Michael's heart was racing as he got online. He had no idea what Damian would have to say, and that made him very nervous. He found the website and put 15 of the SASHA model hat in his shopping cart. When he went to check out, he put 030996 in the coupon code box and hit the update button. The code was Sasha's birthday. Instantly, he was taken to a hidden message board. Damian's message was waiting for him.

The gravel crunched under the truck's tires as they pulled up to unit 42. Sasha glanced at the padlock. It appeared to be the same one she had locked the unit with when she left several days ago. She'd broken the original lock using canned air, like the kind used to clean electronics, to crystallize the metal in the lock. She turned off the truck and she and Fiona stood in front of the large rollup door. Fiona lifted the lock to examine the bottom. "It doesn't look like it has been picked." She said, "But I can't promise anything." Sasha pulled the key out of her pocket and put it in the hole. It turned easily and the lock popped open. She slid the latch open and pushed the door up.

There was a pile of junk at the front of the unit to discourage thieves and confuse anyone who knew what they were looking for. Behind the ratty couch and piles of damaged boxes that were overflowing with old books, was a large gun safe. The gun safe had an old shotgun and a beat up .22 in it, but behind the hidden panel of the safe were several pounds of C4, detonation cord, burn phones, a laptop, passport and credit card blanks, and 4 semi-automatic pistols.

Everything was as she remembered it. Nothing looked out of place or different. Sasha hadn't expected anything to change, but she had halfway hoped that maybe this whole thing had been a test. Could she make it halfway across the world without getting caught? In her fantasy world, she would have opened the door and Damian would have been inside waiting for her. He would have given her a huge hug and told her how great she did and how proud of her he was. They would have gone back to Miami and maybe they could all work together again. She could have a whole family; Dad, Grandma, cool big sister, uncle, and whatever Sam would be…drunk great-uncle?

But, this is the real world, not some dreamland. Living in a dreamland was a good way to get killed. She needed to focus.

Fiona looked around the unit pleased by the cache of equipment. They would be leaving most of the stuff here, but the C4 was top quality and she was running low.

Meanwhile, back in Miami, Michael slowly read Damian's message.

Michael,

I am so sorry to send Sasha to you without any warning or explanation to either of you. Parenting is a rough gig, and I probably did the wrong thing, but I don't know what else to do. After you were burned, I realized I needed to help Sasha get to know the US a little and realize that she has other options besides the life I have. I could have been on the receiving end of that burn notice instead of you. We came to the states under the auspices of coming to the Farm for training, but I really wanted Sasha to have a chance to be a kid. When we were in Virginia 9 weeks ago, I had the Farm doctors run some tests because I hadn't been feeling right, I received the results a week before I sent Sasha to you. I've got cancer. So I am back in the states getting treated at a military hospital in DC. I figured Sasha would be better off with you and this way I wouldn't worry about her worrying about me. Besides, I didn't want a handler deciding what was going to happen to her while I was out of commission. I don't want her to see me like this. The prognosis is good, but they are going to have to be pretty aggressive with their treatment. She doesn't need to worry about this. The doctors think I should be finished with this round of treatment in 3 or 4 months. Assuming everything goes well, I'll be in Miami shortly there after and she and I can figure out what the plan is from there. Call me at this number, but please don't tell her. 301-555-9875 – I'm sure you will recognize me from Bogotá 2001. I owe you.

Damian

Michael dialed the number. "Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, how may I direct your call?" A woman's voice answered the phone.

Michael answered, "Major Nicholas Garcia, I believe he is an oncology patient."

"One moment please." Damian's cover in Bogota in 2001 had been Air Force Major Nicholas Garcia. If he were being treated at a military facility, he'd need a military cover.

The phone rang twice and a deep voice answered the phone, "Garcia."

"Garcia, are you as stupid as you are ugly? You know Солнышкo will figure out what happened and where you are. You had better hope the cancer kills you because if it doesn't, she will. My guess is whatever she does to you will hurt more." Michael was relieved to hear his friend's voice, but wanted to be sure he understood that Michael was not protecting him from Sasha's wrath.

"Michael, you got my message. I'm glad you called. Have you really gone so soft that you can't stand up to interrogation by a 15-year-old?"

"You sent her to me because you think I can't leave Miami, and I wouldn't send her to DC on her own. You think you have 4 months for her to cool off before she sees you again."

"Am I wrong?" Damian laughed.

"As a matter of fact you are. I was in DC a few weeks ago and I have the feeling I will be going back very soon."

"You are back in?"

"I'm back in, but staying based in Miami for now. Things are good."

"You are going to let a little girl come and kick a poor sick man's ass?"

"If he doesn't have the balls to tell his own daughter what's going on."

"Did I mention it's testicular cancer? I am a little sensitive about 'balls' comments since I'm not sure if I get to keep mine. So no, I might not have the balls to tell Sasha."

"Come on man, I can't keep this from her."

"Where is she?"

"She is at the storage unit you rented in Orlando. She is trying to find anything that will tell her why you sent her away."

"YOU LET HER GO TO ORLANDO BY HERSELF?"

"This coming from the man who faked his own death so his daughter would run halfway around the world on her own. And no, I did not let her go to Orlando by herself. Fiona went with her."

"Fiona? Fiona Glenanne? Are you seeing her again? That woman is crazy."

"Yeah, I know. But she gets me and you'd better watch it. She and Sasha are pretty tight. They have closed ranks on me more than once already. So, even if I couldn't take Sasha up north, Fiona would, and she'd be more likely to shoot you. Why didn't you tell her? Better yet, why didn't you tell me?"

"Come on man, you know I couldn't call you. If I'd known you were back in; I would have reached out. I would have gone through official channels to send Sasha to you. Mike, you are the only one I trust with her. I had to get her to you, and I thought you were still persona non grata, and I wouldn't be able to. There are a number of people at Langley who are very interested in her and I couldn't trust her to be with me if I'm not 100%."

"I get it. I'll take care of her, but I cannot promise she won't come up to see you. I will do my best to keep her away, but she is going to want to talk to you. You don't think anyone is going to come after her while she is here do you? How motivated are these interested parties?"

"I think she is fine as long as she is with you. Your reputation precedes you. Not only were you a kick ass spy, you have the mystery of having been burned and gotten back in. That makes you super spy number one. I don't think anyone will mess with you. Just make sure people know she's with you."

"What about you, what's the prognosis?"

"I'm stage II, which isn't good, but it's still very treatable. I am scheduled to start chemo on Monday. They will see how I respond and then decide if they need to operate or add radiation. I will be here for a few months before they know how things are going. I'm not worried. I'm going to beat this and I will be down in Miami before you know it."

"Good. When Sasha gets back I'm going to tell her. I promise to keep her from driving to DC to kill you. If I can get her calmed down enough, I'm going to have her call you. You didn't see her when she showed up here. You really shook her up. She didn't make any mistakes, but she was holding it together solely by will power. She fell apart on my mother's front porch. It might take her a while to forgive you."

"I know. I'm relying on you to help her out, get her through this."

"You owe me"

"I know.

"I'll talk to you later once I've talked to Sasha."

"Thanks Michael."

"Take care man."

Michael hung up the phone and thought about how to face Sasha. He was going to need back up. He picked up his phone and did something he didn't think he'd ever do… he called his Mom.