Is this destiny?

~ Los Angeles ~

When Sarah and Aiden reached their penthouse, Jeff was there in the living room, waiting for them with a stack of documents in front of him on the coffee table. JoAnna was in the kitchen, making coffee.

"Hello!" JoAnna greeted them cheerfully. "We hope you don't mind that we let ourselves in… Pilot called that you landed, so we came. Jeff said it's important and it can't wait." She looked at Sarah. "I'm so sorry that your vacation got cut short."

Sarah smiled. "Don't worry about it. It was the best vacation ever. If it lasted any longer, I would implode from happiness."

"Oh? Now I want to know the details!" JoAnna was curious.

Sarah suppressed her giggles. "Some things are not for sharing. But they will live forever in my memory."

JoAnna winked at Sarah confidently. "You will tell me… later. Coffee is done. Go to the study room, so you three can talk. I will be here watching TV."

Sarah was surprised to see that JoAnna is staying on the side like that, without intention to join them. JoAnna was always the first one to ask what is going on. 'She either already knows what this is about, or seriously is willing to stay in the dark… how unusual.' Sarah looked at Jeff, wondering if he made JoAnna change like this.

When the door of the study closed, Jeff didn't delay. He summarized why he called them while pulling photos from one folder. "Genechi is a businessman from a small country in Central Africa he is our client. Their country is on a verge of a political change. Genechi, is refusing to pay fees to a corrupt politician. The politician kidnapped Genechi's teenage daughter, earlier today." Jeff pointed at a photo of a young girl, probably not a teenager yet. "Our client has a task force ready to extract his daughter, but he does not know in which location corrupt politician is holding her. He fears that if he takes a gamble and attacks the wrong location, he will alert the politician, and his daughter will be in more danger than she is now. Paying the ransom is the same as a death verdict to his whole family. Aiden, Sarah, you two have task to find location of the girl."

Aiden noticed that something is missing in the story. "Why did we need to come back? We could have done that from Europe."

Jeff frowned and said in a quiet voice. "The three locations are closed circuits."

"Oh…" Sarah realized. If the networks are closed, then they can't hack them if they are not inside themselves. "We need to go to the location?"

"NO!" Aiden leaped from his chair. The situation is obviously dangerous. He is not letting Sarah go there.

"Hey… calm down." Sarah tugged his arm. "We can't leave the girl…" She picked up photo that Jeff gave them and looked at young girl. "… not now when we know that she is in danger and that we can help."

Aiden looked at Sarah, and it was obvious that he is fighting an internal battle. After some time, he decided. "No! You are not going!" He turned to Jeff. "I will go by myself."

Sarah jumped out of her chair. "Like hell I'm letting you go without me!"

Aiden pulled her in his embrace and put his best coaxing expression on. "Baby, it's dangerous… you can't go."

Sarah lifted her arms and caressed his cheek. "Exactly because it's dangerous I must go. Who will take care of you if I don't go? You know that I'm capable."

Aiden liked her touch, but still frowned. "You are reckless."

She kissed him on the lips. "Let's do this together. Come on… nothing can go wrong when we are together."

Aiden hesitated for a long time. On few occasions it seemed that he wants to say something, but he stopped himself. After a while he looked at Jeff and frowned. "You better prepare proper compensation! And if anything happens to her, no compensation will be enough!"

"Don't worry about that. The guide is waiting for you, and you just need to get close enough to get the wireless connection. There is no need to go inside. The risk is minimal. The plane is waiting for you." Jeff pushed stack of papers toward them. "You can review the details on flight.

~Somewhere in Central Africa~

Aiden and Sarah are observing a large villa from a nearby hiding place. They had a local man, employed by the businessman who is their client, to guide them there.

Aiden was watching the villa. 'Armed guards, barb wire… Are those dogs?!! What kind of a politician is that? And what on Earth am I doing here with Sarah?' He wanted to carry her back to the plane. 'We should just go home. This is way too dangerous.' He faced Sarah and tugged her arm. Aiden frowned when he saw that Sarah's face was glowing from excitement.

She smiled. "Ready?"

Aiden pouted. "No."

Sarah guessed what is coming and rolled her eyes. "What do you need to be ready?"

"You to go back."

'I knew it!' She was happy that he cares about her, but she is not going to back down out of this. "We went through this, how many times? Come on! No better time than now. The guard shift will be in less than fifteen minutes." She stood up and started moving toward the villa stealthily. Aiden had no choice other than to follow her. The man who guided them there waited on that spot for them to come back. Hopefully.

To their surprise, no Wi-Fi. That means they need to find an outlet. Aiden didn't have time to object when he saw Sarah already jumping over the fence. He rushed after her. They used their skills and probably lot of luck to end up in one empty room with a network outlet.

Aiden was keeping watch while Sarah found her way to the security cameras on her laptop.

"What is taking so long?" He whispered anxiously.

"It's less than two minutes… I need more time!" Sarah whispered back. Few seconds later she smiled. "I'm in!"

Sarah's eyes darted as she accessed various cameras, looking for a familiar face of a young girl from the photos that Jeff provided them.

"She is here!" Sarah exclaimed. Aiden was next to her in a second, eager to confirm that they completed their mission and can leave this wretched place full of dangers.

"Great!" He exhaled in relief seeing a young girl sitting on the floor of what looks like space separated with metal bars. "Let's go!"

Sarah was about to close her laptop, when something caught her attention in the corner of the camera view she was observing. "Wait!" She changed views of few more cameras until she found one with the best view of what she wanted to see.

"What is it?" Aiden frowned. Whatever it is, it can wait until they leave. He needs to get Sarah out of here.

"Look…" Sarah had a troubled expression. On the screen were several young girls, no more than fifteen years old. Few looked as young as ten. They were all squeezed in one corner, while two men were standing in front of them. Men had guns in their arms, waving them around obviously threatening the girls.

Aiden looked at the screen and then at Sarah. "Baby… baby… no. We are leaving. Now. Baby, are you listening? Sarah? Please…"

Sarah looked at him with pleading eyes. "We can't leave them here."

Aiden shook his head resolutely. "The client will get them out when he gets his daughter."

"Look…" She gestured to the screen. Two men were advancing toward the girls. "They don't have time to wait for the rescue."

"Shit, baby… You are giving me such a headache!" No matter for whom it was, Aiden was not willing to go to any rescue mission that would put Sarah in danger.

"Honey, can you honestly tell me that you can leave this place, and sleep well knowing that you left them behind in such a situation?"

"I have no problem sleeping well knowing that you are safe." As soon as he said that, Aiden analyzed what Sarah said. 'She called me 'honey'? Why do I have a feeling that few times she called me anything other than by my name she wanted me to do something unreasonable?' Aiden frowned. Somehow, he remembered his mother and that 'Den-Den' nickname she used when she wanted to enforce her will... Aiden quickly came back to the situation they are in.

"Well, I can't just leave them like that! And I can't do this alone… Will you help me?" Sarah looked at him with her beautiful green eyes full of expectation and blinked few times.

Aiden felt that his resolve is wavering. He was conflicted. 'I want to do what she wants to make her happy. But also, I must keep her safe..' He didn't see how he can accomplish both.