Hello all! Many thanks, as always, for the reviews and comments. I'm sitting in an airport with free wi-fi (yay!), so I'm taking this opportunity to update this story before I board my flight.

Later, gladiators! :)

- Neo

Chapter 12: All War is Deception

Farheed Davi was fast asleep when the phone rang.

ring, ring

"Britney, can you get that?" Davi murmured into his pillow.

ring, ring

When there was no response, he stretched out his arm and patted the other side of the bed. It was empty. The high-priced call girl he had hired for the evening had left without saying good-bye. Davi sat up in bed, turned on the lamp and looked at the nightstand. His money clip containing $500 was gone. "Bitch," he muttered under his breath.

ring, ring. ring, ring.

Davi looked at the phone. It was 2 o'clock in the morning in Washington, D.C. Who was calling him at this hour?

The phone stopped ringing. "Good. Didn't want to talk to you anyway," Davi thought to himself.

He rolled out of bed and picked up his bathrobe, which had dropped to the floor when Britney went to work on him earlier. He smirked at the lewd memory of the beautiful, blonde haired blue-eyed All-American cheerleader type kneeling down and servicing him. These American girls, they're all such whores, willing to spread their legs for any man with money, he thought. He was walking to the bathroom when the phone trilled again.

ring, ring

Davi turned around and picked up the phone.

"Yes?"

"We got the girl and her friend," said a deep, husky voice at the other end of the line.

"What?" Davi said, surprised.

"I said, we made the grab. We got the girl, Olivia Pope and…"

"WHAT? You idiot! You had precise instructions to make the grab AFTER her visit to the Pakistani girl's academy," Davi yelled into the phone, his eyes bulging out of their sockets.

"I know, but something came up and my men had to…improvise," said the deep voice.

"Improvise? IMPROVISE?" Davi hissed. "My government isn't paying your crew of misfits to improvise! What the hell happened?"

"Not exactly sure. We think our driver did or said something that tipped off the girl and her friends."

"I don't believe this. I can't believe what I'm hearing," Davi said, angrily. "Please tell me that you at least had the good sense to put a bullet in that man's brain."

"Yeah, we did kill the driver, but my crew left that weird CIA guy behind on the side of the highway."

"What are you saying?" Davi said, worried. "Are you saying that Huck is still alive?"

"Is that what his name was?" came the reply. "I don't know whether he's alive or not. My men left him for dead on the side of the highway."

"How stupid can you be?" Davi yelled, exasperated. "That man is a former black ops assassin for the CIA. You better hope that he's dead because the only way he's not coming after you is if he is six feet under."

"Come after me? Me?" said the husky voice, laughing. "You must be joking. All roads lead back to YOU, my friend. I've made sure of that. So don't you EVER forget it."

"Is that a threat? Are you threatening me?" Davi yelled into the phone receiver.

"No, just a reminder, that you and your country have way more to lose than I do," said the husky voice in a low voice laced with menace. "After all, people expect the worst from me. I'm a rogue freelance terrorist who works for the highest bidder, while you, on the other hand…well, let's just say that the Americans would never forgive your country if the truth ever came out."

Davi was silent. He knew that what the man on the other end was saying was true. The trap that he had laid out for Olivia Pope had ensnared her, and although its initial stage had not gone according to plan, he couldn't pull the plug now.

"You kidnapping the woman a week ahead of our previously agreed to schedule is going to make my life difficult. This plan is going to be harder to pull off," Davi said. "There were certain things that I needed to happen before the kidnapping in order to make sure this plan succeeds."

"Well, that's not my problem now is it?" was the response. "Look, if it weren't for my men, this entire operation would've been blown to pieces and shut down today by that Huck character. You've got me to thank that your precious plan wasn't completely derailed."

Davi slammed down the phone in frustration. Absentmindedly, he ran a hand through his thinning, greasy hair. The kidnapping of Olivia Pope had happened sooner than he had requested, but now that the deed was done, he would have to adapt and readjust the plan accordingly. First thing tomorrow morning he would confirm that the bank wire transfer had been made.

He went to the bathroom, turned on the faucet and splashed water on his face. This plan to bring down the President of the United States could not fail. It would not fail. He stood up, looked into the mirror at his reflection and smiled.

Author's Note: This Davi character is serious bad news. Thanks to this phone conversation we've just listened in on, we now know that Davi isn't just some individual trying to take down the POTUS but he's actually got the backing of some foreign government to undermine Fitz. Hmmm, which country do you think that could be? And what's this about a money wire transfer? Conspiracy theorists, unite! :) Post your guesses in the review section.

Until next time...