Berlin, 1945

John patted Johann's shoulder and urged him forward. They joined the lines loading into the backs of the trucks. Two of them pulled away, filled with the scientists and driven by Talbot and Branson, respectively. Ross checked off names as they filled another truck and signaled it away before pointing to the last, smaller truck.

"It's all we've got I'm afraid. It'll be you three, Grün, and Ms. Schlegel. Otherwise they're all away to other camps, France, and eventually on home."

"They didn't want the deals?" John asked, helping Anna into the truck before lifting Johann to her.

"They decided that Germany's their home and we respect that." Ross shrugged, "We had people looking over a lot of their research and only a few of them would qualify for de-Nazification anyway. The rest of them were doing grunt work."

"Not worth the bother?"

"It was the equivalent of arresting a farmer for growing potatoes the Nazis bought." Ross shook his head, "Ms. Schlegel's work, on the other hand, was a bit damning but we worked out her plan."

"She working with you?"

"And the Brits. She'll go back to London, where her sister already is, ironically, and work from there." Ross sighed, "It's a messy business Bates but we're glad we had you on our side for it."

"Glad to help." John smiled at Anna and Johann. "I had a bit of a personal stake in the matter."

"All about the motivation, am I right?" Ross hit his shoulder before grimacing. "Here comes the piece de resistance."

John turned to see Grün and Ms. Schlegel making their way towards them. "I've got so many emotions about this."

"It's over, that's all that matters." Ross pointed to the other man trailing behind Grün and Ms. Schlegel. "And our insurance."

"Who?"

"His name's Gregson… or it will be once we get him to Washington." Ross leaned over to whisper to John, "He was one of the big ones. In charge of a lot of… less than savory projects because they held his wife and daughter hostage."

"What happened to them."

Ross shook his head, "Shot. Far as we could tell it was a purge and he turned over everything he had as quickly as he could manage."

"Good man."

"Broken man." Ross pointed to the back. "Ms. Schlegel's taking the front with Slade and me while you'll be in the back with the other two."

"My family will be in the back with the other two, you mean?"

Ross winced, "It's not the optimal situation but-"

"It's the price we pay." John extended a hand to the approaching Mr. Gregson. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Not sure what pleasure it is." He returned John's shake and climbed in to take the seat opposite Anna and Johann while Ms. Schlegel made herself comfortable in the front of the truck.

Between Ross and John they managed to get the handcuffed Grün into his seat. Ross went to the front while John strapped the man into the tiny seat before taking the one next to Johann. The boy looked between Grün and John before turning to his mother.

She smiled at him, rubbing his shoulder and holding him close to her as Grün only glared. "Don't pay him any mind."

"Why not?" Grün adjusted, clinking in his seat. "I'm his father."

"You'll find that's no longer true." Anna held her head higher. "The new government was happy enough to annul the marriage once they recognized I was already married to someone else."

"Who?" Grün snorted, laughing to himself before he realized Anna turned to John. "Him?"

"We married before he left Germany. The government's recognized it."

"Then the child between you's a bas-"

"I think you'll want to watch what you say if you intend to continue." John leaned forward and Grün slid back. "Another opportunity for you to be disappointed I think."

"What, is he yours?"

"If you would all please stop talking." All eyes turned to Gregson, his eyes moist as he stared at the family across from him. "Whatever you say the boy will hear. He's smart and you're all speaking in German."

"It's the language of the Reich."

"It's the language of murderers and butchers." Gregson snapped at Grün. "Our new language is English and we'll embrace that."

"Sir," Anna's soft voice broke through the moment. "Johann's English is not that good yet."

"Then he'll learn it." Gregson nodded at Johann. "I'm sure you intend to raise him where they already despise people like us so the sooner you teach him to speak like them the less ridicule he'll receive."

They all quieted, the rumble of the truck starting having them all reach for a hold when it jerked to move. It trundled up the road in the early morning light and broke the silence with occasional belches and rattles when a pot hole or branch blocked their way. But it was a lullaby, in its way, that soon had Johann drifted off on his mother's shoulder and her head resting on his.

John stayed alert, thoughts meandering through his head as he gazed at his family. Reaching out a finger, tentatively, he brushed a loose strand of Johann's hair that fell over his forehead. Hair so much like his as it fell in the same way.

"You think he'll accept you as his father?" John left his hand drop, noting Grün grinning at him. "Think he'll accept the man responsible for the destruction of his home?"

"I imagine he'll prefer a father who supports and loves him instead of a groomer hoping to feed him to a cannon on a war front." John's lip curled, "Or turn him into a purist ready to slaughter people for praise."

"You think that's all there is to me?"

"What else could there be to a man who was rank and file with the blackest of the black hearts who ran this regime?" John shook his head, "You're nothing more than a believer in a rotten religion that, thankfully, no longer exists."

"Because you killed or jailed our leaders?"

"That would tend to be sufficient."

Grün chuckled, playing with his handcuffs. "You all think it's a snake that you can just behead and leave to shrivel and die in the sun."

"Isn't it?"

"It's like the famed beasts of Greek myth. It's the hydra, the chimera, the gorgon." Grün hissed at John, "More heads will grow because all you've done is drive them to the ends of the earth. We will amalgamate until we create a better whole, and when you look on us then you'll be petrified with fear."

"You tried that once and what happened?" Gregson's voice was soft but held an edge. "They destroyed you. They'll do it again. Evil like yours never lasts."

"I think you don't understand the ways of the world, mein herr." Grün went to say something else but Ross turned from his seat and clicked his teeth at them.

"Quiet, all of you. We're reaching a roadblock."

They rolled to a stop and Ross hopped from the cab to speak to the uniformed officers there. John leaned around Anna, careful of Johann's shift to lay his head on John's side, to note the uniforms of the officers were neither American nor British but Russian. He exchanged a look with Ms. Schlegel and Mr. Gregson before moving smoothly back to his seat.

But Grün had no such plans. He shifted and lunged for John, catching him under the jaw with both fists. John grabbed Grün's wrists, wrestling him to the floor of the cab, and put a hand over the other man's mouth. He held there, pressing an arm to Grün's throat until the man's eyes widened, and released when they closed. Checking quickly at his pulse, John pulled Grün back into his seat as a Russian soldier peered into the back of their truck.

John swallowed, a feeble attempt to moisten his dry mouth, but someone spoke before he could. Slade joined the officer, explaining the situation in Russian until the man nodded and walked back toward the front of the truck to finish with Ross. With a nod, Slade joined them and John slumped back into his seat.

They moved forward again, leaving the soldiers behind, but a particularly jarring jolt roused Grün from his stupor. He flailed, catching Gregson in the shoulder so both men fell to the floor of the truck. John tried to held them but a kick knocked into his chin to rattle his skull. Sagging back, he tried to blink himself to full consciousness.

It was already too late. The truck went to stop, someone in the cab hearing the noise, but Grün tackled Gregson from the back and they hit the road. John blinked to try and focus as noises from his side drew his attention. The grunting from the men on the road dragged him from a rousing Anna and Johann to notice Grün got his handcuffs around Gregson's neck and pulled until the man's face tinged blue.

John staggered to get out of the truck but a crack split the air. He froze before diving back to cover Johann's mouth when the boy went to scream while Anna covered her own mouth. All three of them watched the body of Grün fall onto the road as the side of his head not facing them no longer existed.

He turned to see Ms. Schlegel, hands shaking slightly in her hold on the rifle she stuck through the opening of the cab that looked into the back, returned it under the dashboard. She nodded at John before facing forward again. He gaped before taking his hand from Johann's mouth and turning to Anna.

Her furious nod was enough to have him out of the back of the truck and running to free Gregson from Grün's hold. Unwrapping the man's neck allowed him to gasp for air and John helped him back into the truck to try and breathe normally again. "Are you alright?"

Gregon nodded, massaging his neck, and John turned to where Ross and Slade stood over Grün's body. Ross ran a hand over his head and clicked his teeth. "The Russians heard that shot."

"Ms. Schlegel-"

"She's a crack shot." Slade tittered, John noting the way the man trembled in the presence of the body before them. "Said he'd… He'd be the one over them and he…"

John faced Ross, "Not an exemplar boss was he?"

"The tales all say he took his liberties where he could and without consideration for whether anyone wanted his attentions." Ross sighed, "She didn't want to be in the same truck with him but we didn't have room anywhere else."

"She saved Gregson's life."

"And killed a Nazi." Slade agreed with John as they both faced Ross.

Ross only shrugged, "I didn't want him anyway and now that I don't have to keep him…" He analyzed the area. "It'll be light soon. Let's drag him into the woods."

Between the three men they managed to get Grün's body far enough from the road that no one would notice it. All of them dusted off their hands and tried to get all traces of the act from their clothing. Ross could only snort.

"Let the wolves have him. See how merciful they are to the Reich." He spit on Grün's body. "Good riddance."

Slade and Ross headed back to the truck, leaving John with the body. He stared for a moment more before joining them. Climbing back into the truck he took Grün's former seat so Anna faced him, combing Johann's hair, and took a breath.

"Is he-?" John nodded and she managed a shuddering breath. "Then it's all over. It's all really over."

John covered the hand in her lap with his. "It's over Anna. We're free."

She squeezed his hand back and they settled as the truck started to move again, bearing them toward their freedom.

Kandahar, Present Day

Anna looked down at the instructions again before groaning. She pulled at the scarf wrapped around her head to make sure her hair was covered and pushed into the raucous pub. Multiple languages assaulted her ears as the enduring smell of alcohol in all its varieties slopped and slurped about her.

Pushing carefully through the crowd, avoiding treading on any toes in her quest for a back corner, Anna kept one hand at the scarf on her head and the other wrapped over her chest to protect from errant elbows and the inevitable pickpockets making their wage in the bar. A few men called out to her but she steadfastly ignored them while slipping and pushing toward her destination. One man's hand landed on her arm and turned her to the bar. She slid on the floor when he latched her to his side.

"Trying to get away so soon?" He offered her some of his drink and Anna leaned away from it. He laughed, "What? Teetotaler?"

"I prefer my drinks to not be drunk before I get to them." Anna tried to extricate herself from his grasp but his fingers latched tighter. "Remove your hand or lose a finger."

"I'm so scared I think I just-" He cried out as Anna reached over and cracked one of his fingers. His arm released and she sidestepped him when he crumpled to his knees. "You broke my finger!"

"I warned you." Anna nodded at his finger. "Better set that before too long or someone'll have to break it again to get it healing right."

"You bitch!"

Anna tilted her head and snorted, "You did wet yourself. Must've been the reaction to how much you drank and the pain."

"I'll-" He rose, as if to come toward her, but Anna grabbed his injured hand and tugged on another finger.

"I'd think very carefully about your next move. You've got two-hundred-five more bones in your body and I know how to break every one of them while naming them scientifically and in English." She took a step forward, lowering her voice to whisper in his ear. "Now, I'd suggest you get somewhere you can clean yourself up, since you smell like beer and piss, and then you get that hand looked at."

Releasing his hand, Anna walked to the corner where Amooz waited. She took the chair opposite him and went to remove the scarf but he shook his head. Her glare did not faze him.

"You need to be inconspicuous and I need to look like a good Muslim man not meeting with an agent of another government." Amooz sipped at his drink, the fragrance of strong Afghani coffee filling Anna's nose.

"I'm not a government agent."

"You wear their uniform and you earn your money from them. How you do that job is between you and them but I'll not have anyone believing I'm getting money in the same way."

Anna sighed, "You're not the easiest person to work with you know."

"I'm very aware as your fiancé tells me that every time we meet."

"Husband." Anna held up her hand, "Which should make this conversation a bit safer for the both of us."

"He's not here so you're in the same position as a moment ago. Except now, instead of being a fornicator you're an adulteress."

"That's not better."

"No, it's rather not." Amooz finished his drink and pushed the cup to the edge of the table for the passing waiter. "I think I've narrowed your list of suspects."

"And?"

"I'm sure you do not need me to tell you that they're the kind of people to visit the locations that are not places for ladies and fine gentlemen."

"I'm neither."

"They're not places for good people." Amooz crossed his legs under the table. "I'm sure you're also not surprised that such places exist… even in this restrictive environment."

"I know that vice is universal and I don't judge any place less for having it."

"It does make us rather hypocritical, does it not?"

Anna shrugged, "I'm here on a 'peace mission' surrounded by uniforms and guns. You tell me the irony of that."

Amooz laughed, shaking a finger at her. "You're a rare woman. I can see why John admires you so much."

"Thank you. I'm starting to think the same about you." Anna nodded her head toward him, "What about those places?"

"Following John's guidance and, speaking discreetly, to a few of the women I found the kinds of streets your predator prefers."

"You did?"

Amooz took his turn at a shrug. "It's not difficult. I grew up hunting and applying those techniques in the city to people is not very different."

"How so?"

"Every animal has its patterns. They know where to find food, where to find water, where they need to defecate, and where they make their homes." Amooz rubbed his hands together, "In this city there are places known for those sorts of things and, in relation to where the attacks occurred, I knew where to start looking."

"What did you find?"

"You were convinced the individual was a foreigner and probably one of your soldiers so I kept myself to watching them." Amooz snorted, "Which made the situation far easier."

"Because they're restricted?"

"Because when one of them is alone then you know to be suspicious."

Anna waited a second before speaking, "And you found a few?"

"I watched the ones that went to the brothels and the… seedier parts of the city searching for the kind of pleasure you're not going to find in public."

"Do you have suspects?"

"There are a few of them here tonight." Amooz waved a hand toward the bar. "The ones I've been watching are the four at the end of the bar."

Anna turned her head enough to study the men before facing Amooz. "I know it's not the dark-haired one with a mustache and the friend next to him."

"What makes you so sure?"

"The dark haired one is Thomas Barrow. They recently allowed him back here after… an altercation. He's one of the journalists for the Manchester Guardianand he's homosexual."

"That doesn't mean he couldn't have done it."

"He doesn't have syphilis." Anna shrugged, "I just performed his physical and he's clean."

"What about the other man?"

"That's his photographer, Jimmy Kent, and he's just as clean. Also, he came later. Since neither one of them were here when the first incidents were reported I have to rule them out." Anna snuck another peek at the men. "As for the one with the mustache and the broken finger… I wouldn't put it passed him. He certainly took liberties with me."

"I did admire your handling of the situation." Amooz managed a small smile. "Although I was curious how that kind of display was going to keep your profile low for this meeting."

"I wasn't about to let him accost me."

"I didn't mean to say you should."

"Breaking his finger was better than landing a knee-" Anna paused, "I'm sure you're aware of where the most uncomfortable location for such a maneuver would be."

"I did once have the misfortune of trying to herd a particularly impetuous goat who kicked me there once." Amooz waved off Anna's laugh. "It's one of the risks you run into when you're a farmer."

"Did you recover?"

"The pain was intense but the doctor was sure I'd have children one day." Amooz sighed, "And my wife is carrying our fourth so there are no concerns in that department."

Anna glanced one last time at the bar. "I don't know anything about the last man. I've seen him on base but he's not been on my radar."

"Those were just the four most likely, given their… proclivities."

Anna shuddered, "I'm sorry you had to endure that."

"If it keeps the perpetrator off our streets and away from women trying to move about in peace then it's a risk I'll take." Amooz stood, "Would it be inappropriate if I offered to walk you back to your base?"

"I'm sure you'll stay whatever distance apart from me you'll have to so no one thinks I'm an adulteress seducing a poor man."

Amooz's lip twitched toward a smile.

They walked through the streets, guided by Amooz's knowledge to make sure they avoided pitfalls and possible debris in the path ahead. Anna kept her scarf over her hair, shivering slightly in the cold. Amooz made a noise and Anna waved him off.

"I just forgot a jacket."

"Did it surprise you how the summer could be so hot and yet you'd be cold in the winter?"

"I think everyone thinks of a desert and they imagine sweating there at all hours of the day and year." Anna shook her head, "It just takes getting used to. This summer I heard England was-"

A shot rang out and Anna immediately ducked to the side. She reached for her sidearm, bringing it to bear and waiting for another shot. When none came she searched for Amooz.

A rattling breath drew her attention and Anna scurried over the ground toward him. Her gun landed next to him as she ran her hands over his chest, knocking his hands away from the dark spot growing on his chest. "Shit."

"I think…" He coughed, spitting toward Anna so the warm flecks of blood landed on her cheek. "I think I'm-"

"I'm a doctor." Anna tried to assure him, tearing his shirt to better analyze the wound in the dark. She grabbed his hands back to press hard on the area and dug around for her phone. "And we'll get you to the base infirmary and you'll be patche dup in no time. I'll get-"

Something grabbed her under her armpits and Anna flailed for her gun. Her fingers missed it and her foot, kicking out in an attempt to throw her weight enough to throw the person dragging her back off balance, hit Amooz. He groaned and rolled, effectively covering her gun. Anna only managed a whimper of dismay before her face pressed against the side of the nearest building.

The rough mortar and stone dragged into her skin, scraping and cutting instantly at her as she fought. But the weight at her back pressed harder and a hand grabbed into her hair to force her forward. She spit blood from her mouth as her teeth sliced into her cheek and her lip upon impact.

A head rested close to hers, shoulders forcing hers against the wall as hands grappled with her trousers. Anna batted at them but another strike, this one over her ear, knocked her equilibrium askew and she slipped. The impact landed them both on the ground but as the weight settled on her back and even in Anna's haze she recognized immobility.

Hot breath blew in her ear as a biting voice hissed at her. "I hear you've been looking for me." Anna twisted and writhed as dirt and stone cut into her abdomen and hips. "Here I am."

The pain was nothing she could ever imagine or ever wished on her worst enemies. Her attempts to move her arms only wrenched them behind her back so her face and shoulders pushed toward the ground. And her voice was hoarse before she realized she screamed.

Whether it was a minute or an eternity, sounds came from the side streets and the weight shifted. Anna could no longer move as her arms flopped to hit the ground. Boots running from the scene thumped in her ears in time with the final wheezing gurgles of breath that passed for Amooz's final moments.

Another set of boots hit the ground near her but Anna could not move. It was not until hands landed on her arm that she flung herself away. Scrambling to the shadows, dragging her trousers back into place while sobs choked her, Anna held her clothes around her as the man approached.

"Doctor Smith? It's me, Doctor Branson."

"Tom?" Anna blinked at him, her arms and hands moving over her before shaking her head when he went to touch her again. "Please don't."

"Doctor…" He swallowed, glancing toward the dead man. "What happened here?"

"We… We were attacked." Anna blinked, looking around while pushing her scarf over her mussed and messy hair. "I drew my weapon after I heard a shot but it hit Amooz in the chest."

Tom crab-walked to the other man and examined him for a moment before rolling him back onto his back. "They finished him."

"I was going to get him to the infirmary and-"

"It's alright." Tom reached out a hand, withdrawing it when Anna shrank back again. "He wasn't going to make it anyway. There was nothing to be done."

Anna only nodded as Tom retrieved her weapon and checked it before handing it back. "What happened then?"

"I checked him but someone grabbed me." Anna put her hand up to the wall behind her before drawing back. "He slammed me against the wall but I struggled and we fell to the ground. Then he…"

"It's okay." Tom hurried to say, holding up his hands. "We don't have to say anything about it."

"We do." Anna pushed herself to stand, holding her clothes to make sure they stayed around her. "I need to get a test done right now."

"I… Okay." Tom pulled out his phone and dialed a number. It rang for a few moments before he finally spoke. "Syb? Yeah, I need you to come and pick me up. I know I was going to stay later but… Something's come up. I also need you to get the MPs here and have them call the local police. No… It wasn't… I didn't get into trouble. It was…"

Tom flicked his gaze to Anna, "It's a long story and I'm not the one to tell it but a man got shot and he's dead. No, for the last time, I had nothing to do with it. Okay. Just… Just hurry, please." He hung up the phone and faced Anna, "Sybil's on her way. She'll get you back to the infirmary and I'll stay here to… explain this."

"Thank you Tom." Anna put her hand toward him, resting it on his shoulder but shaking her head when he went to touch her. "I'm not… I'm sorry…"

"No." Tom hurried tell her, standing by Amooz's body. "It's alright."

"I don't… It's not…" Anna shrank back down on the ground, holding herself. "I don't think it is."