Chapter 72

A/N Time and changes

There will be a significant time jump here. Allie and Jason are both born and we will delve deeper in Elizabeth's CIA work.

The Middle East, nothing good could be said about it. Elizabeth had been in country for three months chasing down a high profile terrorist. She had spent the last year gathering every piece of knowledge she could learn about his family, background and movements. Her intel would assist the troops on the ground in capturing him.

She believed she was very close to narrowing down his location. Two days ago he had set off a bomb in a market, killing six. Two of which were kids, a brother and sister. She was more determined than ever to catch him. She had not eaten or slept since the bombing. The photos of the dead would spill over into her dreams if she closed her eyes.

It was Sunday, her favorite day of the week. In a few short hours, she would get to talk to Henry and the kids back in Virginia. She had gotten Conrad to agree to let them use the SCIF so she would at least get to see them. Secure video calls home were the only thing keeping her sane most days.

She was sitting in the secure black ops control center reviewing overnight satellite photos, when something in one of them caught her attention. She had another analyst and a Seal team under her command for the operation to capture Safir. She was the only female on the team, but her abilities and reputation soon earned all their respect once she got in country.

"Joe, I think I have found him," she said excitedly to her junior analyst.

Joe jumped up from his desk and went to look at what Elizabeth was waving at him. She was cautious about the intel. They had had a busted op last month and she didn't want a repeat.

She called Langley to order up the live video and more pictures. She also talked to Conrad and told him about her progress. She knew he would have the Middle East team there go over the intel to verify, before a ground operation would be greenlighted.

Captain Charles Reeves was the leader of the Seal team assigned to her. She briefed him and he began pulling in his team and briefing them. They would do an on site surveillance to get human verification of her intel. They suited up in civilian attire and set off for the area near the house she suspected Safir was holed up in. They would do the recon and this would assist them if an actual take down was warranted.

Elizabeth decided since she couldn't sleep, at least a shower and a change of clothes would do her some good. It would be several hours before she heard from the recon team and still had a few before her call home.

"Why don't you try and get some sleep, you have been going non stop for three days," Joe told her.

"Sleep is not my friend right now, but I am going to take a hot shower and maybe take a walk after and clear my head. Henry will be calling in a few hours and I don't want the kids picking up on my mood or sadness. We try to keep the calls light and stress free for the kids."

After her shower and a clean change of clothes, she tied her head scarf and headed out. She was on a secure military base, but they still adhered to Muslim beliefs and customs. There was a small market just outside the gates and she would often venture there when she needed to clear her head. She would pick up an escort at the front gate.

A lot of the fruits and vegetables available at the market were not readily available in the states and she would often buy many when she went there. The olives and dates were her favorite. She had asked Henry once why he never brought her any when he came home from his deployments, because they were so good. She had discovered them on her first assignment there and had fallen love with them.

"Getting home to you was my priority, not bringing you some dates and olives," he had laughed.

She returned to base and decided to at least lay down and rest. Henry would be calling her at midnight her time, so she had a few more hours to wait. She was reflecting on all the time she had spent in the Middle East the last seven years. This was her fourth in country assignment. Most were only a week or two, this long assignment was wearing on her and she was starting to miss home.

She and Isabelle had become the Middle East experts in the company, so it seemed like one or the other of them were constantly traveling there. Isabelle was back in Langley since she was in country. Conrad never allowed both of them in country at the same time.

Four hours later, she woke up. She had managed to get some much needed uninterrupted sleep and felt much better. She checked in at the op center to check on updates from Captain Reeves' team and anything from Langley.

Captain Reeves walked in and had visual confirmation of Safir. This information brought all hands on deck at Langley and the op center. Conrad would update the White House and the Pentagon and a capture mission would be planned out as soon as possible.

"Conrad, I am going along with the team when they do the capture," she told him.

"Absolutely not Elizabeth, it is too dangerous and you are too valuable to risk it," he told her emphatically.

"I need to be on the ground when they capture him so that I can gain intel on how he was living and hiding out. It will help me when I interrogate him," she said.

Conrad contemplated her request. "Captain Reeves, can you insure her safety if I allow her to come along?"

"Sir, she has proven herself in the past and I am comfortable with allowing her to come along. She can enter the structure after we have him secured. This will allow her to gather intel and keep her safe. We have observed women and children, which we assume at this point are his family. We are taking a Quick Reaction team and my team for a heavy presence. I will assign my best two team members to keep her safe," Captain Reeves told him.

"How confident are you that you can capture him with the least amount of exposure to the teams and her?" Conrad asked.

"The area is pretty isolated and we will clear the buildings around the target house before we make entry to insure the least amount of risk," Captain Reeves relayed to him.

"Alright, I will agree to let her go. No unnecessary risks, you hear me Elizabeth. Captain Reeves you have my permission to pick her butt up and remove her from the area if you think it is not secure or she gets out of line," Conrad said sternly.

Everyone agreed. "Ok, we just need to get the go ahead from the White House to proceed. I will get back to you as soon as we get it. Rest up and prepare your teams," Conrad said and then signed off.

On the drive over to the White House, Conrad hoped he would not regret letting Elizabeth take part in the mission. She was not only a damn good analyst, but he had come to feel of her like she was a surrogate daughter.

Elizabeth talked to Henry and the kids, while she waited on word of a GO for the mission. She was able to keep the worry from her voice and face while she talked to the kids, but she wasn't fooling Henry. He could read her like a book. Once the kids talked to her he sent them back up to the house so he could spend a few minutes alone with her.

"Elizabeth, you are not fooling me. What are you not telling me? You know Conrad gave me a high security clearance so you could tell me what is going on," Henry asked her.

"We have found Safir and are just waiting for approval to go and capture him. I am going to go along with the team for the take down. Conrad approved it so I could gather intel on the ground."

"Elizabeth, you assured me when you took on this mission that you would not put yourself in harm's way. You are instead walking right into the lion's den. This is not what we agreed on."

"Henry, I know but I have to be on the ground. The intel I gather about how he was living and hiding out will assist me in his interrogation. I will only go in after they have secured him and the area. Captain Reeves assured Conrad of my safety. He will have two of his team members with me at all times and Conrad gave him permission to remove my butt if I got out of line," she laughingly told him.

Henry was not happy, but he had met Captain Reeves and Elizabeth had only had good things to say about him and his team. "I am not happy about this, but I guess I have to agree, since I am 5,000 miles away and can't do anything about it at this point. Promise me you will not put yourself in unnecessary harm. Our kids need their mother and I need my wife."

"I promise and the sooner we get him captured and I break him and gather the intel we need the sooner I can come home to you and the kids."

"Alright, we better get off her so you can prep for your mission. Promise me you will let me know when you are back on base safely."

"I promise, I love you Henry. Coming home to you and the kids are my #1 priority. I will talk to you soon."

"I love you too, never forget that."

Elizabeth alway felt a little melancholy after the call home. She missed her family, but she knew the job she was doing in Iraq was important and very vital.

The next day the approval of the op was given and everyone suited up for the 30 mile drive. Two of the team members were still on site and would provide cover for the rest of the team's arrival.

Captain Reeves' team breached the structure and secured Safir without any shots being fired. He was not expecting them and didn't put up a fight. A helicopter would be taking him, Elizabeth, Captain Reeves and two Seal team members back to the black ops site. They didn't want to risk driving him back overland.

Elizabeth entered the house and observed two women and four children all secured and terrified. One of the women was his wife and two of the children were his. His sister and two cousins were the other occupants of the house. Elizabeth had studied his family extensively and recognized them. They would also be brought back to the base and interrogated separately. They didn't want to risk word of Safir's capture getting out.

Safir would be kept secure overnight and Elizabeth would start his interrogation the next day. She was determined to break him and this is what she was sent there to do. She took her mission very seriously and knew if she could break him she would gain valuable intel that would hopefully prevent bombings in the future.

The next day she loaded up on caffeine and food. It would be a long and tedious process breaking him and she set in for the long haul.

A week went by and Safir was not breaking, Elizabeth was on her last leg. She had used all the tools at her disposal to break him.

"Elizabeth, are you going to be able to get the intel out of him we need?" Conrad asked her. He could tell that the interrogation was not going well and maybe he needed to step it up a notch to get him to break.

"I am not sure. I thought he would break before now. I have thrown everything but the kitchen sink at him."

"Alright, I will give you two more days, if he hasn't given it up by then, we will have to take other measures," he told her.

She was aware of what the other measures meant and she was not fond of it, but if it was successful she would not have any other recourse.

Three days later, she was relieved of her assignment and Safir was turned over to another interrogation team. She begrudgingly packed and prepared to return home to Virginia. She had to authorize the other team, but didn't like it one bit.

Captain Reeves escorted her to her transport plane that would take her home. "Elizabeth, you did your best. Sometimes extreme measures have to be taken to get what we want. Don't feel bad. It was your dogged pursuit and intel analysis of him that finally enabled us to capture him. You did your job so now go home to your family and forget about this place."

Flying home, she felt unfulfilled, she felt like she didn't complete her mission. Yes, capturing him had been her mission, but a successful interrogation had been her mission also and she had failed at that. She only hoped the other measures were successful and they would be able to gain the intel.

Two days after leaving Iraq, she arrived back home. Being back on the farm soothed her some and seeing Henry and the kids helped some more.

Once she returned back to her regular duties, she was continually haunted about the other measures that had to be utilized on Safir. She had gotten a report that extreme measures had to be used. He had eventually given up the information, but she was sure he had suffered. This information did not sit well with her and this was not the only situation where extreme measures had been used to gain intel.

Henry could tell she was troubled by her mission. He asked her about it one night laying in bed after she had been home three weeks. She was not eating, just pushing her food around her plate. She was drinking heavier. One glass of wine at dinner in the past went to a whole bottle and they were buying scotch at an alarming rate. She was not very present with the kids and he would often find her standing at the front windows staring off into space "Babe are you okay?"

"I am fine," she said with what he could tell was a fake smile.

He decided to let it go for now, but if the alcohol consumption and lack of eating continued he would have to call her on it.

Christmas came and went and Elizabeth was still not very engaged. They had decided to forego a trip to Pittsburgh. Henry begged off with his family claiming Elizabeth was extremely busy. The compromise was he would bring the kids before Stevie started back to school after the first of the year.

One night in the middle of January, Isabell caught up to Henry in the barn. "Henry, does Elizabeth seem okay to you?"

"No she doesn't. I think it has something to do with her op in Iraq. She has been drinking more and is not eating. She is just not herself. Did something happen over there she is not telling me about?"

"I read the reports and nothing was mentioned. I am not sure what is going on, but we need to get a handle on this quickly," she told him with a concerned tone.

"I am getting a sitter for the weekend and taking her to the cabin on the Stanton River. I am going to ask her about it then. She can't continue like this. It is not healthy, it has gone on long enough."

Isabelle agreed and hoped Henry's plan worked out.