Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of a Thing of Happiness [Completed]

Act I, Scene IV

"We leave tomorrow."

It was about 8:00 at night, civilian time, 2000 in military time. The room we were in was so boring, I felt like going to sleep. In fact, the only other color in the room other than the beige walls was a black clock. Which didn't even read the right time. Go figure. Despite all the sleeping I did on the helo ride here, that was more quantity sleep and not quality sleep.

Standing at the head of the table was Lieutenant Allen. His salt-and-pepper hair - though admittedly more salt than pepper - had been recently trimmed, and sat perfectly under his ACU hat when he was outside. Despite his age, you could still see the muscles of a young man worked into the ground. To his right and left were Brayden Dockle, the medic, and Raymond Tiller, the sniper, respectively. To Dockle's right was Toby Nolan and Louis Fischer. To Tiller's left were Patrick Dale and I.

"If you haven't been introduced yet," Allen continued, pointing at me, "this is Iliana Fleming. She is Captain Charles Fleming's daughter and our Madame Flora von Diesen." I smiled sheepishly. "All of you know what your assignment is, but we'll go over it one more time for the benefit of the group. Dockle?"

The attractive looking medic rose to his feet and took a breath. "I will be Iliana's main guard," he began, glancing at me. "We gave the Saudi farmer intelligence that said Madame Flora is extremely self-conscious and refuses to speak unless it is through her most trusted bodyguard. I will translate what Iliana says in English into Danish for it to seem legitimate. This is also convenient considering the intel we received on him says that he, interestingly enough, speaks little English and fluent Danish." Allen thanked him, and Dockle took his seat with a quick nod.

"Dale?"

Patrick leaped to his feet, full of his trademark energy. Louis stood up much slower. "Louis and I will be Iliana's footmen. We'll be carrying the suitcases containing our ACUs for a smooth and comfortable escape." Allen gave them an approving nod and they sat down.

"Nolan? Tiller?"

Brown haired, green eyed Nolan and black haired, black eyed Tiller stood simultaneously. "We will be Allen's assistants," Tiller stated simply. His voice was considerably deeper than I was expecting.

"Our job," Nolan added, his voice soft and gentle, a sharp contrast to his rugged appearance. "Is to make sure everyone on this team makes it out alive."

Allen nodded once again. He didn't seem like much of a talker. "I myself will be Iliana's butler.

"When Iliana and Dockle find where the hostages are, Tiller, Nolan and I will free the hostages while Dale and Fischer create a distraction. You have all been given a floor plan of the estate, so your first goal is to locate the best exits relative to where you are." Allen looked around the room. "Are there any questions?"

Patrick's hand shot into the air. "What time do we leave base?"

"I was just getting to that. At 1000 we will take the back way out and end up at the estate around 1030."

"When do we leave the estate?"

Allen shook his head. "We don't have a set day or time, but we want to be out of there as soon as possible."

I looked around the room. The others shrugged; Nolan sat up.

"What's our plan B?"

Allen sat down. "There is no plan B. Our objective is to get the hostages out with as few casualties as possible. If everything that can go wrong goes wrong, stick with your battle buddy and try your hardest to get each other out."

We nodded. Allen sighed and stood up again. "If there are no more questions, you're dismissed. Get some sleep; you have a long day ahead of you."

I stood up and pushed in my chair. Patrick patted me on the back and wished me a good night. Louis, Tiller, and Nolan nodded as they passed. I glanced over at Allen, who had sat back down and had his hands in a praying position, fingers resting on his lips; he seemed to be deep in thought.

"Dockle, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked. Dockle glanced up at me and nodded. I slipped out of the room but stayed outside the door.

"Did I make the right choice?" I heard Allen say. I hesitated, not sure if I should stay and listen or leave.

"Sir?" Dockle responded.

"Choosing Iliana for this mission. Do you think she'll break?"

I froze where I was standing once I heard my name.

There was a pause. "Sir, I'm not sure. I don't know her well enough."

"Me neither. That's my concern. I worry she'll forget about remaining diplomatic and discreet and go straight for her father."

"I believe all of us deserve that concern, too. How do you know one of the other ones won't go against the plan and go after the hostages?"

"Fair point."

"May I ask something, sir?" said Dockle, a nervous edge to his voice.

"If you must."

"Why did you put her with me? I don't want to be a babysitter."

I flushed red and felt tears prick my eyes.

"I put her with you, Brayden, because I need you to keep each other in check. Both of you have something to lose if this goes wrong, so I know both of you will work the hardest out of everyone to prevent something from going wrong."

"But, still..."

"You are dismissed, Dockle."

"Yes, sir." Dockle's footsteps grew increasingly louder as he neared the door.

I panicked slightly and scooted away. As I began walking, I heard the door open behind me and Dockle walk out.

"Fleming!" he called out. I turned around innocently.

"Yes?" My voice sounded slightly choked.

"What are you still doing here?"

"Just trying to grasp everything."

He looked at me suspiciously. "Listen carefully," he warned. "Do not mess this up, you hear me? If you mess this up, I will personally make sure that you get all of the blame for this. Is that clear?"

"Crystal."

As I made my way to my room, I thought about what I had just heard. What did Allen mean when he said that Dockle had something to lose if this went wrong?