NationStates Jolt Archive

"I see that you have finally come to your senses." The man stated as he put out his hands. His head was lowered, so the two men could not see his face.

The black officer whose tag identified him as Sgt. H. Thornwall sat the Canadsteinian man on his motorcycle, then sat behind him and drove to the station. Collins went to his car, still parked at the Ministry; he would arrive about five minutes after Sgt. Thornwall arrived.

When they arrived at the station, Thornwall took him to Collins' office, knowing the commander would want to meet him.

The man looked around inside Collins' office. He needed familiarize himself with this place. Then he finally sat down in a nearby chair and patiently waited.

"I am Sergeant Harold Thornwall, National Police," said the big officer. "Now, Commander Collins should be here in about five minutes. He's the man who called me."

"Now... tell me who you are, what you did, and give me your statement, and we'll investigate it." He handed the man a clipboard to write his statement on, which had an automatic pencil chained to it to write it.

"And while you're at it... tell me where you're from."

The man stared at Collins for a moment. Thoughts were racing through his head. Should he spill his guts and risk everything? Or just walk out of here and keep his country at peace. Well it seemed a little too late to ran now. There was only one way now. Sweat rolled down his face. From a pocket he produced a handkerchief and wiped his face of the sweat.

"I will only say one thing for now. Once General Sklenova arrives, then she will tell you everything. I am from no country..." He replied as he put the handkerchief into his pocket.

"I've already called her. She should be here in a few minutes," said Collins. He had just arrived and sat down next to Thornwall. How much of this shit can we believe?

---

Nadia drove to the police station, having gotten the call while talking to her mother. She stepped out, signed in at the desk, and waited to be escorted to Commander Collins' office. It would not take long...

"That is good to know. All your questions will be answered once she arrives. You just have to trust me Mr. Collins." He stated as he quickly look at his watch, then back toward the police officer. It would only be a matter of time.

Nadia stepped into the door and sat down. She was stunned to see the agent again.

She looked at him in shock, then sat down. When she was finally able to speak, she looked at the commander.

"Seems you caught him," she said.

"Turned himself in," said Collins. "Won't tell us who he is, or where he's from, or anything like that. Oh, and this is Sergeant Harold Thornwall," he said, nodding to the enormous man next to him. "Harold, this is Brigadier General Nadia Sklenova, Republic Guard."

The large man shook hands with Nadia, and the young woman turned to the Canadsteinian.

"What made you come back?"

The man was startled to hear Nadia's voice. It had been far too long. They all probably thought that he was Nick Mills, but sadly he was not. Though he knew what exactly had happened during the whole Malakov case. He turned and looked at Nadia. Quickly he looked away. During all the time he was gone those gray eyes still lingered within his mind.

The man sat down his bowler hat on the desk to reveal who he was really. The mystery man was Miles Mason. Though during the time after he fled Kahanistan Miles had grown a beard. He had a fatigued look on his face.

"I came back because I promised I would to you Nadia, even if I was a criminal. I loved you..." Miles stated as he a lump was starting to grow in his throat. It had almost been three weeks since he had fled from this country.

Nadia smiled and wrapped her arms around Miles. She had no inkling as to whether or not Miles was directly involved in the crime, but assumed he wasn't as he was out of the country at the time.

"You put yourself in a lot of danger coming here," she said tearfully.

"I'd have to agree with her," said Collins. "Mr. Mason, you're wanted for assault, menacing with a deadly weapon... breaking and entering... I'd say you could get five to ten years. Of course, any information you may have on General Malakov's disappearance and on Nick Mills might weigh in your favor..."

Miles sighed as he looked at Nadia. He put his arms around her and held her tightly. It was good to finally be near her. As he held her Miles did not have a care in the world. He moved closer to her and could see her tears. So much had happened in the three weeks he was gone. Tears started to roll down his face.

"I know, but I came back for you. Nothing was going to stop that." Miles whispered into Nadia's ear.

He almost forgot why he was in the police station. Miles slowly let go of her, then turned back to Mr. Collins. From his pocket he retrieved his handkerchief and gave it to Nadia. He nodded for her to use it.

"When I left this country I left as a coward. But now I return with some bravery. I have come back for Nadia. I remember when the plane took off I wondered if I would ever return to Kahanistan and Nadia. Though if I did I knew I would come back as a wanted criminal. I had a lot of second thoughts about coming here, but the thought of Nadia and my promise prevailed." Miles told the people within the room. "But sadly I have no information on Malakov..."

Collins frowned. "We know that an agent named Nick Mills murdered the General and dumped his body, we don't know where," said the commander.

"Any information you can give to me about Mr. Mills would be more than enough. Mr. Mills, from what little we know, came around the same time you were last seen at the Defense Ministry. He at least came onto our radar about that time."

Nadia wiped her face. "How does coming back here help anyone? The National Police probably wouldn't have chased you in Canadstein."

"I highly doubt that Nick would kill someone. This kid couldn't even hurt a fly. All I know is that this was his first mission and he was my replacement. Nothing more. Sorry that I can't really help you." said Miles.

Miles suspected that General Malakov was rotting in one of few "black sites" that the Canadstein Intelligence Agency was running. But that was just a hunch. Malakov literally could be anywhere. He turned toward Nadia and listened. His hand grasped her. Miles looked her straight in the eye.

"Me coming back has nothing to do with Malakov. I came back for you, Nadia, and I guess to also face the crimes that are against me." Miles said as he trembling. Nadia did not seem to understand that he solely came here for her. "For the past three weeks this whole mission in Kahanistan has been tearing me. I feel that I was somewhat responsible for the disappearance of Malakov. If I did not return here, then I would have surely gone mad or something far worse."

"Mr. Featherston said that Nick disposed of Malakov," said Nadia. "I tried to get him to turn himself in, but he ran off."

"Our government has asked that Mr. Mills be extradited, but yours denies any record of him, and we haven't been able to find anything on him. Is Nick Mills his real name, is he a native of Canadstein... what agency do you and Mr. Mills work for?"

"Featherson might have been wrong. Or just trying to fool you. But I can see why he ran away. In Canadstein it is dishonorable to turn in your own countrymen. If the citizens back home would have found out, then he would have been disowned." Miles stated. "With Nick I have already told you what I know, but I guess he could be part of the Canadstein Intelligence Agency, which I am part of. Though I do not have the foggiest idea."

He sighed for a second, then looked at Nadia.

"I do not think I should be talking about this case anymore. I cannot help you anymore with it. Let us get down to the real reason why I am here and why I called Nadia here. Tell them Nadia what I have done." Miles said.

Nadia racked her brains. As far as she knew, Miles had done little more than rough up Malakov in his office and get in a fight with some security that had been told he was an assassin.

There was, of course, the illicit search of the general's computer, but Collins already knew that; it was the backbone of the evidence incriminating the Defense Minister. If he didn't, Nadia didn't want to incriminate herself too.

"Well, as the charges say... there was an altercation in the Defense Ministry, where the security tried to turn him out because they'd been told he wanted to assassinate Malakov. Malakov feared him because he had been aggressive toward him before. But he had nothing to do with the shooting in the Ministry."

"Ah, that," said Collins. "Corporal Bates has already taken full responsibility. From what I heard, his lawyer managed to sell the jury a claim that he was temporarily insane. Bullshit, in my opinion. That's juries for you."

"It's dishonorable in Kahanistan to turn in your own people, too," said Nadia. "But on the other hand, if someone does something dishonorable, like executing prisoners or civilians, or firebombing a city... then it's dishonorable not to turn them in."

"Well it seems Malakov is not going to be a probably for me anymore. Though how is Bates holding up?" said Miles. Miles remembered how Bates had saved the lives of both Nadia and himself. He risked his reputation and life to make sure that the case was not simply forgotten. There was still a promise that he had to keep with that young Corporal.

"You have no idea what it would do to me. It would pretty much end my life in Canadstein. Then where would I go? I am a citizen of no country. Plus what would I know? I wasn't here when Malakov disappeared." Miles said in a calm way. "I am still a wanted criminal Mr. Collins?"

"Officially, yes," said the commander. "However... I'm chasing a bigger fish. I'm sure that General Sklenova can convince the judge and jury to show mercy, and you can plead your case before a judge. I haven't the time to take you into custody... but if you remember anything about Malakov, or can give me any ideas of where he might be... any black sites you might know of... let me know, and I'll see you granted immunity."

Nadia shook her head. "I don't know about Bates. He's been sent to a psychiatric institution on the north side. He should be fine," she said. "I don't know how much freedom he has there, though."

"I am sorry, but I have already told you everything I know. I don't really see me helping you in this other case. Sorry that I could not do anymore." Miles said as he gulped. He almost cringed when Collins said something about black sites. If Malakov was alive, then he would surely be in a black sites. Miles only knew about four, Moltke, Eugénie, Puttkamer, and MacMahon. Malakov could be right now in anyone of those.

"Well it seems as though I have no further reason to be here. So I think I will leave. It was a pleasure to meet you Mr. Collins." Miles retrieved a piece of paper from his pocket and wrote down his cell phone number.

"Miss Sklenova, I will waiting outside for you if you want to pay a visit to Bates. I will wait, so you can a talk with Mr. Collins." said Miles. He gave a hand shake to Mr. Collins and put back on his bowler hat. Then he walked silently toward and out the door.

"Commander Collins, what do you plan to do now?" asked Nadia.

The officer sat back in his chair. "I don't know," he replied. "We can no longer assume General Malakov is dead. He may be dead, or he may be in a secret prison. He may even have been handed over to a third country."

Nadia remembered what Malakov had said about extraordinary rendition. He had expressed the fear that General Kasagawa would be "rendited," but he was probably more intent on keeping an eye on foreign investigators than in keeping her in the country. It seemed bitterly ironic that the cover for his skullduggery might become a reality for him.

Collins tore her from her thoughts. "Miss Sklenova. I'd like if you tried to get more information from Mr. Mason about any secret sites he may know about. I've a feeling he isn't telling us all he knows."

"I don't think he'll spill easily," replied Nadia. "If I push him too hard, he'll run off, like Featherston."

"I can't tell you how to go about this. I'll email you a copy of our interrogation manual, and you can take it from there," said Collins. "Miss Sklenova, I'll see you again." He shook the officer's hand and they separated, Nadia heading down to the entrance to meet with Miles.

Miles admired Nadia from where he was standing, once she appeared from one of the many corridors. It had been far too long since he had last seen Nadia, but now he was finally back with her. He started to turn red when he first saw her. Though once she came over his cheek return to normal. So much had happened between the two. Miles remembered that stormy night, when he found her on a corner dripping wet.

Once Nadia came close enough he removed his bowler, and with his other hand caught her hand. He bent down and kissed. Miles looked with a grin on his face.

"So I finally get to meet the captivating Miss Sklenova. I have been waiting to finally meet you." Miles said jokingly, but with some seriousness. "So Miss Sklenova what is your option on my beard? I thought that I might ask a woman with some class."

Nadia smiled. She really didn't have an opinion on beards, but the compliment certainly meant a lot to her.

"It's... different," she said. In fact, it gave her the impression Miles had been depressed and not taking care of his grooming for some time, which she didn't want to say outright.

She placed her hands down over her expanding stomach. "The doctor says the baby will be due in five and a half weeks, but it's gotten a bit bigger over the past month or so," said Nadia. "I don't know, maybe it'll come early." Nadia was starting to have trouble walking.

Miles nodded with a smile. Nadia's belly had certainly grown bigger since his last visit, which had almost been a month. His arms touched her belly. He thought that he could almost feel the baby move. His hands slowly moved to grasp Nadia's hands. Miles moved her body closer to his. He could feel her warmth and the baby. He looked at her and sighed. Nadia certainly was the only girl for him. Slowly he let go of her and then lead her out of the police station.

He stopped on the sidewalk and turned toward her. Miles moved close toward her. Miles whispered "Nadia, you know that I love you, but do you share that same feeling? I must know. You seemed to be indifferent when I left. Has that changed or is the same?"

He probably could feel the baby. Nadia was somewhere around 135 pounds by now. She'd been 115 before pregnancy.

"I like you." It was as far as she would go. Nadia did not fall in love easily. "I think we get along very well." She put her arms around him.

"Want to go back to my apartment?" she asked.

Miles sighed and looked up to the sky for a moment. It wasn't an answer he wanted to hear, but at least it was a positive response. Though he quickly noticed her she put her arms around him. He turned toward her and smiled.

"Not yet. I feel that I am obligated to at least pay Bates a visit. He pretty much saved both of our lives. God knows what would have happened if Malakov's goons found us. Do you want to come along, Nadia? Plus I think I might need some help finding this place." Miles said.

My career would have been shot, and he'd probably have been sent to jail...

Nadia nodded. "OK, my car's over there." She pointed to her vehicle. "It's on the north end of the city."

Miles recognized the car and escorted Nadia to her car. He held her hand and just smiled. Right now there could not be a better moment then this. As he sat down, and slightly shook his head.

"I wonder how Bates it doing. If it wasn't for him I could be in the same place." Miles said. He sighed and stayed quiet for a moment, then he turned toward Nadia. "So what is between you and that Collins guy? I could see that look in your eyes. I have seen it before."

Nadia shrugged. "Maybe he likes me. Anyway, he's the officer in charge of investigating General Malakov's disappearance. He took my report when I went to hand Featherson in."

She opened the driver's side door, unlocked the passenger side and started her engine. "He's one of the few people I've met who's a card-carrying Nationalist and actually seems halfway rational. Maybe because he's Catholic and doesn't want to herd them all on the next plane out of here."

Nadia put the car into reverse and backed out of the parking lot.

"So anything happen while I was gone, but the disappearance of Malakov and the manhunt for Nick?" Miles said as he looked out the window to the streets passing by.

The thing about the black sites was not the only information he had withheld. Just before he got on his flight to Kahanistan Sgt. Featherson had called him. It seems that they just had gotten back from Kahanistan and told him about the recent events. Also during their exchange, John did heavily hint where Nick was located now, but had not told Miles. At the time Miles did not really care, but now it seemed important to the government here.

"Well, Malakov's fears about the Fordies invading might not just have been a scare tactic to drum up support," replied Nadia. "The borders have been a lot more active the last few days. I heard the Senate got DPR's for some big heavy tank from DMG, and imported about a thousand units of some one-kiloton beast tank... plus the military's cranking out a lot of new gear, I think the government really is afraid."

"So a war scare has come up again. I remember that last time I was here the roads were packed with tanks and military troops. Most people thought that war was just on the horizon." Miles said. "How is the new Defense Minister, since Malakov is MIA?

"General Rakhmadi... well... she's the same as always. The Middies have backed off, but she got the Senate to spring for DMG's Behemoth series of tanks... still wants to plant bugs in Catholic churches and give the National Police the power to wiretap them or even put undercover agents in churches to make sure Catholics don't collaborate with Doomingsland."

She drove to an unfamiliar part of the city, checking her GPS. "Should be around here somewhere... Ah, here." She pulled into a parking lot, past some heavily armored guards.

"At least she is trying to start a war with all of your enemies and trying to deport all the Catholics." Miles said as he looked at the guards. He was thankful that he wasn't here, but sad that Bates had pretty much ended his life to save the pair. The least he could do was pay him a visit and check up on him. Once the car came to a stop Miles opened the car door and looked around.

Nadia got out of the car, leading Miles past two other guards outside the main entrance and two more within.

"Yeah, she's just more methodical. She's confident that someday a whole lot of priests and military chaplains will be caught passing secrets to the Doomies, and that'll be all she needs to have the Catholics expelled. But we know that isn't going to happen," she said. She stepped up to the desk.

"We're here to see a Mr. Henry Bates," said Nadia.

Miles simply nodded to the guards and continued on to see Bates.

Two guards, dressed in heavy tactical body armor and carrying tranqulizer rifles, flash-bangs, and tear-gas grenades, escorted Nadia and Miles to a cell on the fifth floor.

Inside was Henry Bates. He was looking a little the worse for wear, as if he hadn't eaten in days. His beard had grown out, and when they arrived, he was laying on his back perfectly motionless. He was dressed in the solid red jumpsuit used for military inmates, who were considered more dangerous due to their advanced training. Civilian inmates wore blue suits of the same fabric and style.

Miles almost broke down to when he saw Bates in his cell, but kept his composure. Bates looked even worse than he did. It surely was a sad sight to see. Bates was still a kid, and had his whole life to live. Now he was going to be confined to this man made hell. Slowly Miles moved up to him. His eyes were teary.

"Hey Bates, it's Miles. Miles Mason?" Miles asked timidly.

Henry stood up. He had been very depressed since his capture, and was almost unable to use his right leg, which had taken several hits. A bag was strapped to his rear end, making it look fat under his jumpsuit, testament to intestinal injuries he had sustained during the shooting at the Ministry.

"Miles. Who's your girlfriend? I saw her at the Ministry, but I don't remember anything about her."

'Man this kid is really messed up.' thought Miles to himself.

He sat right next to him and set his hand on Bates' shoulder.. Miles turned toward Nadia, when Bates pointed out her. His hand gave a gesture to move up and join him.

"Ahh...this is General Nadia Sklenova." He stated as he gave a warm smile to her.

"It is good to see you again Bates. We both owe you are lives. You did a courageous act that I think can never be repaid. You sacrificed everything for us. Words cannot description how much I appreciate." Miles said. "I came back today and I still remembered that promise I gave you, the one about taking you out of a meal. Well it doesn't seem I can do that now..."

Miles started to break down in tears and covered his eyes with his forearm.

"I panicked," said Henry. A small door within the cell door was open, and he put his hand through it and took Miles' hand.

"The guards wanted to arrest.... her for complicity," he said. "I panicked, she was innocent, the soldiers grabbed her arm, and I shot their leader, and all hell broke loose. She got away in the confusion."

"They thought she was helping you to kill Malakov. I don't hear a lot in here... how did your investigation go?"

"Well after that I was pretty much a wanted criminal. I did not dare go near the Ministry of Defense. So I fled from Kahanistan and back to my native land. That was the last time I engaged in the investigations. My government sent a replacement, but it was soon terminated and he and his team were sent home." Miles said as he tried to tell the truth to the young man. He could not tell any secure information in front of Bates or Nadia. "Bates...I wish I could more. You are a true friend..."

Miles could not take anymore and just shook Bates and said his good-byes. He started to walk down the hall and stood at the end, so Nadia could speak to Henry.

Nadia looked at the young man. She had chewed him out earlier, when he had come in with Miles and a fight with the security had broken out. Now, he was in deep shit, and what was worse, he actually seemed to be breaking mentally.

She couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't start her crying. She stood there for a minute or so.

"General Malakov disappeared," she said.

"Good," said Henry. "Maybe we won't be invading Midlonia now."

"Intel thinks Canadstein is responsible, but they want proof," said Nadia. "I personally think they are, but that it was a few agents working outside their authority, their government doesn't have any record of them, at all."

"I don't know why they even bother. Do they want us to invade whoever crosses us, and drop nukes on people, and start sending Catholics to camps?"

"No. I think they don't like having their officials removed outside the normal procedure for removing them," said Nadia. "Neither do I. The Foreign Minister is a friend of mine, and she's... well, she once dropped the 'O' in 'Count JWolf.' If they removed her like that, I'd move heaven and earth to find her. I may not like Malakov, but I have to do the same for him. There's probably enough evidence by now to prosecute him, anyway."

"Will I see you again some time?" asked Henry.

"Maybe," said Nadia. "I don't think you're here for life, this isn't a prison."

"I'm here till they know I won't snap again," said Henry. "Could be a long time. Of course, the conditions here can make anyone snap. Watch out for the girl in the cell across from me."

"What about her?"

"She's a military patient, like me. She was captured in action and it messed her brain up. She's got hardly any emotions, like she's been drugged or something. Gave me the creeps when I saw her. She looked right through me. She isn't dangerous, but she will give you a scare if you don't know what to expect."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Nadia. "I'll be off now."

"Later, Miss Sklenova."

Nadia went down to meet up with Miles and get out.

Miles approached her. He looked to be sadden by the state of Bates. This place almost fit the definition of hell for Miles. His eyes were still redden from when he started to cry. Miles went up to Nadia and put his arms around her. He knew that this visit had affected the both of them. Also emotionally it had drained him. He said absolutely nothing as he held her. Then he slowly let go of Nadia.

"Nadia, I need to ask something to Henry." Miles said. He gave a small kiss on the cheek, then started to run off. "Get in the car I will be there in a minute."

Miles ran down the hallway and came to a skidding halt at Bates' cell. He knocked on it to get Henry's attention.

"Henry, it's me. I need to ask you something." Miles asked almost out of breath.

Nadia went to the car and climbed inside. Henry nodded to Miles.

"Yes...?"

"Is there anything I can do?" Miles said with an eager face. "I feel that I should at least do something..."

"Well, when I get out of here... how about you take me up on that offer of getting together?" asked Henry. "Assuming that weird girl across from here doesn't drive me mad... military patient, some kind of brain trauma. I think she's been lobotomized or something, she just looks right through you."

"Anyway... assuming I don't go mad in here, I should be out sometime this lifetime. See you around, Miles."

"Okay I will take you out to that nice French restaurant you wanted to go to. We will have all the courses. Pretty much will keep on eating until our stomachs burst. I will keep this promise even if it is the last thing I do." Miles said with a wide smile as he tried to cheer up Henry. From a pocket in his jacket he produced a book, Crime and Punishment. "Here is a little present I got you. So you can pass the time.

Miles handed over the book. He shook Henry's hand, and said his good-byes for the last time. Though he seemed to be curious to what Henry had said about his "neighbor." It would not hurt to look.

Timidly Miles knocked on the door of the cell. For what he had gather from Henry's conservation this lady seemed to be crazed. Miles nervously said. "Anybody home...?

Henry took the book, said "Thanks. It'll give me something to keep sane," went to a corner in his cell and began to read.

In the opposite cell, a woman in the same red military patient jumpsuit looked up towards the window in her cell. She was in her 30's and about the same height as Nadia. She had long, dark hair and a glazed look in her eyes, as if something wasn't there that should be. Her left eyelid looked like it had become infected and drained; it was sunken in her head, but her eye was still there.

She opened the mini-door on her cell, allowing her to see out at this new person. Blankly, she stared through the young man on the other side, as if looking into the distance on the other side.

Miles tried to keep his cool as the woman opened her door. The first thing that caught his attention was her eyes. They had this eerie feeling to them. As though the lights were on in the house, but no one was there. The blank stare made Miles feel a little uneasy. He wondered if she was truly staring at him. Miles was speechless for a minutes, but regained his thought.

"Hello I am Miles Mason. I just thought I...would you know check up on...you." Miles stammered off as he tried not to look at her.

The patient did not seem disturbed at all by Miles' sudden intrusion.

"Are you... new staff...?" she asked. Her voice was soft, but carried a monotone quality that made it clear she was not all there.

"No I am just a simply visitor. See I was visiting Henry over there." Miles said as he pointed his arm toward Bates' cell. "He talked about you, and it seemed that some company might do you some good. So may I inquire what your name is, Miss?"

Miles became very curious to how this woman became this way. There just had to be an answer to it. Maybe she was drugged up or maybe she was truly insane. Also this woman could have known something, but he government did not want anyone to find out, so they gave her a lobotomy. To Miles she truly was in a sad state, but to answer these questions he need some information.

"Andrea." She did not seem to respond emotionally at all to the idea of some company, nor to anything else. She merely stared ahead.

The young woman continued to stare through Miles, as if she were barely in the world, as if her body were there but her mind was somewhere else or did not exist.

"Do you have a last name Andrea?" Miles inquired.

"Rhodes," Andrea said in the same soft monotone.

The injuries to her left eye were fairly visible if one could bear to look back when she stared right through them. It was clear she was the victim of an ice-pick lobotomy - which had not been practiced in Kahanistan since 1953. From the look of her, she had not been born until the mid-1970's.

"So...why are you here if I might ask? If it is too painfully to answer, then just simply nod." Miles whispered. He looked around and saw that no guards were around. There was something very odd about this. This women must have done something because he had never seen injuries like this before. Once he got out of this place he needed to tell someone about what he saw here.

The woman was not particularly articulate, but the damage to her brain did not go so far as to render her incoherent or retarded. She replied calmly, her voice inflexion nonexistent, her tone soft.

"The marines said that there was no hope for me," she said. "That they had run out of options. Then they took me here."

"Running out of options for what, Andrea?" Miles said as he eyes narrowed.

"To keep me in," said Andrea. "The military. After the lobotomy."

This was logical enough, for one with a working knowledge of the Kahanistanian military. Their strict policy of non-discrimination meant that they would not discharge someone for disability - especially disability incurred in the line of duty - unless all other options had been exhausted.

"Why did the military give you a lobotomy?" Miles said as he once again looked around.

He did not want to get caught by some more government thugs, then have to use force against them. The little time he had spent here Miles had already had a criminal record, and he did not want that to expand.

"Not the military. I was captured," Andrea replied. Even describing the horrors she had undergone did not seem to affect her emotionally.

"They burned us. They killed the others. They gave me a lobotomy and sent me back. I don't know why."

There was no chance of being attacked by government thugs here. This was a civilian mental hospital, but there were military inmates kept in a high-security wing to prevent them from running amok.

"Who captured...you? And who is 'they'? Are they one in the same?" Miles asked he became more intrigued. Andrea was no longer a person. She could have been compared to either a robot or a zombie. All just seemed to do was simply drone off answers to his questions. She showed absolutely not emotion.

"The Whyaticans," said Andrea.

Anyone familiar with relations between Kahanistan and Whyatica knew that a mission of Kahanistanian operatives had infiltrated occupied Clandonia to investigate claims of human rights abuses. They had been forced down and quickly captured, then tortured and murdered.

Andrea was clearly a survivor of this mission, which had led to Kahanistan being invaded (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Operation_Silva) by Whyatica and Doomingsland. This was why Kahanistan had been relocated to Haven from its original location in the Negev Desert.

A search of the publicly accessible portion of her military file would reveal she had been a Major in the Republic Marines (then the Imperial Marines), and had served for some time in the Directorate of Anti-Kraven Intelligence, but transferred to the Special Combat Service when deemed emotionally unsuitable for Kraven operations - ironic in the face of her current condition.

Miles just shook his head. People were truly monsters. Back in Canadstein most of the people just ignored these events. They simply brushed them off. It would never happen to them, and they just did not care. 'Why should they care?' most of them thought. It was just sicken to see this happen. He looked up and faced Andrea straight in the eye.

"Well thank you for talking to me and for you time I have a little gift for you." Miles always carried around two to three books with him. He was a quickly reader and would read about anything. Through the small slot the book was hanging waiting to be retrieved. It was The Tale of Tsar Saltan by a Alexander Pushkin. "Here I want you to have this. It is the least I could do. So you can past the time."

Miles tipped his bowler to her and gave her a smile of warm. He needed to help his young woman but he did not know how. He briskly walked out of the hospital and into Nadia's car.

"Thank you for waiting for me, but it took a little longer than expected. I talked to a certain Andrea Rhodes. It was very eerie. It was as though all the lights were on in the house, but there was not one single person within it. She had a blank stare and showed absolutely no emotion. It all makes since Miss Rhodes had a lobotomy courtesy of the Whyatican government. Miss Rhodes is almost like a robot." stated Miles with hint of sadness. "I believe that I should do something about it. Miss Rhodes does not belong in a place like this. She actually need real help instead of just being locked away and forgotten. Though I would like to first find out more about her. This is where you come in. I need your help."

---

The same man that had spoken to Malakov entered the room again. He looked exactly the same as their last encounter. The masked man carried a box overflowing with books. They were writers of the past Hegel, Tolstoy, Shakespeare, Chekhov, Twain, Orwell, and many more.

The box was dropped right in front of Malakov.

"The commander thought you could have something to do to past the time." The man stated.

Andrea took the book, not knowing what else to do. She was still able to understand written language, but reading had not been one of her favorite activities before her capture and it wasn't now. She sat down on her cot.

---

Nadia nodded. "Was she the woman Bates was talking about?" she asked. "I don't know what they can do for lobotomies," she said. "But I did hear of an officer receiving one. That must be her."

She started up the car and backed out of the parking lot. "Not sure what I can do for her, but I'm open to suggestions."

---

"Are you trying to make me love Mary-worshippers?" asked Malakov coldly. "Mary-worshipper" was a derogatory term for a Catholic, from the erroneous notion that they worship Mary, the mother of Jesus.

"Yeah Miss Rhodes is the one. She seemed pretty harmless. I want to get her out of there. You saw that place." Miles bluntly said. "Plus I have my suspicious that Miss Rhodes was actually lobotomized by the Whyaticans. Maybe she was taken out because she knew or saw something. I am getting a weird vibe..."

Miles turned toward Nadia and gave a light kiss on her rosy red cheek. He knew that he was truly lucky. That visit to the hospital had really shaken him up. Miles looked down toward his watch.

"It is about dinner time. How about we get some chow?" Miles said casually.

---

"First off General Malakov I am not a Catholic. I am a man of no religion. So think before you speak..." The man said as he eye glared at Iosif with angry. "So do you want to get a book or not?"

"I don't think that's likely," said Nadia. "Our government wouldn't do that. If they did, I'd be the first to speak out. If she says the Whyaticans did it, that's enough for me. I don't think someone whose brain's been messed with like that would think to lie."

"Not really hungry after that thought," Nadia said, getting onto the road. "But the baby probably is. Let's stop at a Burger King or something."

---

Malakov took a copy of Orwell. Seems fitting... 'The truth will set you free.'

"I never said you were. I asked if you were trying to make me love them. You took me in so that they can multiply in here, beshitting humanity with Catholics who don't use birth control so they push out even more Catholics, until they become a majority and take control of our own democratic government apparatus."

"Sounds fine to me. I just want to get the bottom of this. It all just seems a little too good to be true for me." Miles said. "Plus why in world would the government send her to a place like that? She is no threat, unless they are worried about something. If the government has no hand in it the least we could do is try to release her from that hell."

---
"Yeah just keep on telling yourself that." The man sarcastically replied.

Then he picked up the box and left the room.

Nadia shook her head. "I don't know how well she'd be able to care for herself outside," she said. "The government probably sent her to a mental hospital because... they would have tried to reintegrate her with the military, but if that failed... if she was too slow, too unpredictable... too unreliable, they might have run out of options and discharged her."

She pulled up to a Burger King. "What would you like?" she asked.

"Well there has to be someone who could take of her. Even if would could not find someone here, then I will find someone in my native land. Miss Rhodes is a very sad case. I pity the state she is in. It is sicken but people do to each other." Miles said as his voice trembled off at the end.

He stayed quiet and absentmindedly stared out the window until he heard Nadia's voice.

"Oh...you know a burger I guess...Actually whatever you are having my dea." Miles said.

For the last three weeks all he had eaten was food out of a can. He could not even remember the last time he ate food that actually was heated.

She pulled up to the drive-thru. "Two whoppers and two large diet Cokes."

"Four shekels, twenty agorot," said the voice on the other side.

Nadia resumed her conversation with Miles once she had pulled up.

"I suppose a nursing home could do the trick, if her mental condition can't be fixed," said Nadia. "I could go through her military file, find out what's publicly available, and see what we can do. Does seem a shame, though... she can't be much older than I am, if she was deployed in action a few months ago..."

Miles handed a mess of paper bills to Nadia. It was still from the last time he had been in Kahanistan. There was no real need for it in Canadstein, so Miles had claimed it. Within the suitcase were bundles of paper money. Before he left Miles had pocketed a couple of bundles to make sure that he had enough money.

"I am going to pay since I am the one that is hungry. I just hope that is enough money." Miles said as he put the wad of money back into his pocket.

"Actually she looked to be around your age. She kind of reminded me of you. Right now Nadia you could have been her. Might have just been the luck of the draw. No women should be treated that way..." Miles said with remorse. "It is a pity that your government just threw like a broken toy."

Nadia handed a five-shekel note to the burger kid in the window, and he handed her eighty agorot in change, which she passed to Miles.

"Nobody should be treated that way," she said coldly. "I don't think my government did that, though. We could stop at the base nearby, and look at what files are publicly available," said Nadia.

Some military files were publicly accessible, such as promotions, awards, and non-classified deployments, qualifications, and a brief biography. Others were kept hidden, such as classified deployments, disciplinary files, information pertinent to certain investigations, etc.

"I don't think that the public files are going to give us that many answers, but it would not hurt to look." Miles said. "But I think the classified stuff is going to be more helpful."

Nadia frowned. "My security clearance only allows me access to files I need to do my job, and right now, I'm a flight instructor. Most of what I have are details of aircraft design, and not even that intensive. You don't think a driving instructor has to know how different types of cars are designed, do you?"

The burger kid handed Nadia a bag with two burgers in it and a beverage container with two Cokes in it. The car had space for five beverage holders, the most it could hold.

"So, should we head to the base?"

"Yeah I guess..." Miles said with a frown. Picked up his coke took a couple of sips. Then he started to think.

Maybe he was getting overworked over just spilled milk, but he did have an odd feeling about this. All of what Nadia said could be true or maybe he right. It would not hurt just to check it out and if they happened to find something, than his suspicious would pay off. The only problem was to see this classified stuff about Andrea Rhodes, even if there was any.

Nadia put the car into gear and drove toward the base. She did not even realize she was going over 120 kilometers an hour on the main highway.

Within ten minutes, they arrived at a small base. Since nothing classified was stored there, it was left unguarded except for a sentry with a Hali-53. He simply waved them by.

Nadia parked the car by what looked like an office, and stepped out. "Should be a computer room nearby, we can get info on military personnel here."

Miles sat back and noticed how fast Nadia was going. It was way over the speed limit, but at least they were going to get there faster. He gave nodded at the guard as they entered the base. Once they were parked, Miles threw Nadia here burger. He had already wolfed his down. For Miles it had been at least two days since his last meal. That meal was some military grade food in a can. It tasted bland, but kept him alive. In both of his hands he carried the containers for the coke.

"Lead the way my dove." Miles said as he extended his arm, with the coke in hand, to the building.

Nadia walked into the office. Her sandwich could wait; she wanted to check out this girl's background. She sat at one of the terminals and accessed the Defense Ministry's personnel files for current and former military personnel, then read off the file that she had managed to find.

"Rhodes, Andrea Suzanne. Age: 31. Height: 165 centimeters / 5'5". Weight: 61 kilograms / 135 pounds. Hair: Dark brown. Eyes: Blue. Last rank and position: Major, Republic Marines, General Staff filing... they gave her a desk job after the mission, and it apparently didn't work out, she was discharged six weeks ago, 30 May 2007, for 'intractable mental unsuitability.' Awards: Doomani Service Medal, 2007, Purple Heart, 2007, Kraven Skull Medal, 2005, Defense of Xirnium Cross, 2005, Distinguished Service Cross, 2004, Silver Star, 2001. Biography: Born 1976, in Al-Bahr, Kahanistan, joined Military Academy 1991, graduated 1999, B.S. in psychology 1999. Seems like a fairly successful officer..." said Nadia. "Promoted to first lieutenant 2000, captain 2002, major 2005."

She scrolled down to a photograph of a young, athletically built woman. The woman in the picture had long dark hair, blue eyes, and a warm smile. She was in the dress uniform of a Marine Major, dated 2005, and looked around 30 years old. "This the woman in the hospital?" asked Nadia.

Miles followed behind her and sat down in a chair, next to the terminal she was using. Every so often he would take a sip, but he was transfixed by the record of Miss Rhodes. He intently listened to every word that came out of Nadia's mouth as she droned on about Andrea's record and boy did she had a record. Andrea had done so many things that it could fill a life time.

"Wow I am pretty impressed by all the things she has done and she is only thirty one right?" Miles said. "Seems like the kind of girl most guys would..."

Then his attention was soon diverted to her picture. This was defiantly an entirely different women. This Andrea had a smile on her face and unique spark in her eyes. Well that was all gone from his visit today. The only thing these two Andreas both had in common were their bodies, and that was only some features. Miles just stayed quiet for a moment and closed his eyes. His shook slowly.

"Yeah...that is her..." said Miles as he reopened his eyes. A tear rolled down his cheek. "She looks like a different person. So beautiful, but now..."

Nadia's voice cracked. Andrea was pretty, not necessarily the kind of woman one would think of as military material. "Yes, she is. I'll see if she has any contact information... Ah, here. She listed her father as someone to contact in emergency. If he doesn't know, he should know the kind of conditions she's being held in. The military has better nursing homes than that. It's sickening."

She printed off the file. "Let's look at my record, and get our minds off this." Nadia went to the Republic Guard database and pulled her own file.

"Sklenova, Nadezhda (Nadia) Lionelovna. Age: 32. Height: 165 centimeters / 5'5". Weight: 52 kilograms / 115 pounds. This is before..." She placed a hand over her stomach. "Hair: Blonde. Eyes: Gray. Rank and position: Brigadier General, flight instructor. Awards: Kraven Skull Medal, 2007, Diplomacy Medal, 2007, Purple Heart, 2007, Hero of the Republic, 2007, Purple Heart, 2005, Distinguished Service Cross, 2003, Silver Star, 2001, Silver Star, 2000, Silver Star, 1999, Purple Heart, 1999, Bronze Star, 1998, Hero of the Republic, 1995, Purple Heart, 1995. Biography: Born 1974, in Al-Bahr, Kahanistan. Joined the Military Academy in 1987, graduated 1995, B.A. in philosophy, 1995. Promoted to first lieutenant 1995, captain 1997, major 2000, lieutenant colonel 2005, skipped colonel to brigadier general 2007."

The photograph of Nadia was also that of an attractive woman in military uniform, this one with the rank of a one-star general. She smiled widely and appeared quite proud of her military service. She certainly seemed happier than she was now, possibly because she had just gotten out of Kraven and been paraded.

"It is the least we could do. She deserves a more fitting place than that hell..." Miles said as he sighed and said nothing more for a few minutes.

He was starting to get depressed. In all of his ten years as working as an agent he had never seen anything like Andrea. She was truly in a sad state. Miles wished that he could have been there to stop her lobotomy. Only if...

"Yeah I need to get that off my mind for a while." Miles said with a grim look on his face.

He once again intently listened to Nadia. During this time he learned a little more about the girl he loved. Miles smiled as he read about herself and then looked down to her picture. Nadia was even more beautiful in person. A devilish smiled appeared on his face and he brought Nadia closer to him. His lips moved closer to hers until they finally met. This kiss was passionate and meant something to Miles. Reluctantly he slowly let go of her from his embraced. His arms were still wrapped around her.

"Nadezhda? You never told me that you true name was Nadezhda. I always thought it was Nadia." Miles said as he held her trying to get Andrea off of his mind.

"Everyone calls me Nadia," she said, clearly uncomfortable from being kissed passionately all of a sudden. "Nadezhda is Russian for 'hope.' Nadia's short for Nadezhda. Even my mother calls me Nadia."

"Now..." she said, thinking about how she had been involved in this mess with Malakov, "we should probably get out and clear our heads. I know I've been through a lot emotionally," she said.

He could tell that Nadia was unconformable. Oblivious that kiss was wrong and Nadia, or Nadezhda, did not feel the say way he did. For the most part he simply ignored what she said and was looking at the printed information of Andrea's file.

"Yeah...I guess..." Miles said as he gave an automatic response.

Miles seemed to be kind of distraught. So many thoughts were racing through his head. His breathing became heavier and faster. His hands released the papers and they slowly fell to the ground. He knew that something was wrong. Miles thought that he was going to a panic attack. Quickly he got up and ran to the door. The doors slammed open to reveal the outside the world. Miles started to run as fast as could. He ran across the parking lot, but tripped to the ground. Now he tried to crawl, but his legs would budge. Miles put his face in the ground and started to cry heavily.

Nadia picked up the papers and put them into her pocket. She followed Miles out, knowing something was wrong.

Holy hell... what is wrong? She walked up to Miles. "What is it?" she asked softly.

Miles was sobbing uncontrollably. This last couple of weeks all he had felt was pain. Now he was letting it all out after bottling it all up. He could not hear Nadia. Maybe he was trying not to hear her. Slowly he started to crawl. The stress had finally gotten to him.

Nadia sat down and placed her arms around Miles. "Tell me... what is wrong. Is reading about her... upsetting you? It... upsets me, too." Her own voice was cracking a little.

Miles turned and looked at Nadia. The area around his eyes was a deep red and tears were still coming down. His wiped away the tears, but it seemed like he had a never ending supply.

"You have no idea...just everything in the last month. Andrea...my last mission...you..." Miles said in between his crying. He kept on shaking his head back and forth. Slowly he got up and rested his hand against her cheek. "I still wondered if I should have done any of this...come here, but I always think of you....I would have never met you...but with it has come pain..."

Miles' head looked down to the ground. He turned his back to her and started to walk again. He mumbled something about her saying here and him needing to take walk alone.

"Oh... so it's about me," said Nadia. "You're infatuated with me, and... I don't fall in love easily. Where are you staying? I'll drive you there, and you can walk alone."

Miles stopped abruptly and just stood motionless. He wondered if Nadia would ever love him as much as he loved her. Remembering what she had said to him the word that affected him the most was infatuated. Nadia must have thought his love was foolish and unneeded. Miles needed time to think and be alone.

Suddenly he turned around and looked at Nadia. Maybe she did not care about him at all, but he did not show it. Miles just gave a weak smile.

"It has nothing to do with that..." Miles said as he stood his ground. "I will find you. I already know where you live. Also I don't need you to drive me anywhere. It is within walking distance..."

After the words came out Miles turned back and continued to walk.

Nadia shook her head sadly. She would never love Miles the way he wanted her to, and she wasn't interested in a relationship. She wished there was something she could do for Miles.

Maybe she could introduce her to one of her friends. Mara was looking for someone to date, whenever she got back from that miserable abortion of a ball, and she had another friend who was, for lack of a better word, a slut. OK, so this slut was Minister of Foreign Affairs. Well, whatever floated his boat...

She wrote down her cell number, handed it to Miles, then started up her car.

Miles watched her drive off in the distance. Once she was out of range Miles tore the piece of paper into pieces and dropped the scraps onto the ground. Maybe it was better this way. He looked at the pieces scatter with the four winds. What would be the point of even calling her? Another love lost, but this time he could have actually made a difference. There was so much pain in his live it was almost unbearable. He broke out of his concentration and started continued his journey to the gate the pair passed.

Miles slowly made his approach to the guard. He did not want this guy to start firing at him just because he scared him. This guard might have an itchy finger on his weapon. He tapped on the guards shoulder.

"Sir, may I ask where the nearest mountain is located?" Miles inquired.

Second Lieutenant Brett Foster looked at the obviously foreign and obviously unhappy young man in front of him. He was a recent Academy graduate, 20 years old, with short blond hair and green eyes.

"Dude. Nearest mountain's about a thousand klicks away, in Dar al-Babil." He pointed in a westerly direction. "Where're you from, man? And who was that cute girl you were with? She your girlfriend?"

"What're you asking about mountains, anyway? You don't look like much of a climber."

"Oh...I am from Metzuda. My parents were both foreign born though. They both fought they could come here and help rebuild this country. Well that was Nadezhda...shoot I forgot her last name. Kid I don't really know..." Miles said. "I am going to find myself on that mountain. Well kid, you don't look that much of soldier."

Miles started to walk west. He turned back to the young Lieutenant.

"Hey kid do you know any hunting shops around here I can go to?" Miles called out.

"Hunting shops...?" Is this guy suicidal? "Well, I'm not that much of a soldier, I just take after my older brother. He joined the military a few years ago, exposed some war crimes... now he's a Captain, but I haven't seen him in months. Hope nothing happened to him. Anyway, about hunting shops, the nearest one is at the corner of 13th Street and 11th Avenue in Metzuda. You seem upset about something, what is it?"

The young man looked at Miles expectantly.

"No...well have a good life kid..." Miles said as he disappeared into the darkness. He seriously did not want to hear this kid's whole life story.

Once getting to the corner of 13th Street and 11th Avenue Miles looked at his watch. It was starting to near 10 o'clock he hoped that this store was opened. Seeing a light on inside he gave a sigh of relief. Maybe he needed to find what he was really made on this mountain. To find his true self and his meaning in life.

Opening the door he looked around. It had all the stuff he needed for when he went up into the mountains.

"Hello, anyone here?" Miles cried out.

A fat black man behind the counter spoke. "Yeah, we're open 24/7/365. Watcha lookin' for?"

"I'm getting ready to make a climb in Dar al-Babil. What do you think I need? Also I need a good rifle...I don't care how much it costs. I will be paying up front in cash." Miles could still feel the wad of bills in his wallet.

"Well... this just in," said the man at the desk, "an M-67 general purpose battle rifle. (http://www.forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=12872107&postcount=14) Designed to kill Doomies at up to 600 meters. I can't picture even an African elephant standing up to it. Retails for 1,500 shekels. You might want a sleeping bag and a few days' worth of MRE's, while you're at it. If you're going really high, you might want an oxygen tank or two, and a radio. Never know when you might need to call for help. You might get attacked by a yeti up there." The man guffawed.

"But your M-67 should kill it. Bring water with you, and a portable toilet, too." He nodded to some shovels, huge thermoses, and a nearby shelf of wipes. "Or dig a latrine and take a shit, but higher up that becomes hard. Just crap like the mountain goats do, and wipe after. Oh, and a tent and a couple of changes of clothes, too." He pointed at some prepared ghillie suits.

"I think I will take the M-67, one hundred rounds, a good backpack, camo jacket and pants, black balaclava, and a tent. Can you get all of this, but with no asking any questions..." Miles said as he pulled out his wallet and put down a mess of bills. It was all the money and would be more than enough. "Also do you know any mountains around where I will not need an oxygen tank and a map of the mountain?"

Miles started to look around at the store. It seemed to be pretty basic and a run of a mill hunting shop. He did not know why he was going to buy a rifle. Maybe to end his own life or someone else. Either way he would be comforted by the weapon.

"Sure. This is Kahanistan, we don't ask too many questions if you want to buy a gun. Mt. Stratford is only 3,500 meters high, you won't need a tank. Might want to take more than a hundred rounds, at least a thousand. There's so much wildlife up there it isn't funny. You might want a bayonet and a grenade launcher just in case. And a thermal sleeping bag, it gets cold in those mountains, dude."

"No a hundred rounds will be more than enough...just get the supplies I asked for, including this thermal sleeping bag." Miles impatiently said. He needed to get get out of this damn city.

Miles searched through the maps and found the one marked Mt. Stratford. It carefully labeled the area on and around Mt. Stratford. This was going to be his life line to this mountain.

"How far is this Mt. Stratford from here?" Miles said as he looked up from the mountain.

The man shrugged. "942 kilometers from here. The total should come up to 2,200 shekels." This was around $4,000 USD.

"Good luck."

In total pile of money there must have been at least 20,000 shekels. This guy was going to make a big payday. Miles collected his supplies and simply nodded toward the man.

"Where I'm going I don't need luck." Miles said in a grim way.

He left the hunting store and soon found his last stop before his trip. It was a grocery store. Miles entered and soon found his supplies, bottled water and some canned food. He went up to a register and dropped his supplies. From a normal person's view that might mistake him for an outdoors man, because of his beard and being somewhat dirty, or someone with a death wish. The money plopped out of his wallet and in front of the cashier. This was the remainder of his money. It total to about 4,000 shekels.

Of course, the 900+ kilometer trip, unless Miles had budgeted for a bus, cab, plane, or other transportation, would mean Miles would take over three weeks just getting to Mt. Stratford, let alone what he'd face when he got there - cougars, bears, snakes... vultures.

Miles packed his food and water into his backpack for the long journey ahead. With no money left there was only one way to Mt.Stratford, foot. Quietly he disappeared into the night heading for Mt.Stratford. As he got on the outskirts of the city he wondered if he would ever see Nadia. He simply shook his head and walked down the road into the wild.

Two days later

Nadia had not thought that Miles would go off into the middle of nowhere alone, not in her wildest dreams.

As such, she was not seriously concerned about his welfare. She had figured he had gone back to where he was staying... wherever he was staying.

Several people had passed Miles on the highway, offering to hitchhike him for free as far as they were going. Lord only knew how far he'd gotten these past few days. He could be nearly at Mt. Stratford by now.

On the third day, Nadia's concern built up to the point where she called Miles' cell number.

Miles gladly accept any ride on the highway. He knew that it would only bring him closer to his goal, Mt. Stratford. To pass the time he told them some stories about himself, but never his name or where he had come from. Two days had passed and he was finally dropped off at the beginning of the trail to Mt. Stratford. From the beginning of the trail Miles could already see the mountain. Right now it seemed to be not too high. Seeing a trash can, he dropped his cell phone into it.

No more modern technology. It would only be him and his gun. Over the pass days he had gotten used to it and it was almost an extension of his arm. This would be the new love of his live. As he walked down the trail the mountain only got bigger. Miles had no regrets.

A week later

Nadia was worried sick as to what would happen to Miles. He hadn't answered her calls, and she couldn't ask the local police for help - they'd run him in and send him to jail, where he would be pack raped in the shower by crazed inmates unless he knew uber martial arts.

She was worried sick. She got on the phone. Mara had helped her before... maybe she would help again.

"Mara... an old friend of mine from Canadstein just disappeared," she said, once she had gotten her friend on the other side.

"Disappeared? What...?" asked Mara's voice on the other side of the phone. "What happened?"

"I don't know... he seemed upset that I didn't feel the same way about him that he did about me, and I haven't been able to contact him in a week. He doesn't answer my calls..."

"My god, Nadia. You waited a frickin' week to tell me? Shit... he could be in Timbuktu or in the middle of Xirnium for all I know. Well..." Mara thought, remembering her security and police training, "where did you see him last?"

"Military base. We were looking for records on a Major who had been captured and... her brain messed with," said Nadia, unwilling to describe in detail the case for fear of breaking down. "He said he liked me, and I didn't feel the same way, and he cracked and asked me to leave him alone, said where he was staying was in walking distance, and... I haven't seen him since."

"Well, I could ask the people at the base if they've seen him..." Mara replied uncertainly.

---

12 hours later

Lt. Colonel Mara Fulton sat in an office talking to 2LT. Brett Foster.

"So," said the young woman in civilian clothing, looking intently at the younger man across from her, "did you see a young man here a few days ago?"

"Yes," said the man. "Seemed really upset about something, wouldn't tell me what. He was with a really nice-looking blonde girl. Pretty as hell... sort of like you, but blonde."

Mara smiled warmly. "Thanks. But can you tell me where he went?"

"No," said the young man. "But he did say he wanted a mountain. He probably went to Dar al-Babil's mountain range. No telling what mountain he tried to scale, or where he is. I just hope he packed enough heat to deal with the wildlife..."

"So do I," said Mara. "He's a... friend of a friend. I'd like to make sure he's safe."

One Week Later

Miles woke up in almost entirely covered in sweat. He had another bad dream. It was not really a dream, but merely a flashback of his last mission. The whole thing kept on running over and over. All those images were ingrained in his head.

Miles had a grown a full beard and looked like absolutely dirty, and probably smelled like he looked. He wiped his face clean of the sweat and opened the front flap of his tent. It was the start of another day. Quickly he put on his normal white shirt, but then put on his green camouflage jacket and pants. Then lastly he put on his black balaclava.

About six days ago Miles had made a camp at the base of the mountain. The next day he began ascent and successfully made it to the top. From the top he could see for miles. Miles stayed up there for remainder of the day. Miles just stared and thought for hours. Then around sunrise he stood up and enjoyed the sunrise. The last twelve hours had been very eye opening for him. Slowly he made the descent and back to the campsite.

He made two more trips to the top and did the same thing each time. But each time he had come down he never saw any people. Miles guessed that he was the only person out here and enjoyed that. He had never had to use his M-67, but carried it around everywhere. Though a couple of times he heard some large creature come near his campsite.

Miles picked up his rifle, a can of peaches, and a spoon. Then he exited the tent and saw the beautiful colors the sun made as it rose. Miles walked over to a rock and sat down. The rifle was carefully placed on the ground, but Miles eyes were fixed on the sun. He produced a slim knife and cut open the can. His spoon dipped into the can. The peaches were pulled upward, then into his mouth. As he slowly chewed them he thought about what he had left.

Mara drove into the city with Nadia. She had only been told by the officer at the base that it might be a good idea to check out the nearest hunting store, which he had pointed Miles to.

The two women walked into the hunting gear shop. "Have you seen a young man here?" asked Nadia, giving a physical description of Miles.

"Yes, that description seems familiar," said the clerk.

Mara nodded. "Any idea where he went?" She wasn't holding much hope. Kahanistan was a much bigger place than it had been when it was in the Negev.

"Said he was heading for Mt. Stratford, in Dar al-Babil," said the clerk.

---

A day later, a chopper flew over the mountain...

Miles was already on top of the mountain when the helicopter flew over the mountain. His tent bellow was hidden and probably too small to be seen. Though once the helicopter came within range of seeing him he hit the ground and hid behind a group of rocks. He did not know why he was hiding. Maybe Miles just wanted to be left along. He tightly gripped the M-67, until the helicopter flew off and disappeared into the sky.

Getting up he looked at direction the helicopter had disappeared. Someone was oblivious trying to search for him. What else would the reason be for the helicopter? Maybe it was time to find a new place.

Mara was piloting the chopper. "There's a guy on top of the mountain. Could be a yeti or a mountain goat, but I don't think he's hairy enough yet," she said.

"Find a place nearby to land... I don't want to risk him being lost to the wildlife," replied Nadia. "Let's find him, before he starves or freezes up here. I'm getting cold in this heated chopper."

"You think you're cold?" asked Mara, looking for a landing spot - about two thirds of the way up the mountain. "I don't have any insulation barely. You've at least gained a little weight from..." She knew better than to say outright that Nadia was pregnant - she'd prefer not to think about it.

Miles had found out where exactly the helicopter had disappeared to. It had landed up near the top of the mountain. He could barely make out two figures, but for all he knew they could be police that were trying to arrest him. Quickly he checked his M-67 for ammo and started to descent the mountain.

Miles knew this mountain almost like the back of his own hand. For where the helicopter had landed he could guess what trail they would take up. He was going to take a totally different route, so he would have to run into the pair. He grabbed his balaclava and slid it over his face. The only part of his face that was visible was his eyes.

It was starting getting closer to dinner, and it would start to get very cold up here. Miles hoped that the pair of people had prepared for a cold night. He remembered his first night up here and how he felt like he was going to freeze to death.

He put the sling, of the rifle, around his shoulder and walked down the trail.

The chopper set down about two-thirds of the way up the mountain, or about 1,200 meters from the top.

Neither Mara nor Nadia knew the first thing about mountain climbing, but both were equipped as standard infantry soldiers, more than prepared to take down any dangerous wildlife that crossed their paths. They split up, keeping in contact via radio communications.

The two women would look for Miles on their own. The one to find him would radio the other to go back to the chopper. After a week, they figured Miles had either starved, frozen, or was seriously ill or injured.

Miles finally down the base of the mountain and his camp. It had been the first time that he had ever traveled so close to dark. He swear he was being tracked by some animal, but nothing ever came out or attacked him. Though around him the bushes started to move or shake.

Getting in his tent he took of his boots and opened a can of food. He quickly devoured the food and drank some water. This is the way it usually was once he came down. Up there he had no food. Now he could get some sleep. He undressed and set the rifle by his side. Then he got underneath the sleeping bag and quickly feel asleep. Outside the winds were howling and now it was raining heavily.

Crap...

Mara had a raincoat with her gear, but it was still quite cold. The rain coated her face as she walked through. She thought she saw someone in the distance, and climbed in the general direction of the figure.

A mirage? No. As far as she had heard, mirages were generally not found in the mountains. They were a desert phenomenon. She trudged through the rocks, knocking a mountain lion that attacked her near a precipice over with a well-placed blow from her M-67, and collected her thoughts while she scanned ahead with a pair of binoculars.

Miles kept on sleeping inside his tent. The storm seemed to be only getting worse by each minute. Though some how Miles still was not woken up by it.

Footsteps sounded outside Miles' tent. Mara sat down, not wanting to wake Miles; she would wait for him to wake before calling Nadia.

When Miles awoke, he would find himself face to face with a pretty, slender woman with long dark hair, wide gray eyes, and a soft face. She looked about 35, and was dressed as a Kahanistanian infantry soldier.

Miles slowly opened his eyes and thought he saw a women in front of him. It had been over a weeks since he had last seen a human at all. He rubbed his eyes, and the woman was still. He stood there motionless for a minute and looked at her. She reminded Miles of Nadia, but she was beautiful in her own right. Though like Nadia she had those captivating gray eyes.

Suddenly he grabbed his M-67 and put the barrel up against her head. Miles had no idea who she was. He wasn't going to take any chances with her. His balaclava still covered his face, to keep his head warm. Half of his body was still covered by the sleeping bag and the other half was covered by dirty white t-shirt. He could see that this woman had a rifle.

"Put it down...and sit down..." Miles said in a no non-sense tone.

The woman dropped her weapon. It was well constructed and would not discharge from being dropped.

She dropped to her knees. "Are you Miles Mason?" she asked.

Miles seemed to be puzzled to how this woman knew his name. He looked at her and back toward his M-67. At lighting fast speed he turned it around and slammed the stock into her head, but lightly enough so it would just knock her out. Once the woman hit the ground he made a tied her hands and feet together. He took her M-67 and hide it inside his sleep bag. He put on his camouflage jacket and pants and waited for the unknown to wake up. Miles could already see that a bruise was starting to form. Miles went along side her and laid his hand on her cheek. Her body was warm, even though she had been in the cold rain.

Mara collapsed from the blow and began breathing heavily. She lay in a crumpled heap in a daze.

---

When she came to, she looked back at Miles. By now she had noticed she was tied up. Was Miles going to kill her? Probably not, he had plenty of chance to while she was out cold. Was he going to rape her? Possibly; Mara was rather attractive, and there had been plenty of chances. On the other hand, her clothes didn't seem to have been moved and she didn't think she'd been sexually assaulted.

"What... are you... doing?" she asked groggily between labored breaths.

Miles bent over and brushed his lips to her. Her lips were also warm too. Thoughts of going even further raced through his head, but knew that he had already done enough damage. Maybe it was lust or because he was lonely, but he was not going to give into this emotions. Miles moved back and looked at the woman.

"First off. I am going to be the one asking questions. Who are you and why are you here?" Miles asked.

"My name is Mara Fulton," said the woman. "I'm a friend of Nadia's from the military. We came to the mountain to look for you when you didn't answer her cell calls. We split up, she's on another part of the mountain, equipped as I am. I can contact her with my radio if you untie me. She figured I was a better choice than having the authorities look for you, I won't turn you in."

Miles found a piece of cloth and tied it around Mara's open mouth. He did not want to hear another word from her. The feeling of being tired was starting to set in. His eyes were becoming heavy and it was getting hardier to stay awake. Miles moved her, so that she would be right next to him. Also he put a blanket on her, so she would not freeze to death. As he hovered over her he took over his jack and pants.

"You remind me of Nadia. Same kind of beauty, but beautiful in your own respect." Miles kissed her cheek. "Too bad that we did not meet in another situation, things might have turned out differently."

Miles slid underneath his sleeping bag and quickly feel asleep.

For some reason, Mara was sure Miles would not kill her. After all, he had the chance to do so right there. She felt that she could regain his trust, though she was still a little shaken. After an hour or so, however, she, too, fell asleep.

In the morning when Miles woke up he still found Mara asleep. He opened the flap, but he could already feel cold coming through. The rain the night before had made this place ice cold. Miles hoped that Nadia was already out there. Closing the tent back up, Miles moved back toward Mara. He tapped her on her shoulder.

"Take off all your cloths, now..." Miles said with no emotions. He was being serious and sounded like he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

What the fuck... he's going to rape me. Mara shook her head. She was groggy and did not even notice she had been untied.

"Do it or I will rip off your cloths..." Miles said as he tried a bluff. He knew that he would never do that to a woman. His M-67 was trained on her body, while his other hand undid the binds on her hands and arms.

Mara still had the sinking feeling she was going to be raped. Why else would this man demand she take her clothes off?

She had never had a problem with people seeing her like that - people in Kahanistan did not generally have issues with nudity unless they were religious fundamentalists. She did not want to strip down and get raped.

As soon as her arm was free, she grabbed the barrel of the rifle and spun around, her forehead connecting with Miles' nose. She was about 5'6", so she was a few inches shorter than the average man - her forehead would be at nose or mouth level on most men.

Miles felt pain in his noise, but he did not try to hold his noise. He went for his knife and snatched it into his hand. Like a flash of lighting the knife was brought to her neck.

"Don't move unless you like your pretty little neck to be bloody. I just wanted to give you more suitable cloths for the climate. I was going to need your help finding Nadia. For all you know she could be dead." Miles said with toughness. "And you thought I was going to rape you..."

Miles brought his face right next to hers. His other hand reclaimed his weapon from her hand.

Mara stood silent for a few seconds. If Miles had wanted her, he would have taken her when he had the blade at her throat. She sat down, breathing heavily, and took off her wet jacket and body armor.

"What other clothes do you have?" she asked. It was unlikely Miles would have clothes in her size - she was rather slim, about 110 pounds. "I can radio Nadia, if you give me my radio."

The blade pulled back and returned to his pocket. Miles tried not to look at Mara as just undressed, but noticed that she had a great figure. He started to blush, and turned the other direction. Miles threw a pair of old pants and jacket to Mara. They were several sizes too large they would keep her warm. Miles knew that Mara probably trust him.

Although Nadia did not love Miles and might never love him; Miles had come to the fact that he would always have deep and loving feelings for her. If he did love her enough, then he would be searching for her. He was not going to leave this mountain until he found her, dead or alive.

"Mara, I know you probably don't trust me, but be carefully out there. I don't want another person to die out there because of me. If you find Nadia bring here back here." Miles said as he put on his balaclava. Then put the sling of the M-67 around his shoulder. He moved toward her and gave a small kiss on her cheek. It was not of love, but of admiration and hope. "Just come back alive..."

Miles left the tent and headed for the other side of the mountain. He left the map of Mt. Stratford open, so Mara could find her way back, and her M-67, but with no bullets.

Mara wrapped the pants and jacket around her body. The trousers were too large for her slim legs, and the jacket might have shown a little too much cleavage, if she'd had any to show. She was lacking in that department, but she did have a well-trained body from standard military training, which was quite demanding.

She picked up her radio and called Nadia. "I just found Miles. He attacked me, but he started heading for the other side of the mountain. I'm near the top." She checked her weapon. "Bastard must have made off with my ammo. Well, I have some more in my pack, and a couple in my pockets." She fumbled for another magazine and loaded it. There had been talk of yetis in the mountain range, but no sightings had been confirmed.

Mara personally did not believe the tales of yetis, but there were mountain lions who could be just as vicious. "Just go back to the chopper. I'll see you when I've gotten Miles to follow me."

Nadia circled around the mountain, keeping radio contact with Mara. Mara was following Miles, still talking to Nadia on her radio. "Miles! We've got a chopper, I told Nadia to go back there."

Miles turned to see the speaker of the voice. It was only that Mara. Why did she keep on following? He studied her for a second and noticed how ill fitting the cloths were on her slim body. A smile appeared on his face, but was hidden by the black balaclava. Miles thought that she looked hilarious and almost broke down laughing, but kept his cool.

Suddenly his smile was gone. Miles grabbed his M-67 and aimed it straight at Mara. Back at the Canadstein Intelligence Agency's training camp they taught all the agents to use a wide variety of weapons. But they also taught them to kill anyone with one shot. Most of the Agents were expert marksman, and Miles was no exception. Sweat was building up within the fabric of his balaclava.

"Don't move..." Miles said quietly. His M-67 was still trained on her.

Mara had been a military police and security officer for most of her career, so she wasn't poor with firearms, either. However, her body armor would not stand up to an 8x65mm round. (It had been designed for penetrating Kraven or Doomani armor, though it had not been tested against those enemies.) Besides, if she killed Miles, Nadia would never forgive her.

She slung her weapon behind her. No need to antagonize him.

"We came here to get you out of here," she said. "I don't even want to go into detail about what I had to do to get the chopper."

"Just shut up for a second..." Miles said as he leveled the rifle. He knew that magazine was fully loaded. He had only fired off five rounds to get use to the kick of the gun.

He looked down the iron sights of the M-67. His target was right in line. Miles sweat index finger pulled the target. All he heard was the crack of the rifle and the body fall to the ground. He put the rifle down and looked at his kill. Right in the head, exactly where he wanted the round to go. Miles looked up at Mara.

"See there was a mountain lion behind you..." Miles said. "I told you to be quiet because I did not want that thing to attack you...You can thank me later."

Miles walked over to the mountain lion. Its head was a gory mess of blood and guts. The head had literally exploded and now it was unidentifiable. Miles walked back over to Mara.

"Whoever said I wanted to leave this place." Miles said he looked at her straight in the eyes.

"Your supplies will run out sooner or later," said Mara. "On top of that, you have to sleep sometimes, and that's when the mountain lions will get the jump on you. You'll get cold, and sick, and I don't think there's much medicine in your supplies. Why did you come out here, anyway?"

---

On the other side of the mountain, Nadia was loading her camp supplies back in the chopper, now that she'd gotten back there. Mara had said they were near the top, so it wouldn't be long before she got the helicopter over their position.

"I am set for months for food and water. If I still want to stay here after I run out, then I will hunt for my food. I was trained to live off of anything I could find. Plus those mountains lions don't scare me. That is the first one I have seen this whole time." Miles said as he pointed toward the gruesome remains. "Yes I am cold sometimes. If I get sick, then so be it. Things happen and that would happen to be one of them. I have survived more than a week out here. I think I am perfectly fine. I'm not going with you two. I will walk you up there, but this is where I want to be. Can't you get that? The only reason I am going up with you is to see Nadia. To see...if she is alright."

Miles put the rifle's sling around his shoulder and carried on with the hike.

ooc: We are going to have to put this thread on hold again, sorry about this. I am going to be gone yet again from July 15th to the 28th. This rp has traveled along way, and it has been a delight the whole way.

YSIN news:
...Terorrism on the rise? Find out at elevan after the Prime Chancelors address on the Tatom rebellion...

[OOC: OK. Well, I'll probably be at war with the Questarian Commonwealth by then. I'll try not to lose too much of my nation before then. :)]

IC:

The helicopter was now hovering over the mountain, with Nadia piloting. It was moving slowly and jerking as Nadia's flying skills were much stronger with fixed-wing aircraft.

Slowly, it settled down near where the young man and woman were talking. The chopper was too tall to decapitate the two.

"And when you run out of ammunition?" asked Mara.

Miles thought the blades of the helicopter were going to hit them, so he hit the ground. Once the helicopter's engine died he got up damp and muddy for the somewhat wet ground. He made himself look like a fool, but did not care. The coldness of the water was starting to seep in and sent a shiver up his shine. He knew that if he did not change cloths soon, then he could risk catching something and getting sick.

"I have my knife." Miles replied.

Yeah, that'll protect him from mountain lions, Mara thought cynically. Or he'll be able to sneak up on a mountain goat and cut its throat. She didn't think she'd be able to reason with Miles.

Nadia climbed out of the chopper. "Thanks, Mara," she said. "Miles, let's go. I assume you've gotten to know Mara." She nodded to the pretty brunette. "She's a friend of mine from the military. Mara... tell him a little about yourself," suggested Nadia. Mara had been looking for someone to date, and Nadia wasn't interested in relationships at this stage in her life, which was chaotic enough - there was a very good chance that if the Senate passed a senatus consultum ultimum, she would be exiled from the country as a politically unreliable general for the duration of the war, if it broke out.

"Well..." said Mara, "I'm 28 years old, I have a two-year-old girl, Kathy, and I'm currently single. I'm a security officer with the military, a lieutenant colonel. I..." She thought for a second. This guy had attacked her, tied her up, had her thinking he was going to rape her... and Nadia wanted her to give him information about herself? "I live in Metzuda, with my little girl. I'm interested in world politics and I've been thinking about transferring to the diplomatic corps."

"Yeah I guess I have gotten to know her..." Miles said. He had see Mara naked and as his prisoner.

Once Nadia had said that Mara was her friend it clicked with him. This must have been the person that Nadia was going to introduce to him, since she was "not interested in him". Obliviously now it would be a little awkward to get out on a date with. But Miles wondered why Nadia had chosen Mara...

Miles took off his balaclava, and stuffed it into his pocket, to finally reveal his face to the pair of women. Now he had a full dirty blond beard. It took up most of the space on his face. Also he had a few small cuts here and there, but that were not that noticeable. His light blue eyes were directed toward Mara.

"Let me introduce myself, since I have not done it yet. I am Miles Mason. I work for Canadstein Intelligence Agency as an Agent. I am thirty-four and currently single also. I live in Canadstein sometimes. Well I say sometimes since most of the time I'm away from my homeland." Miles said as he addressed himself.

"Excuse me for a second Mara. I want to have a little walk and talk with Nadia." Miles moved over toward Nadia and directed her to a path.

Mara sat down in the helicopter. She'd given up on trying to reason with him. At this point, she thought he was a little unstable - anyone who wanted to live in the mountains like a hermit was either a religious whackjob or a New World Order conspiracy theorist - at least that was what Mara thought.

Nadia walked along with Miles. She decided to listen to him.

"I finally got to the realization that you will never probably love me. I think it is probably time I move on. Though the thought of you will always linger in my heart. You will always be my second true love. I just wished it could have worked out. Just know Nadia. That if you ever need me, I will be there to help no matter what the problem is." Miles said as he lead her down the trail. He stopped and looked at her. "Just know that I love you and always will."

He gave a small peck on Nadia's cheek. Miles could feel the lumping growing within his neck, but controlled himself. He was not going to cry in front of her. There had already been enough crying.

"So is Mara the one you were trying to make me see?" Miles asked.

"I wasn't trying to make you see anyone," said Nadia. "I thought you would like Mara. She's really nice, and she's actually looking for a relationship. What did you think of her?"

"She is nice from what I have seen so far. Also beautiful. Though she kind of reminds me of you. But she is beautiful in her own right." Miles said. He was slightly offended that Nadia just blew off his feelings. He spilled his guts to her and she felt nothing. Maybe Nadia was the wrong choice, and it was for the better. "This might be the last time I ever see you Nadia. I am not coming back with you. I need to stay here."

Nadia had not anticipated that Miles would refuse to come with her. As such, she had not brought anything that might be useful in subduing him, such as tear gas, handcuffs, or tranquilizers. Mara had, out of force of habit from her time as a military police officer. She had some pepper spray on her, but what good would it do if they did drag him back to civilization? He'd run off again if he wanted to. They could claim he was mentally unstable - his attack on Mara would back that up - but he'd be in a cell like the ones Henry or Andrea were in.

Contrary to the bleak future Mara had tried to paint, the mountains were not that far from the city of Dar al-Babil - Miles could get supplies there if he had the money. He could get a fishing rod and fish in one of the small lakes and canals that didn't appear on maps.

"I... I don't know what you want from me," said Nadia. She had turned people down before and they had never reacted like this. "How about the three of us go into town, after we get you cleaned up?"

"I just don't know...Nadia...why should I? You oblivious don't care about me. It would just been better to leave him alone up here to die. I will tell you why I am up here. To die. Because I know I can't live without Nadia. But you don't seem to understand that. So I would rather die, then be without you." Miles said as tears streamed down from his eyes. "Nadia, you were the first person I had grown to love since...Elise."

Miles looked away. The very thought of his first love made him cry. He could still see her warm smile and dirty blond hair. Miles had not spoken about Elise for sixteen years. Miles got on his knees and looked up to the sky. Could he ever make anyone happy?

"Why do you feel you have to die?" Nadia asked tearfully. "Because I don't have the same feelings you do? I want you to be happy. I know you had a void in your heart, and I have a friend who also has a void in her heart... her baby's father was killed in the Freekish war."

Mara had said she was single, and had a child, but had not explained the absence of the father. "Not everyone you fall in love with will feel the same way," she said. "Rejection is universal. I don't think I'm the right person for you." She wasn't going to push Miles to date Mara. Mara might have been a little uneasy around him now...

"No because my heart is only with you, Nadia..." Miles said weakly. "And if you can never love me, then what is the point of living? How do I know that you are the wrong person? To me you are the only person...You never even gave us a chance. You just threw it away. So I will throw away my live now, but you will have live knowing that I died because I loved you."

Slowly Miles started crawl away on his knees. He could see the hints that Nadia dropped about Mara. But he knew that wouldn't work. Miles had made her believe that he was going rape or kill her. He had already put Mara threw enough needless stress. Though he was also putting stress on Nadia, which was probably horrible for the baby.

Nadia had an idea. She had brought a case of wine on the chopper, hoping to give it to Mara so she and Miles could drink together. Now, she decided getting Miles drunk was a good idea.

"Mara... check under the co-pilot's seat. There's something I want you to bring here."

Mara brought the case, containing six bottles of 1999 Chardonnay. She noticed Miles seemed depressed - very depressed. It clicked what Nadia wanted her to do. She gave Miles one of the bottles.

"You seem low," she said. "Care for something to drink?"

Miles looked at the bottle and back at Mara. He opened the bottle and chugged down the wine. Miles was not a very heavy drinker at all, and quickly became very drunk. In his whole life he only had a couple of beers. He never wanted to risk getting drunk and making a totally fool of himself. Being alert was part of being an agent and most of the time your life depended on it.

He dropped the bottle and looked at Mara. His eyes had a strange dullness to them. Miles fell straight into Mara and brought her down to the ground. Now he was right over her. Anybody within two feet of him could smell the wine off of his breath.

"You know...Mara...I have noticed your how beautiful you are. I have a weakness for brunettes...especially ones that are as sexy as you..." Miles lowered his head and kissed Mara right on the lips. As his lips touched hers it was as though electricity was moving through his entire body. His facial expressions seemed to convey that he was enjoying it. Then he passed out right on her.

Mara smiled. She was used to sexual attention, but knew now that Miles wasn't going to hurt her. She thought he was a little crazy, certainly, but apparently Nadia felt safe enough...

Nadia rolled Miles off of her friend and picked up his legs. Mara picked up his arms and they carried him to the chopper, then loaded the supplies aboard. Nadia started up the helicopter, while Mara rolled Miles into the recovery position so that if he vomited, it would drain out of his mouth rather than block his airway. She sat by him with her hand on his.

They were heading back to Metzuda.

Miles started to wake up. His head was killing him. As his eyes opened he could see that he was in a helicopter. That must have gotten him drunk, so they could get him back to Metzuda. Miles felt the warmth of a hand on his. Maybe it was Nadia. Anxiously he looked up the person. It was Mara. He had thought back and had a hazy memory of him kissing her. Had he really done that?

Getting up he looked at Mara. He faced her and touched her cheek.

"Where are we..." Miles said as he held Mara's cheek.

"About two hours away from Metzuda," said Mara. She did nothing about his hand on her cheek. "You collapsed on the mountain, right on top of me. We took you aboard."

She took a few deep breaths and held his hand. "I'm cold." Mara was still dressed in the ill-fitting clothes Miles had given her. Her uniform would dry in a few more hours, but would probably be in the laundry chute by then.

Miles cloths were also damp, but knew that getting a cold was a possible. As soon as possible could he would change into some new cloths. He was starting shiver, so absentmindedly he got closer to Mara. Once they got close enough they could share each other body heat. His hand still clasped onto hers. Silently Miles feel asleep. It had been a long, cold, and rough day.

Mara smiled and placed her arm around Miles, waiting for the chopper to land in Metzuda. There was a civil helipad near Nadia's apartment, so Nadia could walk her suitcases to her apartment. Mara called a cab to take her and Miles to her apartment.

Groggily Miles woke up to sunlight. He thought that he was still in the helicopter, but found himself lying in a couch in what he guessed was a living room. His camouflage jacket and pants were neatly placed on a nearby chair. Leaning against the chair was his M-67. Miles wondered where exactly he was. None of his surrounding looked familiar. He noticed that his head was still pounding. It was one of the side effects from that damn wine.

Sitting up he looked at his watch. It read 8:09 A.M. He must have slept through the whole night. Getting up slowly he looked out the window. Outside was the skyline of Metzuda, but from a different perspective, then the one from Nadia's apartment. 'Where am I?' he thought as he scratch his chin. He defiantly needed to get rid of this beard. It was becoming a big nuisance. He turned his back toward the window and looked around.

"Is there anyone in here?" Miles called out.

Mara sat next to Miles, dressed in a bathrobe and holding a water canteen. She was fresh and clean, as if she had stepped out of the shower, which she probably had - her hair was still damp.

Across from them was a two-year-old girl in a playpen, throwing a large stuffed elephant across it and jumping on it. The girl had long dark hair, a slightly dark complexion, and gray eyes like her mother.

"This is my apartment," said Mara. She picked up her little girl. "This is my daughter, Kathy. You're probably thirsty, so you might want some water." She handed her canteen to Miles. "It'll make you feel better after last night."

To Miles, Mara smelled fresh and clean. That was a key, but inviting sign that he was back in civilization. He hadn't taken a shower in over a week and certainly looked like it. The smell of her made his fingertips tingle. He could not explain it. As he looked at Mara in the bathrobe he remembered the moment in the tent. Her nude body...

Miles snapped out of it and turned toward Mara. He wondered why she was doing all this for him. Miles had knocked her out, taken her as a prisoner, and made her undress in front of him. Mara should have been sick of him, but some how he was in her home.

Mara's child was cute. She almost looked like a clone of her mother, but had a darker skin tone.

"Hello Kathy. I am Miles Mason..." Miles said with a smile of happiness.

Once Mara offered him the canteen he took it and drank some water. He was still having a killer headache, but he was thirsty. Though he slowly drank the water so his stomach would not be in pain.

"So Mara, why did you bring me back here?" Miles asked. He held the canteen his mouth and waited for a response.

"I wanted to help you," said Mara, letting him hold her little girl.

"You were in a pretty bad state there emotionally. That, and... Nadia wanted to make sure you were OK. She likes you, but she isn't... in love with you. Nadia doesn't love easily, it's just the way she is. You're not the first person whose heart she's broken, and she doesn't even mean to do that."

"Anyway, my last... man... had some clothes I kept. I don't know why I kept them... but you could certainly clean up."

Mara's apartment was laid out similar to Nadia's, perhaps built by the same company. The main differences were in the furniture; while Nadia's apartment was simply furnished, Mara's had more of a mother's touch, with the playpen, small bed in the closet, and crib in the corner. It wouldn't be hard to find the shower here.

Miles nervously held the child in his arms. He had absolutely no experience at this. This was the first time that he had ever held a child, and he did not want to screw it up. He could feel the warmth this little being was giving out. Kathy was very cute and a grin appeared on Miles face. He looked up and chuckled.

"I know. I was starting to lose my mind back there. I wanted her to love me so much. If she never came to that, then I told myself that I was going to die on that mountain." Miles said to Mara. "And I still do love her, even though she will never love me the same way. The feelings will never go away."

Miles got up and put Kathy back into her playpen. He sat right back next to Mara. There was something different about Mara. Miles did not know what, but she was...some special. He put his arms around her bathrobe and brought her closer.

"So what happen back on the mountain. The last thing I remember clearly is talking to Nadia." Miles said as he put his arm around her. Right now he needed somebody to talk to.

"Nadia had some wine brought with her on the chopper," said Mara. "Nadia doesn't drink much even when she isn't pregnant, so she was probably intent on creating an atmosphere where we could get along... of course, we didn't get off on the right foot, but you drank half a bottle of the stuff and really came on to me, as if all your interest in Nadia had gone away - you passed out right on top of me. Then we loaded you and your gear onto the chopper and got you back here."

"Anyway... the shower's down the hall, my room's on the left past the kitchen, and there're some men's clothes in the closet, like I said." Mara did not want to say so, but she couldn't bear the smell of someone who hadn't washed in a week.

"What do you mean I came onto you?" Miles asked.

He could not believe that he was that drunk. Miles barely touched that stuff either, but he guessed that he finally succumbed to that vice. Now he knew what it felt like to have a hang over. His mind was still pounding like a drum. What was he honestly thinking yesterday? Maybe he was depressed about Nadia. He either he had drank a lot of wine yesterday.

Miles caught Mara's hint and was not offended by the least bit. All those days in the mountain those cloths had becoming dirty and incredible smelly. He probably smelt about ten times worse. After she answered this question he was going to take a long and hot shower. Also get rid of this dirty and kind of nasty beard.

"Well, you kissed me on the lips," said Mara. "You told me I was beautiful." While he hadn't been the first to say that to her, he was the first to come on to her so aggressively outside of a nightclub.

"Sorry about that. That wasn't really me back there." Miles said as he started to redden.

He dismissed himself and took a shower. This had been his first real shower in a long time. As he got out he felt refreshed, but he looked in the mirror and he still had his beard. Miles knew that he needed to get rid of it. Seeing no razors he took out his knife and started to cut back his beard. Yes it was painful, but he was thankful to finally see that thing gone.

Miles walked down to the closet and found some cloths that seemed suitable. But it was a little strange to have man's cloths. He returned to his spot next to Mara and looked at her.

"So how do I look?" ask Miles.

"A little bloody, but a lot better than you did before," said Mara. Apparently he had neglected to look in the bottom cabinet under the sink, where Mara's spare blades were kept.

The clothes were slightly baggy on Miles, but beat running around in women's clothes. Mara turned toward Miles. She had dressed lightly while he was in the shower, she was now in a solid navy blue one-shoulder dress and sandals.

"Looks like war's ready to break out," she said. "May as well drop your clothes in the laundry chute... anyway... I don't think you're doing much, and... what do you say to pizza?"

She was clearly a little jittery about asking him to go somewhere with her - she still thought he was crazy, even though he had improved markedly since being brought back to civilization. Maybe it was just being rejected and living in the mountains - that was enough to make any man crazy. But she had to get his mind off Nadia, and whether or not the date progressed to anything more... Mara wasn't even thinking about that.

"Yeah I guess I am." Miles said as he put a hand against his cheek. He gave off a small chuckle.

"War is never going away, even though my country ignores all of them. It is something each of us has to deal with. We all have to cope with lost and pain. But does war achieve anything, but death and anger? It is almost pathetic that we cannot get along with our own kind...just because of our differences..." replied Miles as he gazed out the window. The skyline he was seeing right now would never be razed to the ground. All for nothing...

For a few moments he just blankly looked out the window. He remembered his last mission and the faces of all the dead. Miles wished that he could have saved...them. War was hell, but nobody learned. The face of death was a familiar one to Miles. He just wished that he hadn't seen it so much, but he did sign up for this stuff. As he thought he simply shook his head. Tears started to roll down from his eyes. Pain...

He slowly turned back around with his hands in a fist. Miles let out a deep sigh.

"I have already thrown out my cloths. There is no need for them..." Miles stuttered off. "I think some food will do me some good..."

Miles looked at his watch and it was nearing lunchtime. He couldn't even remember the last time he ate. But that was the least of his worries.

Mara went into her bedroom, leaving the door open as she went to her land-line phone to call for pizza. Her room appeared neat, though not as neat as Nadia's; as a soldier and a mother, her time for keeping house did not seem to be that extensive.

The bed was large enough to comfortably fit two, possibly three people. It had solid, soft navy blue quilts draped over it and several pillows the size of welcome mats and as thick as sofa cushions. It took up about fifty percent of the floor space in the room. At the foot of the bed was a dresser with an open top drawer, the items in which appeared to be mainly of black or white lace. On top were a few photographs of Mara, mostly in uniform (http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i206/Kahanistan/marakate78.jpg), though a few featured her in civilian clothing - casual clothes, some maternity clothes, and even one or two of her in a bikini. She was small. Tall, but generally small around.

A hand-written note, probably in Mara's handwriting, lay next to the photographs. It looked like a draft of a personal ad she was considering sending.

Single mother seeks male 25-45 for dating, friendship and possible long-term relationship. I like reading, cerebral discussions, and walking together. I'm 28, 168 cm / 5'6", 50 kg / 110 lbs. and 86cm / 34A. I have long dark hair and gray eyes. I have a two-year-old girl. Email me at marakate78@webtalk.co.kn for more details.

Miles plumped down onto the sofa. He had caused pain so many people. Maybe he should have stayed in those mountains, where he could do no real harm. Alone and away from society. Away from fear and pain. It seemed that he was only good at running away from civilization, but most of the time it was to keep himself from hurting other people. These two hands had caused pain and suffering.

He raised his hands and rested his head in his open palms. All of this had happened just because of one man. Miles just sat there. He wondered what it would be like if he never came to Kahanistan.

Mara stepped out of her room after calling for pizza, and checking her email. She came out and sat next to Miles, appearing to be stressed about something.

"Pizza should be here in about ten minutes," she said. "Got a fairly disturbing mail, though... not just the Fordies, but the bulk of the Questarian Commonwealth hit the borders. On top of that, the Senate's passed a senatus consultum ultimum. They've put a general in power for the duration of the war. Guy named al-Ghazi. Crazy nationalist, but at least he doesn't hate Catholics."

"On the other hand... I've been formally relieved of my position as commander of the Presidential Security Detachment," said Mara.

Miles looked up from his palms and listened to Mara. Things around here only seemed to be getting worse. Tomorrow morning the enemy could be blowing up buildings around him. Miles had been in many scenarios like this, and each time had barely escaped. If a war or a country was crumbling, then it was time for an agent to move out. But he wasn't here on official business. The agency had finally gave him some free time. But he had landed right into the middle of a war.

"Well it seems like the shit is going to hit the fan here. I am sad to say Mara, but this is probably be my last day in Kahanistan for a while. My government probably wants the embassy staff and any Canadsteinian citizens out of this country immediately. I am sorry that I could not spend more time with you, but I can at least spend my time with you until I get a call from Ambassador Stapleton." Miles said as he grabbed onto her hand. "Also if Nadia or you and your daughter need to get out Kahanistan, then I might be the only option. The option to come with me and leave Kahanistan. I am just sick of all these damn wars..."

Mara looked deep in thought. Knowing Nadia, she won't want anything to do with the new regime. She allowed Miles to hold her hand, thinking more of what would happen here.

"There's a rumour that Doomingsland will intervene again," she said. "With anti-Catholicism gaining currency with the people, I can't see very many of us living through another occupation. This whole society is in chaos, it's degenerated so badly that there's an anti-Catholic band (http://www.forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=533862) on some benefit tour. I'm not one to talk about the moral decay of society... you probably saw the pictures of me in my room." She chuckled. "But this society is going to collapse, and I don't know what can be done to save it."

A knock came at the door.

"Whatever happens I will be ordered to high tail it out of here. My government wants to ensure that no citizen is hurt or engages in any fighting. The lucky thing is that most Canadsteinians live within Canadstein. Only about .2% of our citizens live out of Canadstein. So it shouldn't be that hard to evacuate them out of this country." Miles said with a stern tone. It was only a matter of time. "Can you please just ask Nadia? I really don't feel conformable talking to her right now, but I still fear for her..."

Miles was startled when the door was knocked. It might be Ambassador Stapleton or someone else. His head turned toward the door. He wondered who was behind it.

It was the pizza delivery, a young man of about 19. He looked at Mara's face and smiled, barely able to hand her the pizza. He nervously took the twenty-shekel note from her as well as the tip.

She took the pizza in, loaded with about eight different toppings. "I don't know what you like," she said as she sat down next to Miles. The pizza was very large, about seventy-five centimeters across and in very narrow slices.

Mara got up and took Kathy out of her playpen. The two-year-old needed to eat too.

While the little girl was eating pizza, Mara called Nadia.

"You've heard about the invasion?" she asked.

"Yes," replied Nadia. "It's a pretty depressing matter, really. Totally unprovoked."

"Well, Miles is offering to take you out of here, when he leaves, if he gets the order to leave. I don't think we need too many flight instructors here at this point... I've been relieved of my own position, I'll probably end up with an assignment to the diplomatic corps."

"Well, I don't know, I can't just run out on my people like a buster. Of course, after I told al-Ghazi he belongs in a prison... he'll probably dismiss me anyway, send me off. Anyway, I have to see a doctor. I'll talk to you later."

"OK," said Mara. She hung up. "Nadia's going to stand and fight until she gets orders to leave, which she probably will after she told al-Ghazi he belongs in prison." She sat down again on the sofa and took a slice of pizza.

Miles did not feel like eating anymore. There was so much on his mind right now. He honestly wondered if he was going to make it out in time. It was pretty much going to be a waiting game. Nervously he looked at the window into the city of Metzuda. He let out a big sigh and closed his eyes.

Mara put her third slice of anchovy and red pepper six-cheese pizza down her throat and went up to Miles.

"You seem depressed," she said. "It isn't easy to get into Metzuda. The entire city is a giant fortress, provisioned to withstand years of sieges and equipped with the state of the art in anti-ballistic missiles and tactical laser defences. We'll hold out for decades after the rest of the country is under Doomani thrall."

In fact, the capital's name was Hebrew for fortress. This fact was widely known even among those Kahanistanians who did not speak fluent Hebrew.

"Want to go out somewhere?" asked Mara. "I can have someone come over and watch Kathy while we're out. You might want to see the Museum of War, or some of the local parks, or the mall..."

"How about the people inside? All they have to do is starve them out. Food supplies will dwindle and the citizens will not be happy. So you will have to deal with internal and external forces within this so called "fortress". It would be only a matter of time before this city would be conquered. Where there's a will, there's a way." Miles said grimly.

He cleared his throat and swiftly turned toward Mara. His eyes made contact with hers.

"I think it would be better if I stayed here. Just in case the embassy is trying to find me right now. I really don't want them on a wild goose chase..." Miles responded.

Mara shook her head. "I doubt that they'll look for you in my apartment. Where were you staying before this debacle with Nadia?"

She got up and picked up Kathy, who was still stuffing her face. "You'll make yourself fat if you eat too much."

"We've got more food stocks than Stalingrad. Our water reservoirs are deep underground and have those eyeless fish that live in caves growing there, for those who want something better than MRE's now and then. As for me... I don't know where the diplomatic corps will transfer me, but I did request a transfer. This abrupt relief of my duties isn't a good sign, but it's to be expected... al-Ghazi doesn't trust me, and I don't blame him. He stirred up riots to drive the Amestrians out, killed thousands of them, and now the Senate's put him in charge of the government. But I'll probably be sent out of the country."

She looked up and sighed, bored, then sat down with her little girl in her arms. The child looked at Miles curiously, reaching her arms out.

"I highly doubt that they do not know where I am right now. I am almost certain the Agency implanted a tracker into my body. They have probably already informed the embassy of my current location. So it is probably best just to hold down the fort." Miles said as he looked at Mara.

"To answer your question I was not staying anywhere." Miles replied bluntly.

Yes they might have food stored, but what if something went wrong. The food could be destroyed or the water could be contaminated. If the water was some how found by the Doomanis and poisoned, then the city would be easily taken. There was only so much that they could prepare for.

Miles just stood there not saying anything. He had seen many cities like Metzuda fall and burn to the ground. Afterwards the city was only a remnant of what it used to be. The people believe too much in their "plans" and technology. God knows what the Doomani would use to conquer Metzuda. The only thing that Miles could hope for is that Kahanistan would make it through the war.

Miles noticed the arm that was reaching out for him. Kathy probably had no idea what was to come. She was pure and innocent. There was nothing to fear when her mother was around. Kathy probably hadn't suffered and endured real pain.

He moved over to Mara and picked up Kathy. Miles just hugged her and did not want to let go.

"How invasive," said Mara. This read to her like the anal probes that aliens put in people. "No privacy at all. The Doomies put bugs in people to track them in occupied territories. Anyway, if you really do have a probe, then the Agency will find you even if you go somewhere with me, so don't turn me down on their account. So, what happened with Nadia that made you run out?"

She stroked her child's face and ran her fingers through her hair. Kathy giggled and squeezed Mara's cheeks.

"What are you going to do? I took the job and knew the consequences. Nothing was going to stop me from being an agent. I really don't know Mara. The embassy might be on their way right now. I don't want to leave and for them to come when no one is here. Then I might be left behind, which I really don't want to happen." Miles said as let go of Kathy and placed her back into Mara's hands.

He seemed to be stunned by the question she asked. Miles stood motionless and thought about Nadia for a second. In those mountains he had given up his love for her. Miles thought that he had released them, but he still had hidden feelings for her. They would never go away. He snapped out of his trance and sat down on the sofa.

"I loved her...but I knew that she could never return my love...I could not come to that fact..." Miles replied as his head faced the ground.

Mara set Kathy down on the floor and put her arms around Miles. "I don't remember if she mentioned it... but I'm looking. You might have seen the draft of the personal ad on my dresser. Nadia seemed to think that we'd be good together, what do you think?"

"I don't know if I am ready..." Miles stated with a solemn look on his face.

Mara nodded and picked up the TV guide. Crap... nothing on... this Der Ewige Katholik sounds nasty... "Oh, my God." She showed Miles page 4 of her TV guide.

"Superboy, the newest cartoon to hit the airwaves of Kahanistan, educates children about the evils of Catholics." A cartoon boy was shown beating up an anthropomorphic rat with a rosary around its neck, which was in the process of raping a little boy.

"Disgusting," said Mara crossly. "They're indoctrinating children to hate, they have enough money to get TV shows now. No wonder there's anti-Catholic violence and the Doomies want to invade. This is just sick. Well, I can tell you at least one little girl won't grow up to be a fascist bigot."

Miles just shook his head in disgust.

"There is so much hate within this country. You will never win the war if your people are divided and cannot work together. The continuing of persecuting will probably make the Catholics want to collaborate with the Doomani. But these idiots obviously cannot see that. They already have a picture of what a Catholic is in this country. It is just pathetic." Miles said as his eyes were glued to the paper.

Back in Canadstein almost everyone was very accepting of other cultures. Honestly most people did not care if you were a Catholic, Jew, Lutheran, or any other religion, even though the majority of Canadsteinians were Catholic, Lutheran, or Jewish. The Canadsteinians were just a naturally accepting people. Hate crimes were unheard of in Canadstein, the last one happening in 1864 by a non-Canadsteinian. Most Canadsteinians simply could not understand why people could not just get along.

Then there was a knock on the door. It shattered the silence in the room. Miles head turned toward the door.

"I guess I'll have to wait to see if we're compatible," said Mara. She scribbled her phone number and email down, figuring the knock was someone from the Agency. She hoped Miles would want to see her again.

The Doomani are worse. Before they came, you didn't see this kind of hatred, except from a few extremists. Now those extremists are nearly 10% of the population.

Miles looked at the piece of paper, and then back at Mara. She was certainly beautiful and it would not hurt to go out with her once, but Miles was still hurting from his last experience, his love for Nadia. He did not want to be hurt again so quickly or hurt another person. He gulped and shoved the piece of paper into his pocket.

The knock on the door was more forceful. The two men behind it really meant business.

"Open up or I will be forced to knock down this door. We know that Miles Mason is in there." A mysterious and loud voice bellowed behind the locked door.

"This doesn't sound pleasant," said Mara. She retrieved her sidearm, a .50 Desert Eagle, from her mantle. It was about one and a half metres from the floor, where Kathy couldn't get at it and hurt herself or someone else.

Damn, I wish we'd gotten a response from Pwnage Ordnance about those pistols, these things hurt my hand.

To her way of thinking, they could simply ask her for him; it wasn't like he was on the run from the law... unless there was something he wasn't telling her.

You don't take something from a Kahanistanian without asking. This went as much for a citizen's apartment as it did for the nation's land to be used in a war they had no stake in.

Miles looked at the door. It must be men attached to the embassy door. They were probably under a lot of stress trying to evacuate the embassy and the Canadstein citizens within Kahanistan. Or maybe there was something other reason why they were yelling and their violent behavior. There was another loud and firm knock on the door.

"Just open the door Mara...nothing is going to happen." Miles said as he looked at her with a queasy smile.

The door banged again. It sounded like they were going to bring down the door. They really meant business. Outside the door a magazine would be heard going into a gun. There was the sound of moving bodies, then utter silence.

"This is Lieutenant Pokrovsky of the Canadstein Army. I am looking for Miles Mason. We know that he is located within this room. Ambassador Stapleton is currently ordering the mandatory evacuation of all Canadsteinians from Kahanistan. Also we have reason to believe that Miles was abducted and is a hostage. So open up now or the door will be blown open..." The voice said in a cold manner.

Mara thought quickly, then throwing caution to the winds, stuffed her weapon into her bra. Why someone of her size wore one was a mystery, but her hands were now free to open the door without appearing as a threat to the Canadsteinian officer.

She opened the door and smiled softly. "Hostage? No, we're just... talking. It's just me, him, and my little girl."

Both men wore BDUs and red berets with an emblem on one side, a key sign of the Royal Canadstein Army. A M9 Beretta was pointed directly at Mara's head by a man with red hair, green eyes, and was a couple feet shorter than the other man. The man next to him wore the single white bar of a first lieutenant. He had brown hair, brown eyes, and a small scar on his cheek. The lieutenant must have been the one who addressed himself as Lt. Pokrovsky.

When a person would look at Lt. Pokrovsky they could instantly tell that he was a no nonsense guy. He would efficiently and swiftly finish any job. This mission was almost laughable in the eyes of Nikolai Pokrovsky. It was to rescue some poor agent who the CIA wanted out of this godforsaken country.

The private, Brent Diller, trained his M9 Beretta right into Mara's head. If she even moved, without Lt. Pokrovsky telling her, then she would have lead in her head. Brent's eyes were trained on Mara's eyes.

Lt. Pokrovsky looked around the room, from where he was standing. He could see Miles standing up with his eyes wide open. The man seemed to be speechless. Also there was a baby girl within the room. After looking the room his eyes noticed Mara.

"Get on your knees lady..." Lt. Pokrovsky said with a smirk. His eyes moved back to Miles. "So you must be Mr. Mason. Well we have come to your rescue. We are getting you out of this country before there silly war starts."

Miles just stared at the lieutenant. It was all just so surreal.

Mara dropped to her knees. She could easily have capped this punk, but Miles had told her nothing was going to happen. She couldn't have her country's name dragged through the muck, though.

"Silly war? You'll get no argument from me," she said coldly. "We were sitting there, minding our own business, when the Questarian Commonwealth attacked us out of the blue. I frankly don't care if the Q.C. and AMF wipe each other off the map, they deserve each other."

She looked at the man holding the gun to her head. "You won't shoot a mother in front of her child, would you?" Mara didn't seem afraid, just somewhat irritated at having her home essentially broken into.

Pvt. Diller carefully lowered his weapon to keep it aligned with her head. Once she was on her knees Lt. Pokrovsky put a pair of handcuffs on her. There was going to be no escape for Mara.

"Do you think I give a damn about your child. My mission was to rescue Mr. Mason. They did not say blood had to be shed. So I would only talk when I ask you a question." Lt. Pokrovsky said with a wide grin.

The pair of men dragged Mara to the couch and set her down on it. Pvt. Diller then holstered his M9 and checked Mara for any weapons. His hands moved over her body and stopped on her chest. Brent looked down at the chest and put a hand down her shirt. He started to turn red, but quickly found what he was looking for. Diller's hand returned with her Desert Eagle. It was thrown to the side.

---

While Diller was doing his body check of Mara, Lt. Pokrovsky had lead Miles to the kitchen. He retrieved a photo of Miles from his pocket, just to make. The photo matched the man in front of him. So after a little talk with their captivate, the pair of men would take Miles back to the airport. Miles stood patiently waiting for the Lt. Pokrovsky to address him. He did not want the lieutenant to get anymore pissed off.

"I am Lieutenant Nikolai Pokrovsky and that is Private Brent Diller. We are both of the Royal Canadstein Department. I'm in charge of the security of the Canadstein Embassy in Kahanistan after the departure of the last head." Nikolai said as he pointed to Brent. "We have come to save you."

"Save me from what? I just expected for someone to help get me out of Kahanistan." Miles stated.

"Well the CIA had reason to believe that you were taken hostage. They knew that you were located in on some mountain. When a satellite went over they caught a glimpse of you being loaded into a helicopter. So we came as your saviors. It seems this bitch is coming with us. Luckily we came in the nick of time before real damage was done. This two bit whore is going to be rotting in some cell back in Canadstein." Lt. Pokrovsky responded. "Justice is swift and without mercy."

"What..." Miles said with shock. He though for a moment he this lieutenant had said. Last days events must have seemed like an abduction to the Agency. So they sent this lieutenant and private to save him. It was a simply misunderstanding, but this lieutenant meant business. "No you have it all wrong. Just is a friend of a friend. This so called "whore" is Mara Fulton. She got me drunk to get me out of the mountains. The pair of women that loaded me into the helicopter thought I was going to die up there. I was never a captivate of her. She only meant to help me. Just let her go..."

Miles' words trailed off as Lt. Pokrovsky stormed off into the other room.

---

Pvt. Diller was sitting in the chair opposite of the couch. He was keeping on this woman. Suddenly Lt. Pokrovsky appeared from nowhere. The lieutenant stood in front of Mara and looked down to her.

"Tell me why I should kill your daughter?" Nikolai said bluntly as he gave a hand gesture to the Diller.

Diller walked over to Kathy and picked her up. He upholstered his M9 and put the gun right into the young girl's head.

A mother will do crazy things for her child. She will even risk her own life to save that of the child if backed into a corner.

While Mara's brain told her that the soldier probably would not hurt the little girl, her body was not going to take that chance, even when cuffed.

The slight young woman might not look much of a threat, especially to an armed soldier when she's handcuffed. She was, however, trained as a security and military police officer, and like all soldiers in Kahanistan, was trained in Krav Maga.

Mara bolted upright and ran headon into the man holding her child, her head aiming for his neck. Better that she end up making him drop her than letting him shoot her. She might weigh less than what this guy could probably bench, but he wouldn't likely expect resistance from someone whose child he was holding hostage. If she was lucky, he would fall over and she could stomp his gun hand to break it.

At this point, Mara didn't care what happened to her, just that her child was safe.

Lt. Pokrovsky quickly saw what this woman was going to happen. He grabbed her with both of his hands and easily threw her back onto the couch. Now his M9 was pointed directly at Mara.

"You try that again your daughter will have a hole in her head. After that a hole will magically appear in your leg. Then we will leave you here to bleed to die. If you answer my questions then you might live another day..." Nikolai said as he looked directly at her eyes.

---

Pvt. Diller was still startled from the near miss of the attack. This woman must have been crazy or would do anything to protect this little brat. The M9 was still trained on the kid, but he almost nearly fired the gun when the woman charged at him. Brent did not want to do anything brash that would he would regret later.

---

Miles quickly ran from the kitchen and into the living room. He almost was about to punch this lieutenant, but held himself back. These men were just doing their jobs. Also they were his only ticket out of Kahanistan.

"Don't hurt her. She is innocent..." Miles started to say. "She was never took me as a hostage..."

Lt. Pokrovsky ignored what Miles was saying and chuckled. He knew that he needed to hear the woman's side of the story, to find out if her story checked out with Miles' story. But Miles could have been drugged and force fed the story to actually make it become true.

"So tell me your name and your story..." Nikolai said with a blank face.

"Mara Fulton," said Mara coldly. She had nothing to hide.

"I met Mr. Mason in the mountains of Dar al-Babil. He was very depressed and had been there for over a week, he was bordering on suicidal, and he resisted my efforts and my friend's efforts to get him here. I gave him a bottle of wine and he drank until he passed out, then we loaded him on the chopper and took him here. He's free to leave any time, I'm not forcing him to stay."

Kathy started crying, not understanding what was going on. She knew almost instinctively that the nasty metal things the soldiers were holding were bad, that her mommy always put hers out of reach of the two-year-old.

"It's all right, Kathy," Mara said, more softly. "These guys are here to help Miles." She didn't want to scare her any more than she was already scared, and there's only so much one can explain to a two-year-old.

"So you drugged him and without his permission took him out of this mountain? I would say that you took him unwillingly. He wanted to take him as your captivate. You wanted Miles so you could question him about the disappearance of Malakov. I have learned from Ambassador Stapleton about your government's interrogation of Canadsteinians and unlawful search of the embassy. We have done nothing wrong." Nikolai said coldly. He cleared his throat, and then continued. "So Mrs. Fulton, do you admit to your crimes of drugging a Canadstein citizen and holding him against his own will, with no crimes against him?"

His attention was soon diverted to the crying girl. Diller seemed to be having a hard time trying to make the little girl stop. It was starting to get on his nerves.

"Tell your brat to shut up or I will order Pvt. Diller to silence it..." Lt. Pokrovsky stated as he waited for an answer from Mara.

"Let me hold her and she'll calm down," Mara snapped. "Like I said, he was depressed and suicidal. He would have died up there. I probably saved his life. And it's Miss, not Mrs. I'm not married."

She turned her head to Miles. "Miles, can you put my weapon back on the mantle?" She did not want Kathy to pick it up. While the little girl was generally well behaved, she did see boys at her preschool who played with toy guns and Mara was not taking the chance that those influences might encourage her to cap someone... who might not be a threat.

Miles stood also if he was frozen. He did not want to piss of this soldiers anymore than what had already been done, but he could not let them just push around Mara. His eyes moved back from Lt. Pokrovsky to Mara. Honestly he did not know what to do...

"Do you think I honestly give a damn if your married?" Lt. Pokrovsky said as he stopped laughing. "Diller give this whore back her little brat back."

Diller let out a sigh and set the baby down in Mara's lap. The pair of men had both of their M9s trained on their prisoner. Brent never liked the way that Nikolai conducted his work. He was usually took brutally, but he was efficient. Nikolai often took things way too far. This was the case right now, but Pvt. Diller had to listen to his commanding officer.

"Answer the question. Do you admit to your crimes?" Nikolai said more forcefully.

Kathy threw her arms around Mara's neck and calmed down quickly. Mara took a few seconds to think. If she said yes, they would probably disappear her, like Malakov. While her survival, evasion, resistance, and escape (SERE) training was probably a little more advanced than Malakov's (and not a forty-year-old memory) it would still not be an easy task for her to break out of a black site.

She shook her head, hoping to stall for time for Miles to pick up her weapon, or decide what he was going to do.

While it was unlikely that he would shoot them, from what Nadia had said he did have a temper on him. It would be safer for him to get them out of her apartment than for her to risk her child's life.

Nikolai's hand gun moved to the top of her head. His hand was still on the trigger.

"Answer yes or no." Lt. Pokrovsky said. "If you don't answer, then we will be forced to bring you back to the embassy, which means you will be coming with us to Canadstein. It only means you. Not your little brat. So she will be all alone..."

Miles silently took the Desert Eagle. This was the only gun he could get his hands on right now. He honestly had no idea where Mara had put his hunting rifle. The gun went into his belt as he backed away from Mara and just nodded toward the two soldiers. Quietly he started to think.

"No."

"I've done nothing wrong," said Mara. "I saw a person who needed help, and I did what I could to help him." She sighed. She was relieved that Miles seemed to be doing the right thing, but she would have sounded irritated by the constant badgering of the lieutenant.

She considered asking Miles to retrieve her car keys from her room, but decided against it for the time being. Miles probably wouldn't know which car was Mara's and he would have had to push the unlock button at random until one of the cars opened.

Nikolai let out a deep sigh. So it seemed that Miss Fulton was telling the truth. The lieutenant turned toward Miles. He could see the pain within Miles' eyes. Nikolai knew that he needed to restrain himself. He had gone a little too far on this woman. Maybe it was caused by the stress of the evacuation or something else. He cleared his throat and stood there silent for a moment.

"What should we do with here Mr. Mason?" asked Lt. Pokrovsky as he put holstered his M9.

Pvt. Diller was doing the same thing and let out a sigh of relief. He knew that he couldn't have killed this woman and her child. It would have been too painful, but if he did not obey orders then god knows what kind of punishment Nikolai would have handed out.

"Release her..." Miles replied.

Lt. Pokrovsky produced the keys and unlocked Mara from the handcuffs. He backed away from the woman. Both of the soldiers knew that Miss Fulton must have been pissed off right now. They pointed guns at her and her baby girl. He threated to kill her little girl. But Nikolai wasn't here to make friend, but to complete a mission.

"Miss Fulton get Miles' stuff. Miles we are getting the hell out of Dodge, but the shit hits the fan here." Lt. Pokrovsky said as he put the keys away.

Mara picked up her little girl. "It's in my room. Come with me," she said to Miles.

She walked down the corridor into her open bedroom, and pulled a large bag containing what of Miles' belongings she and Nadia had taken from the mountain. Miles' gun was on top of the shelf in her closet, unloaded, with the safety on and the bullets in the bag, and she stood on her tiptoes to retrieve it.

Mara was fairly conscientious about gun safety, and would never take the chance that Kathy would get ahold of a gun until she was a little older, then she could show her how they worked. (To the way of thinking of most Kahanistanian parents, a child should be taught to use a firearm at around the same time they're taught to dial 333 for an ambulance or police assistance.)

Miles retrieve his items and looked at his rifle. This thing had literally become an extension of his hand, but it had been a while since he had last held it. He put the sling of the rifle around his should and lead Mara to the living. Lt. Pokrovsky and Pvt. Diller were both waiting near the door. Miles knew that both of the men had other things to attend to, so this good bye was going to have to be short. Miles went up to Kathy and picked her up. Slowly he started to sway her in his arms. Then he put her back in Mara's arms.

"Well I guess this is good bye for now Mara..." Miles give a small peck on the cheek and joined the two soldiers standing near the door.

---

The three men soon were left the building and were in a car on its way to the embassy. Lt. Pokrovsky looked at his watch. They only had two hours before the only flight to Canadstein left. If they missed this flight, then they would be stuck in this miserable country.

"Call me."

This was the only thing Mara had time to say before the Canadsteinians left. When the door was closed, she locked it, picked up Kathy, and held her closely. She sat down on her chair and began sniffling softly.

Today had been a long day for her. She hoped to hear from Miles again. She also hoped her transfer to the diplomatic corps had gone through, so checked her email. It had.

Lt. Colonel Fulton was now on leave pending reassignment to a diplomatic post while the government figured out where they would send her. Hopefully she could have this lieutenant shipped back to Canadstein for good and someone who wouldn't shoot children put in his place. Deep down, though, despite all the ideological training, Mara knew that there were soldiers in Kahanistan who would do the same or worse. So far they'd been reined in well for the most part, but it was a sobering thought.

The total evacuation of the Canadstein Embassy in Kahanistan had been a success. It went all according to the plan, made by Ambassador Stapleton, and all the Canadsteinians citizens had made it back to Canadstein with hardly a scratch. When Miles stepped off the airplane he was greeted by two other agents. They told him that the Agency had a special job for him. It was whisked away to a secret location.

---

Two Weeks Later

Iosif Malakov had been held in his cell for almost four weeks. He was no longer the glorious general back in Kahanistan, but a secret prisoner of the Canadstein government. No paper work existed of the detained man. All of the staff in the black, codenamed "Moltke", knew who Malakov, but did not ask many questions. Most of them knew that he was a General and was careful watch. He had three square meals a day and an endless supply of books.

Malakov hadn't see a human in over one week, but he was still being watched. Hidden cameras monitored every move that Malakov had made. Two men carefully watched Malakov over the two weeks. Actually they had been watching him since they came in two weeks ago. They had both seen Malakov before he had been detained and kept in his cell.

A door opened into Malakov's cell. Everything inside the cell was white. The man walked in with a balaclava and dressed in a BDU. This was the uniform that the interrogators had to wear every time. They were still running the illusion that Malakov had been taken hostage by an anti-nationalist group within Kahanistan. There was no hint that the men were actually Canadsteinians.

"So Iosif...how has your life been so far?" The man said. This would certainly be a new voice from Malakov's other captors.

"Boring," said Malakov. "How do you think? I'm about to go mad in here. How's the situation outside...? It's not like I see the news here."

The general was interested to know what would happen if he confessed to framing Kasagawa, but not so interested that he would confess just yet. He figured they would just shoot him.

This was how the Doomani worked, from what he'd heard - breaking someone into confessing to save their souls, then killing them brutally. This was supposed to grant the victim entry to heaven. And the worst part about them was that these subhuman ring-kissers actually thought that it was for the victims' own good. These guys didn't seem much different, except that the torture was more emotional and less physical.

The man seemed to barely even notice Iosif. On the desk he could see that Malakov was done with another book. The masked man put down another book, Anna Karenina, for Malakov to read. It was the only thing that Malakov could do to pass the time besides just staring or thinking. Suddenly the masked man directed his attention, after pocketing the old book.

"Yeah...your country is being invaded..." replied the man with no emotion. He wasn't going to talk anymore about the outside world. Then he started up again with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "I brought you a new book, Anna Karenina. Another great Russian book for you Iosif. I hope you enjoy reading it."

"So did you frame General Kasagawa?" The man said as he stood in front of Malakov. This question must have been asked at least over hundred times to Malakov in the last four weeks. The Canadstein government wasn't going to stop until Malakov confessed or he died. One of them was bound to come sooner or later. "Answer yes or no."

"Then you have handed Kahanistan over to the Doomani," said Malakov coldly, not trying to take the book. He'd read it before. "Just like your kind did during the last war."

"If I said no, you would keep me here and keep asking me to confess. If I said yes... I don't know what will happen. No, I did not frame General Kasagawa. Of course, I don't expect that you will accept that."

"You have no idea what we are doing to help Kahanistan. First off we got rid of you. We prevent at least one war from happening." The man said. "We are fighting along side the nationalist right now. We are trying to fight for the independence of Kahanistan. Catholics and Nationalists are dying with each other to save Kahanistan."

The man purposely did not mention the riots in Kahanistan. The masked man had seen the video footage and pictures of the scenes in Metzuda. It was some pretty disgusting stuff. Catholic girls getting raped by mobs. People getting killed merely because they were Catholic. Kahanistan was surely going to loose if they did not unite.

"The truth will set you free Malakov. Once you tell the truth, then we will send you back to the capital. Just tell the truth..." man replied. "We know that you framed General Kasagawa. If you tell us the truth, then you will be out of here within a hour. Did you frame General Kasagawa."

"Looks like you did a good job of preventing the war, did you? You removed me, and now we're being invaded. We would never have been invaded in the first place if you had left me in office. Now, I shudder to think of what will happen to Kahanistan. I must have told you a million times I didn't frame her, but you never seem to understand the obvious that's right in front of you. She's guilty as hell, and I'd like to see her fry."

"No you are a war mongering bastard. You wanted to start a war. This war was started by another country, not by Kahanistan. This war is trying to preserve Kahanistan. Your war would have meant nothing. You just wanted to get rid of the Catholics..." The man said. He just stared angrily at Malakov for a moment, then walked back out the door.

A few hours the door opened and the same masked man came out. He held a dark green folder. On the tap it said: Evidence Against Iosif Malakov. The man dropped the file in front of Malakov.

"Here is all the evidence we have against you." The man said. He waited for Iosif to read over the file. Then asked. "So did you frame General Kasagawa?"

That traitorous communist bitch. "I incriminated her," said Malakov softly. He would have to strangle General Sklenova when he got back, after her baby was born, of course. Malakov would never kill an infant.

The general's face bore an expression of anger. He was clearly pissed that these people had evidence on him. Of course he suspected Nadia, who else who opposed him had gotten that close to him?

"That letter was constructed by you, so you could take over the position of Defense Minister? The only problem was that General Kasagawa was in your way. Is that why the fake letter was made?" The man asked. "Do you admit to framing General Kasagawa? Answer yes or no."

Behind the walls were secret cameras. Right now they were filming and taking audio of the whole conversation. They were about to find what they were looking for about four weeks. They knew that it is a matter of time before Malakov would crack.

The interrogator's reasoning was not entirely right, but not entirely wrong, either. Malakov's intention went beyond just wanting the Defence Minister's position; he wanted to rebuild Kahanistan and remove the Catholic influence, and Kasagawa was the most powerful Catholic general in Kahanistan.

"Yes, I did," said Malakov. "I wanted to remove the Catholics so Kahanistan could be strong, not have a fifth column selling out to the Doomani, and we could live in peace, rather than have nations invading us every other month. They wouldn't invade unless they saw us as weak. You don't invade a nation otherwise; would you suggest we conquer Automagfreek, like the lunatic al-Ghazi used to?"

Of course, he suspected there was a recording; they had to have been pestering him for a confession for weeks for some reason, to use against him.

The masked man just shook his head in disbelief. Malakov was surely insane. At least the Agents had stopped one man from totally destroying a country. For now the Catholics in Kahanistan would not have to face a man like Malakov. The man did not want to listen to Malakov anymore, so he grabbed the file and walked out the door. The door shut behind him. Malakov was once again all alone. They had gotten the key information they wanted. It was all over for Malakov.

---

The masked man stepped into the highway. He took of his balaclava. The balaclava revealed the man underneath. The masked man was Miles Mason. He had finally gotten the job done he started almost two months ago. Malakov was going to fry now. A man appeared to his left and patted him on the back. The man was no other than Nick Mills.

"We finally did it Miles..."said Nick as he rested his hand on Miles' shoulder. "All of are hard work finally paid off. Malakov is surely a dead man now."

Miles just stood there. He had an odd mixture of emotions. Miles was happy that finally caught Malakov in a corner, but sad that the case was finally over. This case had deeply affected him. It had made him feel love, and sorrow. Miles slowly started to cry.

The two Agents had arrived at "Moltke" two weeks. They were surprised to see each other. The last time the pair had met was when Miles was escaping from Kahanistan. Over the two weeks the pair of men had gotten to know each other and quickly became friends. It was odd how the pair knew so much about this single case. Now the men had succeed,

"I know Nick...but there is still on thing to take care of...." Miles said as he wiped away his tears.

---

An hour after the meeting between Miles and Iosif Malakov, a tape had been made of the whole thing. Now they had the last piece of evidence to finally let Malakov fry. The tape was sent to President, The Defense Minister, General Nadia Sklenova, and all of the major news networks in Kahanistan. At the beginning these words appeared: Kahanistan Anti-Nationalist Front (KANF). Then they showed the interrogation of Malakov and him spilling his guts out.

---

Nick and Miles were still within the "black site". They were to be the guards of Malakov, until the Kahanstani demanded the release of Iosif. Until then Malakov would keep on rotting in his cell.

The Kahanistanian government did not practice extra-judicial punishments, and the latest accusation that the recent anti-Catholic riots constituted a state-sponsored act of attempted genocide (though it came from the Doomani and was therefore suspect among all democratic nations) was enough to motivate the military junta to crack down on crime and disorder, and that meant demanding, in no uncertain terms, the release of General Malakov and any other captives "or every suspected KANF hideout would be targeted with strategic weapons."

This demand, and the wholly uncharacteristic threat accompanying it, might secure the release of the general. However, his standing even among the anti-Catholics might take a severe blow over the admission Kasagawa had been innocent. He would most likely never again hold the standing he once had, and would live in fear.

While President al-Omari might be willing to keep him as a commander, Malakov might not be interested in holding a lower position.

Being a Catholic, General Kasagawa had decided to stay and fight, but had been "demoted" to commanding the weak southern border defences. She was still not trusted anywhere near the Doomani front, as the risk of defection was still considered a likely possibility.

Nick started to laugh when he read the recent report from Kahanistan. Those idiots in the government had been fooled. They actually believed that the KANF existed, even though this would be the first "operation". The Kahanistan Anti-Nationalist Front only existed in "Moltke", Canadstein, which was several thousand miles away from Kahanistan. After this whole operation was over with, the Kahanistani would never hear of the KANF again. It would simply just disappear never to be heard from again.

Nick picked up a beer and took a drink. The attitude of Nick and Miles had both changed. A great burden was finally lifted. Although it had taken two months it was almost finally all over. The pair of men were still in charge of Prison 13, Iosif Malakov. They still had to play the illusion that he was a captivate of the KANF. Also they kept him under twenty-four hour surveillance, just in case he took his own life.

Sitting next to Nick was Miles. He was also drinking his own beer, though it was odd to see Miles drink alcohol. Miles was watching a tv set up within a living type room. He had already read the transcripts of the message sent by the Kahanistan to the KANF. The message to him was kind of hilarious. Those bunch of poor bastards had no idea where the KANF was located, even if it was located within Kahanistan.

As Nick finished reading the report he looked at Miles.

"Well it seems they have threaten to 'target' our 'base'." Nick said with a wide grin.

"The Kahanistani have already enough to wore about. The forces invading their country and internal threats that are going to rip that country apart." Miles said as he nursed his beer.

"What do you think are next mission will be?" Nick asked.

"Only god knows, Nick." Miles replied.

---

Later that day the hole, which food usually came through, opened up into Malakov's cell. A file slid into his room. It simply stated what the Kahanistani government had told the KANF and that he was finally going home, but as a criminal.

---

A message was sent to President al-Omari at 11:03 P.M. It stated the following:

Three days from now we will hand over General Iosif Malakov. In return we want Iosif to be convicted of his crimes, but in a fair trial. At 3:07 A.M. on August 3rd we will be arriving in a C-130 Hercules. The location of the drop off will be the deserted airfield outside of Metzuda. Six armed men will be accompanying Iosif to your people. At the airfield you can only have exactly five persons at it. If any of them are armed soldiers, then Malakov will remain our prisoner. We also request that General Nadia Skelnova, if she is still a General, to be present at the airfield. Also if the C-130 is shot down, then we will have our revenge. One of your key buildings will be destroyed without mercy.

Signed
Kahanistan Anti-Nationalist Front (KANF)

Five Kahanistanian officers would arrive at the airport in uniform, with their sidearms inside their duty belts in case something fishy happened. Kahanistanians tended to distrust people telling them they couldn't carry guns.

Nadia would be at the scene as requested, along with another Kahanistanian general, Igor Kaselev. He was a tall, morose man in his late 30's with a thick, muscular build, short dark hair, and numerous scars. Kaselev had been involved in the search for Malakov, spending countless hours on high-grade military computers trying to hunt Nick and the other Canadsteinians.

Mara would also be there; she had been involved in this for too long not to see it to its conclusion, and had helped Nadia through the most difficult parts of it. She was next to Colonel Herbert Morris, the commander of the MP's that had gone to the Embassy to search for Malakov. The fifth officer was a familiar-looking Goth officer, Major Nerissa Phillips. She was the lowest-ranking of the five officers, but seemed to be hitting it off with General Kaselev.

The next three days the men at "Moltke" were hard a work. They had mysteriously received a C-130 and started their work without any questions. The staff knew it was just better not to ask anything. All of the identification was stripped to lead the airplane back to the RCAF (Royal Canadstein Air Force) and the C-130 was painted all grey.

The two agents were also hard at work. The Agency had already signed two top pilots for the job, but there was still four other guards that needed to be reassigned to them. The pair of men thought for a while, but quickly came to a conclusion. There was four men that they could trust and already knew about General Malakov.

---

Within hours a single jeep pulled up to the gated compound. The men had heard rumors about "Moltke", but dismissed them as rumors. "Moltke" was located in the rugged and heavily forested area of the Black Mountain range. The only feature that could be seen from the sky was a long tarmac. The jeep was soon let in and directed toward one of the few black sites’ buildings. They had a few faux buildings and a two hangars if someone happen to walk along the gate and snoop around, but that rarely ever happened. Everything that was important was underground. The faux buildings lead to the real "Moltke".

---

The four men poured out and were soon escorted down to the "Moltke". Their escort finally stopped at a lone room. The men piled in and found a brightly lit room. The weird thing was no one was there. It was completely empty. Only a table sat with six chairs and six cups of coffee. The men soon sat down and talked about old times and caught each other up on recent events.

Suddenly a door came out of the wall. Two men walked forward. The two men were Miles Mason and Nick Mills. They were happy to see the other men brought aboard the mission. The men greeted each other and gave hardy hand shakes. Some of the men patted each other on the back or hugged. The four other men for the mission were Sergeant John Featherson, Corporal Irving Johnson, Private Issac Kane, and Private Taylor Hall. The four soldiers were defiantly surprised that the six men were brought back toward.

"Well it seems the men who kidnapped General Malakov are going to bring him home." Sgt. Featherson said with a smirk.

The other men actually thought for a second and knew that John was right. The six men had brought down Malakov and now were going to bring him to justice. The meeting was like a meeting between old friends. It had been six weeks since they departed from that airport. Some of them thought they would never see each other again.

Miles and Nick sat down and discussed the current status of the mission. They example that they were finally handing Malakov over, after his confession to the cameras. They still had one more day to prep and get ready for the mission.

For the next two days the six men went over every detail of the mission. From where they were landing to what guns they were using. Even down to where they were to stand. This mission was going to blow up in their faces. Then the mission day finally came.

At 1:09 P.M. on August 2nd the prisoner 13, Iosif Malakov, was led to the C-130. Iosif wore a black hood, and both his legs and arms were bound together. He was escorted by six guards who wore dark green BDUs, balaclavas, and AK-103s, though Pvt. Hall had Malakov's Desert Eagle in his belt. At precisely 1:30 P.M. the C-130 took off from the small tarmac. It was heading directly for Kahanistan.

---

During the trip there the men kept quiet. They did not want to give off any hints that they were Canadsteinians. The whole flight Malakov was guarded by two of the men. Most of the time they barely kept watched over him. He was handcuffed to a metal chair, which was bolted to the C-130. Even if he did break free there was no where to go.

Nick was the only one to actually talk directly at Malakov. He told him that he was going home, but as a criminal. Malakov's name was going to be tarnished and no longer a glorious general. Also he broke the news that his wife, Lena, was still alive and that the men had never touched her.

---

Coming out of the darkness the five Kahanistani officers would see the C-130. It flew over the airport once and turned around. The plane made it’s finally approach, then touched down. The men inside were nervous. They knew that this could end up being a bloodbath. This could be the end for all of them.

Slowly the plane maneuvered its way over to the five officers. The plane came to a stop and the rear door slowly opened. In the background a song was being played. It was national anthem of the old Russian Empire, God Save the Tsar or in Russian Bozhe, Tsarya khrani (http://folk.ntnu.no/makarov/temporary_url_20060919zkkfg/bozhe-tsarya-khrani-acapella-valaam_1995.mp3). The six men came out Malakov. Malakov was still chained, but was being held by two of the men. The music seemed to raise the spirits of the men, but then the men came to a stop.

The six men recognized most of the faces of the five officers. The four Canadsteinians soldiers had been told that only Nadia would be there, but the others came as a big shock. A big lumped formed in the throats of Miles and Pvt. Kane. Someone that they felt affection for was there currently. Pvt. Hall under his balaclava was starting to sweat. He still was ready to face Nadia. She had broken his trust in woman. Since they fled from Kahanistan, Taylor couldn't even stand to speak to a woman. John just stood there motionless. Nadia wanted him to turn himself in, but he ran. He knew that he felt something for her, but she betrayed his men and himself.

Miles looked down at the row of officer and back to his own men. Why exactly was Mara here? He thought that she had joined the diplomatic corps and was going somewhere safe. Also he needed to remind himself that he was part of the KANF and not Miles Mason.

"We got your pathetic General..." Miles cried out. The other men started to chuckle at the comment. But soon went back to their stern faces and tightly gripped their AKs.

Under the balaclavas, none of the Kahanistanian officers would recognise the "terrorists." This might be a good thing for Miles - Mara might be looking for someone, but she had no problems at all with sending him up the creek if he turned out to be a terrorist.

The officers walked up to where Miles had called from, intent on freeing the General. Finally, the MP's and National Police could close the case.

"Now, hand him over," said Kaselev. Like Nadia, he was a Communist and therefore opposed to the Nationalists on general principle. However, he wanted to preserve the rule of law and not let terrorists run amok.

He wished he could just shoot them right here, but orders were to allow them to deliver the general and let them leave unmolested.

The men did not move and waited for orders from Miles. In the back God Save the Tsar could still be heard. That was the only thing that could be heard for a few minutes. The guards just stood there with their weapons. Taylor and Kane both were still holding up Malakov. Malakov had been drugged and effectively knocked out. He wasn't going to have any say in this drop off.

The AK-103s were now trained on each of the five officers. If a shootout was going to beginning, then the Kahanistanis were going to be utterly destroyed here, though Miles wondered if the men had the guts to kill their counterparts. They had gotten to know Nadia. A little respect for her was still within them. Plus Kane cared for Nerissa and Miles for Mara.

Then God Save the Tsar came to an end. There was a eerie silence on the deserted airfield. Miles looked at their counterparts. It had been two weeks since he had seen Mara or Nadia. He hadn't even bothered to call Mara to check up on her.

"Don't make another step forward or you will face the consequences." Miles said as he patted his AK-103. "Only General Sklenova and Major Phillips are allowed forward."

Nadia and Nerissa looked back at their comrades. Kaselev shook his head. If these people wanted a fight, he'd give them one, but he'd at least wait until they had clearly been dishonest, or tried to take one of the women hostage.

The two officers walked up to Miles. "Now, hand him over," said the Major coldly.

Kane stood there with his AK pointed at the remaining woman. His eyes seem to follow Nerissa as she walked over to Malakov. He could feel a chill run down his spine. Issac wondered how it would have turned out if he stayed in Metzuda and gotten to know Nerissa. For the few hours that he had spoken to her, Isaac knew that she was nice girl. He shook his head and went to the iron sights of his AK. But he stole a glance at Nerissa. Kane's head then back to the gun. He needed to remember that he was on a mission. Every one of these men depended on him. Only if...

Miles just stared at Nadia, his lost love. His AK was pointed directly at her. He knew that he couldn't fire a weapon at her. They had been through some much together. Now their mission together was over. This mission had changed Miles. He had grown love for a woman, but it had been rejected...so much pain. Lives were ended, in the case of Henry Bates. So much for this one pathetic man.

"Get on your knees." Miles said coldly. Then he looked to two men. "Check them."

John and Irving knew exactly what Miles meant. The two one put the slings of the AKs around their shoulder and soon checked the women for weapons. After not searching for very long John and Irving produced the women's sidearms. Both men put them in their belts.

"I told your government not guns..." Miles said as he acted like he was getting angry.

"And our government wasn't going to send us in unarmed," Nadia replied. "When militants say no guns, they expect us to go in and just get shot. I'm sorry, SOP."

Kaselev looked on from a distance. A word from him and the plane would be denied permission to take off.

"Well we are not like the rest. We abide by our promises. But you have just shown that we cannot trust you. Have we don't nothing wrong, except bring down this madman? We have put the final nail into Malakov's coffin. We have brought down the next glorious general. He is a broke man now." Miles said. "Miss Sklenova should know. We finally broke from the information that you gathered against him."

The men still had their AKs trained on the Kahanistani. Now that they knew that their counterparts had guns, they had to be very alert. Sweat was building up within their balaclava. Things were starting to get very tense on this lone airfield. Kane and Hall were having trouble keeping up. His body was very limp and he wouldn't wake up for another four hours. Both men hoped that the Kahanistani did not think that their General was dead.

Nadia walked over to the drugged man and looked to see that his chest was rising, listened for his breathing, and felt for a pulse, just like she'd been trained in basic first aid.

She nodded. "He's alive. What do we do now?"

"Take him into custody," said Mara. "With the war on, we'll ask the Allaneans to hold him, while we convene a trial. Hopefully I can get a diplomatic assignment there." Mara wasn't fond of the Allaneans - she thought they were no different from MassPwnage, just on the other side of the fence. But she was very certain they would hold this maniac while a Kahanistanian tribunal could be convened.

"Till then, we'll hold him in a base in the city, or in the National Police's holding facilities. First, we should take him to a hospital to see if he's all right."

Taylor and Isaac dropped Malakov. There was a plump as Malakov hit the ground. Nick went over and gave him a swift kick. Then he looked up Nadia. Nick was unhappy underneath the ski mask. There was no glory in what they were doing here. The three men returned to their spots in line. Miles eyes followed Nick, as went back to his spot.

Isaac glanced at Nerissa for a mere second. He wished that he could talk to her. Over the last few weeks he could not get her out of his head. He shook his head and just remembered it was a crush. There were other women for me. No...

"There you go. You can have him back. I guess our mission is over here" Miles said aloud. The other men just glazed at their counterparts. It was soon to be all over.

Kaselev looked on. He had not come here to trade a high-ranking Communist officer for this Catholic hater whose rhetoric had been blamed for the anti-Catholic violence in Kahanistan, and given political ammunition to the Doomani.

Unwilling to endanger lives, he got on the radio with another Hebrew-speaking officer and ordered in Hebrew that the plane be grounded until further notice, to prevent the militants from taking Nadia hostage. When Nadia came back, he would lift the grounding order.

Phillips motioned for Morris to help her carry the 110-kilogram man to their van.

The Canadsteinian men looked on as they dragged the pathetic General. Now it was truly all over. The men lowered their AKs and turned around. They loaded up within the C-130 and looked out the windows. The rear hatch slowly moved up and with it the five officers disappeared. Miles let out a sigh of relief. Another mission successfully completed. This was probably one of the toughest and so far the longest for both of the Agents.

The C-130 barreled down the runway and took off into the rising sun, it the start of a brand new day. No one knew what would be in store for the men aboard. Most of them just wanted a well deserve rest. Miles looked out the window. He hoped that both Mara and Nadia made it through the war. They would both have a special place in his heart.

Nick removed his balaclava and looked at Miles.

"I can finally rest..." said Nick, even though he was still a criminal in Kahanistan.

"We sure can kid." Miles said as he thought of his families' farm, with its miles of golden fields. "We all need a good rest."

The General would be held in a military base until they could get him moved to a safe location for the trial.

Mara requested to be assigned to the embassy in Allanea. She could use a long vacation from the shit in Kahanistan. Her cell worked there, so Miles could contact her if he wanted to, and besides, he had her email.

Nadia was due to give birth within the next few days. As an expectant parent, she was temporarily relieved from duty and left with other high-ranking Communist Party officials.

Major Phillips would take over security at the Defence Ministry, where General al-Ghazi had mistrusted his security, and Colonel Morris was promoted to Brigadier General, officially for retrieving Malakov, but cynics noted that it was more of a political decision.

General Kaselev was appointed liaison between the Aequatians and the CIDG being trained as the new National Guard, and awarded a Bronze Star.

OOC: So this thread is finally over. Well it has been fun to participate with you in this rp and this has been my favorite rp, so far. I hope to rp with you sometime in the future again, it has been a pleasure.

[OOC: Agreed. Do you have some kind of diplomatic thread ready? I could use allies or at least places for my citizenry to flee to.]

[OOC: Agreed. Do you have some kind of diplomatic thread ready? I could use allies or at least places for my citizenry to flee to.]


OOC: No, in the past I have had no need for one.