Begin Again | Sam Wilson

Chapter Nine

It had become a routine; get a mission, meet Sam to go over said mission, go on mission, come home and wait for another one. They were both hoping that the current mission they were studying would be the last one with the team they had been working with. It's not that they weren't enjoying what they were doing. They were just ready to branch off and do more independent jobs. Less rules. More freedom.

"Another weapons dealer extraction. How riveting." Brianna spoke dryly. "If you ask me, there are too many illegal weapons dealers."

"Hence the reason they're sending us. To get rid of them." Sam pointed out. "You ever been to Egypt?"

"Do I look like someone who has visited Egypt?" She asked.

"No, but that's where we're headed. Our target is Bomani Heba. He runs one of the largest weapons dealings in all of North Africa. He also happens to be like tenth in line for the Egyptian royal family which means money which also means intense security. It's not going to be easy." He explained.

She turned towards the laptop so she could look at their target. "Why the hell does someone who's technically royalty, need to trade weapons illegally?"

"Money. Power. Needed a hobby. Your guess is as good as mine." He told her while pulling up a map of the supposed area his base was in. "We'll take a humvee until this point. From there is on foot. There's not going to be as much cover as there was in Brazil or buildings to hide near. We'll strike at night, of course."

She folded her arms across the table and rested her forehead against her arms. She was tired. Between missions, work and checking on Bucky, she barely had time to rest and see her family. She had gained a newfound respect for those who were away from their families for extended amounts of time. She remembered being in their shoes when she was young while her dad was away. At the same time, she was loving being busy. She loved traveling. She loved getting to know Bucky. She felt like she was starting to make a difference.

"You okay?" Sam asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

She lifted her head to look at him. "Just...tired. I'll be okay though. I'll sleep on the flight."

"You sure? You can sit this one out if you want." He said.

"I'll be fine." She reassured him. "It really isn't that bad. The extra money helps. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a better place. Although, I'm really not there much as is. I think I've seen more inside your house than my apartment."

He chuckled. "Oh, I know the feeling. Just remember, we'll get a little break after this. Why don't you get ready?"

She nodded in agreement. She chose a khaki pair of pants so she could blend in better with the sandy desert of Egypt and then her usual boots that were worn out and a long sleeve t shirt to protect herself from the sun. Even though it would be nighttime when they actually executed the mission, it would more than likely be daytime once they left. They usually stayed at the locations for several hours taking inventory of the weapons or whatever their target was. They had to be extremely thorough.

The base was located just outside of Abu Simbel, Egypt near the border of Sudan. They landed via plane on a military base in Jordan before boarding a helicopter to take them to their destination. It had been an almost thirteen hour flight to the base alone. The helicopter ride would be a few more hours. She was able to get more sleep than normal. She couldn't help but notice the increased amount of pararescue airmen joining them. It was more than normal and caused both Sam and Brianna to feel slightly uneasy.

Clearly, their target was more dangerous than they had expected. She thought it was perhaps the area they were visiting. More than 60% of the population lived below poverty. She knew Egypt was a mostly peaceful country. Their crime low was quite low, but of course, people like their target made it seem dangerous. The helicopters were actually allowed to land which meant she didn't have to climb down a shaky ladder.