FOUR WEEKS LATER

She was terrifying.

Her delicate, tattooed skin was smudged from battle. Her high cheek bones could have cut glass. Her pale, pink lips were high and severe, yet somehow completely sensual while still immobile.

She had a long, graceful neck which formed into soft rounded shoulders.

Her curtain of long, dark hair cascaded past the feminine nape of her neck and down her back.

Her frame was somewhat short but thin and fit, lean like a runner and delicate as a child. But somehow even so small, beautiful, and scantily dressed: she still looked evil.

As we stared into each other's eyes I took in how unnatural and horrifyingly familiar her golden-red eyes were. How stoic her expression was and how much darkness held towards me.

It only took a couple moments, which seemed like an eternity, before her gaze darted quickly to the side. As if she were following the gust of wind which ratted my hair -and billowed her clothes but not her mane of perfection- she raised her right hand and left it there invitingly.

There was not even a small part of me that wanted to take hold of her hand, no part of me wanted to move unless it was to run away from this villain.

Suddenly, the most beautiful man in my world entered my peripheral.

He took slow, cautious and yet deliberate steps forward as if he were testing the ground to make sure it wouldn't implode from under him.

I was about to scream and warn him of the danger that she seemed to be wreaking of, but for some reason I couldn't move.

It was as if my body would not allow me to show weakness to this demon.

Because that's what she was, some sort of demon.

Only a demon could make me feel immobile like this.

As if my pride was so hurt by her presence to begin with that if I paid her any heed, I may as well be giving my honour to her.

She was a monster.

Something told me she could - and just may - murder me effortlessly.

My first thought, as I watched the two figures getting closer and closer, was that he was trying to protect me. But as he drew closer, with astonished eyes, I realized there was something missing.

Something wasn't happening that should have been.

I was expecting some sort of reaction, some sort of obvious spectacle of him getting this thing away from me.

He stepped up to the point he was barely three feet away from the creature, before in a sudden movement...

Excruciating pain coursed through me, soon followed by fear, before I rested in shock. This creature, this dangerous, vile, murderous creature had killed Rick Flag.

Her eyes were closed but the smile tugging on her lips was mocking each bone in my body as I tried to control myself.

For I knew who this was, though I couldn't bring myself to think her name.

I knew why she scared me and why she was here. She was here to take Rick from me. I woke up abruptly, sitting bolt upright in the seat as my whole body shook with fear. It was just a dream.

I told myself, but it didn't feel like a dream. The colours had not been too vivid, nor had the sounds been too surreal. There had been nothing strange or abnormal about the dream at all...save maybe the colour of the woman's eyes. That colour of blood that had hardened and spoiled, looking as if it were poisoned with scrutiny.

Hayes and Taylor were waiting at the Alpha Dogs common room lounge, which seemed eerily empty.

"Okay, boys, we're talking business." Taylor said, his face serious. "We need to fill four spots."

I nodded. "Yeah," I rubbed my eyes and tried to shake the images of Enchantress from my mind. "We can do with three? The smaller the better." I replied.

Hayes glared at me from across the table. "Are you serious?"

"Well, yeah. As long as we have a team leader, a sniper, an intelligence officer, communications and weapons tech, a combat medic and a demo guy, someone who can speak Arabic, then what more do we need?"

Flag grunted. "We don't need more than that. Eight is the maximum. If we can get eight, we go for eight."

I shrugged. "Okay, just trying to keep it simple, that's all." I took a large bite from an apple on the table.

Taylor licked his lips and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms across his thick chest. "Green Team?"

I shook my head. "Craig is the only Seal outside of Alpha and Charlie left. We should take him. And some other DEVGRU guys."

"We can't split up the teams, Jaz." Hayes said angrily.

"Just listen," I replied. "This is Alpha Dog,s the best Special Forces group I the world right? So we need the best of the best. Green Team is limited with experience."

"How did you get here, then?" Hayes mumbled.

"Oh, come on. Charlie and Delta guys are clumsy. Take Echo Team for example. Dudes walked into the wrong door and got themselves blown up." Taylor said.

"What do you propose then, All-Mighty-Evil -One?" I chuckled.

Taylor sighed. "Green Team."

I rolled my eyes. "What."

"They're fresh out of training, they're keen to get out there. Their skills need a little tuning up, but experience will get that sorted out."

"So you're saying, take the Green Teams and train the Alpha Dog way." Flag said, more than asked.

My eyebrows shot up. "That way, they don't end up bringing the DEVGRU bad habits,"

Taylor clapped. "Exactly my point, Jaz, thank you."

Hayes sighed. "Okay, say we take Craig. That leaves three more."

"So now we scout," Flag grabbed my arm as he got up from the table. "Let's go."

"Wait, why now?" Hayes frowned.

Flag glared at him intensly. "We don't have time to wait for graduations, Hayes. We could be sent out at any minute, you wanna go four men short?"

"No," Hayes grunted.

I chuckled.

We stood at the obstacle course, watching the new intake of Tier One trainees. They were only ten months in with one month of training to go, but a few of them looked promising. No females made it though the half-way point, which disappointed me.

As their muscular bodies were launched at the climbing ropes, I watched intently as one man helped the others, before continuing to beat the rest. A selfless move, I thought.

"Any of these guys have experience?" I asked Flag, who gripped the clipboard.

"Mike Dalton, Amir Al-Raisani, Adam McGuire, Brock Ryan and Bejamin Sawyer. Take your pick." Flag stood with with the clipboard behind his back, and chest out.

I looked at the men, not knowing who was who. "Okay, so we have Brian Craig already, and only three more? You read the dossiers, Flag, who do you have eyes on?"

"Amir Al Raisani. He's a tech guy, knows his comms. Plus, he speaks fluent Arabic, and he looks like he could be from the middle east."

I looked at the bearded man weilding a paint ball gun, blasting shots at the others, and getting hit himself. I grunted my disapproval.

"Mike Dalton, three tours in Afghanistan as a scout sniper." Flag pointed to the bearded blond with short hair, he was crawling under the barbed wires, trying to signal another man to keep his head down. I nodded slowly.

"This guy has a long list just like yours," he winked at me. "Advanced driving skills, NSWCFC certified, he has his 18D, and Breacher certified. Adam McGuire has advanced Close Quarter Combat skills, Advanced Air Operations…"

"Oh come on," I complained.

Flag took in a deep breath and faced the Sargeant leading the Green Team. "Line 'em up."

The Sargeant yelled at the men. "Attention!"

The immediately stopped what they were doing and saluted us. One was stuck at the top of the climbing wall, teetering carefully while he saluted crisply.

Flag stood forward. "At ease,"

The men relaxed, but still stood straight. The one with the blonde hair and beard looked at me strangely.

"Take the floor, Lieutenant Colonel Chapman," Flag stood aside, and waited for me to go forward.

I grabbed the clipboard from behind his back.

Taylor huffed impatently.

"Amir Al Raisani, Adam McGuire, Mike Dalton." I shouted. I turned away as the men scrambled to join us. "We better hope they don't fail. Hayes, get Brian Craig out here. We need to give them a crash course the Alpha Dog way."

Flag leaned in. "You're the boss while I'm on leave, right?"

I nodded. "Taylor doesn't have leadership in him, you know that."

"Agreed. But if any of these clowns give you any trouble…"

"I can handle it. Just get them trained up." I stared at the men in front of me. "Welcome to Alpha Dogs. You will under-go a crash course to get up to speed. As of now, you are members of this team. Any questions?"

The blonde one, named Dalton lifted his chin arrogantly. "You're team leader?"

I folded my arms. "Yes. Problem?"

He shook his head and glanced at Flag. "No ma'am."

Taylor chuckled.

"Do I look like a ma'am?"

Dalton looked shocked. "No ma'am-I mean, no… sir?"

Taylor laughed and Flag shook his head.

"Just call her LTC or Trig. No need to make it awkward." Taylor grinned.

"Sorry, LTC." Dalton said.

At that moment, a shrill ping interrupted. I looked at Flag to take the reins as I took the phone from my pocket. Taylor got the same alert, the anonymous 999999.

I looked back at Flag, and he threw me a panicked face. I gave him a tight smile, and left with Taylor close at my heels.

TEHRAN, IRAN

"Well, this is impressive," Hayes was reading the paper, and mumbled under his breath. "I never got invited."

I rolled my eyes at him, though he was too busy reading the paper. "You didn't miss anything."

"This will be a one-way conversation, as I am meeting with Brass. So I won't be able to answer any questions until you're on the ground." Blackburn said into comms.

Taylor and I exchanged uneasy glaces- our briefs were always in the situation room before being deployed. Something big was up.

"Alpha, stand by," Nicole said, and we waited.

Several minutes passed, and we watched a screen in Hayes's hands. A photo of a middle-eastern man in a suit came up.

"I'm glad you could all make it. Shall we run it?" Blackburn finally said.

"Let's start with your target." Nicole said. "Fahim Jarif. This is the man responsible for the bombings in Britain, killing four of our operators, twenty one civilians and injuring seven. The majority of Jarif's time is spent here, at the luxury penthouse in the Palace Hotel. The place is a fortress. Takes most of his meetings there. That's what makes him so untouchable. On the rare occasion that he does go out, his security is handled by handpicked Iranian Special Forces headed by Qassem Javad. Qassem is careful. Jarif himself is paranoid. So, if you spook him, you lose him. The tea house for Jarif's meeting today is here, right in the heart of the city. Now, we don't know who Jarif is meeting with, but we do know his usual table and his usual seat."

The image changed to a satellite view of the building. "As you can see from the map and the photographs taken by Mr. Larijani, this apartment affords a direct line of sight to Jarif's chair. The shot's about six fifty yards."

"What about the windows in the tea house?" Craig asked.

"They will be open. And if they are closed for some reason, the glass is only 5/16 of an inch thick."

"We can handle that." Blackburn added.

Nicole sighed. "At T plus sixty minutes, Chapman and Hayes should be at the airport. Craig will be on the train to Istanbul. Taylor and Thibault, will go back to the Koswar Hotel and wait for Hossein to take them out by land. That puts total running time on target at one eighty seven minutes." She sighed heavily. "Are there any questions?"

"This is Iran we're talking about." Blackburn said. "There are Revolutionary Guards on every street, this is a government that has been burning our flag since 1979. If you get captured, you will not be recognized by the American Government. You will be on your own."

"So I ask again, are there any questions?" Nicole repeated. Silence followed. "Good. Welcome aboard, newbies. Don't forget to stick to your orders. Good luck."

There were no issues getting through airport security with our fabricated passports and fake identities, Hayes wore a snood and pair of glasses, and I wore the traditional hijab. The guards didn't even bat an eye at us. So, we continued through the airport, and taxi to the hotel, our meeting spot.

"Everybody else here?" Hayes said, dumping his bag on the floor as I shut the door behind me.

"See for yourself," Thibault said.

I smiled at Taylor, who had donned a fancy pressed suit, and Thibault was the same. The best disguises yet.

"Hey, how was the honeymoon, you two?" Thibault laughed.

"Eh, ask me in a couple of hours." I replied.

Hayes scoffed. "We're barely out of the airport, and she had her ring off."

"Ooh." Thibault hooted with amusement.

"Is it too late to get an annulment?" Hayes laughed.

I scrunched up my nose. "Did I hurt your feelings?"

Hayes chuckled. "What about you guys? Any hiccups?"

"Well, our customs official couldn't believe we were actually related." Taylor stated, a sly smirk on his face.

Thibault chuckled. "I think his exact words were, 'I guess you lost the genetic lottery'."

"Don't look at me, man." Taylor looked at Thibault.

"I didn't say it." Thibault replied, fighting back a smile. "I was thinking it, but I didn't say it."

There was a mild laughter as we waited for our green light.

"Alpha, this is Tac. LTC, you ready?" Nicole said into our earpieces.

"Yeah. Go ahead." I replied.

"Hayes and Chapman, we need you at the hotel overlooking the tea house. Thibault and Taylor, inside. Craig in the car outside. Any questions?"

"Yeah, I have one," Taylor said. "Do I really look like I could be Thibault's brother?"

"Oh dear god," I groaned. "Copy, Tac." I said. "Okay, it's go time. Start the clock."

"Time is mark one. Jarif will be leaving the penthouse in five minutes." Nicole said.

A man walked into the room. He was tall with greyed hair. "Ah, Taylor, so good to see you!"

"Hassan," They shook hands. "Thank you for allowing us to use your place,"

"Ah, not a problem." Hassan spoke with an Iranian accent. He looked around at our team as we grabbed our gear. He looked at Taylor curiously and turned away from me suddenly. "You work with women now?"

Taylor chuckled. "I work with whoever gets the job done. Okay? I never took you for a chauvinist."

"Not a chauvinist. Just a man who lost his daughter to these animals, and I know what they would do to her."

"I understand that, but I'll tell you this. They need to be worried about what she can do to them."

I stared at Hassan.

Hassan grinned. "Okay."

Hayes and I made ourselves comfortable on the third floor of a building being developed, which meant no one was around to see us even there.

I could see Taylor and Thibault inside, not far from the seat Jarif was going to take. I set up my rifle and waited for Hayes's instructions.

"All right, we got eyes on the vehicle," I said through the comm.

"Alpha two set." Taylor said.

"Alpha three set." Craig added.

"All right everybody, look sharp." I told them.

"And there's Jarif." Hayes stated. Silence. "Jarif's on the move."

"Acknowledged." I slurred.

"Copy." Craig said.

Silence.

"We just made a right onto Valiasr Street. Guess that puts us about five blocks out." I said.

"Jarif's men will pull out and deploy. Craig, make sure you're out of that ring, okay? Two blocks minimum." Nicole replied.

"Yeah, roger that." I replied. "We're slowing now. Craig should have eyes on that vehicle any second."

"All right Craig, you him? Craig do you have him?" Nicole asked.

Silence.

I aimed my rifle directly at Jarif's seat, waiting anxiously. I wasn't able to see that entrance of the tea house from my position.

"Vehicle's in sight," Craig said finally.

I breathed.

"Positive contact on Jarif."

Hayes looked through his binoculars. "Your range is six forty two. Your hold is two minutes left. Two minutes left. Two minutes left."

I adjusted the rifle.

"He's inside," Craig confirmed.

I leaned my cheek against the butt of my rifle and closed my eyes while I tried to slow my breathing. A sudden breath would move my aim, and I would miss.

"He's heading to his table." Hayes said.

"Two minutes left. Wind unchanged." Hayes said lowly.

I opened my eyes.

Silence.

"Hold on. Some party official just recognised him. Stand by." Taylor said.

Time was running out.

"He's asking for some favour."

"Alright, nothing changes," I said firmly. "Alright? No reason to lose our cool. He sits down he's never getting back up again."

Thibault breathed. "Looks like Qassem is finally doing his job."

"We're clear." Taylor stated.

Jarif was standing right beside his table, but I couldn't see his neck or head. My finger was on the trigger, waiting.

"One more step," I mumbled.

"Your hold is two minutes left." Hayes said. "Two minutes left. Two minutes left. Two minutes left."

"All clear."

"Jarif is leaving."

I grit my teeth. "Come on!"

"Jaz, abort. I repeat, abort." Nicole said quickly. "Proceed with exfil plan Alpha."

"Okay, Tac, stand by. Everybody has got to let me know what's happening right now." I said angrily.

"I don't know. Something spooked him." Craig replied. "He's leaving, and we're getting ready to follow."

I grunted. "Negative. Negative, he's already paranoid as it is. I don't want anyone risking a life when we don't have a chance."

"Chapman, this mission is officially aborted. The clock is ticking on your exfil." Nicole replied.

"I'm not gonna lie, Trig. This one really hurts." Hayes added.

"Trig, we never figured out who Jarif was supposed to meet, right?" Thibault asked.

"Affirmative. Why?"

"Because I think I'm looking at her right now." Thibault answered.

I frowned. "Men like Jarif don't do business with women."

"Unless she's a courier for a man." Hayes added.

"Chapman, delay on the exfil. The woman is in play, she's heading towards you. She's in red with a black scarf." Nicole said.

"Copy that." I began to pack up the rifle and Hayes looked at me, disappointed. "Circle the block, Craig, don't follow. We're gonna pick up the tail on the other side of the alley." I ordered.

"She's heading towards you," Nicole advised. "Maybe fifteen meters. That's Aida Hareb. Sister of Nasser Hareb. Mastermind behind the two biggest suicide attacks on American troops in Iraq."

"That's the one." I agreed. "She's definitely the one Jarif was meeting with."

"See if she can lead you back to him." Nicole instructed.

"She's rabbiting," Taylor informed. "She's rabbiting!"

"No-no, I got her. She ducked into the building." Thibault was panting, he must have been running "All right, Trig. I want you to cover that alley. Rendezvous on him. Taylor, I want to lock down the exits." He said in a whisper.

I breathed heavily and got my rifle back on the tripod, and aimed for the alley on the other side of the block. I could see Thibault waiting, blocking the alley. "Alright, second level."

We waited in silence.

"Third level." Taylor was breathing heavily. "Going in." I heard footsteps. "Aida Hareb!" He shouted. "Oh no no no!"

"She bit down on a suicide cap." Nicole said in a defeated tone.

Taylor was shouting. "No no no! You don't get to do that! Spit it out. Spit it out!" He groaned.

We sat at Hassan's table in silence. "How much longer on those exfil routes?" I asked, pacing the room.

"Five minutes or less." Nicole said. "We have no indication that anyone is aware of your presence. We're optimistic we can get you out safely."

"Hey, we have her phone and Jarif's number." Hayes said hopeful.

"That's something." Thibault mumbled.

"Jarif's number is meaningless. It will change in an hour." I replied.

Taylor sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, Trig, I don't know how she made me."

I shook my head, circling the table. "It doesn't matter. We can't control that."

The woman's phone beeped on the table.

"Incoming text on Aida's phone. Number is unidentified, but the text says I couldn't make it." Craig interpreted.

"It has to be Jarif." Hayes replied "Because Jarif doesn't know Aida is dead."

I nodded. "Compose your response."

"What are you thinking? Jarif doesn't know we're onto him." Taylor asked.

I grinned. It wasn't too late, we had a second chance. "If we can draw him out into another meeting, then we can finish what we started."

"Okay, there doesn't seem to be any sort of code." Hayes read the text over Craig's shoulder.

"She would be differential. Try, 'perhaps tomorrow is better'."

The phone sent a shrill ring through the room, we froze.

"Alright, Tac, I'm going to have to answer the phone. We got one shot at this." I said, taking the phone.

I was fluent in Arabic, but I lacked in Farsi. And now I was nervous.

"Lebanese accent." Nicole said in my ear.

"Tac, I need you to give everything you have on Aida." I said. I held up three fingers, and folded them in one by one. As my pinky folded in, I flipped open the phone.

Hello?

I'm sorry I was not there.

There was nothing wrong I hope.

Nothing. I was just detained. When did you get in?

"Three days ago, eleven thirty." Tac said in my ear.

Tuesday morning.

How is your brother? It has been too long since I've seen him.

"Best guess is Aida saw her brother four months ago in Cyprus." Tac provided accurate and speedy info. And I was grateful.

"She should suggest an alternative." Hayes whispered.

"She can't." Taylor retorted. "Jarif will spook."

For me as well, but we talk often, and he is good, thanks to God. So, shall me meet?

Of course. It is why I called. Four O'clock?

Meet you at the tea house?

No, not the tea house. I've grown tired of that place. My penthouse instead.

Taylor rubbed his eyebrow, tense. Finally, he nodded.

It would be my honour.

Wonderful. Until then.

I shut the phone and dumped it on the table with a heavy sigh.

Hayes sighed. "Well, it was a nice try, at least."

Everyone in the room fell silent, not making any eye contact with anyone else. How in the world were we going to get inside his fortress-like penthouse?

"What?" Hayes asked guardedly.

"This is crazy." Taylor said.

Hayes cleared his throat and leaned over his knees. "It's only crazy if Jarif had met her before. If not, it's a calculated risk, and it's Trig's risk to take."

They all looked up at me, still pacing.

I held my finger to my chin rubbing my mouth. "Put Aida's picture up there."

The tablet now displayed a photo of the woman I had just impersonated.

"What do you think?" Thibault asked, looking at the picture, then to me.

Hayes followed Thibault's gaze. "I think I could be done, but it shouldn't be done."

"Opinion noted." I said. "I'm doing a deep dive here. Aida and Jarif have never met. Aida's digital footprint is small, so we can swap in my photo, monitor the site, and see if Jarif checks up on her."

"Copy." Nicole replied.

"I want to put some poison in his drink or food. Once ingested, it'll take up to five minutes. So that means once he's taken it, I got to make up some kind of excuse to get out of there."

"Well, it's gonna look like he's having a heart attack." Taylor commented. "So even if you're up there, they're gonna hold you."

"Thibault, what are you thinking?" I turned to Thibault, who seemed to be deep in thought.

Thibault nodded slightly "I think it could work."

"The cultural bias is real." Hayes mumbled.

"It will never occur to Jarif or anyone else that Aida is a threat." Taylor added.

Craig scoffed. "We sure as hell didn't come all this was to go home knowing that this son of a bitch is still breathing air."

"Well, what I like about the plan is that Jarif's own place is the one place he'll feel most secure." Hayes said, ignoring Craig.

I strode towards them "I don't want anything affecting my decision in any way. None of you have a damn thing to prove to me. We don't have to run this mission. And as far as I'm concerned, we can walk out of here with our heads held high. In fact, we probably should."

I gazed at them, trying to keep any emotion from my face. "The next people might not be so lucky. Let's make sure there are no next people."

"Hell, yeah!" Thibault shouted.

Craig looked almost disappointed. He nodded with a tight smile. "Tac, she's going in."

"We can't let Trig walk in there alone." Hayes protested.

"I can't go in there. I'm gonna get made, Thibault, too." Taylor looked down at Hayes and Thibault. "So you guys need to set up positions in the lobby. We'll call it a business meeting with you and Hassan."

"Trig, there's no way to get guns in there." Hayes was worried.

It was now I decided to get into some kind of disguise, and look less like myself. I tied my hair back, and put on the hijab, and took off my boots. I found a pair of Hassan's flats and put them on. A little tight, but close enough. I sighed and looked at myself. Now I had to convince myself and the team that I was doing the right thing.

"I realise that." I replied nonchalantly.

"So we're going in naked?" Taylor whined.

I grunted impatiently. "Anything goes sideways you grab a guard, any guard and you make him your holster."

"That's an order I can get behind," Hayes chuckled.

"Hey, if anything goes wrong, improvise."

It wasn't long before I was expected at penthouse. I went in, feeling awkward. Not nervous, just uncomfortable. I hadn't had a purse slung over my shoulder since I was maybe four years old playing dress ups.
I wondered too, if I had done enough to look more like the woman on Aida's ID card. I made my eyebrows thicker with make up, and made a dot on above my lip for the beauty mark. I used bronzer to create the dark circles under my eyes.
I was a bit younger, but maybe, and I hoped like hell I could pull it off. I walked to the concierge stiffly, grasping the purse. No gun, no clue. Just an earpiece. No body cam, and no one beside me. I was alone.

"Trig, you'll be okay. We might not be there beside you, but we can hear everything, and we will be watching. Just keep your cool like you always do. Life is tough, but so are you." Nicole said.

I didn't reply, knowing I was being watched.

"I know you, Trig. You're strong and smart. Ninety minutes and we're on the road out of here." Taylor's voice resounded in my ear, and I found it soothing. Nothing could take me down as long as I had them. "I sure hope Flag don't find out about this. He'll skin me."

A woman looked up from the computer at the desk and stared at me. "Welcome to the Palace Hotel, Ms?" She spoke in Arabic.

"Hareb." I answered. I didn't bother to smile-I was too anxious to relax. "Mr. Jarif is expecting me."

The woman looked surprised. "Identification please?"

I handed her the card from my purse and held my breath.

She looked down at the photo, then back to me.

From the corner of my eye, Hayes and Taylor strolled past me casually. Hassan was sitting in the center of the room behind a small table, waiting for them. We had to be great actors to pull of this undercover stuff. I would have to praise them for keeping their cool under the pressure.

The woman clicked her fingers twice, and two armed men headed towards me.

I took in a sharp breath. Hassan was shaking hands with Taylor and Hayes, and offered them a seat. Hayes glanced in my direction quickly.

I turned back to the men.

"These gentlemen will show you to the elevator."

The two men guided me toward the elevator, and swiped a card for it to open.

I stood inside and chose the seventh floor.

"Okay, she's in." Hayes reported.

"I hate this, Hayes." Craig said. "I hate this sitting here." He was in the van outside, two blocks away. Too far for an emergency extraction. I wished Flag was in the lobby instead. But he was too white-skinned to pull off any recon in Tehran.

"I hate this more than they can ever know." Taylor finished quietly. I wondered if he had forgotten the mic was on.

"Yeah, so do we." Thibault responded lazily. "When it's you out there risking everything, but we have faith in you. So might as well have some faith in Trig. She pulled off some unbelievable stunts. No one can beat her I've known her half my life, and she doesn't stay down."

I looked down at Hayes, who watched me ascend. I was terrified that they were so far now. I was on my own.

The elevator beeped, and I walked out of the elevator, marching toward the large decorated door across the open space.

Two armed men guarded the door. One tall man in Iranian military greens approached me. "Miss Hareb, of course. It is an honour. I am Qassem, personal guard to Mr. Jarif. Do you mind?"

An armed woman approached me.

I shook my head. "Not at all."

The woman patted me down, checking for any weapons or wires.

Finding my fake wallet, she opened it and examined the contents before putting it back and nodding to Qassem.

"I apologise, but in these times on can never be too careful." Qassem said politely.

My head bobbed. "I understand."

The woman also took out Aida's phone from the purse and handed it to Qassem, who nodded as he guided me inside the room, where Jarif was sitting by the window, waiting patiently. "Sir, your guest has arrived." He placed the phone on the table.

"Aida, welcome. Thank you for coming."

"It is an honour to meet you, commander." I replied. "Apologies for my bad Farsi."

"It's better than my Arabic," he smiled. "English?"

I nodded. "Yes, of course." I had to throw in an Arabic accent.

"Qassem, you may leave us. Sit, please. Make yourself comfortable." Jarif said.

"Thank you, for receiving me." I replied, sitting on the couch in front of Jarif.

Qassem shut the door behind him as Jarif went back to his chair.

Now, I'm really alone, I thought. "My brother speaks of you often,"

"And when did you see him last?"

"Must be maybe four months ago in Cyprus."

Jarif nodded.

"And you?" I asked.

"It must be what? Three years now?" He sat down and watched me closely. "Wait."

I froze and my heart quickened. He was suspicious-had he found me out?

"There's something very wrong here."

His eyes glared at me, unwavering.

I took in a slow silent breath.

He laughed. "We don't have our tea."

I smiled at him and let out my breath in relief.

I heard a few sighs though the comms. "You must have a beautiful view," I said, looking out the window to the buildings below.

"I do, although I don't look at it often. Tehran prospers, despite the endless sanctions."

I stood up and decided this was the best place to put the poison. My body blocked Jarif from seeing me unclip the capsule of same suicide cap Taylor found on Aida's body, from inside my shirt. I emptied into one of the teacups, and poured in the tea. I also made one for myself, making sure to serve Jarif first. "How much sugar do you like?" I asked casually.

"My doctor says I shouldn't have any."

I laughed. "I don't like doctors."

"Yes, so do i."

"As I was saying, my brother is a great admirer of your work."

I handed him the tea cup and watched for a moment before taking my own. "He thinks of you as a hero. He's inspired by what you do."

Jarif blew gently on the tea cup. "Your brother is the inspiration. I fear this war will go longer than any of us would like. And its not just fought on the battlefield. It's fought on the internet, in the media. This is a war for hearts, for souls. It is one we must win."

"Jasmine," I cooed as I sniffed the tea, watching Jarif blow on his.

"My favourite."Jarif replied.

"Mine too." I rolled my eyes when he wasn't looking.

Aida's phone made a shrill ring, and vibrated against the glass, making me jump.

"It's Nasser," Jarif leaned forward to check the phone. "Did you tell him we are meeting? Aren't you going to answer it?"

I shook my head. "No. I'll do it later, when I leave."

"And worry him unnecessarily? I don't mind." He got up and flipped the phone open and put it down on the table, I'm guessing on speaker so he could hear.

"Aida, is that you?" The voice on the phone asked, speaking in Arabic.

Jarif looked at me expectedly.

"Why didn't you pick up the phone this morning?" The voice asked.

I couldn't risk talking- Aida's brother would recognise that I wasn't his sister.

"I was certain something had happened to you."

I stared at Jarif, who watched me, then lunged for the phone. I threw my hot tea in his face, allowing me time to take off the scarf from my head.

I kicked him in the shin, making him tumble to the floor, groaning in pain. I wrapped the scarf around his neck, and I jumped on his back to use both my arms, strangling him.

He crawled forward, and flipped me over onto the couch, but I didn't let go, forcing him to fall back onto me.

Jarif began to gurgle, and he fell onto the floor. One arm reached up to knock a vase on to the floor from the nearby table, but he was out of reach, just.

I yanked back on the scarf as hard as I could. "If you get killed by a woman, you don't go to heaven, right?"

Jarif grunted and gurgled, as he struggled to twist around and grabbed me. But I sat on his back and pulled harder.

"Well, guess what, Jarif? Those aren't the pearly gates you're seeing."

His neck snapped and he stopped moving. "Taylor, remember what you said about improvising? Time to improvise." I panted, trying to catch my breath.

"All right, Jarif's dead." Nicole confirmed.

"I didn't get to use the poison though." I looked around for a way out. "Okay, I think I might be able to get out of here, but I need some help." I checked Jarif's pulse, and sure enough-he was dead. But I had to be sure. His body was heavy as I dragged it into a nearby room, giving me a few extra moments to escape.

"Okay, Hayes, Taylor, I need you to each take a stairwell, I'm gonna need you to create a pathway. Hassan, you're gonna be our eyes and ears in the lobby. Tell us who's where. Tac, you tell us when the alarm goes up and be ready to get us out of the area when it does."

I casually walked out of the room, being sure to close the door on my way out. I nodded to Qassem and the armed female as I left, to make it seem like the meeting was over.

I was almost to the end of the hall near the stairs, when Qassem shouted.

"Miss Hareb!" he took a card from his pocket. "You need this to use the elevator, even to go down."

I took it from him and smiled. "Thank you." I turned away, and hoped they didn't enter the room right away, alerting the rest of the guards.

I was in the elevator, and the armed woman who followed me pushed the button to take me to the ground floor. Stupidly, she didn't enter with me. She walked away, back to Jarif's room.

"They know," Taylor said flatly.

I sighed and looked down at the guards running toward the elevator door below me. I pushed the button to the fifth floor, and hoped no one would be there to greet me.

"Taylor, you have to get out of there or else the whole city's going to rain down on you." Nicole said sternly.

"Negative, we're getting Trig out." He replied flatly.

More soldiers came from out of nowhere, straight toward me.

The elevator slowed and stopped on the fifth floor, and I jammed a few of the buttons before getting out and marching toward the stairs. "I'm on the fifth floor, heading to the south stairwell." I said, making a beeline for the stairs.

There were no guards in sight yet. "Twenty seconds."

"Okay, who's got the south?" Taylor asked.

"I'm on the third floor. She's clear to four. I got to stash this guy and there's more on their way." Hayes answered, panting.

"Okay, Trig, we're gonna checkerboard you to the lobby." Taylor ordered. "We'll pick you up at the south exit."

"Copy that." I replied, going through the door to the stairs, checking behind me. I bolted down the stairs to the third floor, and I went out into the corridor overlooking the lobby.

"Trig, you have three coming your way right now." Hassan warned.

I found a nearby laundry trolley, and ducked behind it.

The three men jogged right past, oblivious.

"You're clear, but you have to move fast." Hayes said.

Dashing into the next stairwell exit, I began to hurry.

"Taylor, she's coming to you." Hayes said lowly.

"Copy," he replied, and I opened the door right beside him.

"Taylor, Trig, two coming up from the lobby." Hassan said. "Trig, exit at the second floor."

Taylor continued down as I took a left, and out into the corridor.

"Good job. Taylor, fall back to the lobby, we're going to find Trig and exit." Thibault said, worry in his tone.

"Taylor, there's an alley on the west side behind the hotel there are three doors leading to it from the lobby." Nicole suggested.

Frustrated, I stopped at door number 204 and caught my breath. Men were shouting from below, and reality set in. Every minute I stayed here, it was going to be harder to get out.

"Taylor, there is no way she can get out through the lobby. I recommend Thibault and Hayes exit while they still can. And for Trig, we'll have to find another way to get her to the alley." Nicole said firmly.

"I don't need the lobby." I said, looking at my reflection in the glass window down the hall. "I'm gonna go out through the window."

"No, Trig, you're not. That's crazy." Hayes refused calmly.

"It's what Flag would do," I argued, marching toward the window. "Okay, I'm looking at a plate glass window that faces the alley. I'll be there in sixty seconds. Don't keep me waiting because I will probably have a broken leg."

"Okay, okay, we're on our way." Taylor agreed, though I could tell by his voice he wasn't happy about it. "Hayes, Thibault, stand by. If you don't hear from us, we're gonna rally back at the safe house. Let's go get her."

"Twenty seconds." I ordered.

"Okay, stop up here." Taylor instructed Craig.

"Ten seconds. Whoo, this is gonna hurt..." Just as I quickened my pace, one man jumped out and caught me, one arm around my throat. I thrashed against him, but I couldn't break free of his grasp.

He had my hands behind my back, and he forced me towards the elevator.

"They have Jaz," Hassan's voice was panicked. "I say it again, they have Jaz."

There was a high pitched growl, and something crashed.

But no one said anything.

It wasn't possible to outrun them now. More officers were approaching as Qassem pushed me across the lobby.

This is it, I thought, my eyes scanning the room. Hayes and Taylor broke eye contact and left the hotel. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing they were out. But I knew what the Iran soldiers did to women. Surely Blackburn wouldn't out me as an American spy? Of course he would. He needs to protect the rest of the squad. They're on the run now. Could I have started a new war? I should have expected nothing less from the Iran army, they were going to hold me no matter of Jarif's outcome. It was now I believed this was a one way trip.

"Alright, everybody listen up. We got one chance to get her back, that's to grab her before she leaves the hotel." Taylor instructed.

"Sam, that's a mistake." Hayes replied. "We need to get out of here."

"I'm aware." Taylor Said.

"Positive contact on Trig," Thibault informed, this voice mechanical. "Qassem has her. He's getting reinforcements. Elite Revolutionary Guard."

"Oh, this is not good." Hayes replied.

"We left good behind a long time ago." Craig said.

"It looked like they're taking her to the garage." Hayes added.

"Alright, we can work with that." Taylor responded quickly. "Thibault, I want you to rendezvous with Craig at the van one block northeast of here. Hayes, I need to know what Qassem is driving."

Hayes was breathing heavily, I guessed he was taking the stairs to the underground carpark. I looked around, but I couldn't see him anywhere. Qassem opened the door of his jeep, and shoved me roughly inside, and shuffled in beside me.

"They're loading her into a silver G-wagon, full size." Hayes confirmed.

More heavy breathing came from my earpiece, as the engine roared to life, and the jeep began to move.

I needed to tell them I was going to give them directions. I figured the Iranians couldn't speak French. I also knew Nicole would be listening, and she would translate. "Ne pas suivre, ecoutez attentivement."

"Shut up," Qassam yelled.
I watched out the window, looking for the van. We passed it, and I began noting the directions we were taking. "La gauche," I whispered. "Droite, droite, la gauche, droite, la gauche,"

"That's enough!" Qassam's elbow met my head.