Author's Note: Fasten your seatbelts, gladiators. This is going to be a bumpy ride!

Chapter 15: The Shadow of Death

First there was no sound. Then came the voice of a man speaking a foreign language. It sounded like he was counting, as though he was doing a sound check, a version of "testing 1,2, testing 1,2."

When the camera finally came into focus, it captured an unsettling scene. Seated on chairs with their hands tied behind their backs were Olivia and Stephen. A man, obviously one of their Taliban captors, was circling them like a shark. Olivia leaned forward and the glint of something around her neck captured the attention of her captor.

"What's this? A key? A key to what?" he said, ripping the gold key pendant from around Olivia's neck.

"None of your damn business," Olivia spat out.

"Why did you come to Pakistan? Are you an American spy?"

"No."

"Are you an agent of the CIA?"

"No."

"Why did you come to Pakistan? Who do you work for? Who sent you here?"

"I told you before. We came here to visit a girl's academy. We came here to help."

"Help? What sort of help could you give a Pakistani girl? Are you Muslim?"

"No."

"So, why would you want to help?"

"Cy, what the hell is this?" Fitz asked confused. Moments before Cyrus had summoned Fitz, CIA Director Cameron Reynolds and National Security Advisor Ian MacMillan to the White House Situation Room.

"Sir, I received a link to this video today. We're not sure who sent it or where it came from," Cyrus replied.

"Is this some sort of twisted, sick joke? Olivia is here in Washington," Fitz said. "Cyrus, I told you this morning to bring Olivia to the White House. Where is she?"

"Sir, please, you need to see this video. Olivia is not here. She's in Pakistan."

"Cy, stop talking nonsense. I know that Olivia is here in D.C. so if you won't bring her to the White House, I'll get someone who will." Fitz, who was standing, reached across the conference room table and started to punch in a code on the phone. Cyrus leaned over, placed his hand on top of Fitz's and hung it up.

"Sir, you need to see this." Cy said quietly.

The video continued to play on the large flat screen monitor at the front of the room.

"Are you an American spy?"

"No."

"We know that you and your friends were sent here to spy on us. You are an unmarried female who traveled to this country with two unmarried men. You are a whore. You are an infidel. The punishment for whores and infidels is death."

The Taliban captor picked up a long sword and began wiping it down with a filthy towel. Another one of the captors came up behind Olivia and Stephen and abruptly tipped them out of their chairs and onto their knees. Their hands were still tied behind their backs. Stephen began to recite the 23rd Psalm from the Bible:

"The Lord is my Shepherd,

I shall not want,

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures…."

"Are you an American spy?"

"NO!" Olivia said defiantly.

The Taliban captor held the sword up to the camera and slowly tipped it back and forth, back and forth, so that the light bounced off the shiny blade. The glint of the steel blinked a sadistic wink at the camera. The Taliban man went and stood behind Stephen.

"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for thou art with me…

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies…"

Olivia, who was still on her knees, turned her head slightly and saw the sword raised above Stephen's head. An unbridled panic consumed her body and a look of horror transformed her face. "No, no, no, NO,NO,NOOOO! I'll give you anything you want! I'll tell you anything you want!"

"You have one last chance. Why did you come to Pakistan? Are you an American spy?"

Olivia was shaking uncontrollably. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Stephen continued to recite the Bible:

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever…"

And just as Olivia was about to lie and say "yes, I am a spy" in a vain attempt to save Stephen's life, the sword came down like a guillotine and sliced through his neck as though it were butter. Stephen's head dropped and rolled off to the side. Blood from his severed neck spurted everywhere and splattered one side of Olivia's face. She screamed in horror and then the video went dead.

An unearthly quiet filled the Situation Room. The color drained from the POTUS' face. In a low, hoarse voice, practically a whisper, he said, "I need the room," to no one in particular. Cam and Mac walked out in silence, but Cyrus stayed behind. "Mr. President, we need to…"

"Cyrus, that includes you. Leave. Now." Fitz said in an unexpectedly calm voice.

Cyrus left. As soon as the room was empty, Fitz's knees buckled underneath him and he collapsed into a chair. His mind went completely blank. It was as though someone had pressed pause on his cerebral cortex and he was unable to think. Then suddenly a wave of nausea overcame him and he puked his guts out into a nearby trashcan.

Author's Note: Stephen's dead. Olivia is now 100% completely alone and isolated. Fitz is in a state of shock. Can things get any worse?