NationStates Jolt Archive

Nadia's head swam under the stress. She was not expecting Miles to ignore her, and she was not expecting General Kasagawa's case to make such a radical change. There was nothing left to stop Malakov from taking over the Defense Ministry and nuking Midlonia.

She walked out of the Defense Ministry, still dressed as a civilian woman with a backpack. Nadia called her mother for a ride home. She would probably stay a few days, now that she knew her daughter was pregnant.

"I haven't been able to get ahold of Miles, he ran off. General Malakov said that he attacked him, and not to turn my back on him. I don't think I trust him, but I'm worried about Miles," said Nadia when she was in her mother's car.

"I'll give him 24 hours, then we can file a missing person's report and call the Embassy. Let's get home."

"What did you want to tell me earlier?"

Katriana shook her head sadly. "Your father stayed behind in Al-Bahr, to fight in the Doomani resistance. He... I don't know if he's going to live, the Doomani activity has increased rapidly there, and I don't like the sound of it. I tell myself that he survived everything from the Holocaust to the mass bombardments we've had, but... his luck's going to run out one of these days, I keep telling him. So, what happened with Simon?"

"Sion," Nadia corrected. "Haven't seen him since Kraven, we got separated. Lord only knows what happened to him." It was even more of a blow; she wasn't sure of her father's safety, and she'd been reminded of an old friend who she hadn't seen in some time...

Miles roamed around the city. Slowly he started to notice that it was getting darker, then it became completely dark. Stopping he saw a bench. Miles needed a place to rest. His legs felt like jelly. Miles sat down at the bench and looked up toward the sky. The stars could be seen tonight and it was a soundless night. It was utter silent. All of this was foolish and a waste of time. He had abandoned Nadia and General Kasagawa. He was a coward and ran off, but the act he had done was out of rage and hatred. It had been completely wrong. The feeling had been horrible.

Miles got up, and walked down the abandon street. Looking at his watch it was almost 12 am. Wandering the city he had seen some soldiers, but he had tried to avoid them. Around 2 in the morning he finally pasted by his native country's embassy. If you tried to go there now he would be a failure for giving up. In all of the history of the Canadstein Intelligence Agency not one agent had given up. Would Miles really be the first one?


Shaking his head, he carried on and checked into a motel for the remainder of the night. He was defiantly split on returning of leaving. Another thought was if the Kahanistan government was trying to find him. Too many thoughts...

Nadia woke up at 4 AM, unable to sleep. She had tried several times to call Miles, but not gotten a response.

She sat up the rest of the night, unable to think of what to do to stop Malakov. She would need evidence against him, and she wouldn't be able to get into his computer...

Nadia showered and dressed in jeans and a Hooters T-shirt, given her by a friend as a joke. She pulled on her leather jacket, inside which was a holster capable of carrying her Beretta. Nadia also put on a couple of necklaces that had sat in her drawer for years; she rarely wore jewelry and wanted a new look. She walked out on the street, her cell on a chain around her neck and her hair left to hang down around her face. She easily looked about half of her 32 years if one overlooked her bulging stomach.

Miles woke up in some motel. The sun was rising in distance. He smelled and looked like a wreck. His back was leaning against a wall. Miles coughed for a minute, and then looked out of the window. What had he become in literally in twelve hours? He was pretty much dirt. Miles had disappeared into the underbelly of this city.

Miles checked out of the motel and decided on wandering the streets. He needed more time to think. Looking at a nearby window, he did not look like the same man. His face was dirty and his cloths were torn up. Slowly he looked away and looked toward the ground. He saw the people near him were looking at him or simply ignoring him. Miles had become something.

As he walked Miles thought about Nadia. He had especially let her down. Miles ran out and abandoned her. It was sick feeling. What should he do? So many problems and not enough answers. Miles walked up to a soldier. "Is there any news on the recent case of General Kasagawa?"

The corporal outside the Kahanistan National News headquarters nodded. "Rumor has it that the case against her will be dismissed. The analysts think that since she's resigned from her post, she most likely is not a Doomani collaborator, and the courts don't want to be involved in witch hunts for Catholics."

The man's nametag and rank insignia identified him as Corporal Bates. "As for me... maybe we'll actually get some decent rations, and more training time now that Malakov's in power. Not like during the Doomani war, when we fielded old rusty cars and fought against the Doomani Imperators. Now those are fine pieces of machinery."

"Unlucky bastard...only if you knew" Miles muttered, so it couldn't be heard by Cpl. Bates. This kid had no idea what was coming for him. Miles knew that he could stop it from coming, but he was just torn. So many people would die. This country was honestly on the brink of war. Miles felt some sympathy for Cpl. Bates. This guy might not make it out of the coming war. Another life loss of bloody land. It was an utter waste. "Hey Bates are you ready to die?"

"What?" asked the corporal. He was a young man of about twenty, who had only fought in a couple of skirmishes with the Doomies. He was completely taken off guard by the question which seemingly had come out of the blue.

"Ready to die for land? Because thats all your going to end your life for. Nothing more. Nothing less. Plus think about your family." Miles guessed right. This kid was defiantly a green soldier. Bates hadn't seen true combat. Miles had seen men die in his arms begging for their mothers. He had been disturbing.

"For land? You mean, like imperialism and stuff? Try asking the average Doomani soldier that," replied the young man. He smoothed his dirty blond hair with his gloved hands under his helmet as he adjusted it.

"'Course, he'll just say, 'Deus vult!' at the top of his lungs. That's what they think, that God wills them to die taking land for the Global Crusade. Us, we fight and die to preserve our freedoms. Land has nothing to do with it, except for the land we've built our homes on and raised our families on." Bates seemed to have believed what his drill sergeants and recruiters had told him.

---

Nadia was still walking aimlessly through the streets of Metzuda. Occasionally she would talk to someone on her cell, trying to get an idea of where Miles would have gone. In desperation she'd even asked a few street people, and had to get lunch for one of them who later turned out to have been on drugs and seen a rat he thought fit the description Nadia had given him. She was about to give up looking for him and file a missing persons report.

'Exactly what a good soldier is suppose to tell you.' Miles thought. Bates was just another brain washed soldiers. He only fought for what the government told him. Bates was like any other soldiers he saw. Of course they quickly changed overtime when seeing combat or when they were bleeding all over the place. That would change their views. Bates was a pretty good kid, but ate up the stuff the government told him. "Hey kid you want to get some to eat once you get off duty? It will be my treat. We can go anywhere you want."

"Sure," said the soldier. "My favorite is a French restaurant down the road, even though I can't pronounce half the stuff on the menu... Call me Hank. And you are...?" He was eager to relax once he got off duty, and didn't mind associating with the "bum." Probably a refugee from the Eternal Kawaii, or a Doomani political dissident, he thought. Certainly someone to discuss views with.

Ooc: Msn! Very Urgent!

"Ahhh...I forgot about that. Its Miles Mason. So what time do you get off of duty for the next meal." Miles had no earthly idea what time it was currently. For the last couple of hours he had been a mere wanderer. Pulling back his jacket he revealed an old heirloom watch Miles had gotten from his grandfather. The hands were ticking and it was still in a good condition. "Its almost noon, so I'm guessing a late lunch."

"Well, I got put on sentry duty at 0500, so I'll be free at 1300 hours. Got to pick up my L.T. from the barracks at 1400, so I've got about 45 minutes I can squeeze in. Where're you from, anyway? You aren't from around here."

---

Nadia had given up looking for Miles. She'd looked everywhere she could think of that he would go, with no trace of him. She'd dealt with drunks, cretins in bars who groped her, and overbearing police officers she'd encountered who said outright to give it up. She went into the Defense Ministry building and to her office.

"Alright, so guess I can wait for a hour. But about that question asking where I'm from. All I'm going to say is not from this country. I'm just trying to disappear from some people. Thats all you need to know kid." Miles said as faced Hank. Hank was a pretty good kid, but was still too young to know anything about the real world.

"Political dissident, huh? Not a problem by me. We take almost any dissident that comes down the pike, nobody should be persecuted for their beliefs. That's what we fight for, Miles."

The soldier leaned against a light pole, his Hali-53 at the ready. He couldn't stand up for another hour.

Thirty minutes later, he spoke again. "So, who are you disappearing from?"

"People thats all you need to know Bates. People I let down...and abandoned" Miles said as he stared blankly into the nearby buildings. He couldn't tell Bates that much because that might be a risk and Miles could be found. Miles never wanted to be dragged out again.

"Whatever, man." He looked at his watch. "Got about ten minutes till my shift's up." He crawled under his modified Merkava IV main battle tank into a door, which he used to enter and start it up. Once the engine was started, he rolled out.

"I'm getting off duty in three minutes. Bet you've never ridden in a tank before. Care to go down the street?"

"Yeah that would be nice. Though it might be odd for a person like me to be getting into a tank." Miles replied as he shrugged, then got onto the tank's tread. Miles had ridden on some tanks before, but he was usually getting shot at. Now Miles had situated himself near the cannon of the tank. He screamed out and pointed his hand with a finger out in the air. "HI HO SILVER AWAY!"

The tank rumbled down the street for four blocks. Hank floored the gas and nodded to Miles. "Feel free to take a few shots with the machine gun, you can load that tracer belt up in it but don't go all out or hurt anyone," he said calmly.

"Its fine kid. I don't want to scare any of the populace." Miles said as he turned toward Bates with a grin. As the city streets rolled by he wondered where Nadia was right now. She was probably still working on the case, while he was out on a joy ride. "So Bates why did you want to join the army?"

"Well, after the Pwnage war last year I signed up to join the reserves, had to protect the country and all. Of course, the war ended before I could even finish basic training, but I still went through, finished training. The Sarzonians say that freedom is... only free if you fight for it. Of course, I didn't get to fight anything till the Doomies came and I was out of tank school."

He turned and looked at Miles. "Got something on your mind?"

"Something, but it isn't worth talking about. Its mostly about a girl..." Miles just nodded his head. Thoughts raced through his head. He could not think anymore. Everything was just a mess, an utter complete mess. This kid had it somewhat easier than Miles had it. Bates did not have a care in the world, except for fear of a brewing war. "Bates, do you have a girl waiting for you back home?"

"A guy, actually," said Hank. "I'm gay." Homosexuality was quite well-tolerated in Kahanistan; many high-ranking generals and politicians were openly homosexual or bisexual. "He's a Marine. Big, muscled guy, you'd never think he was anything but one hundred percent hetero."

"But I think I know what you're talking about, we love just the same way you do," he continued. "We worry about each other all the time, about if we'll ever see each other again."

Miles was taken back by the statement that Bates had made. He still had odd feelings about homosexuals. It was a very touch subject for him to discuss and it other made Miles feel awkward. But Bates probably felt the same love for that marine, that Miles felt for Nadia. His eyes started to water, but Miles held them back. "Bates...do you believe in your government?"

"'Course I do," said Hank. "I'm here in a tank, ready to protect it from the Midlonians, aren't I?" he asked. The young man opened the hatch of his tank.

"I'm not saying love it or leave it, but if you don't believe in your government, you might as well move to Doomingsland and try to do something about our government from there."

"Yeah I guess so..." said Miles. By talking to Bates it helped realize what he had to do. He tapped Bates on the shoulder. "We have to head for the Ministry of Defense. Someone's life could end if I don't get there. We have to go now. Sorry about calling off the lunch plan, but this is urgent. I will get you lunch some other time."

"I'll go with you. If someone's life is at stake, I want to be there. What's the deal?"

He turned the tank toward the Ministry building. "The chest in the corner has a few dozen MRE's, and chemical heaters, help yourself."

"I'm too sick in the stomach for food right now. To tell you the truth Bates, I was helping your government on the Kasagawa case. Things got out of hand, and I ran. I kept on running until I was literally lost. I ran away because I did something horribly wrong, but I have to finish this case." Miles replied as he situated himself in the tank.

"Glad to see you've realized running away isn't the answer, mate." He signaled a left turn for the Ministry. "The truth will out, Miles. Even when they dismiss the charges, there will be a controversy over her, she won't be likely to even remain a general." Kasagawa had resigned from the Defense Ministry, but still held a five-star rank.

"Tell me, what'd you do? Sell classified weapon designs to the Doomies?" Bates joked.

"Yeah, I'm not going to run away any more. I need to face my fears. I will not let Kasagawa's life be ruined because of some traitor who is trying to frame her." Miles chuckled at Bates' joke. "No, I would never work with any Doomanis. I work for the Canadstein Intelligence Agency. I was brought in here to help with this case. I have no idea why they picked me or why my country is getting involved. Hey kid you have a spare handgun? I kind of dropped mine."

Miles knew that he need another firearm for the time being. He did not want to go back into that building without a gun.

"Canadstein, huh? There's a rumor going around that they've got people in the Negev. If that's true, I'm damn scared for them, the Inquisition's got ways of making people rat on their mothers." He handed Miles a Beretta, underneath the body armor and helmets.

"Who do you reckon is trying to frame her? Personally, I think she's guilty, but the justice system will find that out for itself." He opened the hatch in full combat gear and crawled out.

"Yeah we have a couple agents out there. I just hope that they make it out of that country. When we are going through basic training they tell us of the horror stories inside Doomani held land. It sounds like hell." Miles replied. "Well who is framing her is a secret and I can't tell you, but I believe that she is innocent."

Miles checked the magazine and loaded it back into the Beretta. Hoping out of the tank, Miles saw the Ministry of Defense. He turned his face and nodded. "Let's getting going."

Miles and Bates went forward to the Ministry of Defense.

Bates was still carrying his Hali-53 assault rifle and wearing full combat gear. One of the guards grabbed Miles as soon as he stepped in.

"You're the punk that roughed up General Malakov, aren't you?" he said in a surly tone, looking down at him like a bouncer might look down at a drunk.

Miles wasn't going to take any shit from these damn goons. "Get your damn hands off of me, unless you want a confrontation. Do you? So get your fucking dirty hands off of me..."

Miles hand was near the Beretta, but he would not pull it out unless things got messy.

The soldier grabbed Miles by the hand and pressed him against the wall. "Get out, punk. We aren't going to let you in here, stirring up trouble."

Miles pushed the soldier back and looked at him. "I'm telling you more one time. Get your dirty paws off of me. If you don't, then seriously hell will come for you. Aww...screw it you bastard."

Miles' foot went straight into the soldier's groin. As the soldier was starting to go down, Miles elbowed him in the back. "Bates are you going to help me or not?"

The soldier who was trying to restrain Miles went down like a tree, clutching his balls and groaning. He had a pinched nerve and couldn't feel his legs.

"You didn't actually rough him up, did you?" Bates moved into the way of the approaching backup sentry.

"He's with me, he won't be roughing anyone up here." He was still not willing to get into a confrontation with his own troops.

"Hey I told him to lay off, but no he pushed me against a wall. He could have stopped, but I had to take care of him." As Miles walked back he gave the downed soldier one more shift kicked. He walked a couple of steps and looked at the other soldier. "Come on. Do you honestly what to fight me?"

Miles just shook his head and kept on walking.

The man pulled out his radio. "We've got an intruder, he's with a soldier, must have gone rogue or something. I think he's trying to kill General Malakov." He sat back down, knowing that Miles wouldn't get far. There was no way in hell he could fight through 50 or so guards.

"You dumb bastard..." Miles said as he shook his head. He grabbed the soldier and sent him flying to a nearby window. Quickly Miles opened the front door and ran as fast as he could to a nearby stairwell. That dumb soldier thought that Miles was going to kill Malakov. He had no intention to even see Malakov again. Running up the stairs, he needed to either get to Nadia or hid somewhere. Seeing a nearby door he opened it. It revealed a long hallway with door. Miles started to run down it, but stopped at one of the door and opened. He fell to the ground.

Nadia's office was two floors above the room where Miles had gone. While she spent most of her time at the Academy these days, she did occasionally check in at her office in the Defense Ministry, where she would meet with Defense Ministry personnel from the Bureau of Military Education, or with test pilots she needed to train in conjunction with higher-ranking Defense Ministry officials involved in the design of new planes.

Today, she was in her office trying to figure out how to remotely access Malakov's computer. The young woman was sitting in her chair, her feet on the desk, and her computer sitting under her chest, on top of her baby. She'd managed to figure his IP address after extensive searching, and was now running various passwords through her computer. Malakov, in his office, was completely unaware of Nadia's efforts, though she would take hours to even locate the password.

---

A squad of soldiers were chasing Miles and Hank up the stairwell. One of them fired a shot over their heads. "Give yourselves up! You're under arrest!"

"Bate help me barricade the door. We are not going to let those damn soldiers in here." Miles pushed a large bookcase and file cabinet onto the door. He hoped that it would hold for now. Taking out the Beretta, he held it in his hand and practiced aiming. Miles saw down at a chair and watched the barricade. "Bates you don't have to help me anymore. I don't want you to get involved. It seems like my final chapter is about to come, and I need to face it alone."


Miles eyed the door waiting for it to burst open. He did not want to kill those poor bastards on the other side, but would if he had to.

The soldier shook his head as he moved the case. "I'm trapped here now, too. We're in the same boat." He locked and loaded his weapon.

"You might want to call whoever you're here to see," he said. He began setting up his Hali-53 up on a makeshift tripod, preparing to open fire. "Whoever you wanted to see might be able to get these guards to back off." He nodded to a phone laying on the desk.

"I guess trying never hurt anyone." Miles walked to the phone and paused for a second. He could not remember Nadia's phone number. It was just a totally blank in his mind. The two of them were just buying time until they both died. A numbing feeling overcame Miles. They were going to be either captured or have lots of holes in them. Miles had finally lost the game. He sat down dumbfounded. Looking at the pistol he pointed it toward his head. This was one way out of here. "Bye Nadia...I will miss thee...."

Hank grabbed the gun. "It isn't worth killing yourself, Miles, no matter what you did," he said. The phone had a list of numbers for members of the Ministry and generals; nobody was expected to memorize hundreds of phone numbers.

"What's your real story?" he asked. The young man clearly wanted to know why he was risking his life for this man.

"What real story...there is no story. Its just a...pile of shit..." Miles said as he got up frantically looked through the phone list. Things seemed very grim to Miles. If he was going down, he was going to take some people with him. Finding her number Miles called Nadia. He heard it ring and held the handgun in his hand. If some soldiers charged through the door. Miles would be waiting to kill. Sweat rolled down his face. The room had a very tense atmosphere.

"General Sklenova." The sweet, female, Gaza-accented voice came over the line. She was in her office, answering her cell call.

Meanwhile, Bates was digging fresh magazines out of his rucksack, readying himself to load one in after firing off the last one, should he end up firing his weapon.

The soldiers could be heard calling outside for a battering ram to knock down the door.

Miles paused when he heard Nadia's voice. His whole body was numb and motionless. Then he quickly came to his senses when he heard the soldiers outside. It sounded like they were going knock the door in.

"Nadia...it's Miles...I'm going to need your help. Another soldier and me are being attacked by some of the Ministry of Defense Guards. They thought I was going to try to kill Malakov. This one soldier pushed me too far, so I took him down. Now we barricaded ourselves in a room, and we need you to call off the guards. If you don't then some people are going to die..." Miles said in somber tone. He was about to put the phone back in its place, but had to say one more thing. "Nadia...if I die here...just remember that I love you..."

Miles put the phone back, the quickly braced himself for the soldiers assault.

"OK..." Nadia seemed shocked. It wasn't that she wasn't used to thinking under pressure, but this was not something she'd envisioned dealing with.

"Where are you? I'll be there as soon as I can."

Bates turned to Miles. "That barricade won't hold much longer, and we're about three floors from the ground. Any way to shorten the drop, or break a fall?"

Miles had already put the phone back before he could hear Nadia's question. He looked at door and hoped that Nadia would soon come. Another file cabinet was pushed in front of the door. Hopefully that would buy them sometime. Though if Nadia never came they needed a plan out. Bates had come up with on good option. Miles moved over toward the window. The drop wasn't that high up, but he could break a leg still. Then he could be easily caught. Quickly he looked around for anything that could cushion their fall. Seeing a nearby couch he got one end of it. "Its the best we could do for right now. Help me get the other end. We are going to throw it out the window."

Bates picked up the couch. "The window's too narrow, it won't go through."

The door was starting to crack, and sounds of gunfire could be heard outside.

"Looks like they'll try to blow the door in, it's only a matter of time before they start using grenades."

"Well we could always just jump out the window." Miles replied with a stern voice. He started to pace around the room wondering what to do.

Just as a grenade ripped the door off the hinges, a woman's voice called out, "Stop!" followed by two pistol shots into the ceiling.

"What's going on here?" the voice demanded.

"General Sklenova. Two assassins broke in here and tried to kill General Malakov. We've got them trapped in that office."

Hearing Nadia's voice, Miles head moved toward the door. Pushed the stuff out of the door way, and slowly opened it with his hands up. As he pushed the door, it fell down. He looked at the door and started to laugh. Coming into the hallway, he dropped his Beretta and looked at the soldiers.

The soldiers trained their weapons on Miles and Hank, ordering them in loud voices to drop their weapons.

"Throw down your weapons and put your hands above your heads, NOW!"

Nadia walked through the mass of soldiers. "How did this get started...?" she asked.

Hank, complying with the orders of the soldiers, threw down his weapon and stood against the wall. "She the one you wanted to see?" he asked, looking in Nadia's direction.

"If you going to shoot go ahead and do it now." Miles pointed to a spot on his chest indicating where to aim at. These soldiers were just a bunch of goons for Malakov. With soldiers under his command he could lead a coup against the government. It was pathetic. Once he saw Nadia get through the group of soldiers, his heat started to melt. "Nadia first call off this 'soldiers'."

Miles stepped back and turned around to face Bates. Miles started to whisper into Bates' ear. "Yeah General Sklenova, why is there something I should know about her?"

Bates shook his head. "Nothing I can think of," he said. "But you might want to put that weapon down."

Nadia turned to the commander of the soldiers. "Major, you can stand your troops down, I'll handle things from here."

"General, these are assassins, they're dangerous. The guy he took down is in the hospital with testicular torsion. We'll have to press charges, I don't see a way around this."

"Let me handle their interrogation, Major," said Nadia. She was only 5'5", but she could be intimidating when she had to be. "I'll take things from here, you'll only start a gunfight."

The soldiers began to disperse. Nadia turned to Miles and Hank.

"Miles. Corporal. Come with me, there are things we need to talk about, in my office. Room 572.

---

POST #3333!

Miles picked up his Beretta from the ground and looked up at Nadia. This was the woman that he had let down. He had abandoned and left her. Right now a feeling of awkwardness was building up in his stomach. Nadia was the woman that he loved, then why did he leave her? Miles was guessing it was the the spur of the moment. He needed to remind himself not to act on emotions, but act on knowledge.

He paused for a second as he looked at Nadia, and caught his breath. Then he returned to his upright position. Very awkward indeed. Miles turned toward Bates and gulped. This room was very tense at the moment, and was as though it was an itch that Miles could not scratch. Miles did not say anything, and just followed Nadia. So far this day had been way too stressful.

They arrived in Nadia's office. She pulled up two chairs and picked up three glasses from a shelf below her water cooler. "Care for anything to drink?" she asked stonily.

Hank nodded and sat down in one of the chairs across from Nadia's desk. "Yes, please."

Miles arrived at her office and sat down in a nearby chair. He could feel that Nadia felt angry at him. This made Miles very upset. He hated when he let people down or made a woman angry or sad. The whole incident was very out of character for Miles. Nothing like this had ever happened before. A chilling feeling rippled through his spine. It was all wrong. When Nadia offered replied with a one word answer. "No..."

Miles pushed the glass toward Nadia. It was frighten to look now into her beautiful gray eyes. They showed her emotions. Miles turned away from her. "Nadia lets just get down to why I am here. I don't want to dance around the problem."

The young woman took Miles by the hand and stared into his eyes for the first time.

"Miles, tell me. What did you do here? How did this get started?"

"I just came back here to help you with the case. I knew what I did was wrong and I let you down Nadia. Guilt got to me, so I came back. When Bates and me were going to get into the Ministry of Defense this soldier started to push me. Next thing you pushed me into a wall. They thought I was going to try to kill Malakov. I had enough of that crap, so I took down that soldier. The other soldier was going to attack me, so I threw him into a window. Bates and me just run off into the building...and the rest is history. We barricaded ourselves in a office, and then you came." Miles stated. He held Nadia's hand and looked at her. Miles had defiantly fallen for this beauty. "Corporal Bates can back up my story."

"We went in, and immediately the soldiers thought we were assassins or something." The soldier nodded his head. "I don't know why they thought this."

Nadia nodded. "The general said that you attacked him... I don't believe him, but he could have told the soldiers to not let you in. If that's the case, I'm taking a serious risk by protecting you. Legally..." she lifted her head and looked up toward the ceiling. "Legally, you broke into the Defense Ministry, assaulted a sentry on duty, resisted arrest... do you have any idea how many other felonies you might have committed?"

She gulped down her glass and refilled it from her cooler. "I'll cover for you. But in the meantime, try to control your temper with these people. You could have ruined that soldier's testicles," she said. Nadia spoke with a seriousness she had never used with Miles before.

"What was the reason you ran past me yesterday and didn't even answer your cell phone? I was worried sick that you were going to get yourself killed out there. You can't keep doing this to me, Miles. I could lose the baby if I get subjected to too much stress."

"Well guess what Nadia, I don't deny that I attacked Malakov. That bastard had it coming with that damn grin. I had enough of him. He framed her and I don't want him to get away with it. All I'm going to tell you is that he got what he deserved. The same with those two damn goons you call 'soldiers'." Miles commented as he looked at the nearby window. He would not hide from the truth. The act against Malakov had been made, and there was no need to cover it up.

"I don't care how many damn felonies I have...I just want to get the case cleared up. If they come to arrest me, then they will. But I have to evade them and try to make it back to my native land. As an agent for the Canadstein government we can never be caught. If I am caught, then Canadstein government will destroy any records of me existing, and say that a Miles Mason never existed. It is merely for the safety of the country and people. I know the consequences of my job, but I guess I'm still doing it." He replied with a monotone voice.

Miles turned back toward Nadia. This was the most serious Miles had ever seen Nadia. This was probably the way she spoke to most of the soldiers. Miles hadn't really seen the real Nadia. "The reason I ran by you and did not answer your calls because I felt ashamed of what I did to Malakov. I had know idea how you would react to it. I could not bear to see you. So I just ran, and had to think about what I did. Nadia, to help you I want you to stop caring about you. I don't want the baby to be hurt because of me. I'm not going to let that happen. I need to fight this battle alone...so don't worry please?"

OOC: Good job on the 3,333 post.

Nadia smiled. "You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of," she said. She got up and put her arms around Miles. "There are times when I'd like to do that myself. Just don't scare me like that."

Her voice became serious again. "I don't see why you have to do this alone, unless there's something you aren't telling me. The charges against General Kasagawa were dismissed this morning for 'lack of evidence.' I don't buy it myself, I figure Malakov's not interested in pursuing the case now that he's removed her from the Defense Ministry."

She sighed deeply. This was the first time she'd openly stated that she thought that the general was involved in a framery. "I'll help you get back to Canadstein if that's what you want. But I want to impress upon you that if I help you, I'm putting my own reputation on the line here, and if you fuck up... I risk prosecution for aiding a fugitive. My career goes down the tubes, and I can go to prison for a long time."

"Now, tell me, Miles... why do you have to do this alone, and what do you have to do alone? I won't let you go on some vendetta. I may not like General Malakov, but I can't have you smacking him every time he gets on your nerves. If I did that, I'd never stop smacking him."

Miles relished the moment when Nadia put her arms around him. He could feel her warmth and feeling. It was a beautiful moment for Miles. Miles wished that they could be together forever, but that was just a fantasy. He sighed and listened to her. Then he whispered into her ear. "I'm not going to run away again. This case is either going to be completed or they will have to drag me screaming out of this building. If this is the last thing I do, then so be it. At least I tried to do the right thing. You already stated why I wanted to do it alone. I didn't want to ruin your life and babies' live. I don't want you to be sent to prison just because of my faults."

Miles kissed her tender cheek, and held her. He was being honest. Nadia had come along fairly well, and Miles did not want to ruin it. Miles continued to whisper into her ear. "Though if things do come to worse and I have to escape. I'm offering you a change to come with me. We can live together in a more peaceful setting. No more war. No more fighting. Just peace and bliss."

Miles started to erupt into tears after he said that. Those words came down deep from his heart. He started to regain composure. "But lets get back to finding if Malakov framed Kasagawa."

He let go of Nadia and looked at her. Nadia was a beautiful rose in a field of snow. Utter beauty in the eyes of Miles.

"Well... I did find this, when I was searching. I managed to crack his password, it wasn't that robust," she said, her voice cracking. "I also ran it through some translation software, but the grammar sucks. Sorry about that."

Nadia's eyes began to water over. She showed Miles a text file.

PROJECT LOKI

Phase 1: Initiate alterations of power in the Ministry of the Defense.

Phase 2: Build strength of military forces expel foreign military.

Phase 3: Increase power of projection with naval expanding.

Phase 4: Develop missile capable to reliably penetrating Doomani and Whyatican nuclear defense.

Phase 5: Punish Whyatica for opening to Midlonian attack. Also punish Doomingsland and Automagfreek for crime against humans. Deport all Catholics.

Miles was speechless as he looked at the file. This certainly had to be enough proof. "Who cares if the grammar sucks. I think we have nailed Malakov right on the head. Do you think this is enough evidence to make Malakov be guilty? Though the only problem now is linking him to trying to frame Kasagawa."

"That would be starting the change of power in the Defense Ministry," replied Nadia. "Remove Kasagawa, and take over the Defense Ministry. We don't have a lot to go on, and unfortunately I don't think the political will to prosecute is there. I never knew Malakov was in with the 'expel the Catholics' crowd..."

She looked at the file. "I'll email this to the prosecution team of General Kasagawa. They'll be interested in it, and we'll see if they start proceedings against General Malakov. If not... well, we'll have to stop him getting powerful enough to attack other nations for revenge."

"Hopefully this evidence will bring some people to our side. Now that we know what Malakov is planning we have to find a way to stop him." Miles said. Then quickly looked over the plan again to see what was next. Looking over each step he turned toward Nadia. "I have no idea what Phase he's on. For all I know he could be on Phase 4. Is this enough proof to get him arrested? If so then we need to put him under arrest before he get do any of this."

Miles almost forgot that Bates had been in the room this whole time. He turned back toward him. "So about ignoring you Bates we have just been through a tough time. Can you find out where Malakov is right now?"

"Well, he's probably been told that two assassins want to kill him. If that security officer was working for him, you're probably in danger too, General Sklenova." The soldier looked thoughtful.

"He's probably left the Ministry, if he's smart, and if he cooked this stuff up, he probably is."

Sklenova looked at the file again. "He'd be at Phase 3, at latest. We haven't a fleet capable of more than home defense and escort duty. We don't have a force projection capacity with this navy. More likely, he's still in Phase 2, as the Corporal's weapon would show," she said. Bates was holding a Macabean Hali-53 assault rifle from Kriegzimmer. "Lots of Kriegzimmer weapons we have D.P.R. for. I got a letter saying I'll have to provide instruction in flying the GLI-76 Falcon when I get back to the Academy," she finished.

"So we need to find his location, then make sure that he is caught. We cannot let him get away. He almost caused this country to be on a brink of a major war. Malakov is certainly a madman. Bates, I want you to call the police right now and tell them to track down Malakov." Miles looked over the plan again. At least they had made Malakov's plan come to a screeching halt. Now they only needed to find the renegade General. "Nadia, tell me now if you have any idea where Malakov is hiding."

"No clue," said Nadia. "I'll email the file to the local police, too." She wasn't taking the chance that the soldier was a member of the military police working undercover for Malakov. Civilian police were outside the nefarious influence of this nationalist madman.

"He doesn't exactly confide in me. He's a raving nationalist, I'm vice general secretary of the Communist Party." She smiled. "We aren't exactly a match made in heaven."

"If Malakov feels the net is closing in on him, he has command of the security here," said Bates. "We get too close to him, he'll do something crazy, like order a coup. I think he's smart enough to treat the military well enough that a lot of them will do as he says..." The military was a little more idealistic than most nations' forces, but even here a charismatic commander promising to restore the pride of a defeated nation and improve the lives of the soldiers might be able to get them behind him...

"Exactly we need to capture Malakov. For all we know he could be planning a coup right now. He knows that we have him corner and might do something very drastic. But the thing that worries me the most is that we have no idea where he is right now. Malakov could already be escaping into another country. Even if he has escaped I will still search for him. I will keep on searching until I die. Malakov has caused me so much grief, and I think its about sometime I go some payback." Miles replied as he down to the street bellow. He turned back to Bates. "Corporal I want you to inform the other generals of Malakov actions and make sure that officers keep an eye on their men. A coup is the last thing we need."

Bates nodded. He could count on at least one general who would oppose Malakov should he start a coup.

"General Sklenova, do you think that there's a likelihood of civil war breaking out in here?"

Nadia stared ahead. "...I certainly hope not, but I think that if Malakov is pressured, he might raise the threat of one to induce a surrender of the government, and take over. If that happens... I'll do my duty as a general."

So she'll defend her nation.

Nadia finished sending the incriminating files to the judge advocate general, the civilian police department, the President, and the commander of the Presidential Security Detachment. If one or more of these people were supporting the general, then that was a risk, but it was the only way Nadia could think of to see justice.

"But if a threat of a Civil War is nearing, then I will have to leave the country. As a citizen of Canadstein I cannot engage in any military confrontations. Canadstein is a very neutral and never likes to participate in a war. I will probably embark with my embassy. I'm sorry that I have to do that, but if I don't then they will revoke my citizenship. For now though we have to focus on capturing Malakov." Miles said as stepped away from the window. He walked back to Nadia's table and sat back down in a chair.

Sort of like an extreme version of Switzerland, then. Nadia didn't know this about Canadstein, or that much else about the country, either.

"The civilian police should be looking for him now, or at least investigating him," she said. "I sent what files I could, translated and in the original Russian. They should be able to get a more grammatically correct translation." Of course, so could Nadia, but she wanted to convey the gist immediately.

"What do you suggest we do now besides the waiting game? Because I will get very bored if I just have to wait here, while the police try to find Malakov." Miles said and emphasized on try. He was a very impatient person and usually liked to get things done very quickly. But this time the case held the balance of a country in his hands. Stress was starting to build up.

"Find something to take your mind off of it..." said Nadia. "We don't know where he is."

---

Malakov knew about the intrusion of the "assassins." He had not, however, fled the Ministry, merely posted a few guards outside his office and locked the door, holing up with his pistol.

He had no clue that Nadia had managed to hack his computer, but had no intention of arousing her suspicion further. The general did have a Plan B: If his plan were uncovered, to blame it on General Sklenova and accuse her of planning to overthrow the government. He also had command of the military and was now officially the Defense Minister.

Currently, he was drafting a letter to General Rakhmadi, appointing her as Deputy Defense Minister. When he had come up with his final draft, he would print it on official Ministry of Defense stationery and sign it, then have it sent to her.

"I'm going to take a walk. I think I need to get some air into my lungs. Maybe sometime to think over all thats happen so." Miles said, then got up and went to the door. He paused at the door and looked back at Nadia. A smile appeared out Miles' face. Miles had to keep things from turning sour. He nodded at her, then entered the hallway.

Miles traversed through the Ministry of Defense and thought intently about the case. He tried to make himself blend in with the crowds, but that was very hard when he smelled and was absolutely dirty. Miles got a few stares from people, probably because they were wondering how a bum got into this building. Walking down a hallway, which he remembered where Malakov's office was located, he saw a few guards around the door. Slowly he walked by and caught a glimpse of the office number. Thinking back to the first time he came into this building, Miles remembered the numbers. They were of Malakov's office. He turned a corner and stood silent for a second

Miles peeked around the corner and saw the guards. He wondered what they were guarding. Casually Miles walked up to the group of guards. "So what's in that office?"

Two of the guards stepped away from the door and chased after Miles. "Freeze, Mason!" He was still a wanted man by the soldiers, and this time Nadia wasn't there to protect him.

The other four guards remained on standby. Malakov's letter slid out from onder the door and a third one picked it up to run it to Rakhmadi's office. The guards radioed for backup in case this was a diversion and another assassin was heading for Malakov's office.

"I don't want to cause any..." Miles started to say as he approached the men, but it was cut off when they got closer. He took off down the hallway. The guards were now chasing after them. Though now he knew that Malakov was probably in there. Miles ran up a flight of stairs, and then ran quickly down another hallway. He rushed through a door and looked behind him. The guards were still chasing him. Miles closed the door and went down the stairs.

Finally he caught his breath and looked around. He had successfully evaded the guards. Miles had been luck. As he looked around he noticed that he was near Nadia's office. Coming upon Nadia's office, he knocked then entered. He was almost out of breath. "Nadia, Malakov...is in the building...he's still in his office...I was chased down by some of his guards. Get the police on the phone and tell them to check his office."

Nadia turned to Miles. She seemed visibly shaken by this turn of events, and locked the door after Miles.

"Right now, getting you out of here takes priority. Bates, you put in a call to the cops, I've sent them the evidence they need. Miles, I'll get you out of here."

As she finished speaking, a loud knock came at her door. "General Sklenova, open up, or face charges of aiding a fugitive and accessory to burglary of a government facility!"

"I will meet up with you later. See you on the other Nadia and Bates." Miles said, before he gave Nadia a farewell kiss. "I will call you later, so we can meet up."

Miles ran toward the window and now he was five stories up. He had to take the chance. A smile appeared on his face, and he jumped out the window. The next thing he saw was a green bush. He had landed in a giant bush, and it seemed nothing was broken. Miles looked back at the window, and took off down the street.

Nadia thought quickly. If she opened the door, she risked letting Bates be arrested. If she didn't, the guards would simply smash in the door and take them both.

She pointed under her desk. Bates crawled underneath it and Nadia opened the door. "What are you doing here?" she asked, a little irritated by their demand to look in her office.

The guard commander looked around. "Taking you in for complicity," he said. He grabbed Nadia roughly by the shoulder and was about to force her out of her office, when a loud crack rang out and his head burst like a ripe watermelon dropped off of the top of the Sears Tower, squirting blood and brain matter all over Nadia's face and uniform.

Bates crawled out from under the desk, shaken and holding his assault rifle. As another guard brought his weapon to bear on him, he emptied his thirty-round magazine, spraying all four guards with it and scoring at least six head shots.

"I panicked," he stuttered. "General Sklenova, I'll be in so much trouble. I killed military police. I'll be in so much trouble." He drew his sidearm.

"Go, get the civvie police in here, I'll distract the guards here," he ordered. He loaded another clip into his rifle and Nadia ran across to the elevator, pulling her cell and straining not to panic as automatic rifle fire sounded from the corridor between Bates and another squad of guards.

"We need a search of General Malakov's office, to verify the data I emailed earlier," she said, her voice panicky as the elevator took her to the first floor, enabling her to make a beeline for the road on the way home.

Miles stopped as he heard the gunfire. He looked back and hoped that Bates and Nadia were fine. If those damn goons did anything to the pair of them, then there would be serious hell inside the building. Though he had to get away from the building for now.

Ten Minutes he was far enough away from the Ministry of Defense. Seeing nearby weathered bench, Miles sat down. It seemed like the only thing he did in the past two days was just run. Most of the time it was away from people. Checking his watch Miles knew that he would be a good time to call Nadia. Going up to a pay phone, he put in some coins and called Nadia's cell phone number. Miles waited nervously.

Nadia pulled her cell phone. She had jumped into a water reservoir and was swimming in it, hiding under a bridge and rinsing blood out of her uniform at the same time. Luckily, her phone was waterproof to one hundred meters.

"Hello," she said on the phone, treading water as she spoke.

Miles turned himself so half of his face could not be seen. Those guards were probably going to swarm the streets soon so they could find him. The phone picked up and he was relieved that Nadia was alright. "Nadia, its me. So how are Bates and you doing? Also where should we meet up?"

"Bates, I don't know. He shot several of the guards, I don't even know that he's alive," said Nadia, her voice starting to crack. "I'm in the West Central Metzuda Reservoir, soaking wet. We can meet at my apartment."

A civilian police car passed by Miles' location at the pay phone. The officers in the car did not pay any attention to him, but continued on their path to the Defense Ministry.

"Jeez...Bates...you should come with me..." Miles replied, then he sighed. He hoped that Bates was alright. Bates was a good kid and hadn't live long enough to see the world. "...I will meet you there..."

Miles put the phone back and ran into a nearby alley. This might take a while since he had no earthly idea where he was right now. Plus he was going to take some back alleys to get to her apartment. Walking through the alley he wished that this whole case was over and he could relax for once. Miles stopped day dreaming, then looked at his watch. He bolted down the empty alley.

Nadia dragged herself out of the water. She was soaking wet and chilled to the bone, but she no longer had blood and brain matter on her. She was also half an hour from home. Luckily for her, it was starting to rain so she wouldn't look strange dripping wet.

Bates was still alive, but barely. He'd managed to retreat to his tank, but he was badly injured, having taken several rounds through his rapidly deteriorating body armor and broken an arm and five ribs in a fall from a fourth-floor window. He'd killed seven guards and wounded twenty, retreating as soon as the sub-commander of the security forces gave the order to kill him. He figured he'd have a better chance of getting out of this if he turned himself in back at his own base rather than surrendering to the Defense Ministry security, if he arrived there before bleeding out...

Miles walked the first last steps and appeared in front of Nadia's doorstep. This past two days he had done far too much running. His legs were throbbing with pain. With the last of his energy he knocked on the door, and suddenly collapsed onto the floor. He saw the floor, but it faded into darkness.

Waking up he saw that he was back at his childhood home. Off in the distance he saw his first love, Elise McKenna. Oh how he wished he could go back in time and relive those days. Miles walked toward her and the peaceful setting.

Nadia was still about fifteen minutes from her apartment. She took some time getting her bearings after climbing out of the water, and took longer arriving than she had expected.

Bates, on the other hand, managed to arrive at his base before passing out from loss of blood. He was being held in a military prison hospital, charged with numerous shootings and aiding a fugitive. He had eliminated those guards who witnessed Nadia's involvement, so she was safe for now.

General Samarra Rakhmadi, Deputy Defense Minister, received a promotion to four-star general. She was still in the dark about Malakov's darker schemes, and did not become suspicious when shoot-on-sight orders were issued against Mason should he return to the Defense Ministry. However, she would keep a far closer eye on Catholics in high places, though not frame them if they had not shown themselves to be disloyal. Rakhmadi was still ignorant of the fact that General Kasagawa had been framed.

At Nadia's apartment, her mother was still there, enjoying a cup of tea and watching the news when the knock came. She opened the door and dragged the unconscious man into the apartment. Setting him up on the bed was out of the question for the seventy-year-old, one-hundred-pound woman. Katriana was all of five feet, four inches tall. She laid Miles in the middle of the room, sitting over him until he came to after she had made sure he was breathing.

Miles was out cold. In his mind he was still back on his families' farm. The fields of golden wheat. The smell of a summer's day. It was all so beautiful. Miles immersed himself in the moment. A tear rolled down his cheek. He missed this place so much. Now he had finally returned. Off in the distance he could see Elise. She was his first love, and almost his last.

Elise had died almost twenty years ago, when she was eighteen. Miles was heartbroken when he found out about the news. Elise had been murdered, and Miles was filled with revenge. Miles quickly took the case into his hands, and became a vigilante. In cold blood, Miles murdered the man who killed Elise. The man begged for mercy, but Miles put an end to the man.

After killing the man Miles felt no better. Actually he felt worse, and became even more depressed. The slump somewhat broke when he was chosen to join the Canadstein Intelligence Agency. To forgot about the murder of Elise, Miles buried himself in his work. He often chose the most suicidal mission. Most of his co-workers thought that he had a death wish.

Though on one mission he that hidden emotion came out again, love. He learned to love again. Miles thought back and knew that Elise would never want him to die on a impossible mission. So he vowed to never do a suicidal mission, but still plunged himself into a ton of work. Though now he enjoyed it.

Miles continued on with his journey. Though in the real world Miles only muttered something and started to sweat.

"Mr. Mason?" said the woman sitting next to him on the floor. The voice was heavily accented from the Middle East, and seemed to be that of an older woman.

"What happened to you?" Katriana knew now that Mason was conscious, although barely so.

Miles returned to a dark state. The darkness engulfed his image of his families' farm. He tried to run away, but the darkness. The darkness was destroying everything. It was pure evil and made Miles be in rage. This evil had always followed him, and it had controlled his life. The fear of death.

Miles started to sweat rapidly, and looked to never stop. He moaned a couple of times, and his fingers twitched. But nothing more happened.

There's something wrong with him. Katriana took Miles' hand and held it in both of hers. She laid her head next to Miles to check his breathing, to make sure nothing happened to him.

What could have happened to him? "Wake up."

"Where's Nadia?" Miles muttered, and it was somewhat audible. The darkness was everywhere. There was no point in trying to escape. He felt alone and cold. How cold it was in the darkness. He looked around and wondered where Nadia or anyone was.

"I don't know," said Katriana. "She isn't usually this late getting here, maybe she had to work late at the office." Katriana didn't know about the phone call Miles had made to Nadia earlier.

"You might want to clean up," she said. "Do you have any clean clothes?"

Miles broke loss from the darkness and bolted upright. He looked around and wondered where he was. It seemed very familiar, then he noticed Nadia's mother. He was glad that he had successfully made it back to Nadia's apartment. Getting up he felt his head. "Yeah I think I left my suitcase here, but first I need to take a shower."

Miles took a long deserved shower after running around and literally living next to garbage. Within fifteen minutes he returned in a set of cloths and smelled a lot better now. "Mrs. Sklenova where is Nadia?"

"I haven't heard from her," said Katriana. "She should be back later tonight. What happened to you out there? You looked like hell, I had to drag you in."

She got up. "It's about seven o'clock. Care for anything to eat? I'm hungry too."

"Normal stuff. Being shot at and trying not to be shot. Nadia and I are almost bringing this case to an end. We just have to tie a few loose threads together. Actually I'm pretty hungry too, but if it isn't that much trouble." Miles stomach growled. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast two days ago. Then Miles remembered that he was suppose to eat lunch with Bates. Miles was going to keep that promise.

Katriana went to the cupboards. There were several boxes of cold cereal, mostly different flavors of Total, and some canned food. Nadia was eating a lot of granola bars and lean meat because of the baby, too.

She came in with a bowl of fruit and a few granola bars of various flavors, and sat down next to Miles.

"Shot at? What happened out there?" she asked. She was happy to hear that there seemed to be a good case against Malakov.

---

Nadia was lost in the middle of the city. She was about three blocks from her apartment, but in the darkness and on foot she didn't recognize any of the buildings. She walked into a dark alley, looking for a dumpster to hide in for the night, in case the military had figured out that she was in cahoots with Miles.

As she entered the alley, a young, musclebound man squeezed her breast. "Nice," he said. He ran his hands over her body, and she realized that he was taking advantage of her situation to rape her. She smacked him hard in the mouth with the heel of her hand and knocked his front teeth in, then smashed his head into the side of the alley. He wasn't expecting the resistance and went down flat. Nadia crawled behind the dumpster to spend the night, but she couldn't sleep.

"Long story short Malakov thinks I want to kill him and I got into a little confrontation with his guards. I'm pretty much a fugitive. Nadia and me had to escape from the Ministry of Defense. We decided to meet back up at her apartment." Miles said as wolfed down a granola bar, then nibbled on some fruit. He was worried about Nadia. It was nearing 10 o'clock and she was still not back. If she did not come in the next thirty minutes, then he would at least try to search for her. "Bascially we found information that tells us that Malakov is behind General Kasagawa's case. He tried to frame her, so he could become Minister of Defense. Malakov wants to lead this country into a war."

Katriana smiled sadly. "The man is a nut. I wouldn't go back there if there's a way you can avoid it," she said. "Nadia will find her way here somehow. I just hope she isn't a fugitive, that's the last thing the poor girl needs now, with a baby on the way and no clue who the father is. That's no way for a baby to be raised."

She looked up, as if thinking of what to say next. "Miles... I know that you like my daughter. Mothers can tell this stuff. Nadia has a lot of emotional issues, she didn't even get into a serious relationship with a man until five years ago, and she was 27 years old. I just don't want you getting hurt."

Katriana's cell rang. "Hello," she said softly.

"It's me, Nadia. I'm outside a deli on North 13th Avenue. I don't know where I am in the dark, and I don't know if anyone's looking for me." Nadia was crying. "And a guy in the alley tried to rape me. I knocked him out, and tried to sleep behind a dumpster but couldn't get to sleep. I'm really scared." She was barely able to talk now.

Katriana turned to Miles. "It's Nadia. I know the place, she's about three blocks from here, the places do all look alike at night." She lifted the phone back to her head. "Nadia, Miles is with me at the apartment. I'll come and get you." She made eye contact with Miles again. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Yeah I know what you mean." commented Miles as Katriana spoke about how the baby should be raised. Then he intently listened as she talked more about Nadia. "Its not about love anymore Mrs. Sklenova. To me its about not letting her get hurt because I deeply care about her."

Miles was startled by the cell phone ringing. He could hear the thunder off in the distance. The rain outside was now becoming a massive deluge of water. Miles hoped that Nadia had found some shelter in this onslaught of rain. It would certainly be frighten to be outside right now. Miles looked out the window while Mrs. Sklenova was listened on the phone.

Miles was alerted when Mrs. Sklenova called his name. His head quickly turned. This news was a relief to Miles. At least Nadia was alive. Getting up he looked directly at Mrs. Sklenova. "Mrs. Sklenova I want you to stay here. Things seem to be getting worse outside. I don't want you to catch a cold or something. Just don't worry about it. I will get your daughter for you."

Without letting her speak a word Miles quickly got a jacket and the Beretta and ran out of the apartment. On the way to the Ministry of Defense, Miles remembered going past a deli. If he remembered correctly it seemed to be three blocks away. Getting to the front entrance of the apartment building, Miles put on the hoodie and tucked the Beretta into the waistline of his pants. He took a deep breath, and then ventured out into the rain to find Nadia.

Katriana couldn't just leave her little girl, even if Miles was going. She packed the Glock 20 that was under the TV set, pulled on her raincoat, and took the elevator to her car. She started the car up and drove out to the deli.

About a minute later, she was at the deli. Since it was so close, Miles would likely arrive at around the same time.

Miles while running saw a car zoom by her. As he neared the deli he could feel the coolness of the metallic Beretta. It sent a shiver up his spine. Seeing the corner, where the deli was located, he saw Nadia. "Nadia!!!!!!"

Miles ran up to her and wrapped his hands around her. He started to cry, but his tears mixed with the rain drops. "Nadia...I'm glad that your alright. I thought that maybe you had been captured..or worse."

Nadia heard Miles call and saw the headlights of her mother's car. She stood up and wrapped her arms around Miles. After her ordeal she was grimy and filthy and wanted nothing more than to shower and sleep for a good 24 hours.

"I thought the same thing," she said. "Let's get home."

Katriana opened the door to her vehicle. "Let's come in, out of the rain before you two catch cold."

Miles helped Nadia get to the vehicle, and let her get in first. Then he quickly got in, and shut the door closed. He looked at her and smiled. Even though she looked like a wreck, Nadia was still beautiful. "Yeah I think a good rest will do wonders for the both of us."

Nadia smiled and laid her head against Miles. Within five minutes, they were back in her apartment, and Nadia was in the shower cleaning the grime and filth of her ordeal away from her body.

She would come out in a loose-fitting sundress. Nadia laid her military-issue sleeping bag out on the floor. "The sofa unfolds to make a bed," she said, crawling into her sleeping bag all fresh and clean.

Miles was exhausted when he stepped into the apartment. He slowly moved to the couch and fell down to the couch. It was good enough for Miles. Though he had enough strength and willpower to wait for Nadia. Although a couple of times he almost drifted off to sleep.

Once he heard Nadia he got himself up and dragged himself to her. Miles laid right next her. He started to whisper in her ear. "Nadia, I'm not going to let that happen again as long as I'm here."

Miles head moved closer, and he kissed her cheek. "Good night."

Miles, with the last of strength, made it to the couch. Then quickly fell to sleep.

7 AM

Katriana got up and put some tea in the pitcher, then heated it. Nadia was still asleep at the time, and from the look of her, wouldn't want to wake up for a long time.

The older woman went to the TV and listened to the news. Nadia would sleep like the dead and Katriana wasn't worried about waking her.

The news described a shooting at the Defense Ministry, the arrest of a soldier who had surrendered at his base with multiple wounds, and the issue of a warrant for the arrest of Miles Mason.

Oh, dear... She listened more closely to the broadcast. So far Nadia wasn't a suspect, but merely a person of interest to the military police.

Miles woke up in a being drenched in sweat. He had lived through another night. Right now he was thinking about what had happened the past three days. Just remembering them made Miles feel tired. It the beginning of the fourth day, and it had been an adventure.

Miles quietly got out of bed and then was creeping up to the TV. He saw the news report about what had happened at the Ministry of Defense. This was probably making the Canadstein so happy. Miles just shook his head. Also he was glad to hear that Bates was still alive, but he had been captured. "So are you going to turn me in Mrs. Sklenova?"

"No," said Katriana. "But if the police come to me, I can't lie. I would advise you to go to your embassy and return home, and hope that they don't extradite you. I won't hand you in, but if they ask me a direct question, I won't lie to them."

Nadia finally stirred and woke up. She looked blankly at the screen for a few seconds, then told her mother what had happened.

"The guard commander wanted to arrest me for complicity, he must have seen Miles go into my office and not be there when I opened the door... A soldier who was with me shot him and the guards who were with him. He must be the man who was captured."

The news continued its broadcast. "Today, controversial files were found in the office of Defense Minister Iosif Malakov. These files detail military reforms and investigators believe they may have information regarding the trial against General Nora Kasagawa. Malakov claims that General and Communist Party official Nadia Sklenova actually drew up the files and sent them to him to recruit him in a military coup. More information will be released as it becomes available."

Nadia sat bolt upright. "This is not good."

"Jeez...that's exactly what we needed right now. Right now I think its best if I just leave, and go to my country's embassy. I don't want you to get arrested for me being here. Also try to find someway that you can clear your name. These files are the only thing that we have against Malakov right now. Here is the number for the embassy and ask to speak to a Mr. Mason. Hopefully if you have call me, I will be there." Miles did not let Nadia say any words to keep him off this track. "I will make sure that this isn't our last meeting."

Miles left and returned with his suitcase. He kissed Nadia good bye and shook hands with Mrs. Sklenova. "I will sure I see the both of you again."

As he left, Miles started to teary eyed, but remembered that he would keep his vow. Soon he was on the street walking toward the Canadstein embassy building.

Nadia looked at the TV, too stunned to speak. Not only was her country about to be taken over by someone who wanted to go to war against several world powers, but now she was accused, if not legally, then definitely in the court of public opinion, of plotting to overthrow the government.

The Foreign Ministry had more important things to worry about than extraditing a Canadsteinian agent who had, at worst, decked a high-ranking general. There was minimal evidence that he had tried to kill General Malakov, merely the general's fear. Miles would be safe once he arrived at the embassy.

About an hour after he left, Nadia's cell rang. It was General Rakhmadi. Nadia had apparently given out her cell number when she was talking to the older general and listening to her rant about Catholics.

"Did you watch the news?" she asked as soon as Nadia picked up the phone. "The military police want to talk to you. Apparently General Malakov thinks you tried to frame him for a coup plot."

Nadia listened, then fumbled for the response. "I don't know anything about a coup plot," she said. "I do know that he wants to take over the Defense Ministry." She was mindful of the fact that General Rakhmadi had just gotten a promotion and had a vested interest in Malakov's political survival.

"Which is why I personally believe you're innocent. I'm not saying that Kasagawa is innocent, and I wish that she'd fry," replied Rakhmadi. "But I'll advise you to come to the Ministry. Don't run away, it will only convict you in the mind of public opinion. I'll be with you, this is merely an informal meeting to discuss the recent events. It'll be completely off the record, unless you want it recorded. I'll try to convince him that you're innocent."

Nadia trusted her. She was quite open about her anti-Catholic views, but Nadia was sure she didn't know anything about the plot against Kasagawa, and was willing to trust her in the absence of other allies.

"I'll be there," she said.

"Good. I'll see you at five o'clock, my office. I'll even pick you up, in case you're worried about being arrested at the door."

"Thanks," said Nadia before hanging up the phone.

---

At four o'clock, Nadia had spent the last four hours getting ready for the trip. She'd washed her uniform, put her decorations on it, and washed up for the meeting. Half an hour later, General Rakhmadi had picked her up and was taking her to the Defense Ministry.

"So, what do you know about the shooting by your office?" asked General Rakhmadi.

Nadia's heart would have dropped into the pit of her stomach if her baby weren't in the way. "Mason and a soldier came into the Defense Ministry, apparently one of the guards thought they'd come in to kill Malakov. Mason ran for it, and called me from an office he managed to barricade himself into."

"The guards were very insistent on pressing charges, and I told them I'd interrogate them. I talked to them, to find out what had happened, and then Mason left, and another group of guards ran after him and he came back to my office. The guards demanded that I open the door, and the soldier, Bates, went under my desk. Mason went out the window into some bushes and escaped."

"So Mason had nothing to do with the shooting," replied General Rakhmadi. "Is that what you're telling me?"

Nadia nodded. "When the guards only saw me in my office, they wanted to arrest me for complicity," she said. "They thought I helped him escape. Bates... panicked, and then there was shooting. I got out of there."

They had by now arrived at the Defense Ministry. "If you tell General Malakov what you told me... I'm sure he'll believe you," said the older general. "That Mason had no intention of killing him."

Around four o'clock Miles finally caught sight of Canadstein's Embassy. It pretty looked like any other building in the city, even though there was two Canadsteinian soldiers patrolling the perimeter. The embassy looked like most buildings, except for one thing. The building was only two stories. He stopped for a moment and looked at the building. Miles was finally returning to some of his native homeland, even though technically he was about 3,000 miles away.

'At least I took a shower and got some sleep. These soldiers would have probably thought I was some kind of bum, not an intelligence agent' Thought Miles as he chuckled.

The man wore their full battle gear and carried G36c assault rifles. Most of the time they would just carry about a P8 pistol and dress in some military fatigues. The ambassador probably ordered it after the increase in Kahanistan's military awareness.

The one of the soldiers was alerted by the present of Miles. The soldier noticed how the man was just staring at the embassy. He gave a hand signal to the other soldier to watch out for the man. The other soldier shook his head and continued on with his route.

Miles snapped out of his trance with the building, and crossed the street. The soldier paused for a moment and stood his ground. Miles walked up the gate and looked toward the guard.

"I'm Miles Mason, a Canadstein Intelligence Agency." Miles yelled out and he quickly produced his Canadstein passport. "Here is some identification."

The soldier ran up the gate, while the the other soldier stood behind and kept his finger on the trigger. The soldier suddenly grabbed the passport, and studied it for a second. Then looked up and at Miles. The passport might have been a fake, but this guy might be a citizen trying to get out of this godforsaken country. The soldier handed back the passport.

"Mr. Mason go through the gate right there and pass through the metal detector. Just in case you have any weapons or bombs. Also I'm Sgt. Featherson." The soldier stated as he went over to the other gate.

Miles followed the orders and went through the metal detector without a hitch. The Beretta he had gotten from Bates had been abandoned in some back alley, with the magazine in another location. Sgt. Featherson and the other soldier escorted Miles into the embassy.


---

Miles waited ten minutes with the other solider, Pvt. Halls, while Sgt. Featherson went to go tell the ambassador, so they make sure that a Miles Mason existed and that this man was Miles Mason. Miles had learned Pvt. Halls name through some small talk. It had calmed Miles' nerves a little bit. A part of him wanted to ran and help Nadia, but he knew that this was for the best. Sgt. Featherson returned with a man in his late sixties with balding white hair. The man had a jovial appearance about him.


"Miles, this is Ambassador William Stapleton." Sgt. Featherson addressed the man. Ambassador Stapleton greeted and shook hands with Miles.

"So Mr. Mason you say that you are a Canadstein Intelligence Agent. We all believe that you are, but we must make sure. It a pre-caution that is strictly enforced." Ambassador Stapleton said with a wide smile.

Miles could feel warmth from this man and shook his head. "As long as it helps protect Canadstein and its citizens."

Ambassador Stapleton dismissed the two soldiers, and they quickly went back to their posts. William led Miles up a flight of stairs and to his office. Once entering William's office the thing that caught Miles' eye the most was the large desk that took up most of the office. On the table were an assortment of papers, a computer, a couple of books, and the two Canadstein flags crossing each other. Ambassador Stapleton sat down at his desk, while Miles sat a one of the chairs that faced the table. He started his computer and looked at Miles.

"So Mr. Mason what where you exactly doing in Kahanistan?" asked Ambassador Stapleton as he was puzzled why an agent was in Kahanistan at the moment.

"I will tell you in due time Ambassador, but let's get my identity cleared up first." Miles replied. He first wanted to prove that he was an agent and a Canadstein citizen.

"It will take just a second." Ambassador Stapleton entered Miles name on a database that held every Canadstein citizen. The database was heavily protected and was nearly impossible to hack into. The profile of Miles popped up and the picture looked exactly like Miles, except for a couple of cuts. "Well, you certainly are a citizen, but still we must get some further evidence back from Canadstein. You had a couple of cases of people hacking into the database and putting themselves in. So you will probably have to stay here for the night."

"It’s fine Ambassador...now I will tell you about what happened in the past three days." Miles stated. He started from the very moment he got off the plane to the point when he got to the embassy. Ambassador Stapleton was very intrigued by the story and gobbled up every word.

General Rakhmadi walked alongside Nadia into General Malakov's office, sitting next to her as she explained to General Malakov what she had said previously.

"I see," said Malakov. "I never thought you had anything to do with the shooting." He did not mention the alleged coup attempt, as he was still trying to pin it on her should the civilian police close in on him and finger him.

"Well, if Mason shows up here again, the guards have orders to shoot him on sight. You say you don't think he was here to kill me?"

"No," said Nadia. "He wouldn't have come in here unarmed." Nadia had not seen Miles' Beretta when he came in for the last time. "Not if he were going to kill a general who would have put in more security after their last confrontation."

"We've identified the man who shot the guards," said General Malakov. "Corporal Henry 'Hank' Bates, age 20, reserve soldier activated during the Doomani invasion. Tank crewman. Apparently finished his shift on sentry duty and then walked off, to resurface at his base with gunshot wounds. Now, why does such a man join forces with a Canadstein agent... and why does he shoot soldiers sent to arrest one?"

Nadia shook her head. "I don't know," she said weakly.

"Very well... we'll find out eventually, assuming he lives. I think the prognosis is good, although he'll have to use a colostomy bag for the next six months. Those gut wounds from Hali-53's... they can't be good for his G.I. tract."

Malakov sat back. "In the meantime, General Sklenova. I'd rather you didn't show around the Defense Ministry again, poking for information. We've had a fair few others who've tried to find information to sell to the Doomani. Someone might get suspicious of you. If I were you, I'd return to the Academy, and let justice take its course."

8:06 P.M.

Mile was sitting a military style fold out cot. His head rested on his hand that was upright and resting on the bar of the cot. For Miles it was hard to digest what had happened in the past three days. It was still kind of unbelievable and it was hard to imagine that all that had taken place. He let out a deep sigh. But one that was brooding was his feelings for Nadia. Miles had found deep and loving feelings for Nadia. As he looked out the nearby window he hoped that she was okay.

Now that he was in the embassy he wondered what he could to help Nadia. He started to build a list, but nothing came up. Miles could not leave the embassy at the moment, and if he did then he risked being captured by the police. A phone call was the only good option that he saw right now.

Earlier that evening Ambassador Stapleton had cleared up Miles' identity after getting some information directly from the Canadstein Intelligence Agency. After telling Miles that he was all checked out, Ambassador Stapleton invited him to have a drink with him. Over some whiskey Miles was telling his various stories that he had about past missions. The pair of men had also had reminiscent about their days in Canadstein.

Miles stood up from the cot and looked at the phone directly across from him. He looked at his watch and checked the time. Nadia should be home by now, and should be sad enough to call her. Miles dialed Nadia's home phone number and waited to hear her beautiful voice.

The cell phone rang during a conversation between Nadia and her mother about the events of the day at the table. Nadia politely excused herself and answered the phone.

"Hello," she said. After the exchange of pleasantries, Nadia began to explain about the conversation with General Malakov.

"Malakov said a lot of people trying to get information are selling it to the Doomies," she said. "And that I shouldn't poke around anymore. The guards have orders to kill you if you come by again, and I've been told to, as he put it, 'go back to the Academy.' Said he can't be held responsible if someone thinks I'm looking for something and something happens to me."

"What are we going to do then? Just give up? I can't go near the Ministry of Defense because I will be shot. Nadia, you can't look for information because people might think that you are trying to find information to give to the Doomanis. We cannot just give up so easily. I will not let Malakov get off so easily. He knows that we are on to him, and he is just starting to turn on the heat. I suggest we do the same." Miles replied as he looked out the window. The only light he saw now was from the street lights. Most people had gone to bed within the embassy, and the only human presence were the two soldiers walking the perimeter. It was a little eerie within the building.

"Well, he's in a strong position right now," said Nadia. "Once we end up on the brink of war, though, his position will weaken. I just hope we don't fall over the brink before we can discredit him. The President won't authorize the use of military forces without a good reason, so the damage he can do is fairly limited..."

"Look around. Your country is pretty much on the brink of war. Just look at the streets. If war is not going to be made soon, then why the step up in military awareness and numbers? I think some of the people need to open their eyes, and look around for a second. Some fishy stuff is happening and people are ignoring whats right in front of their eyes." Miles said. "But you cannot change some people's views. We have to strike back at Malakov some how."

"I think it's to drive out the Midlonians, and it seems to be working," replied Nadia. "They aren't making any aggressive moves, and General Devidius believes they'll be packing their bags within a couple of weeks. A few days ago you couldn't even get a car down the street. Now there's still patrols out, but our soldiers are quite friendly, for the most part. I'll email you with my number at the Academy later tonight."

"Tell me this once if the Midlonians come back in force. Then this city will be leveled and nothing will be left. Thousands will die, and once again people will have to suffer. Or are you just going to wait for Malakov to pull a military coup. Frankly it will not be my problem. At least I have a way out of this country, unlike you being a General." Miles replied. "Yeah your soldiers are so friendly that some of them wanted to pick a fight with me. Though they lost and have suffered. I should just kill Malakov. It might bring some real justice back to this country."

"If it gets that far... I won't side with him. Those soldiers had probably been told that you were a threat, after Malakov reported that you'd attacked him." Nadia felt obligated to defend her military's actions. "The Midlonians want to take over, not destroy. They won't target civilian populations."

Nadia briefly wondered if getting rid of Malakov extrajudicially was a good idea. No. Extrajudicial killings only show that rule of law isn't working, it will strengthen the Midlonians' case and then where would we be?

"They were a just a bunch of goons. They wanted a fight against me, so I gave it to them." Miles temper started to rise. His voice started to slowly show it. He knew that Nadia was simply defending her government and military, but she was wrong in his eyes. "How do you know what the Midlonians are going to do? They could do total war. Destroy anything useful to the enemy, that includes the human resources. Who knows?"

Miles hands were trembling. Anger had filled his body. What the hell was he going to do?

"They took us as a protectorate," said Nadia. "When the Doomani invaded and drove us out of the Negev. They left us alone for the most part until that stupid show came out with politicians advocating that Catholics be expelled." She sighed deeply, in shock about considering the idea that whacking Malakov was a good idea.

"Miles, I... don't think that a state would take in hundreds of millions of refugees, help them rebuild, and then kill them all when a disagreement showed up. The Midlonians knew at some point that this had to happen, that we would declare independence. They want to maintain control, not incite the people to hate them more by killing off a lot of them."

Nadia thought for a few seconds. "I'll be at the Academy tomorrow, in barracks. I have no clue when I'll be able to get back to my apartment. The Academy is in the military district in southern Metzuda. You can contact me there."

Once Nadia started to talk again, Miles put the phone down. He simply could not talk anymore. Angry had filled him and he did not want to say anything he would regret later. Miles walked away from the phone and sat back down at the cot. He could hear the almost quiet voice of Nadia still. It was like a drill into his brain. So many thoughts were coming. Getting up again, he went to the phone and put it back into its original slot.

He drifted back to the window and looked at the guard walking the perimeter. Miles uttered a large sigh. Maybe it was just time to leave this godforsaken country. Only grief and pain had come to him during these past three days.

That night, Nadia's mother gave her her new address and contact information. She had been worried sick that her daughter had been killed by the Doomies, and didn't want to go through that again.

Nadia packed her bags and drove to the Academy barracks complex in the southern part of the city. From there, she emailed Miles her contact information for the Academy.

At two o'clock AM, a lone Spartacus main battle tank parked outside the Canadsteinian embassy complex, and two soldiers got out. One was a tall male officer in his early fifties, with a receding hairline and beer gut, and with the insignia of a colonel in the Republic Guard. The other was a female officer in her late thirties, slender, frail-looking, with dark hair and very pale skin. She had the insignia of a major.

"Colonel Herbert Morris," said the man, approaching the nearest Canadsteinian sentry. "This is my aide, Major Nerissa Phillips."

Sgt. Featherson had been alerted when he heard a tank. Quickly he ran to the main gate and saw the tank coming. Quickly he retrieved his radio. He said slowly and quietly. "Cpl. Johnson, come to the main gate we have some visitors."

Featherson could hear Cpl. Johnson running toward him. The man next to him was panting now. The tank came to a halt. The roaring engine slowed down, then came to an abrupt dying end. Sgt. Featherson tightly gripped his G36c. He had never been in combat. Cpl. Johnson leveled his G36c and aimed it at the tank. Actually most of the men in the Canadsteinian Army had never been, except for a select few of the Black Ops units.

Once the two persons came out he started to relax. They were obviously here not to fight. He gave a signal to Johnson to stand down. The rifle slowly went down. As Featherson looked at Johnson he could see the sweat all around his face. This kid was nervous. Sgt. Featherson called out. "I am Sgt. Featherson and this is Cpl. Johnson. What do you two soldiers want?"

Major Phillips smiled. She looked like some skinny Goth woman in uniform, fresh off the pages of some fetish magazine. "We're here to request the extradition of a Miles Mason who we have reason to believe has taken refuge in the embassy," she said, her voice carrying a heavy Israeli accent.

"The military police believe that he has attempted to assassinate the Minister of Defense, General Iosif Malakov," said Colonel Morris. "We'd like to speak with your ambassador."

Cpl. Jackson stood next to Sgt. Featherson and looked at the pair of soldiers. His hands were still on the trigger. Only two weeks ago he had finished basic training. The military decided that the best place to sent him was to protect some embassy. He was defiantly getting an eerie feeling off of these two. Quickly he looked Sgt. Featherson. Sgt. Featherson nodded.

Sgt. Featherson stated. "We haven't seen anyone named Miles Mason come this embassy. Actually no one can to the embassy today. If you would like to speak to Ambassador Stapleton, then you will have to come back in the morning. I'm afraid that he is probably sleeping."

"We'll be back," said Morris. The officers climbed back into the tank and drove off.

---

Nadia was back at the Academy for another week of summer instruction. The Kahanistan Military Academy looked like a civilian college campus, with trees, flowing streams, great parking garages built twenty stories high to alleviate the parking shortage without ruining the natural scenery, and buildings and training fields. The main difference was that, unlike most college campi in the world, the students walked around in uniforms and openly carried military-grade assault weapons.

Today, Nadia was showing a group of new flight cadets how to take off and land a GLI-76 Falcon. (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9845541&postcount=725)

"First, you engage the lift-off system. This is a VTOL aircraft." Kahanistan rarely used CTOL anymore, except on strategic bombers and heavy transports their engineers couldn't figure out how to put a reliable VTOL system in. They considered runways too vulnerable.

"Then, you get some height, take us to about a thousand meters, then switch to forward propulsion. You'll lose a little height, but that's why we climbed up so high, and to give me time to recover if one of you makes a mistake." The cadet in the pilot's seat flipped a lever switching from fully vertical propulsion to fully horizontal, dropping a full hundred meters as it did so.

"That's to be expected," said Nadia calmly as the plane jolted and the cadet screamed. "Now, take the yoke and pull backwards to gain some more height, and press on this switch to get some speed up." The plane flew smoothly across the sky.

The cadet took the Falcon over a simulated city, made of fiberglass and plywood paneling to train soldiers for urban warfare or aerial engagements over civilian populations.

"Now, there's currently some infantry cadets training in there, so we'll wait until you have more experience with the planes before we start strafing and bombing runs, and if we have enough time this summer, we might even progress to SEAD missions and covert insertions through heavy air defenses," said Nadia. "Try landing on the rock next to the dummy city."

The cadet moved the VTOL fighter over the rock, then flipped the switch back to vertical movement. He then allowed the plane to slowly descend to the rock, where another cadet took over the stick and the first watched.

All in all, it was a typical day at the Academy for Nadia. When it was over, she checked her email, hoping that Miles had replied to her, to let her know he'd gotten her Academy contact information.

---

Defense Ministry

"Nobody there?" Malakov said coldly into the phone. "You mean to tell me that the Embassy said that Mason didn't go there?"

"Correct, sir," said the officer on the other end of the phone. "Embassy has no record of him."

"Find Mason, I don't care what you have to do. He's not dragging me through the mud on this, not now that we actually have something with which to defend ourselves." Malakov seemed angry.

Sgt. Featherson and Cpl. Johnson stood their ground until they saw the tank disappear into the cities' labyrinth of streets. Sgt. Featherson turned his head toward Cpl. Johnson. He had a serious face on. "Cpl. Johnson, go tell the other men to be ready for so kind of confrontation. These people are going to be back, and I don't like it one bit. There is just something about them."

"I know what you mean Sgt. I felt some eerie, especially from that woman, was it Major Phillips." Cpl. Johnson replied, and then went off to the embassy building to inform Pvt. Hall and Pvt. Kane of the current situation.

-------

Ambassador Stapleton was sleeping calmly within the Embassy Building. He had retired after his little drinking secession with Miles. But his sleep was soon shattered once, Sgt. Featherson entered. William quickly turned on the lights, to see who it was. Sgt. Featherson told him of the encounter with the two Kahanistani soldiers who were looking for Miles. William turned a ghostly white. He stood quiet for a minute and thought. As an Ambassador he did not want this to lead to a confrontation, but was obligated to protect Miles at all cost.

"Sgt. Featherson, I don't want these soldiers to find Miles, but I will agree to have a talk to them." Ambassador Stapleton responded. "Sgt. Featherson I want you to walk Miles right now and take him to the secret room."

"Yes sir." Sgt. Featherson a salute to the Ambassador, then quickly went off to Miles.

Ambassador Stapleton looked to be stunned. He hoped that he could quickly dispel these soldiers in the morning. The light turned off and William tried to get to sleep with these clouds hanging over his hand.

-------

Sgt. Featherson shook Miles. Miles was sweating all over the place. His pillow looked to be drenched in sweat. Sgt. Featherson guessed that Miles was having a bad dream. Miles quickly was upright and sitting on his cot. Sgt. Featherson retold the story. It shook up Miles. Now the realization of that Malakov wanted to kill him finally hit Miles. He was angry and wanted to strike back. That bastard would get his own.

"So...Ambassador Stapleton wants me to put you in the white room. Basically it’s a secret room that only the Embassy staff knows about. You will be placed in there until all of this blow over." Sgt. Featherson stated as he looked at Miles. To him Miles looked about to throw up.

"Do whatever you want as long as Canadstein is protected." Miles said. His stomach churned.

Sgt. Featherson led him to the white room. The white room got its name for all the white walls. It had a simple military cot, a phone, and a computer. The room was very small, and did not have enough room to move around in.

"Its not a fancy hotel, but you have something to sleep on." Sgt. Featherson said. "Just call if you need something."

Sgt. Featherson closed the secret door and left. Miles looked around at his surroundings. Better than sleeping on a pile of rocks. Miles got on the cot, and turned off the light to get some sleep.

That morning, the same pair of officers showed up at the Embassy, in the same tank. Morris looked a little worse for wear, probably tired, and Phillips just looked creepy. She did not look good with the Goth look and uniform.

"We'd like to meet with the Ambassador," said the woman.

Pvt. Kane led the pair of officers to the Ambassador's office. He choose the shortest route there, so they could not see much of the embassy. The pair entered the office and were shown the two chairs set for them. Pvt. Kane kept eye contact with Colonel Morris, but could not bear to look at this Major Phillips. Corporal Kyle Johnson had told him and Private Tyler Hall about his encounter with this woman. Kyle told they that she sent a shiver up his spine. Kane could see exactly why not.

"The Ambassador will be here in a minute. Try to relax." stated Pvt. Kane as left the office.

Within five minutes, Ambassador Stapleton entered the office and sat down at his desk. He eyed the two officers and started to talk. "Hello, I'm Ambassador William Stapleton of the Canadstein Embassy. What is your business here?"

"We believe that a Mr. Miles Mason sought refuge here," said Morris. "He has tried to assassinate the Minister of Defense. We have been forced to increase security radically there since, and we would feel much safer once he is caught."

"State harboring of terrorists is not looked upon kindly in Kahanistan," said Phillips. "General Malakov would be most grateful if you were to extradite this Mr. Mason for prosecution."

"I'm sorry but no one by the name of Miles Mason ever came to this embassy. Actually yesterday no one came." Ambassador Stapleton stated. He coughed and glanced at the door. He could make out to figures. One was Sgt. Featherson and one of his troops. If these soldiers started to act out of hand or tried any violent actions, then they would be swiftly dealt with.

"Very well," said Morris. It was obvious that he didn't believe Stapleton. "But if he turns up here, or in Canadstein, give us a call. You can find us at the Defense Ministry. Major Phillips, here, is one of the higher-ranking security officers." He gave the Ambassador two cards with the officers' contact information, phone numbers and military email addresses.

The scary Goth-looking woman smiled. Perhaps she was trying to be friendly, perhaps she was hiding something. "After the shooting, I was promoted to deputy commander of the security detachment," she said. "I'm sure I'll be hearing from you when Mr. Mason appears."

The two soldiers escorted them out of the gates of the embassy. They were glad that those two officers were finally going to be off their backs for now. Back in William's office he looked at the cards for a moment, then muttered some obscene remarks about the two officers. He tore up the cards, then threw them away in a nearby trash can. Those would never be used. He looked out the window and watched them drive off. "Good riddance."

Defense Ministry

General Malakov was angrily berating Major Phillips after the latest failure to capture Mason.

"The Ambassador is full of shit, too," he said crossly. "Where else could he have gone? He wouldn't just hang around in Metzuda, and good luck finding anyone to let him hide with them."

"I'll arrange with Military Intelligence to tap the phones of the Embassy. If Mason is there, someone will undoubtedly try to communicate with him," said Phillips. "We can put a tap on the phone line that leads to the Embassy, and monitor calls that come in."

"Great. Start a diplomatic incident with Canadstein, at the same time we stand on the brink of driving out the Midlonian invaders," said Malakov.

"Well, we can always do a background check on him, then contact his family," said Phillips. "They'll give us some information, as long as we approach them the right way."

"See that you do it," Malakov replied.

---

That night, Major Nerissa Phillips stayed up all night in her office, poring through background check files and going through Canadsteinian web sites she thought might have information about Mason, looking through every database she could think of that she could access. (She was a security officer, but did not possess extreme technical skills required to enter governmental databases such as drivers' license lists, intelligence agent files, or the other likely bases.)

5 P.M.

Miles had received the e-mail from Nadia, and told her what had happened at the embassy today. He felt like he should call her, but he felt upset after he easily got angry at her. Miles did not want to get angry again, and some how upset her. Feelings had grow for her, and he did not want to make them into angry. Miles longed to be with her and feel her warmth of her body. Her smile and kind touch.

Miles shook his head and went back to his cot. Becoming increasingly bored during the day, he asked Ambassador Stapleton if he could have something to read. The Ambassador gave him Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was an interesting read, but his mind was occupied with other matters.

--------

Sgt. Featherson viewed his men. He wanted to make sure that they were ready if the Kahanistani soldiers came back, but this time with bloodshed on their minds. The men were aiming through there G36cs and firing at their targets. Sgt. Featherson hoped that all of this went to waste. Leveling his G36c he fired it. The bullets hit there intended target.

Nadia sent an email back to Miles the next morning, warning him to get back to Canadstein as soon as he possibly could. A friend of hers closer to the scenes had told her that some soldiers were poking around the Embassy. Nadia expressed concern that they might be trying to scout the Embassy to try to extract him by force or stealth.

After sending the email, she went back to another day of training pilots.

At around the same time, a lift of people from the Negev were being taken to Havenic Kahanistan from the Doomani-occupied territory. Among them were secret agents and soldiers of the stay-behind operation that had by now failed. Regardless of who won the struggle in the Negev, it would be in the hands of religious maniacs; the only question now was which religious maniacs.

General Devidius was awaiting the flight, intent on learning which officers were still alive, hoping to debrief them and update them on the current situation...

OOC: K'stan: check your TGs

4:24 PM

The high command of the Canadstein Intelligence Agency deemed that Miles Mason would return to Canadstein as soon as possible. It was deemed that Miles was jeopardizing the mission and Canadstein's neutrality. So he was returning home. His flight would arrive at 5 o'clock in the morning and his replacement would be aboard. Miles felt that he had finished the mission, but these were direct orders from the Director of the CIA. It was probably for the best. He e-mailed Nadia right before he left.

Dear Nadia,

Well I have taken your advice and I have decided to leave the country by the orders of my country. I wish you luck in bringing down Malakov, and hope my replacement finally ends this case. I'm not very good at making a good-bye, so I will not say one because I will return to you Nadia. Remember that I loved you and still have love for you. I will return, this will be a promise that I will keep.

Love,

Miles

Miles started to cry as he wrote the message. Coming to the car, he was teary eye. He vowed to come back to this land and see Nadia again.

-------

Arriving at the airport, Miles could already see the private jet that would take him home. There was another man waiting there. Another Canadstein agent sent to finish, what Miles could not. As the car stopped to a halt, Miles got out of the car. He could see the fire red sun coming up in the distance. It was utterly beautiful. Miles enjoyed the moment, then faced his replacement.

"I am Nick Mills. I guess I am your replacement. During the trip here I read up on the information you gathered. You have done a pretty good job, especially with this General Sklenova. I will finish the job for you, Miles. I hope you have a good rest at home."

This Mr. Mills was just a kid. He must have been a new agent for the agency. He looked to be only in his early twenties. The kid had piercing green eyes, looked to be pretty athletic, had dirty blond hair, and was at a medium height. From the little talk the two had Miles could tell that this kid was brash young man.

"Good luck kid." Miles told Nick before he got on the plane.

As Miles climbed the stairs up to the jet, Nick cried out. "I'm not a kid!"

Miles chuckled at himself and got to his seat. As he looked at the rising sun, he knew that he would return to Nadia.

-------

7 AM

Nick sat down at the table for breakfast. Around the table were the soldiers that protected the embassy. They were talking about girls or wives back home. Nick sprinkled some salt on his eggs and stabbed some with his fork. He fit right in with this group, since he was about the same age, unlike Miles. Nick was a loud and kind of obnoxious kid. Some people might wonder how he became a Canadstein Agent.

A tall, somewhat ugly, beefy woman was among those stepping off the refugee flights into Kahanistan. This woman, about 6'6" in combat boots and weighing over 200 pounds, looked briefly in the direction of General Devidius. She then peeled her face off; it was a mask.

The "woman" was in fact a man in his late thirties, with Semitic features, short dark hair, and a muscular build. Devidius nodded back to him.

"You have the devil's own luck, Kaselev." The man, Brigadier General Igor Kaselev, had fought in Kraven as a secret operative, and had been a high-ranking resistance commander who escaped the bombing of the capital by the skin of his teeth.

Kaselev nodded. "Unfortunately, very few of our operatives survived, and none of the ones we inserted into the prison systems. I escaped by riding under an APC out of the city."

"Tell me more of this later," said Devidius. "Right now, the Defense Minister has resigned under very suspicious circumstances, Malakov is increasing military strength, and we have a population of six hundred million now. The Midlonians attacked us over an anti-Catholic broadcast a few weeks ago, but seem to be backing down. I'm trying to find out if there was a conspiracy by Catholics to hand us over to the Doomani, if Kasagawa was part of this conspiracy, or if she was framed."

"This reads very similar to the claims made by anti-Semites," said Kaselev. Although he himself was a Jew, he was also an atheist. "Simply replace 'Catholics' with 'Jews' and it could come from Hitler himself."

The two generals would discuss the matter into the evening.

---

Nadia wrote back to Miles, asking if he could relay her contact information to his replacement. She might be able to squeeze in a meeting with him to give him the information that she had.

Nick sat down at the computer that Miles had been using. Miles had been using some generic e-mail account provided by the embassy. Tracing through the e-mails he found the ones sent by General Nadia Sklenova. Nick knew that Miles had worked alongside her during the mission, and helped find the evidence against General Malakov. He need to conduct a meeting with her. Seeing the last e-mail, she wanted to have a meeting with him. He guessed that great minds think a like. He wrote a quick e-mail saying that he also wanted a meeting to take place. Also he put down that the embassy was a good place to meet because he was not familiar with the city yet.

Nick sent the e-mail and looked around at the white room. On the bed he saw the book that Miles had been reading, Crime and Punishment. He looked at the book, and set it back down. Nick guessed that Miles and him were completely different people.

With the Academy taking a lot of Nadia's time, she was generally only available later in the evenings. She didn't want to deprive herself of too much sleep for her baby's health. The baby was expected to be born in about ten weeks.

At 7:00 PM, she arrived at the embassy, presenting her ID to the embassy guard and asking to meet with this Nick Mills.

Cpl. Johnson led Nadia to a spare room that was going to be there meeting place. It only contained a table and three chairs. The room was pretty bare; with the last person working there was over six months ago.

"Nick will be here in two minutes." Cpl. Johnson said, as he exited the room and stood at guard.

-------

Nick was walking down the hallway. He looked at his watch and knew that he was late. His mind had been playing tricks on him all day. It must have been from the jet lag or the damn time difference, maybe even from not sleeping in the last twenty-four hours. The reason he was late, was that he was checking out the embassy's armory. The armory basically had any weapon that Nick had dreamed of holding or firing. He last track of time, and now he was late. Looking at his watch it read 7:12 PM. Cpl. Johnson was still posted at the door and had a grin on his face.

"Better late, than never Nick." He said as he started to laugh.

Nick just shook his head, and entered the room. He was eager to finally meet this General Nadia Sklenova. Upon entering the room he saw her. She was fairly attractive, but nothing else he could tell. Nick quickly recognized that she was pregnant, so that means she must have been married. It did not matter to Nick because he already had a girl back home.

"I am Nick Mills of the Canadstein Intelligence Agency. I am guessing that this lovely lady is General Nadia Sklenova?" Nick said with smile. He shook hands with her, and then sat down.

The woman's face flushed. "Yes, I am," she said, taking Nick's hand. She sat across from the man. Nadia smiled warmly, but it was that of a young woman merely being friendly. She was in her thirties and unlikely to be interested in a much younger man.

"First things first," said Nadia. "Your predecessor was made persona non grata at the Defense Ministry after he lost his temper with General Malakov, who has since accused him of trying to kill him and me of being part of a plot to launch a coup."

She handed Nick a folder containing files she had printed off, in English and the original Russian. "General Malakov's computer had these files on them. The Russian is the original, to make it harder to determine what it was if investigators got at his computer." The English translations suggested plans to expand the military, take revenge on Whyatica, Doomingsland, Midlonia, AMF, and several other countries, and expel Kahanistan's Catholics, about ten percent of the population.

The folder also contained Nadia's notes in which other Nationalist generals were eliminated, along with information supporting or refuting the position that General Kasagawa was innocent.

"I'm not going to make the mistakes that Miles made." Nick said outright. "He did not think with his mind, but with his emotions. Eventually that screwed him over, and that's why I'm here, and he's not."

Nick picked up the folder and looked through the papers. He finally got his hands on the information he wanted. The reports that Miles had briefly stated what he and Nadia had found, but this was going to be exact. Nick looked at each piece of intelligence, while Nadia was still talking. He could easily read the Russian, because of talking four years in high school and another four years in college. This particular skill helped him get a job in the agency.

As he finished looking through the folder, Nick set it back down on the table. He looked back at Nadia. The evidence still pointed that Kasagawa was guilty, but a case was starting to build against Malakov.

"So what was going to be your next strike against Malakov?" Nick stated as he looked at Nadia.

Nadia shook her head. "I was accused of being in league with Miles. They didn't have evidence that I was involved in anything illegal, so I was told to simply return to the Academy," she said. "But I would recommend simply waiting him out. If Malakov makes a dangerous move, then we act against him, attack him with what we've dug up. The President won't authorize him to deploy foreign troops if it's likely that they'll be used to start a war he doesn't think we can win."

She leaned back in her chair. "I'm not really much of an investigator, more of a politician. I think I was involved because of my affiliation with the Communist Party. Malakov would want to make his actions appear non-partisan, so I think he tried to use me. When the feces hit the fan, he rolled on me and accused me of plotting a coup. Had things gone better for him, I think he merely would have pointed to my involvement as evidence that he wasn't motivated by politics, and the Nationalists would remain clean. It's the only reason for involving me that makes sense, I think."

Nick guessed that General Sklenova was not a person of action. Actually she seemed somewhat afraid of what Malakov would do to her. Nick was a man of action. He was the kind of person that would drop first into enemy territory. Some people called him a very eager beaver. Though sometimes this would get him into trouble.

Nick wanted to strike now and get Malakov while he least expected it. He wanted to be remembered as a brave hero. A grin appeared on his face.

"Thank you General Sklenova for the information that you have given. I think I am going to keep this folder and read over it again. I think this meeting is pretty much over since I have nothing more to say." Nick said as he got out of his chair and walked to Nadia. "Cpl. Johnson is outside the door and will escort you back to the Embassies' gates."

Nick bend down and helped General Sklenova. He kissed her hand and looked back up. "If you ever need me you know where to find me. I guess I will be doing the waiting game."

Nick nodded toward her, and left the office with the folder.

--------

Cpl. Johnson led General Sklenova to the embassy gates and closed them behind her. Sgt. Featherson looked at the woman from a distance. There was something about her that he did not trust. In particular he did not trust any of the Kahanistani he had met so far.

Nadia's role in the investigation seemed to be over. She went back to her barracks, showered and went to sleep, preparing for another day at the Academy.

Meanwhile, the military forces in Kahanistan stopped building up and remained at their current strength. The Defense Ministry was still well-defended, as were most government facilities, and tanks still moved through the streets of Metzuda, but the soldiers seemed more interested in just getting through the day than in fighting. Not to say that they weren't capable should the situation require them to engage the enemy...

Nick looked over the papers again late at night. Everyone had gone to bed, and Nick was picking every piece of this investigation apart. He needed to find some kind of hole that would so how catch Malakov. This case was going to tear him apart. So far this had been the biggest mission he had been assigned to. He would not let down Miles or the Agency.

In the morning, Nick invited General Sklenova back to the embassy.

Nadia woke up at 6:30 AM, answering a phone call.

"I won't be available till... 7 PM," she said groggily.

---

At 7:00 PM sharp, Nadia arrived back at the Embassy.

OOC: It was a mistake. It was actually Nick who called. I wasn't really thinking.

The same procedure happened as the day, except for the fact that Nick was waiting for her and Sgt. Featherson was in the room. Sgt. Featherson could finally see the associate that Miles had talked about before he left. There was something about her. Now Cpl. Johnson and Pvt. Kane were standing at guard near the door. Sgt. Featherson arranged his beret as General Sklenova entered the room. He gave her a salute, then addressed himself, as Nick shook hands with her.

"Hello General Sklenova, I am Sergeant John Featherson of the Canadstein Army. Its my pleasure to finally meet you. I have heard some stories about you from some Kahanistani soldiers." Sgt. Featherson stated.

"But along to pressing matters...General Sklenova we want to know who exactly you are working for? Things seem a little fishy about this whole case and you. I know Miles would not question your loyalty after falling in love with you, I can see why. Are you working with Malakov." Nick said as he blankly looked at Nadia. "I am a gentleman, but I cannot allow you to leave until you answer my questions."

Sgt. Featherson gave a signal and Pvt. Kane entered the room. He blocked the doorway. There was going to be no escape for Nadia.

Nadia shook her head. "No," she said. She was feeling a little uneasy about these soldiers. She was still in uniform and carried her sidearm, but wasn't going to try to force her way past the soldier and risk harm to her baby.

"I'm not working for Malakov," she replied. Noticing the soldier wasn't moving, she ventured her own question. "Is there something else you wanted to ask me?"

"Who are you working for?" Nick stated once again. This time he stared directly into her eyes. His eyes conveyed his serious tone. He never to prove her loyalties and she if could be truly trusted. Miles had trusted her, and had made massive headway in this case. But also had a bunch of people trying to find him now. "General Sklenova...just tell me now...nothing bad will happen. You will just be escorted out of the embassy."

Sgt. Featherson looked at Nadia. He knew that Nick and him would not strike this woman, but they needed to intimidate her. It would be sick to hurt a woman, especially one who was pregnant. If she died, then the baby would die also. That means you would have two innocent person's blood on your hands.

Nadia looked back into the man's eyes. "I was involved when General Malakov called me to his office," she replied calmly. "He said he wanted my advice. He said he'd found a message sent to Manus Dei by General Kasagawa."

"My advice was to report it. Malakov seemed reluctant to do it, said that he'd worked with her for over thirty years." This was about as long as Nadia had been alive; she was 32. "So, I reported what I'd heard to the military police, and the investigation started."

"You didn't answer the question General Sklenova." Nick said. His temper was starting to rise, but he needed to keep it cool. He stated one more time. "This is the last time I'm going to ask you. Who are you working for?"

Nadia was becoming slightly irritated. The truth was that she wasn't working for anyone; her loyalties were with the Republic and the ideals it stood for.

"I'm not working for any interests other than those of justice," she said. "All I care about is seeing justice done. I'm not... working for anyone."

Nick looked at Sgt. Featherson for a minute then back at General Sklenova. He coughed for a moment, then continued with his interrogation. "Do you believe that General Malakov is guilty and should be deposed of?"

"I think he's hiding something," she said. "He doesn't want me or Miles around the Ministry." Nadia looked back at her interrogator. "I wouldn't put it past him. I didn't even know he was part of the anti-Catholic movement until I found it in his computer."

"So what are you going to do to stop Malakov?" Nick said as he raised his eyebrow. He still doubt Nadia could be trusted, but she was the only ally they had in this country. Plus she was the one who worked on the case the longest. They needed her help and she needed theirs.

"I've done all I can." Nadia was beginning to wonder where this was going. "I've compiled all the information that I could get. It's up to the military investigators to do what they will with the information."

"So you can do absolutely nothing for us." Nick eyes narrowed on her. He guessed that she had given up once the heat started to turn up. Miles had done the same, but he had direct orders to leave. General Sklenova obviously cared more about her rank, than trying to save this country from war.

Nadia was fairly sensitive emotionally. She could tell that Nick didn't like what she had to say. "What more do you want me to do?" she asked. "I'd like to see something done, but I'm not trained as an investigator. I'm a combat pilot. I was dragged into this, probably because of my political visibility. You think I like being helpless? You think I like the idea of another war getting started, and us getting invaded by six different powers?"

It was clear she was becoming agitated. "If you have something you want me to do, you can tell me. Is there still something I can do for you?"

"Yes, I do think you are helpless or just don't want to get rid of Malakov. It seems as though you want this war to come. You want it to come..." Nick replied with a blank face. He could feel that she was become annoyed. Exactly where he wanted her. "Are you even going to do anything to stop Malakov? Or have you just given up? Is it because you're weak? Especially with that baby."

Nadia's eyes flashed angrily as the agent implied she was weak. "You think I want war, you think I want to risk something happening to my baby?" she replied, her voice dripping with anger. "I'm not giving up, but I don't see what more I can do. If I can find a way to discredit Malakov, I will." As a Communist, she was inherently opposed to displays of nationalism, to the point where she had no problem with Kahanistan remaining a Midlonian protectorate until it was stronger.

"I have no intention of helping Malakov kick the Catholics out, or putting our people needlessly in harm's way," she said, straining to calm down. "I want him out of power as much as you do."

"Well it seems like you don't want to help. So far the only I have seen you done is nothing. Nothing at all. General Sklenova you will probably do nothing. You have already accepted your fate and think that you can only watch from the sidelines." Nick was taking pleasure in seeing this General become very angry. This was all going in the right direction, so far. "This is why you have given up. There has to be other evidence, but you are just too lazy to help us."

Nick produced a knife. It was given to him as a gift at his Agent Gradation. He pointed toward Nadia. The point of the knife was sharp. He stabbed it into the table. "So what are you going to do to help? This time don't act so damn helpless."

Nadia was about to go for her sidearm when the blade went... into the table. She put her hands on the table. "What do you want me to do?" she asked coldly. "I don't see what more I can do." She couldn't go into the Ministry without suspicion anymore, and Malakov was probably looking for something he could spin into a claim that she was planning something nefarious...

"We want you to help us assassinate General Malakov. It seems like there is no other option. I can't get into the Ministry of Defense, and if I did then I would be watched like a hawk. All of the evidence is in there. I'm not going to let this creepy get away. If I can't do anything else..." Nick stumbled for a second, and gathered his thoughts. He wondered if he should go along with this. "Then we need to put a bullet into his head."

Nadia looked shocked. She stared at Nick for a few seconds as if he had spoken to her in Tamil.

"I'm not going to help you kill someone," she said flatly. She got up and walked toward the door.

Pvt. Kane blocked the doorway and wasn't going to budge. He quickly got his G36c and pointed it at her. The gun was now leveled with her. Sgt. Featherson and Nick got up from their chairs and walked toward Nadia. Nick was now beside her and whispered into her ear. "Since you will not help us, then we can't let you go. You know too much now."

Nadia weighed her options. Drawing her sidearm would take her too long, and the guard would probably be able to squeeze several rounds into her before she could draw.

She did, however, have training in Krav Maga (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krav_Maga), including the disarming of attackers, and she was fairly close to the guard, who likely woudn't expect a pregnant woman to attack him.

Turning her side to the guard, she reached out and pulled the G36 towards her, hoping to pull the man off his feet and at the very least disarm him.

Pvt. Kane fell to the floor, as his weapon fell out of his hand like butter, and looked up Nadia. While Nadia was trying to dispatch Kane, Featherson and Mills pulled out pistols and pointed them at Nadia. If she even moved, then...Nick did not know. He could not hurt this woman, especially when she had a baby. Nick had to at least bluff. "DON'T MOVE!"

This alerted Cpl. Johnson who was outside the door. He opened the door and saw Nadia. The G36c was now pointed at her. Nick called out. "PLEASE DON'T MOVE!"

Nadia in fact had no intention of dispatching Kane or anyone else. She had only killed one person in combat that she knew of, a Kraven Reichmarshal who had tortured prisoners from her and other forces. Of course, she'd shot a few people down, but most of them had ejection seats if their planes were worth the scrap metal they were made of.

She dropped the G36. When the door moved, she pushed to the crack hip first; her hips were likely at the nut level of a man of average height. Now, she wanted to get herself into a position where she was protected on three sides, and slam the door.

Sgt. Featherson saw what was happening. He dropped his pistol and tried to tackle Nadia to the ground. Featherson leaped into the air straight for Nadia. Pvt. Kane, still on the ground, saw what was happening and grabbed a hold of Nadia's legs. The other two men kept their weapons on the weapon. Nick called out. "JUST GIVE UP!"

Nadia mentally facepalmed as she realized she had forgotten the man she had downed. She fell forwards when she was grabbed, turning to the side as she fell to protect her baby from the full force of the impact. Krav Maga did teach to fight on the ground, after all, and it was quite foolish to assume that the opponent's close-quarters combat training did not.

But it did not teach a 5'5", 125-pound, pregnant woman how to deal with four men armed with pistols and assault rifles, who probably had body armor to boot. Instinctively she tried to pull her weapon, which could be difficult with two men tackling her. Nadia honestly believed these men wanted to kill her.

Nick and Johnson both dropped their weapons and started to help the other men. Cpl. Johnson was already helping the men by holding down her arm, while Featherson got one of her legs and Kane got the other one. Now Nick just had to get her arm. While walking over, he noticed that she was reaching for her handgun. He simply shook his hand and kicked the weapon across the room. Nick held down her other arm. Featherson looked toward him, and Nick nodded his head. Featherson pulled out some rope and started to tie her legs together. "Now General Sklenova, give up. There is no escape."

He was right; the group had two hands to her one limb. Nadia wouldn't stand a chance.

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked. Maybe they'll just hold me till the baby is born, then kill me and put the baby in an orphanage.

Featherson finished tying up her legs together, and Cpl. Johnson started and finished tying up her arms. Then they picked her up and put her back into the chair. Cpl. Johnson and Pvt. Kane went back to their posts. Nick looked at her. "If you just went along with it, then none of this would happen. So we are going to have to keep you here, until we kill Malakov. We don't want you to tell anyone. Then maybe we might release you. I haven't plan that yet. But until then you are going to be our honor 'guest'. I am sorry that we had to do this."

Nick pulled his knife out and put it away. "So you better relax, because you are going to be here for along time."

Nadia looked ahead. She figured she was probably going to be locked in some cell, at least until someone from the military came looking for her.

"'Maybe' you might release me?" she repeated. "More likely, you'll kill me rather than expose your operation," she said coldly. "Or disappear me to your version of Gitmoschwitz."

"Sorry, General Sklenova I worded that incorrectly. We will release you, but where and when is more of a question. We are not going to hurt you General Sklenova. It would be wrong and immoral to hurt a woman, especially one who is pregnant. See in Canadstein we treat women with respect and dignity. We will try to make your stay here as conformable as possible, as long you cooperate." Nick said as he looked at General Sklenova. He smiled, a smile that back home melted several girl's hearts. "Nothing will happen. Can you please trust me?"

Young men had smiled that way at Nadia for most of her life since she was a teenager. She was used to it by now.

"It's a little hard for me to trust someone who just had these thugs tie me up," she said. "Especially when I have no intention of helping you commit murder."

"What else were we suppose to do? We asked you kindly, and you responded with violence. We to restrain you, so you will not hurt any of these men. Its for their safety, not yours." Nick replied. He looked at her beautiful gray eyes, that must have captivated some many men. "We are not going to cause he's murder, but his downfall. He will fall down like a rock. General Malakov has caused too much trouble, and we are the only ones who will actually do something against him."

"You just told me you wanted me to assassinate him." Nadia was completely unconvinced. She would have cooperated if it was just to remove him from power.

"Now, take me back to the Academy barracks," she said.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow that General Sklenova." Nick looked at his watch and noticed the time. He gave a hand gesture to Sgt. Featherson. Featherson acknowledged it and picked up Nadia. "Well I think this meeting is over. I will see again later."

Sgt. Featherson carried her off to one of the empty bedrooms. He turned on the lights. It was a basic bedroom that had a bed, dresser, chair with a table, a lamp, and a small window that looked out toward the city. Also the bedroom had an adjoining bedroom. He dropped her on the bed, and untied the restraints binding her arms together. Sgt. Featherson sat beside and looked at her. He let out a deep sigh and shook his head. "General Sklenova I'm sorry that we had to try these measures. It was the spur of the moment."

Pvt. Hall entered the room and set down a tray with a bowl, spoon, and a glass. The bowl contained Faki soupa, a Greek lentil soup, with carrots, olive oil, herbs, and vinegar. Pvt. Hall could not bear to look at Nadia. "I hope you like it General Sklenova."

Then he quickly scurried out of the room. Sgt. Featherson finished untying her leg restraints, then looked at her. "Trust me everything will turn out for the best."

Sgt. Featherson then left the room. He sat down at the chair posted next to the door.

Nadia took her bowl and glass behind the bed and sat down, eating her soup. She was fairly stressed as it was, and with the baby, she was hungry, eating more than she usually did.

Even with the soldier leaving the room, she was certain the embassy guards wouldn't just leave her room unguarded. They'd taken her weapon, and probably her cell phone as well. When she was finished with the soup, she looked through her pockets, in case they might have missed it.

Sgt. Featherson sat posted at the door. He hated doing all of this, but it was a direct order. Plus it was pure boredom watching the door. John knew that Nadia might make a run for it, but he would be here to stop it. Pvt. Halls had come back to get the tray. John remembered how Pvt. Halls literally ran out of that room. He guessed that Halls was unconformable around women. John slightly chuckled.

Nadia handed her tray to the soldier, observing his reaction as he left. What's his problem?

She still hadn't found her cell, and figured that the guards had taken it off her during the scuffle.

Sgt. Featherson came into the room and sat down at the table. He looked at her and was paused for a moment. John let out a sigh. "Nadia, may I call you Nadia General Sklenova, is there anything I can get or do for you?"

"I don't think we're that close," she said. "You could see about getting my cell back, I think I lost it here."

"General Sklenova I cannot do that. Then you can call for help and escape. I am sorry..." Sgt. Featherson gave her a salute, then walked out of the room. He returned a while later with a box filled with all sorts of books. "Here you can read something, so the time moves a little quicker."

Nadia was tired now. It was fairly late in the evening, so she just set the books down at the foot of her bed. When he left, she simply lay down on the bed, under the sheets, her uniform draped over the foot of the bed. She would fall asleep within minutes.

---

Whoever had Nadia's phone would hear it ring.

Pvt. Kane looked at the cell phone. It was ringing. He shook his head and tried to grab it, but his hand moved away. Maybe someone was trying to look for General Sklenova. Pvt. Kane darned not to tell anyone. He simply grabbed hold of it, then turned it off. The cell phone soon was in a box with General Sklenova's handgun.

Presidential Palace

"Damn it." Lt. Colonel Mara Fulton set the handset down. She'd wanted to talk about the recent developments in the Defense Ministry. Right now, she had no reason to suspect anything was unusually wrong, although the idea of Nadia ignoring her was a little unsettling.

---

Canadsteinian Embassy

Nadia slept like a baby that night. So did the baby inside her; the infant was calmer than usual. Maybe he or she was tired, too, after the stress hormones that had flowed through Nadia's body stopped flowing while she was asleep.

She wouldn't wake up until later that morning, at breakfast time.

When Nadia would wake up in the morning a tray with another plate, glass, and bowl would be present. The glass was filled with orange juice, while the plate had some pancakes and a heaping pile of eggs and bacon. The bowl contained a bunch of cut mixed fruits.

Pvt. Hall, who was pretty much the cook at the embassy, had knocked quietly and still found her asleep. He sat the tray down and hurried out of the room, but made sure that Nadia did not awake.

-------

Sgt. Featherson had been replaced early in the morning by Cpl. Johnson, who was now munching on some cereal. The morning sun reflected across the sun. A couple of the other soldiers and embassy staff were scurrying around inside the embassy. It was like any other day. A quiet start to hopefully a quiet day.

By nine o'clock, Nadia had cleaned her plate. Good thing I'm not Jewish, she thought as she finished the bacon. About a quarter of Kahanistan's population was Jewish as it had originally been founded by militant Jewish theocrats. Now, most of the population was secular.

After finishing her breakfast, she wrapped a sheet around her, not wanting to bother with getting dressed again, and asked if there was a shower available. Not expecting to stay overnight when she arrived, she hadn't exactly packed her bags.

---

Kahanistan Military Academy

Southern Metzuda

Cadets Peter Browning, Jane Turner, and Henry Edwards sat on top of a GLI-76 Falcon. Flight instruction class was ten minutes late.

"Guys! Guys! She's not in her office, either! Or the barracks!" A cadet ran up to the group.

Peter gave the first-year, a skinny twelve-year-old kid with nerdy glasses as large around as a Coke can, a nasty look. He'd just put out an expensive Freekish cigar on the side of the plane, fearing that General Sklenova would catch him smoking.

"Shit," he said glumly. "Tommy, we're leaving. Jane, how about we take this thing up and join the Mile-High Club together?" The solidly built sixteen-year-old fourth-year cadet put an arm around the petite, dark-haired girl about the same age.

"Better not," said Tommy, officially known as Thomas Merrick, Jr. "If General Sklenova comes and finds the plane missing, she's going to kick your ass."

"Yeah, well if you don't want another swirlie, you aren't going to tell her anything, are you, punk?" Peter was something of a bully at times. While he rarely bullied for the fun of it, he did often retaliate against those who crossed him, especially if he was eight inches taller and sixty pounds heavier than them. But for some reason, he did find the little, freckled, carrot-topped straight A student quite annoying. He had always accused him of snitching, even when he hadn't and someone had found him out.

Jane looked up at Peter. She had no problem at all with joining the Mile-High Club, but didn't want to break Academy regulations. Henry, a young black football player and the oldest of the four at twenty, shook his head. "Don't think that's a very good idea," he said. "She'll find out, even if we don't tell her. I'll ask the super what to do for class," he said.

Peter watched as Henry walked off. He was glad of the exit of his friend, as he wanted some privacy with the attractive female cadet he was with.

---

Academy, Superintendent's Office

"So, what can I do for you, Cadet-Major Edwards?" asked Lieutenant General Hamed Suleiman bin Zulfiqar al-Korezi, superintendent of the Kahanistan Military Academy.

"General Korezi, General Sklenova is missing. She's not usually late, and she hasn't emailed the class to tell us she'd not be here."

"Very well, I'll call her," said the heavily-decorated Arabic man sitting at his desk with a large box of foreign cigars. The script was in a language that Henry could not read, possibly Sumerian. It looked like something unbelievably ancient. The general picked up the phone, leafed through a directory, and dialed Sklenova's phone number.

"Got diverted to her voice-mail," he muttered. He left a message for her, then pulled up her file on his computer. Nadia had recently updated her "Contact in Case of Emergency" information, so Korezi had her mother's phone number.

"Mrs. Naslieva, this is General Hamed Suleiman bin Zulfiqar al-Korezi, Superintendent of the Kahanistan Military Academy. I tried to contact your daughter, for a class that she's supposed to be teaching here, and she's not answering her phone, and didn't email the class to let them know she'd be missing. This isn't like her at all, would you know anything?"

"No," replied Katriana. "I have no clue what could be the problem. I'll let you know if I hear from her, I'll call her when I get off. This isn't like her at all, to just walk off from work, or to disappear without telling anyone." Even before she'd gone to Kraven, she'd at least said she'd be going on a secret mission that she expected to last a couple of weeks.

After the conversation, Katriana dialed Nadia's cell number. She had no more success raising her than Mara or General Korezi had had.

Back at the Academy, the Superintendent found a flight instructor willing to substitute on short notice during his office hours.

Cpl. Johnson entered the room and pointed toward the door. Behind the door was an entire bathroom that had a sink, mirror, shower, and a toilet. "I will get someone get some more towels and maybe some toilet paper."

Cpl. Johnson went back to his post and continued his watch. This was more boring than walking the damn perimeter. From his back pocket he retrieved a book and started to read.

-------

A couple of minutes later Pvt. Hall came with a box full of stuff. Inside the box were towels, toilet paper, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, and various other things. Hall knocked on the door and set the box down. He turned a bright pink and stared at the floor. "General Sklenova here's so stuff for the bathroom..."

Pvt. Hall looked up at her, and bolted to and out of the door.

-------

Sgt. Featherson sat on his bunk trying to get some sleep. This whole ordeal was bothering him, but orders were orders. It was wrong to hold this poor woman be kept here against her own will. The best thing he could do was try to treat her with respect and make her feel conformable. Right now though he needed to get some well deserved sleep.

Nadia washed up, then looked around for clothes. There was something about that Private Hall that got to her. He seemed not to like her, for some reason. He was definitely uncomfortable around her.

She lay on the floor and started doing pushups. Nadia would definitely need to keep her strength up, and try to get out of here. When she was done, she got dressed as well as she could for the day.

Later during the day there was a knock on Nadia's door. When she opened it there was no one present except for Cpl. Johnson who was reading the newspaper. He did not notice that the door was open because he was intently reading the newspaper. Johnson was curious about the newly arrived Kahanistani from that occupied Doomani territory.

Though right in front of Nadia was a box full of cloths. They certainly did not look like they were for a women, but for a man. There were various t-shirts, pants, shorts, and other things. It was probably the best they could manage to round up at such short notice.

Nadia had a T-shirt and shorts, probably the only things that would fit her. She knocked on her door and leaned against the side, figuring that whoever was on the other side might be interested in some conversation, as she was. Of course, she was also interested to find out how the security was arranged, to plan her escape.

The door handle moved and the door opened. The person on the other side noticed that they hit something. They gave time, so Nadia could move. Finally Cpl. Johnson walked in. "Sorry about hitting you. So what do you want General Sklenova?"

"I'm bored," said Nadia. She sat down on the bed. To start the conversation, she opened up. "What have you done at the Ministry, so far?"

Cpl. Johnson needed something to kill time, and sat down at the table. He turned the chair around to face Nadia. "What do you mean?"

"The plans, that the intel made. One of the agents wanted to... remove General Malakov." If she could get an idea of when they would release her, this was even better. It might influence her decision whether or not to attempt an escape.

"What do you think General Sklenova?" Johnson replied. From his pocket he retrieved an apple. With his spare knife he cut it up into pieces. "Do you care for a piece?"

"OK," said Nadia, reaching for the slice. "What do you mean, what do I think? I just asked what's been done. I don't think that someone's already gotten in, hacked his computer, pulled more evidence, and stopped him from nuking Miana and Urbs Doomanus."

"By the way, I noticed that one of the soldiers seems really uncomfortable around me. What's the deal with him?"

"I just wanted to know what you thought, but I honestly have no idea." Cpl. Johnson replied as he handed her a couple of pieces. Then he ate one of his own. "Ahh...you must mean Pvt. Taylor Hall. Yeah don't mind him. Its just a little shy around women. He's the youngest one here at the age of eighteen. Sometimes I kind of think that he would be better working as cook, than a soldier."

"Oh," said Nadia, taking another slice. "Well, I would have figured you had looked over the information that I gave you, and hatched a plan." She looked around shiftily.

"Well, Private Hall might want to be a little less shy around women. If he wants, he can come talk to me as long as I'm here. Is he shy around all women?"

"Ahh...I'm not part of the mission. I think Nick and John are the only ones planning it. Maybe Kane, but I'm not sure on him." Johnson replied. He needed to get the topic off the mission, while he was around the prisoner. No take that back he wouldn't necessarily call General Sklenova a prisoner, but a guest. Yeah a guest.

"I think so. Pvt. Hall never talks to any of the women at the embassy or in Metzuda. Sometimes we can go out into the city and try to have a good time. During all those occasions I have never seen him even try to approach a woman. Maybe he still hasn't found special someone." Cpl. Johnson commented as he shrugged.

"Well, while I'm here... he can talk to me, if someone gives him the encouragement to come in." Nadia lay back on the bed. "He'll never find the special someone if he doesn't learn to talk to people." The age difference made it fairly certain that she wasn't that special someone. She just wanted to help.

"Yeah...I will tell him." Cpl. Johnson quickly looked down to watch and saw the time. He panicked for a second, and got up. "Sorry, but I have to get back to my post. Thanks for talking with me."

Cpl. Johnson quickly walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. He noticed that Pvt. Kane was sitting in the chair now. Johnson gave him a quick nod, then ran down the hallway.

Nadia smiled. She certainly didn't expect the guard to be so thankful for her company, but she felt that as long as they liked her, they would treat her better.

She lay down on the bed, on her back in an oversize T-shirt pulled down over belted shorts, completely over her full, pregnant stomach. About nine or ten weeks more, she figured.

It had been another quiet day at the Embassy. No one suspected that Nadia was being held prisoner within the confides of the building. The men were becoming more lax and had some conversations with her. Though Pvt. Hall was still too timid to even look at her. Life carried on. Although Nick and Sgt. Featherson were still trying to come up with a way to get rid of Malakov.

Katriana Naslieva paced the floor and corridor of her one-room apartment in the outskirts of Metzuda. She ignored one of her four cats trying to climb her leg as she closed her cell. She had gotten another call, pushing for information about her daughter. Fed up, and by now worried sick (Nadia never disappeared for more than a day or so without calling, and they usually talked by phone or email at least once a day, if only to talk about the day, and informed each other in advance if one was going somewhere where phone communication was unfeasible), Katriana called the Metzuda Police.

"My daughter is missing," she said. "She's just disappeared, and she's not answering her cell. I'd feel more comfortable if someone checked on her welfare. She works at the Academy, and they haven't heard from her, either," she said. She gave the answering officer Nadia's address, so they could check.

The police officer said that they would send someone over to look. Usually, when a young woman vanished she had either become a hooker in another city (unlikely in Nadia's case) or been kidnapped. Some poorer people in the slums, desperate for money, made a living by kidnapping women and selling them abroad as sex slaves, but this was rare as most people owned guns. On top of that, the Justice Ministry was developing a program to recover slaves into their country.

"Thank you," said Katriana. She hung up the phone, sat down on her recliner, and held the kitten that had been trying to climb her tightly against her chest, crying softly.

---

Nadia looked out her window, taking in the view and trying to get an idea of the security situation outside. She did not think that looking would arouse suspicion; the windows were placed there, and they probably expected people to look out them.

The soldiers were having a little sit down dinner inside their "barracks". They usually had it one time per month and Pvt. Hall was now the official cook for this dinner, but he was typically the cook of most meals. The men had brought a table into their sleeping area, which comprised of two bunk beds, four trunks, and two cabinets, and it placed in the middle. All of the beds were placed against the wall along with the two large cabinets.

The table was set for four. Three of the four men were sitting down. From the door, came Taylor with a tray with many different foods, steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, and gravy. Taylor set down the tray and nodded at the men. The men started to dig in.

-------

Pvt. Hall was glad that the men liked his cooking. He soon left and went back to the kitchen. There was one more plate. The plate was moved to a tray with a flower in vase. Taylor traveled through the halls, and knocked at Nadia's door. Then he entered, but saw that she was looking through the window. Quietly he put the tray down, and zipped ran back out.

-------

Taylor returned to the other men and started to eat.

"Hey," said Nadia. Crap, he just ran out. She picked up her tray, decided to finish her lunch before it got cold and her baby starved, and sat down, eating fairly rapidly, but not so fast she made herself sick or worse, got gas.

After about 15 minutes, she knocked on her door.

---

Meanwhile, General Malakov, who believed he had gotten rid of Kasagawa for good, sat in his office. As much as he didn't like that Communist Nadia, she was at least useful to his goals, so long as she didn't know what was going on. She was probably suspicious, and he had heard a rumor that she was missing. Probably is going to give something to the Doomies, he thought. Nah. They'd probably just take her out back and shoot her, after pack raping her and stomping the baby out of her first.

The old general began editing the final draft of the speech he planned to give to the military next week on his computer.

---

At the Academy, the cadets who had gone off looking for General Sklenova were quite dismayed when General Korezi had picked Colonel Horace Grunfeld as their interim flight instructor.

"Where did that G-Dash-D damned Falcon go?" bellowed the mean-looking, stocky, tattooed man.

Cadet-Major Henry Edwards pointed into the sky, where the Macabean-designed VTOL fighter aircraft was making highly erratic maneuvers, as the two cadets aboard were engaged in an obscene act together. The plane flew dangerously close to crashing into a thick forest near the Academy campus, and then shot back into the sky straight up.

When the plane regained stability, presumably because the female cadet was no longer pleasuring the male, it fired on a simulated target that looked strikingly like St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, blowing it to smithereens with a JDAM. The cadets had never seen a target that looked like that before Malakov took over. After two minutes, during which Grunfeld angrily berated Edwards and brandished his officer's sword, the VTOL landed right where it had been, and Peter Browning and Jane Turner exited. Peter looked quite nonchalant as Grunfeld mercilessly tore into him, pointing his sword at the young man several times.

"You bumbling idiot!! You could have gotten yourself killed, taking off without an instructor and with that girl, you could have gotten your friend killed!"

"Relax, wheezebag," said Peter. Jane looked somewhat relieved, as a girl who had just been given the riding of her life might be expected to look. That vanished when the enraged Colonel turned his fury on her.

"You should know better than to get into a plane with that idiot!" bellowed the substitute instructor. "I don't want to know what possessed you to do that, but you BOTH are too stupid to BREED!"

He turned to the class. "Two hundred pushups for the lot of you! And you all get shit duty for the rest of the semester! Don't think that Korezi won't find out!" he roared.

Damn, we need to get Sklenova back, Peter thought. She's strict, but not THAT strict, and she's nice, too.

The men had finished eating dinner about two hours ago. The table was devoid of the clutter of the plates, but had been replaced by four glasses and a bottle of whiskey. The four men were just having a simple after dinner drink and were talking about their childhoods in Canadstein. These men had formed a special bond that could not be made in any other situation. It was the only way they could feel like they were back at home.

The four soldiers finished up their drink by singing an old navy hymn, which was very odd for they were all part of the army. The men dispersed and either went to bed or got ready for guard duty. Sgt. Featherson slowly made his way to guard Nadia, with a warm cup of coffee. It was pretty tired, but knew that he could easily make it through the night. He sat down and sipped some of the coffee. Then picked up the nearby newspaper and started to read.

-------

Nick had papers scattered all over his desk. He hadn't eaten a single thing since the dinner the night before. The last thing that was on Nick's mind was food. An obsession over this case had grown. It was the only thing he could think about. General Malakov was going to pay severely for his actions.

When the men were getting ready for the night, Nadia did the same, as it was getting late. She lay down on the bed on her side, so the baby did not crush her internal organs, and went to sleep. She had to draw this young man out of his shell soon, and of course, she went over escape plans.

Nadia personally cared little for General Malakov; her objections were to aiding and abetting a murder. She did not want him killed without her doing something about it.

---

That night, a group of civilian city police approached the Defense Ministry. This time, they were not looking for evidence of Malakov's wrongdoing; they were following up a missing person's report.

"General Malakov, do you recognize this woman?" A uniformed Metzuda police officer in black tactical body armor held a photograph of Nadia.

"Yes, I know who she is," said Malakov. "I haven't seen her since she went to the Academy earlier this week."

"Apparently, she disappeared after work at the Academy a couple of days ago," said the officer. "Any idea where she might have run off to?"

"No," said Malakov. "I really don't know her that well. She doesn't seem the type to go AWOL. I hope you find her soon."

"So do we," said the officer. Every 24 hours that passed reduced the odds of a kidnap victim's safe recovery significantly.

---

At the Academy, cadets and instructors who had involvement with General Sklenova were asked questions about where she might have gone. Nobody had any idea, but a police officer looked through Nadia's address book in her office. He photocopied pages of names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, and other contact information, so investigators could contact each of the people listed in order to find her.

When Nadia awoke in the morning she would find a meal of hot oatmeal, an orange, and a letter waiting for her. The letter simply said that she was to be dressed and ready at 10:00 for a meeting. Promptly at 10:00 Pvt. Kane, in his Army uniform, knocked on the door and waited for General Sklenova, so he could escort her to the meeting room. He stood at attention and looked like a statue. "General Sklenova it is time for me to take you to the meeting."

Cpl. Johnson had replaced Sgt. Featherson early in the morning and watched Pvt. Kane. It was kind of amusing, since things around here were pretty lax. Johnson chuckled and continued to read today's newspaper.

Nadia woke slightly earlier than she had the previous day, around seven o'clock. She finished breakfast, showered, and changed into her uniform.

Wonder what they want with me. She let the men take her to the meeting room, but did not turn her back on them in case one of them was going to take her back and shoot her.

Pvt. Kane led her to the room and then went to guarding the door. Inside the it was almost completely dark, except for the single lamp on the desk. The windows had the blinds over them and they were shut close. The room reeked of sweat. The desk had papers scattered all over it. There was one chair sitting in front of the desk. From Nadia's point the person behind the desk could not be seen. "Sit, down Nadia...I want to discuss some stuff about General Malakov..."

I've got a bad feeling about this... Seriously, Nadia had a bad feeling about this situation. They were going to try to force her to help them again.

She looked back at the guards. This time, if she felt threatened, she wouldn't hesitate to aim to kill. Nadia said nothing, but sat down in the chair after making sure the guards wouldn't try anything and looked across from her position next to the desk.

"I want to offer you a chance to leave. But you must do something for us. You must help us get rid of Malakov..." The mysterious person said as they let out a deep exhale. The person still had not addressed them self, so it was literally a mystery. It could be Sgt. Featherson, Nick, or even one of the privates.

"I won't help you murder anyone," Nadia said flatly. These people just never gave up. "Not even if you keep me here for the rest of my life."

"I never said kill...it was a simply misunderstanding. By get rid of him, I only meant to destroy his career. By pinning him back to the Kasagawa. I believe that he is guilty and he might get away with it. General Sklenova, he is going to frame you too. If you return, you will get planted with some kind of letter that will side you with the Doomani. General Malakov wants to get rid of you. So are you with us or against us. Choose your side, because you will not have another chance." The mysterious man stated. He started to wheeze, and then coughed. "Do you want to return as a traitor?"

Malakov was more than capable of doing whatever it took to keep the Nationalists in power and purge the military of its Catholics. Nadia knew he would not shrink from setting her up as a collaborator.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked. Her voice softened, now that she was willing to believe she wasn't being recruited as an assassin. "I'll work with you, but if I think that you're going to assassinate him... then I'll have to inform the proper authorities."

"The first thing I want you to do is tell people you are fine and just taking a little break from your job. Make up some story because I know people are probably worried about you. I don't want some police officer coming to the embassy's doors trying to find you." The man went underneath the desk and came back with a phone. He placed it in front of Nadia. "We will discuss the plans later. Nadia, once you are done with the phone calls, Sgt. Featherson is going to escort you to your apartment so you can get your cloths and other things. I am sorry to say that you will still be watched. Do you agree to this?"

Nadia wasn't thrilled about the idea of being watched, but it was better than being in prison.

"OK," she said. She would like to see the Defense Minister removed from power. Nadia picked up the phone and called General Korezi, superintendent of the Academy.

"General Korezi, this is General Sklenova. I can't talk now, but I'll be back in a couple of days." She hung up after the super's voice mail recorded her message.

She set the phone down and asked for her cell to be returned to her, along with her weapon. Nadia would probably be asked where her weapon had ended up.

"Here is your cell phone…about your handgun. At this time we have not built a system of trust. Until I believe that has been achieved you will not get your handgun. So your protection will be the men that guard this embassy. I assure you that these men would risk their lives to save you." The mysterious man revealed himself to be Nick. The lamp shined on his face. He had massive bags underneath his eyes and kind of reeked. Nick looked totally different from the first time that Nadia saw him. Sgt. Featherson entered the room. "Ah…just who I wanted to see. Well you are going to your apartment now. You are going to drive there, but Sgt. Featherson is going to keep an eye on you. Okay?"

Nadia pushed her cell phone into her pocket. Guns were easy to come by in Kahanistan; one could simply plop down some two hundred shekels and come out of a gun shop with a brand new AK-101 and no background check. Besides, the military was fairly lax about issuing new items; soldiers lost things all the time.

She nodded coldly to Featherson, as if to signal him to come with her. Nadia was not in a good mood now.

---

General Malakov had sent a secret message to the Freeks, in which he pledged his support for the Freekish cause in their struggle against Doomingsland. He then finished writing his speech for the military, which he planned to give tomorrow.

"I'm sorry about this whole thing, but I have to follow orders. If I could I would let you go, but orders are orders. Until then I can try to help you. General Sklenova just know that I will take a bullet for you and the baby. I will not let you die..." Sgt. Featherson said as he escorted her out of the office.


He made it to one of the many embassies’ cars and opened up the passenger side, then closed the door once Nadia was inside. Sgt. Featherson got into the driver side and started the car up. From the pocket of his uniform, he grabbed his sunglasses and put them on. "General, you are going to have to help me with the directions to your apartment."

Nadia gave the soldier her address. She would assist him if he needed further directions, but otherwise she wasn't in the mood to talk.

Sgt. Featherson finally got to the apartment after getting lost for a little bit. He followed her up to her apartment. John looked around the apartment and kept an eye on Nadia. He was told personally to keep watch Nadia and make sure that Nadia did not try to warn anyone else or bring a weapon. Nick thought that the other men would be too lax, and Sgt. Featherson was the only good choice. John watched from the couch. "General Sklenova what is wrong?"

"Not much," said Nadia coldly. "Unless you count being told you're going to kill someone, locked up for three days, and then they tell you it was all a misunderstanding. Other than that, I think I'm doing fine."

Nadia loaded four days' worth of clothes and other supplies into a large suitcase. "Now, what exactly am I supposed to be doing?"

"Lighten up General. It could have been far worse. You should be lucky that most Canadsteinian men are gentlemen. We fed you. Gave you a place to sleep, A place to shower and go to the bathroom. I say that isn't half bad. We could have let you rot in a jail cell for three days, but we don't operate that way. I would say that we are not that barbaric toward women, especially ones who are pregnant." Sgt. Featherson responded. He picked up her suitcase and led her into the hallway.


Then he abruptly stopped and started to whisper. "I don't know General Sklenova. If I did, then I would tell you. Can you just please not be so cold to us? We are just doing our jobs."

Nadia's facial expression warmed slightly. "So am I. And right now, I don't even know what my job is. What are you going to do?" That might give her a clue.

"Try to not get any of us killed by Malakov's forces." said John as he waited for the elevator. He quickly led Nadia back to the car and put the suitcase in the trunk. Sgt. Featherson stayed quiet for all of the car ride back. Once they got back into the embassies' gates Sgt. Featherson got the suitcase, and handed it off to Cpl. Johnson. Looking at John knew that his shift had been over a couple of hours ago.

Cpl. Johnson and lead her back to the room. He set the suitcase on the floor, and nodded toward her. Johnson returned to his normal post, the chair outside the door, and returned to reading the newspaper.

Nadia still wanted to talk to the young man who had been shy around her. She asked the guard at her door if he was free.

"I thought he seemed kind of shy around me, and I was told he's like that with women in general," she said. She was eager to help him out, and take her mind off her own situation right now, too.

"Yeah I will go see if he is up to it." Cpl. Johnson replied. He quickly went off to go find Hall. Johnson found Hall in no other place, but the kitchen. It took Johnson fifteen minutes and a lot of begging for Taylor to come along. The pair of men walked down the hall, and Cpl. Johnson returned to reading the paper.

Taylor Hall stood immobilized at the door. His whole body was stiff. Cpl. Johnson looked down from his newspaper. "Come on Taylor. You have to face your fears sometime kid. You can't just run away from them."

Taylor's hand turned the door knob. The door slowly opened. Taylor's heart was beating like a drum in some rock band. Sweat rolled down from his forehead. This was probably one of the tensest moments in his life. Taylor slowly shuffled in, with his head down. He took off his Canadstein Army beret. The red beret was quickly stuffed into his pocket. His eyes looked at only the floor. Taylor started to mumble. "Yes, General Sklenova. What do you need?"

Nadia was sitting on the side of the bed, back in a comfortable T-shirt and shorts. She smiled in the teen's direction and motioned for him to sit next to her.

"Call me Nadia," she said. "I wanted to talk to you." She attempted to make eye contact, which wasn't easy when he wouldn't look at her.

Taylor looked up and had a deep crimson in his cheeks. His bright blue eyes looked at Nadia. They defiantly showed his feeling. Taylor moved to her like a robot. His movements were so tense, and robotic. Perspiration could be seen all over his face. Nervously he sat down to Nadia. Taylor was still a kid. At times he could be immature and playful, but he was totally different around women. He had little experience with them, and it had usually been a horrible one.

Taylor looked into Nadia's grey eyes. His stomach started to churn. Taylor fought back the feeling. Everything would become worse if he threw up in front of her. He mumbled again. "What...did...you want...to talk about?"

Taylor almost did not finish the sentence, but somehow he made finished it with his courage. But as soon as he finished he looked away. It had been a horrible idea to come here.

Nadia put an arm around Taylor to calm him. "You seemed really shy around me earlier." She looked directly into his eyes briefly, trying not to let him think she was coming on to him. She could never be too careful.

Taylor became unconformable once he felt Nadia's arm around him. He could feel the warmth of her arm. This was a strange feeling to Taylor. No women had done this before. It was certainly a new experience for Taylor. To him it felt odd and foreign. The color on his cheeks intensified. Taylor started to mumble again. His voice was very timid and seemed to be distant. "I...always...get shy around....wo...men."