CHAPTER 8:

"Cooper?" Fiona whispered. The pair of them had moved off the couch and into bed. She was lying next to him, his arm held protectively around her waist. Cooper murmured something inaudible. "Cooper?" She whispered again.

"What?"

"I just had a thought cross my mind. In all of the time we've known each other, you've never said what your last name is…"

"Oh…hehe…that." Cooper sighed. "See, back in my days of when I was in the U.S., I was quite…er…a notorious car thief, and so when I left, I didn't want to be followed. So my last name is Cooper. My first name is Ryan."

"I see…I'm gonna keep calling you Cooper." Fiona exclaimed, inching towards his face. She gently caressed his cheek, before flopping her head back down onto the pillow. She stared up at him, waiting until he fell back asleep. When he did, she closed her eyes. She was glad she knew his whole name; somehow, it was just the tiniest things that made Fiona feel more in love with him.

Roughly Fifty Miles out of Al Khuwayr, Qatar

"How much farther are we from the Saudi's base?" Jen asked tiredly. They had been driving for what seemed like forever. There was no air conditioning in the Humvee and it was extremely hot outside. They had the windows down for a while, but the desert wind picked up so badly, that it was whipping grains of sand into the truck. Jen was hot, sweaty, and tired and they still had a far distance to travel. Often they had to stop, thanks to the sand storms. This was one of those times.

"Okay, seriously? How much farther? I can't stand this!" Jen scowled, pouting as she slid down her seat, leaning back against the door. James looked at her.

"Not much…I don't think."
"You don't think?" She wailed hysterically.

"Well…I think we're lost." James admitted. He closed his eyes, half-expecting her to hit him. Jen sighed in despair, folding her arms over her bent knees, resting her head. She was in the worst mood possible and now, getting lost was about to drive her over the edge.

"Ask for directions." James started to protest but when she looked up at him, he stopped instantly. "Don't be a stupid cocky man and not do it. Just go, ask some local where Al Khu-whatever the fuck it's called is." Jen growled, resting her feet up on the dash board. James sighed deeply, pulling his hat down over his eyes and ventured out of the car. He waited until another car started to go past when he waved it down. A young man slowed up.

"Do you speak English?"

"A little." He replied, with a thick Middle Eastern accent. James half-smiled.

"Can you tell me how to get to Al Khuwayr?"

"Yes, it's that way." The man pointed past the Humvee, out the way they had been going.

"Thank you!" James gasped, handing him some American money. The man reluctantly took it as James hurried back into the truck.

He wheeled it around and started gunning it up the road. Jen looked over at him.

"Do you know where the bloody hell you're going?"

"Yes. I do. We took a wrong turn in the sand storm." James replied, sitting back into his seat further. Jen still kept the scowl on her face.

"Bloody plonker." She mumbled. James wasn't sure what she had meant in 'Brit speak', but he was sure she called him something along the lines of an idiot. He sighed again as the wind picked up once more.

Eventually, they arrived at the outskirts of the city where the Saudi Arabians had set up camp. It was a beautifully crafted building, with spiralling columns and guards everywhere. It was built as if to say that they were going to be a permanent presence in the conflict, giving all the other factions even more reason to blow it to smithereens. James stopped the truck as they were approached by two guards. Both were wearing the traditional clothing of the Saudis, material protecting their faces from the sand.

"Come." The one guard motioned. He was carrying a standard assault rifle as was his partner. Jen and James followed them inside of the palace-like base. The one guard proceeded to take off his shoes at the door. Jen followed his lead as did James. The thin guard led them through room after room until finally he stopped and pointed into another one. James and Jen walked side by side into it.

There was a man sitting at an ornately carved wooden desk. He was writing something down when he looked up and half-smiled.

"Ah, you are here." He stood up and walked over to James, holding out his hand. James took it and gave him a firm shake. Then he walked over to Jen and did the same. "Very good. I'm glad you have arrived." He sat back down at his desk. James stood back and Jen walked over to him.

"Saladin, what contracts do you have to offer us?"

"Well Mui, I have several. Mostly, as you can probably guess, are elimination missions. However, I would particularly like to get rid of the Allies and the Taliban. Most of my work is directed there. The Chinese are not a threat to us." He stroked his beard in thought, pulling his headdress away from his face.

"Right then. How much are you paying us then?"

"I had it calculated out to a decent amount of sixty million."

"Only sixty million? I know you have a lot more than that to spend." Jen said, leaning on the desk. Saladin recoiled slightly at her sudden movement. James remained quiet in the corner.

"Well I do…it's obvious but…" He paused as Jen slowly unzipped her jacket an inch or so down, revealing more of her chest. Saladin sat straighter in his chair.

"I suppose I can give you a bit more." James' attention perked when he heard the sudden change of heart of the Saudi Arabian man. Jen still had her back to him, and he couldn't tell what she was negotiating.

"Really? How much more?" Jen said softly, zipping the jacket even further, revealing the majority of her cleavage. Saladin bit down on his lip.

"One…one hundred and forty-five million." James nearly gagged on his own spit. He knew Jen was a good negotiator but bringing up the price by eighty five million in a matter of minutes was way too much. James walked over to the desk. He saw just how she had been 'negotiating' and he felt his face turn red. Saladin watched him for a second before returning his perverse eyes back to Jen's bulging out-of-her-shirt bust.

"We'll be back if we want to make the deal. I need to discuss this with my partner." James growled, grabbing her by the arm. He pulled her quickly to the front of the building. They pulled their shoes on and then rushed back to the Humvee.

"All right, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" James yelled in her face. Jen narrowed her eyes at him.

"It's called getting us a decent pay cheque!" She retorted angrily.

"More like giving the man a private show!"

"Oh come on! It's how I work! If I have to use my womanly charms to get a stupid horny man to raise my pay, then I'LL DO IT!" She spat back at him, turning towards the building. He reached forward and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back.

"We're not working with them!" James barked.

"They have the highest pay rate! You're just an overly possessive idiot!"

"You could have been fine with the sixty million, but no, you had to be the greedy self-centered woman you are and strip down to get more!" Jen turned round and glared at him.

"And you're the one who wanted to marry me? So what I used a negotiation tactic that may be frowned upon. Who gives a rat's arse? It worked!"

"I DO! You're my wife for fuck sakes! I'd rather not have you strip down to negotiate with some friggen' Saudi to get more money! Gah! I don't know how you can't see why I'm so pissed!" James roared.

"James, get over yourself, you bastard! It's done and over with. Now let's go do that contract so we can get the hell out of this fucking desert!" Jen started to walk back to the base where the two guards had been watching them fight. James jogged up in front of her, making her stop.

"You are unbelievable! Do you expect me to just forget that some other guy got a sneak preview of my wife's boobs?"

"Oh big deal! Who gives a crap? Lots of men have seen them, get the bloody hell over it!" Jen spat back. James couldn't handle it anymore.

"You know what you are? You're a vindictive manipulative BITCH!"