There was a knock on the door just as Camryn finished changing the next afternoon. She went to open the door.

"Hello," Daisuke greeted.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I just wanted to talk."

"About what?" Camryn asked, letting Daisuke in.

"Anything."

"Okay…so, how have you been?"

"Pretty good. And yourself?"

"Heh, could be better. How's the team?"

"They're fine. How's Alex?"

"I wish I knew. I have no idea where he is right now. Other than that, I think he's been okay."

"Have you slept with Alex yet?"

"Daisuke!"

"What? I'm just curious."

"It's none of your business what I have and haven't done with Alex."

"So, have you slept with him or not?"

"I'm not going to answer that."

"I'll take that as a 'yes.'"

"What?! You-"

"If you haven't had sex with him, just say so."

"Fine. I haven't slept with Alex. Are you satisfied now?"

"Yup." Daisuke couldn't hide his smile. He'd always enjoyed starting arguments with Camryn. She was so fiery. Daisuke loved that about her.

Camryn caught his smile. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"I always liked arguing with you."

Camryn rolled her eyes.

"So, do you think it's going to happen soon?"

"What do I think will happen soon?"

"You know…you, Alex – alone. Hotel, backseat, maybe your room?"

Camryn picked up her shoe and threw it at Daisuke. "You're such a freak!"

Daisuke caught Camryn's shoe and dropped it. He couldn't help laughing. This was fun to him.

Camryn pulled her face. "I can't believe you're enjoying this."

"I like it when you're frustrated," Daisuke smirked. "You're really sexy when you're angry."

"You creep! Get out!"

Ryan sat on the couch by the fireplace. He held his face in his hands. He had just cried out all the tears he had. Tubs came into the room and sat down in a big comfy chair.

"We're lucky we have this back-up base here," Tubs said.

Ryan nodded silently.

"There's coffee in the kitchen if you want it."

Ryan shook his head.

"Hey, Jack found a deck of cards. Want to play some poker?"

Ryan shook his head again.

"Come on, Ryan, say something."

Ryan remained silent, staring into the crackling fire. Tubs gave up. He sighed and stood up. Just as he was walking away, Ryan spoke up.

"Tubs, thanks for trying."

"Yeah, no problem."

"I just wish I hadn't made such a stupid mistake."

"Ryan, it's not your fault. She had all of us fooled – even Alex."

"You don't get it, Tubs. I'm her father. I should know the difference between my own daughter and an imposter."

"Alex has been with Camryn for the past year, and he was fooled. You haven't seen your daughter face-to-face for three years."

"But still…"

"Look, I don't know Camryn as well as you do, but I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't want you moping around like this."

Ryan sat in silence for a while, contemplating his friend's words. "You're probably right. So, how about that game of poker?"

Suddenly, the phone on the coffee table rang. Ryan decided to let it go.

"Whoever it is will leave a message," he said.

Tubs shrugged and led the way to the kitchen where Jack was sitting. Ryan sat down at the table.

The answering machine picked up. Beep!

"Dad? Dad, please pick up," Camryn cried. "Dad, help me."

Ryan nearly dropped his mug of coffee.

"She has to be alive," Alex protested.

Smithers sighed and put his headphones back on.

"What are you doing?"

"Intercepting telephone calls."

"Why?"

"Alex, please. I'm trying to work."

Alex sat back on the couch. He remembered the explosion. There was no way anyone could survive that… But still, he refused to believe that Camryn was dead. She couldn't be.

"Alex, I think you should hear this."

"What is it?"

Smithers plugged his eavesdropping device into speakers. "This is something I just picked up and recorded." Smithers played back the feed he had just received.

"Dad?" Camryn's voice said. "Dad, please pick up. Dad, help me."

"Play it again," Alex said.

Smithers replayed the recording. "Camryn's alive."

Alex thoughtfully chewed on his thumb. "I don't know. It could be Darya. She fooled me once, so she could probably do it again."

"What exactly happened anyway?"

"I'm not really sure. She didn't know who the other guys were, or at least she seemed to not know. I think she did it to make me believe that they were fakes. I think she wanted me separated from the others. She also wanted the stuff in Jack's messenger bag."

"Oh yes, I looked through that last night. It's all papers."

"What kind of papers?"

"Profiles of Mikhail Sokolov, Dmitry Orlov, and Zakhar Vorobyov. There were also profiles on Ryan Albright, Jack Benson, and Tim Burton. I could understand why Darya would want this information."

"Did you find anything on the laptop?"

"No. Everything is locked. I was able to unlock one directory, but all the files are so well encrypted. I can't hack it."

"Can I have a look?"

"Sure."

Smithers handed Alex the laptop. Alex opened the directory that Smithers had managed to unlock. He began looking through the encrypted files. It was a series of random numbers and letters. Suddenly, the files closed. Another file came up on the screen. This one wasn't encrypted. It had two words in bold red: GET OUT.

"Alex, did you bring your bag in?" Smithers asked.

"No. It's still in your car."

"Then what's that beeping sound?"

Alex listened. There it was – a soft, steady beep, beep, beep. Get out…the sound, the message – it all fit.

"There's a bomb." Alex scrambled to his feet and bolted for the door with Smithers close behind him. The two MI6 agents ran out of the building toward Smithers' red SUV. They piled into the SUV just as the motel burst into flames. The shockwave from the explosion hit the SUV, tipping sideways. Thinking quickly, Alex threw all his weight into the left side of the car, setting it back on its four wheels.

"Are you alright?" Smithers asked.

"Yeah. You?"

"Fine. Do you still have the laptop?"

"Yeah. Hey, Smithers, can you run a trace on this message?" Alex showed Smithers the brief warning message.

"Probably." Smithers took the laptop and began working. "Alex, why don't you drive?"

"You're not being serious, are you?" Alex huffed.

"I'm serious. Drive so I can work on this trace."

Sweet, Alex thought.

Ryan waited anxiously as Tubs ran a trace on the phone call. Tubs turned around in his chair and looked up at Ryan.

"The call came from a hotel about fifteen minutes from here," Tubs reported.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. It was a landline so I didn't have to bother with triangulating."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."

"Ryan, it could be Darya again," Jack interrupted.

The phone rang again. Ryan dashed for it and snatched it up.

"Hello?"

"Get out of the house."

"What? Who is this?"

"Get out." The line went dead.

Ryan dropped the phone. He picked up his gun and headed for the front door. "Come on, we're leaving now. Hurry up. I think we may have a bomb."

"Again?!" Jack cried. He and Tubs followed Ryan out of the house. They jumped into a new SUV sitting on the driveway and sped away. A little ways down the road, the three men heard the house explode. Who had warned them?