Safe Haven | Yuzuru Hanyu

23.

As soon as Emma sat on the plane, it was clear that the emptiness of it all was no coincidence, even with the currently reduced traveling.

They had barely taken off and a man was sitting at her side with a file in his hands.

"Captain Anderson..."

"Yes?"

"Details for your mission. We will be going directly to the destination." The man gave her the file that she promptly open but quickly found it didn't have much detail.

Emma had never experienced something like this. It was almost as if she was working with the CIA or NSA given how secretly things were being handled.
She looked around on the plane to find no flight attendants around, only confirming her theory even further.

"Everyone on this plane is working with us."

"Who's us?"

This wasn't military work and she knew it well. As much as she had been outside the battlefield for a while, this had never been the way things worked. It was more than enough to understand that either no one was from the army or someone else was coordinating the whole operation, someone or an agency with more experience in this way of working.

"CIA"

Emma didn't even bother to act surprised. They probably expected her to be able to connect the dots. If they didn't, they found her far dumber than she actually was.

"And why is the CIA coordinating a mission that I'm working on? I'm not a part of your agency."

"Not by lack of offers." The agent said earning a glare.

"I'm not a spy."

"You could be a good one."

"Not interested. So?"

"So?"

"I'm still waiting for your damn answer. Why am I working with you?"

"It's a rescue mission and we're gathering the best of the best"

Emma couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"Best of the best? Why am I here? I never did anything out of the ordinary."

"Don't be modest. You are one of the most medaled officers of the last years."

"And I was still thrown away like trash when I wasn't convenient anymore."

"Captain..."

"No, agent. You don't get to sweet talk me into being proud of being back on the field. I was enjoying my life out of the army."

"You asked to be back"

"Over a year ago."

"Hopefully this will be quick. We won't bother you after the mission is over."

"Who are we even rescuing that is worth making a fuss while there's a global pandemic going on?"

"It's one of our agents."

"That's all you're giving me? Why me?"

"We have reasons to believe he could be severy injured."

"There are plenty of army doctors with far more experience than me"

"But not a lot of them with the ability to infiltrate as you do. You're very good at being invisible."

"So that is why... You want me to infiltrate..."

Emma wasn't happy. This was no regular Battlefield mission. It was pure spy territory.

"Our agent is being held in Israel. You know how we are constantly in tension with the Mossad. We know you're fluent in Hebrew, it only makes the job easier"

"Are they the ones holding him?"

"We don't think so. Everything indicates a terrorist group that has been operating from Tel Aviv. Taking the agent there was smart given that we can't simply go to Israel and get him."

"What kind of risk are we talking about?"

"Heavily armed, highly trained..."

Emma sighed, this could turn south far quicker than any mission she did in Iraq or Afghanistan. The truth is that when you're in the Spy game, you never know what to expect.

"And what's the plan?"

"One of our leads indicates that at least one of the men responsible for the kidnapping is studying at the University of Tel Aviv. You have all the details that we have of him on the file. We want you to get closer to him."

"You do know that I don't have to special training to do this type of mission? I used to shoot guns and help the injured."

"What about that highly specific training you did with the NSA?"

Emma stopped to stare at the man for a second. No one knew about that. She had been trained for a few months in case an opportunity to enter the president's team ever came along, but since Trump took over, she immediately discarded the idea.

"You were not supposed to know that."

"I know you did a few favors to the previous CIA director too... Do me a favor and don't try to fool me."

She had no idea who this man was, but he certainly had to have a high-security level, because this type of knowledge wasn't open to the majority of people at the agency.

"Fine. Tell me what my cover is."

The man quickly ran through the plan with her. Emma would be studying Medicine at the University through a generous scholarship and living near the School in a small house.

Truth be told, maybe this would be easier than the mission she initially expected but she couldn't help but wonder why she was the one being called.

It just didn't make much sense to call someone outside of the CIA or even the NSA when those agents had more training than her in these scenarios.

Just like so many times before, she simply had to fulfill the orders that they gave her, no matter if she agreed or not with the decisions.

This was the part that she dreaded the most about the career but life had led her here and all she could do was obey.

All that was left to know was if her concerns were justified or if the mission was going to be easier than expected.

For her own good, let's hope that it's the second opinion.