Afghanistan (Years ago)

Stars twinkled in the skies as I observed the convoy's troop movements through the scope of my sniper rifle while lying down. The town we now occupy, has been abandoned after Taliban ambushed the village and slaughtered it's inhabitants. Desert sands coated the vantage point, making my combat suit dusty. I have been watching the troop movements ever since my turn started. We broke up into teams to watch over and make shifts to ward off attackers. James recognized me when I mentioned about the London Eye in a private conversation but we did not publicly acknowledge the friendship.

I heard footsteps when I adjusted the scope and when I turned I saw Brian climbing up the wooden stairs left behind by the owner of the abandoned house we settled in. "It's not your shift yet." I said, continuing to adjust the scope. But he was eyeing my movements.

"I guess serving in the US Army changed you, more than I ever thought."

"You should crouch down, Taliban will kill if they ever spotted enemy targets."

"I know when to." he said. "How long have you been here?"

"Three years, and counting." I replied. "I've seen the fighting here. Stay down and crouch if you don't want to die."

"You sound just like my father."

"You know your mentor." I said. "Troop movements seemed relaxed a few days ago, but doubled last night. Our target will be here soon, need to check in with The Pentagon." taking out my radio and adjusting the right frequency I tried to connect back to base. "This is Lieutenant Isabella Stark. Can anyone hear me?"

"I hear you Lieutenant." I heard my CO's voice. "What's your situation over there?"

"Troop deployment's doubled. Aldhiyb could be arriving in a few days."

"Roger that." the commander replied. "I'll notify the Pentagon."

"Yes sir." I pocketed my radio and looked through my scope again. "Are you going to notify them?" I asked.

"I'm taking over this shift." he replied. "You can rest."

"Okay." I said, picking up my equipment and moved out. I jumped down and landed on a newly formed sand dune.

"Any news commander?" Jason asked when I set down the sniper rifle. I scooped up my canteen and sat down near the campfire.

"Maybe in a day or two, we're gonna break into the compound." I said, drinking the contents inside. "Like what the SEALs did after 9/11."

"He's not Bin Laden." Jason shook his head. "He isn't called Aldhiyb for nothing."

"This is the point. The Pentagon wants the best they can get to take down people like him."

"Hey, can I ask something? About the guys you seemed to be familiar with?"

"Which one?" I asked him.

"The Brit from the RAF and the ROK army guy."

"Jay, you can see it already?"

"Hey, I'm not a sniper for nothing Isa."

"That RAF pilot is a friend. I didn't stay for long in the US, I've lived in London for four years because of my mom's work as ambassador and spent most of my life in South Korea."

"You never told us when we asked."

"Jay, I don't want people to freak out." I explained. "I've met the RAF pilot when I stayed with my mother in the UK."

"And the ROK guy?"

"He's my cousin." I drank from my canteen. "My cousin is serving in the military."

"You're not the only one Isa." Jay said. "My mother is also serving. Sergeant Jennifer Miller."

"The sergeant in charge of the military intel division at West Point?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's her." he replied.

"Your dad Jay?"

"He's working." he replied. "Military logistics." Above us a drone flew by and a package dropped down silently in front of us and not far from the campfire, attached to a parachute. We then stared at the package for a long time, unsure about the package's intentions and the identity of the sender or the drone pilot.

"Jay? Is that what I think it is?" I asked.

"You think that there's something dangerous inside?"

"Kinda." Looking around for a branch and finding one Jason poked the package in a careful way. "You think it's a chem weapon?"

"Maybe, but why even attach the package to a parachute?" he asked. "And dropping it off with a drone?"

"I felt a trap coming." I said. But I reached for the package, daring to open it when the poking doesn't reveal anything.

"Isa, don't-!" he said. I teared open the packaging and something dropped out, landing on the soft sand. It's a case made with shock proof material, bearing the logo of the United States Army with a fingerprint scanner below the logo. The scanner is blaring red in color, indicating the case's secured by a security system that can only be deactivated by the rightful user's palm scan. "Uh... what are we looking at?" he asked me.

"I don't know Jay. The logo indicated that this comes from the Army."

"Should you... do the scan bit?" he asked.

"I dunno, but I can give it a shot." I said. Placing my hand on the scanner at first we waited but nothing happened.

"Uh..." Jason said.

"Weird." I said. Then the scanner beeped and a green light filled the scanner, the locks unlocking itself and the briefcase popping open. "Needs voice rec as well?" Jay grabbed the side of the case to make sure nothing untoward is hiding and opened the case. Then we stared at the contents of the case, with a note attached.