RIYADH AIR BASE
RIYADH/KHALED
SAUDI ARABIA

The C-141 Starlifter landed at the base. Animal had changed in the back to khakis, as he knew the minute the door opened he was going to be hit with a wave of hot air. Wearing service whites would make him a target especially in any foreign country. His glimmering two stars more prominent on his collar and the sizeable ribbon rack unnerved the Marines of the Expeditionary Force even more. It wasn't just the size of the ribbon rack; it was the top-most ribbon that unnerved them. Sky blue, five stars in an up side down M shape along the width of the ribbon. Very few alive wore that ribbon, even less who were still serving. It marked him as one of the few who nearly gave all in the service of their country. He sure as hell didn't want to receive another bronze star on that topmost ribbon again. Even being a recipient of one was hell enough. The second-most ribbon on his ribbon-rack didn't do anything to quell their nervousness either. Navy blue with a white stripe through the center, the Navy Cross was ranked the second highest award that one could receive in the Navy for heroism. The fact that AJ also sported a Navy Cross on his rack was making the poor 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force have nervous fits.

Animal was uneasy going into this hotbed of unrest. He knew that as American servicemen and women; that local insurgents marked them for Al Qaeda kidnapping attempts. He did not like this situation one bit.

The Starlifter's cargo door opened and a blast of hot air came into the cargo hold. It was a piercing 115 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade, and the sand blowing didn't make it feel any better. The Starlifter's landing had raised up a large amount of dust and it hadn't settled as the Starlifter had come to a stop. It felt like being sandblasted. The desert-BDU equipped men and women of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force couldn't exit the Starlifter fast enough – they wanted to get away from flag officers as expediently as possible. Grabbing their gear, they emptied the Starlifter inside of three minutes.

"Welcome to Saudi Arabia." A heavily accented Saudi voice was heard from out of the blowing sand. "If you will come this way. We shall show you to the quarters." A rather tall middle-eastern officer wearing a light blue uniform and air force blue trousers stepped out of the blowing sand kicked up by the still active turbofans of the C-141.

"Thank you. I feel like I'm eating sand." Animal said with an amused glance at the gentleman.

"Ah, that is what most feel like out here," replied the Saudi Air Force officer. "I am Colonel Hossein Achmed Hamid. Royal Saudi Air Force."

"Rear Admiral Nakamura." Animal responded shaking the man's hand. "Kayf-al-hal,"

"Bkheer, shukran," replied Col. Hamid as they walked towards the building "It is very nice of you to learn our language. Admiral."

"Well, Colonel, I learned some phrases out of necessity since the US Navy conducts operations in your part of the world. It is never wise to not honor the cultures of other countries. It makes diplomacy much easier when there is mutual respect among cultures." Animal stated firmly.

"Ah, I have met the beautiful Colonel Mackenzie before. She is your wife, I believe, now." The beauty of nations intelligence agents, they kept tabs on everyone.

"Yes. She is. I've been married to her now for a little over ten years." Animal replied.

They reached the building and were ushered in the door, out of the blowing sand.

"Admiral Chegwidden." Another heavily accented voice said. "I am Admiral Hamir Al-Fahid. Welcome to Riyadh/Khaled. We have brought you here because of our need to conduct more joint exercises with high command. We have had problems with Al Qaeda insurgents and with bordering Iraq. Saddam has made our lives hell, as you say in America."

"And just how do you want us to do these jointly coordinated exercises?" A.J. asked; his suspicions in high-gear.

"Well, that is what you and I and the other admiral here will have to come to agreement on." Admiral Al-Fahid said.

"Does the State Department know about this?" Animal growled. "You needed to go through the State Department about matters of this importance."

"We have and the American State Department representative is right here with us." Admiral Al-Fahid said with a self-assured smile.

Mac's disgusted groan caused Animal's eyes to roll. Sure enough, Clayton Webb walked through the door.

"A.J., Admiral Nakamura, Mac, Harm, Liandra" Clay nodded to each of the officers in turn.

"Webb?" Animal's growl filled the room. "You ruined Mac's and my vacation for this?"

"My apologies…Admiral, but as you know national security takes precedence over free time…" Clay said as Animal snorted derisively; disgust showing on his face.

Animal leaned over to his wife. "Y'know, Mac, where I'd love to shove his national security?" Mac snickered in response.

LATE EVENING
AL FAISALIAH HOTEL
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

Animal stretched out on the hotel's bed. Mac came out of the bathroom dressed in a diaphanous shift. She looked over at him. "Tuckered out, sweetie?"

"Jet lag is a killer" Animal told his wife. He continued to look out the window of the hotel room.

"Are you still getting those same hunches?" Mac sat down, stroking her husband's neck and massaging his upper back, caressing him, trying to sooth away the tensions that seemed to cord his muscles into knots.

"Yeah. Something's not right here." Animal looked deeply into Mac's eyes and continued. "I just can't pinpoint it…and it's making me suspicious of Clay's intentions as well as those of the Saudis."

"Any chance I can make those suspicions go away, at least temporarily?" Mac whispered softly in Animal's ear as she moved her hands lower down his chest, her own body pressed up against her husband's back. Animal sighed softly as her hands crept still lower, caressing softly. Turning around, he wrapped his arms around Mac's body and drew her softly to the surface of the bed. "I love you…" murmured Mac as she wrapped her legs around Animal's to draw his body closer to her. No more words needed to be said as Mac expertly made her husband attentions focus towards her rather than anything else. His reaction to her touch was all she needed.

"Mmmm…" Mac sighed softly as she whispered in Animal's ear "I did promise you something while we were at Andrews, didn't I?"

"That you did…my love…" Animal replied. Her skin felt warm to his touch and she shivered in anticipation as he caressed her in return.

She went ahead and did what she had promised and it turned into a night of bliss.

NEXT DOOR – THREE HOURS LATER

Harm muttered acerbically, "Are they still at it?" while Liandra grinned at Harm's supposed pique.

RIYADH AIR BASE
RIYADH/KHALED

Admiral Hamir Al-Fahid stood quietly peering into the darkness of the Saudi Arabian night. His plan was going very well. First the Americans would be good bargaining chips for his plan to succeed. There had to be a shift in alliance, or Saudi lives would be at stake. For too long the Saudis had been at the mercy of the American government. Now it was time to cast away the stone that had impeded the Saudis from taking their rightful place at the head of the Arab world.

'Americans, they depend so much on their women. Women hold a higher status in the Western world than they do in our country,' he thought grimly. 'Take away their women and the men are helpless.'

The two women in the party would have to be kidnapped when opportunity presented itself. The tall male JAG lawyer Rabb was emotionally tied to the young blonde female lawyer, and the Asian admiral was emotionally tied to Colonel Mackenzie. That should incapacitate them both. The older admiral, Chegwidden, would be the problem. Al-Fahid grimly thought. 'I will just get someone to eliminate him permanently.'

He turned on his computer. Poking through the myriad files on a certain website, he found what he was looking for. Typing a message for his contact. "Allah's will be done, task will soon be completed." After sending the message, he shut off his computer.

AL FAISALIAH HOTEL
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

Harm and Liandra ate breakfast looking at A.J. knowingly. Animal and Mac were late, VERY late. The looks passed between the three of them were filled with merriment. Animal and Mac were going to get ragged on when they got downstairs.

AL FAISALIAH HOTEL
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
ANIMAL & MAC'S SUITE

"Hmmm," Animal mumbled contentedly as they lay there entwined in the sheets. "Love you lots, jarhead."

"Love you too, but I think it's time to get up, squid." Mac murmured softly her bare shoulders visible mainly because her left arm was draped over Animal's chest. "I really don't want to get up, y'know."

"Then let's not?" Animal whined.

"Yeah, but then you'll know what's going to be going through Harm's and Liandra's minds."

"I guess…" Animal mumbled still not entirely convinced of the necessity of getting up. "Well, race ya to the shower."

AL FAISALIAH HOTEL
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

CAFETERIA

"Should we call room service?" Liandra asked Harm who shook his head. "Maybe they forgot to set their alarm." Harm tried to restrain a paroxysm of laughter. "What's so funny?" Lia asked her husband who couldn't contain himself after that innocent question.

"Probably…in…the…shower…right now…" He managed to gasp out between fits of hysterical laughter.

"oh…" Lia said subdued, getting the picture. "…OH…" giggling softly.

"You two are incorrigible…" remarked the admiral who despite his stern admonition had a look of merriment on his face too.

AL FAISALIAH HOTEL
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
ANIMAL & MAC'S SUITE

"Maybe…showering together was a bad idea…" Mac gasped, trying to catch her breath, the shower cascading over their heads as she leaned back against a sodden Animal who grinned unrepentantly. "I think we wasted one hour fifteen minutes and sixteen seconds and we're still not clean." She turned to face him.

"It was worth it." Animal responded.

"I think if we don't keep our hands off each other, we won't get downstairs before afternoon and I'm hungry, sweetheart." Mac leaned in, forehead to forehead with Animal. "You want a hungry jarhead on your hands?"

"Hmmm, hungry for what?" Animal asked, his grin shameless.

"Ooooh, you!" Mac said giving him a mock look of annoyance. "I'm hungry! That's what!"

"What?"

"FOOD! Need to eat!" Mac gave him a glare.

"OK…" Animal said as he grabbed the bottle of soap and started lathering. "I guess that means we'd better head downstairs."

AL FAISALIAH HOTEL
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

CAFETERIA

About half an hour later, Animal and Mac came into the hotel's dining room hand in hand. Harm looked at Liandra with another knowing grin.

"Glad to see you're both awake." A.J. intoned, barely suppressing a grin.

"Yes, sir, the jet lag was a killer." Mac said, turning red. "Uh…his excuse."

"And yours…Colonel?"

"Um…" She stammered.

"Never mind, Colonel" A.J. said, "I think we generally get the drift. Harm, Liandra and Mac will have to come with me, Admiral. I'd like for you to get in contact with members of your squadron. Ideally, if they can manage to smuggle themselves in on pretense, it would be best."

"Aye, aye, sir." Animal replied, having a hunch that he knew was much like the admiral's. Animal looked over at his JAG counterpart and knew instantly that the admiral was packing heat.

Animal had also tucked his Beretta 9mm M92FS in a hideaway belt holster that he had obtained from one of his law-enforcement buddies.

"Anybody else?" Animal asked meaningfully.

Harm patted his waistline. Animal was dressed in civilian clothes to make sure that he looked as inconspicuous as possible. Inconspicuous as far as his military style haircut could make him. Plus it also made it easier as far as he was concerned to hide that Beretta.

"I'll find a phone here and see if I can contact my buddies." Animal replied, turning to his wife, he leaned over and whispered in Mac's ear. "Stay safe, sweetheart." PDAs were frowned upon in Saudi Arabia. Sharia law and all that.

"I will…" Mac said, affection coloring her voice as well as evident in her glance towards him.

Riyadh Market

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Mac looked around as the four walked along the market street. As they were in civilian clothes, the fact that they were Americans was not so apparent. The problem was that they with the exception of Mac looked like foreigners. AJ and Harm definitely stood out as did Lia. The tents and market storefronts were potential places for terrorists to lurk waiting to snatch the unsuspecting foreigner and place them in the hands of Al Qaeda where they could potentially be tortured and killed.

The hostility from the neighborhood was palpable. AJ looked around nervously. If there was an attack that was going to be coming from somewhere, this area would be it. The people in the market were appearing to ignore them, yet were trying to get away from them as quickly as possible. Harm and Lia were watching the crowds carefully eyeing their situation; to try and see if there was a simple way to get out of the area without arousing the attentions of the locals.

Mac, her eyesight keen, noticed some heads in behind the rows of displayed goods that were familiar. They had been trailing them for the past few blocks. "Admiral, I think we're being followed." She notified them.

Harm and Lia reached for their side-arms, drawing them quietly so as not to alarm the locals into flushing them out. AJ did the same, as did Mac. The four of them manoeuvred into guard positions.

"shewf. alameyrekyeyn 'ela! [There they are, Americans, Get them!]" a shout rang out over the din of the crowd. The crowd scattered like a school of fish, leaving them with little option but to dive over the fruit stands and behind what available cover they had.

"Coming to the market was a great idea." Muttered Lia as she peered around the corner of the fruit stand that she was hiding behind; her Beretta in her hand. Harm sat quietly panting behind her, his own Beretta in his hand.

"Well, Persian rugs are popular and I wanted an authentic one for our living room." Harm quipped.

"Yeah, well, I think this rug-buying excursion has been curtailed for the moment." Retorted Lia as she looked around to see if those responsible were still trying to hem them in. "Maybe we should ask the people following us if they know of a well-priced carpet?"

"Sure." Harm grinned. "Great idea?"

The admiral looked over across the street to see the men trying to angle their way in order to capture them. Levelling his Beretta, he fired off three shots at them, all ricocheting off the ground in the now-deserted market place.

"I see three men with rifles. I'm sure there's more of them." Mac stated as she swept her eyes from side to side looking for anything suspicious that moved. A movement to the left hand side drew her attention and she let off a round. A wet thud was heard as bullet impacted flesh and the resultant cry of pain.

"azel alegheta'. kanewa yetleqwen alenar 'ela alewlayat alemthedh! [Take cover, they are shooting at us!"]

Mac snickered, "I think what Lia suggested would throw those bastards off." She called out, her voice rang out over the deserted market square. "ahel t'elemwen ayen ajed sejadh jeyd? [Does anyone know where I can find a good carpet?]" Absolute silence as the pursuers were probably debating amongst themselves as to what the hell were their quarry asking them about carpets.

Using that interval of time, the four American officers quickly changed their cover location trying to keep un-noticed. A barking report quickly dissuaded them from figuring that they could go any further.

"tewqef , la zeyadh aw seytem etelaq alenar. [Stop, do not go further or you will be shot!]" A voice directly in front of them rang out. The four stopped as they saw a Saudi man with an AK47 automatic rifle; muzzle pointed towards them, his finger on the trigger. Luckily for them, the AK47 had a heavy trigger pull and the man would have to visibly pull on the trigger to fire off rounds. "wed' aleslah 'ela alared! [Put your weapon on the ground!]"

The admiral put his Beretta on the ground and stepped away from the weapon, motioning his subordinates to do so too. There was no point to resisting and getting killed. They were not special forces and AJ knew that despite his own special forces (SEAL) background this was a situation where they were outnumbered (the men they were followed by). They didn't have the tactical training to take out multiple targets and survive themselves. Mac, Harm and Lia reluctantly put their weapons on the ground; Harm giving the 10 men, one noticeably limping from Mac's shot which had struck him in the leg, the death glare.

The leader growled. "alekhenazeyr alameryekyh aleklab, alewlayat alemthedh. yeqawem alemwet. [American pig-dog, you will follow us. Resist and die.]" motioning the four officers forward with an abrupt jerk of the muzzle of his AK47.