a woman and she does have needs. All I can do is just hope she makes the right decision."

His body guard opened my door to let me out. He didn't want to stay long for obvious reasons but he kept the formalities by extending his hand once more. This time I took it with sincere firmness.

"I hope we can talk more in the future. Until we meet again Damien, and please call me Floyd."

"Of course…Floyd."

0246 Hours

Hilton, London Heathrow Airport, Koko's Suite

I didn't realize how late it really was as I checked my watch when I got to our floor. I would definitely have to make up for one of the guys shifts whenever I caught an hour or two for a nap. First ones I saw were Ugo and Mao on patrol in the halls, they glanced over immediately when they saw me as Ugo tucked his MP5K back under his jacket.

"Where the hell have you been man? Your shift is in less than ten minutes." He asked frustrated from concern and lack of sleep.

"It's ok man nothing happened but uhh…I had someone talk to me and I can't mention who. That's all you guys need to know."

"Yeah what's her name so I can tell Valmet?" Mao said not believing me.

"Guys seriously, I ain't bullshitting you. I can't tell you. Anyway I'll be back in a few minutes, let me grab a snack and my shotgun."

I walked past them to my room letting them know I was serious. I also had to prepare for the inevitable death stare I was gonna get from a certain knife wielding killer.

"Is everything ok Damien?" Mao asked in concern.

I stared back smiling awkwardly. "I'll let you know soon, depending on how many visible injuries I have."

They both knew what I was getting at and proudly left me to my fate as I entered my room using the light from my phone to see where I was going. Naturally it was very quiet and I knew I was being watched, so I just grabbed my shotgun and a protein bar as quietly as I could and then left the room without even taking a minute. That was easier than I thought, it looked like I was in the clear. Until when I left the room and felt an ominous presence behind me, I then let out a sigh that I had been caught.

"Ok Sophia I get it I was out too late but I-"

"Sorry big guy but you got lucky tonight."

I turned around and it was R. Looks like I could breathe a little easier until morning.

"Ehh not really, still gotta look at your ugly mug until dawn."

He ignored the quip and we started our patrol. "The guys said you ran into someone you can't mention. It wasn't uhh…you know?"

"No man nothing like that, if it was I would have called you guys immediately. But uhh…is she mad at me?"

He knew who I was referring to. "She was pouting at first but after a while she was kinda waiting on you. She couldn't stay awake so she went to sleep in Koko's room. Looks like you're by yourself again man."

"Sucks I can't make breakfast this morning, something chocolate based would make up for it."

"Since you've started working with us you should know that she's not like most women who can be bought off with sweets, Koko maybe but not Valmet. But anyway, what's with the secret meeting? It's just the two of us man I won't tell anyone."

I stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked around to make sure there wasn't anyone else. I could tell one and only one and I think he would understand. He would also back me up in case if one of the crew got too persistent. But he was only gonna get one answer and I would sure as hell not tell him anything else.

"You say this to no one, especially Koko." I took a deep breath and sighed quietly. "Floyd."

His eyes widened in shock, no surprise in that. I didn't need to say anything else and walked forward continuing our patrol. I turned around to see him still standing there wonder why HCLI's owner was here in London so close to his daughter.

"That's all you're getting. Come on man we're on patrol."

"Umm…right."

1048 Hours

Flight 5714 To Budapest, First Class

Another boring flight in which I would have problems trying to sleep even from staying up all night. The time it would take for the plane to get to Budapest wasn't long but we would have a three hour layover in Cologne before we got there. Still didn't mean I would have a comfy bed to sleep on. Even with getting an aisle seat to stretch my legs my back was pretty crooked and I kept sliding down onto Tojo who had the window seat next to me.

"Come on that's the third time, I'm trying to work here." He said getting my head off of his shoulder again as he went back to typing on his laptop.

I then scratched my head, too tired to even respond with any of my sarcasm. As I let out a deep yawn, I felt a nudge on my shoulder. R was standing there motioning with his eyes to the rear of the first class cabin. Sofia was sitting by herself, Koko must have went to the bathroom. I knew what he was trying to help me with.

"Appreciate the help bro but she didn't even say good morning to me, I know a losing battle when I see it."

He ignored me. "Just go Damien, you can't build a relationship without doing your damnedest to apologize. At least let her know you care."

"Ugh…shit." I figured I get it over with.

I got up out of the seat, still slightly groggy, walked to her and asked her when she turned her head to me.

"Mind if I sit down?"

She didn't answer but stared back out the window. I sat down and tried my best.

"I lost track of time, that's not an excuse. But I did have someone speak to me and that's what took up the most of it. I can't, not won't, can't tell you who. I promised I wouldn't."

She then looked back me neutrally.

"Just cause we accepted your apologies doesn't mean you can keep going off and having your own fun. Always keep business and pleasure separate. And I don't care, I want to know. Who was it that was talking to you that was so secret you can't tell me?"

Naturally I hesitated. I would have told her if it was just us last night but this was gonna happen either way. As I kept silent she gave me a frustrated look and looked back out the window. I was about to say sorry again but another came into our conversation.

"If he says he can't then you should trust him on that." We both turned around, R. "Nothing bad happened and you know he's sorry. So give the poor boy a break."

He ended that with a sly smirk. Who the hell was he calling boy? I'm not really the new guy anymore, but I must have been more tired than I thought since I got a little grumpy.

"Have you gotten any sleep at all?"

I turned back to her. "Not really, can't find a comfortable position for my back, I keep sliding off my seat."

After staring at me for a few seconds she smiled gently and lifted the arm rest separating the seats and took off her seat belt.

"Lay down."

"Excuse me?"

"Put your head on my lap and you can stretch your body out so that you can straighten out your back and put your legs in the aisle. Don't forget to put up the aisle arm rest." She said rather commandingly but still smiling.

I then exhaled through my nose.

"Hmm. Flirt."

"Do it before I change my mind you idiot."

I lifted up the other arm rest and got into position. Not as hot as the way we normally slept together but comfortable none the same. I was actually starting to fall asleep almost immediately. But I was quickly roused awake but I slight jolt to my shin. I opened my eyes and raised my head slightly to catch a flash of long white hair.

"Is she angry cause I stole her seat or that I didn't get back till late?"

"Both but I think she would want you to be well rested for your ass kicking. It wouldn't be any fun if you weren't aware of what was happening to you." She said kindly.

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

"We'll how does this feel?" She then hand her hand over my face and pulled back on my nose by the nostrils.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"It will keep hurting and get worse unless you put your head down, now."

In my extreme drowsiness I didn't realize where the top of my forehead was at. I was too damn tired to care at this point.

"Ugh. You're the one who wanted me to lay down. Those things just got in the way. You have only yourself to blame."

She gave one heavy pull and then let go out of frustration. As I gripped my nose in pain she stared back out the plane window.

"I think you should also know I found out the name of that song."

"Ow. Which one? Gotta be more specific. I downloaded a lot of albums this month."

"The one you played at the steel mill."

Shit.

I then felt an immediate hole in my stomach. The moment she found out the name I knew that she'd lure me into a trap and I fell for it. I could only imagine what she was gonna do next.

"Why did that make you immediately think of me?" She said tapping her fingers on my stomach, probably about to punch it.

"I…uhh…urhm…I got nothin."

Nothing that I could say out loud, and to be fair she can't really hide a pair of tits like that. Fake or not.

"God why do I even bother with you?" She said sounding defeated.

I then moved my head to her knees so that she could see me better.

"Cause I have no reason to be afraid of you. And besides you know they're awesome." I said winking.

She then returned a smile while grabbing my head and pulling it to her stomach. "Well I will find one reason someday. Now sleep Captain."

"Heh heh, yes Major."

For being a cold and hardened killer, she's very soft and warm. Irony much?

1200 Hours

Budapest, Hungary, Cutthroat Safehouse

The Special Activities Division of the CIA were picked from the absolute best in the Special Forces groups from all of the United States Military's branches. Marine Recon, Delta Force, The Green Berets, Rangers, Navy SEALs, and Air Force PJs and CCTs. Each one brought their own special set of skills to conduct the harder field operations behind enemy lines for the CIA for one purpose, to win. That didn't mean they had to play by the rules. Even with the accusations and finger pointing by certain rights groups about the use of torture to extract information as well as the War Diary leak. They continued on their tasks as if nothing happened, cause no one really had any type of authority to stop them. With Hex's crew they would just ignore them flat out and probably kill them later because they were becoming an annoyance. This team was called "Cutthroat" and they earned their name well with the countless amounts of "suspected" terrorists that they assassinated. Their methods bordered on Gestapo tactics and mercy was definitely not among their personalities. This is what Hex wanted, a perfect crew to conduct the elimination of terrorists and their masters from the world forever on behalf of the United States. This would be her most difficult challenge yet, seeing that she had finally grown weary of her target simply not wanting to die.

"What time will the target be arriving?" She asked the whole group as they were preparing for the upcoming fight.

"Flight left out of London Heathrow exactly two hours ago and will be arriving in Budapest at 1700 hours." Said one of the Cutthroats on his computer, a portion of his face looking like sandpaper from an IED blast.

"Good, we'll let them get comfortable first so not to arouse suspicion. We have to isolate them from the rest of the group though, if they call in the rest of their team this will turn into a mess. We have to just make sure that one of them dies but you know who is priority."

"Ma'am I just got the conformation number from our dealer about the ammo. He'll be here in thirty with about 9,000 rounds." Said another Cutthroat as he hung up his cell while adjusting his high and tight ponytail.

"Let me know when he gets here. I'll be my room cleaning my rifle."

Hex then went to her room and shut the door. But instead of going to her rifle she went to her computer first. She then brought up his file, classified above top secret. The only three confirmed photos of him in the last two years were blurred but they had eye witness confirmation. The only clear one was his official Army photo when he made Captain. Dressed in his service uniform that highlighted his large athletic form and on his head with a proper regulation haircut, a green beret with the flash of the 3rd Special Forces Group. She then placed two fingers on the screen.

"I wish I could tell you that this wasn't personal Damien, but you really don't know what you're getting yourself into. Operation Under Shaft will fail because the CIA is feeding that monster you care about so much. You probably want to go home but you don't realize that you are aiding in its fall. I won't allow that to happen. Despite the bad blood between your father and I, I didn't hate you. But he compared my methods and attitude to the very scum I hunt and destroy. How dare he think that I'm someone like Koko Hekmatyar! I'll show him and I'll show Bookman that I was right. I'm not doing this for myself, I'm doing this for my country. The one you decided to betray and abandon, Nightmare!"