Annie POV

Almost immediately following the crash, I felt Jai roughly grab my arm and whisper in my ear.

"There's hooks on the bottom of the truck that they use for chains to keep the cargo in place, get under there, Walker, and stay there while I figure out how to get us out of here."

I opened my mouth in shock and clamped his hand over it.

"No time for questions, go!"

I glared at him but nodded; at least out there I could potentially cover him.

I swung myself over the side of the truck facing away from the assassins, thankful that there were rows of trucks behind me. I scuttled underneath the truck and saw what Jai meant; what he didn't say was how difficult this was going to be.

I swung first one foot up into the hook, hooking my ankle around it. I hastily pulled out my gun from it's holster and held it tightly in my left hand as I swung the other ankle into the hook. I winced at the contact; I would have a bruise later.

"Amir, go search the trucks!" One of them yelled, and I saw their feet moving towards us, making my heart stop for a second.

I pulled my arm up to the other hook and hung there for a second, my muscles screaming in pain. I raised the gun, taking careful aim and sending a shot into his ankle. I heard his horrible scream as he fell, clutching his ankle.

Suddenly, his feet were replaced with a face covered with a scarf, his eyes a muddy brown. He screamed something that I didn't catch as I sent the fatal bullet into his forehead. His companion, however, I didn't see.

I watched as the light left his eyes and was suddenly taken back four months when I had my first kill. I shuddered at the thought and shook myself out of my own head, switching and putting the handle of the gun in my mouth as I swung the rest of my body up. My muscles were now protesting the shear agony but I held on, hoping that Jai would be able to get us going.

But where's the other one?

There were at least three out there with Austin, and I had only gotten one. I strained my ears for the slightest sound but didn't hear any footsteps; had they ran off? Had I actually been lucky enough to have gotten their leader?

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a pair of boots showed up to my right, where the truck's front door was. Then another pair identical to it was suddenly next to him.

I heard the rustle as the tarp was pulled away and hopped to God that Jai had already hidden himself elsewhere.

I grimaced in pain, the gun muffling my wince as I tried to press myself up against the bottom of the truck as much as possible. I felt myself slipping but refused to give into the pain, pushing against the hooks with all the strength I had left, hoping, just hoping that Jai would have us going soon.

"Check the driver's seat," one of them mumbled.

There was a shuffling of footsteps and then, the car door was wrenched open.

"I found him!"

Shit, no, I thought, they couldn't have found him, Jai was smarter than this!

"Hello, men, I was just-

That was the last thing I heard from him, what I heard next was the unmistakable sound of the butt of a gun connecting against flesh. I heard them drag him out of the truck and their footsteps retreated.

I stayed pressed against the bottom of the truck, my breathing heavy and my legs and arms shaking from the exertion. But despite it all, I couldn't feel bad for myself; the tears I cried were for Jai. He had sacrificed himself so that I wouldn't be found out. I would not let his sacrifice go to waste.

Auggie POV (few hours later)

I walked around the clusters of people in the meal tent, Parker at my elbow, talking away of all that I had to be done. I didn't hear a word she said; all that was running through my head was Annie. Her smile, her laugh, her distinct perfume, the way she made me want to drop whatever I was doing and go find her.

I didn't sleep much, well, actually I didn't sleep period; my mind played scenarios of her in danger, but this time, I wasn't in her ear telling her how to get out and keep her safe. Who was her handler now? I wondered, did she even have one for this op?

I felt panic begin to set in again, and my heart lurched at the thought of her getting hurt; I had to find her, I realized, I couldn't just let her leave me again. No, I couldn't stay here anymore.

"Parker," I whispered quietly, cutting her off mid-sentence, "can we go back into our tent? I have something to talk to you about."

She paused and I felt her eyes looking into mine.

"Auggie, what's wrong?"

"It's just something that needs to be said privately, Parker," I dodged her question.

"Alright," she said reluctantly and I felt her lead me away from the crowds of people and back out into the morning, desert air. It was still extremely early in the day; but I couldn't sleep so I had suggested that we go and get breakfast early.

"Parker, we need your signature on some things!" I heard a male voice call out, Jared, probably, I guessed.

She sighed, "Can't it wait?"

"Not really, they're about to head out with the supplies but we need your signature and your ok on some paper work first. It's a long drive, so they'll need all the time they can get."

"It's alright," I encouraged, "we can always talk later."

She pressed a soft kiss to my lips and I felt her hand squeeze mine, "I'll find you later, alright? Go back to the tent, I'll meet you there."

That was exactly where I intended to go, in fact. I walked briskly into our tent, my hand up against the walls as I walked towards what I thought was my bed. I pulled my bag out from underneath my bed and felt around inside it until my hand closed around a hard, metal object.

I pulled it out and flipped it open, running my fingers over the keyboard of the small satellite phone.

I dialed Joan's number from memory and pressed it to my ear, waiting.

"Auggie, what can I do for you?"

"Joan, I need to know the status of Annie and Jai, I assume you have a handler feeding them the necessary information?"

There was a light pause.

"Auggie, you don't have clearance into their op, you aren't read in."

Did I detect the slightest hint of hesitation in her voice?

"Then read me in," I almost growled.

"It's not that simple. I told you I couldn't tell you our last phone call, why would you think that my mind has changed in the slightest?"

I didn't have a response to that. She was right, I probably didn't have a right to know; but my heart was aching for her and my mind was spinning in circles in enigmatic questions that I didn't have the answers to.

"Joan, please," I almost begged, "just tell me that they haven't missed any check ins yet. I just want to know that they're ok."

I just want to know if Annie is still alive, out there, somewhere.

This pause was a lot more drawn out and when she answered, I definitely heard the hesitation.

"I can't do that, Auggie. I suggest you don't call me anymore unless it is to give me your resignation because I'm very busy right now. Good bye, Auggie."

The line went dead.

Joan POV

I sighed, getting up out of my chair and walking out of my office onto the catwalk, going down the stairs and into a Bill Nylon's office.

He looked like he hadn't slept in days; his eyes were bloodshot and he was almost screaming into his phone, looking extremely aggravated.

"Any luck?" I asked, sitting in one of the chairs.

He looked up, shocked, as if he hadn't heard me come in and shook his head.

"Dammit, I need a group out there now, John! A week from now won't cut it!" He slammed the phone down back into it's cradle, giving me his full attention.

"I'll assume they haven't checked in yet?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"No, god damn, the signal from the cell says that they're at the camp, but no one is answering! Jai hasn't called for three hours, Joan, they're off grid, basically."

"How soon can we get a team out to their last known location?" I asked, dreading the answer.

This was completely off book because technically speaking, the CIA wasn't suppose to be negotiating with terrorists. I had been working on this case for a while, going over their demands; $5 billion for our asset, and I couldn't get that money unless I pulled it from curious sources who would want to know what was going on.

So, I did the next best thing; I found myself a volunteer.

"Joan, we both know that we can't get a rescue team out there unless we find someone we trust; so far, the only one out there is Auggie and he is a liability. Plus, he may even be a target."

We were at a stalemate.

Annie POV

The acidic smell of the truck was making me dizzy as I slowly untangled myself from the bottom of the truck, my tears had long since dried up and my mind was spinning with possibilities. Jai wouldn't have left me in the dark like that, he would've given me something to work with.

I slowly shimmed out from underneath the truck, as soon as I was halfway out, I felt the sun instantly blind me and grimaced; my eyes had grown accustomed to the semi-darkness and the sun's rays were a blinding white.

I pulled the rest of my body free, my muscles making me feel as if I weighed three times my own weight. I glanced around, sitting up and pressing my back against the truck's passenger door. The cement building off to the side was surprisingly quiet, and I didn't see any lookouts in front, which was surprising.

I pulled myself up into a standing position, my legs shaking slightly. My calves still screamed from the exertion I had put on them a few hours ago, and sliding up into the passenger seat wasn't a great help.

I looked around, finding discarded wrappers from chocolate bars and food wrappers when suddenly, I heard the dull sound of a phone vibrating against metal.

Of course, I thought, he left his phone for me!

I scrambled towards the sound, and found the phone hidden between the two seats. I shoved my hand in between them and pulled it out, quickly answering it.

"Hello?" I whispered, my voice hoarse from lack of water.

"Thank god! Annie, right? Where the hell is Jai!"

I assumed it was Bill, he sounded as if God had just given him the greatest gift in the world.

"Yeah, they got him, Bill, where's the helicopter he had you call in earlier?" This was a last ditch move for a spy, running into a blind hostage situation outnumbered and with guns blazing, hoping for the best.

"The helicopter is on his way, he won't make it for a while; the pilot was held up with some last minute testing. I can give you a decent floor print of the camp, though."

I sighed, "I'm looking right at the damn thing. It doesn't look very big, to be honest. It's like a cement box, pretty small."

"No, the cement building is a decoy; they're underground. Jai was smart enough to activate his GPS chip I had installed in his watch."

I nodded, "OK, so how the hell do I get him out?"

He sighed, "You play the waiting game, Annie, which is never a fun one, but I can't give you anymore information. As soon as the helicopter gets here, I'll give you a call. But under no circumstances are you to leave without our asset, do you understand? This is under Joan's orders."

I nodded and quickly hung up. I climbed out of the truck and into the bright sunlight, thankful that the sand covered the sound of my footsteps, I made my way towards the cement building, peeking in the windows, I saw that the room was deserted.

Suddenly, I saw a door begin to open from underneath a rug and quickly ducked, my breath catching in my throat.

"Who is this man?"

"I do not know, he will not give up his reasons for being here."

"The shifts, they must be changed. Should we get rid of this location after sunset when we attack the real target or place extra shifts on the captures?"

There was a pause and I cautiously peeked in, both men had their back to me and I saw a pair of keys dangling from his belt.

"I would just get rid of this location. If the United States government want their asset back so badly, than they will eventually find him. As for the other one, he is collateral damage; he will be blown with the asset as well. They are of no use to them, we will not receive any more leverage or money with him."

"Alright, why don't you go down and inform Amil, I'll take first shift."

I watched as the dark haired man with the keys turned towards the entrance and instantly ducked down again. His companion slinked back underneath the door and it shut with a sense of finality.

I looked at my watch; it was about 12:09pm, I had about five to six more hours to get us the hell out of there.

I looked around, looking for what I could use and found Austin's body had been dragged behind the building and his jeep had been moved there as well. I took one last look at the guard, satisfied that he wouldn't notice from his bored expression, slinked towards the back of the building.

I felt sweat drip down my neck from my hair and smoothed the loose strands from my face; I felt a flush sweep over me from the sheer heat and my eyes narrowed; my exposed arms had already turned pink.

I climbed into the jeep as quietly as I could and was thankful when I found a backpack filled with three bottles of water, a first aid kit, a few granola bars, and a SIG Sauer. I smiled in relief and cracked open a bottle, taking a cautious sip.

I looked towards the building again, a plan forming in my head.

I would have to wait until when it was close to sundown, when they had all exited the camp. I would have to work quickly to get them both out but I didn't have a doubt that I could do it; no, I had to do it.

"Hang on, Jai," I whispered, and tucked the SIG into my pocket.

Now, I thought, the waiting game begins.