Chapter three
"How long do I have to stay here? Did they get my son out? Why am I not being kept in the loop?"
"They sent one of their best teams to get your son."
"Are they grabbing him at school?"
"Yes."
"Okay. We don't live far from it and my son has his own security detail stationed outside of the school."
"Yeah, you already told the FBI that. They'll figure it out."
"He's going to be so scared and Ehsan is going lose his mind."
Cruz gave Aaliyah a pointed look. "You could always just go back home."
"That's not an option anymore."
"Clearly. So stop freaking out because this is what you wanted. It's too late to back out now anyway."
Cruz' phone chimed. "Manuelos. Okay. Understood."
"Who was that?"
"FBI got your son. Ehsan's reaction was almost immediate but they got a good head start to get your son out of the country. As expected your husband is out for blood but at least the auction for the data and nuclear weapons was pushed back so that's a minor win."
Aaliyah paced back and forth. "What happens now? What do I do?"
"We wait. You will be reunited with your son and placed under FBI protection. Your mother has already been given a new identity. All three of you will be given a chance to start over once they have nailed Ehsan."
"Can't they just arrest him already? I gave up so much information and evidence."
"It's not that simple. Technically your husband never got his hands dirty. Other people does his dirty work for him. You need a lot to bring down a man like Ehsan. Especially with him having people in high positions on his side. A simple case won't stick."
"But he has been on their watch list."
"Yeah, and he keeps slipping through their fingers because he knows what he's doing. To be completely honest the best solution would probably be to eliminate him."
"I would feel a lot safer if he was dead."
"How the hell did you fall for a man like that anyway?"
"That's not the man that I fell for. He wasn't always like that."
"People don't change that drastically overnight."
"Well I don't know what to tell you. But he was nice. He treated me well. Took care of me." Aaliyah tucked her feet underneath her as she sunk into the couch.
"Have you ever been with other girls before me?"
"Yes."
"Does he know?"
"Yes. I let it slip one day. He laughed it off."
"I see."
"What if they take too long to build a case against him? I'll never live in peace. Or what if he finds out I'm behind all of this? He'll kill me."
"Probably. But it won't be that easy for him."
"Will you protect me..if it comes to that?"
"My job right now is just to keep you hidden. There's agents on the street that will intervene if they somehow find our location."
The sudden loud knocking on the door rattled them both.
"Manuelos! It's Joe. Open up!"
"What's going on?"
"We have to move. We need to get her out of here. There's a mole within the FBI team. Someone has been feeding information to Ehsan."
"How the fuck? I thought the team was made small to prevent exactly that from happening."
"I don't fucking know. Agent Rogers and his wife was involved in a hit and run. They are both still alive but the message was clear to him. Ehsan's information was also deleted from their database."
"Well that's just fucking great! What the hell are we suppose to do now?"
Aaliyah became frantic. "What about my son!? Where is my son!?"
Joe snapped at her. Telling her to stay calm and to follow her instructions.
"What about the agents on standby? Are they compromised?"
"Not that I know of but we have to be careful."
"Where are we even going?"
"We're taking her back home."
Aaliyah was shook. "WHAT!?"
"It's a different op now. You're the bait."
"NO! You can't do this! I can't go back!"
"Your son is fine. He will be reunited with your mother as soon as they touch down with him. You have an opportunity now to make sure that none of you have to live in fear ever again."
Joe and Cruz stepped aside to speak privately. "They're gonna kill the husband?" Asked Cruz.
"Not the FBI. They don't operate like that."
"So what's the play here?"
"He knows she's hiding. He knows she's in cahoots with the FBI. And he knows the kid wasn't snatched by one of his enemies. Aaliyah told us how she knows you. She told us about your past. So this is how we're gonna play it; she came here for you. The two of you have stayed in contact over the years and she wants to leave him for you."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me. Absolutely not! No fucking way."
"Cruz! Ehsan and his adversaries are a huge threat. If he gets taken out then that'll spook the others. Together they are infiltrating governments, starting wars, overthrowing governments, cyber attacks. The list goes on. We can't stop them all at once but eliminating him would be a major win."
"CIA? Did they take over the op?"
"I received a direct order which is to brief you on your new task. There's a plane waiting. You take Aaliyah back, stick with the story that she chose you. You're going to meet with Ehsan, and once you're close enough, you take him out. There will be an extraction team waiting that'll ensure you and Aaliyah get out safely."
"Joe.."
"I'm sorry, Cruz."
"I can't just walk up to him in his own house, surrounded by security mind you, and kill him."
"You know how to fight. You know how to shoot. You know how to survive. You've been undercover. This isn't foreign to you."
"I've been undercover to get information, not to kill someone."
"You've killed people in the field before."
"This is different Joe and you know it."
"This is how the CIA operates."
Cruz was angry. "I don't work for the damn CIA."
"It's one job. And it'll look impressive on your file."
Cruz ran her fingers through her short hair as she paced. "So I really don't have a choice."
"Unfortunately. And you also don't have much time to waste. I need to get you to the airfield."
"Do I need to pack a bag?"
"They have everything that you'll need. Just pack some clothes."
"Okay. I'll also need to make a phone call."
"Go ahead but make it quick."
Cruz disappeared into her bedroom. She quickly threw a few clothing items in a duffelbag and then dialed Josie's number.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, her foot was tapping anxiously.
"What?"
God, she missed that voice. "Josie, please don't hang up. I don't have a lot of time but I have some things to say to you."
"If this is about your work friend then save it."
Cruz had to get straight to the point. "I was tasked to keep her hidden because she has information that would potentially put her life in danger. I wasn't sneaking around. I like you too much to do something like that. I'm sorry for not giving you at least a warning and that you had to be in that position. I completely understand it from your point of view though so your reaction was totally valid. But I want you to know that it really was nothing and I hope you can forgive me. I have to leave tonight to do something that scares the shit out of me because depending on how it goes I might not get the chance to come back and ask you out on a real date." Cruz swallowed the lump in her throat. "Just know.. you mean a lot to me and I've cherished every moment that we spent together."
"Cruz, what are talking about? Why does this sound like goodbye?"
Cruz chuckled ruefully. "I hope that it's not. But I don't know how things are gonna go."
"Ask me."
Cruz was surprised at Josie's request. She smiled. That's the thing about Josie, she always knew how to make Cruz smile. "Josie Carrillo, would you like to go on a date with me?"
"Yes."
They both went silent, just being in the moment. Until Cruz had to get moving. "I have to go now."
"Take care of yourself Cruz. Be safe."
"Bye Josie." She said and hung up.