"All right, listen up, people." Ellis said. "We're gonna be blind in there. I want to isolate Kowalski's feed so he can't hear the rest of the team. Slightest distraction at the wrong time could give him away. And we'll need the name of someone high enough in the AMF (Army Modular Force) for Akmuti to have heard of but not someone operational. Khamal Benin. It's one of Baghdadi's chief financiers."

Kowalski had already headed toward the room we kept Akumuti in.

"Kowalski." Ellis began talking in Arabic. "Ready when you are."

I stayed down the hall, and listened as the others treated Kowalski as though he were a hostage, tying up his hands with a zip tie and pushing him inside the room.

The door slammed, and Flag took the wall to lean on beside me.

I folded my arms and stared blankly at the wall ahead, ignoring everyone else.

"Okay?" Flag asked, looking down at me.

From the corner of my eye, he seemed concerned. "Kowalski is good. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried about him." I replied coldly. "Akumuti won't do anything."

"Yeah, blah, blah, blah. Shut the hell up!" Taylor yelled at Kowalski and slammed the door.

Ellis hashed in. "Benin's older brother Yusef was rendition two years ago. Akmuti would have heard of that. Okay, throw him a red herring. That way, when you mention Wells later, he'll be more likely to bite."

We waited several minutes, and I couldn't follow Kowalski's conversation with our prisoner-they were talking too fast.

"Okay, Colonel, pull him out." Ellis instructed.

Flag sent me a tight smile, and went along with the plan.

I looked away, sighing. It all better be worth it.

Flag, Hayes and Taylor took Akumuti into another room. Sounds of punching and grunting came from the room with the four men. I went to Kowalski, and sliced the zip tie just enough-to make it easier for him to fake his escape.

Yelling, smacking and grunting from the other room continued.

"That's enough." Kowalski said. He looked up at me, his eyes were dark and cold. "Now I need blood. Cut me."

I scoffed. "Are you sure about that?" I wasn't going to be gentle.

Kowalski nodded. "It's gotta be real to sell this, and I'm not giving you a chance to punch me in the face."

I grinned, and used the knife to make a decent cut on his arm, then rolled his sleeve over the top, allowing the blood to ink through the fabric.

The sound of an engine turning over went through the comms. The car door slammed. "Vehicle's set." Spenser said.

I dashed out of the room and shut the door behind me, and waited in the hall again, staying out of the hostage's sight.

"All right, all right. Get him out of here." Flag ordered.

"Okay, all right, they're bringing him back. Time to set the hook." Ellis said to Kowalski.

Hayes shoved the man back into the room with Kowalski and slammed the door.

I switched off the comms- I didn't want to hear any more.

Flag and Hayes stood beside me, their knuckles red and gashed. I looked up at Spenser, who winked back.

"You're a hard girl, Trig. Your best friend is in there, making friends with the enemy." Spenser crooned.

I shrugged. I still felt guilty, but I wasn't afraid anymore. I could function. I could see past what was coming, and almost believe that maybe it would be okay.

Flag frowned, and looked at me. My eyes flashed up to his face by accident-his eyes warmed up. His forehead creased, like he was worried. "Is that all right?" he asked, concerned by my silence. Flag looking more and more awkward, until I got what he was saying.

Then I hurried to reassure him. "I'm fine." I said quietly.

Flag looked away from me suddenly. "Copy." His head lifted in my direction. "Load up."

We climbed into another car around the corner from the decoy vehicle, which Spenser had prepared for Kowalski and Akamuti's escape.

"All right, if Akumuti gives up Wells' location, I want you to take him out." Flag commanded.

I took the front passenger seat, my favourite sniper rifle- the H&K M110A1 loaded, but safety on.

I took a deep breath, knowing if I missed, Kowalski would be the one in the firing line.

Flag heard me sigh, and he leaned over to look at me.

"Look, if I'm giving you a shot, it's because I know you can make it. Trust me." Flag said, drinking from his water canteen.

Sure, I thought to myself. Trust him. He wasn't the one who was going to have to sit behind

and wonder whether or not his best friend was going to come home.

He laughed at the silence. "You've got to have a little more confidence in yourself than that. It's insulting. At least Kowalski and I trust you. Don't worry about the others."

I just shook my head.

The sting of anxiety washed through me. Kowalski had trusted me implicitly–trusted me with every single secret he had.

I was supposed to be his safe harbor–the person he could always rely on. Of course things were strained right now, but I didn't think any of the underlying foundation had changed. I didn't think that was changeable.

What had he done to deserve this? Kowalski was going to be so mad–and worse than that, he

was going to be hurt and worried. Didn't he have enough to deal with already?

I sniffed. "I know. You're the only CO I've ever had who looks at me and doesn't see a woman first."

"Well, I may not see it, but I don't forget it. Because I know that getting here was harder for you than I'll ever understand." Flag paused. "Kowalski trusts you, like I said."

I paused too, and then we both smiled at the little awkwardness.

"Alpha One, he's heading your way." Ellis said.

"Roger that." Flag said, starting the car.

Ellis's voice was certain now. "All right, Kowalski, it's the gray pickup right in front of you."

"All right, hold." Flag said into the comm, as we watched Kowalski get into the driver's seat of the pickup. "Hold…now."

The engine turned over, and Kowalski waited.

Akumuti got into the passenger seat.

I frowned. Why wasn't Kowalski driving away now? I looked closer, and through the shadows, I could see something shiny glisten against Kowalski's neck. "Hey, we got a wrinkle. He just put up something sharp against Kowalski's collar."

"Shit!" Taylor cursed through the comms. "You better fix this, Major!"

No pressure then, I thought, making the anxiety worsen. I tapped my foot on the floor of the car, hoping it would help. It didn't.

The pickup began to move, and Flag drove our car at a safe distance behind.

"They're coming, get low." Hayes said to Spenser, as Kowalski's truck headed toward them.

"Got it. AMF compound two blocks west. It's the perfect place to hold her. Redirect the drone. Get eyes on that compound." Ellis reported. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. That's less than a mile away. I don't care how good Kowalski is, if he goes in there, he's never coming out. Colonel, you have a green light."

I looked at Flag. "You still think I can make that shot?"

Flag nodded without turning to look at me.

"That's what I thought." I leaned out of the window, and aimed my sniper rifle at Akumuti.

The car's tire hit a pothole, and my arm slammed against the inside of the door.

"Whoops." Flag said, almost smug.

I scowled at him over my shoulder.

"Five blocks to the compound." Ellis said.

I took a deep breath, and aimed again. The cross-hairs were unsteady, wavering from side to side as the truck swayed with the road.

People think that snipers take such incredibly long shots all the time.

While we do take longer shots than most guys on the battlefield, they're probably a lot closer than most people think. I never got all caught up in measuring how far I was shooting. The distance really depended on the situation.

In the cities, where most of my kills came, you're only going to be shooting anywhere from two hundred to four hundred yards anyway. That's where your targets are, so that's where your shots are.

Out in the country side, it's a different story.

Typically, the shots out there would run from eight hundred to twelve hundred yards.

That's where the longer-range guns like the .338 would come in handy.

Someone once asked me if I had a favourite distance.

My answer was easy: the closer the better.

Another misperception people have about snipers is that we always aim for the head. Personally, I almost never target the head, unless I'm absolutely sure I'm going to make the shot. And that's rare on the battlefield. I'd much rather aim center mass—shoot for the middle of the body. I've got plenty of room to play with. No matter where I hit him, he's going down.

But, from the behind a car, the head is the only target.

"Three blocks." Ellis counted.

There wasn't a clear shot while the truck was still moving. My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to hone in. "Two blocks."

There! Akamuti's head moved into the sight, and I pulled the trigger. A splash of blood splattered on the truck's back window. "Target down." I mumbled coolly.

"Pulling over for pick up." Kowalski said, voice shaky.

Ellis gasped. "Good job."

We pulled over behind Kowalski and I jumped out, allowing him to climb into the back.

I leaned against the car and smiled. "You're welcome."

Kowalski rolled his eyes, dumbfounded. "How did we do?" He asked Flag.

The Colonel leaned over the steering wheel. "We found her."

*.*.*.*

"That's a convoy. They're moving her. Colonel, they're headed east in quadrant one heading into quadrant two." Ellis said.

"Yeah, we're on 'em." Flag replied, speeding up, and tailing the chain of SUV's through the abandoned neighbourhood. "Any guess where they're going?"

"Convoy's still moving east. And heading deeper into Al-Nusrah controlled territory every minute." Ellis replied. "Colonel, what about an ambush on the run?"

"Three armoured trucks in the middle of the city?" Flag asked, cynically.

Ellis hummed. "They could be driving her to her death."

"Well, trying an ambush is only gonna speed that up." I added.

"All right, hold on, hold on." Flag said. "They're pulling off the main road."

Ellis paused. "No, no, you're right. Convoy's slowing down. Looks like they're heading for that large structure."

My eyes followed the convoy through the city hospital gates.

"Anybody want to explain to me why the AMF just drove their only hostage into a hospital? Get me an ID on everybody with her. Spenser, get video." Flag ordered.

"Sending." Spenser replied.

"Anybody else get the idea she's on a one-way trip?" I asked.

"Yeah, I do." Flag said in a frustrated tone.

"Image coming in now." Spenser said to Ellis.

Flag stopped the car short of the hospital gates, and turned in his seat. "Kowalski, Chapman, I want you two to couple up. You should have no problem getting inside. Taylor, I want you to maintain a line of sight to this entrance. Hayes, I'm gonna need you to grab their air." Flag was putting explosive putty into his pockets. "Spenser, you're on PAX dust-off (Emergency personnel evacuation from a combat zone.). "

I gave Flag a nod. "What are you gonna do?" I began loading a fresh mag into my SIG, and putting my hijab back on.

He grinned. "Wing it."

We all got out of the car, and I took Kowalski's arm, posing as his wife. We headed for the main entrance, which was heavily guarded by Syrian soldiers.

Hold it. What are you doing? He asked in Arabic.

Please. Look at him. I begged. He needs to see a doctor.

I need help, Kowalski added.

The masked guard stared for a long moment. All right, go on.

Kowalski and I went in, and breathed a weak sigh of relief. We were in.

"Command, need a little help here." Flag mumbled into the comm.

Ellis cleared her throat. "Yes, Colonel, there's a service door ahead at your One O'clock.

"Roger. I have visual." He replied. The comms went quiet, and Kowalski and I circled the floor, counting how many guards were in the wing.

"All right, Chapman, Kowalski, on my position."

"That's Baghdadi's wife," Ellis said suddenly. "They didn't kidnap Kimberly Wells to get revenge. They kidnapped her because she's a surgeon."

"Baghdadi's still alive." Flag mumbled.

"I'm not saying I'm gonna enjoy killing these guys, but you kidnap a woman, you get what you deserve." Taylor said.

Hayes scoffed, "Yeah, well, unfortunately, there is evil in the world. Sometimes power only bows down to more power." There were computer beeps in the background. "Okay, Boss. I've got their air."

"Coming in." I said, and Kowalski followed me into the lobby.

"All right, come in." Flag replied.

We met up with Flag in a small GP office. "We counted four roving patrols, and there's sentries at each entrance; two tangos on the third floor outside the OR."

"So they're using Wells to operate on Baghdadi." Flag said thoughtfully.

Kowalski nodded. "Which means they'll kill her as soon as she's served her purpose."

"What does DC (Washington DC) want us to do? They've gone quiet." I asked.

Flag sighed. "Obviously it's a tough call, but it took us seven years to find Baghdadi.

Letting him escape so he can rebuild his terror network is not an option. If he gets away, there's no telling how many more innocents he will kill. What we do not do is sacrifice Kimberly Wells so that we can get Baghdadi instead."

I frowned. "If we go after Wells, it'll tip Baghdadi off that we're on to him. He'll slip out of that hospital, disappear into the city."

Kowalski shook his head. "You don't know that for sure."

"Nobody wants to save Kimberly Wells more than I do. But we are fighting people that want to wipe us off the planet. That means we have to be as ruthless as they are." Flag sounded helpless.

"Alpha One," Ellis hashed in.

"Go for Alpha," Flag replied.

"If you cannot eliminate Baghdadi, you are to withdraw without engagement so as to not tip his people off that we are on to him." Ellis instructed.

Flag lifted his head as if he could not believe what he was hearing.

"So Wells is dead." I snapped.

Flag looked at me over his shoulder, and put up his hand for me to be quiet.

"Colonel, our target is Baghdadi. But as far as I'm concerned, how you get him is at your discretion. Is that clear?" Lieutenant General Blackburn hashed in.

"Acknowledged." Flag answered. "Stand by."

"Boss?" I said.

"Yeah, Chapman," He groaned, rolling his eyes. "Officially, we have been re-tasked to get Baghdadi. But Blackburn has given us some latitude as to how we do that." He crossed his arms. "We're outmanned. We're outgunned. And even if we could get into that OR, we can't fire a shot 'cause we're stuck inside of a damn hospital. We got one thing going for us. That's that she doesn't know who we are." He sighed and gazed at Kowalski thoughtfully. "Okay, I got a plan. It's risky, but far as I'm concerned, we didn't come this far to leave Kimberly Wells behind."

"What do we do?" Kowalski asked.

Flag swallowed hard. "I'm going to get the guards attention. I'll walk through the front entrance, and Chapman, I want you to follow to where ever they take me. Hayes will kill their radios on my mark. Hopefully, Baghdadi's wife will come running. Then, we'll take her as our own hostage, and give her the ultimatum. Kowalski, you will still with Chapman and provide over watch. Got it?"

We nodded, and split up. Kowalski and I went to the waiting room, and stood around, waiting for the Colonel's show. We had to make it look like we were supposed to be there, so we began talking amongst ourselves, carefully watching the guards at the door.

"Alpha, we're in position." Kowalski said.

"Coming to you," Flag replied.

The guards were already busy checking other people entering the hospital, and Flag slipped by.

One of the guards saw, and chased after him, grabbing Flag by the shoulder and spinning him around. Hey you!

The guard searched Flag and held up Flag's pistol. What is this for?

Flag held up his hands in surrender.

"I don't like this," Kowalski said to me as we watched two other guards join in.

"Stay cool", I replied. "He knows what he's doing."

The guards grabbed Flag and steered him down a hallway, away from the waiting room.

We got up slowly, and crept along behind, making sure we weren't obvious by keeping a large gap between us, and the guards.

"Exam room," Flag whispered through my ear piece. "Sixty two."

"Copy," I replied, grabbing a nearby supply trolley. Kowalski followed behind, and pointed at the door.

Angry voices were coming from inside.

I pressed myself against the wall, waiting for the right time to intrude.

Room 62, ma'am. One of the guards said into his radio.

It sounded like the guards were emptying Flag's pockets, his weapons were being thrown on the table.

"Ah, careful with that. Goes boom." Flag said nonchalantly.

The Semtex! I thought, remembering the putty Flag had shoved into his pouch.

"Boom?" One of the guards repeated.

Flag hummed. "Mm-hmm."

It sounded like Flag was getting slapped by the guards inside.

The time was now. If that putty was to detonate… I looked at Kowalski over my shoulder and nodded once. I knocked on the door, and got ready to ram the cart into the guard when the door opened.

The first guard went down under the trolley, and I broke the neck of the next one, and Flag broke the neck of the one closest to him.

Flag shrugged off one of the guard's bodies as it slumped against him.

"Get what you needed?" Flag panted.

"Sure did." I replied.

Flag chuckled, grabbing his weapons and stuffing them back into his vest. "Cart was a nice touch."

I grinned. "Yeah, I thought so too."

"Hayes kill their air."

"Done." Hayes replied.

I gave Flag a reassuring nod, then hid behind the door.

Flag stayed in the room, ducking into the corner beside the door, ready for the wife to come in.

Kowalski left the room quickly, closing the door.

A woman, dressed in a black hijab stormed into the room, moments later. The door flung back, and I dodged it before it slammed into me. I took out my pistol, and waited.

"Uh, uh,uh…" Flag uttered, as the woman were reaching into her hijab. "Dr. Kimberly Wells. You're using her, probably to patch up a few of your guys. Free surgeries are over." Flag told her, pointing his handgun at her.

"Who are you?" She replied.

"I'm the guy getting paid to bring her back in one piece. Now, I suggest you make it your business to help me with my business. Go ahead. Try your radio."

The woman took her radio from her pocket, but only heard static.

Flag paused. "I got your comms immobilized and the rest of your roving patrols look like these two crash test dummies right here. Jaz?"

I stepped out, aiming my gun at her. I felt a ping of excitement-not because I was pointed a loaded weapon at the enemy's face, but because the Colonel called me Jaz again. No one else called me that, not even Kowalski. Was it now he accepted me as one of the team? Was his favourite Alpha Dog? I kept a straight face, and didn't move my eyes from Baghdadi's wife.

"Either you send out my girl, my team and I, we go away quietly, or you don't. In which case, we put you down, and we go into that OR (Operating Room), we make a real mess. It's your call."

I stared her down as she glanced at me.

"Come on." I droned. "Neither of us want to lose our people over this, do we?"

"Hayes, open the line." Flag ordered.

The woman hashed her radio. Has the woman finished? She asked.

Yes, she said it was a success. A man replied.

Bring her to me, room 62. She instructed.

I saw Flag's hand move slowly to the supply cart, and he grabbed a syringe. The he held out his other hand. "Radio."

The woman handed it back, watching him in terror.

Flag grabbed her arm, knocking the radio out of her hand.

The woman gasped as he covered her mouth, and plunged the syringe into her neck. "Night-night." He said, lowering her to the ground. His hands began rummaging her pockets. He slid her gun across the floor to me, and I took it, putting it in my pocket. He found a loaded mag, and flicked out the bullets with a scalpel, and the bullets landed around her body, then he shoved the Semtex putty into the empty mag and shoved it back into the pouch on the woman's belt.

"Okay, I want you to take out the guards as they bring her to his room, I'll secure the HVT (High Value Target) and take her to the truck." Flag said. He was undressing one of the guards.

I grabbed the scarf from around her neck, and shoved it in my pocket, and went outside to join Kowalski. "Let's go." We headed down the hall toward the OR, and walked as slowly as possible, until Wells and the guards came around the corner.

Kimberley Wells, blonde and fear strewn across her face, was being shoved down the hall by two guards. Her pleading eyes met mine as she got closer.

I moved to one side of the hall, Kowalski the other, ready to take out the guards as they passed.

I whipped out the wife's scarf, and flung it around the guard's neck, choking him until he went limp.

Kowalski broke the neck of the other guard with his arm.

Flag crept up behind us and covered Well's mouth, grabbing her and pulling her back down the hall. He was wearing one of their guard's uniforms.

Wells began whimpering and gasping.

"Dr. Wells, I'm with the American government. We're here to take you home. Do you understand?" Flag paused. "Kimberly, do you understand? Every hostile that's seen your face has either been eliminated or is back in that operating room, which means that you and I can walk out of here without anyone stopping us. Can we do that?"

The woman nodded, and Flag took his hand away from his mouth. "Let's go."

They disappeared around the corner.

"Hayes, coming out." Flag said through the comms.

"We got Flag exiting the building." Hayes confirmed.

Ellis gasped. "Colonel, you got a live one in the truck."

"Taylor…50 cal." Flag ordered.

There were gunshots through the comms, and the woman began screaming.

"All right, Kimberly, these guys are gonna take you home, okay?" Flag said, followed by the sound of a car door slamming.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Spenser was yelling.

"Chapman, Kowalski, rendezvous on me." Flag said.

"Oh, my god, they got her." Ellis shouted in my ear. "We got no signs of pursuit. Good job."

The woman was whimpering in the car.

"Okay, you're all right. You're all right. We got you." Spenser said to her. "You're safe."

Ellis grunted. "We got Baghdadi exiting the building."

Kowalski and I looked at each other in realisation, and hurried toward the front entrance, and Flag stopped a truck outside. We climbed in, and watched as the convoy began to leave the hospital.

"Uh, they're on the move. He's getting away." Ellis said. "Alpha One, do you copy? Baghdadi is on the move."

Flag ignored the comm and looked at me, grabbing what looked like a remote from his pocket. He looked at me and grinned.

The vehicle containing Baghdadi and his wife exploded with an ear-smarting crack against a wall alongside the SUV with a screech of metal on metal and exploded across the street against a concrete wall with a concussion that lifted the

wide-bodied vehicle up on two wheels. The flames engulfed the wreckage.

Flag turned to me. "Let's go home."