Sincere apologies for the delay. And we continue with the chapter I really don't like. Meh.
Seven hours later, Kadira stood in another motel room just outside of Washington D.C., putting a cool cloth on Layla's forehead. Leaning back, she rubbed a hand over her tired features. It had taken two hours to make sure she had lost the cops and return to the motel. They had immediately changed motels after she had told Farook of her run-in with Ziva and her partner. Afterwards, he had left for contacting Aman, their control officer for the mission. And while Kadira wanted him to return soon, she was afraid of what he would say. She had a horrible feeling, watching Layla toss and turn in her sleep, her soft moans filling the silence, making Kadira want to knock her out. She really needed a doctor. But taking her to a hospital was out of the question. When Kadira had turned on the TV, she had been slightly surprised not to find her face on every channel. NCIS was probably trying to keep this low profile, in order to not scare the public too much. Though it was only a question of when they would turn to the media, not if they would.
A louder moan caused Kadira to look at Layla again, and found the younger woman slowly opening her eyes, straining to focus on her surroundings.
|Sh, it's okay, you're safe here. We switched motels, it's alright.| Kadira said as the girl began to struggle to sit up when she did not recognize the room. Her eyes settled on Kadira, frowning, then relaxing again. Apparently she recognized her.
|Where's Farook?| Layla asked, her voice hoarse. Instead of answering, Kadira leaned forward, and grabbed a glass of water, helping Layla with holding her head up while the girl gulped down the liquid, trying to make up for the amount of fluid she had already lost with her blood and the sweat that trickled down her face.
|More?| Kadira asked simply, refilling the glass when Layla nodded silently. After finishing off that one, too, the younger woman leaned back, her head hitting the pillow, her eyes drifting shut again. Kadira let her mind wander back to the drug store. Her second run-in with Ziva. And again she had found herself incapable of killing her. Even though the mission was crystal clear, she had found herself hesitating. And was slightly surprised that Ziva herself had not tried to do anything herself. The person Kadira had known would not have hesitated one second before putting a bullet through her head. Maybe she was just as confused as Kadira was. But somehow, Kadira thought it went deeper.
She had never let herself feel anything when killing one of their targets. They had it coming. Killing innocent children in Gaza was a death sentence in her opinion. On her first mission for Hamas, Kadira had felt a deep satisfaction blowing the lights out of an Israeli soldier who had given orders for a rocket launch that had hit a school, killing twelve children and their two teachers. It had felt good, it had been a way to relieve some of her anger and fury over Ari's death. There had only been one time that Kadira had hesitated shortly. She had followed a Mossad agent for two weeks in France, and finally an opportunity had presented itself. When she had seen the picture of a little boy in the hotel room she had rounded her victim in, she had felt a tinge of regret, remembering how hard it had been for her to lose her mother at the same age. But then she had remembered that Mossad itself had been responsible for her own loss, and pulled the trigger, robbing a boy barely old enough to go to school of his mother.
Unbestknown to her, it had been the final test of trust for her. If she had not killed the target, Hamas would have eliminated her, finding her unable to overcome her own feelings and posing a threat to Hamas itself. But she had passed the test with flying colors, proving her loyalty once and for all.
This mission should have been the final test for Layla. And while Kadira had been proud of the young girl a few days before, she now found herself wondering if she would survive the ordeal, or if her second mission for Hamas would be her last. It had already cost Amir his life. Suddenly overcome with sadness and grief, Kadira closed her eyes. And saw hiss sparkling eyes, heard his carefree laughter when they had been in Paris, shortly after she had killed the Mossad agent with the son. They had run through the city center, playing hide and seek in the shadows. He had been one of her closest friends, along with Farook he had been her world, her family. Much as Layla was, too. And now he was gone, and she was faced with the possibility of losing the young woman, too. The sister she saw in her, the way she reminded her of Tali and their time in Tel Aviv together.
Kadira opened her eyes again, and found Layla watching her, a smile tugging on her lips. Kadira raised her eyebrow at the younger woman, brushing a sweaty strand of hair from her face. She had been younger than Tali, yes. But in her memory, Tali had stopped aging at 16, when she died. The age at which she had first met Layla. The resemblance between the two had been almost creepy. If it had not been for their native language and faith, they could have been the same person, the look in Layla's eyes had been the same that Tali's had always held, playfullness and joy, with just a little bit of worry. And the sound of Layla's laughter had instantly warmed Kadira's heart, putting her at ease around the girl.
|Stop frowning, you'll get wrinkles.| Layla joked, her voice stronger than minutes before. Maybe the medication was finally kicking in. Despite herself, Kadira allowed herself a small laugh at the girl's antics, and kissed her forehead softly, stroking her cheek when she leaned back again.
|I'm sorry, Kadi. So sorry.| she apologized, tears glistening in her eyes. Kadira shook her head vehemently.
|Not your fault. We did not know who we were dealing with. If it had not been you that had fired, it would have been one of us. The outcome would most likely have been the same. Don't worry, concentrate on getting better.| she said. Layla shifted her legs and shut her eyes tightly, a groan escaping her lips.
|How bad?| she asked through clenched teeth, moving her injured leg again, and biting down on her hand to keep from screaming out loud.
|The bullet went straight through. I'm not sure, Amir would have been able to give a better answer. We think it's infected, hence the antiseptic I put on earlier. You were lucky that it didn't nick any major artery.| she told her truthfully. She had never been one to appreciate lies or sugarcoated answers and found that Layla deserved the truth. At least as much of it that Kadira was sure she could stomach. She saw the younger woman struggle with keeping her eyes open, and a soft smile came to her lips.
|It's okay, close your eyes, rest, get some sleep. I'll be right here.| she assured her. Layla slowly nodded and gave in to the heavy tug of sleep.
TBC